Down to the wire: RHS girls track defeats Somerville in the final event
The Revere High girls outdoor track and field team opened its season on a triumphant note, edging archrival Somverille, 71-65, in a meet that came down to the final event, the 4 x 400 relay,
“The Somerville win was a real nail-biter,” said RHS head coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli. “We were neck-and-neck all meet and it ended up coming down to the 4×4 relay.”
Although the meet itself was close at that point — Revere was holding a slim 66-65 advantage — the Lady Patriot quartet of Rania Hamdani, Jaliyah Manigo, Annalise Rodriguez, and Ina Tamizi left little doubt about the outcome, cruising to victory by a margin of 25 seconds over their Lady Highlander counterparts in a time of 4:45.6.
Up that point, the rivals, who annually battle it out for the Greater Boston League indoor and outdoor titles, were engaged in another of their typical, hard-fought duels.
Revere controlled the sprint events, led by sophomore Zizi Kalliavas, who won both the 100 (13.3) and 200 (29.0) meter dashes. “Zizi is only 0.2 seconds off the 100m school record in her first time competing in this event,” noted MacDonald-Ciambelli. Kalliavas also took second place in the long jump with a leap of 14′-4.75″ to tally 13 points on the day.
Rania Hamdani made it a trifecta for Revere in the sprints with a first-place finish in the 400m dash in a time of 1:07.4. Rania scored nine points on the day by throwing a personal record (PR) of 60′-0″ in the discus to finish in second place and grabbed a point for third place in the long jump with a leap of 14′-4″ in her first time competing in that event.
Multi RHS indoor record-holder Gemma Stamatopoulos served notice that she once again will be among the top performers in the GBL this season with two first-place finishes in the 400m hurdles (her time of 72.4 already is a D-2 state qualifier) and the 800m (2:34.3). Gemma also competed for the first time in the triple jump, taking second place with a final landing of 28′-7.25″ to add three crucial points to the RHS total.
Olivia Rupp and Emma DeCrosta added valuable points in the 1-mile and 2-mile events, with Rupp finishing in second place in both races and Decrosta adding a third-place point in the 2-mile (after finishing fourth in the 1-mile).
“Olivia and Emma really stepped up for the team, competing in one of the hardest track & field doubles, the 1-mile and 2-mile. In sub-50 degree temps, this was a grueling double, but they were eager to secure those second and third-place points for the team,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli.
Dayana Ortega scored seven points for the Lady Patriots. Dayana ran a PR in the 100m hurdles with a time of 17.9, which was good for second place; threw a PR in the javelin with a toss of 59′-1.0″ to take second-place; and grabbed a third-place in the 400 hurdles.
Sophomore Isabella Marin Isaza tallied seven points on the day with second-place finishes in the high jump and the 200 dash, and a third-place in the 100 dash.
Additional point-scorers for Revere in a meet in which every point mattered were:
— Aidah Louaddi added three points for second place in the shot-put thanks to a massive 1-foot PR toss of 25’1.75″;
— Kesley Morales snared a third-place point in the 100 hurdles;
— Annalise Rodriguez scored a point with a third-place in the 800;
— Basma Sahibi notched a third-place point in the triple jump;
— Ina Tamizi scored a point with a third in the high jump; and
— Jaliyah Manigo added a point with a third in the 400 dash.
The meet with Somerville was part of a tri-meet with GBL opponent Lynn Classical, in which the Lady Patriots handily prevailed, 115-20.
MacDonald-Ciambelli and her crew, who stand at 2-0 on the season, were scheduled to travel to GBL foe Chelsea this past Monday.
RHS softball team defeats Everett, 13-7
The Revere High softball team earned one of its biggest victories in the past few years with a 13-7 triumph at Everett, which perennially is among the top two teams in the Greater Boston League, last Wednesday.
Senior Danni Hope Randall went all the way in the pitcher’s circle for the Lady Patriots. Danni allowed 11 hits, but yielded only two earned runs while striking out seven opponents and walking only two.
The contest had been a see-saw affair through the early innings. Revere scored two runs in the top of the first on an RBI hit by Frankie Reed and a sac fly by Alana Greenman, but Everett responded with three markers in their half of the inning.
The Lady Patriots retook the lead in the second thanks primarily to an RBI double by Anna Doucette, and then made it 5-3 with a run in the third on a wild pitch.
Everett replied with two runs in the bottom of the third to make it 5-5, but Revere forged ahead in the fourth thanks to an Everett error to make it 6-5.
The Lady Patriots then took advantage of an injury to the Lady Crimson Tide’s starting pitcher (when she was struck on the leg by a line drive), adding two runs in the fifth on three walks and a hit to take an 8-5 lead.
Revere put the game away with five runs in the sixth behind RBI singles by Alexa Humphrey and Addie Ulwick and an RBI double by Doucette that proved to be the crucial hits in the rally.
The Lady Patriots amassed 16 hits on the day, led by Doucette with two doubles and a triple. Greenman, Randall, Caleigh Joyce, and Canzano all had multiple hits for Revere.
“We had a lot of firsts for some players in that game,” said RHS head coach Megan O’Donnell. “Eighth-grader Alana Greenman started her first high school game and ninth grader Alexa Humprey made her first varsity start at catcher. Alana went 2-for-4 while Alexa went 1-for-5 to earn her first varsity hit, Freshman Gianna Stasinos had two RBI and freshman Addison Ulwick was 2-for-4.”
The win also marked the first victory for O’Donnell in encounters with her former coach at Everett, the legendary Stacy Poste-Schiavo, who has a career record of 364 wins and 202 losses,
The contest continued to see Revere’s underclassmen play key roles for the Lady Patriots. In the season-opener two weeks ago vs. Minuteman Regional, eighth grader Defany Escoto made her first varsity start at second base and freshman Bella Cushing made her first start in left field.
