In The Heat Of The Moment: Belmont High Girls Rugby Captures 8th Straight State Title Beating Weymouth, 36-24

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Photo: Belmont High Girls Rugby Senior Captain Capucine “Cappy” Detheux holding the MIAA Girls’ Rugby championship trophy after the Marauders defeated Weymouth, 36-24, on June 11

Three scoring tries from Belmont’s standout junior Rebecca Christensen and a masterful demonstration of solo and group tackling from its backs led Belmont High Girls Rugby to win the program’s eighth consecutive MIAA State Rugby title, defeating a talented Weymouth High, 36-24, at Quincy’s Memorial Stadium on Thursday, June 11.

With the victory, Belmont remains the only program to have won the Division 1 crown, starting in 2016 with only the COVID pandemic preventing championship matches in 2020 and 2021. 

In postgame comments to her team, Belmont Head Coach Kate McCabe, who originated the program in the mid-2010s and has led the team since, said the players demonstrated a “beautiful display of heart” during the game.

“You should be so proud of the rugby that you played,” said McCabe, just before she was drenched with a “Gatorade Bath” from three of her players.

With the temperature pitchside breaching 100 degrees on the sun-soaked turf field (requiring water breaks every 10 minutes), and with a pair of starting forwards in senior prop Maria Ocampo Fram and super sub junior Timkkha Mukwazhi on the bench with injuries, Belmont’s young team – having graduated 13 of 15 senior starters from the 2025 team – understood they would have their hands full with a Wildcats team that has greatly improved in the past three years.

“We knew coming in that Weymouth was going to be such a challenging opponent. They run so hard, they play really beautiful possession rugby,” said McCabe. “They kept our regular season game close (a 42-24 Belmont home victory on May 15), so this would be certainly a battle out there.” 

An important factor in the win was a day of aggressive tackling on Weymouth’s runners, including its impact players Nicole Moraes and Delaney Barhight. From the start, Belmont’s junior center LeeLee Kozelian, junior wing Claire Ferreira, junior flyhalf Nina Lind and senior ‘8’ and captain Cappy Detheux gave the Wildcats little space to break into the open field. During many of its phases, Weymouth would be stalled or lose territory from Belmont’s defensive stance. 

“It was really about consistently making those tackles to get the opportunity to reclaim possession, and when we had ball in hand, getting over our rucks and keeping the ball, and the opportunities would arrive,” said McCabe.

“I think it was really hard in the heat, but we play together around the ball and that really made a big difference,” said Detheux.

On offense, the team would look up to its all-star Christensen to lead the way. 

“A lot of people would look at the fact that [Christensen]’s very tall, she knows how to run through contact, and imagine that is the thing about Becca that’s impressive,” said McCabe. “But she has tremendous rugby IQ; she sees space, she is a constant voice on the field, directing where traffic goes, distributing the ball, and calling plays at set pieces.”

The game

Both teams began on the front foot, with Belmont cracking the scoreboard first when senior fullback Farrah Harris showed her wing speed turning the defensive corner then cutting inside the last defender and cruised 30 meters untouched into the try zone after seven minutes to give the Marauders a 5-0 lead. 

But Weymouth’s Moraes would punish Belmont by intercepting a long and slow back pass and trotted opposed to try at 10:24. Only a missed conversion kept the Wildcats from taking the lead. 

Belmont started attacking Weymouth’s defensive middle with Christensen scoring her first try with a 10-meter push at the 15-minute mark to up the advantage to 12-5. Just under four minutes later, sophomore wing Cece Held took a great delivery to streak down the left sideline, giving the Marauders a 17-5 lead.

But just as it appeared Belmont was starting to pull away, a stolen ball by Weymouth after the kickoff put the Wildcats deep in the Marauders end. And while there was some debate on the sideline that Belmont had prevented the ball from being grounded in the end zone, the try was given, and the subsequent conversion cut the lead to five, 17-12 at the 23-minute mark.

The next 10 minutes saw many possessions change via the knock-on rule – a players miss handling the ball that advances – on both sides as the heat began taking a toll on both teams. But a late Belmont surge into Wildcat territory saw Held repeat her sideline sprint to score with a minute and a half remaining to double Belmont’s lead to 22-12 at the halftime whistle. 

