UPDATE FROM WH ATHLETICS

Its been a cold winter, but our athletic teams have been red hot in the early part of the season.  Here is the latest from WH Athletics.

1)    Our wrestling team just returned from a trip to Disney World where they competed in the KSA tournament.  While they went just 2 and 4 overall, they competed at a high level with many close matches and outstanding performances.  More importantly than that, the team created memories that will last a lifetime.  Just like with every athletic trip with any of our teams, the players, coaches and parents worked tirelessly to raise the money to make this trip a reality.  Whitman-Hanson never spends any school money on any athletic team travel out of state.  Part of the benefit of trips like this is actually the process of working toward such a terrific team goal.  Our wrestling team is really a special group – this includes everyone associated with the program.  Yesterday we hosted the Panther Wrestling Invitational with more than 14 schools attending and the Panthers turned in an outstanding team performance earning 3^rd place.  Senior Garrett McSweeney advanced to the finals and captured second place in his weight class. The parents volunteered to run the concession stand and even helped the coaches with setup and cleanup.  The players and coaches did a great job in organizing the event and getting all of the mats and equipment necessary for this Panther tradition.  The team returns to league play Tuesday night when they host Quincy at 7pm.

2)    The boys and girls track team competed at Boston University on Wednesday.  The Girls team posted a decisive win over Duxbury High School 69-21 Samantha Coletti ran the State's fastest 1000 of the year, winning with a time of 2:54.48.  Alexandra Santos placed first in the 55M and the 300M (42.4) Dash along with the Long Jump.  It was Kelsey Tierney in the Mile (5:43) and Caroline Mulrey in the 2 Mile (12:19) for the Panthers.  And Olivia Reed scored in four events (300M, High Jump, Long Jump, and 4 x 200.). The girls take on Plymouth North Wednesday at 5:30pm at the Reggie Lewis Center.

3)    The Boys track team beat Duxbury, 61- 39. Whitman Hanson was led by Captains Nick Haley and Pat Brett, Nick won the 55 Dash and 300 meters, Pat was victorious in the mile and 2 mile. Other winners for the Panthers Blake Carpenter in the hurdles, Brian Edwards High Jump, Jayson Keenan 1000, Jack Ryan 600 and Matt Evans in the shot put. The boys had 19 personal bests on the night, this makes it two wins in a row.  The boys take on Plymouth North Wednesday at 5:30pm at the Reggie Lewis Center.

4)    The girls swim  team beat Hanover, 90-76 while not scoring in the last 4 events because of the lead they had built early.   Lauren Bonavita took first in the 100 back with a best time of 1:16.74.  Abby Bailey took 1st in the 50 Free with a time of 27.83 Lexie Sangleer took first in the 500 free with a best time of 7:10.47.  The girls have two big meets next week hosting North Quincy on Tuesday and Silver Lake on Thursday.

5)    The girls basketball team played two tough games this week and split a pair of league games. On Tuesday they became the first team  to beat Pembroke this year with a 49-42 victory.  Eight different Panthers scored including Erin Clifford and Taylor McVeigh who combined for 19 points and 17 rebounds. Unfortunately, on Friday night Hingham broke open a 2 point game with 4 minutes left and pulled away to beat the Panthers, 51-38.  The WH girls are 4-3 overall and 2 and 2 in the league.  The girls are on the road Monday (North Quincy), Wednesday (Quincy) and Friday (Plymouth North) this week.

6)    The boys basketball team recorded two road wins this week defeating both Pembroke and Hingham.  Junior captain Nick Smith scored 14 of his game high 23 points to lead Whitman-Hanson to a 73-58 win over Pembroke on Tuesday. Junior Mitchell Kinney posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Junior Josh Rice chipped in with 11. On Friday, Junior Brenndan Rogers scored 15 of his game high 18 points to lift the Panthers to a 56-44 win at Hingham. Josh Rice added 16 for the Panthers to improve to 6-1, 5-0. The boys are home Monday (North Quincy), Wednesday (Quincy) and Friday (Plymouth North) this week.

7)    Boys Hockey had a light week this week, enjoying the bye on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, they dropped  a 7 to 2 decision at home to Plymouth South.  Alex Uva and jared Pendrak recorded the goals.  The boys are back in action on Wednesday at home against Silver Lake at 8pm.

8)    The girls hockey team had a tough week dropping two games.  They lost to Marshfield on Thursday 5 to 2 and then saw a 1-0 lead disappear in the third period on Saturday to lose to Norwell 3-1.  The girls play a rare Tuesday game at King Philip on Tuesday at 5:45pm.

9)    Our cheerleaders are working hard to get ready for their trip to Dallas in a couple of weeks for Nationals.  Be sure to catch some of their routine at the boys basketball games this week.  Although details have not be released yet on exactly what they will be doing, there are plans for a showcase on Tuesday 1/20 here at WH.  We will post info on this soon.