Sports: Belmont Swimming’s Final Goal, Winning a State Championship

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Photo: Belmont High Swimming and Divings captains, (from left) Sara Noorouzi, Sarah Steward, Jessica Blake-West, Emily Quinn, readies for the state championship on Sunday at Harvard.

At the beginning of each swim season, the Belmont High Swimming and Diving’s senior captains come together to set a team goal.

Train harder, chase pool records, take home the Middlesex League title, those are the common aspirations made every year.

On Aug. 25, the four senior co-captains – Jessie Blake-West, Emily Quinn, Sarah Stewart and Sara Noorouzi – set the team’s target to a level not sought by past leaders.

Let’s win the state championship.

“We have never said, as long as I’ve been on the team, said our goal is to win states,” said Stewart on Thursday, Nov. 20, after the team was feted at the Belmont High School Athletic Awards Night. 

“So for us to even vocalize that to the team and to think of that goal ourselves is huge,” said Stewart.

On Sunday morning, Nov. 22, at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool, the final step in that goal will be taken when the Marauders take to the water in the MIAA Division 2 State Championship.

“It’s what we’ve been seeking since August, and we have given ourselves that chance,” said Stewart. 

Three teams will battle for the Championship: Belmont, fellow Middlesex League team Reading Memorial and two-time defending state champions Bishop Feehan. In the Shamrock’s past two victories, Belmont placed second each time.

But long-time Head Coach Ev Crosscup and the team’s expectation were peaked this past weekend at the MIAA North Sectionals where Belmont finished fourth behind Andover, Acton-Boxborough and Reading.

But it wasn’t the team’s placement that sparked all the hubbub, but the times recorded, which broke or matched season bests.

“We were asking, ‘where are these times coming from?” said Crosscup, pointing to the 200 Medley Relay. Those kids dropped four seconds,” said Crosscup.

Leading the way were freshman Nicole Kalavantis in the 200 (rated the best time coming into the meet according to the “Psych Sheet”) and 500 yard freestyle (in which she is considered the odds-on favorite to win the event), Quinn in her speciality the 100 breast where she cut four seconds from her season’s best to rank first, and senior diver Cynthia Kelsey who has registered a rare “10.0” on a dive this season.

But when you talk about the leader of the Marauders in the pool, it is Blake-West. Her 54.67-second 100-yard butterfly win at the North Sectionals earned her National Scholastic All-American honors.

“First time I’ve ever had an All-American in over 20 years,” said Crosscup. “I’ve had some real good swimmers, but no one has ever qualified for All-American automatically. Jessie’s very special,” he said.

Going into the pool for the last time for her school on Sunday, Blake-West said Thursday she’ll come to the pool “centered on my races and not get caught up in the meet.” 

Blake-West, who has committed to swim at Brown next year, said she’ll be chasing the state butterfly record – 53.56 set by Andover’s Rachel Moore in 2011 – and will be seeking a new title, in the 50-yard freestyle rather than defend her 200-yard individual medley.

“That was a tactical move so that I’m fresh for the relays,” said Blake-West.

“I think I have some good times still in me,” she said.

Crosscup believes the girls have not peaked despite the big time gains at sectionals. 

“We haven’t got the team fully tapered, so that’s why I think we have something left in the tank,” he said.

“But we’ll have to show up and swim become Bishop Feehan, and Reading are all within 10-15 points of each other,” he said.

But the captains’ goal of holding the state championship plaque poolside on Sunday afternoon is attainable, said Steward.

“Every day we work hard. We are in the pool and Ev pushes us and doesn’t hold back, and that’s really important,” she said.

“With all the freshmen, we’ve added to the team, and how they are swimming, we are looking really good and I am excited for Sunday,” Steward said.

For Crosscup, who has been forced to take a step back from coaching due to a serious lung illness, his team “will be in the hunt. It will be a lot of fun.”

“Even if we don’t make it, I couldn’t be prouder of this group of girls and how hard they have worked. Probably one of the strongest group of swimmers I’ve had in my career,” said Crosscup.

“I told the girls I’m going to do nothing but smile on Sunday regardless of what we do.”

Like a Butterfly: Blake-West Sets Sectional Record, Swim Team Prepares for States

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Photo: Jessie Blake-West.

Senior star Jessie Blake-West threw down a couple of gauntlets as the Belmont High Swimming and Diving team prepares their game plan as the team put some serious times on the board finishing fourth in the MIAA North Sectional Meet held at MIT Saturday, Nov. 14.

