Photo:Myles Heller-Baptista will represent the Chenery Middle School’s Soap Box Derby Club at the National championships in Akron, Ohio
While most Chenery Middle School students, the summer break is for going to camp, hanging out with friends at the pool, or traveling to neat places like Europe or the West Coast.
But for Myles Heller-Baptista, this summer week will see the 11-year-old Belmontian hurdling down a steep 300-meter-long hill in Akron, Ohio, at nearly 35 mph in an unpowered fiberglass box on wheels.
Welcome to the tradition known as the All-American Soap Box Derby.
In its 90th year, the competition brings the winners of races around the country and from several foreign nations to the Rubber Captial of the World in the center of the Buckeye state to determine which kid or teen can use gravity the most efficiently to beat nearly 500 competitors to the finish.
The competition – now known as the “Ultimate Speed Challenge” – consists of timed runs in each of three lanes down a 989-foot (301-meter) hill. The car and team that achieve the fastest single run – a tenth usually separates races and sometimes hundredths of a second – is declared the winner. The finals take place on Saturday, July 22.
The Chenery Middle School Soap Box Derby Club and their silverware after the regional meet in Arlington. Club advisor Leon Dyer in the back
The rising sixth grader at what will be known as the Chenery Upper Elementary School come September, Myles got involved in the club run by teacher Leon Dyer after his parents sought a Middle School club that he would be interested in.
Joining the Soap Box Derby Club was a perfect match because, as Myles noted, “I like racing.” What kind of racing? “Any kind of racing,” from watching cars on the track, playing racing video games, and downhill skiing with this family.
Because Myles is still new to the sport, it was decided he would compete in the first of three divisions, known as Stock, which is designed to give first-time builders – between ages 7 -13, and less than 125 pounds and 5’3″ – to compete in simplified cars built from kits.
The club helped make the car, and once Myles did a few training sessions at the Chenery – and, no, Myles didn’t go wheeling down Washington Street at any time to learn the sport – it became clear he was pretty good driving the fiberglass shell.
After several races, Myles and the Chenery team made it to the regional qualifier, including teams from Rhode Island and Connecticut, held in Arlington on very steep Eastern Avenue near the Park Circle Water Tower. The racers took off at the top of the street ending at the Brackett Elementary School by the Robbins Farm Park.
In the double-elimination format, Myles raced against eight Stock entries and lost his first one, moving him into the losers bracket, which meant he would be out if he lost another race. But despite that disadvantage, Myles just kept winning and moved into the regional finals, where he beat the other undefeated finalist twice to win the title.
The Chenery team had some great results in the Super Stock race:
2nd Place – Sophia Shen
3rd Place – Paul Dulude
4th Place – Billy Loftus
5th Place – Mark Anderson
6th Place – Amalia Muller
Race day at the Arlington Soap Box Derby, June 2023
“Once I won that last race, I was happy because I knew I would go to a national race,” said Miles. And the week will be a family affair, with Miles’ family coming with relatives possibly showing up. Dyer – who runs a summer camp – will try to be there for at least one race.
Since the regional win, Dyer and Miles have been fine-tuning the car “a little bit” for the race and training like any of his previous races.
“Everything [Miles] did before; he’ll just continue to do that because he’s prepared. He’s ready,” said Dyer.
Photo:Belmont Ellie Shea doing what Ellie Shea does: winthe 3000-meterat the U20 Nationals
An hour after running away from the field to win the 1500 meters national title, Belmont’s Ellie Shea decided, why not add the 3000-meter crown to her weekend trip to Eugene, Oregon?
Ten minutes later, the 17-year-old raising Belmont High School senior held off a former teammate and will be coming home with a pair of national titles in an impressive 60 minutes of racing at the 2023 USATF U20 Outdoor National Championships on Sunday, July 9.
The Emerging Elite Club runner is one of only three double winners at the US Outdoor Nationals, along with JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, who won the heptathlon and high jump, and Christian Miller, who took the sprint double, winning the men’s 100 and 200.
With the victory in the 1500 meters, Shea qualifies to represent the US in the upcoming Pan American U20 Championships held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Aug. 4-6. If she competes, it will be the second time Shea will represent the USA on the international stage, having been a member of the U20 women’s team at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in February, coming home from Australia with a bronze medal.
