The Revere High girls track team has won its last two meets, including an exciting 71-63 triumph over Lynn Classical that was decided in the final race, the 4 x 400 relay.
Revere held a 66-63 edge entering the 4 x 400 event, but with the winner of that race taking all five of the points at stake, the meet itself was on the line as the girls on both teams toed their marks for the start of the race.
“Going into the relay, both teams were scrambling to put together a relay team due to most of the kids on both teams already having competed in the maximum number of two running events,†said RHS head coach Anonio LaBruna, who selected the quartet of  Yesenia Arango, Sarah Almeida, Christina Martinez, and Danielle Fortuna.
Although the stage was set for a dramatic finish, the Revere girls grabbed the lead from the start and kept building their margin through the race, winning by a very comfortable gap of about 80 meters in a time of 5:04.
“Yesenia, Sarah, Christina, and Danielle were extremely clutch in delivering the walk-off relay win for our team,â€Â noted LaBruna.
Up until the final and decisive race, the meet had been a see-saw one, with the two teams capitalizing on their particular strengths to stay within striking distance of each other.
The Lady Patriots dominated the distance events, capturing 26 of a possible 27 points, including a key sweep of the 800 meter run by the trio of Nikki Nelson, Fortuna, and Suellen Guerreiro.
“We were down by a few points going into the 800 and Nikki, Danielle, and Suellen knew that we needed to sweep the event,†noted LaBruna. “They ran as a pack and completed the sweep.â€
Both Nelson (whose winning 800 time was 2:47) and Guerreiro performed double duty for the Lady Pats, with Nikki also winning the mile in a time of 6:45 and Suellen capturing the two mile run in 13:58.
Other first-place finishers for Revere were: Jackie Pisano with a clocking of 1:20.1 in the high hurdles;  Comfort Toglan with a 200 dash of 27.2, which tied Comfort’s own school record time from last season; Jessica Cambraia with a triple jump of 28’-1/4â€;  and the 4 x 100 relay foursome of Cambraia, Angie Buenaventura, Brenda Rudecindo, and Toglan in a time of 54.3.
Second place finishers for Revere were: Rudecindo with a trifecta in the high hurdles in 18.4, the high jump with a leap of 4’-6â€, and a triple jump of 27’’-8â€â€™, which gave the versatile Brenda a team-high 10.25 points on the day;  Fortuna in the 800 in 2:48; Jackie Dion in the two mile in 14:38; Taylor O’Neil in the mile in 6:53; and Angeliki Hodaj with a toss of 76’-6† in the javelin.
Adding third place points for the Revere cause, which were crucial in the closely-contested meet, were: Pisano with a time of 19.6 in the high hurdles; Arango with a clocking of 1:24.8 in the 400 hurdles; Buenaventura in the 100 dash in 14.3; Sarah Almeida in the 400 dash in 1:11.9; Guerreiro in the 800 in 2:55; Herlinda Fernandez with a javelin toss of 73’-0â€; Ariana Licata with a shotput toss of 26’-2†and a discus twirl of 64’-0â€â€™; Toglan with a long jump of 14’-0â€; and Monica Posada with a clocking of 7:15 in the mile.
The Lady Patriots had an easier chore in their next outing, handily defeating Lynn English, 89-47. The outcome never was in doubt, as Revere won 12 of the 14 individual events as well as the 4 x 100 relay. Rudecindo was the top scorer for Revere with three first-place finishes and a leg of the 4 x 100 for a total of 16.25 points.
First place victors for the Lady Patriots were: Brenda Rudecindo, 21.7 (High Hurdles); Jackie Pisano, 1:21.3 (400M Hurdles); Comfort Toglan, 29.2 (200M); Sarah Almeida, 72.3 (400M); Danielle Fortuna, 2:52 (800M); Nikki Nelson, 13:44 (2 Mile); Angeliki Hodaj, 77’-4†(Javelin); Ariana Licata, 25’-8†(Shotput); Brenda Rudecindo, 4’-6†(High Jump); Brenda Rudecindo, 14’-6†(Long Jump); Suellen Guerreiro, 6:22 (Mile); Catherine Elam, 27’-11†(Triple Jump); and the 4 x 100 relay quartet of Jessica Cambraia, Angie Buenaventura, Brenda Rudecindo, and Comfort Toglan in 55.0.
Second place finishers adding three points to the Revere cause were: Jessica Cambraia, 31.7 (200); Herlinda Fernandez, 59’-6†(Javelin); Ariana Licata 61’-11†(Discus); Una Causevic, 4’-2†(High Jump); Catherine Elam, 13’-10 1/2†(Long Jump); Jessica Cambraia, 27’-9†(Triple Jump); and Jackie Dion, 6:41 (Mile).
Third place finishers for the Lady Pats were were: Luana Santos,1:27 (400 Hurdles); Fiona Kerthi, 75.2 (400); and Tricia Cheever, 3:11 (800).
