Five high school sports takeaways from a Thursday full of coaching hirings and college commitments
1. Milestones
▪ In the span of three days, Braintree senior
Bella Duffy
became the girls' lacrosse program's all-time points leader and all-time leading scorer. Her latest record is the all-time goals mark, and she needed six to reach it in Thursday's game against Milton. She finished with seven goals, giving her 282 for her career to surpass Grace Reinhold's mark from 2018.
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Your New All-Time Leader in Goals! Congrats on another record, Bella!!! We L💙VE YOU!!!
— 20KMD (@20_kmd9967)
▪ Senior
Maggie Teahan
already was the program record-holder for goals at Brookline (242), and she became the first player in program history to reach 300 career points with a goal and an assist in a 9-8 win over Framingham.
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▪ Rockland boys' lacrosse coach
Dave Taylor
earned his 100th win, which also marked the 100th win for the program, which he started in 2014.
Varsity Boys Lacrosse Coach, Dave Taylor earns his (and the program's) 100th career win with a victory over Middleboro this afternoon. Coach Taylor introduced the town to lacrosse through a youth initiative in 2011 and started the Varsity program in 2014. Congrats Coach!!
— Rockland AD (@Rocklanddogs)
2. Daily lacrosse leaderboard
Goals
Bella Duffy
, Braintree, 7
Emma Finch
, Greater Lowell, 7
Gavan Biggins
, Rockland, 5
Isa Robinson
, North Andover, 5
Colin Carfagna
, Bridgewater-Raynham, 4
TJ DiMario
, Rockland, 4
Riley Gillis
, Pembroke, 4
Daniel Hanafin
, Burlington, 4
Jason Kane
, Burlington, 4
Jayson Kelleher
, Bridgewater-Raynham, 4
Mike Murphy
, Lynnfield, 4
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John Powers
, Lynnfield, 4
Mia Simuang
, Lowell, 4
Points
Duffy, Braintree, 7
Finch, Greater Lowell, 7
Carfagna, Bridgewater-Raynham, 6
Hanafin, Burlington, 6
Kane, Burlington, 6
Kelleher, Bridgewater-Raynham, 6
Robinson, North Andover, 6
Biggins, Rockland, 5
Meghan Daley
, North Andover, 5
Cam Shanahan
, Burlington, 5
Simuang, Lowell, 5
3. Coaching carousel
▪ Medford announced the hiring of
John Prestigiovanni
as its new boys' soccer coach. A Medford alum and lifelong resident, he has served as the school's JV coach for more than 10 years. 'John is a first-class person who will now join a long list of great Medford High School coaches,' AD
Robert Maloney
said in a statement.
New Story: Congratulations John Prestigiovanni our new Boys Varsity Soccer Coach
— MHS Athletics (@mhsathletics2)
▪ Dedham has pegged former Newton South coach
Steve Matthews
as its new boys' basketball coach. Matthews, who starred at Catholic Memorial before playing at Northeastern and Emerson, coached the Lions from 2018-23. After a knee injury ended his career in the British Basketball League, Matthews became an assistant under
Denis Tobin
at CM, was head coach at Matignon, and also served as an assistant at Brookline, New Mission, and Burke (now Holland). Matthews led the Lions to back-to-back Dual County League titles.
His vision for developing student-athletes both on and off the court aligns perfectly with the values of Dedham High. We are confident he will bring energy, integrity, and a sense of purpose to our program.
— DedhamAthletics (@DedhamAthletics)
▪ Bishop Fenwick has a new boys' hockey coach and
Craig Seabury
is familiar to hockey fans after serving as Winchester girls' hockey coach from 2014-23. The former UMass Lowell and Salem State player also was an assistant with the Somerville and Stoneham boys' teams. He was 115-40-20 at Winchester, making 10 consecutive playoff appearances and winning a Middlesex League title. Seabury has served as an assistant softball coach at Fenwick for the past three years, working under his brother,
Brian
. He takes over a Fenwick girls' hockey program that hasn't made the postseason in five years and is coming off a 2-18 season.
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▪ Triton hired
Ed Melanson
as its football coach. Melanson has served as an assistant at North Reading, Hamilton-Wenham, St. Mary's, Peabody, and Triton, where he has been since 2022. He replaces
Patrick Sheehan
, who led the Titans to a 7-4 record last fall.
