Six high school takeaways, with New Balance track, coaching moves, college commitments, and another Gatorade award
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Ryan Kyle of Westford Academy was all smiles after seeing his 110-meter hurdles win displayed on the scoreboard during the Division 1 championship.
Barry Chin/Globe Staff
'Ryan is the athlete every coach dreams of having: talented, driven and never satisfied,' said Westford coach
Philip Archambault
. 'All are terrific attributes, but his ability to bring others along and make them a critical part of the team is what makes him one to watch.'
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Kyle, who graduated with a 3.27 GPA, volunteers with the Special Olympics and as a youth football and basketball coach.
With one more announcement to be made (girls' track) the 2024-25 Gatorade winners are:
(boys' basketball), and
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1. Bay Staters go national
Kyle wasn't the only Massachusetts track star to shine at the New Balance Nationals last weekend at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
While there were no national champs from the Bay State, there were three runners-up. Gavenas was second in the boys' two mile in 8:53.71,
placed second in the 5,000 in 14:25.19, and Brookline's distance medley relay of
Theodore Butty
,
Elijah Sweeney
,
Harry Flint
,
Altamo Ashkenasy
snagged silver in 9:55.24.
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Seven other individuals and four relays turned in top-10 finishes: Catholic Memorial sophomore
Amar Skeete
of West Roxbury placed third in the boys' triple jump (50-5.25), Westford junior
Abigail Hennessy
took third in the girls' mile (4:34.69), Peabody senior
Alessandra Forgiona
placed third in the javelin (144-1), Lexington junior
Aubrey Deardorf
was fifth in the girls' long jump (19-9), Belmont Hill senior
Josiah Gomes
, of Dorchester, was sixth in the boys' discus (188-7), BB&N senior
Avery Hart
was eighth in the girls' long jump (19-4.5), Weymouth senior
Ainsley Weber
was eighth in the javelin (134-8), Lexington junior
Ainsley Cuthbertson
claimed ninth in the girls' hammer throw (160-8), and Hopedale junior
Ari Levine
was ninth in the boys' shot put (60-6).
The Lexington girls' 4x800 relay, made up of
Callie Glenn
,
Natalie Bielat
,
Jane Conrad
, and
Amelia Whorton
, placed fourth in 9:09.84, while Conrad, Glenn, Whorton and
Lucy Kontos
teamed up to give the Minutewomen a seventh-place finish in the 4-by-mile (20.41.66). The Old Rochester boys' 4x110 shuttle hurdles relay (
Wesner Archelus
,
Calder Eaton
,
Malik Washburn
,
Sebastian Harrigan
) placed seventh in 59.88, as did the Boston Jesuit 4-by-mile, with
Shamus Larnard
,
John Wilson
,
Owen Geagan
, and
Greg McGrath
finishing in 17:29.22.
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Other top 20 finishes included Holliston senior
Connor Teague
in the long jump (18th at 22-6.5), North Reading girls' shuttle hurdles (14th in 1:06.61), Winchester girls' distance medley (19th in 12:19.47), Weymouth's girls' distance medley (20th in 12:19.50), Danvers senior
Kye McClory
in the javelin (16th at 173 feet), Hennessy in the 800 (12th in 2:08.22), Acton-Boxborough senior
Emerson Gould
in the girls' pole vault (15th in 12-1.5), Lexington junior
Franz Schroder
in the boys' hammer throw (29th in 188-1), Weston junior
Oscar Torres
in the boys' triple jump (47-4.25), Lincoln-Sudbury senior
Gabrielle Pierre
in the girls' triple jump (12th at 39-9.25), Natick junior
Chloe Elder
in the girls' 400 (16th in 54.73), Natick's mixed 4x400 relay (11th in 3:40.32), Lowell's mixed 4x400 relay (14th in 3:41.29), Natick senior
Sydni Chandler
in the girls' heptathlon (14th with 4,100 points), North Reading senior
Giuliana Ligor
in the 400 hurdles (14th in 1:00.76), Weston junior
Solana Varela
in the 400 hurdles (18th in 1:00.84), Lowell's boys' sprint medley relay (17th in 3:30.38), Haverhill's
Madeline Goncalves
in the girls' shot put (14th at 41-10), Arlington's
Bella Hayes
in the girls' shot put (17th at 41-5), and Peabody's
Alex Jackson
in the boys' discus (12th at 183-10).