If this weekend’s times are any indication of what the Marauders – which finished fourth with 236 points as powerhouse Andover won the meet with 474 points – are looking to do this weekend at the Div. 2 State Finals at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool, the Marauders – who placed second behind Bishop Feehan in consecutive years – will have something to say who wins. 

And Saturday’s meet showed that Blake-West must be considered one of, if not the best, all-around swimmer in Massachusetts.

In her favorite race, the 100 yard butterfly, Blake-West destroyed the field taking out the race in 25.5 seconds for the first 50 yards and coming home in 54.67 seconds, smashing the meet record by a second-and-a-half and defeating her nearest challenger, Taryn Waite of Lexington, by nearly four seconds in races that are usually measured in tenths of seconds.

A few events earlier, Blake-West took home the 50-yard freestyle sprint title in 23.95 seconds, just missing the meet and state record. 

If all that wasn’t impressive enough, she joined freshman Sophia Butte, sophomore Julia Bozkurtian and fellow captain and senior Emily Quinn to defend the team’s title in the 200-yard medley relay. Blake-West’s mind-blowing 24.9-second butterfly leg (the next nearest time for the same segment was nearly three seconds slower) led the team to the win in 1 minute, 51.8 seconds, beating out Reading by three-quarters if a second. 

Blake-West finished the night with a 51.6-second final leg in the 400-yard relay to bring Belmont up to third in that race.

Following Blake-West in high finishes was freshman distance specialist Nicole Kalavantis, who took first in the 200, breaking two minutes with a 1:59.6, thanks to a 30.7 second last 50 yards. Kalavantis took second behind another frosh, Andover’s Victoria Amborse, in the 500 yards free, taking more than 12 seconds off her qualifying time, swimming the distance in 5:16.45. 

Quinn (who also scored in the butterfly) upped her game for the meet, placing third two more Andover freshman, with a 1.09.87 in the 100-yard breast stroke final. She was joined by Dervla Moore-Federick in 8th in 1:11.4. Moore-Federick also finished 16th in the 200-yard individual medley relay.

Senior diver Cynthia Kelsey placed a solid third behind fellow seniors Michaela Sliney of Haverhill and Lexington’s Emily Zitkozsky in the one-meter springboard with 460.35 points. 

Also swimming well were Elizabeth Levy and Sara Noorouzi in the 200 and 500 free, senior Solvay Metelmann in the 50 free, freshman Angela Li in the 200 IM, Butte and Bozkurtian scoring in the 50 and 100 free, Allie Beecroft in the 500 free, Molly Thomas scoring in the 100-yard backstroke which also saw sophomore Stephanie Zhang and Grace Newberry in the competition and a couple of sophomores, Caroline Daskalakis and Katerena Nalbandian in the breaststroke.

Sports: Belmont Football Falls Just Short to Masco in Home Finale, 20-17

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Photo: Joe Shaughnessy catches an eight-yard pass from Cal Christofori for a touchdown against Masco.

For the third time this season, Belmont High School’s football team came close, really close, to pulling out a fourth quarter comeback in front of the Harris Field home crowd.

But just like games against Woburn and Lexington, the Marauders could not convert late game critical short third and fourth down plays against visiting Masconomet Regional High School and fell, 20-17, to the Chieftans in the final home game of the season on Friday, Nov. 13.

“Tough game because we had a couple of great opportunities late to take the lead,” said Yann Kuman, Belmont’s head coach after the game.

After making a series of stops on defense, including a blocked fourth-down pass by senior Justin Wagner with 2:27 left in the fourth quarter to give Belmont the ball on the Marauders’ 8 yard line, Belmont held the momentum after QB Cal Christofori threw three completions to senior wide receivers Trey Butler (two catches for 11 and 13 yards) and Joe Shaughnessy. An eight-yard run by injured running back Mahki Johnson put the ball on Belmont’s 47 yard line with a little less than two minutes remaining.

But the final drive stalled on Masco’s 48 as a pair of runs and two passes, including an attempt to Butler on fourth and five, could only gain five yards. 

Belmont began the game allowing the Chieftains to march down field uncontested in just under two minutes to take the lead, 6-0, on a 20 yard run by running back Dan Strow, the first of his three TDs. 

“Our biggest thing is coming out the gate with with some urgency and some speed. If we do that this is a very different game. That first drive we decided they were just going to walk down the field and score. There was very little we can do to keep us in ball games when that is our first drive,” said Kuman.

