Masco seventh-graders take championship for second year
On Sunday, March 9, the seventh-grade Masconomet Cape Ann Travel boys basketball team won the Cape Ann League championship game for the second year in a row.
Twelve-year old John Kanto of Boxford, a guard on the championship team, also won the seventh-grade Cape Ann free throw contest, beating out representatives from 12 other Cape Ann teams.
The Masco seventh-graders beat a very tough rival, North Reading, with a final score of 45-43, in the championship game, played at Hamilton-Wenham High School.
The Masco seventh-graders are coached by John Schleer and Don Van Lenten. Team members include John Kanto, Tighe Van Lenten, Brant Abraham, Rocky Hayden, Matthew Deorocki, Sean Antonuccio, Christopher Schleer, Alex Moore, Brian Reardon, Lucas Bavaro and Greg Jain.
Having won the free throw contest at the Cape Ann League championship, Kanto was also invited to participate in the Massachusetts State Free Throw Contest, which he also won.
Held the weekend of March 22 at Gordon College in Wenham, the free throw contest was part of the Massachusetts State Travel Championship.
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Fifth- and sixth-graders' "stingy defense" clinches championship
North Andover fifth- and sixth-graders on the Georgetown Hoyas went 12 and one this season in the North Andover Booster Club League. They won six games in a row, lost one, then won six in a row again. They played a competitive championship game against the league's UMASS team, winning 36-28 at the match, held recently at North Andover High School.
They won because of stingy defense, and had the fewest points allowed of all teams for the season, said Sebastian Patane, who coached the Hoyas along with Rodney Hollenbeck, Glen Hartford and Joe Robinson.
Team members include Charles Patane, Matthew Lisio, Rosario Missiti, Brendan Hartford, Sam Beninato, Erik Hollenbeck, Sam Dixon, Troy Hobbs, Matthew Robinson, Luke Pickard and Gabe Rosa.
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North Andover's Red Fury wins Salem State Soccer Jamboree
The North Andover U14 boys swept through the Salem State March Jamboree to capture the U14/U15 championship recently. The Red Fury played stingy defense and did not allow a goal during the one-day championship hosted by Salem State College.
Michael Moroney was a steady force as keeper, holding the Salem Strikers and Manchester Hurricanes scoreless in the preliminary rounds. Defensively, Zach Karalis, Greg MacArthur, Max Langlois, Dan McGarvey and Colby Smith solidified the back line, allowing very few quality scoring opportunities.
The Red Fury received exceptional midfield play from Al Yamin, Grant Bean, Brendan Varney, Alex Sullivan, Tyler McEachern and Darrien Myers. All the games were very tight and while the Fury carried play of possession, the difficult conditions made each scoring chance very important. Jason Kang and Eric Riedel provided strong outside middie play, providing a number of good connecting passes to the forwards.
As the Fury advanced to the finals, they faced a more experienced U15 squad from Manchester who they narrowly edged in the preliminaries. With just under 10 minutes left in a scoreless contest, Jay Marchand was dragged down in the penalty box, after eluding two defenders, setting up a penalty kick.
With a conversion on the penalty kick, the Fury had to hold back the onslaught from the desperate Hurricanes. Once again Karalis and MacArthur were nasty in the middle of the defense clearing the attack from the front of the net. The Red Fury open the regular season in early April in the Essex County Youth Soccer Association.
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ANA Synchers take bronze at Senior Zone Championships
The tiny town of Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania was the scene of some tough competition the weekend of March 15 as the ANA Synchers competed at the 2008 Senior Zone Championships. The Synchers rose to the challenge, with the senior team taking the bronze medal and the junior team placing in the top ten.
Amber Blum of North Andover competed with the Syncher's senior squad. Junior squad athletes included Rebecca Ely, Alison Ziel, Caitlyn McGregor, Laina Gray and Alice Rogers of North Andover.
MacGregor and Ziel placed lucky 13 with their duet routine.
