WRESTLING
The St. John's Prep wrestling team came up just short in its bid for a Division 1 dual meet championship, but the Eagles didn't walk away from the season empty handed.
St. John's defeated West Springfield, 38-12, in the semifinals before losing to Methuen, 36-20, in the final last night at the Tsongas Arena.
Even with the loss, the Eagles set a new record for wins in a season with 36.
"It was a hell of a ride. What an exciting day," St. John's Prep (36-2) coach Manny Costa said.
St. John's got two wins each from Louis Bornstein (106 pounds), David Kou (170), Ian Butterbrodt (182) and James Ingemi (195), while heavyweight Corey Jean-Jacques went 1-0.
Rich Glazer (113), D.J. Lemeiux (120), Jared Costa (126), James Smith (138), Jaime Morey (145) and V.J. Mortilaro (152) each added one win.
Smith and Morey had back-to-back, momentum-changing pins in the Eagles' win over West Springfield.
"We really love dual meets," Costa said. "We didn't have much coming back this season, only fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place finishes in the sectional tournament (last year) and we graduated nine seniors. Everyone thought we'd be really down this season, but we put it together as a family unit. We were definitely built for dual meets."
GIRLS HOCKEY
Beverly clinches playoff berth: After yesterday's 4-3 win over Franklin, the Panthers (9-7-2) earned a spot in the Division 1 state tourney. Beverly generated its offensive over the final two periods as Nicole Kamens' goal in the third proved to be the game-winner.
The Panthers had previously fell to Westford Academy 3-1, on Saturday despite a fantastic outing from goaltender Jenna LoVaso (43 saves).
Westford Academy 5, Masconomet 1: Katrina Buchta finished a feed from Kendra Dow midway through the third period for Masco (9-7-4), but the Chieftains didn't have enough firepower to hang with Westford. Alex Jones stood out in net for Masco with 40 saves.
BOYS HOCKEY
Danvers 3, Haverhill 2: Junior captain Joe Strangie completed his hat trick with 4:10 to play, snapping a 2-2 tie and giving the Falcons (15-4) a berth in the Newburyport Bank Classic's Fournier Division on Thursday night. Junior wing A.J. Couto assisted on two of the goals while cousin Nick Strangie, a senior captain, also had an assist. Senior Seth Kamens stopped 15 shots for the win in goal, aided by the defensive work of Mike Disciullo, Sea Doyle, Ryan Cassidy and Nick Strangie.
NEWBURYPORT 4, BISHOP FENWICK 1: Despite getting a power play goal from Brian Barrett, the Crusaders fell to 2-14-2 on the year by falling in the first round of the Newburyport Bank Classic's Bresnahan Division. Fellow sophomore forward Brian Corcoran assisted on the goal for his first varsity point.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Peabody drops final two: The Tanners may have lost their final two games of the season at the Spartan Classic in Lynn, but that doesn't mean their season couldn't end on a high note. Sophomore center Carolyn Scacchi had back-to-back double-doubles, with 18 points and 16 rebounds against Billerica (57-50) Sunday and 10 points and 12 rebounds against Lynn English (44-34) yesterday. Senior captain Taylor Provost played well in the final three games for her club, including a 16-point night over Revere last Friday.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Chelmsford 80, Salem 76 (OT): Marvin Baez scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Christian Dunston contributed 19 points, five assists and five rebounds for Salem. The Witches led late in the fourth quarter, but couldn't close out the game and ended up losing in overtime. Taylor Norris added four points and seven rebounds for Salem (11-10).
Melrose 75, North Shore Tech/Essex AggiE 47: Junior guard Jordan Mendez of Salem had 18 points and Elijah Alfred, a junior center from Peabody had 14 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs lost in the first round of the Melrose Tournament.
GIRLS SWIMMING
Marblehead places third in Div. 2: With only six swimmers competing, the Magicians finished with an astounding 269 points, only 30 behind second-place Weston (which had 14 swimmers). Meghan Alexander had a pair of first-place finishes and earned All-American consideration in both: the 200 IM (2:04.96, a new school recored) and 500 free (4:59.00).
Ryan Alexander was second in the 100 backstroke (57.95), with teammates Sara Daher third (58.70, a PB) and Hannah Verrette fourth (1:08.60, also a PB). Verrette also set a new MHS mark by swimming to a second-place finish in the 100 free (52.77), while Daher was second in the 200 IM (2:08.35). Ryan Alexander (1:52.47, MHS record) and Toireasa Rafferty-Millett (6th, 1:54.26) earned points in the 200 free; Rafferty-Millett was fifth in the 100 fly (58.55, a PB) and Tyler Phillips was ninth in diving (342.90). Both Alexanders, Verrette and Daher were second in the 200 medley relay (1:49.44); Rafferty-Millett, the two Alexanders and Verrette took second in the 400 free relay (3:32.10, new MHS record); and Phillips, Sophie Zmetrovich, Daher and Rafferty-Millett finished fifth in the 200 free relay (1:43.26).
BOYS SWIMMING
St. John's Prep claims 7th straight title: The Eagles won all three relays, had a double winner in Peter Fallon and crushed the competition with 388 points to capture their seventh straight Division 1 boys title at Harvard University Saturday night. The 200 medley relay set a new meet record behind Aaron Athanas, Ryan Fortin, Alex Swaim and John Bateman (1:34.46). The winning 200 free relay team (1:27.87) consisted of Bateman, Brendan Sweeney, Swaim and Fallon, while the 400 free relay quartet Athanas, Bateman, Fallon and Fortin prevailed in a time of 3:12.05.
Fallon led the Prep's individual winners, taking top honors in both the 200 freestyle (1:44.07) and 500 free (4:41.94). Athanas was victorious in the 100 backstroke (51.51) and Swaim touched the wall second (53.16). Fortin repeated as champ in the 200 IM (1:53.27) and finished third in the 100 breast (57.64). Cole Malatesta finished second in the diving (413.85 points); Swaim was third in the 100 butterfly (52.96); Athanas placed third in the 100 free (47.20); and Bateman took fifth in the 50 free (21.75).
MARBLEHEAD TAKES 12TH IN DIVISION 2: With just four boys competing, the Magicians scored 83 points as a team. Harrison Rodts set a new school record in placing third in the 500 free (4:44.81) while making the YMCA National Cut time. He was also eighth in the 200 free (1:48.72). Charles Seltzer was fifth in the 100 breast (1:01.67) for his best time and another YMCA National Cut and scored another PB for himself by taking sixth in the 200 IM (2:01.11). The 200 medley relay team of of Seltzer, Austin Harshbarger, Ryan Hoey and Rodts set a new school record in 1:45.84, good for seventh place, as did the same foursome in the 200 free relay (1:35.63).