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In the middle school competition,
Charlet Livingston
of Boston, who competes for the MetroCobras Track Club, placed sixth in the shot put with a throw of 41-0.5. Other Top 20 middle school finishers included West Roxbury's
Desmond Sullivan
, who runs with the FXD Hawks Track Club, taking 15th in the 800 (2:02.94) and 16th in the mile (4:37.66), Millis's
Emma Genovese
placed 15th in the mile (5:07.97), Sterling's
Annika Kindorf
was 16th in the 800 (2:17.09), and Lexington's
Daniel Sun
finished 19th in the shot put (42-8.75).
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2. Commitment central
After an incredible career at Medfield, including
Congrats to
— Medfield HS Lacrosse (@Med_Lax)
Randolph's
Amahn Williams
, a rising senior at Tabor Academy, announced his commitment to play football at Central Florida. The 6-foot-5-inch, 280-pound interior offensive lineman had offers from BC, UMass, UConn, Buffalo, Old Dominion, and Sacramento State.
AGTG🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Amahn Williams (@justamahn)
Burlington senior
Grace Seaman
, the two-time Middlesex League Freedom Division MVP, announced she will play volleyball at Hamilton. The Red Devils' single-season record holder for aces and kills, Seaman also holds career marks for aces, digs, and kills.
— BHSdevilsVBALL (@BHSdevilsVolley)
Carver senior
Jack Balzarini
, a 6-2, 190-pound quarterback, has committed to play football at Hudson Valley Community College. He threw for 2,229 yards and ran for 546 as a senior, totaling 40 touchdowns and throwing for a state-record seven scores in a win over Bourne.
JUCO - Hudson Valley Community College
— Michael Balzarini (@Balza79Michael)
Former Sandwich hockey standout
Chris Cotillo
, who last played for the Smith Falls Bears in the CCHL, has committed to skate for UMass Dartmouth.
🚨COMMITMENT ALERT 🚨
Bears '05 Forward Chris Cardillo has committed to NCAA UMass Dartmouth for the 2025-2026 season.
Congratulations Chris!!
📸: Chris Uhlig
— Smiths Falls Bears (@SFBears)
Eldon Terry
, a 6-9, 210-pound center who attended Brockton High and CASH in Boston, announced he'll be leaving Quincy College to play basketball at Concord University, a Division 2 school in West Virginia.
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— Eldon Terry (@Eldon173)
Former Amesbury and Austin Prep baseball standout
Jake Harring
is transferring from Hofstra to Salve Regina. The 5-7, 155-pound rising sophomore played in 15 games for the Lions.
Excited to announce I will be transferring to Salve Regina University.
— Jake Harring (@jakeharring2024)
Patrick Otey
, a Westwood resident who just finished his sophomore season at CATS Academy, announced he will be transferring to St. Thomas More (Conn.). A 6-5 guard and the No. 29 recruit in the Class of 2027, he has offers from Providence, Florida State, and Villanova.
SOPHOMORE Pat Otey just added a ton of value to a hot RWE squad 👀
— Overtime Elite (@OvertimeElite)
Tabor added a pair of recruits with size: 6-9 junior forward
Isaac Saas
, a rising junior from Beverly, and
Billy Stewart
, a 6-7 rising junior forward from the Bancroft School who hails from Auburn.
Please join me in WELCOMING 6'-9" Junior Isaac Saas to the Tabor Basketball Family!
- Coach Willard
— Tabor Boys Basketball (@TaborHoops)
Please join me in WELCOMING 6'-7" Junior Billy Stewart to the Tabor Basketball Family!
- Coach Willard
— Tabor Boys Basketball (@TaborHoops)
3. Coaching carousel
Leshon Crawford
, a former football and basketball star at Rockland, will take over the girls' basketball program at Weymouth. Crawford has served as an assistant at Quincy College and is director of the Level Up Hoops AAU program.
Weymouth is coming off an 0-19 season, but was 20-5 and reached the Division 1 quarterfinals in 2023-24 with
Doug Kirby
at the helm.
Wildcat Nation please welcome Coach Crawford to the family !!!!! Go Cats ….
— Rob O'Leary CAA (@wildcatnationAD)
▪ BC High announced that
Mark Whitehouse
has been promoted to head soccer coach. Whitehouse has coached at the school since 2011, working his way up from freshman assistant. Whitehouse also coaches rugby and teaches math at BC High, which went 7-6-7 in its final season under
Billy Ryan
.
'I'm truly excited to get started,' Whitehouse said in a statement. 'My goal is to take the next big step with the program —modernizing our style of play and competing to win the state championship.'
Whitehouse played at Long Island and with the Longridge Town Football Club in the English Conference League, and has coached club and youth teams.