Belmont came back with a steady diet of running plays with Johnson and junior Ben Jones and a 14-yard pass from Christofori to Wagner to put the ball on Masco’s 8 yard line for Christofori hit a diving Shaughnessy at the plyon to give Belmont a 7-6 lead with 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

Despite big stops by Butler and Hasset, Belmont could not make a fourth down stop and soon Strow dove in for his and Masco’s second touchdown of the half, and a 12-7 lead as Noonan stopped the Chieftain’s running back on the two-point c0nversion. 

After Christofori was intercepted by Masco on its 10 yard line, Belmont’s defense stepped it up, holding the Chieftains to no yards on three plays before Butler deflected the subsequant punt to give Belmont the ball on the 17. But the Marauder offense stalled which saw kicker Aiden Cadogan make a 30-yard field goal to cut the lead to 12-10 at the half. 

After holding Belmont on its first drive of the second half, Masco took six minutes off the clock as it ran the ball effectivley ending with Strow running in from five yards out with three minutes remaining in the third. The two-point PAT was successful and gave the Chieftains a 20-10 lead. 

Belmont went back to the Johnson/Jones running combination before Christofori scrambled and found Jones in the flats with a swing pass and the junior sprinted 30 yards to the Masco 6. Jones would score at 8:29 remaining to cut the lead to 20-17. 

The Marauders halted Masco at midfield forcing a punt. But a missed handoff and a great defensive play forced Belmont to punt with 3:49 to go. That’s when Belmont D stood tall leading to the final drive. 

Kuman said preparation for the annual Thanksgiving Day game, at Watertown this year, in 13 days, is to play with urgency and pace against the Raiders which lost a sectional final against Stoneham. 

 “That will be a focus for us going into Watertown is coming out of the game fast with commitment,” said Kuman. 

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Sports: Top-Ranked Acton-Boxoboro Ends Belmont Field Hockey Playoff Run

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Photo: Belmont’s penalty corner team: senior co-captain Molly Thayer, junior Molly Goldberg, sophomore Christina MacLeod, junior AnnMarie Habelow and junior Julia Chase.

A bit of nerves, a defending champion, and a numbers game all combined to end a brilliant season and strong playoff run by Belmont High School’s Field Hockey team as number-one seed Acton-Boxborough Regional High defeated the fourth-ranked Marauders, 3-0, in the Divison 1 North Sectional semifinals in Reading, Wednesday, Nov. 11.

“I’m so, so proud of you guys. I had a blast coaching you. You proved me wrong at the beginning of the season,” said an emotional Head Coach Jessie Smith to her team, many in tears, as they huddled on the field for the final time under the lights on a cool, damp night at Reading Memorial High School.

“We didn’t know what team we would have this year; there were so many young players who we didn’t even know their names. But it because such a great group to play with,” said co-captain and senior defender Molly Thayer, who with her fellow Molly, junior Molly Goldberg bookend standout junior sweeper midfield Julia Chase in the defensive backline. 

In the game, Belmont’s tempo could not match the Colonials’ which had several fast forwards and a big rangy defense. The typical short and long-ball passing accuracy was not in evident and the quick ball movement was frustrated by the athletic Colonials. 

Smith believed the team “sort of psyched themselves out” playing a top-ranked team and with it the confidence a team needs to defeat such a squad. 

“I wanted to shake them and say, ‘They’re not an army of field hockey players. They’re just high school kids who are applying to college and studying for exams just like you’,” said Smith after the game. 

Belmont’s cautious approach allowed Acton-Boxborough to pressure through the midfield where they took advantage with a long-shot from sophomore Emma Kearney eluded Belmont’s sophomore keeper Christine MacLeod just past the 10 minutes mark in the opening half.

Now on the front foot, the Colonials kept the pressure on, leading to a pair of penalty corners and a goal taken questionably away from the one-seed team. 

Smith called a timeout in an attempt to calm the team, but only to see the Colonials up their lead to two as junior Camille Grigsby scored 10 meters out of the fourth penalty corner of the first half.

It was the second goal that woke the Marauders from its malaise. Led by the midfield tandem of senior co-captain Serena Nally and junior MVP AnnMarie Habelow, passes began to connect, pressuring Acton-Boxborough backs and leading to a series of penalty corners. 

An apparent goal off a Habelow shot was not tipped inside the 15-yard scoring circle, a pair of outstanding pushes inside five yards just missed the far post or a Belmont stick before going out of bounds while senior Kerri Lynch’s turnaround shot from 7 yards out was barely kicked out by Colonials’ goalie.

