Sports 08-29-2018

Revere residents to participate

in Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund

Eleven residents from Revere will walk up to 26.2 miles along the historic Boston Marathon course this September in the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai, which raises the most money of any single day walk in the nation. This year marks the event’s 30th year.

These residents – Michelle Imonti, Nicholas Imonti, David DeFronzo, Sara Shkreta, Lindsay Gange, Christopher Gange, Renee Griffin, Susan Connolly, Donna Smith and Janice Trainor – will join 9,500 expected participants in the annual event, which takes place Sunday, Sept. 23.

Revere resident, Peter Imonti, is a Walk Hero for the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk and will help inspire walkers along the course. Walkers are greeted by poster-sized photographs of Walk Heroes displayed at each mile and half mile along the Boston Marathon® course. Peter was diagnosed with large B-cell mediastinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is being treated at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Walk Heroes are matched with Jimmy Fund Walk teams to give participants an opportunity to connect with patients. Peter is matched with Team Hope. Peter loves to watch movies, spend time with family, walk his dog and brain teaser games and puzzles.

“My family walks and supports the Jimmy Fund because of the extensive research and treatment they do, and we hope one day there will be a cure for all cancers,” said Peter. “We are so thankful for Dr. Ann LaCasce and her team at DFCI. They have been a blessing.”

This year’s event goal is to raise more than $9 million. The money goes to the Jimmy Fund for adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at the nation’s premier cancer center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The event has raised more than $128 million in its 30-year history. The Boston Athletic Association has supported the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk since 1989, and Hyundai has been the presenting sponsor since 2002.

“The Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai gives participants the opportunity to personally support breakthroughs in cancer care and research and join the extended Dana-Farer community responsible for these advances,” said Zack Blackburn, assistant vice president of the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk. “Walk Heroes remind us why our participation and fundraising are so valuable and make the connection to the event much deeper.”

Walkers can choose from four routes along the historic Boston Marathon® course:

-  Marathon Walk (26.2 miles from Hopkinton); rolling start from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

– Half Marathon Walk (13.1 miles from Wellesley); rolling start from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

-  10K Walk (6.2 miles from Newton); rolling start from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

– 5K Walk (3.1 miles from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area); starting at 1:45 p.m. This route will include many patients and their families.

Walkers are treated to 12 refueling stations along the course as well as poster-sized photographs of inspiring Walk Heroes at each mile and half mile marker. All routes conclude at the Copley Square Finish Line where participants can celebrate with food, live entertainment and a speaking program.

All walkers must raise a minimum of $325, except for walkers 12-years-old and younger whose fundraising minimum is $125. Pacesetters are extraordinary fundraisers who raise $1,500 or more or $500 or more for those 12-years-old and younger. There is also a “Virtual Walker” option for those unable to attend the event.

To register for the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai (#JimmyFundWalk), to support a walker, or to volunteer, visit www.JimmyFundWalk.org or call (866) 531-9255. Registrants can enter the promo code NEWS for $5 off the registration fee.

High hopes this season for RHS football team

With a solid nucleus of returning veterans and a plethora of new players, hopes are high for the Revere High football team as the Patriots prepare for the 2018 season.

“We have excellent numbers — 30 freshmen and 46 boys on the varsity roster — and a lot of enthusiasm,” said veteran RHS head coach Lou Cicatelli, who has been at the helm of the RHS grid program for the past 15 years.

The 2018 edition of the Patriots will be led by a quartet of senior captains, two-way lineman Frank Sims, two-way lineman Devin Matthias, linebacker Zack Carifeo, and fullback Darius McNeil.

Among the other key returnees from last year’s squad are sophomore quarterback Calvin Boudreau, who has added five inches in height; junior running backs Lucas Barbosa and Zach Furlong; all-purpose slot and wide receiver Jonathan Murphy; sophomore linebacker Jonathan Tran; senior linebacker/running back Youssef Ali Buda; and junior two-way lineman Mike DuPont.

Newcomers to the squad who have caught the coaching staff’s attention in the first week of practice are sophomore defensive end Mazer Ali, freshman defensive end Augustino Falas, and transfer student Joseph Illanos, a junior who figures to see action at linebacker and tailback.

“We’re ahead of where we were last year at this time,” noted Cicatelli, whose 2017 Patriots ended with a 3-8 mark, but which included a dramatic victory on Thanksgiving Day over archival Winthrop on the inaugural game on Winthrop’s new turf surface at Miller Field.

“A victory over Winthrop sets the tone for the off-season,” said Cicatelli, whose teams have taken the measure of the Vikings for two straight years, marking consecutive victories for Revere over its ancient foe for the first time since the early 1970s. “We had a great off-season and the energy has been apparent in training camp.”

Revere hosted Hamilton-Wenham in the schools’ annual controlled scrimmage Saturday. “Our defense was strong and pretty much shut them down,” said Cicatelli. “Our offense moved the ball, but penalties hurt us.”

Revere was set to scrimmage Saugus yesterday (Tuesday) and then will host Northeast Regional in a game-like scrimmage Saturday at 10 a.m.

The first priority for Cicatelli and his crew — which includes assistant coaches Paul Norton, Vin Gregorio, Scott Vlasik, Rob Sasso, and new freshman coach Kyle Westberg — for 2018 will be to return to the MIAA playoffs, for which the Patriots qualified for three consecutive years from 2014-16 under the new MIAA playoff format.

However, the path for a Journey to the Tourney will not be easy. Revere is playing in Tier 2 of the Northeastern Conference, grouped with perennially-strong NEC rivals and Super Bowl contenders Gloucester and Marblehead, along with Peabody and Lynn Classical.

The Patriots will jump right into the fire for their season-opener when they travel to Gloucester next Friday evening, Sept. 7.

 

Fall sports season

swings into high gear

The 2018 fall athletic season for Revere High will get fully underway next week.

The RHS volleyball team hosts Danvers Tuesday, Sept. 4, to mark the official start of the fall season. The Lady Patriots play again on Thursday, Sept. 6, at Somerville.

The field hockey team will open its season the following day when the Lady Patriots entertain Marblehead on Wednesday.

Thursday, Sept. 6, will mark the season-openers for the girls soccer team, which hosts Winthrop Thursday afternoon; the boys soccer team, which entertains Somerville Thursday at 6:30 p.m.; and the cross country teams, which race Everett at the Belle Isle course on Thursday afternoon.