RHS girls track opens season with two wins; nips Somerville in the last event
The Revere High girls outdoor track and field team opened its 2025 season with a pair of victories over Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals Somerville and Lynn Classical in a tri-meet last Monday at a cold and wet Harry Della Russo Stadium.
The matchup with Somerville came down to the last event, the 4 x 400 relay, with the Lady Patriot quartet of Marwa Riad, Jaliyah Manigo, Olivia Rupp, and Rania Hamdani outracing their Lady Highlander counterparts by a margin of 20 seconds with a winning time of 5:06.5 to earn the five points that provided Revere with the winning margin for a 68-66 victory.
.”We went into the 4 x 400 knowing that it was the only way we would win, although we weren’t sure just how close it was at that time,” said RHS head coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli. “We ended up running a 5:06.5 and the Somerville team ran a 5:26.
“At this point in the meet, the girls were wet, cold, and tired. Marwa Riad (our lead leg) came out blazing to set up an early lead for us. She had about a 50 meter lead on Somerville, but didn’t let up once. As we moved to the second and third legs (Jaliyah and Olivia), the gap continued to grow but the girls didn’t let up, even though it would have been very easy for them to do so given the conditions,” MacDonald-Ciambelli continued.
“Our anchor leg, Rania Hamdani, who will be a top competitor in the 400m in the GBL, finished up the race with a 100m lead,” the coach added. “In that weather, running is all mental and I’m so proud of the girls for not giving up when the ending was unsure.”
Among the Lady Patriots who provided highlights from the meet were:
— Gemma Stamatopoulos had a perfect meet versus Classical (whom Revere defeated 117-13), taking home four first-place finishes (high jump, long jump, 400m hurdles, and 800m) to score 20 points. Gemma had two first place finishes (the long jump and 800m) and two second-place finishes (400m hurdles and high jump) vs. Somerville to score 16 points.
“Despite the weather, Gemma dug in and gave some amazing early-season performances, even jumping a personal record PR of 14′-8″ in the long jump,” noted MacDonald-Ciambelli.
— Senior captain Ashley Cabrera Rodriguez, who also competed in the maximum of four events, took first place vs. both foes in the triple jump; first vs. Classical and second vs. Somerville in the 100m dash; and second place in the 400m hurdles vs. LC.
— Rania Hamdani, in addition to being the anchor leg for the winning 4 x 400m relay team, placed first in the 400m vs. both LC and Somerville and took first in the discus vs. LC.
— Distance standout Olivia Rupp (who also was part of the 4 x 400 relay) finished first in the mile vs. both opponents while jogging a 6:14. “This was so impressive given the weather,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli, “knowing that in ideal conditions and with competition, Olivia will be easily able to drop back down to her low five-minute mile times this outdoor season.”
— Newcomer to the team Kesley Morales took first in the 100m hurdles versus both Somerville and LC with an impressive time of 19.9. “This was exceptional given the weather and the fact that this was Kesley’s first time approaching 10 hurdles,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli.
Other first-place finishers for the Lady Patriots included: Francoise Kodjo in the shot-put vs LC (2nd vs. Somerville); Nisrin Sekkat in the javelin vs LC (2nd vs Somerville); and Jaliyah Manigo in the 200m vs LC.
Second-place performers for Revere included Marwa Riad in the long jump vs. both LC and Somerville; Mayahh Ndi in the high jump vs. LC (3rd vs. Somerville); Aidah Louadi in the shot-put vs LC (3rd vs Somerville); Jocelyn Lazo in the discus and javelin vs LC (3rd in the jav vs. Somerville); Salma Zahraoui in the 100m hurdles vs LC (3rd vs Somerville); Victoria Osias in the 100m v LC (3rd vs Somerville); Isabella Marin in the 200m vs LC (3rd vs Somerville); Marwa Riad in the 400m v LC; Gianna Chiodi in the 800m (3rd vs Somerville); and Manuela Canaveral in the two-mile in both meets.
Third-place finishes for Revere came from Izzy Marin in the HJ vs. LC; Fatima El Hariri in the shot put vs. LC; Aidah Louaddi in the discus vs. LC; Haley Peralta in the javelin vs. LC; Dayana Ortega in the 100m hurdles vs LC; Mayahh Ndi in the 200m vs LC; and Jade Dang in the 400m vs LC.
