Nine Belmont Runners Break 3 Hours At ’22 BAA Marathon As Brownsberger Tells His Day At The Race

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Photo: This was the 126th Boston Athletic Assocation’s marathon held on Patriots’ Day.

While he may have felt he was living in a Jackson Browne song, Belmont’s Will Brownsberger did himself proud Monday at the 126th Boston Athletic Association’s Marathon even though came in on fumes.

Having last run the annual 26.2 mile race 17 years ago, the veteran legislator was hoping to keep the same pace at 65 as he had at 48. And for 22 miles – having climbed over the four Newton Hills including the devilish last one named Heartbreak – he was holding his own until Father Time met him at the race’s last downhill plunge into Coolidge Corner and climbed on his back for the final stretch.

“My tank was so empty at the finish line that the short walk to the Public Garden to meet my wife felt longer than the race,” he said. You can read about Brownsberger’s day racing to Boston at his website here.

While the long-time state senator and resident completed his race running on empty in 3 hours, 51 minutes and 58 second, Brownsberger placed a very credible 111th of 611 in his men’s 65-69 age category.

Over all, 35 Belmontians started in Hopkinton and completed the 26.2 mile race in Boston’s Copley Square on Monday, April 18. And it was a fast bunch as nine – a quarter of those who finished – crossed the finish line in under three hours. Leading the way for the men was Somerville Evan Vadenais in 2 hours, 37 minutes and 22 seconds

Also rocking his division was Tony Luongo who placed 112th from 2,985 in the male 50-54 group in a time of 2:59:42.

Tops for the 13 women residents running Monday was Belmont’s premier marathoner Becca Pizzi coming in under three and a half hours in 3:29:37, followed by Laurie Nahigian in 3:38:00.

Name ”chip” time
Emily Anderson5:54:58
Sam Belcher2:51:20
Katie Brace3:50:55
Charlie Brodigam 4:34:43
Will Brownsberger3:51:58
Sarah Cote5:48:05
Lisa Engler 3:45:53
Estrella Garcia Griego 5:01:20
Douglas Hall2:55:58
Jenny Luongo 3:58:58
Tony Luongo2:59:42
David Marchefka2:59:27
William Marinell4:07:31
Maria Marques Samary4:29:23
Laurie Nahigian 3:38:00
Lulu November 5:15:36
Becca Pizzi 3:29:37
Alix Price5:45:45
Teresa Pulaski 4:36:44
Lixin Qin3:14:24
Doral Reynolds 2:55:42
Paul Roberts 3:58:26
Jeffrey Roth 3:17:52
Chris Sabo 4:10:41
Joseph Shaw3:04:03
David Somers4:29:36
Matt Swanson2:56:48
Matt Taylor2:58:54
Mike Thomas 4:14:06
Simone Tropeano4:06:17
Evan Vadenais 2:37:22
Peter Walker 5:51:17
Andrew Webster3:45:50
Yi Zhang 3:41:46
Cheng Zhong2:55:39

New York City Is Her Stage: Ellie Shea Captures Indoor 5K National Title During Record-Setting Weekend

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Photo: Belmont’s Ellie Shea set the second fastest indoor 5,000 meters by a high school student in history at the New Balance National Indoor Championships on Saturday, March 12.(Credit: John Nepolian, New Balance National Indoor)

One of the popular activities out-of-towners do in New York City is to head down to Broadway to take in a show.

This past weekend in NYC, Belmont’s Ellie Shea WAS the show. And the stage she starred on was The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center in upper Manhattan.

“Recognize this face?,” shouted the overexcited announcer introducing the Belmont High School sophomore before her third race in as many days at the New Balance National Indoor High School Championships held from March 11 to 13. “She’s back!”

Credit: John Nepolian

The Sunday afternoon race was the third time Ellie was racing at the premier high school competition, the only one of the top five runners in the race who ran more than just the mile. And despite running five miles on the boards over the first two days, all in world-class times for a 16-year-old, Shea did not disappoint when the gun went off.