“The times from the running events were all slower across the board due to the gusty winds that didn’t let up at all during the meet,†said LaBruna. “As soon as the kids turned on to the back stretch for the final 100 meters or so, it was incredible how much the wind played a factor. I’ve never seen anything like that before.
“We were able to get a look at some of our younger athletes in varsity races and they all held up well,â€Â continued the coach. “Luana Santos, Catherine Elam, and Eidiliana De Pina all made their track and field debuts and Luana and Catherine ended up scoring and Eidiliana finished one second from scoring.â€
The Lady Patriots now stand at 2-0 in the Large Division of the Northeastern Conference and are 2-1 overall. They were set to trek to Beverly yesterday (Tuesday).
Boys lacrosse team defeats Winthrop, 8-3
The Revere High boys lacrosse team claimed its second victory in a row with an 8-3Â triumph over Winthrop last Thursday.
The Patriots, who now stand at 2-2 on the season, jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. “We have tried to focus on starting games strong and coming out of the gate with intensity, and we executed on those two fronts,†said RHS head coach Mike Guanci.
For the second straight game, Brian McNitt gave Revere some very strong offensive play with two goals and three assists. “So far this season, Brian is doing a good job controlling the pace and directing our offense,†said Guanci. “He has definitely stepped up his game.â€
Stephen Piazza reached the back of the Winthrop net with three goals. Jay Seigal added two markers and Eddie Sullivan pitched in with one. “We applied pressure all game. Winthrop’s goalie played a very strong game and turned away some tough shots,†said Guanci.
Seigal also did a fine job on faceoffs for the second straight game. “That has been an area of focus for us all year in practice, and Jay has been stepping up,†noted the coach.
On the defensive end, RHS netminder Doug Zingali made 10 saves. “We had two defensive breakdowns to let them back in the game, but besides that, we played a very strong game,†said Guanci. “Our 6-on-6 defense has been a real strong point for us this year. We have a unit that plays tough and smart, and they have been growing as the year has gone on.â€
The Patriots have some tough match-ups coming up at Salem tomorrow (Thursday), at Methuen Saturday, and at Swampscott Monday. “Our schedule is going to really start to intensify, and the week after the April break, we are starting a stretch in which we play nine games in three weeks,†said Guanci. “The next two weeks are going to really test our mettle as our team, so hopefully we can continue our strong play. We have been working hard and improving, so I think we are going to be up to the task.â€
MacDonald, Hinojosa pace RHS softball team
The Revere High softball team relied on the big bat of Ally Hinojosa and the pitching of Noelle MacDonald to rack up a 15-3 victory over Lynn English last Thursday.
Hinojosa was a one-girl show for the Lady Patriots at the plate, going 4-for-4, drawing a walk, and scoring four runs.
“Ally was awesome,†said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello, whose team benefited from some shoddy English fielding that helped the Lady Patriots score three runs in the first inning, four in the third, three in the fourth, and then five in the sixth.
Another big story for Revere was the pitching performance of MacDonald, who went all six innings and allowed just four hits. Noelle tossed four scoreless frames before yielding a three-run homer in the fifth that broke up her shutout bid.
“Noelle was superb,†noted Cicarelllo of MacDonald. “She threw strikes and made them hit the ball and then our defense was there when needed.â€
The Lady Patriots did not have as much luck the next day in their contest with Medford, a team whom Revere had beaten 6-5 in their first encounter this season. MacDonald once again drew the starting assignment in place of regular RHS starting hurler Sabrina Palermo, who was on the sidelines nursing a sore arm. The Lady Patriots also were missing the services of starting shortstop and leading hitter, Kristina Stella, who is sidelined with a concussion.
The teams battled through a scoreless first four frames when, in Ciccarello’s words, “The wheels fell off the bus for us. We’d been playing great defense to that point, but then all of a sudden we couldn’t make a play and it became contagious.â€
Five Medford players crossed home plate in the fifth and then seven more did so in the sixth for the 12-0 finale.
The loss marked the first blemish of the season for Ciccarello and his crew, who now stand at 5-1 on the year. The Lady Patriots were set to travel to Peabody on the holiday, trek to Gloucester today (Wednesday), and then host Westford Academy Saturday morning. They will entertain Danvers Monday and travel to Marblehead next Wednesday.
Bad inning befalls RHS baseball team
Through the first four and one-half innings of their game at Gloucester last week, the Revere High baseball team was playing what head coach Sean Brinkley described as “our best baseball of the season.â€
RHS pitcher Noah Jaynes was cruising along with a shutout and the defense behind him was flawless. In the top of the fifth, the Patriots broke a 0-0 deadlock when Tom Portrait, with teammates Steve Selevitch and Mike Ciambelli aboard, singled home Selevitch to give Revere a 1-0 lead.
But in the Gloucester half of the frame, the proverbial roof fell in on the Pats. The heretofore silent Gloucester bats came to life with a succession of hits that eventually accumulated eight runs.