The Lady Patriot 4 x100m relay quartet of Lesly Mendoza, Kesley Morales, Amy Astu Rodriguez, and Victoria Osias took first vs. LC.
“We knew that we were starting off with our hardest meet of the season against Somerville and the weather did not make it any easier,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli. “We also were down a fair bit of girls in this meet. This close win truly shows the drive of this team to step up when they are down physically. Mentally, they never let tough conditions or tough meets get the best of them. We’re pretty early on for some extremely impressive times, jumps, and throws, but we know those will be coming soon.”
The Lady Patriots were scheduled to make the short trip westerly down Broadway this past Monday for a contest at Chelsea. Their next meet will be at HDR on April 28 with a tri-meet vs. two GBL opponents.
RHS softballopens with win
After two postponements, the Revere High softball team finally got a chance to open its season and made the most of the opportunity with a 13-3 victory over non-league opponent Northeast Regional Friday afternoon at. chilly St. Mary’s field.
The Lady Patriots never trailed, grabbing the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a Northeast error after Shayna Smith and Lea Doucette had singled.
After the visiting Lady Golden Knights tied the score in the top of the third, a base hit by Valentina Cruz gave the Lady Patriots a lead they never would relinquish. Revere then put the game away with a five-run rally in the sixth, the key hit coming off the bat of Michelle Pineda for a two-run single.
Also contributing to the rally were Cruz and Anna Doucette, both of whom struck for RBI-singles. In addition, Danni Hope Randall was hit by a pitch to force in a run.
Randall earned the victory with a strong pitching performance. Danni tossed all seven innings, allowing just six hits and two earned runs while striking out nine and walking only three.
The final offensive stat line showed the Lady Patriots accumulating 13 hits. Pineda, Lea Doucette, Cruz, and Jordan Martelli drove in two runs apiece. Smith stole two bases.
Coach Megan O’Donnell and her crew, who were scheduled to play at Chelsea this past Monday, will host Malden today (Wednesday) at 4:15 at the St. Mary’s Field. They will make the long trek to Whittier Tech this Friday and then return home for two key Greater Boston League contests with Everett on the holiday on Monday and with Somerville next Wednesday. The opening pitch for both games is set for 10:00 at St. Mary’s.
The contest with undefeated and perennial GBL power Everett will match O’Donnell vs. her alma mater and her former coach, Stacy Poste-Schiavo, who is in her 27th season at the helm of the Everett softball program in which she has racked up 352 career victories.
Boys volleyball tops GBL foes
The Revere High boys volleyball team earned a trio of victories this past week over Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals Lynn English, Medford, and Chelsea.
In a 3-0 triumph over English, Larry Claudio earned 10 assists and Chris Choc Chavez was credited with 13 assists. Juan Perez delivered 10 kills.
In a 3-1 victory over Medford, Chavez set 19 assists for his teammates. Claudio earned 15 assists and had eight kills. Perez and Kawan Dias delivered 12 kills apiece.
This past Monday, the Patriots topped Chelsea by a score of 3-1. Perez was a force on offense, recording 15 kills. Dias added 10 kills and Claudio earned 12 assists.
Coach Lianne Mimmo and her crew, who stand at 5-2 on the season, will travel to Malden today (Wednesday), to Everett next Monday, and to Somerville next Wednesday.
RHS girls tennis defeats Winthrop
The Revere High girls tennis team opened its season in successful fashion with a 5-0 victory over Winthrop.
Senior Erta Ismahili won her match at first singles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Senior Cesia Loza defeated her Lady Viking opponent handily at second singles, 6-0, 6-1, as did freshman Genevieve Belmonte at third singles, 6-1, 6-0.
The senior duo of Rachel Sanchez and Keila Loza defeated their Winthrop counterparts at first doubles, 6-3, 7-5, and fellow seniors Kiara Munguia and Stephanie Phan won their match at second doubles, 6-3, 6-1.
Although the Revere girls came up short to Somerville by a score of 5-0 in their next contest, long-time RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco noted, “They all played well.”