Despite going down to 14 after a player was sent off due to a 10-minute yellow card penalty, Belmont came out of the locker room with the momentum, nearly scoring twice in the first five minutes with an apparent try disallowed as the ball was held up. The third venture towards the Wildcat tryline proved successful as Christensen rammed the ball into the try from a meter out to push Belmont’s lead to 29-12. 

After a Marauder penalty placed the ball deep inside Belmont’s end, Wildcat MVP Delaney powered through for a try at the 49-minute mark to cut the Marauders’ advantage to 12 points (29-17). But Weymouth’s hoped-for comeback would be hampered by its own yellow card, removing the offending participant for a critical 10 minutes. 

With possession, Belmont battered Weymouth, launching power runs at its center. With its line weakened by heat and assault, the Wildcat front buckled as Christensen scored her most impressive try of the game: a crashing, spinning, and ultimately diving coup de grâce putting the Marauders up by 17 with 12 minutes remaining. 

After her final try, Christensen came to the sideline and told McCabe, “I have nothing more.” 

“That’s all we’re asking for, right? Go out there and give everything that you have, and [Christensen] certainly put it all out there on the field tonight.” 

Delaney would have the final say for the Wildcats with a weaving, slalom-like sprint for a try at 10 minutes on the clock. But once it regained the ball, Belmont essentially ran out the clock to secure its eighth title.

After the game, McCabe said winning the championship started back in the cold and wet of March.

“We talk at the beginning of the season that the goal is to get here, and that’s all we talk about. So I think it means a lot to each player, and they each have their own answer about that. For us, as coaches, I think getting to this game is the thing that we’re most proud of, and what happens on the field the players control, and it’s not so much about us. That’s why I’m so proud of them.” 

After ‘Insane’ Finale, Belmont High Girls Lacrosse Awaits Waltham In MIAA Tourney Opener Wednesday

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Photo: Belmont High’s senior attack Niamh Lesnik scored the Marauders’ final six goals including the game winner to beat Central Catholic, 13-12, to end its season at 13-5 and a 14 seed in the MIAA Div. 1 Girls’ Lacrosse tournament

After winning what several players deemed an “insane” final game of the season, Belmont High Girls’ Lacrosse hosts the opening game of the 2026 MIAA tournament in a cross border clash against Waltham High on Wednesday, May 27.

The match gets underway at 6 p.m. at Harris Field.

And the most recent contest – a wild 13-12 victory over Central Catholic High of Lawrence – is an indication that Belmont is a team entering the MIAA Div. 1 tourney on a high.

“It was unbelievable,” said Dan O’Brien, Belmont’s Head Coach who has put together three seasons of 13 regular season wins – along with a 14 wins in 2024.

It was no meaningless game as Belmont was hanging on to its 14th placement by 8/10,000th of a point over Beverly in the MIAA Power Rankings entering the final games. The Marauders traveled to the Merrimack Valley to face 13th-ranked Central Catholic on its seniors game. A loss could see Belmont fall possibly two places and draw a stronger opponent in the playoffs. This would be a must win for the Marauders and they performed.

Belmont’s Sydney Mun

“The girls had a lot of energy, a lot of hype for the whole entire game,” said one participant.

It was a particulary tight game which a player discribed as “either we were down one, up one, or we were tied.” Belmont’s defense came through with a pair of backline replacements in attack Reese Bundy and Eva Sen each who “did an incredible job against [the CC] attack,” said O’Brien. Senior Goalie Brooke Hanser contributed saving seven shots, that included her 300th of her career

Speedy defender Lily Cook was O’Brien’s defensive MVP, winning ground balls, making six clears – in which Cook advanced the ball from the defensive to the offensive end – and riding opponants like crazy up the field.

Belmont’s Lily Cook in action against Wilmington

On the offensive side, senior attack Sydney Mun tallied seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) and Nora Goulding came away with a goal and three assists.

Trailing 5-6, it was in the second half when the game went a little loopy. As CC was scoring, they were also picking up yellow penalty cards for serious fouls mostly for dangerous checking, that forced the offending player to sit out for a two-minute penalty. And midway through the third quarter and the score tied at 8-8, CC accumulated its fourth yellow which required the Raiders to play the rest of the game a player down.