Shea started her week on Thursday, July 6, running with the pros in the first heat of the Women’s National 1500 meters, a race – which included 800 meters world champion Athing Mu – the recent 11th grader led through 800 meters. But the field soon showed its class in the final 300 meters as Ellie finished 11th in 4:20.99.
While Shea was scheduled to run four events, she finally took to the track at Hayward Field in the 1500 meters against two newly-minted champions, Angelina Napoleon (3000-meter steeplechase) and Sophia Gorriaran (800 meters) from the Moses Brown School in RI. But it wasn’t a race as it followed the leader with Shea out in front from the start, stretching her lead to five seconds at the midway point over Gorriaran and Napoleon. Shea maintained her 30-meter lead until the final 300 when Harvard commit Gorriaran used her outstanding sprint speed to eat into the lead but came up short as Shea broke the tape in 4:19:58.
About an hour later, Shea would change tactics and tuck into the lead pack in the 3000 meters, which included University of Michigan’s Rylee Tolson and Zariel Macchia, a rising high school junior from New York who was Shea’s teammate on the history-making US team at the World Cross Country Championships.
With 600 meters remaining, Tolson upped the tempo. In the curve after the bell, Shea passed on the outside and held off the collegian coming off the backstretch. With Tolson fading, Macchia charged down the final straight, cutting into Shea’s lead with every stride but could not catch the Belmontian, who finished in 9:46.56 to win by a second.
As one of the commentators on the USATF.TV webcast said about Shea on Sunday: “That is a long day but a good one.”
Photo: Belmont High student and Emerging Elite athlete Ellie Shea (Credit: Sage Zipeto, Brooks PRI)
Two young Belmont track runners – one already well-established and the other a newcomer breaking into the spotlight – came home with silverware over the same distance captured at separate national competitions earlier this month.
And this coming weekend, Ellie Shea and Dana Lehr could be competing against each other for the first time at the National Championships for athletes under 20 years old.
Shea continues her impressive track results, winning the two-mile at the annual Brooks PR Invitational (PRI) on June 14. Toeing the line against a deep field of speedy athletes, Shea was at the top of her game having smashed her PR in the mile two weeks earlier with a 4 minute, 37.22 second, the fastest mile ever by a Massachusetts high schooler (although it is not an official record as it was set in a mixed gender race).
Unlike some of her previous distance races where she would run away from the competition, Shea – wearing her trademark cobalt-blue sunglasses – would have all she could handle with a familiar opponent, senior Leah Stephens from Maryland (they battled each other at the Champs National Cross Country Championships in December) who ran shoulder to shoulder with the Emerging Elite athlete as they were running steady laps.
On the final of eight laps, Shea and Stephens were stride for stride as the Florida State-bound runner held off Shea on the final corner. But at the head of the home stretch, Shea increased the pace to pass Stephens breaking the finishing tape in 9:53.36 to be the fastest high school two-miler in the US this year.
Unlike the past two years, Shea would skip racing at the annual Nike Outdoor Nationals for high school student in Eugene, Oregon that weekend, leaving the stage to her Emerging Elite teammate Lehr.
At the New Balance National Outdoor Championships in Philadelphia, the Belmont High 10th grader ran in the Rising Star meet, highlighting the nation’s up-and-coming tracksters on June 14. Running in the first of two heats at the historic Franklin Field track, Lehr would benefit from the brave pace setting of junior Reece Landis of Ohio. Almost from the start, the race was a three runner affair with Landis out front followed by Lehr and junior Maggie Powers from Indiana in that order.
Landis would slowly stretch her lead in the second mile where a the bell lap she appeared to have shed her pursuers with nearly a 10 meters lead. But Lehr would erase the 1.2 second deficit using her impressive 800-meter speed – she won the MIAA Division 2 title in May – to marshal a 74 second final lap to take the heat in 10:41.59, winning by five seconds over Landis as the Belmontian lowering her 2-mile PR by a minute and five seconds since February. And when the second heat developed into a tactical contest, Lehr’s time stood up to take the title.
After winning her contest, Lehr decided – why not – to jump into the Championship Mile, placing 6th in her heat and 33rd overall in 4:57.88, just a second off her PR.
With her time, Lehr made the qualifying time for the 3000 and 5,000 meters at the USATF U20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene taking place on July 6-9. And with Shea also qualifying in the 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 meters – just a reminder: since it has been a very long season for both young women, there is no guarantee either will attend – it could be big couple of days for these residents.
