Belmont In Rugby State Championships With Grinding Win Over BC High

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It started fast but in the end, the Belmont High School Club Rugby team used a lot of grit and grind to wear down a tough Boston College High squad to win its Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization semifinal match, 24-17, before an enthusiastic crowd at Harris field on Tuesday, May 20.

“We came out flat and I think some of the guys may have been looking ahead since we beat them earlier this year,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Greg Bruce.

Belmont will defend its Division 1 Massachusetts State title against arch-rivals Bishop Hendricken High School of Warwick, RI on Saturday, May 24 at Fort Devens after the Hawks defeated Needham High in the other semifinal on Monday.

Last year, Belmont defeated the Hawks, 17-5, to win the 2013 championship. 

Belmont will be looking to revenge their sole 2014 regular season loss when they were defeated by Bishop Hendricken, 33-14, in April. They Hawks has been the only team to defeat Belmont in the past two regular seasons.

Junior flyhalf Paul Campbell tallied two tries and two conversions to lead Belmont to a 24-12 half time lead over the Eagles whom Belmont defeated easily three weeks earlier, 31-5.

But it was the determination of Belmont’s men up front, the first and second row and the loose forwards – Bruce pointed to senior Pat O’Connor as a standout Tuesday – that battled for the entire 35 minutes in the second half, allowing a single BC try despite playing a great deal of the time in their own end.

“BC High made some serious adjustments and they came out like they were playing for something,” said Bruce.

Bruce praised senior first-year player Dominique Owens-Moore – who delivered a monstrous tackle on a BC High player who had just received a clearing kick – “was all over the field” as well as other “first-timers” such as fellow senior Andrew Mosca “who are consistent and work hard and they do everything you ask of them.”

As for Saturday’s title matchup, Bruce said he and the coaching staff will debrief the team Wednesday “on what we did not do well and what we were successful with” along with a couple of training sessions.

“I have confidence the guys will show up on Saturday and play a much better Belmont-style of rugby,” said Bruce.

Belmont Rugby To Host State Semi-Final on Tuesday, May 20

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After a stellar 7-1 regular season, the Belmont High School Club Rugby team begins the defense of its Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization’s Division 1 state championship title as it plays host to Boston College High School in one of the two semi-final matches to determine the participants in this year’s championship game on Saturday, May 24 at Fort Devens State Park.

The Belmont XV will take the pitch at Harris Field off of Concord Avenue at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20. On a bitter, rain-swept night late last month, Belmont’s ruggers defeated the Eagles, 31-5.

Admission to the semi’s is free so come see some of the best High School rugby in the nation.

A Day of Fours Leaves Belmont Baseball Knocking on Playoff’s Door

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A four run, two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth inning combined with a four-hit, one run complete game by sophomore pitcher Cole Bartels as hosts Belmont High School Baseball defeated Arlington High, 4-1, at Brendan Grant Field on Monday, May 12, extending the Marauders’ winning streak to four games.

Now perched at 9-5, the team needs to win just one of its final six regular season games to make the Div. 2 North Sectional playoffs for the second year in a row.

After falling behind, 1-0, Belmont finally got to SpyPonder’s pitcher Dan Shaw in the bottom of the fourth as senior Brendan Shea reached first on a fielders choice after hitting into what appeared to be a possible double play. But the Arlington shortstop bobbled the throw to first allowing Shea to reach the bag.

Freshman catcher Cal Christafori singled a 2-1 offering down the third baseline bringing up sophomore Trevor Kelly who promptly singled himself to bring in Shea to tie the score. Sitting on a 1-0 count, second base Chris Kelly laced a double in the left/center gap to score Christafori and Kelly to see Belmont take a 3-1 lead. Following Kelly’s example, Nick Call launched his own 1-0 double to bring the other Kelly in for the 4-1 lead which stood up through seven innings. 

But the story Monday was Bartels who pitched a gem, striking out 11 SpyPonders (including the side in the third) giving up a single run on a walk and a single on the second.

The next two games for the Marauders will be at Woburn Wednesday and a match Thursday at Lexington, with the hope that the team can be in the playoffs before prom.

Down Early, Belmont Girls’ Lacrosse Now in Playoff Hunt

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After getting off to a slow start with four loses and a tie, it appeared a run for the place in the Div. 2 North sectional playoffs was out of sight for the 2014 Belmont High Girls’ Lacrosse team.