With the man advantage, it was time for Belmont’s All-Star to shine, as senior Niamh Lesnik stepped up to take control of the offense. The Fairfield University-bound midfielder scored a natural hat-trick – three consecutive goals – to propel Belmont into a lead.

But Belmont would commit a foul and CC – in front of enthusiastic fans – was able to score three of their own to go up 12-11 going into the final quarter of the regular season.

With a chance to eck out a victory, CC received a fifth yellow – to the utter chagrin of its coach – resulting in two of its players sitting-down, forcing the hosts into full defensive mode attempting to protect its one goal lead.

Despite drawing the attention of the Raiders’ best defender, Lesnik would knot the game up midway through the quarter before taking a pass from Goulding in the final two minutes to take the victory back to Belmont, as Belmont’s co-captain scored eight of Belmont’s 13 goals, securing the 14th seed.

“A great win to take into the tournament,” said O’Brien.

Traditional Thanksgiving Football Game Moves Back A Day To Wednesday Under The Lights

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Photo: Belmont High Football will be celebrating future Thanksgiving victory over Watertown a day early and under the lights.

A century old tradition of a Thanksgiving Day gridiron battle between Belmont and Watertown is no more as the teams will take their historic rivalry a day earlier, this year on Wednesday, Nov. 25, under the lights on Belmont’s Harris Field.

The day change was announced by Belmont Athletic Director Adam Pritchard on Thursday, April 23.

While most Turkey Day games are moved to Wednesday due to pending bad weather or the teams are invited to clash at Fenway Park as Belmont and Watertown were in 2022, the move to will allow players, bands members and fans to have a relaxing Thanksgiving morning and for families to get an early start to meet relatives or travel.

While the games at Harris and Watertown’s Victory fields are well attended, Pritchard said he expects fans will be motiviated to come out as each school will hold their annual pep rallies earlier in the day and it will be a “great way to start the holiday under the lights,” said Pritchard.

While a tradition in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, most high schools around the country have finished their football season weeks before with many states holding their finals or semifinals on the Thanksgiving weekend. In addition, the National Football League is likely to add a night game on a Thanksgiving Wednesday next season.

Belmont High Girls’ Tennis Jumps To 5-2 Start; Set To Face Three Unbeaten Squads This Week

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Photo: Belmont High’s first year Isha Appadewedula

While Belmont High Head Girls’ Tennis Coach Eileen White said she and her team were eager for spring’s arrival as they were getting ready to make another run in the MIAA tournament.

What White – in her 21st year leading the Marauders – and the team had also hoped for was for some early spring-like weather to prep for the season.

“It doesn’t help when it’s in the 40s and windy for the first month,” said White, who led Belmont to an 11-8 record in 2025 and a first-round home match in the Division 1 tourney.

“I think that’s been a little bit of a transition from training indoors to be like, ‘Oh my, there’s wind, there’s sun, there’s noise’ and things like that. I think everybody, even the girls who have played in the past season and you’ve played inside all winter, it’s an adjustment.”

Despite playing through a frigid early spring weather and enduring twisted ankles that threw the projected lineups over the side, Belmont has compiled a 5-2 record, winning its first three matches by identical 4-1 margins while dropping what White “annoyingly tight” 2-3 encounter to Arlington in blustery, cold conditions.

And just warmer temperatures have arrived, so Belmont will playing three undefeated teams in Westford (4-0), Lexington (5-0), and Winchester (5-0). [Belmont were swept by non-league opponent Westford Ghosts, 5-0, on Monday.]

Heading one of the most cosmopolitan teams at Belmont High – the players speak 13 languages and come from a diverse array of cultures and countries – White has every expectation the team will be playing extra matches after the end of the regular season.

“We’re competing as always. We expect to be hopefully in the state tournament and we expect to be challenging for the Middlesex League,” she said. And that confidence starts with the

“I’m confident our singles, we’ve got great singles,” she said.

The three singles that took the court against Wakefield were two first years and a senior who established themselves as starters. First-year Isha Appadewedula has taken hold of first singles.

“Isha has been amazing, winning all her matches so far this year,” said White. Whether Appadewedula stays at one or moves to two depending on how she does in the Challenge Matches, “she’s a great addition no matter what,” said White.