Photo:Belmont High Girls’ Rugby Head Coach KateMcCabe getting drenched after Belmont won its fifth consecutive MIAA Division 1 state girls’ rugby title.
The Belmont High School’s rugby program duplicated last year’s achievement as the Boys’ and Girls’ squads returned home to Belmont with a pair of Division 1 state championships in games played Sunday morning and afternoon on June 18 at Curry College.
Boys’ Back Line Leads The Way To Consecutive Championships
Win, return, repeat.
Belmont High Boys’ made it consecutive MIAA Division 1 state titles as the top-ranked Marauders defeated this season’s chief challenger, second-seed St. John’s Prep of Danvers, 24-14.
Belmont High finishes the season undefeated, 10-0, for the first time in the program’s 17-year history, which included three matches against out-of-state competition. The Marauders equals its traditional rival, Boston College High, with the most number of MIAA state titles with three.
“Day one of this season was, ‘Guys, you’re defending state champs, but that was last year’s team. This is a different team. We’ve won nothing,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Greg Bruce. That belief led to the team to adopt a “Zero, zero” mentality – which the team shouted out after every score by either team – which got the team grounded for the season.
Rather than viewing the score of individual games or an undefeated season as the measure of the team’s success, “they just wanted to come out here to play their rugby and have one last opportunity to be together,” said Bruce.
The match’s first 20 minutes was the expected heavyweight bout of hard tackling with no quarter given between programs that acknowledge a level of “bad blood” between the two. “[Chirpy] on the field and from the stands,” according to a Belmont coach.
“We knew they were going to be really physical, and they came out even more physical than we expected,” said Belmont High senior prop Asa Rosenmeier, a co-captain heading off to Brown, where he will play rugby. “We pride ourselves on our defense, so we took that challenge straight on.”
Playing without the senior inside center, co-captain, and the program’s all-time leading scorer Jake Cornelius who was injured in Belmont’s 49-14 semi-final victory over BC High, the Marauders stayed within their “game” of running at Preps’ front row led by the 6’5″, 280-pound Rosenmeier and keeping possession of the ball by controlling their rucks and winning the scrums.
After coming close in the first minute, Belmont struck first at the 17-minute mark as junior Number 8 Max Cornelius took a “tap and go” and snuck over the try line after being set up by a 30-meter run by senior outside center Ben Williams that put the ball inside the 10-meter mark. Junior inside center Stephen Hong – who moved into Jake Cornelius’ number 12 role on short notice – nailed the conversation despite the acute angle to stake the Marauders to a 7-0 lead.
“I was ready for this moment,” said Hong. “We got the ‘W’ so I’m pretty happy about my performance.”
It took just five minutes for the Marauders to add its second tally as Hong hopped by a defender and sprinted 40 meters to score after Rosenmeier stole a Prep pass to give Belmont the ball 35 meters from goal.
Prep got on the scoreboard through Luke Rinklin, the Eagles’ Man of the Match, when the junior fly-half quickly took the ball on a touch and go and weaved 30 meters unopposed to place Prep within one score of the lead, 12-7.
But Belmont would have the final word in the half as senior flanker Matt Doban broke two tackles in the last ten meters to lunge over the try line at the 35-minute mark to up the Marauders’ lead to 19-7 at intermission.
During the opening 15 minutes of the second half, Prep’s task was straightforward: Get an early try and keep the score tight over the final 20 minutes. And the Eagles attempted just that, possessing the ball 20 meters from the Belmont try line as they pressed the attack.
But Belmont’s hard-pressed defense would bend but not break. While the Marauders’ front row punished St. John’s Prep’s runners in the center of the field, it was Belmont’s young back six – Henry Thomas, Luke Wilgren, Hong, Williams, Myles Torres, and Wyatt Sclafani – who made up for their lack of size with speed and tackling prowess prevented Prep from breaching the defensive line including twice inside five meters of the goal line. And when Prep crossed the try zone seven minutes into the half, Hong and junior fly-half Thomas prevented the Prep player from grounding the ball, allowing sophomore full-back Torres to come in for the steal.
“We got down low around the breakdown and then fired up and hit them. You can’t be scared playing defense. That’s how we held them,” said Rosenmeier.