In a dominating series of performances, Shea put her stamp on the national showcase indoor track meet:

  • On Saturday, Ellie destroyed a top-ranked field to win the 5,000 meters indoor title in 15 minutes, 49.47 seconds, a personal best by 20 seconds. She didn’t just break the previous 5K record ever run by a high schooler in the Amory, she took an baseball bat to it, lowering the existing mark by six seconds. She now holds the second best time by a high schooler in history. Shea is the current national 5,000 meter high school title-holder both indoors and outdoors. The race can be seen here: https://www.nbnationalsin.com/eprofile.php?event_id=1164&do=videos&video_id=323920
  • Friday, Shea finished second to Texas senior Natalie Cook – who won the Eastbay National Cross Country Championship in December – in the two mile. Her time of 9:49.2 broke Olympic bronze medalist Lynn Jennings’ Massachusetts record from 1978 by 18 seconds and Katelyn Touhy’s sophomore national record by 6 seconds. Her “enroute” 3,000 meter time – runners are clocked passing that distance during the two mile – of 9:13.4 was just above her PR of 9:08.54 set at Boston University in February. Shea is currently the world’s second fastest female under 18 years old in the indoors 3,000 and fourth in the 1,500, according to the iaaf.
  • In her final race, Shea finished fourth in the mile in 4:41 flat nearly catching senior Riley Steward of Colorado who out leaned the on rushing 16 year old. Her enroute mark for the classic 1,500 meter distance was 4:22.9. She ran her PR of 4:21.42 in the Boston University race where she set her mile best of 4:40.01.

In an interview after her record-breaking 5,000, Shea said her personal goal coming to the meet was “to get as many learning experiences as possible, to race a bunch of different events from 800 [meters] all the way to 5K. And I’m happy that I’ve now pretty much done all the events.”

Belmont Boys’ Hockey Falls To Xaverian, 2-1, As Season, Playoff Run Ends

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Photo: Belmont High sophomore Michael Pomer on the attack against Xaverian in the quarterfinals of the 2022 MIAA Division 1 ice hockey tournament.

The playoff run for Belmont High’s boys’ ice hockey squad ended on a dreary Saturday afternoon in far off Attleboro.

The defense and goaltending that gave up just 25 goals in 22 games was keeping Belmont High in its Division 1 boys’ hockey quarterfinals with Xaverian Brothers High. The Hawks relentless offense and clear shots should have given the opponent more than a single goal deep in the third period but for senior standout goaltender Ryan Griffin who stopped 43 of 44 shots late in the stanza.

Yet in the end, the consistent pressure the Hawks applied in Belmont’s end of the ice foretold the playoff game’s outcome as the Hawks’ senior forward Max Lockwood steered in an in-close rebound on his team’s 45th shot on net with just under four minutes remaining to seal a 2-1 victory over Belmont, sending the Xaverian (19-3-1) into the state semifinals where they meet Arlington on Tuesday, March 15.

Belmont ends the season at 19-2-3 with the program’s second deep playoff run in as many tournaments.

“Great season, great game. We played our usual game, we weren’t going to deviate from that,” said Belmont’s first year head coach Tim Foley postgame. “We have to strike when the opportunity presents itself. We had a couple of chances but didn’t really capitalize on them.”

Belmont High’s senior Matty Rowen and Xaverian’s Max Lockwood face off in the first period of the quarterfinal of the 2022 MIAA Division 1 Boys’ Ice Hockey championships in Attleboro.

“We had nothing left on the bench when this game was over which is all you can ask for,” he said.

Belmont fans and student supporters – bused to the game thanks to a donated bus paid for by Lynn Findlay Homes – hoofed the 80-mile round trip to Attleboro to provide a true playoff experience for the Marauders who were very much the away team.

As they had done all year, Belmont “wanted to jump on them right from the start” said Foley to grab an early lead. With the drop of the puck, Belmont skated by the Xaverian defense and just missed going up in the first 10 seconds as a shot deflected just beyond junior Cam Fici’s reach at the doorstep.

On the other end, the Hawks’ came out banging, looking to sit any Marauder with the puck onto the ice. The Hawks’ game plan was to spread out its forwards and breakout with long “stretch” passes or solo carry the puck deep into Belmont’s defensive zone, somewhat negating the Marauders defensive set up on blocking passing lanes and winning the stick-on-stick battles.