The ANA Synchers are a regional synchronized swim program for swimmers age 6 through high school; they practice at the Lawrence and Andover/North Andover YMCA pools.
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Shoot-out basketball aces announced
On Friday, March 7, the seventh annual Youth Basketball Shoot-out Contest was held to benefit the Masconomet High School Boys Basketball Program.
Held at the Masconomet Field House, about 100 youths in third- through eighth-grades competed for ribbons and trophies in the categories of foul shooting, three point shooting, around-the-key and race the clock. The overall boys and girls champions for each grade group were as follows:
Jack Hoyt and Morgan Whiton for third- and fourth-grades
Luke Fauci and Katherine Ripp for fifth- and sixth-grades
Brian Reardon and Brooke Stewart for seventh- and eighth-grades
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Massachusetts alpine racers compete at Gunstock Mountain
Massachusetts sent 36 prequalified racers to participate in the Francis Piche Invitational Championship at Gunstock March 14 and 15. North Andover skier Joey Cavallaro was a member of the team, which placed fourth out of eight states participating.
Cavallaro, who skies on the Bradford Ski Team, took eighth place in the J4 Boys race, earning an honorable mention.
This championship is a regional alpine ski race that invites top racers from Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Southern Alpine Race Association, which includes West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Approximately 300 racers competed in two runs of giant slalom. Massachusetts qualified 36 athletes for the event in age groups covering nine to fourteen years old back in February.
New Hampshire won the over all team event, New York state took second, while Massachusetts took fourth behind the state of Maine.
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Masco Squirt 1 makes history with state championship victory
Following an impressive display of offensive and defensive dominance, the Valley Hockey League squad captured the 2008 Massachusetts State Hockey Championship and became the first Masco Youth Hockey team to ever achieve such a feat. The team capped off its impressive championship run with a decisive 8-1 victory over South Boston.
The Masco Squirt 1 team has been enjoying a tremendous season as they have put together a 21-5-2 record to lead all teams in the Squirt White National Division. A berth into the State Championships seemed only appropriate since the team has challenged the best squirt teams in the region all season long.
With this year's State Championship being held at the Haverhill Valley Forum, the Masco Squirt 1's felt right at home. In a round-robin format, the team began its title quest in fine fashion with a 6-0 defeat of last year's large runner-up Nashoba and a 2-0 blanking of Wakefield. In a VHL battle against rival Lynn, Masco managed to pull out a 4-4 tie and earn the right to move on to the semifinal contest against Medfield. In its final two games of the championship, Masco outscored its opponents by an incredible 14-1 margin. The team capped off its title run with an 8-1 win against South Boston.
Heading into this year's championship, South Boston was the defending champion and had rarely lost in two years. South Boston won all four tournament games to reach the final against Masco.
"We knew how good the South Boston team was and felt before the game that we had to play our best game of the year and needed our goalie to keep us in the game," said Bruce Major, one of the team's coaches. "We scored nine seconds into the game and never looked back. We went up 3-0 early and were able to keep the lead. The end result is something that I would have never predicted. They have an exceptionally talented team."
That perseverance and team depth proved to be the winning formula against a field of teams from across the entire state. Every team competing in the championship won their district play down and was considered to be the best team in their respective region.
Players on the Masco Squirt 1 team are Jack Adams, Andrew Anzalone, Kyle Casey, Kelvin Cho, Nathan Cleary, Brendan Crowther, Jonathan Folsom, Dylan Goodwin, Cody Hesse, Nick Holt, Brandon Lafata, Michael Major, Anthony Mancini, Joseph Mazzochia, Ryan McElmon, Jake McKenelley, Gavin Monagle and Nicholas Puleio.
The team is coached by Mark Cameron, Brian Hesse, Bruce Major, Wayne McElmon and Anthony Puleio; team manager is Cheryl Puleio.
— Compiled by Staff Writer Bethany Bray