“We asked them to put out their best defensive performance of the year,” said Bruce after the game. “Even though the score might not be the lowest points we’ve given up, that was by far the best defensive performance.”
The Marauders’ victory was secured with one of the season’s flukiest tries. On their first venture into the Eagles’ territory 15 minutes into the half, as Belmont was kicking towards the touchline, a Prep player made what one MIAA official called “an extraordinary athletic play,” leaping for the ball three meters out of bounds to tap the ball back into play. But Belmont had two players covering the kick, and the ball bounced once straight into Wilgren’s arms, who walked over the try line in what the left wing said is “the easiest try I’ll ever score.”
With Belmont up 24-7 and time draining, St. Johns’ was looking to the always dangerous Rinklin to spark a final comeback. And when Prep scored through senior Ryan Albano’s three-meter run with 12 minutes remaining, the Eagles would only cross the midfield line with less than a minute to play. When the final whistle blew, the team received their medals, and Rosenmeier and Cornelius raised the trophy aloft.
Girls’ Dominating Win Results In Five-peat
Just one word describes the championship game and season for Belmont High Girls’ Rugby.
Supremacy.
Belmont pocketed its fifth consecutive MIAA state championship (completed in seven years), defeating a young Brookline High squad 59-0, placing a capstone on a 9-0 undefeated season.
“The team wanted to make a statement about defense, and I think they really came out in the first half and did what they needed to do,” said Head Coach Kate McCabe, who received a celebratory drenching at midfield.
Belmont was only threatened once in the season by a rapidly improving Weymouth squad in the Division 1 tournament semifinals. The Marauders fell behind 7-5 at Harris Field before scoring 26 unanswered points on four tries for a convincing 31-7 Final Four victory.
“The girls walked away from that semi-final match saying the defense and the spread that we were doing wasn’t enough. It really motivated them,” said McCabe.
Already without star Number 8, senior co-captain Val Detheux, on the pitch – lost to a knee injury suffered during the fall soccer campaign – Belmont would suffer a second blow when its all-around commanding presence, junior right flanker Alek Townsend, left the field with a knock to her knee in the first half. But the team didn’t miss a beat Sunday, as there was no loss of skill and talent with the substitutes who were sent in.
“Honestly, the privilege that I have with the depth of this bench is unbelievable,” said McCabe. “The ability to turn around and know exactly who you can put in and make a difference is amazing.”
In a game in which the weather changed by the minute – rain, sun, a dose of showers – Belmont began scoring in the first two minutes with a driving run from junior lock Rowan Dragon with the conversion from junior fly-half Lucy Kabrhel, – who went 7 of 9 in conversion attempts – as the team began a masterclass on all aspects of the game.
Brookline couldn’t string the passes needed to stretch the Marauder back line, forcing them inside where they could not make headway against a physical Belmont front. When the Warriors attempted to push the ball out wide, their runners would meet Townsend, who laid out several crushing tackles before she departed.
On offense, the Marauders were much stronger up front while Belmont’s passes, starting from senior scrum-half Shelby Ball, were quickly delivered and on the mark.
Belmont junior lock Sally Amer punched in Belmont’s second try at the 10-minute mark, followed by junior inside center Olivia Mann diving across the line at 19 minutes to give the Marauders a 21-0 lead at the half.
The Marauders’ junior full-back Mia Taylor finished the game early in the second half with two scores, including a 45-meter solo gallop and a 30-meter run around the edge.
“I was committed to finding the openings as I got the passes from my teammates,” said Taylor, who garnered a second-half hat trick. Taylor saw her sister, sophomore flanker Sadie score her try while senior prop Elise Conroy finished her career with a pair in the final minutes.
And for the fifth time, Belmont took home the state tournament winners trophy as an emotional Detheux raised the silverware with senior co-captain Number 8 Sage Tonomura-MacDonald in front of their ecstatic teammates.
Losing just a handful of senior starters from this year’s first 15, McCabe said the program is on track to continue its impressive championship run.
Photo: On to the Elite Eight for Belmont High Boys’ Tennis
While the score line might read Belmont High Boys’ Tennis pitching the 5-0 shutout of Marblehead High in the Sweet 16 of the MIAA Division 2 state tournament, for much of the day, the action at Belmont’s Winn Brook tennis courts resembled a street brawl.