“We knew that was coming and and think we were successful most of the game. But they really dug in and played their game,” said Foley.

Xaverian broke through midway into the first on a text book passing play had the Marauder defense somewhat static leaving junior first liner Joe DiMartino wide-open in front to beat Griffin.

The Marauders spent most of the second watching Xaverian control the puck deep in the Belmont end as Griffin made a series of one-on-one saves. As the clock ticked down to the end of the period, that one opportunity the Marauders were hoping for opened and they took advantage.

Belmont High before the game vs Xaverian in the 2022 MIAA Div. 1 boy’s hockey tournament.

While on the penalty kill, junior defender Joe Gaziano sent junior Shay Donahue and Fici away on a two-on-two break. With both Xaverian defenders preoccupied by Fici – who scored 35 goals in the season – Donahue shot from the left slot was blocked but landing back down on his stick. The junior would not miss from six feet away knotting up match at one with two minutes remaining.

While reminiscent of Marco Santagati’s shorthand goal in Belmont’s 2020 Division 1 semi-final classic vs St. John’s (Shrewsbury) tying that game late, the Marauders could not capitalize on the change of momentum that included a power play that stretched into the third.

Soon Griffin was under assault as the Hawks would station a player at the top of the crease to bang away at every advantage. The stubborn Belmont defense led by Gaziano and junior Peter Grace finally cracked when Lockwood scored from right of the goal with just under three minutes to play. With Griffin pulled, Belmont could only send a few long distance testers at senior goaltender Brendan Flanagan as the horn sounded.

Speaking to his team after the game, Foley told the senior class they “have a lot to be proud of … and had nothing to be ashamed of the way they played and competed in every single game of this season.”

“I know going forward in life, I have no worries that’s any of them rate going to be anything but a success because of the way they performed on the ice and conducted themselves with class everywhere they went,” he said.

Day after the quarterfinals, Belmont High team mates surround Cam Fici after he was recognized by Belmont Youth Hockey for his dedication to learn to skate instruction.

Griffin Leads Belmont Boys’ Hockey Into D1 Quarterfinals With 3-1 Victory Over Marshfield

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Photo: Belmont High Senior Ryan Griffin in action.

A good goalie will keep a team in the game. A great goalie will lead it to a championship.

On Wednesday afternoon, March 9, Belmont High senior goaltender and co-capt.Ryan Griffin demonstrated once again the elevated level of first-rate quality and coolness under pressure which is the backbone of Belmont’s season in leading the Marauders’ past Marshfield, 3-1, in the “sweet sixteen” round of the MIAA State Division 1 playoffs.

“Ryan Griffin just stood tall today,” said said Tim Foley, Belmont’s first year head coach after the “home” game played in Woburn [The “Skip,” Belmont’s home rink, was considered too small to accommodate supporters and students from both schools].

“[Ryan] just works hard,” said Foley. “He’s focused. He’s a guy that we know is back there. And he’s a momentum breaker. I’ve been saying this all year; teams come in and try to break him and they haven’t been able to.”

“My defense does a great job of getting guys coming to the net,” Griffin said postgame. “So I knew that if I could just make the first save, they could clear them out.”

The victory sends the 7th-ranked Marauders’ (18-1-3) into the Elite Eight quarterfinals against second-seed Xaverian Brothers High School (18-3-1). The game will take place at New England Sports Village in Attleboro, on Saturday, March 12 at 2 p.m. Only online tickets will be accepted. Tickets can be ordered at gofer.co

The matinee contest started with Belmont’s stellar defense – giving up 25 goals in 22 games – not allowing the motivated, if not as technically adept, Rams to establish a cohesive offense while the Belmont attack, fronted by the first line of senior Matty Rowen and juniors Shay Donahue and Cam Fici, forced Marshfield to focus all its attention on trying to hamper Belmont’s high scoring trio.

While looking dangerous early one, it was only a matter of time before Belmont struck first when Rowen swept a blocked shot past a surprised Brady Quackenbush, Marshfield’s junior goaltender.