4. Commitment central
Tri-county senior
Andrew Jennings
, a 6-foot-3-inch, 300-pound lineman, announced he will play football at Nichols College.
Congratulations Andrew Jennings '25 on your commitment to playing football at Nichols College!
— Tri-County RVTHS Athletics (@TriRvths)
Wakefield seniors
Cam Deprizio
and
Frankie Sullivan
made their commitments official, with Deprizio to play baseball at Salem State and Sullivan to compete in track and field at Trinity.
Congrats to our student athletes who will continue their Athletic careers at the college level:
Cam Deprizio: Baseball
Frankie Sullivan: Track & Field
— Wakefield Athletics (@WMHS_Warriors)
Haverhill seniors
Kevin McAninch
and
Michael Morris
announced they will be wrestling at Emmanuel.
Kevin McAninch has committed to the wrestling program at Emmanuel College. Congratulations Kevin!!!
— Haverhill Athletics (@GoHillies)
Michael Morris has committed to the wrestling program at Emmanuel College. Congratulations Michael!!!
— Haverhill Athletics (@GoHillies)
Sebastian Wilkins
, the No. 31 overall boys' basketball player in the Class of 2026 as ranked by 247Sports, will announce his decision between Duke and Maryland at 4 p.m. Friday on YouTube. Wilkins, a Canton native who began his high school career at Lawrence Academy before transferring to Brewster Academy, is a 6-foot-8-inch wing.
Brewster Academy and Mass Rivals' Sebastian Wilkins will announce his commitment tomorrow, live on the
Watch Live:
— Adam Finkelstein (@AdamFinkelstein)
5. College corner
Senior goalie
Elizabeth Driscoll
, a Marblehead graduate, became the first Saint Anselm women's lacrosse player to be named to the IWLCA Division 2 All-America first team. She posted a .521 save percentage and allowed 10.06 goals per game, going 12-7 in 19 starts.
Congrats to Elizabeth Driscoll, Elyse Scales, and Lucy Mawn on being named to IWLCA All-Region Teams!
— Saint Anselm College Women's Lacrosse (@STAHawksWLax)
Named to the USA Lacrosse All-American third team were Saint Anselm junior
Colby Goodchild
and sophomore
Finn Granara
, both Reading High graduates. Freshman
Matt Lemay
(St. John's Shrewsbury/Westminster) and junior
Quinn Gannon
(Scituate) were chosen as honorable mentions.
Connecticut College senior
Nick McLaughlin
, a Wilbraham & Monson graduate, earned a spot on the USILA All-America second team, while junior
Liam Horkan
, a Belmont Hill graduate from Malden, garnered honorable mention status. McLaughlin, a short-stick defensive midfielder, recorded a career-best nine goals and five assists, finishing second on the team with 43 ground balls. Horkan scored 39 goals with eight assists.
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UMass Lowell graduate student
Garrett Murphy
, a Billerica graduate, was selected to play in the USILA Division 1/2 North/South Senior All-Star game, which will be held Friday at Roger Williams. Murphy, who was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team finished the season with 19 goals and 32 points, both career highs.
Hey now, you're an all-star 🌟
Congrats to Garrett Murphy on being selected for the USILA North/South All-Star Game! Best of luck tomorrow!
STORY:
— UMass Lowell Men's Lacrosse (@RiverHawkMLax)
UMass Dartmouth freshman
Ancil Alexander
, a Taunton High graduate, became the first Corsair to earn All-America honors in the discus after finishing sixth at the NCAA Division 3 Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Congratulations to Fr. DL Ancil Alexander (
— UMass Dartmouth Football (@CorsairFootball)
Saint Anselm senior
Michael Papamechail
, a Danvers High graduate, was named to the All-Northeast-10 third team, as was freshman
Brandon Vitarisi
, a Reading High graduate.
Saint Anselm track senior
Ava O'Donnell
, a Cardinal Spellman alumna from Raynham, was honored as a USTFCCCA Division 2 All-Region selection for her performance in the 1,500-meter run, while on the men's side sophomore
Andres Infante
, a St. John's (Shrewsbury) graduate from Marlborough, earned the same honor as part of the Hawks' 4x400 relay.
Brendan Kurie can be reached at
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I know everyone says not to take for granted the time that you have, but it's so true. I'd tell anyone to put in the work and don't sell yourself short.'