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'Mark has a clear vision for the soccer program,' said BC High AD
Tom Conley
in a statement. 'I am confident our young men will develop as players and he will help them reach their goals and get them to the next level while becoming better men.'
Ryan retired in May after coaching BC High for 32 years, winning more than 300 games and a state championship.
We are proud to announce Mark Whitehouse as the next Head Varsity Soccer Coach! Coach Whitehouse, who has been a dedicated member of the BC High soccer program since 2011, is also a Math teacher and Head Development Rugby Coach at BC High.
— BC High Athletics (@BChighathletics)
▪ After 11 seasons,
Anthony Palladino
is stepping down as the Joseph Case football coach. He will remain the school's athletic director. Palladino, who played at Bridgewater State, helped turn the Cardinals around, leading them to a South Coast Conference title in 2019, their first in 27 years. Assistant coach
Alex Monteiro
, also a BSU graduate and assistant coach with the Bears, will serve as Case's interim head coach for the 2025 season.
▪ After three straight seasons struggling to compete in the Patriot League, Quincy and North Quincy will be combining their hockey programs for the 2025-26 campaign and 16-year North Quincy coach
Matt Gibbons
will take the helm of the co-op. They will continue to compete in the Fisher Division.
The Presidents and Raiders combined to go 11-29-1 last season, and the last winning record between them was Quincy's 12-8-2 mark in 2021-22. They're a combined 27-91-5 since.
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▪
Robbie Winter
is taking over as the Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake girls' hockey coach. W-H/S-L is coming off an 11-10 record and a Division 1 tournament appearance under
Jim Stone
.
Winter, who played men's hockey at Curry, is director of Boston's Eastern Hockey Federation, the largest club youth hockey league in the country. He has coached the Boston Jr. Terriers U14 Tier 1 team for six years, is a member of the Massachusetts Hockey Board of Directors, and served as girls hockey director of the South Shore Eagles.
'We are excited to welcome coach Winter to our program,' said Whitman-Hanson AD
Bob Rodgers
in a statement. 'His extensive experience in girls hockey and proven track record of player development make him an ideal fit.'
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▪
Keith Davie
will be taking over as Newton South athletic director after Patricia Gonzalez retired after 11 years in the position. Davie is being promoted from assistant AD and has experience as athletic director at Nyack College.
▪
Richkaard Verrier
is the new athletic director at Westwood High. Previously the assistant AD at Needham and Brookline, he also worked for the New England Revolution for five years. He has coached boys' JV soccer at Milton and Foxborough and played at Curry. He succeeds
Matthew Gillis
, who announced his retirement earlier this month after 33 years in the school district.
4. 'Wally' Seaver Invite adds North tournament
The 14th 'Wally' Seaver High School Invitational has a new addition this year, with a North event to be held at St. John's Prep on Saturday and Sunday, followed by the main event at Mass Premier in Foxborough and The Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton July 26-27. More than 150 teams are slated to compete between the two events.
Our inaugural 'NORTH' Event at SJP takes place this upcoming weekend! The new satellite event preludes our annual 'MAIN EVENT' in late July.
155 (and counting) HS teams between the 2 events, ready to play and
NORTH SCHEDULE:
— 'Wally' Seaver HS Invitational (@WallyHSInvALS)
5. Red Sox hand out scholarships
One hundred public high school graduates from across New England received $1,000 college scholarships the Red Sox Foundation as part of the New England Service Scholarships.
The recipients, 31 of whom are from Massachusetts, will be honored before the Red Sox vs. Blue Jays game Friday at Fenway Park. They were selected for their meaningful impact through local community service.
Malden's
Abigail Lee
will receive the inaugural Somers Scholarship, which honors the late Helen Somers, a 1946 Malden graduate and the mother of Fenway Sports Group partner Steve Somers.
The program has provided scholarships to more than 1,900 students since 2010.
6. NFHS teams with RefReps
The National Federation of State High School Associations is entering an exclusive deal with RefReps as its officiating education technology and curriculum partner.
The NFHS, and the MIAA, have previously worked with RefReps, which led to the launch of NFHS Digital, a mobile app for distributing and accessing official rules publications.
'Making this partnership official was an easy decision,' said
Dr. Karissa Niehoff
, NFHS CEO and a Marblehead High graduate (Class of '83). 'RefReps reimagined the officiating education experience, and it is easy to see the remarkable impact that it has had on the industry. What they have accomplished with their digital platforms and curriculum is reshaping the future of sports as a whole.'
Brendan Kurie can be reached at
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San Francisco Chronicle
19 hours ago
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