By the second 15 minutes, Marshfield upped the tempo in an attempt to out hustle the Marauders which they did with ever greater success. Led by the Rams’ man-of-the-match sophomore Tommy Carroll, Marshfield took the game to the Marauders. By the end of the period, Belmont was finding opening for the counter coming off its defensive scheme. Yet it was Marshfield who nearly found an opening late in the period but Griffen stoned the Rams’ Cam McGettrick who saw his open net attempt blocked away by Belmont’s senior net-minder.

Marshfield took advantage early in the final stanza of an interference call by scoring on the man advantage when a puck ping-ponged off a skate and the post to be knocked in by senior Colleen Doyle to tie it early in the third. With the Marshfield supporters – many wearing yellow safety vests – in high sprits, the Rams began flooding zone with attackers with the promise of taking the lead. But again Griffin was not to be beat from distance or when the scrum packed the crease.

But an unusual outcome from an attempted clearing pass from deep in the Marshfield end would result in the game winner for Belmont. A defender’s lofting shot hit one of the banners hanging over center ice resulting in a face-off in the Rams’ zone. Rowen won the face-off and, bang-bang, Donahue slipped it by Quackenbush from the slot to recapture the lead, 2-1.

“When an opponent gets a face-off in their own zone … we try to make the team pay for that,” said Foley. “We want to make sure we take advantage of every offensive end face-off because we know we have Griffin in the net.”

Soon after the goal, Belmont benefited from a Rams’ roughing call on Fici and the subsequent power play. After the conclusion of the man advantage, Belmont’s defense rose to the occasion. For the remainder of the seven minutes of the game, the Marauders essentially playing pitch and catch with the Rams, intercepting passes and stealing pucks off the sticks and dumping it back into the Marshfield zone.

For the third game running, Belmont faced a team willing to gamble on pulling their goalie. And the Marauders made them pay as Fici sent a long distance volley into the back of the net for the 3-1 final.

“We weren’t playing as well as we have been but they just find a way to win. I don’t know how but we do,” said Foley. “We are looking forward to the game Saturday. We’ll go down there and we’ll compete as hard as we can and well see what end up.”

Belmont High Hockey Throws Off Natick, 3-0, In First Round of Div. 1 State Playoffs

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Photo: Belmont High senior Matt Rowen scores the game’s first goal off a Tim Cushing rebound as Belmont defeated Natick, 3-0, in the first round of the MIAA Div. 1 state hockey championship Friday, March 4

The 800 fans who stuffed themselves into the ancient forum known as “The Skip” Friday night, March 4, had the opportunity to witness the quintessential “Belmont” game played by the High School Boys Ice Hockey during the successful 2021-22 season.

In its 3-0 home shutout over Natick High in the first round of 32 in the MIAA Division 1 state tournament, the Marauders demonstrated the three elements that produced a 17-1-3 record: solid goaltending from senior Ryan Griffin, a defensive scheme based on frustrating and tiring opponents with an attack that can strike anywhere inside the blue line.

A physical game, for sure.

“We’ve established this year an identity and that we’re a defensive team that strikes when the opportunity presents itself and that we did tonight,” said first-year head coach Tim Foley.

Belmont set the tone of the game scoring within the first two minutes of the puck being dropped when four Red Hawk skaters playing a high line defense lost senior forward Matty Rowen who drifted behind them and lifted an in-close rebound by Natick senior goalie Tim Cushing with 13:03 on clock.

“It’s always important in the playoffs to strike first, you don’t want to be playing from behind and trying to catch up to the team,” said Foley. “You’ve got to get out in front, you got to make that push early on.”

For the remainder of the first, Belmont’s defense – which has surrendered a mere 24 goals in 22 games – took the play from the Red Hawks by thawing its attempts to establish any cohesive tactics by forcing Natick to fight for the puck along the boards while blocking the rare centering passes.

Belmont High’s Joe Gaziano (left) covers Natick’s top goal scorer freshman Sam Hubbard as Belmont’s Ryan Griffin guards the net during a second period Natick power play. Host Belmont defeated Natick, 3-0, in the first round of the MIAA Div. 1 playoffs.