At the half, with shots (4) and penalty corners (6) equal, Smith continued to urge the players to take every opportunity to take shots and crash the net “because we will only have a few, so we need to score.”

But it was the Colonials that came out with a rush on Belmont’s goal, only to see MacLeod, in her first year in the varsity net, make two point-blank saves. 

Belmont’s offense started clicking, especially down the right-hand side with sophomore midfielder Lilly Devitt making critical stops and quickly transitioning to freshman Morgan Chase, who continued her outstanding season with an excellent display of dribbling and passing. 

Belmont’s forwards, Lynch and Kate McCarthy, were also connecting with McCarthy’s heads up play caused the Colonials’ goalie to scramble to parry an in-close shot from going into the net.

But just as the Marauders attack began to take shape, the Colonials scored against the run of play, by Kearney for her second goal midway through the period. 

With Acton-Boxborough experience in the defensive end of the field – many of the nine seniors were back line and midfielders – the chances for Belmont were rare as the Colonials laid back to absorb Belmont’s efforts forward. 

When the final horn came, the Marauders left the field feeling they may have left a little too much on the sideline.

But Smith was philosophic about the game against a team from a school in which the coach has 400 more girls to select from for her team. (Acton-Boxborough’s enrollment is closing on 2,000 students to Belmont’s 1,200).

“How can you not be proud at all they accomplished,” she said.

In fact, the 2015 Belmont High Field Hockey team’s list of honors is quite long: 

  • A 14-2 regular season, likely the best in program history and a final record of 16-3. 
  • The Middlesex League Liberty division championship.
  • Defeating several Boston Globe ranked teams in the regular season and the playoff while ending the regular season at number 15. 
  • A prolific offense with 91 goals, a top five total in eastern and central Massachusetts. 
  • A stellar defense securing 12 shutouts in 19 games (including a 3-0 whitewash in the quarterfinals over Masco Regional)
  • Of the three losses, two were to currently undefeated and untied defending state champions (Watertown and Acton-Boxborough) while the third was redressed in dominating fashion with a 2-0 victory over Winchester, another playoff team. 
“This was a team that liked to work, especially the seniors and it showed on the field,” said Nally, speaking of her follow 12th graders in Lynch, McCarthy, Thayer and Sophia Stratford. 
“It was a good team to be on,” said Nally.

Belmont High Students Connecting All Over Belmont

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Photo: 

by Samantha Kelts, (2016), Alexia Stefanovich (2016), and Jackie Jiang  (2018)

On Saturday, Oct. 17, Belmont High School students participated in the 17th annual Connecting With Belmont community service event that included everything from gardening, farming, and sandwich making, to reading with young children at the library and removing invasive plants.

According to Alice Melnikoff, the event’s organizer and school’s Community Service Director, the yearly Connecting Wih Belmont event is not only about getting high schoolers involved in the community, but also about working to make improvements to our town that will motivate others to get involved as well.

“It’s important for students to give back to the community that nurtured them. It spotlights what the students can do for the town, and how everyone can be involved in helping make Belmont a better place,” she said.

At the Belmont Food Pantry, a group of student volunteers worked on sorting and organizing the sea of donated food items onto designated shelves. Freshman Lily Hoffman Strickler, expressed her motivation behind volunteering for this event, telling us that “there are so many people out there that don’t have as many resources as we do, and it feels good to give back.”

On the opposite side of the high school, a group was also working hard to restore benches on the softball field while inside the school’s cafeteria, another group was assembling sandwiches for the Middlesex Human Services Agency, which has runs shelters, a soup kitchen, and detoxification and rehabilitation programs.

“It was really rewarding because it showed what we could do when we all worked together” commented senior Ammu Dinesh; “we got into a rhythm and cranked out 312 [sandwiches] in two hours.”

Students also spread out to locations all over Belmont to contribute their time to improve the Belmont community as a whole.

Two groups of students made their way over to the Belmont Public Library and the Woodland Garden, located on Concord Avenue. The first group stayed indoors and helped wash baby toys, organize books in the young adult section, and read with children.

“I like this particular community service event because it does good for the community while also building a structure for Belmont High School,” said Sasa Gutterman, Class of 2017.

Kylie Sparks, Young Adult reference librarian, described how before the event, the “room was totally packed full of books” and that it “is a really big help” when student volunteers can provide service.  She also loves that it brings people into the library.

Sophomore Teresa Frick read with a young kindergartener and commented that “he’ll use reading skills for the rest of his life, so it makes a big impact.”

Outside of the library, at the Woodland Garden, students gave their time in order to remove widespread euonymus ground covering that was preventing the garden’s vinca leaves from flourishing and surviving.  As summarized eloquently by junior Bo Lan, the motivation behind doing this type of physically challenging work is that, “we need the community of Belmont to enjoy this place.”  

Although difficult, students find it rewarding to see how their individual efforts can have a positive impact on our community.  Sarah Sos of the Belmont Garden Club stressed the fact that “it is important to get people started on a lifelong habit of not just acting for themselves but for working for the community as a whole,” an idea that is central to the purpose of the Connecting with Belmont event.

The Woodland Gardens was not the only location where students got involved in nature.  At the Mass Audubon Habitat, students cut back overgrown vines and weeds on the outskirts of Weeks Pond and Meadow. They cut down bittersweet leaves, which are invasive vines, in order to prevent them from taking nutrition from the trees, thus keeping the trees alive and healthy. Senior Katrina Rizzuto commented that “the scenery was beautiful,” and that “Habitat is definitely the best place to experience autumn.”

Students greatly enjoyed spending time in this peaceful atmosphere. After an afternoon of immersing himself in nature, Freshman Ken Chen said that he felt “a sense of accomplishment after all the work, because seeing the original pile of thorns disappear was rewarding.”

Students even had the opportunity to go as far as the Beech Street Senior Center, where many hands were desperately needed to manage the garden surrounding the building. The four students assigned here raked leaves and gathered the piles into leaf bags, and also learned how to identify and pull many different varieties of weeds.  Although having never met before, these students showed excellent group effort in helping in our community.  

“It’s important to help out and make connections with your community, and it’s also important to make connections with your peers, which is why this event is so significant,” explained senior Ritika Saxena.

The work of the volunteers was much appreciated by the group’s supervisor, Claire Stanley, for when asked for her opinion on the Connecting With Belmont Event, she disclosed, “I think it’s wonderful that students are required to do community service here in Belmont.  That did not happen when I was young in Michigan. It’s a great use of volunteer time and the senior center desperately needs more people than just me to take care of the garden.”

Back in nature at Belmont Acre Farms, students cleared over 1,000 square feet of plants from the farmland to leave room for crops. Mayura Thomas, Class of 2019, stated that she enjoyed the activity because “it felt good doing hard work for a good cause.” Farmer Michael Chase highlighted the outstanding point that “it’s important to make the connection to where your food comes from” and, also, that through this event, “you can directly see how multiple people working together can accomplish quite a lot.”

Overall, Connecting With Belmont was a huge success, and everyone is anxiously looking forward to participating again next year.

Belmont High Cheer Team In Regionals for First Time in 58 Years

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Photo: Screenshot from a video of the Belmont High Cheerleaders (courtesy Marauder Media)

It was in 1957 when the Frisbee was introduced, “American Bandstand” had its first broadcast, the Soviets launched the first space satellite named Sputnik and Elvis Presley was on everybody’s transistor radio.

It was also the last time a Belmont High School cheer team was in a regional competition.

That was until last week, when Belmont High Cheerleaders, with a flawless performance at the Middlesex League meet in Woburn, advanced to the Massachusetts Fall Cheerleading North Division 2 Regional championships to be held Sunday, Nov. 15, at Woburn High School.

Congratulations go to Amanda Bonilla, varsity cheerleading coach, and the boys and girls of the team which have upped their game in the past few years.

Below is the performance captured by Marauder Media:

Sports: Belmont Field Hockey Dominates Masco, Heads to Sectional Semis

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Photo: Morgan Chase (6) passes to Bridget Gardiner (center in white) for Belmont’s third goal vs Masco Regional.

Two goals by junior sensation AnnMarie Habelow and a smothering defense was more than enough to send Belmont High School Field Hockey to the Division 1 North Sectional semifinals as the 4th-ranked Marauders dominated 5th-seed Masconomet Regional High School, 3-0, in a quarterfinals matchup at Belmont’s Harris Field, Saturday, Nov. 7.

“Everything happened the best way it possibly could, defensively and on offense. They couldn’t compete with you today,” said Jessica Smith, Belmont’s head coach while congratulating the team.

“I’m psyched. I didn’t know what to expect coming into this game,” said Smith, adding that she wanted the team to win this game because it proves that Belmont “deserves the four seed.” 

“We’re coming from the Middlesex League, maybe the towns aren’t as big but in the past few years, Belmont is really proving itself as a solid field hockey school in the state. Year-after-year we make it a couple of rounds (in the playoffs) and now it’s time to take the additional step and be one of the great ones,” she said.

While the game was supposed to be a wide-open affair between two athletically-inclined teams, Belmont (16-2-0) would command long stretches of the contest while keeping Masco, the Cape Ann League Kinney champions, on their heels especially in the first half when the Middlesex League Liberty titleholders outshot the Lady Chieftains, 14-1, and had seven penalty corners while Masco would go the entire game without a penalty corner. 

And it was the fifth corner when Belmont took the lead when Habelow – who ended the afternoon with nine shots – took the inbounds pass from sophomore forward Bridget Gardiner and rocketed a shot from 15 meters past senior goalie Amanda MacPherson-Peachy with 11 minutes left in the half.

“The big thing about the game before (a 5-3 victory over Central Catholic on Nov. 5) is we didn’t score on any corners, and they are a time you have to capitalize and I took advantage of that today,” said Habelow, whose play especially in the defensive midfield was critical for Belmont’s quick transition to offense. 

Masco were playing a slower more deliberate game, sending all but one player into the defensive zone when Belmont came within the 25-yard area from its goal, then push up players while delaying their restart until they were in position.

“It’s really hard to maneuver inside but sometimes that makes it easier because they will bump into each other so when you beat one person, you’re actually beating two,” said Habelow.

The Chieftains’ tactic worked in the Marauders’ favor as it allowed Belmont to set up its defense, clogging up the passing lane. Led by co-captains midfielder Serena Nally, Lilly Devitt, Sophia Stratford, Meron Power and the two Molly’s, defenders Goldberg and co-captain Thayer, thawed many Masco passes and attempts at dribbling the ball and by the Marauders’ ability to quickly close down on the attackers.

Offensively, senior forwards Kerri Lynch and Kate McCarthy, sophomore Bridget Gardner and freshman Morgan Chase harassed the Masco defenders on their outlet passes while taking ever opportunity to rush the Chieftains’ net.

“What it was is that we were passing to each other and they were hitting the ball and hoping that somebody would pick it up. And we were ready for that, so our kids were moving to the ball just like their players,” said Smith.

Not helping Masco was playing all but two of their previous games on a grass pitch, as opposed to the uniformity of the Harris Field “Turf” pitch.

“You have to be so much faster on ‘Turf’ and I think their style of play was to bring everyone up and back, and you can’t keep that up on an artificial field because the ball is moving so much faster,” said Smith. 

Down a goal after the first half, Masco came out running and passing, keeping the ball in Belmont’s end for the first three minutes.

But a quick turnover at midfield led to Belmont’s first corner of the second half and Belmont second goal as Habelow from a step within the scoring circle slammed the ball from Molly Goldberg by a charging MacPherson-Peachy for a 2-0 lead after five minutes.

Masco now dedicated players to the offense leading to it best scoring chance as senior defender and co-captain Tessa Ives made a stellar solo run to within 10 meters of Belmont’s sophomore goalie Christina McLeod (her 11th shutout this season) but her pass never hit a stick as it went skating by the net.

The final time Masco came close to threatening Belmont’s goal was with 12 minutes remaining when a midfield miscue saw five Lady Chieftains racing towards Belmont’s goal. But Julia Chase stepped in front of the first attacker taking the ball and with it Masco’s momentum.

Belmont sealed the game in the final minute when Morgan Chase squeezed a pass by MacPherson-Peachy’s pads to a wide-open Gardiner on the far post.

Belmont’s semi-final opponent will be known after the match between one seed Acton-Boxborough and 8th-ranked North Andover taking place on Sunday, Nov. 8. If the Marauders meet Acton-Boxborough, ranked 11th nationally by Max Field Hockey, it will be a game of taking advantage of every chance provided.

“When you play a team like Acton-Boxoboroug, you don’t know how many times you’ll have offensive opportunities and working on those. It’s also making the offense understand how important every touch is in the scoring circle which I think we improved a lot this game,” said Smith. 

“Defensively it will be practice on moving our feet and forcing them out wide. And just being confident because you play the game because you don’t know who’ll win,” said Smith.

Habelow noted that Belmont has some experience with highly-touted teams.

“We’ll prepare for them just like we did for Watertown (the fifth-ranked team in the country and undefeated in 160 games). We respect the best teams like it’s an honor to play the nationally best teams because it makes us better and it makes the entire program better,” said Habelow. 

Sports: Belmont Swimming Back on Top Winning League Meet Championship

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Photo: Jessica Blake-West waiting to swim at a recent meet.

A week after a dispiriting loss in the season’s final dual meet to rival Reading Memorial High School, Belmont High School’s Girls’ Swimming and Diving team followed the lead of one of the great swimmers in program history and a freshman phenom to take home the Middlesex League Meet Championship title contested at Bentley College on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Belmont took 369.5 points for first with Reading second with 349.5 followed by Lexington with 226.5 and Winchester at 218.

Senior Jessie Blake-West set a meet record in her favorite event, the 100 yard butterfly and came in second to a boy in the 200 Individual Medley while 9th grader Nicole Kalavantis took both freestyle distance events, the 200 and 500 yard, to go along with a slew of mid-level swimmers garnering points and positioning themselves to set times that will allow them to head to the state championships in two weeks. 

Blake-West’s 57.47 second time in the butterfly erased a record going back to 1989, destroying Belmont’s Lena Eriksson’s past record of 58.22, and winning the event by more than four seconds. Her 2 minute, 14.52 second time in the IM was two second clear of the next girl as Blake-West finished second to Wakefield’s Christopher Anastasiades who swims with the girls since the school does not have a boys’ program. 

In the relays, Blake-West threw in a 25.76 fly leg in the 200 Medley Relay (with Molly Thomas, Emily Quinn and Solvay Metelmann), a time faster than all but a few freestyle legs as Belmont finished second to Reading. 

Kalavantis has become a big time scorer, first winning the 500-yard race the day before in Belmont breaking the 5 minute, 30-second mark (5:29.61) while tying for first with Bryan Filard of Woburn in 2:03.41, coming home in 31.25. Kalavantis also anchored the 4×200 free relay, cutting a seven-second deficit to two to see Belmont finish second. 

With Belmont needing only to finish second in the final event, the 4×400, to win the title over Reading, Belmont’s junior Julia Bozkurtian and senior Sara Noorouzi kept the team within striking distance of Reading when Kalavantis, who swam a 56.87 third 100 yard, touch off to Blake-West who proceeded to cap the night with a stunning 52.79 last 100 to catch and out touch Reading by three-tenth of a second, 3:47.66 to 3:47.95.

Also of note in the meet were senior Emily Quinn, junior Dervela Moore-Federick and freshman Angela Li qualifying for the state championships in the Medley Relay, while the same swimmers finished second, third and fifth respectively, in the 100 breast stroke with state times. 

Belmont’s long-time head coach Ev Crosscup said he was a little disappointed with some of the times posted by his charges at the Middlesex League Meet Championships held at Bentley College on Thursday, Nov. 5.

“Some didn’t do what I thought they could,” said Crosscup. “We’ll see hope things work out.”

But in talking to him, one could tell that he was proud at what the girls accomplished in taking home the championship crown a week after falling to Reading at Belmont’s Higginbottom Pool.

Next for the team is the North Sectionals which Belmont will be placed with powerhouse programs such as Andover, Chelmsford and Acton Boxoborough. Crosscup said he will be focusing on girls who are within reach of achieving a state qualifying time.

Then, it will be the state championship meet in which Belmont finished second in the past two years.

“It’s looking good, it really is. I think this meet meant a lot to where we want to be heading to states,” said Crosscup. 

Sports: Belmont Field Hockey Wins Nail Biter over Cent. Catholic, 5-3

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Photo: Senior co-captain Serena Nally led Belmont to victory over Central Catholic, 5-3, Nov. 5.

In a game that saw three lead changes and the home team falling behind for only the second time this season on Harris Field, Belmont High School Field Hockey scored two goals in the final five minutes of the second half to secure a hard-earned 5-3 victory over an underrated Central Catholic High School squad in a first-round game in the Division 1 North Sectionals playoffs.

“Belmont will be paying for my early retirement,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Jessica Smith after the nailbiter that saw the Marauders (15-2) outshot the Raiders, 20-8.

Belmont’s senior leaders stepped up in the game as co-captain Serena Nally scored a pair and assisted fellow senior Kate McCarthy on the game winner while co-captain Maggie Thayer anchored the defense. 

Belmont will host 5th-ranked Masconomet Regional High School (16-2-1), which easily defeated Haverhill, 5-0, on Thursday, at Harris Field at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7.

Usually, a match between a 13 and 4 seed is not that competitive but Central Catholics’ record (10-6-2) was deceiving as their six losses came from only three teams in the strong Merrimack Valley League, losing twice to the likes of 17-win Andover, 15-win North Andover and Chelmsford with 13 victories.

“They were better than I expected. Not at the beginning but they turned it on later in the half. Their offense was powerful,” said Smith.

And it was Belmont that got off to dream start as the Marauders broke the ice just two and a half minutes in when Nally slotted in a shot by the Raiders’ goalie after a solo run.

“I just lifted it a little and it went to the far post,” said Nally.

And for most of the first half, the game was one-way traffic going Belmont’s direction as the Marauders’ pressure provided some golden opportunities for Belmont to put the game to bed early.

But for the remaining 27 minutes of the half, the Marauders’ drew blanks. Even when Belmont was awarded a penalty stroke midway in the half (essentially the equivalent of soccer’s penalty kick) the team’s leading scorer, junior AnnMarie Habelow, sent a screamer wide of the net.  

“Everything was happening except for the execution at the end. Granted the goalie was good, she was there for the initial stops but we couldn’t get the touch on the ball coming through,” said Smith.

Late in the half, Central Catholic did not let their scoring chances go wanting, scoring from forward Mary Lambert with three minutes remaining in the half. 

“At the beginning we were having a tough time finishing our shots. We had a lot of opportunities on their end from [penalty] corners and our passing,” said Nally.

And Belmont would pay for their missed opportunities as Central Catholic was awarded its penalty stroke, which the Raiders’ leading scorer Courtney Woronka buried five minutes into the second half.

Despite being behind for only the second time at home this season (the other time was against Watertown), Nally said the team never lost the confidence that they could not come back to tie and go ahead. 

“Once we were behind, we realized we needed to turn it on and finish those balls to the post and tipping them in. We also did a good job talking and communicating and being open for one another,” said Nally. 

Within six minutes, Belmont tied the score through freshman wing Morgan Chase, who slotted in a Nally push pass at the post. And the Marauders retook the lead two-and-a-half minutes later as Nally scored off a Habelow “bouncy hit that I got a little piece of it and I tipped it in.”

But the Raiders were not about to surrender as the Raider’s Casey Thompson navigated by four Belmont defenders on a 60-yard run before beating Belmont goalie Christine McLeod to tie up the score once again with 13 minutes remaining.

As Central Catholic took advantage of the momentum switch, Belmont’s defense stiffened led by junior sweeper Julia Chase, who stopped several attacks with one-on-one battles within the attack circle. Thayer, Molly Goldberg, Sophia Stafford and Lilly Devitt set up a rolling wall in front of McLeod, who made two good stops over the next five minutes. 

Soon, Belmont took control of the ball and through Habelow and Nally put the pressure on the Raiders backline. It paid off with just under five minutes remaining when senior forward Kate McCarthy directed in the eventual game-winner off a pass from Nally who capitalized on a defensive lapse to steal the ball deep in the Raiders’ zone.

The Marauders kept the pressure on Central Catholic and scored an insurance goal with a minute, and change left as Bridget Gardner redirected a Habelow shot at the near post. 

Two things Smith will be drilling to the girls at practice is scoring and more scoring.

“Every opportunity, especially in a playoff game, has to count. I hope this game results in them knowing that feeling a little bit more and knowing the urgency of scoring.”

“If we scored on just a few of our chances in the first half, I wouldn’t be having heart attacks in the second,” she said.

Sports: Postseason Begins Thursday for Four Belmont High Teams

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A quartet of Belmont High School teams will begin their postseasons within a few hours of each other on Thursday, Nov. 5 

Belmont Field Hockey will host Central Catholic of Lawrence in a first-round Div. 1 North Sectional match at 4 p.m. at Harris Field. Here is your chance to see the 4th-ranked Marauders (14-2) in action against the 13th-seeded Raiders (10-6-2).

Belmont Girls’ Soccer travels to the edge of Logan Airport to take on the 6th-ranked Jets of East Boston High School (11-3-2) in a first rounder in the Div. 2 North Sectionals at 3:30 p.m. The Marauders are ranked 10th with a record of 11-6-0. 

Girls’ Swimming and Diving are in Waltham at Bentley College to participate in the Middlesex League meet. The event at the school’s Dana Center gets started at 2:30 p.m.

Finally, Cheerleading will be off to Woburn for the Middlesex League meet that begins at 7 p.m.