Senior Giselle Fond did not play her usual second singles place after rolling her ankle in a early season practice. She finally returned to the court in first doubles with the only returning varsity doubles player, senior Avery Cal. “This might be a nice way for Fond to ease in playing a little doubles. Don’t have to run around so much in doubles,” said White.

Malina Lorentan is Belmont’s second first year to crack into the varsity squad.

“I gave her a chance [on singles] and she’s jumped all over it,” White said of the native of Switzerland, After losing a tight one against the SpyPonders, Lorentan impressived White with her ability to step up against Wakefield.

While having established a solid three in singles, White said she’s “still struggling a little bit to find the right combination” to send out for doubles. “We were spoiled in the past few seasons. We had really good doubles players. Last year we just got so many points from them,” said White.

“We lost three out of the four players of our starting doubles so that’s where we’re trying to recalibrate a little bit,” said White.

Senior Cal, who had the same partner for the previous two seasons, has been in the process of feeling out a new partner “so that’s been like the experiment.” Against Wakefield, White teamed her up with fellow senior Fond while Grace Harrington and Eve Whitmer were in at second doubles.

While it will be challenging to repeat as a top 16 team in the power rankings, White said “we’re excited just to get a few good practices in and a few games here and there to get a solid squad out there in each match.”

Belmont High Southpaw Pair No-Hits Everett In ‘Home’ Opener, First No-No In 26 Seasons

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Photo: A happy Belmont High baseball team celebrates with pitchers Craig Deane and Kyle Ksander who combined for the Marauders first no-hitter since 2000.

As far back as November, Belmont High School’s long time baseball manager Jim Brown was talking highly – in his iconic dead pan manner – of the pitching staff he would be sending out to the mound in the spring.

“They’ve been prepping really well in the off-season. Yeah, four who I think are going to impress,” said “Brownie.”

It only took the first game of the campaign to prove Brown’s forecast right as a pair of those arms went out and put up a marker for the rest of the season as senior southpaws Craig Deane and Kyle Ksander combined to no hit Everett, 6-0, in the season opener on Friday, April 3.

Pitching under the lights, Ksander – a 6 foot, 175 lb. returning varsity lefty whose fast ball tops out at 85 mph – struck out eight in four innings while the multi-positional Deane K’d seven in his three innings of action to share Belmont’s first no-hitter in 26 years.

The season’s “home” opener was played at Watertown High School’s turf field due to the soggy conditions at Brendan Grant Field.

The no-hit shutout is a promising start for Belmont coming off a 9-11 ’25 campaign where it got pushed around against “mehe” opposition to miss the MIAA tourney.

After being on the road against Melrose (Monday) and Reading (Wednesday), Belmont will be at the Grant on Friday, April 10 vs Watertown. First pitch is at 4:15 p.m.

Belmont High Girls’ LAX Wins Opener Over Wayland, 13-11, As Mun Rises From The Pitch With 5 Goals

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Photo: Belmont High School senior co-captain Sydney Mun scoring the Marauders’ first goal of the season in the season opener vs. Weston.

It was a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em girls’ lacrosse season opener for co-captain Belmont High’s Sydney Mun as the senior midfielder found herself sprawled on the turf at least a half dozen times.

But like the best fighters, the senior forward picked herself off the canvas to score, collecting five goals, including the game winner, leading Belmont High Girls’ Lacrosse to a 13-11 victory over a stubborn Weston squad at Harris Field on Tuesday, March 31.

The first time Mun hit the deck came with seconds remaining in the opening quarter – with her stick flying skyward as she landed with a thud – resulting in the team’s first tally of the year off the subsequent penalty zone free position.

Belmont’s head coach, Dan O’Brien is not surprised at the times Mun was spun, knocked, and went down during the game. “It happens a lot,” he said. “She plays so aggressively, and she goes hard. She makes good things happen. And we’re gonna need that all year from her, so it’s good.”

While the evening’s focus was on Mun scoring, it was a moment of situational awareness – call it lacrosse IQ – that O’Brien said was Mun’s most important involvement of the game, coming within three minutes from the final whistle after Weston cut the lead to two.