While Friday demonstrated Belmont’s three tier team approach to victory, sophomore forward Matt Pomer was a presence on all corners of the rink. On several occasions in the second and third period he was a handful for Red Hawk defenders around the net, nearly scoring on a solo rush from behind the net. On the first penalty kill, he out-muscled Natick’s leading scorer Matt Haskell and striped the puck early in the second period.

“Mattie is a very good player who is very steady and plays hard,” said Foley of his second line forward. “We knew that Natick was going to come with a physical plan and that’s Mattie Pomer’s game. He loves the physical part of the game, taking pucks away from people, hitting players with his shoulders down. He was in his office today.”

Belmont was at its strongest midway through the second as they squeezed the Red Hawks into their zone which produced Belmont second tally. With junior Shay Donahue screening Cushing, Fici deftly slotted the puck from his favorite left side circle into the back of the net to double Belmont’s advantage with 3:15 remaining. The goal was Fici’s 35th of the extended season.

“I told the team they have to get the pucks in deep, get pressure on the other team and that will get pucks to the net and hopefully in the net,” said Foley.

The Red Hawks entered the final 15 minutes on the front foot to get back into the match but Griffin held the fort as the Marauders’ defensive stalwarts – first pair of juniors Joe Gaziano and Peter Grace along with fellow junior Theo Martin, sophomores Adrien Gurung and Ryan Holloran, junior Henry Melanson and senior John Whouley – shut the door on any comeback.

A late interference call against the Marauders allowed Natick to pull Cushing with two-and-a- half minutes remaining, but the resulting two man advantaged could only produced a pair of long-range shots against Griffin. Down a man, Belmont sealed the victory when Grace picked up a loose puck and “waltzed” to the blue line to fill the empty net before falling on his back while attempting a rare goal celebration.

Belmont (18-1-3) will host 10th-ranked Marshfield High (which took down Lincoln/Sudbury Regional, 2-0, on a pair of goals in the final four minutes. Time and date to come.

“I know [Marshfield] … and they play hard, they play physical and they’re going to be tough to play against. But we have to rely on our attributes and our abilities and we’ll execute our game plan and hopefully, have another win,” said Foley.

Friday Night Is Alright! Belmont High Boys’ Hockey vs Natick In Div 1 First Round At 7 PM

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Photo: Belmont High junior Cam Fici being a nuisance against Catholic Memorial

After winning the Middlesex League Liberty title and recording a one-loss season, the 7th-ranked Belmont High School Boys’ Ice Hockey now heads into the post-season hosting 26-seed Natick High School in the opening round of 32 of the MIAA Division 1 tourney at ‘The Skip’ on Friday, March 4. The puck will be dropped at 7 p.m.

Tickets will be on sale at the door. Adult tickets are $10, student and senior tickets, $5. Come early, stay late.

(Lead by solid goaltending from senior Ryan Griffin and with one of the top defensive pairing in the state of juniors Peter Grace and Joe Gaziano, Belmont has held opponents to an eastern Massachusetts low 24 goals in 21 games. The defensive scheme established by first-year head coach Tim Foley is in large part the reason the team secured a 17-1-3 record playing in a league in which each team secured a placement in the playoffs.

Belmont’s offense is led by its first line of senior Marty Rowen and juniors Shay Donahue and scoring phenom Cam Fici who finished the season averaging more than a goal-and-a-half per game (34-10-44).

It’s no surprise the Boston Globe labeled the Marauders the “sleeper” of the tournament.

Natick from the Bay State Carey League comes in with a 10-9-3 record. They are led by a pair of forwards – freshman Sam Hubbard with 11 goals and senior Matt Haskell (7-18-25) – while the goaltending is shared by senior Timmy Cushing and freshman Jason Danahy who have a GAA of 1.80.

Don’t let the Redhawks’ near .500 record fool anyone; they tied (1-1) and lost by a single goal (3-2) against league rival Wellesley which beat Belmont for the Marauders’ only loss. Against other common opponents, both teams beat Franklin (2-0 by Natick, 4-0 by Belmont) while Natick lost to Catholic Memorial 4-0 and Belmont beat up on CM, 4-1.

