Swimmers win opener
The Marblehead High swim and dive team defeated host Peabody, 95-81 in the regular season opener on Dec. 16. These Magicians are now off for the holidays. They will resume the schedule on Jan. 6 against Danvers at St. John’s Prep, starting at 6:30 p.m.
“We’re off to a great start with many cuts for the postseason already,” said veteran coach Sue Guertin.
Ian Chemel, Cale Nelson, Brady Leveroni and Omar Elnabarawy (1:49.88, sectional cut) and Grace Ladouceur, Shae Callahan, Hazell Wright and Winnie Waddington (1:54.81, state cut) were the top two 200-yard medley relay quartets from the Peabody meet.
Elnabarawy (2:02.94), Chemel (2:03.31) and Waddington (2:06.81, state cut) swept the 200-yard freestyle event, as did Nelson (2:11,31, state cut), Leveroni (2:15.62) and Lorelai Mosher (2:40) in the 200-yard individual medley.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Orion Lewis (23.31, state cut), Elnabarawy (24.34) and Phillip Gaber (26.54) maintained the team’s domination over the Tanners with another sweep.
Claire Burke (165.95 points) bested the entire diving field. Ivan Monin (135.95) and Elizabeth Hayes (124.98) came in fourth and fifth.
Leveroni (56.76, sectional cut) and Hazell Wright (1:01.12, state cut) topped the ticket in the 100-yard butterfly. Mosher (1;13.32) was fourth. Waddington (55.69, state cut), Grace Ladouceur (56.59, state cut) and Abigail Moore (1:00.68) experienced the same results in the 100-yard freestyle.
Callahan (5:43,29, state cut), Macy Ladouceur (5:48.29, state cut) and Paxton Swanson (5:55.10) secured the top three places in the 500-yard freestyle. Chemel, Lewis, Gaber and Lucas Rosen (1:42.69) and Moore, Mosher, Macy Ladouceur and Monica Pechhold (1:55.88, sectional cut) occupied the top two spots in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Chemel (59.65, state cut) and Wright (1:04.72, state cut) were the leaders in the 100-yard backstroke. Meredith Kreevoy (1:25.81) came in fifth. Lewis (1:09.97), Callahan (1:16.12, state cut) and Pechhold (1:20.82) experienced a clean sweep in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Finally, in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the foursome of Elnabarawy, Nelson, Leveroni and Lewis (3:44.82) accounted for first place, and Grace Ladouceur, Waddington, Wright and Callahan (3:56.91, state cut) were right behind them in second place.
Black & Blue wrestlers begin season with success in annual tournament
Wakefield’s Anthony Lisitano Memorial Tournament kicked off another wrestling season for the Marblehead/Swampscott Black & Blue co-op team on Dec. 13, and four of the locals were able to place in the match. They included senior captain Liam O’Brien (first, 4-0, 138-pounds), junior Jaymes Carey (third, 113-pounds), Devin DiBarri (sixth, 144-pounds) and senior captain Colin Hart (fourth, 175-pounds). Hart was then informed that he was accepted early to the University of Miami, his top college choice. It was definitely a good first week for him.
Overall, the Black & Blue (91 points) placed 12th out of 16 teams. They just missed ending up in the top 10 by less than a point. Shepherd Hill (91.5) and Haverhill (92) narrowly finished ahead of them.