A Belmont sideline pass got loose and headed out of bounds, which would turn over the ball to the Wildcats, giving the visitors an opportunity to cut the lead to a single score. But tracking back to the ball, Mun put herself in position to snag the ball in her stick and gain possession.

[Mun] made a really great, smart, aggressive play, winning that ground ball, then going backwards with it and killing the clock. That’s the type of heady stuff that I’m talking about,” said O’Brien.

For Mun, just the start of the season was a long time coming for the multi-sport student athlete. 

“I think it’s super exciting to be back on the field, and it was really a team effort. Ball movement was a big contributor to finding open players, and it was just really fun,” said Mun. She said her and the team’s quickness was the advantage that provided the win for the Marauders’.

“During practice, we are always doing conditioning, getting the first step, and starting to accelerate in our speed. I think that was very evident in our game,” said Mun.

Tuesday was game one in one of the more difficult schedules a high school girls’ lacrosse team will play this season. The week of the public schools spring break (April 22) will see the Marauders enter a four-game gauntlet against powerful opponents Billerica, Andover, Top 20 North Andover, and defending Division 2 state champions Notre Dame, Hingham.

And Belmont will be facing these powerhouse programs with a newly formed backline. Led by returning starter senior Fiona Rodrigues-Clark, the three newcomers to defense – sophomore Gabriella Carney and juniors Nina Sheth-Voss and Lily Cook – have, while being a work in progress, grown as a cohesive unit.

“That was a brand new defensive unit we have out there,” said O’Brien. “We’ve got to continue to develop their communication and learn how to play as a unit. Lily [Cook] stepped up [against Weston] and played great individual one-on-one defense, and Gabriella [Carney] made a couple of great plays to force turnovers at the end.”

Belmont’s newly constructed defense showed enough promise supporting senior goalie Brooke Whalen, who came up with 11 saves that allowed the Marauders to stay in front for the entire game. “[Whalen] had the big saves when we needed them. It’s always about stealing one or two goals that made the difference tonight,” said O’Brien.

“She’s our Brooke Wall,” said a teammate after the game.

Along with Mun, O’Brien was encouraged that the Marauders’ attack didn’t rely on a single player. And that single player is usually senior midfield All-Star Niamh Lesnik who had a couple of goals, including a solo run taking the draw and storming down the middle of the field to deposit her first of the season. Senior attack Nora Goulding provided three assists, junior mid Ruth Siegert had two goals, and Maddie Tisdale contributed a goal and an assist.

“So I’m happy with the way we’ve taken coaching,” said O’Brien. “Now we have to see continued improvement.”

Belmont Boys’, Girls’ Hoops Run Into Hot Hands As Marauders Dropped From Tourney

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Photo: Belmont senior co-captain Andre Chavushian drives by the Chelmsford team in Belmont’s

Belmont Hoops found it a rocky road in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 Boys’ and Girls’ state tourney as the Marauders failed to take down their hosts.

Boys’ Hoops: Andover 65, Belmont 52

After an inspired win in the play-in game vs Chelmsford – a wire-to-wire 51-40 victory – Belmont (13-9) was looking to continue its outstanding end-of-season play as they traveled to Andover for a first-round Division 1 match-up against the second-ranked Golden Warriors (19-2).

The Marauders knew they would be facing a stout Andover defense. What they did not account for was the offensive explosion coming from Andover’s junior guard Josh Roux. The recently named co-MVP of the Merrimack Valley Conference came to play, scoring off fast breaks, from offensive rebounds and three pointers. When the half ended, Roux had buried 21 of Andover’s 41 points.

Belmont did keep the contest close, trailing by 11 at the half. But the Marauders allowed sophomore Charlie Tutwiler to total 11 points while unable to score a bucket until midway through the quarter. While Roux was “held” to seven points in the second half, the damage was done.

Belmont High’s junior center Braiden Dargon (left) challenges Chelmsford’s senior Kevin Burns while Peter McLaughlin looks on.

In the end, while Belmont played over its head in a 2nd vs 31st ranking match up, the quality did rise to the top to Andover’s advantage. The competitiveness Belmont put on the court in their final five games provided a glimpse into what should be coming next season, demonstrated in Belmont’s 51-40 play-in win against Chelmsford on Tuesday, Feb. 24. A strong man-to-man defense, and timely shooting from senior captain Charlie Tingos (13 points) and senior captain Andre Chavushian (10 points) – who scored the first six of Belmont’s points using the Euro step to perfection – while junior big man Braiden Dragon (9 points) was a imposing presence under the basket.

