Before I present my first
spring update of the year, lets close out the winter season by congratulating
our cheerleading team on an historic season. The girls won everything
they possibly could this year – the Patriot League Championship, the South
Regional title, the State Championship, the New England crown and the Spirit
Cup National Championship in Orlando. Head Coach Tanisha King and her
team worked tirelessly all winter to perfect their routine and it certainly
showed with this string of success. The squad has just one senior
(Ashleigh Cancela), and while she is a brilliant and talented cheerleader, the
future is extremely bright. The team will be appearing on WATD 95.9 FM
today (Sunday 4/6) at 5pm, will be
recognized at the school committee meeting this Wednesday night and will be
visiting the state house as a guest of Josh Cutler during April vacation.
On a related note, a parent
joked to me at the lacrosse game the other day that he has to pay a user fee
yet our cheerleaders get to travel to Florida. I know he was kidding, but
it made me realize that we should make sure everyone knows that every student
who travels at Whitman-Hanson pays their own way and works to bring the trip to
reality. Whether it’s cheerleading,
boys basketball, the spring trip to Europe by the high school student group in
a couple of weeks or any other group that
decides to travel, the district and the taxpayers do not pay any of the
costs. A lot of sacrifice and work goes into make these trips work.
The cheerleaders and their parents began saving and fundraising last April to
make sure they could make this happen.
And now to our spring
update. This is the place where the athletic director is supposed to
complain about the weather (and yes it has been a rough spring) but I have a
hard time doing that with the way our coaches and kids have adapted to their
situation. That is a sure sign of a winning attitude!
1) The girls lacrosse game has shown a lot of firepower in
the early going jumping out to a 3-0 record and scoring 54 goals in the
process. New Coach Dave Rowell, who is a science teacher at the high
school, has done a great job in getting the team ready. Senior captain
Steph Warn has 15 goals in the first 3 games while Steph Hyslip has 11.
The girls are home Tuesday and Thursday against Hanover and Silver Lake.
2) The boys lacrosse team is also off to a fast start under
new head coach Rob White as the Panthers have won all 3 games and boy has it
been exciting with 2 one goal victories. After beating Hull in the
opener, the Panthers rallied from a 3 goal deficit with 5 minutes to play at
North Quincy to win it 9-8. Freshman Ryan Kennedy, who has been a force
on offense in the early going, joined senior captain Anthony Polito with hat
tricks. In the final win of the week, Kennedy and Polito teamed up again
with 2 apiece in a 7-6 win over Pembroke. The defense was
sensational in front of Jack Molito in net. Molito continues to improve
and has played very well in the early going this season. The boys are on
the road this week on Tuesday and Thursday as they travel to Hanover and Silver
Lake.
3) The softball team also got off to
a great start under their new head coach defeating East Bridgewater 7-2 at
home. Junior Pitcher Gabby DeLeon pitched a 3-hitter with 10 K's to earn the
win. Freshman DH Kelly Burke went 3-4 w 2 RBIs and 2 runs. Solid defense and 13
team hits were key for the Panthers. The team has a busy week ahead
as they travel to Quincy Monday, host Pembroke on Wednesday and travel to
Scituate on Thursday.
4) The baseball team played well on a frigid day on Cape Cod
but dropped a 4-3 decision to Barnstable, who scored the winning run on a
sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 7th. The kids showed great
competitiveness in the loss battling back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game on
2 run double from Evan Derochea (4-for-4). Cory Cochi also had 2 hits and
an RBI for the Panthers. The good news is this was what is called an exclusion
game, so although it does count as a loss, it does not count toward the teams
qualification for the state tournament.
5) The boys track season opened in fine fashion with a 74-62
win over Silver Lake in the debut of Mike Driscoll as the boys coach (he had
previously served as the girls coach). The meet was still in
question with 2 events left to run but the 2 mile team led by senior Brian
Sheppard (also won the mile) took first and second to secure the win.
Other winners included Blake Carpenter in the 400 hurdles, Pat Brett in the
800, Cole Berthelette in the javelin, Jacob Roumanos and Nick Smith in
the triple jump. The team travels to Hingham on Tuesday for one of the
biggest rivalries in the sport.
6) The girls track team didn’t fare as well against Silver Lake
dropping a 76-60 decision in the first meet for Jen Scarpelli as the new head
coach (she has previously served as an assistant coach). The girls
dominated the track portion of the meet but really struggled in the
field. Double winners on the day included Victoria Gately in the 400
hurdles and 110 hurdles and Sam Colletti in the 800 meter and mile.
Jordan Barley also won the 100 meter. The girls will also take on Hingham
on Tuesday.
7) The boys tennis team is off to a nice start with 2
wins in their first 3 matches. The Panther defeated Rockland on Friday
5-0,. 1st singles Dhru Patel won 6-3, 6-3; 2nd singles Garrett McSweeney won
6-2, 6-4; 3rd singles Ryan Kelly won 6-0, 6-0; 1st doubles Kevin Sheehan and
Stefano Trossarello won 6-3, 6-3 and second doubles won 6-1, 6-2. The
team also defeated Spellman on Thursday, 4-1. Second singles Dhru Patel
won 6-0, 6-0; third singles Ryan Kelly won 6-3, 6-3; first doubles Thomas Heine
and mike Pizzi won 6-1, 6-0; and second doubles John Muha and Sam Perkins won
6-0, 6-1. The boys host Quincy on Monday.
8) The girls tennis team is off to a slow start
dropping their first two matches but they have showed steady improvement under
first year head coach Sue Sookiasian, who is also the Emerson College head
coach. The second doubles of seniors Abby Benvie and Erin Doherty took
the only point for the panthers in the 4-1 loss to Spellman. The girls
begin league play at Quincy on Monday.
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