But in the past two weeks, the team has won four straight including a 17-11 win over Wakefield on Friday, May 2, to get right back into the playoff hunt at 4-4-1.

The turnaround is credited to a large dose of practicing the basics, said Head Coach Aimee Doherty.

“We were having trouble catching and passing agh the beginning, So when we got a hang of that and our midfield transition down, that’s when it started getting together,” Doherty said.

In addition, the defense is playing better with better communication that closes gaps in front of sophomore goaltender Anastasia MacEwen.

Leading the way of the Marauders over the past four games are MacEwen, junior three-sport standout Sophia Eschenbach-Smith (who had eight verses Wakefield and 12 in the past two matches), junior Lizzie Frick and freshman Kayla Kaloostran who had a hat-trick against Wakefield.

And a playoff spot in the future?

“It’s possible,” said Doherty.

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Belmont Club Rugby Enters Final Game with Home Win Over BC High

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Last Wednesday, April 30, on a night full of wind (15 mph coming off the Atlantic), rain and cold – while the official temperature was 43, it felt like 34 degrees – the Belmont High School Rugby Club team dominated a strong Boston College High School squad to win its final home game of the year going away, 31-5, giving up a try in the final seconds.

“BC High came in one of the top teams in the league,” noted Head Coach Greg Bruce after the game.

“The team has been coming together for the past few weeks and it’s watching an engine being tuned up, they are getting better and better,” said Bruce.

Senior Nick Pearson scored twice while junior Paul Campbell and seniors JD Niles and Barrett Lyons each crossed the goal line for a try.

“We asked them to focus on protecting the ball and really playing an aggressive style of defense and they put BC High under a lot of pressure,” said Bruce.

“It’s their team. The coaches facilitate what they are looking for and the past few years they have been asking more and more and more.

The defending Div. 1 state champions will travel to Davners on Wednesday, May 7, to take on perennial powerhouse St. John’s Prep who the Marauders defeated last year. The game is at 4 p.m.

Belmont High Rugby Club vs. Boston College High at Belmont's Harris Field on April 30, 2014.

Belmont High Rugby Club vs. Boston College High at Belmont’s Harris Field on April 30, 2014.

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Fast Times For Belmont’s BAA Marathoners

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Your neighbors are a quick lot!

Belmont runners produced some outstanding results at Monday’s 118th Boston Athletic Association Marathon, the historic annual 26.2 mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston’s Copley Square to celebrate Patriots’ Day, April 21.

Of the 42 who finished the race, 40 percent, 17, ran under four hours, a great accomplishment for any runner.

And just like the men’s race, where American Meb Keflezighi won the race by 11 seconds, it was a close contest for the first Belmont resident across the line as Roger Donaghy finished nine seconds ahead of fellow BAA member Ryan McCalmon, 2 hours, 36 minutes and 17 seconds vs 2:36:26, placing 213th while Ryan finished 217th.

Rachel Reardon was the female Belmont runner, finishing in 3:25:15, or 7,490th overall, ahead of 25,000 fellow runners, and 1,225th among all women.

But it was in the veteran’s categories that Belmont runners made their mark. Fifty-six-year-old Wolfgang Ketterle finished third in the 55-59 age group in 2:44:06, less than three minutes from the winning time. He placed 528th overall.

Hammond Road’s Robert Cipriano ran a possible personal best in the marathon in 2 hour, 40 minutes and 48 seconds to finish 4th in the 50-54 age group, placing 364th.

Here are all the results from the race:

  1. Scott Abrams, 3:37:45
  2. Anne Antonellis, 4:40:28
  3. Cara Brickley, 4:31:55
  4. John Carey, 3:13:14
  5. Sarkis Chekijian, 3:42:11
  6. Robert Cipriano, 2:40:47
  7. Kelly Coates, 6:14:43
  8. Charlie Conroy, 3:05:03
  9. Virginia Cox, 3:53:19
  10. David DeMarco, 4:06:28
  11. Roger Donaghy, 2:36:17
  12. Paul Feloney, 4:22:19
  13. Paul Firth, 4:38:32
  14. Jonathan Haines, 3:59:19
  15. Bill Hees, 5:22:45
  16. Christopher Heuisler, 3:32:29
  17. Richard Horgan, 5:27:31
  18. James Kelleher, 4:58:31
  19. Wolfgang Ketterle, 2:44:06
  20. Peter Lamb, 4:45:28
  21. Russell Leino, 3:06:15
  22. Mark Lewis, 6:35:29
  23. David MacDonald, 5:03:49
  24. Eric Marro, 4:54:57
  25. Leslie Mauriello, 4:43:14
  26. Ryan McCalmon, 2:36:25
  27. Carolyn Mehaffey, 3:58:36
  28. Karyn Miller-Medzon, 4:26:36
  29. Joseph Mullaney, 4:53:48
  30. Stephen Najarian, 5:34:58
  31. Carrie Palmer, 5:08:19
  32. Oswald Paredes, 5:24:42
  33. John Pilkington-Sperry, 4:40:10
  34. Becca Pizzi, 3:40:15
  35. Rachel Reardon, 3:25:15
  36. Kristen Ruane, 5:27:20
  37. Alissa Schreiner, 3:56:39
  38. Andrew Schreiner, 3:59:03
  39. Emily Seaver, 4:41:41
  40. Hannah Swartz, 5:00:05
  41. Kimberly Usseglio, 4:27:45
  42. James Winter, 5:15:02

On the Run: Belmont Residents Taking Part in the Boston Marathon

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There will be 36,000 runners in the 2014 BAA Marathon and nearly 50 are your neighbors from Belmont.

Monday’s race, the 118th edition of the world’s oldest marathon, will have special meaning for the runners, spectators and the nation as it will be the first since the terrorist attack on April 15, 2013 that killed three and wounded more than 250 who came to watch the race along Boston’s Boylston Street near the finishing line.

Belmont is well represented by those running for charities or a fast time. The three top men to follow are Ryan McCalmon (who is a regular runner of Belmont’s Brendan’s Home Run 5K in June) who finished 43rd in last year’s race with a time of 2:25:13, Roger Donaghy who ran the 2011 Boston in 2:28:56 and Robert Cipriano who will challenge for the 50-54 year old title. Among the top women are Rachel Reardon and Karen Encarnacion.

This year, you can follow the race with a first-ever mobile app with the ability to follow your favorite runner on an interactive map.

  1. Scott Abrams  28628
  2. Anne Antonellis  29322
  3. Cara Brickley  27869
  4. John Carey  6973
  5. Sarkis Chekijian  26012
  6. Robert Cipriano  1224
  7. Kelly Coates  26054
  8. Charlie Conroy  4417
  9. Virginia Cox  27800
  10. Micheal Cragg  28688
  11. David DeMarco  30705
  12. Roger Donaghy  234
  13. Karen Encarnacion  9061
  14. Paul Feloney  31987
  15. Paul Firth  31013
  16. Jonathan Haines  15543
  17. Bill Hees  32677
  18. Christopher Heuisler  25629
  19. Richard Horgan  26739
  20. James Kelleher  31032
  21. Wolfgang Ketterle  1298
  22. Peter Lamb  30096
  23. Russell Leino  2544
  24. Mark Lewis  29145
  25. David MacDonald  26308
  26. Eric Marro  26567
  27. Leslie Mauriello  28526
  28. Ryan McCalmon  123
  29. Carolyn Mehaffey  31044
  30. Karyn Miller-Medzon  24043
  31. Joseph Mullaney  26174
  32. Stephen Najarian  25537
  33. Jodie O’Malley  34131
  34. Carrie Palmer  27035
  35. Oswald Paredes  34479
  36. John Pilkington-Sperry  25692
  37. Becca Pizzi  17013
  38. Rachel Reardon  8355
  39. Kristen Ruane  30976
  40. Jennifer Salucci  34093
  41. Alissa Schreiner  31859
  42. Andrew Schreiner  31860
  43. Emily Seaver  26990
  44. Hannah Swartz  30987
  45. Kimberly Usseglio  27498
  46. James Winter  35585

 

Belmont Baseball, Softball Sweep Watertown in League Openers

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The wind was howling out of the northwest Wednesday, April 9; it was not a day that a home run was going to decide the games at the softball and at Brendan Grant Field at Belmont High School as the school’s softball and baseball teams got their Middlesex League seasons underway against arch rivals Watertown High.

But the Belmont teams didn’t need the long ball as both squads saw their lead pitchers make opening day statements as the Marauders swept the visiting Raiders.