O’Donnell and her crew, who are 3-1 on the season after a 4-1 victory over Chelsea this past Monday, have a busy week ahead. They will play at GBL foe Lynn English today (Wednesday) and will entertain non-league opponent Winthrop tomorrow (Thursday). They will trek to GBL opponent Somerville Tuesday morning and will host GBL rival Medford next Wednesday morning at 10:00 at Griswold Park.
Even-steven: RHS boys track deadlocks with Somerville
After 14 individual events and two relays with 136 points at stake, the Revere and Somerville boys outdoor track and field teams ended up in one of the unlikeliest scenarios in the world of sports — a dead-even, 68-68 tie.
The epic battle between the two teams, who have fought for Greater Boston League (GBL) supremacy in recent years, was an ebb-and-flow between the teams’ strengths and weaknesses.
Coach David Fleming’s Patriots dominated the short sprint events. Senior Jeremy X won the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.0 and teammate Emmanuel Lopera finished third.
Revere swept the 200 dash behind the first-place sprint of Anthony Pelatere in 24.2, who was followed closely by teammates Oliver Escobar (24.3) and Kepler Celamy (24.7). And just for good measure, teammate Sean Colleton was fourth across the line in 25.3.
The Patriots also took the 4 x 100 relay in a time of 46.7, which was 2.5 seconds faster than the Somerville team.
However, Somerville controlled the middle and longer distances, taking 27 of the 36 points in four events. In the 400, 800, and 2-mile, Revere’s only points came from second-place finishes by Amari Miller-Tobey, Kosta Stamatopoulos, and Diogo Yogi respectively. In the 1-mile, the Patriots were shut out.
The hurdles also were a strength for Somerville. Nathan Krokos grabbed an important point with a third in the 110 high hurdles. In the 400 intermediate hurdles, Krokos and Jomar Serrano Beltre went 2-3.
However, the Patriots offset that weakness with a strong showing in the throwing events, led by junior Bryan Maia, who won the shot-put with a toss of 43′-6.5″ and the discus with a throw of 117′-3″, a distance that was almost 40 feet further than his closest Somerville rival.
Teammate Silvio Neto took third in the shot and second in the disc. Fajr Riazi grabbed second place in the javelin to give the Patriots 17 of the 27 points at stake in the throws.
In the jumps, Oliver Escobar won the high jump with a leap of 5′-4″, Kepler Celamy took second in the long jump, and Joao Victor Gnutzmann and Matteo Reyes went 2-3 in the triple jump.
The outcome of the meet thus came down to the final event, the 4 x 400 relay, with Somerville leading, 68-63, and the Patriots needing a win in order to attain a tie. The race proved to be a classic. The Patriot quartet engaged in a furious battle with their Highlander counterparts, finishing with a time of 4:02.2 to prevail by a slim margin of 2.3 seconds, thus leaving the teams where they had begun the day — all-even.
RHS boys volleyball remains undefeated,
now stands at 6-0
The Revere High boys volleyball team improved to 6-0 with three victories this past week. Last Wednesday, the Patriots aced Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Chelsea by a score of 3-0.
Leading the way for coach Liainne Mimmo’s squad were Larry Claudio (13 kills, 19 assists, 3 aces), Chris Choc Chavez (24 assists, 3 aces), Juan Perez (16 kills), and
Jeffrey Garcia (10 kills).
In another 3-0 blanking of non-league opponent Essex Tech this past Friday, Perez (10 kills, 2 aces), Choc Chavez (17 assists, 2 aces), Claudio (10 assists, 6 kills), and Garcia (7 kills) led the way to victory.
The Patriots added another 3-0 triumph to their resume against GBL foe Malden this past Monday. Claudio (15 assists, 6 kills), Perez (7 kills), Garcia (7 kills), Choc Chavez (12 assists), and Isaac Portillo (5 aces) did most of the damage for the Revere squad to take the wind out of the Golden Tornadoes.
Mimmo and her squad, who have lost only one set in their six-match winning streak, are scheduled to host GBL adversary Everett today (Wednesday) and will travel to non-league rival O’Bryant High on Friday. They will return home to host Lynn Classical next Wednesday in a key GBL matchup.
RHS girls
tennis defeats Winthrop, 5-0
The Revere High girls tennis team opened its season in fine fashion with a 5-0 victory at Winthrop this past Friday.
Sophomore Genevieve Belmonte won her match at first singles in straight sets, 6-3 6-1, as did junior Sarah Naz at second singles, 6-0, 6-1.
The doubles teams also defeated their Winthrop counterparts in straight sets. At first doubles, the duo of seniors Lyna Baoussouh and Katie Embree defeated their Winthrop counterparts, 6-1, 6-3, and at second doubles, the tandem of seniors Leena Kistas and Judy Lei breezed to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph.
Winthrop forfeited at third singles because of a lack of players.
“All of the varsity have been with me for several years, but Genevieve is the only player who played varsity consistently last year when she mostly played at third . singles,” said RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco.
The Lady Patriots have a busy week ahead. They were scheduled to play at Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals Somerville this past Monday, Lynn Classical today (Wednesday), Lynn English on Friday, and Malden next Tuesday morning at 10:00.
They will host Winthrop in a rematch next Wednesday morning at 10:00 on the courts at Gibson Park.
RHS baseball
hosts English today
The Revere High baseball team, which stands at 2-2 on the season, is scheduled to host Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Lynn English today (Wednesday) on the Tony Conigliaro Diamond at Revere High. During the holiday week, Coach Sebastian Salvo and his crew will play at GBL foe Medford next Wednesday and then will return home to meet non-league opponent Peabody next Friday morning at 11:00.