Senior Dayna Phan put up a strong fight at first singles before falling in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 3-6. Genevieve Belmonte also fought hard in a three-setter at third singles, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6. Erta Ismahil, playing at second singles, dropped her match, 3-6, 2-6.
The first doubles tandem of Rachel Sanchez and Cesia Loza lost at first doubles, 1-6, 4-6 and at second doubles, Kiara Munguia and Keila Loza came up short in two close sets, 6-7, 4-6.
Maniscalco and her crew, who were scheduled to play at Lynn Classical this past Monday, will trek to Lynn English today (Wednesday) and will host Everett at the Gibson Park courts tomorrow (Thursday). They will play at Malden on the holiday on Monday and will make the short trip to Winthrop on Tuesday.
Boys tennis teamworking hard to improve
Although the Revere High boys tennis team came up short in its season-opening match with Winthrop, veteran head coach Mike Flynn has been pleased with his team’s effort.
“We have a lot of new players who are experiencing tennis and improving every time they play,” said Flynn.
In a 5-0 loss to Winthrop in their season-opener, Nick Aguilar turned in a spirited performance at first singles against his Viking counterpart, dropping two hard-fought sets, 6-3, 6-4. “Nick played really well for the start of the season and lost a competitive match,” said Flynn.
At second singles, Indrit Tamizi also fought hard in a 6-4, 6-4 loss.
“Indrit played extremely well and played a good opponent in a competitive match,” Flynn said.
In the third singles slot, Steven Espinal also turned in a nice effort. “Steven played really well in a competitive match, 6-2. 6-3,” noted Flynn.
In their first match ever, freshman Andre Nguyen and Noah Shanley played well at first doubles, coming up short by a score of 6-1, 6-1.
In a match with Somerville last week, Indrit Tamizi played really well at #1 singles against a good Somerville opponent and came up short, 6-1, 6-2; Abbes Ghiati played his first match at second singles and fell, 6-1, 6-1; and the duo of freshman Andrea Nguyen and Yasser Elmzadi dropped their doubles match, 6-1, 6-1.
Flynn and his Patriots play at Everett tomorrow (Thursday). They will host Malden at 10:00 a.m. on the holiday on Monday and Winthrop on Tuesday morning at 10:00 on the courts at Gibson Park.
RHS boys track splits tri-meet
The Revere High boys outdoor track and field team split its season-opening tri-meet at a raw and wet Harry Della Russo Stadium, defeating Lynn Classical, 104-22, but coming up short to Somerville, 77-58.
In the contest with Somerville, Revere dominated the throwing events, taking 23 of a possible 27 points, but the Patriots were shut-out in both the triple jump and long jump.
Youness Chahid and Bryan Maia were double-winners for coach David Fleming’s Patriots to score 10 points each. Youness won the 800 meter race with a clocking of 2:13.9 and the two-mile in a time of 10:48. Bryan’s first-place performances came in the shot-put with a throw of 41′-7″ and the discus with a toss of 116′-9″.
Sophomore Nathan Krokos was a key multi-performer for coach David Fleming’s squad vs. Somerville. Nathan took first place in the javelin with a throw of 95′-10″, second in the 400 hurdles, and second in the 100 hurdles for a total of 11 points to rank as the Patriots’ top scorer on the day.
Oliver Escobar also was a key performer for the Patriots, taking first place in the high jump with a leap of 5′-2″ and second in the 100 dash to tally eight points.
Second-place finishers for the Patriots in the Somerville portion of the meet were: Silvio Neto in both the shot-put and the discus; Jeremy X in the 200 dash; Amari Miller-tobey in the 400 dash; Edwin Alarcon in the mile.
Scoring single-points vs. Somerville with their third-place efforts were: Fajr Riazi in the javelin; Kevin Vargas in the 400 hurdles; Andy Andrade Hernandez in the discus; and Anthony Pelatere in the 200 dash.
Fleming and his crew were scheduled to make the short trek to Chelsea this past Monday. Their next meet will be at HDR on April 28 with a tri-meet vs. two GBL foes.
RHS baseball team hits the road for three
The Revere High baseball team will be on the road for three games this coming week against Greater Boston League rivals. Coach Sebastian Salvo and his crew play at Malden today (Wednesday), at Everett on the holiday on Monday morning, and at Somerville next Wednesday.
