Cunha Fourth, Bellemsieh Eighth, at D-1 State Meet
Revere High track star JV Cunha captured a fourth-place medal in the 600 meter dash at last week’s Division 1 State Meet that was held at the Reggie Lewis Center. Cunha’s time of 1:22.39 set a new RHS record, which he himself had established only the week before when his clocking of 1:23.42 broke the previous mark held by Shane Weiner that had stood since 1996.
JV’s clocking was just 1.54 seconds behind the winning time of 1:20.85 and only 1.17 off the second-place finisher and 0.17 behind the third-place runner.
Teammate Medy Bellemsieh also earned a ribbon in the 600 with an eighth-place finish with his clocking of 1:24.82.
A third Patriot, junior Kenan Batic, also competed in the 600, coming across in a time of 1:29.17, which was good for 24th place.
Cunha, Batic, and Bellemsieh ran legs for the RHS 4 x 400 relay quartet, along with teammate Isaiah DeCrosta, that finished in 14th place in a time of 3:34.72.
The Patriot 4 x 200 relay foursome of Bellemsieh, Oliver Escobar, Geo Woodard, and Jeremy X likewise came across the line in 14th place with a clocking of 1:34.10.
DeCrosta also competed in his individual specialty, the 55 meter hurdles, finishing in 24th spot with a time of 8.28.
Revere Girls Set New 4 x 200 Record at D-1 State Championship Meet
The Revere High 4 x 200m relay quartet of senior captain Giselle Salvador, Danni Hope Randall, Jaliyah Manigo, and Ashley Cabrera Rodriguez broke the Revere High School record with a speedy time of 1:55.20, topping the the previous mark of 1:55.51 that had been set in 2020 by the foursome of Astrid Umanzor, Kathy Umanzor, Luana Barbosa, and Kiana Napolitano.
“They had been bordering this record all season and it was so great to see the girls finally get there,” said RHS head coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli. “They put in the work all week at practice perfecting their handoffs and getting their turnover down. Ashley ran a dominant anchor leg, splitting a 27.9.”
Sophomore standout Gemma Stamatopoulos finished off her 2024 indoor season with another personal record (PR) in the 600m (1:45.50), an event in which she has been dominant all season.
“Looking at the performance list, Gemma knew she was the fastest competitor in her heat and would have to lead the race from the start. Her strategy was flawless and she finished the season less than two seconds away from the school record,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli.
Sophomore Olivia Rupp competed in the one mile and finished with a time of 6:07.78.
“Olivia is battling an injury and still producing consistent times below 6:10. We are confident that with the proper strength training in the off-season, she will come to outdoor stronger than ever,” MacDonald-Ciambelli said.
Junior Liv Yuong competed in three events at the state meet. Liv ran a 9.92 in the 55m hurdles. “Though it’s not a PR, Liv showed huge improvement in her 3-step pattern between the hurdles,” said her coach.
Yuong also competed in the high jump with a leap of 4’-10” and in the long jump with a flight of 14’-9”. “This was a big preparation meet for Liv ahead of the Pentathlon on February 28th,” noted MacDonald-Ciambelli. “Liv will compete in those three events, as well as the shot-put and the 800m. I’m very confident she will improve her score from December and will even get close to the school record previously set in 2019.”
RHS Girls Await Tourney Opponent
The Revere High girls basketball team, the co-champs of the Greater Boston League with Lynn Classical, are awaiting word of their seeding and preliminary round opponent in the upcoming Division 1 state tourney. Coach Ariana Rivera’s Lady Patriots finished with an overall record of 14-6 (12-2 in the GBL) and are ranked 46th in D-1 in the MIAA’s power rankings. The Revere girls automatically punched their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney by virtue of their over-.500 record. The announcement of the tourney brackets and pairings are expected in the coming week.