Senior co-captain Brendan Shea gave up a single run to the Raiders as his teammates made Watertown pay for some sloppy early season play to win 7-1. The southpaw, who has signed a letter of intent to play for Div. 1 UMass-Lowell next year, struck out 11 while limiting Watertown to a handful of hits.

“[Shea]’s our number one and pitched out of a couple of tight spots. He’s a gamer and that’s why he’s a scholarship player,” said Head Coach Jim Brown.

Belmont scored four runs in the first three innings on a single hit – a single by sophomore shortstop Cole Bartels –  capitalizing on four miscues by the Raiders. That was more than enough support for Shea who got out of a fifth-inning bases loaded, no out jam with a strike out and a double play created by a base-running mistake by a Watertown player.

“We did some small ball stuff but could have done a little better in our execution. That’s how we are going to win this year, with bunting players over and sac flies,” said Brown.

Over at softball, a very familiar athlete was having her way with the Raiders; senior pitcher Kendel Brown – the stellar defender on both field hockey and Girls’ ice hockey – simply kept Watertown batters off balance while the Marauders’ batters had a field day as Belmont swamped the visitors, 22-4, in a shortened five-inning game.

“We had played one non-league game before this (a 16-2 loss to Cambridge Rindge and Latin) and we weren’t ready having only been outside twice before that game,” said first-year coach Steve Price.

“But I had a good feeling coming into this game after a week of practice and we had our line up ready to go today,” he said.

On the offensive end, sophomore shortstop Julia Rifkin had an inside-the-park home run and batted strongly during each at bat as did senior Micaela McKay and sophomore Lia Muckjian had a pair of hits.

“Really, the entire line up swung the bat very well today as evident by the score,” said Price.

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BAT’s Can Swim: Three PR at National Junior Championships

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They made names for themselves in Massachusetts swimming circles this season and now three members of the Belmont Aquatic Team , the Belmont-based USA Swim Team and member of New England Swimming, have begun to make their presence known on the national scene.

Lead by long-time BAT and Belmont High School Girls’ Swimming Coach Ev Crosscup, Jessica Blake-West, Belinda Donohoe and Andrew Kelley swam many personal best times, including six top-ten times in the 16 & Under age group at the NASA (National Age-Group Swimming Association) Junior National Championship Cup held in Clearwater, Fla during the last week of March.

In their specialties, Blake-West swam a 55.39 in the 100-yard butterfly for fourth and 24.83 in the 50-yard butterfly to finish third, Kelley swam a 51.57 in the 100-yard backstroke for seventh and Donohoe swam a 52.45 in the 100-yard freestyle, all personal best times.

Belmont High sophomores Blake-West and Kelley were crowned state Div. 2 champions (Blake-West in the 100 butterfly and 4×100 medley relay, Kelley in the 100 backstroke) during their swim seasons while Dana Hall student and Carlisle resident Donohoe was named an Eastern Independent League All Star as a freshman.

 

This meet, which wrapped up the team’s short course season, rewarded the hard work and dedication of the coaches and swimmers throughout the season.

Additional highlights from the meet included 17-year old Simone Manuel of Texas-based First Colony Swim Team breaking Natalie Coughlin’s three-year old American Record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.83, and Indie Swimming member, 14-year old Michael Andrew breaking two of his standing National Age Group records in the 100 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke.

Belmont Boys’ Lacrosse Gets A Slow Start to the Season

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It was perfect conditions to play a lacrosse match in Belmont on Wednesday, April 2: bright sunshine and temperatures in the low 50s.

But for a young Belmont High School Boys’ Lacrosse team, the outcome was less than ideal. After playing visiting Watertown High School to a 2-2 draw in the first quarter, “the game got away a little quickly” in the second quarter, according to Belmont’s new Head Coach Josh Streit.

And while the Marauders got back to playing the scheme in the second half they had been practicing, Watertown was able to expose Belmont’s new defensive back line – three of the four are new to the top level – and headed down Common Street with the win, 15-8, in the season and home opener for the Marauders.

“Were a very young team almost exclusively sophomores and juniors with 11 new to varsity but there was a lot of real positives to be had,” he said.

Leading the Marauders on offense was sophomore midfield Trey Butler who tallied five goals including a underhanded improvisational goal in close that caught the eyes of the crowd.

“There will be growing pains so there will be a learning curve in the season,” said Streit.

“But there were moments of great lacrosse and great hard work. Even down by nine late, we never gave up.”