“I called it a boxing match,” said Belmont Head Coach Dave Benson as the 8th-seeded Marauders (13-6) has reached the Elite Eight for consecutive years. “Some punches to the face, then back with some body blows, and finally some knockout punches. So it was an impressive showing against a really good Marblehead (16-4) team.”
The prize for its second shutout performance will be meeting the Division 2 number-one seed and 20-1 Duxbury on Saturday, June 10, at 5 p.m.
“That’s a fabulous opponent. We’re honored to play them, the first seed. I’ve got them circled on my draw,” said Alek Karagozyan, Belmont’s senior co-captain and the program’s talisman for the past three seasons. “I’m excited for what we have to offer them.”
In the match in which the top singles and doubles were forced to battle it out in their respective matches, the Marauders relied on its lower-tier players to provide the needed early edge in the contest. Third singles Julian Wong was having a grand ol’ time running the court with sophomore enthusiasm against his 10th-grader opponent.
“I just came in thinking I’m just gonna play my game and play how I know how to play,” said Wong, who won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. “I had some trouble in the first set, but after I figured out the weaknesses of his play, it helped me a lot.”
Second doubles, made up of youngsters Henry Moriarty and Soyam Pokharel were on the front foot the entire match, although it got a bit squirrely finishing off the first set as Pokharel’s serve went south. “I got a little bit nervous, but we won the set, and that’s what counts,” he said.
“Coach has been motivating us to stay strong no matter how close the game is. Always stay positive, play our game. I think we did pretty well today, and we capitalized at the end,” said Pokharel as he and Moriarty won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.
But for the top-line matches, it was anything but a romp as the three were more akin to the battles depicted in “Game of Thrones.” On the left side of the Winn Brook court, Belmont’s top two singles were in for grinders against tough opponents as they showed their contrasting styles on the court; Karagozyan’s street fighter persona with his emotions out there (“Oh my gosh!” “Come on!” followed by his trademark fist pump) while the quiet Osborn took a more Zen-like “living in the present moment” approach to his match.
Karagozyan’s Marblehead opponent forced Belmont 1 to generate nearly all the power strokes in rallies that averaged in the double digits as the two-setter lasted well more than 90 minutes.
“I used to play like that, so I know what kind of mental effect it has on an opponent, and I have to give full credit for really making me doubt myself a little bit sometimes,” said Karagozyan. “But I forced myself to put my head up, and convert my serve and my forehand under pressure.”
The cumulative impact of Karagozyan’s shot selection and power strokes beat down his Marblehead opponent as he collapsed with cramps in both legs at 5-3 in the second set. During a delay for treatment that lasted 20 minutes, Osborn quickly took his third set decider.
“It was tough because I could play a good point and he would hit like an insane shot. Then I’d play a bad shot, and he’d have a bad return. He just got kind of annoying to deal with because neither of us got into a rhyme,” said Osborn, who won 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. Karagozyan would win the two final points to take the W, 6-4, 6-3.
But it was first-doubles – comprised of Belmont’s two Bens: senior co-captain Packard and junior Trost – that earned the title “True Grit” for its marathon. The pair admitted their first set was “terrible,” with more unforced errors than you could find in an unforced error factory. “I was really kind of tense the first set, and it showed,” said Trost. After dropping the first set 3-6, the decision was made at the start of the second set to throw away the playbook and revert the match into a point-by-point grudge match.
“In all honesty, that second set, we just grinded it out,” said Trost. “We just stepped in our shoes and stuck it out,” said Packard, ending into a long tiebreaker in which Belmlont gutted out the win, 9-7. The third set saw Packard and Trout break twice and survive, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1.
Belmont will have a quick turnaround before spending the day traveling down to the South Shore to take on the Dragons.
Photo: Belmont High attack junior Tess (the Nickel) Desantis reached 100 career goals against Milford High in the Marauders’ 17-6 victory.
On short notice due to graduation week events, three Belmont High teams found themselves battling the 90 degree-plus Thursday afternoon heat along with the
The Nickel Gets Her Century In Girls Lax Play-In Victory Over Milford
After the Dime (senior Mary Mullan) in Belmont’s Nickel and Dime attack partnership reached 100 career goals against Braintree, the wait began to see if junior Tess Desantis – the Nickel – would join her front line team mate and reach her own century of goals.
