Six high school takeaways from a weekend that locked in the MIAA hockey finals and basketball semifinals
Let's dive into Sunday's highlights, starting with the six semifinal hockey games, three of which went to overtime, and two of which needed a second extra period:
1. Grappling with history
Sunday also saw the
Sid Tildsley
became the all-time wins leader in Massachusetts high school wrestling history with 245. The Rams senior had already claimed an extremely rare fourth All-State championship, fourth Lowell Holiday Tournament title, then captured his third New England crown. And all that came after he quarterbacked Shawsheen to the Division 5 football championship in December.
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Sid Tildsley gets the technical fall with a second left at 138 pounds, his third New England championship for a Hall of Fame berth, and the Massachusetts all-time wins record (245)!
— AJ (@aj_traub)
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Chelmsford senior
Thomas Brown
, who grew up childhood friends with Tildsley, also won his third New England title to go with four Lowell Holiday and four All-State championships.
With this victory, Thomas Brown is a three-time New England heavyweight champion and Hall of Famer!
— AJ (@aj_traub)
The Massachusetts girls were
Amelyiah Martinez
(235 pounds), Methuen's
Janessa Santiago
(145), Ludlow's
Samantha Bertini
(107), and Northeast Tech's
Shelby Galex
(152).
NE: Amelyiah Martinez made the comeback from down 8-0 to win the 235-pound title by pin!
— AJ (@aj_traub)
2. The hockey finals
All six championship matchups are set and will be played at TD Garden on Sunday, with times still to be announced.
Division 1 boys:
No. 14 St. John's (Shrewsbury) vs. No. 4 Catholic Memorial
Division 2 boys:
No. 3 Canton vs. No. 1 Billerica
Division 3 boys:
No. 2 Medfield vs. No. 1 Nauset
Division 4 boys:
No. 6 Dedham vs. No. 5 Winthrop
Division 1 girls:
No. 15 Bishop Stang vs. No. 1 Hingham
Division 2 girls:
No. 13 Medfield vs. No. 6 Milton
3. Sunday's best
Three games ended with sudden victory in overtime. St. John's (Shrewsbury) senior
Daniel Menyalkin
ended his second straight game with an OT winner.
Final (2OT): No. 14 St. John's Shrewsbury 4, No. 7 Arlington 3
Daniel Menyalkin does it again!
His second consecutive OT winner — and the third straight for
SJS overcomes two-goal third period deficit.
— Cam Kerry (@camkerry7)
Milton's
Sabrina Stone
netted both the third-period equalizer and double-OT winner to beat Marshfield, 2-1.
D2 GIRLS FINAL: Milton 2, Marshfield 1
After scoring the tying goal in with under four minutes left in regulation, Sabrina Stone nets her second of the game to end it 45 seconds into 2OT.
The No. 6 Wildcats (20-3-2) are onto TD Garden.
— Matty Wasserman (@Matty_Wasserman)
After Billerica watched
Ryan Johnson
54 seconds into the extra period to reach their first state title game in 48 years.
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Final (OT): No. 1 Billerica 2, No. 2 Tewksbury 1
Ryan Johnson wins it to send
Unbelivable finish, as Ryan Shreenan scored for Tewksbury with 0.09 seconds left to send it to OT.
— Cam Kerry (@camkerry7)
After Dedham's
Noel Adams
and Medfield's
Kamryn Perachi
recorded shutouts in Saturday's semifinals, it was Catholic Memorial eighth-grader
Jaxson Fleming
(12 saves) and Nauset senior
Zach Coelho
who posted clean sheets Sunday.
While there were no hat tricks on the day, Nauset's
Logan Poulin
managed a 5-point day with two goals and three assists in an 8-0 win over Scituate, giving the senior an incredible 51 goals and 83 points on the season.
4. Five seeding nuggets
In the boys' and girls' basketball tournaments, nine of the 10 No. 1 seeds have reached the semifinals, with the Hopedale girls falling to No. 9 Lee in the Division 5 quarterfinals, making Lee the lowest-seeded girls team still dancing.
On the boys' side,
Only one school still has three teams playing: Medfield, which will be represented by its boys' and girls' hockey teams at TD Garden, while its top-seeded girls' basketball team has cruised into the Division 2 semifinals, where it will face No. 5 North Quincy on Tuesday at Bridgewater State (6 p.m.). Four schools have both their basketball teams still alive: Springfield Central, Norwell, St. Mary's, and Bourne.
So what was the strongest hockey conference this season? In terms of tournament success, it's the Tri-Valley League, which put three teams in the state finals: Dedham boys, and both the Medfield boys and girls. Unsurprisingly, the boys' Division 1 final will be an all-Catholic Conference affair, but the two teams doing battle might surprise you: Catholic Memorial and St. John's (Shrewsbury), which started the season 1-9. The Patriot, Bay State, Hockomock, Cape and Islands, Northeastern, and Catholic Central conferences will also be represented at TD Garden.
What about basketball? It might surprise you to learn the 11-school Berkshire County League still has six teams dancing: Taconic boys, Monument Mountain boys, Drury boys, Pittsfield girls, Lee girls, and Hoosac Valley girls. With five semifinal bids, the 52-school Pioneer Valley Conference has the second-most representation (Springfield Central boys and girls, Pioneer Valley boys, South Hadley girls, Renaissance girls) followed by the South Coast Conference (Bourne boys and girls, Somerset Berkley boys, Old Rochester boys) and Catholic Central (St. Mary's boys and girls, Bishop Feehan girls, Cathedral girls) with four each. The rest: Hockomock (3), South Shore (2), Bay State (2), Midland-Wachusett (2), Patriot (2), Tri-Valley (2), Merrimack Valley, Catholic, Northeastern, Boston City, Cape Ann, Mayflower, Dual Valley, and Inter High.
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:
5. Best in Boston
Holland senior guard
Jasaad Fenton
was named the Boston Public Schools Player of the Year. A four-year starter, three-time city champ, and the all-time program assist leader, Fenton has the top-seeded Bulldogs in the Division 4 semifinals, where they face No. 5 Monument Mountain on Wednesday at Worcester State.
Can't say enough about this 4 yr starter, 3x city champ, Burke's all time assist leader
— Burke Boys Basketball (@Burke_MBB)
6. Coaches corner
After Friday's Division 4 quarterfinal loss, Carver girls' basketball coach
Mike Ponte
announced he is stepping down. The former Westport girls' coach led Carver to 56 wins, a South Shore League title, and two trips to the state quarterfinals in four seasons.
Last night's game marked the end of my run as the Head Girls Coach at Carver High.56 wins 2 trips to the Elite 8 a SSL title and countless memories with great kids made for a special 4 years.Thank you to all!
— CoachMP (@coachPonte)
Brendan Kurie can be reached at
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