“I can’t tell you what’s its like to come in here every day and be able to go to work with kids that enjoy what they’re doing. They’re very close. They all get along. They’re very unselfish. They’re the boys who looked after each other. I see that continuing next season,” said first year Head Coach Dan Burns.

Belmont are saying farewell to seniors Chavushian, Tingos, Elijah Pierre, Weston Zalewski and Elijah Akins.

Girls Hoops: Needham 54, Belmont 36

The first round match between the 24th-ranked Belmont vs 9th-seed Needham could not have started any better for Belmont with senior captain Sophia McClendon and sophomore Sarah Geller hitting their first shots and with junior Stella Ivkovic coming up with semi-hook to see the Marauders go up 6-3 half way through a sloppy first quarter. And when junior Rebecca Christensen put in an offensive rebound (Christensen would end with double digit rebounds) and McClendon hit a spinning drive in the lane, Belmont would enter the second quarter up by 4 points, 10-6.

Belmont High’s Rebecca Christensen grabbing an offensive rebound against Georgetown

And when senior co-captain Leah Attridge made one-of-two, Belmont had its biggest lead of the night, 11-6. But the Rockets would launch off, outscoring the Marauders, 18-2, with Geller’s runner the sole points for Belmont. Needham’s center Eva Andrews began dominating on both ends of the court, taking McClendon out of her game, and scoring half of her 22 game high points. Belmont did not help its cause going 3 for 15 from the free throw line.

It was fitting that Erin Attridge, one of three co-captains, had the opportunity to score, making one of two with four seconds remaining. Geller and Christensen would end up co-high scorers with 11 each.

Belmont seniors McClendon – who reached the 1,000 point milestone this season – and the Attridge twins played their final game for the Marauders.

Belmont High Teams Start Tournament Run With A Pair At Home

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Photo: Senior captain Sophia McClendon, here celebrating her reaching the 1,000 point milestone, leads the Marauders against Needham in the first round of the MIAA Div. 1 playoffs

The playoffs have begun, and Belmont Hoops and Hockey are in the mix.

Boys’ Basketball: at home vs Chelmsford, Tuesday, Feb. 24

The Marauders (12-8) had spent the entire season below the playoff line in the MIAA Power Rankings – teams have to be ranked 32nd or higher to get the automatic in. 

But Belmont demonstrated a tournament-like toughness in its final regular season game – a blowout of Reading – and winning the two games in the Spartan Classic at St. Mary’s saw them crossing the 32-ranking barrier to close the season 31st.

Belmont, under first-year head coach Dan Burns, will host a play-in game with Chelmsford (11-9, 34th ranked) with the tipoff at 6 p.m. Belmont will rely on being physical under the basket with big man junior center Braiden Dargon, while the offense will be steered through seniors Charles Tingos and Andre Chavushian.

The winners will meet second-ranked Andover.

Girls’ Ice Hockey: at home vs. Shrewsbury, Wednesday, Feb. 25

The Marauders (11-6-3) have been a dependable team this season, taking care of the teams they should be defeating while playing tough against their betters (an exciting 2-2 tie against Hingham). But the season has been one where the team has, at times, struggled to find a go-to scoring option, especially after losing forward Alexcia Fici to an injury. 

Rising as high as 13 in the power rankings just a few weeks ago, Belmont’s lack of offense showed up in the final two games, a 3-1 loss to Winchester and a disappointing 3-0 shutout by Waltham. The season’s final power ranking saw the Marauders ‘barely holding on to the 16th seed, the final spot for a first-round home game.

Belmont hosts a good Shrewsbury squad (10-7-3) on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with the faceoff at 7 p.m. The Marauders will rely on their first “O” line made up of the two Mackenzies (senior Clarke and first-year Tierney) and sophomore Mia Smith, while Belmont’s impressive group of defenders – Elsie Lakin-Schultz, Martha Dimas, Kate Townsend, and Ava Keefe – will front rookie goalie Elinor Dorn to keep the Marauders in the game.