Late in Thursday’s dominating 17-6 victory over Milford High School (11-8) in Belmont’s (14-5) MIAA Division 1 play-in game held on the toasty Harris Field turf surface, Desantis took a pass from senior defender co-captain Nina Leveroni and reached triple digits with a bouncer by the goalie for Belmont’s 16th of the day.
Belmont High junior Tess Desantis (#5) scoring her 100 career goal in play-in game vs. Milford.
With both teams under the pressure to accommodate their senior players to attend graduation week events, the game was moved up to the first day tournaments games were to be played. And the game was played at its earliest available time at 4 p.m., with temperatures reaching 92 degrees F with no wind under cloudless skies.
“It was brutal,” said Belmont High Girls’ Lacrosse Head Coach Dan O’Brien. “We were feeling [the heat] by the second half.”
After junior goalie Julia Herlihy stopped a one-on-one on the first offense turn by the Scarlet Hawks, Belmont countered quickly with Desantis scoring from a pass from senior midfield co-captain Stella Lesnik. The Nickel scoring her second from an 8-meter penalty just 40 seconds later and the Marauders were on their way to its first playoff win since 2012.
Desantis and first year mid Niamh Lesnik shared top scoring honors with six points with five goals and an assist each. Junior attack Carli Gaziano contributed three goals and a pair of assists with sophomore attack Charlotte Mayall and first year attack midfield Sydney Mun each with a goal.
“Our leading scorer [Mullan] had one goal but we don’t just rely on one player [scoring]. Everyone stepped up from the senior and juniors to our freshmen,” said O’Brien, who praised the first line defense
Belmont will have just a few days to savor this win as they will travel nearly the entire length of the state to take on perennial powerhouse Longmeadow High (17-3) in a first round match on Monday, June 5. The Marauders will spend more than two hours on the bus to go against a team that has reached the Division 1 final four in every MIAA tournament in the past two decades (last year the Blue Devils were eliminated in the round of 16), finally winning the state title in 2015.
“We will need a lot of breaks on ground balls and on defense. We can’t be put off by the competition. We need to keep the game close so we have a chance at the end of the game,” said O’Brien.
Boys’ Tennis Sweeps Wakefield In First Round; Girls’ Drop 4-1 to CC
Eighth ranked Belmont High Boys’ Tennis began its playoffs with a stellar 5-0 sweep over Middlesex League rival Wakefield on Thursday, May 1 in the first round of the MIAA Division 2 tournament at the overheated Winn Brook courts. Number one singles senior Alek Karagozyan, second singles junior Charlie Osborn, and third sophomore Julian Wong led the team in the victory.
Belmont High’s Charlie Osborn mashing a return at a recent match
Next up for Belmont (12-6) will be hosting Marblehead (9th ranked at 16-3) in the Sweet 16 round on Monday, June 5, at 5 p.m. at Winn Brook. The Magicians swept Oliver Ames, 5-0, on Wednesday.
After missing the tournament last year, Belmont Girls’ Tennis return to the playoffs was a short one as the 17th-ranked Marauders lost to 16th rated Central Catholic, 4-1, at Lawrence High School on June 1.
Photo:The new record of 13 wins after the Marauders final regular season game.
The 2023 season has seen Belmont High Boys and Girls Lacrosse teams reach new heights having secured playoff berths and prepare for runs in their respective MIAA tournaments.
Girls’ Lucky 13
In its final game of the season on Thursday, May 25, the Girls’ set a program record 13 victories (against 5 losses) after defeating Arlington in a 17-13 slugfest.
The girls broke the previous record of 12 registered in 2011 and 2009. And the Marauders play has been heating up along with the summer weather. In its final 11 games in which they scored 158 goals or just over 14 per game, Belmont’s record was 9-2 with their two losses by single goals.
“We only only go up from here,” said first year Head Coach Dan O’Brien. “We still got a couple games left the season hopefully, because we’re going to make some noise in the tournament.”
“Making the playoffs is great for our seniors. We have ten of them,” he said. “The girls have done such a great job this year.”