Head coach Mike Stamison also praised his other grapplers, who competed well in the Lisitano Memorial. Stamison mentioned the likes of seventh grader Kristian Drolette (106-pounds), who gained valuable experience in this varsity match; freshman Kenny Drolette (120-pounds), who returned from a season-ending upper body injury last year to go 1-2 in Wakefield; freshman Platon Danshyn (126-pounds) showed great fight and promise; sophomore Ilan Hood (132-pounds) is getting close, but with some fine-tuning, he will have more success; freshman Nolan Glass (150-pounds) continues to improve daily; junior Andrew Delisle (157-pounds) went 1-2, and as a result big things are expected from him as a veteran; eighth grader Greyson Miller (165-pounds), despite being a lanky youngster, got into the starting lineup and should be winning matches sooner rather than later; first-year junior Colin Homan (190-pounds) looked good out there, and with more practice should start netting more wins; senior Phineas Jakious (215-pounds, 2-2) is getting used to a larger weight class. He’s up from 175 last season, and looks stronger and is ready to make noise; and finally at 285 eighth grader Gavin Dombkowski wrestled great. He went 1-2 in his varsity debut, but with more practice, he will also be a solid contributor, while filling in for the starters at 215 or 285.
The Marblehead co-op then opened up the regular season four days later against host Gloucester, where they lost to the Fishermen, 57-24.
“It was a tough start to the Northeastern Conference season,” said Stamison. “We still have lots to work on, but thankfully it’s early.”
There were several highlights from the season opener, including Carey, who recorded a pin. O’Brien was also credited with a pin, as were Glass and Hart. In an exhibition, sophomore Phil Duclos followed the trend to pick up his first-ever win by pin.
They then lost to the Sachems co-op the very next night at Pentucket Regional, 49-27, a team also made up of Newburyport wrestlers. But there were also some highlights, including Carey, who secured another win by pin, as did O’Brien. Delisle won a close 8-4 decision as time expired in his match. Jakious avenged a loss from the Lisitano Memorial with a convincing pin. At 285, senior Xavier Tejeda was credited with a pin. In an exhibition, freshman Dylan Soule was able to record his first career pin.
Indoor track teams compete in NEC Invite
The Reggie Lewis Athletic Complex in Roxbury was the site of the Northeastern Conference Invite to kick off another indoor track season on Dec. 12. It’s where all of the conference schools compete as one to give coaches like Marblehead’s Nolan Raimo a chance to see what they have to work with in each event this year, while also checking out the competition, before the regular season gets going for real.
Boys high jump
All three Marblehead jumpers cleared 5-6 or better to finish in the Top 10. Clark Roszell (6-0) bested the entire field. Owen Coyne (5-8) finished fifth, matching his personal best. Ethan Harwood (5-6) was ninth.
Girls long jump
Maggie Miller (14-10, personal best) ended up third. Zoe Dwyer (13-8.75) was seventh, and Lilah Greten (12-2) 12th.
Boys long jump
Colin Burke (18-5) came in seventh. Alex Humphreys (17-1) was 12th.
Girls shotput
Lillian Reddy (34-5.5) shocked the conference with a personal best throw of nearly three-feet to place second all-time in Marblehead history, and is now fifth in the state this season after this toss. Naomi Goodwin (20-9.5) was 16th, and Julia Betz (20-7.5) 17th to round out the Marblehead throwers.
Boys shotput
Logan McRae-Hughes (40-3.25, third, personal best), Humphreys (37-5.25, seventh) and Graham Firestone (34-7.25, ninth) all came through with Top 10 finishes.
Girls mile
Sophomore Ruby Assa (6:02.58) crossed the finish line in fourth place. Junior Jesslyn Roemer (6:26.86) finished sixth, and freshmen Sophia Letwin (6:34.72) and Ginny Donato (6:39.12) came in 11th and 13th, respectively.
Boys mile
Senior Henrik Adams (4:47.79) closed fast to almost snag second from Peabody. Adams was followed closely by classmates Will Cruikshank (4:50.99, two-second personal best, fourth) and Zach Pike (4:51.90, sixth), and as a result all three ended up within five seconds of each other.
Junior Filip Grubor (4:52.24, eight second personal best, seventh) finished under five minutes for the first time.
Girls 1,000
Junior Sarah Munroe (3:11.82, eight second personal best, third), sophomore Norah Walsh (3:22.35, 23-second personal best, fifth) and classmate Evie Becker (3:41.78, 10th) were three more Top 10 performers for the Magicians.