“Gloucester simply hit the ball everywhere we weren’t,†said Brinkley. “We continued to play well in the field, but Gloucester put together a lot of hits and that was the ballgame.â€
Portrait came on to pitch a scoreless sixth frame.
Brinkley and his crew, who now are 2-2 on the season, host Gloucester this morning (Wednesday) in a rematch at 10:00. They will travel to Danvers Monday and return home next Wednesday to face Marblehead.
Boys track team easily beats English
The Revere High boys track team rolled to its second straight victory with an 85-51 victory over Lynn English last week. The Patriots won nine of the 14 individual events, led by Tarik Maddrey, who took first place in three contests to score 15 points for Revere. Tarik won the long jump with a distance of 18’-5â€, the high jump with a height of 5’-8â€, and the 200 meter dash in a clocking of 25.9 seconds.
Other first place finishers for Revere were: Lionel Forbes, who was a double winner in the 400 low hurdles in a clocking of 69.5 (to lead a Revere sweep of that race) and the 100 high hurdles in 20.1; Salah Barhoum in the two mile run in 11:52.2; Bounlaing Chea in the 400 dash in 56.1; Pedro Pimenta with a triple jump of 36’-2â€; and Serey Morm with a javelin toss of 135’-7â€.
The Patriots took second place in seven of the 14 individual events: Riyad Douane in the 400 hurdles in 71.3; Jay Mistri in the two mile in 11:57 and the triple jump with a leap of 35’-6.75â€; Younes Hartout in the 100 dash in 12.2; Sebastian Mejia in the 800 in 2:29.1; Carl Bendeck in the 800 in 2:23.3; and Al DeRosa with a discus toss of 85’-5â€.
Nine Patriots added single points to the Revere cause with third place finishes: Andy Em in the 400 hurdles in 75.3 and the 100 hurdles in 21.0; Anthony Berry in the 400 dash in 59.0; Ahmed Ouldzenagui in the 800 in 2:44.5; Hartout with a long jump of 17’-6.5â€; John Dello Russo with a triple jump of 34’-9â€; Damond Khat with a javelin throw of 115’-1â€; Anthony Destefano in the shotput; and Gianni Hill with a discus throw of 72’-9â€.
RHS head coach Sam Ros and his crew were set to be back in action yesterday (Tuesday) at Beverly.
RHS girls tennis drops two matches
The Revere High girls tennis team played two matches this past week. In a 4-1 loss to Medford Thursday, the second doubles tandem of sophomore Nicole Muniz and junior Krystal Burbank won their contest in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
“Nicole and Krystal played a nice match,†said RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco.
In the three singles matches, senior Yesenia Mazo, playing at first singles, fell by a score of 4-6,1-6. At second singles, junior Andrea Rueda came up short, 1-6, 2-6 and at third singles, junior Cassidy Hernandez fell, 4-6 0-6.
In the first doubles match, the duo of junior Leila Darouey and sophomore Lyba Khan came up short, 0-6, 4-6.
In a match played earlier this week against Beverly, the Lady Patriots’ scores were as follows in a 5-0 loss:  Yesenia Mazo at first singles, 0-6 and 1-6; Cassidy Hernandez at second singles, 1-6 and 0-6; and Leila Darouey at third singles0-6 and 0-6.
In the doubles contests the scores were as follows: junior Rim Lerari and Lyba Khan at first doubles, 2-6 and 0-6 and at second doubles, sophomore Nicole Muniz and Krystal Burbank dropped their match, 0-6 and 4-6.
The Lady Patriots have a busy schedule ahead: They were set to host Medford yesterday (Tuesday); entertain Lynn English tomorrow (Thursday); travel to Malden Friday; trek to Gloucester Monday; and host Danvers next Wednesday.
Lopez wins for boys tennis team
Freshman Mathew Lopez, playing his first varsity singles match, defeated his Beverly counterpart in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, to record the lone point for the RHS boys tennis team last Thursday.
“We were shorthanded because some of the boys had a Junior ROTC event,†said RHS head coach Mike Flynn. “Mathew has played doubles for us this spring, so this was his first match as a singles player and he did a great job.â€
In the other singles contests, Ryan Tran fell at first singles, 0-6, 3-6 and Satyak Som fell at second singles, 0-6 2-6. “Both Ryan and Satyak faces some very good players for Beverly,â€Â said Flynn. “However, they made some adjustments after their first sets and played much better in the second set.â€
In the doubles contests, newcomers Kurt Lumaj/David Grujic at first doubles dropped their match, 1-6, 1-6, and the duo of Naveed Jabbar/Mustafa Ahmed, playing in their first varsity match, came out on the short end of a 0-6, 0-6 score.
Flynn and his crew have a bus schedule with four matches in seven days: They play at Lynn English tomorrow (Thursday), host Malden Friday, entertain Gloucester Monday, and trek to Danvers next Wednesday.