Boys’ Ice Hockey: away vs Pope Francis High (Springfield), Wednesday, Feb. 25.

It’s been a season for Belmont Hockey (5-15-2) that can only be considered a rough one, starting with a 6-0 shutout to Catholic Memorial, the top-ranked team this season. After losing nine seniors and three standout players moving to private programs, it’s been an extensive rebuilding season for a team that last season was the top public school team in the state. 

Belmont will travel nearly across the state to take on 7th-seed Pope Francis (14-5-3) in Springfield. There will be a familiar opponent as the Marauders meet the Cardinals twice in February: a 5-2 defeat on the 11th and an 8-1 loss in a postseason tournament. 

Girls’ Basketball: away vs Needham High, Friday, Feb. 27. 

A young team led by three seniors, the 24th-ranked Marauders had a successful season as the players learned first-year head coach Antonia Macklin’s system based on an in-your-face defense and patient offense. 

The Marauders (13-7) travel to Needham to meet the 9th-ranked Rockets (14-6) with tip-off at 5 p.m. on Friday. Senior captain Sophia McClendon (who reached the 1,000-point plateau this season) and sophomore guard Sarah Geller – with a pair of 20-point games – will lead the offense, with rebounding magnet junior Rebecca Christensen and twins, senior captains Leah and Erin Attridge, bolstering the defense.

Getting The Job Done: Belmont Boys’ BBball Reach Tourament And Takes Home Post-Season Silverware

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Photo: Belmont High’s 25-26 seniors (from left) Charles Tingos, Eli Pierre, Andre Chavushian, Eli Akins, Weston Zalewski, and Tyler Raubenheimer

When push came to shove, the Belmont High Boys’ Basketball propped open the door just wide enough to squeeze into the MIAA Division 1 tourney. The Marauders left it late, winning the final game of the regular season, a beat down of Reading, 66-35, to reach the 10-win mark that secured an away play-in game.

“I knew when I took the job, that they had some good players,” said Dan Burns, the Marauders’ first year coach. “I also was aware that it was going to take some time for us to get where need to be. So the goal for us was to get 10 wins, and we got it. It feels great. I’m really happy for the kids.”

Then as if the burden of making the post-season was a weight the team couldn’t wait to remove, Belmont went out and brought home post-season silverware, capturing the Division 2 winner’s trophy from the Spartan Classic at St. Mary’s in Lynn. The Marauders defeated Lowell Catholic, 68-51, on Sunday and then took down 15-4 Lincoln/Sudbury, 57-53, via a late three-point dagger-to-the-heart from senior captain Andre Chavugian (17 points) with a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch.

“It was a great overall team win. Everybody played,” said Burns. “I thought the seniors really came out and carried us right from the start we haven’t had a really good start in a long time.”

Nearly ever game this season has been a struggle for the Marauders as the team learned Burn’s new system throughout the season. Sporting a power ranking of 37, five spaces from an automatic placement, Belmont walked onto the court on Seniors Night needing a victory to move on. As fortune would have it, the Rockets have had an uncharacteristic poor season sporting a 3-16 record.

One issue the team was battling all season was falling behind early in games.

“We haven’t had a really good start in a long time, and we’re usually six or seven down going into the second. Tonight we actually went up seven (9-2) early. That’s a credit to the seniors and their leadership,” said Burns.

Belmont got out in front early and just kept scoring. With a solid defense, the Marauders raced through the first quarter up 18-8, led by senior Charles Tingos with a pair of threes and a run away lay up. Belmont’s second quarter resembled Secretariat at Belmont, throwing down 21 while holding the Rockets to six to blow the doors off of the game to lead 38-14, by the half. Junior co-captain Braiden Dargon scored 12 of his 15 points. in the quarter dominating the post on both ends of the court.

With a good lead on hand, Burns was allowed to look down his bench and give those players time on the floor. Senior guard Eli Akins provided the night’s highlight when after initially blowing a dunk, stole the ball and completed the slam to the delight of the students section. The Maruaders didn’t let up in the fourth scoring 18 to take their 10th of the season.

“It was a great team win. [It] gets us to the tournament that was our goal all year. So great to accomplish that,” said Burns.

For Burns, the last three wins gives a boost to the team’s belief that it can do some damage in the tournament.