Good News For Taxpayers And Tennis Players At New Winn Brook Court

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Photo: The Winn Brook courts will see a fifth court coming by the fall of 2022

The multitude of Belmont’s tennis players – including the Belmont High School squads – received good news on Monday, Feb. 28 when the Select Board heard the town finalized the contract for the construction of a new court at the Winn Brook Fields on Cross Street.

And taxpayers will feel good that the project will return nearly $50,000 to the town’s Community Preservation Committee.

Speaking before the Belmont Select Board, Department of Public Works Director Jay Marcotte said the project was approved for $190,000 at last year’s annual Town Meeting so the high school tennis program will have the minimum of five courts to play varsity matches. And after a request for proposal process beginning in January that attracted four bidders, Marcotte brought the board the low bid from Vermont Recreational Services of Monroe, NH to install the court and perimeter fencing after the end of the school year with ground being broken in July. The court will open in the fall.

“We will absolutely notify the neighborhood prior to construction going on,” said Marcotte.

Marcotte said Vermont is well known by the town as it installed the PQ courts off of Trapelo Road and did partial court work at Grove Street and Winn Brook.

And for taxpayers, Vermont Recreational’s bid is $139,991.

“This is great news and the price came in great which these days. The way construction costs have gone, I always expect then to be higher so the fact it’s lower is awesome,” said Chair Adam Dash as the board approved the low bid unanimously.

Belmont Boy’s Hockey Preps For Tourney Taking Down Top 5 Catholic Memorial; Natick High Next Up For Marauders

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Photo: Belmont High senior Matt Rowen (right) scores his second goal within two minutes in the second period giving the Marauders a lead they would not loss in beating Catholic Memorial, 4-1.

After the final whistle sounded in Belmont High Boys’ Ice Hockey statement-making 4-1 victory against Bay State powerhouse Catholic Memorial last Friday at the Skip, the players and coaches didn’t want to leave the ice. They hung around chest bumping, hugging, attempting a “snow” angel but mostly just skated around taking in the victory on what would likely be the final time playing on home ice.

In front of a packed Skip Viglorolo Skating Rink (the last time it was this full was almost two years to the night when Belmont beat up Braintree on its way to the 2020 co-state Div. 1 championship) Belmont buried two early chances then relied on its defensive system and strong goaltending by senior Ryan Griffin to defeat the second-ranked and Catholic League champions in what the Marauders’ hope is a harbinger of things to come in the state tournament.

The MIAA released the tournament schedule on Feb. 26 and 7th-ranked Belmont will take on the 26th-seed Natick High in the round of 32 sometime and somewhere still to be determined. [Editor’s note: An earlier edition stated information from the original MIAA Div. 1 tournament seeding with Belmont vs. Bishop Fenwick.]

“We just brought it tonight. From the beginning to the end, from buzzer to buzzer the players were hyped up by who we were playing and it showed,” said Tim Foley, who has led the Marauders to a 17-1-3 season in his first campaign as head coach.

“It was a great night for the town of Belmont and Belmont High School hockey,” he said.

Up against a big team which has used its size and speed on the wings to dominate opponents, Belmont relayed on its designed defense tactics that put a lock on CM’s ability to string passes in the Belmont zone while forcing most of the action along the boards. “We always talk to the defense: play poised, don’t panic. ‘You know how to play the position; stay between the opponent, keep your stick in the right place and you’ll be hard to beat’,” said Foley.

Midway through the contest, a CM coach implored his charges that “we have to win the puck battles. We are not winning the one-on-ones.” When told of CM’s concern on being unable to get the better of Belmont’s defenders, Foley pointed to the Marauders’ mindset.

“We have a good, quick fast team that plays with a high tempo and we just kept coming with pressure, kept clogging up the middle and kept frustrating them. The more we frustrated them, the more chances we got,” said Foley. “The players have worked hard all year with the stick work, keeping sticks in lanes and keeping the pucks on the outside. And that has been a big part of our success.”

During a fairly even opening stanza, a pair of tripping penalties by CM 30 seconds apart gave the hosts a two-man advantage and that’s all Belmont needed. Co-captain senior Matty Rowen grabbed a partially blocked shot from defender Peter Grace and with a snap shot stirred it by CM goalie Dom Walecka for a 1-0 lead at the 11:46 mark. Rowen doubled Belmont’s lead half a minute later, having lost the weak-side defender and scored off a pitch perfect pass from junior Cam Fici resulting in an open net tip in.