The victory against the SpyPonders put a cap on an end-of-the-season five game winning streak. In a game that resembled a playoff contest, Belmont were in a scrap with Arlington with the hosts up 8-5 with seven minutes to play in the first half. It’s then Belmont’s captains on the field brought the Marauders back into the game. Senior midfield Stella Lesnik started the come back with a goal in the 14th minute, followed a minute later when senior attack Mary Mullan buried an eight meter penalty. Senior Layne Doherty took a pass from first-year mid Niamh Lesnik to score in the 17th minute with Mullan putting in her fourth of the half off an isolation with two minutes remaining in the half to tie the game at 9 at the break.
The Marauders showed their offensive prowess scoring four in four minutes early in the second half: Junior attack Carli Gaziano off a penalty, then the Marauders’ “Nickel and Dime” attack combo of Mullan and junior Tess Desantis scoring off the transition and from eight meters as Doherty finished off the goal burst with the Marauders leading 13-9. While the hosts narrowed the margin to two, Belmont’s defense led by junior goalie Julia Herlihy and senior defenders co-captain Nina Leveroni and senior Kiki Hovsepian put a halt to the comeback.
The Marauders are currently 27th in the final MIAA Division 1 Power Rankings. While its position should see them on the road for a first-round playoff match, there are eight to ten teams below the 32nd power ranking position – the tournament cut off – with records at or above .500 which makes them eligible for a play-in game, a match Belmont will host.
“[The squad is] really balanced and that’s what’s been great. It’s never one girl who’s just dominating the whole thing, it’s really been a team effort. And that’s what makes it so fun. And I’m glad we could celebrate and now we’re going to focus on the playoffs,” said O’Brien.
Boys’ Lacrosse
While Belmont High Boys Lacrosse is entering the Division 1 tournament with the offense stalling in the final two games, the squad’s 11-7 record marks a high for wins under the tenure of head coach Josh Streit and was one win away from tying the program’s record for victories with 12 set in 2009. As of Monday, Belmont is 26th in the MIAA Power Rankings, the second year running the Marauders have finished as an automatic qualifier for the playoffs.
“This group has really bought in to the program. They are a special group. They work really hard in the off season,” said Streit, pointing to senior co-captain Peter Grace and Peter Ausrotas in attack, the Pomer brothers, Matt and Mike, Mason Lemach-Bremen and Delan Doherty holding down the midfield. Senior defender Joe Gaziano anchors the long sticks with Joe Hanley and Collin Galloway in front of goalie Nate Moss.
Photo:One Win, One To Go: Belmont High Dana Lehr after winning the 800 meters in the D2 championships (Courtesy photo)
Belmont High’s Dana Lehr left the M.I.A.A. Division II Track & Field Championship in Hingham as hot as the weather.
Over two early summer afternoons during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the sophomore smashed personal bests in the 800 meter and mile to take home a pair of state championships while dusting off two outstanding sets of competitors.
On Friday, May 26, Lehr took to the front from the start of the 800 meter finals and held off fellow sophomore Danielle Lomuscio from King Philip Regional by less than 2/10th of a second, breaking the tape in 2 minutes, 15.56 seconds. Lehr came to the meet ranked 10th with a season PR of 2:22.69.
Even more impressive, Lehr’s pre-performance season best in the mile held on Sunday, May 28, was 5:20.36 (although her best indoor mile in 2023 is 5:08.01), only the 13th fastest in the field. But the 16-year-old quickly separated herself from the 12 runners in her heat and simply ran away from the field to finish in 5:00.98, 9.1 second ahead of senior Ava LoVuolo of Marshfield.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that for the past year Lehr has been a team-mate with multi-national high school track champion Ellie Shea at Emerging Elites.
Next up for the member of the Class of ’25 could be the New England Interscholastic Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday, June 10, in Bangor, Maine.
Photo: Belmont High’s senior co-captain Mary Mullan (right) and Tess Desantis – the Marauders’ Nickel and Dime attack – after the victory over Arlington in which Mullan scored her 100th career goal.
Belmont High School Senior Co-captain Mary Mullan scored her 100th career goal as the dime in the Marauders’ Nickel and Dime attack pair – Mullan wears number 10, and junior Tess Desantis, number 5 – scored eight of Belmont’s 16 goals in the team’s 16-7 victory against Arlington High School on Friday, May 12.
Marauders upped its record to 7-4 solidifying its hold on a playoff spot with seven game remaining in the season.
“It’s a good accomplishment to have,” said Mullan after the game.“It’s been really special playing with these girls.”
