RHS girls hoop opens with win, hosts Lynn English
The Revere High girls basketball team opened its season in fine fashion with a 42-27 victory at Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Everett last Thursday.
Freshman guard Allyson Ollivierra made an impressive varsity debut with a game-high 16 points. Senior captain Belma Velic was next on the point chart with eight points and the trio of sophomore Nisrin Sekkat, senior Kritanjely Ruiz, and junior Shayna Smith hit for six points apiece.
The Lady Patriots led at all of the intervals (10-4, 15-10, and 31-15) thanks to a stifling defense and a dominant performance on the defensive boards that allowed their Everett opponents few second chances.
After a slow start offensively, the Lady Patriots picked up the pace in the third period, outscoring Everett 16-5, with a fast-break bucket by Ollivierra extending the Revere lead to double digits, 22-12, shortly after the intermission, from where Revere never looked back.
Coach Ariana Rivera and her crew were scheduled to host GBL foes Medford last night (Tuesday) and Lynn English tomorrow (Thursday) evening with the opening tips set for 6:00.
They will travel to non-league opponent Whittier Tech on Friday.
RHS boys basketball takes Everett to the final seconds in 59-55 loss
The Revere High boys basketball team put up a valiant effort, but came up just short in a 59-55 loss to Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Everett in the season-opener for both teams last Thursday at Merullo Fieldhouse.
The visiting Crimson Tide seemed to be fully in control midway through the third period when they moved out to a 45-29 lead. However, coach David Leary’s Patriots erased the 16-point deficit with a 19-3 run over a four-minute span that carried into the fourth period, bringing the game back to level at 48-48 with 4:50 remaining in the game.
Keying the Revere rally were the duo of senior captains Avi Lung (five points) and Ethan Day (eight points of his team-high 18 points), who did most of the damage for the Patriots during the stretch, with junior Zaney Kayembe sinking the tying bucket to make it 48-48.
The Patriots had two chances to take the lead in the ensuing exchange of possessions, but a pair of turnovers gave Everett a window of opportunity to retake the lead. A bucket and two free throws moved Everett out to a 52-48 edge before Day sank two free throws to make it 52-50 with 2:35 remaining.
Another Everett hoop was followed by two more Revere turnovers, including a travel, at 1:30 and 1:00, but two Everett misses at the free throw line with 27.9 to go were followed by a nice drive to the bucket by Kayembe to make it 54-52 with 15.8 remaining.
Two Everett free throws were offset by an end-to-end drive by Day, leaving matters at 56-54 with 7.6 seconds on the clock. An exchange of free throws (Everett committed an ill-advised foul underneath the Revere hoop on the free throws) made it a 57-55 ballgame with 6.7 to go.
However, an intentional foul by Revere after the inbounds pass led to two free throws by Everett’s Cristian Vasquez (who had a game-high 24 points) with 4.8 seconds remaining that gave the Tide a two-possession lead, 59-55, thereby ending the Patriots’ comeback bid.
The Patriots had battled the Tide evenly through the first half, leading 13-12 late in the first period and 23-22 midway through the second period.
Senior captain Josh Mercado scored the first bucket of the 2025 season and then sank a three-pointer to give the Pats an early 5-3 lead. Erick Mayorga banked a hoop off the glass and Lung drained two treys to give Revere early leads of 10-7 and 13-12 before Everett ended the first period with a seven-point run for a 19-13 advantage at the first buzzer.
However, the Patriots battled back from the deficit with a 10-3 run of their own to take a 23-22 lead midway through the second period. Day hit two free throws for his first points of 2025. Gio Alexandre drained a three, Lung swished a 12-footer and a free throw, and Day sank two free throws during the stretch.
However, Everett finished the first half with a 7-2 run and then made a 15-4 run after the intermission that catapulted the Tide into its seemingly safe 45-29 lead before the Patriots made their comeback bid.
Leary and his crew were scheduled to travel to GBL foe Medford yesterday (Tuesday) and to Lynn English tomorrow (Thursday). They will participate in a holiday tournament on December 27 and 28 in Malden.