And the momentum continued despite a man down early in the second. Thirty seconds into the second period while on the penalty kill, a deft clearing pass found Fici speeding down the left wing on a two-on-two. With co-captain Shay Donahue occupying one defender and the other retreating into the slot, Fici waited for the slightest move by Walecka and fired a slap-shot past the helpless CM goalie.

While CM pressed on, the remainder of the nearly two periods would be a repetition of the visitors entering the Belmont zone and the Marauders taking procession and dumping it back to center ice. CM’s Ty Magliozzi put the Knights on the board with 10 minutes remaining in the third on the power play but they couldn’t come up with anything more imaginative to break Belmont’s D. A Fici open net finished off the Knights with two to play.

“That’s a very good team,” Foley said of CM. “I give credit to them and I wouldn’t want to play them in a four out of seven. But we got them tonight.”

Athletics: Coelho Takes D2 600 meters Crown; Shea Sets National Sophomore Indoor Mile Record

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Photo: Belmont High Senior Jackson Coelho (center) on the top step after winning the 600 meter sprint in the MIAA D2 state championships

Belmont High’s running star Jackson Coelho has been putting a number of explanation points onto his senior year. In November, Coelho led the Belmont High harriers to its best placement in a decade at the MIAA cross country championships (7th in Div. 1B) as he finished 6th. Earlier in the month, the captain won the competitive Middlesex League indoor title in the 600 meters.

And on Feb. 20, Coelho became a state champion winning the MIAA Division 2 600 meters at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston, hitting the tape in 1 minute, 24.18 seconds defeating prerace favorite Jack Determan of North Andover (1:24.75) and Middlesex League rival Aidan Sheehan from Arlington (1:25.08) who finished in third.

Coelho is not ready to end his indoor career just yet as he will head to the MIAA All-State Championship on Saturday, Feb. 26 where the top runners and field participants in the five divisions will compete.

Belmont’s freshman Dana Lehr (left)

Belmont saw additional outstanding performances Sunday. In the Girls’ kilometer, freshman Dana Lehr took nearly two seconds off her seeded time and finished in 3:09.99 to place 6th – Lehr doubled up with the 2-mile finishing 21st in 12:24.64 – while George Pomer prepped for the state pentathlon meet by taking 5th in the high jump with a height of 5-feet, 10-inches.

Other Marauders in the meet included Austin Lasseter (19.01.25) in the long jump, Jason Woo (7.08) and Maya Rodriquez-Clark (7.84) in the 55 meter prelims, Ailinn Capitani who took 20th in the mile (5:44.49) and Shanta Gardner doubling in the long jump (14.11) and the 55 meter hurdles prelim (10.31).

Shea Closing In On All-Time State Mile Mark

Belmont High sophomore Ellie Shea is within an eyelash of becoming the fastest-ever Massachusetts female high schooler to run the indoor mile as the talented athlete set a second national mark in her young career.

After demolishing the record for a freshman in the 5,000 meters outdoors this past June, Shea broke the national indoor mile sophomore record by more than three seconds in 4 minutes, 40,01 seconds at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational held at Boston University. Shea took eight-and-a-half seconds off her previous PB in the mile of 4:48.60 set a few weeks previously. Only nine American high schoolers have broken the 4:40 mark.

In addition to the new mile mark, Shea was timed at the 1500 meters in 4:21.42 which qualifies her to attend the USA Track and Field U20 (under 20) championships and the World U20 Championships in Cali, Columbia this August.

Shea is closing in on the all-time record in the indoor mile by a Massachusetts high schooler held by Lynn Jennings, the three-time World Cross Country champion and Olympic Bronze medalist, who ran a 4:39.0 as a senior in 1978.

Shea will next circle BU’s indoor track on Feb. 27 at the 2022 Boston University Last Chance Meet before deciding whether to finish the season at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Manhattan or the Nike NSAF Indoor Nationals on Staten Island both on March 11-13.