Mullan’s century mark came 10 minutes into the second half as the three-year starter had a hat trick in the first 25 minutes. Mullan tallied her 100 goals in just two-and-a-half seasons as her first year season 2020 was cancelled due to Covid-19 and the 2021 campaign was cut in half
Belmont Head Coach Dan O’Brien said that on any other night, the game ball would have been handed to junior goalie Julia Herlihy who made 14 saves stifling any attempt by the SpyPonders to get back into the game.
Belmont High’s Julia Herlihy with one of her 14 saves vs. Arlington.
“[Herlihy] was lights out,” said O’Brien. “That’s the type of performance that’s going to carry us forward in the tournament.”
Belmont plays the first game of the annual Lacrosse Night in Belmont, as the Boys’ and Girls’ will host Waltham on Saturday, May 13.
Photo: David Baghdady after winning the Reno Worlds championship
Say the name of certain Belmont families and you immediately associate it with what they do: French and construction; Shea and law enforcement, Muzzioli, landscaping (and hockey); and Flett with development and heavy equipment, to mention just a few.
And while they have become successful in real estate, say the name Baghdady in Belmont, and the image that’s conjured up is of wrestling glory.
When banners were hanging in the Wenner Field House at Belmont High School, an entire corner of the gym was a visual litany of the Baghdady’s prowess on the wrestling mat: league, state and region champions from the 1980s till today. And those honors include a national title won by Samir Baghdady in 1991.
And the family’s legacy continues from father to son as David, Samir’s son, is making a name for himself at the young age of 10. Earlier this month, the Chenery Middle School 5th-grader won the Reno Worlds, a prestigious national tournament, by defeating the number-one ranked wrestler in the country from Pennsylvania in the Under 10 Boys, 85-pound division.
David Baghdady
“I was a little bit nervous but then when I was wrestling I was fine,” said David during a recent interview about his week in Nevada.
The finals, comprised of three 90-second periods, was a tactical affair, with David scoring a two-point takedown in the first period and then gaining a point early in the third to go up 3-0. His opponent – who had won four national tournaments before Reno – earned his lone point as David was called for stalling but never got a chance to score as David had his leg in a hold when the match ended.
“Honestly, it feels awesome,” said David of his victory. “Now, every day, I can walk into my room, and I can see my trophy.” His first-place trophy, including a massive bald eagle statue, caused a stir among Starbucks customers during the interview.
While he is a naturally shy 10-year-old with a happy smile whose favorite subject is maths; on the mat, David will turn most of his opponents into a pretzel in short order. David quickly dispatched his challengers in his four preliminary matches before the Reno finals with pins. So it’s little surprise to learn that David is a four-time Massachusetts and two-time New England winner.
Baghdady began learning freestyle wresting at four and placed second in his first competition at six. His day comprises daily exercises and practice in New Hampshire, Lawrence and Natick. He’s learning to improve his skill set as everyone in his group has the basics down.
“It’s who has more technique, the more toughness and who’s stronger with more speed” who will come out on top, said David.
Compared to the wrestling meccas such as Pennsylvania, any number of Midwest states, and the west coast, Massachusetts is an outlier in the sport, one where there are just not the numbers or expertise especially at the younger age groups. For that reason, Baghdady travels throughout New England and the eastern seaboard to tourneys looking for competition up to his skill level.
David Baghdady in action in Reno
And Baghdady’s talent is in demand, with all-star teams across the country wanting him to wrestle for them in upcoming tournaments. He was recently invited to participate in an elite dual-team meet in Virginia Beach in July after taking part in a large regional competition this month in Rochester. His next goal is to wrestle in the Super32 in North Carolina, “which is one of the toughest in the world.”
Some could see this focus on a sport as blocking out new activities that many of his age first experience in middle school.
But Baghdady, who lives with his parents and four siblings, doesn’t feel that he is missing out with his schedule filled with this activity.
“I honestly don’t care if I miss something for wrestling. I’m not really an instrument or play guy,” he said.
For Samir, if his son is excited and energetic about the sport, “I leave it up to him” whether he continues. “The other day, he said to me, ‘Dad, if I weren’t wrestling, I’d be sitting at home watching TV and playing video games’.”
David points out that wrestling has allowed him to travel throughout the country – David will list off that impressive number on demand – and make friends with fellow grapplers in far-flung places such as Hawaii and Florida.