RHS girls shine at Winter Festival
The Revere High girls indoor track and field team kicked off its 2025 season with what coach Racquel MacDonald termed “an awesome start to the season” with some notable individual performances at Sunday’s MSTCA Large School Winter Festival Meet at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Boston.
“We had three lifetime personal records (PRs) and numerous top-five finishes,” enthused MacDonald.
Senior captain Liv Yuong served notice that she once again will be a force in the Greater Boston League (GBL) this season by placing first in the high jump with a leap of 4’-10” and finishing sixth in the 55m hurdles with a time of 10.5.
Sophomore Gemma Stamatopoulos turned in an outstanding meet with a second-place finish (among a field of 42 competitors) in the 600 with a clocking of 1:45.84 and a third in the high jump, clearing the bar with a PR of 4’-10.”
Sophomore Olivia Rupp ran a PR in the mile by almost two seconds with a clocking of 5:52.02, which was good for a third-place finish. “Olivia looked so strong throughout the whole race. I’m very confident that she will be in the 5:40s very soon,” noted MaDonald.
Senior Captain Francoise Kodjo threw a PR in the shot-put with a toss of 27’-5.5”, which was good for a sixth-place finish.
Other notable performers for the Lady Patriots who finished in the top 20 in their events included junior Basma Sahibi with a 16th place finish in the 55 hurdles in 10.90, junior Danni Hope Randall (28th in the 300 in 48.41), sophomore Genevieve Zierten (10th in the mile in 6:21.75), senior Jocelyn Lazo in the shot-put (13th with a throw of 25’-2”), and junior Valeria Sepulveda (19th in the 1000 in 4:01.70).
MacDonald and her crew open their GBL season tomorrow (Thursday) with a tri-meet against GBL foes Medford and Everett. Each of the eight GBL teams will compete against their seven opponents in three tri-meets and one dual-meet. All of the meets will be held at the Reggie.
Strong performances by RHS boys at Winter Festival Meet
Members of the Revere High boys indoor track and field team turned in some strong performances at this past Sunday’s MSTCA Large School Winter Festival Meet that was held at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Roxbury.
“We had a few personal records and some exceptional early season performances, which is really nice to see in our first meet of the year,” RHS head coach David Fleming.
Senior Youness Chahid and junior Oliver Escobar both achieved outstanding third-place finishes in their respective events — Youness in the one-mile with a personal record (PR) clocking of 4:40.56 and Oliver in the high jump with a PR leap of 6’-0” that shattered his previous PR of 5’-6” and already qualified him for the post-season State Meet in February. Escobar also attained a 20th-place finish in the 55 meter dash with a sprint of 7.063.
“Oliver reached an entirely new level at Winter Fest in the high jump,” said Fleming. “He even surprised himself with his performance. He got coaching during the week from long-time RHS coach, Sam Ros, which made all the difference. As for Youness, he ran a smart race. He didn’t go out too quickly, he stayed connected in the middle part of the race, and he finished strong.”
Junior Jeremy X did well in two dash events, finishing fifth in the 300m in a clocking of 37.98 and 14th in the 55 dash with a PR time of 6.92.
“I love his attitude,” said Fleming. “Jeremy set a new PR, but he wasn’t thrilled with his performance. He knows he can run much faster.”
Junior Edwin Alarcon also took a fifth place in the 1000 with a PR time of 2:49.97. “Edwin’s fun to watch,” noted Fleming. “He got out quickly, let himself get boxed in a bit, but finished well. He knows he can run faster.”
Teammate Adam Ourazzouk, a senior, broke into the top-20 with a 19th place finish in the 1000 in a clocking of 3:00.26.
The Patriots’ ace hurdler, senior Isaiah DeCrosta, finished in seventh spot in the 55m hurdles with a time of 8.69. “This was a solid opener for Zay,” said Fleming. “It was good to see him make the finals.”
In the 600m, senior Kenan Batic finished In 11th place in.a clocking of 1:35.12. Other RHS boys who achieved the top-20 were junior Kepler Celamy in the long-jump (20th with a leap of 17’-4”) and junior Fajr Riazi in the shot-put (17th with a throw of 32’-10.75”).
Coach David Fleming and his crew open their GBL season tomorrow (Thursday) with a tri-meet vs. Medford and Everett at the Reggie.