Scrappy Tie vs Woburn Leaves Belmont Boys’ Hockey Looking At Another Shared Championship

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Photo: Belmont Matty Rowen scored Belmont’s first goal vs Woburn

Despite an undefeated Middlesex League season secured with a come-from-behind 2-2 tie against host Woburn, it currently appears Belmont High Boys’ Ice Hockey will be looking forward to sharing yet another title.

Unlike the 2019-2020 Div. 1, state crown shared with Walpole when all MIAA finals were abruptly canceled at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic shut down that March, the likely sharing of the Middlesex League Liberty title with Arlington is due to what happened on the ice as Belmont finished the final stretch of the league season with a win and two ties seeing a pair of points go wanting.

While Belmont does hold the advantage in head-to-head matches against the SpyPonders (a 2-2 tie at home and a 6-2 whitewashing in Arlington earlier in the week), Arlington is expected to win its final League contests against Winchester and Woburn to finish equal 24 points with the Marauders. It will be Belmont’s first title – albeit with the SpyPonders – since 2003-4 and its third crown in program history.

“We showed up obviously a little bit too late to the game today. We didn’t really didn’t get into it until the third period,” said first-year Head Coach Tim Foley, who praised the Tanners for working “from the opening face-off to the last whistle.”

On paper, it looked like a match the Marauders (13-1-2) could secure the title outright against Woburn sitting at the tail end of the division at 8-4-3 coming into the game. But the Tanners have played well this year, losing three of its games by a goal and rated 17th in the Division 1 power rankings (Belmont is ranked 7th.)

“But like all games in the Middlesex Liberty, it was going to be hard-fought and we didn’t expect anything less,” said As each team in the division are in the top 22 ranked squads in the MIAA power rankings.

After controlling the first four minutes and change, Belmont found itself trailing 1-0 as junior Jackson Powers snapped the puck just to the side of Belmont goalie Ryan Griffith coming against the run of play. Afterward, the Marauders found space along the boards but could not connect with anyone near the crease, The second period began brightly with junior phenom Cam Fici clanging a blast off the crossbar after five minutes and nearly connected a minute later on a power wrap around that brought oohs and aahs from the crowd.

It appeared it was just a matter of time before the Marauders would knot up the contest when during a rush-up ice Powers got his brace as he buried a sitter past with 3:07 left in the period. The last time Belmont has trailed by two this season was in its only loss to Wellesley.

“Today there was a similar vibe in the locker room as we had against Wellesley, we just didn’t have a game mentality,” said Foley. “Maybe they don’t like morning games.”

What Belmont needed was a lifeline which it received early in the third with a power play. With Fici and senior first line Shay Donahue causing chaos in the zone, linemate co-captain Matty Rowen settled on the doorstep of the goal where he reached out to grab a pass and slide the puck off the left post to cut the deficit to one with 11:58 left.

As Woburn turned most of its focus on defending its advantage, Belmont pressed in the Tanners zone to squeeze the defenders and cut off passing lanes. And it would be a breakout that gave Belmont its breakthrough as Fici proved, once again, the junior co-captain is an absolute sniper with the puck on his stick. Coming into the offensive zone cradling the puck with a defender screening him, Fici launched – with one skate on the ice the other two feet off the surface – off of a screamer from beyond the right circle that snuck between Ryder’s stick and right pad and into the net with 6:13 remaining. The goal was Fici’s 32nd of the season.

“Fici being Fici,” as Foley has stated in the past.

The remainder of the third and during the five minutes, four-on-four overtime saw each team played with an abundance of caution, so much so that in OT Woburn sat on the puck behind its goal for 30 seconds with no initiative to break out until Belmont sent a forechecker to entice the action.

With the game settled, Foley said a goal at the beginning of the season was to win the division outright. “But there is no shame in sharing this [with Arlington]. The seniors have a lot to be proud of. I think we are in a good place going into the tournament.”

Belmont will finish the season with the main event matchup as the Marauders host perennial powerhouse Catholic Memorial High from West Roxbury for a battle between top ten programs in the state. The game takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18, if the ballywire and gum holding the Skip together doesn’t come apart.