I think we have a lot of size, and we’re pretty physical, and, we tend to beat up teams inside with our rebounding and just our physicality is a problem for most teams.”

“We’ve had a couple heartbreaking losses, and we’ve had some great wins, too. And part of that is just learning how to win,” said Burns.

Belmont High Boys’, Girls’ Hockey Enters Final Week Coming Off Big Wins At Woburn

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Photo: Belmont’s Mackenzie Tierney vs Reading

When push came to shove on Saturday, Feb. 7, it was the Belmont High hockey program that shouldered past host Woburn in a pair of late season matches giving a boost to the Marauders’ playoff hopes as the state Division 1 tournament looms only a fortnight away.

Belmont High’s Girls’ continued its best stretch of the season with five wins and a tie in its last six games with a convincing 3-1 away victory over 10th-ranked Woburn in the midst of Saturday’s snowfall.

It was Belmont’s Mackenzie Bookends – first year Mackenzie Tierney and senior Mackenzie Clarke – who tallied Saturday with the youngster collecting the first goal in the first period from the point while the veteran put home an empty netter with 30 seconds remaining in the third to go along with her first period backhander to seal the deal.

Along with sophomore Mia Smith – whose second goal scored in the final minute salvaged a 2-2 against Reading the previous Saturday – the “Macs” have stepped up in February after Belmont’s top scoring threat, sophomore Alexcia Fici, was lost to a season-ending injury.

Belmont High’s Mia Smith scoring her second goal in 2-2 tie with Reading.

The Marauders defensive lineup – led by junior Elsie Larkin-Schlutz, first years Amelia Long and Kate Townsend and senior Martha Dimas – has been stellar in front of goalie Elinor Dorn who has replaced consenus All-Star Jil Costa. The sophomore put up 43 minutes of shut out goaltending against Woburn which was on a seven-game winning streak.

With the weekend win, Belmont (10-4-3) sweeps the season series over the Tanners with its second 3-1 victory, the first coming at home in early January. The Marauders inflicted the only league losses to Woburn which came into the game 10th in the MIAA Division 1 Power Rankings. Belmont was 15th in the all important rankings, the penultimate place that secures a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

Belmont’s final three games of the season includes its final regular season home game at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 11 vs. Lexington, a Valentine’s Day love match against Winchester in Woburn at 2 p.m., and a season ending romp with Waltham at Bentley University on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 1:45 p.m.

It’s been a trying season for Belmont High Boys’ Hockey. Last year’s squad was one of the state’s elite, sixth in the final MIAA power rankings, with 15 wins (15-6-1), shutting out the state’s top-ranked team (Pope Francis) while winning the Ed Burns Coffee Pot tournament. A three overtime loss to league rivals Winchester in the Sweet 16 of the MIAA tournament was a shocker but the team appeared ready to reload for the 2025-6 campaign.

But the loss of nine seniors and the transfer of the team’s three lynchpin players raised a large question mark for the season. The answer to that quiry was that it would be a tough rebuilding year for the Marauders. Playing in one of the state’s most competitive leagues – three teams in the top ten of their power rankings – with a very difficult non-league schedule, the Marauders have been in games where they could not match up in talent or bulk.

“Do you a weight room we could use?” joked Belmont Head Coach Tim Foley between periods of one of the matches where his players were pushed around.

The result has been a 3-12-2 record with the team sitting in 28th in the Power Rankings, percariously close to the 32nd ranking that marks the final automatic playoff place. What Belmont needed in the final stretch of the season would be a big time win.

And that is exactly what the team did, swamping 6th-ranked (in Division 2) Woburn, 6-3, at the O’Brien rink, as junior defender John Connolly racked up the hat trick and forward Michael Rowan took home three points with his own brace while adding an assist in the team’s performance of the year.

The three-goal margin gave the Marauders the maximum points avaliable as they seek to secure a playoff spot. Belmont – which is coming off a 2-0 win on Sunday against Braintree in the consolation game of the Ed Burns Coffee Pot tournament – will meet 8th-ranked Pope Francis in the final home game on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 7:15 p.m. and Winchester on Valentines Day in Woburn with a noon start. The team finishes its season playing in West Springfield in the Cardinal Classic on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and Wednesday, Feb. 18.