Boys 1,000
Freshman Isaac Durand (3:01.76, third) and junior Owen Harrison (3:32.91, seven second personal best) completed the course for Marblehead.
Girls 600
Stepping down from her normal distance events was not a problem for senior Marri O’Connell (1:47.05), who still finished on top with the third fastest time in Division 3, and is also among the Top 20 in the state to date.
Miller (1:54.47), who has had some lingering injury issues since last spring, toughed it out to finish fifth. Freshman Nadia Siragusa (2:08.10) placed 16th in her varsity debut.
Boys 600
Sophomore Victor Pechhold (1:37.55) accounted for a fourth-place finish. Junior Felix Rengault (1:43.96) ended up 11th.
Girls 300
Lucy Flynn (42.78, two-second personal best, first) ran away from the competition with the sixth fastest time in the state, and is second among the juniors. Julia Thomson (50.80, 12th) and Elisabeth Greely (53.24, 20th) also ran this sprint for Marblehead.
Boys 300
Eben Weed (37.72, personal best, third), Slater Johnson (40.39, eighth) and Cole Barbeau (44.75, 18th) were the Top 3 Marblehead runners in this event.
Girls 55-meter dash
Flynn (7.51, personal best) also sped away from the dashers to secure her second win of the day. She is now second on the school’s all-time list, and is eighth in the state, as well as second among juniors.
Sophomore Zoe Dwyer (7.93, sixth), Cora Gerson (8.13, personal best, eighth) and Sydney Moniz (8.66, 20th, varsity debut) enjoyed Top 20 finishes. “Cora has battled injuries the past couple of seasons, but will continue to improve as the season progresses,” said Raimo.
Boys 55-meter dash
Owen Coyne (6.97) opened up the season with a sixth-place finish, while nearly missing his personal best time of 6.92. Nate Selby (6.99, ninth) stumbled out of the blocks, but recovered in time to still run a quality race. Ethan Harwood (7.28, 20th) and Harrison Carpineto (7.75, 26th) also participated in the dash.
Girls 55-meter hurdles
Charlotte Hodgkinson (11.66) led the way for Marblehead to finish 15th overall. She was followed by Charlotte Greten (17th, 12.04), Addison Rotigliano (18th, 12.05) and Faith Apostolopoulos (19th, 12.07).
Boys 55-meter hurdles
Nate Jendrysik (8.41, personal best) took the early-season crown for best hurdler in the conference. Noah Jackson (8.57) was fourth. Elian Colon (9.27), the team’s multi-threat jumper and hurdler, came in fifth. Sophomore Theo Benning (11.53) ended up 16th.
Girls 4×400 relay
Liv Carlson, Olivia Vanden Heuvel, Sabrina Perez and Sophie Bacon (4:47.84) captured the bronze.
Boys 4×400 relay
Owen Casale, Jack Brousse, Miles Oswald and Grady Becker (4:10.69) finished sixth overall.
Girls 4×200 relay
In one of the most exciting races of the day, Dwyer, Hodgkinson, Thomson and Flynn won this relay in 1:55.25.
Boys 4×200 relay
Voeuncenzo Vorn, Chakib Khelladi, Dylan Glass and Noah Smerka (1:45.65) combined to put together a quality run to finish fifth.
4×800 girls relay
Walsh, Assa, Donato and Munroe (10:58.64) accounted for a close second place finish.
4×800 boys relays
When the lead runners came around for the first handoff, there was some confusion by the officials that resulted in the Beverly lead runner taking an extra lap, while all the other runners had to scramble in the exchange zone. Two runners, including Marblehead’s Zach Pike, came to a full stop shortly after receiving the baton, because they were unsure of what was happening. But once everything got straightened out, and Pike had possession of the baton from Adams, Marblehead was able to cruise to victory in 9:11.86, with Grubor and Cruikshank running the final two legs of the relay to seal the deal.
:
