More Sports: Svistunov Repeats as Div. 1’s Top Wrestler; Lehr Second In Meet Of Champions; Belmont Youth Hockey Girls Take 2 State Titles

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Photo: Belmont High’s Ava Svistunov is now a two-time Massachusetts Division 1 champion

Ava and Eva bring home the silverware

It took Belmont High’s Ava Svistunov less than six minutes of total mat time in her three matches to retain the title of Massachusetts’ top Division 1 wrestler at the MIAA Wrestling Divisional championships held at North Andover High School.

On Feb. 22, Svistunov won the title at 114 pounds, a weight class one step higher than last year when she took the 107 pound crown. Not that moving up made much difference as the junior stormed through the category, defeating Saphira Sao from the powerful Lowell High team in the finals via a fall in the first period.

Belmont High Eva Cohan

Svistunov’s teammate Eva Cohan came home with her own medal, taking third at 120 pounds; her only defeat coming at the hands of eventual champion Adriana DeGroat from Framingham High. Cohen would go on to compete at the Girls All-State Championships on the next weekend.

Dana Lehr and Noah Geiger were on-track indoors

After being a lynch pin in the midfield on the Belmont High varsity soccer team in the fall, senior Dana Lehr traded her boots for track spikes and showed her versatility as an athlete with top-notched performances going round and round the indoor track.

A member of Emerging Elites – the same club Belmont’s Ellie Shea, the USA Under20 cross country and track member, competed – Lehr doubled at the Middlesex League Indoor Track & Field Championship, winning the one (4 minutes, 57.74 seconds) and two mile (10:56.10), taking the deuce by more than 20 seconds.

At the MIAA Indoor Meet of Champions held on Feb. 22 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, Lehr would hang on to Needham High’s junior sensation Greta Hammer (who won in 10:21.48) before running solo for an impressive second and setting her indoor PR of 10:33.19. Lehr was invited to run in the two mile at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet held in Boston, where she crossed the finish line in 10:43.53. Lehr will attempt to repeat as All-State outdoors 2 mile champion this spring.

Belmont High also showed off some young talent as first-year Noah Geiger took 7th in the two mile at the MIAA State Division 2 Championships finishing in 9:59.69, running as the only 9th grader in the finals. Geiger was 4th in the Middlesex meet (9:57.71).

State titles for Belmont Girls Youth Hockey

There will be two brand-new banners just waiting to be hung in the new Belmont rink and community center this December. And they belong to a pair of teams from Belmont Girls Youth Hockey who won state titles on March 2 at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough.

The Under 12 Tier IV girls showed a great deal of grit after starting the tournament losing two of their first three games. But with some help from other teams, Belmont got into the semifinals where they defeated Milton, 2-1. In the finals, Belmont topped Hingham, 2-1, exercising some revenge on the town whose high schoolers defeated Belmont, 2-1, in the MIAA state Division 1 quarterfinals.

In the Under 14 Tier III division, Belmont came out on top of KP Walpole, 3-2, in the semi-finals. A three goal second period against Charlestown put the championship game to bed as the Marauders secured its state title with a 5-2 victory. With five eighth graders having played varsity hockey this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few of the state champions on the high school team much sooner than later.

Freshman Krafian Leads Belmont at Div. 3 State Indoor Track Championships

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Photo: Freshman Carey Allard handing off to anchor sophomore Marley Williams in the 4×200 meter relay in the MIAA Division 3 state championships held on Feb. 13, 2015.

Anoush Krafian has been on the high school track and field circuit for less than three months but the Belmont High School freshman has made it known that she is a young force to be reckoned with after a series of strong performances in league and class races.

On the biggest stage she’s been on so far on Friday afternoon at the MIAA Division 3 indoor track and field state championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Krafian showed off her prodigious talents by nearly pulled off a stunning result, just miss winning a high jump state championship placing runner up to Chicopee High junior Mia Facchini. Facchini, Krafian and third place Meaghan Kelley from Tantasqua Regional High School all cleared 5 feet, 2 inches but their placements were determined by the number of jumps taken during the competition. 

With that second place and another great result in the 55 meter hurdles, Krafian led Belmont High School Girls’ Indoor Track and Field team to a 9th place finish totaling 19 points, 12 coming from the freshman.

Krafian was the only 9th grader in the entire 24 competitor field for the 55-meter hurdles, reaching the finals after qualifying in the top eight. In the finals against seniors and juniors, Krafian sped over the five hurdles to a fifth-place finish, breaking the line in 9.05 seconds, an event won by defending champ senior Isabella DiMare from Notre Dame Hingham (who also won the 55-meter dash and placed third in the 300 meters) who took the top spot in 8.57.

Belmont’s other points came in two relays with the 4×200 meter with sophomore Julia Cella, junior Meggie MacAuley, freshman Carey Allard and sophomore Marley Williams taking third in 1:48.34 and the 4×400 with sophomore Alexandra Bailey, senior Lizzie Frick, sophomore Jenna Magno and junior Katherine Ognibene coming home in 4:21.59 for eighth place.

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The Marauders brought a young team that could make considerably more noise next year as several individuals gained great experience:

  • Williams ran a 7.64 in the 55 meter dash.
  • Cella (43.02) finished 9th, Allard (43.29) 10th and MacAuley (44.38) 15th in the 300 meters.
  • Bailey finished 11th (1:42.19) in the 600 meters.
  • Sophomore Amelia Rasmussen ran a 3:13.36 in the 1,000 meters for 11th.
  • Klimasmith took 10th in the 2 mile in 12:16.62.
  • Joining Krafin in the hurdles were junior Samantha Kelts in 11th (9.63) and sophomore Rachel Berets in 18th in 9.8.
  • Belmont’s 4×800 relay (junior Meredith Hughes, Klimasmith, sophomore Ally Meringer and Rasmussen) ran a 10:21.3 for 11th.

Over in the boys’ meet, a pair of seniors scored the eight points placing Belmont in a tie for 19th place.

Owen Madden came home in 5th in the 300 meters in 37.18, five one-hundreths of second out of fourth while Ari Silverfine ran a 2:36.86 to take 5th in the 1,000 meters. Both of Belmont’s relay teams just missed the points by finishing in 9th: 4×800 meter team of seniors Dan Rizzo, Charles Smith and Silverfine along with freshman Zach Tseng in 8:33.93 and the 4×400 meter of seniors John Decoulos, Madden, Silverfine and freshman Calvin Perkins coming home in 3:40.58, just a hundredth of a second behind Stoughton in eighth.

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