RHS Sports Roundup

Doucette Wins NEC Boys Javelin Crown

The Revere High boys outdoor track and field team turned in a strong team effort at the Northeastern Conference Meet that was held this past Saturday at Peabody High School.

The top individual Patriot performance came from Ryan Doucette, who brought home an NEC title in the javelin.

Ryan earned his crown with a throw of 151’-8”, two inches further than the second-place contestant.

“Ryan is the first boy from RHS to win a conference title in this event,” said RHS boys head coach Sam Ros. “We knew it was going to be tough with the kids from Swampscott and Malden having better best-throws this season, but Ryan was up to the challenge. On any given day, any one of the top 10 kids in the conference could win the event. After the first three throws in the trial were done, Ryan was sitting in second place, trailing by four feet. During the finals, each competitor gets three more throws. The standings held fast until the last throws. Ryan launched 151’-8”, putting him two inches ahead of the Swampscott kid. He being the top-seed from the trial got the luxury to go last. After Ryan’s final throw, we had to sit and wait. Once we saw the Swampscott thrower’s last throw land, we knew right away that it wasn’t far enough to beat Ryan.”

Doucette was among a host of Patriot boys who turned in fine performances to win medals.

Antony Arias brought home a second place medal in the long jump with a leap of 20’-5”. Teammate Camron Ventura grabbed fourth place in that event with a jump of 20’-0”. Camron earned another medal in the triple jump with a landing of 40’-7”, which was good for seventh place.

“Another surprise finish for us came in the long jump,” said Ros. “Antony was seeded fourth and coming off an Achilles injury, so I wasn’t expecting much from him. Cam was seeded eighth and had never broken 20 feet. Cam breaking 20 feet and finishing fourth was definitely a great moment. Cam also had another great day in the other jumping event, the triple jump. Cam’s PR coming into the meet was just under 40 feet. The goal was to break 40 feet for a chance to medal. He did just that jumping 40’ 7” and medalling in seventh place.

“Antony jumping the way he did, coming within a few inches of his outdoor PR after an injury, shows how gutsy he is,” added Ros. “I had a goal for Antony coming off last year’s spring season. That goal was to break 60 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles. During this past indoor season, I trained and raced him with that goal in mind. He trained more with the distance runners and raced longer than he was used to. He opened this outdoor season running 62 seconds, so we knew he would break 60 by the end of the season. Unfortunately, his injury derailed him for the last few meets until the conference meet. His performance in the long jump can be attributed to the way I trained him this past year. He got stronger and more determined. His best long jump this past winter season was 21 feet, 3 inches. I am confident he would have jumped at least that far for spring with a healthy leg. He would have had a shot to win the conference. Because Antony is such a hard-working kid and always wanting to improve himself, he was able to adjust to the training I put him through. Not many sprinters could just switch to longer running, but Antony was able to do so and improve everything about his events.”

Lucas Barbosa scored six points for the Revere team with a third place medal in the javelin with his toss of 143’-7”.

“Lucas Barbosa held his own as well in the javelin,” said Ros. “We didn’t expect him to finish as high as he did considering he only picked up the event because he’s been dealing with a hamstring injury from football. In a way, this injury kept us from winning the NEC Large Conference championship. He has been our top athlete and wins four events every meet. Not having him get those 20 points each meet cost us against Somerville and Malden. Going into the conference meet, he was seeded sixth in the javelin. Because Lucas is a natural athlete, he picked up the event quickly. He improved more and more each meet. I knew he could finish well, but a third place finish is a nice surprise. I believe Lucas can get as good as Ryan with more practice. Ryan made the automatic qualifier for the Division 1 States in the event. I am hoping Lucas can qualify provisionally, but we won’t find out until the performance list is announced.”

In the discus, two Patriots won medals. Rayan Riazi finished in sixth place with a throw of 112’-0” and Alaa Atoui took eighth spot with his spin of 108’-9”. Riazi also performed well in the 110 hurdles, placing 10th in that event. Jaryd Benson turned in a fine effort in the shot put with his toss of 41’-1”, which left him just shy of medaling with a ninth-place finish.

“We had a great day in the other throwing events, the shot put and discus. Jaryd Benson, even though he just missed medalling, threw one foot over his PR. Jaryd has worked very hard this season on improving his technique in the throwing events, especially the shot put,” Ros said. “Our goal this year was to break 40 feet, which he had done a few times this season. With his throw this weekend, I know if we had a couple more meets, he would break the 42 foot barrier. In the discus, Rayan Riazi continues to improve as he has done throughout the season. It culminated this weekend when he finished 6th and threw a personal best. There was no doubt in my mind that Rayan could be one of the better throwers in the conference because I saw flashes of it during practice. Rayan’s problem, which continues, is his consistency. He has the potential to throw over 120 feet right now, but his technique has to improve significantly. Alaa on the other hand, has been much more consistent. He didn’t throw close to his PR, but his throw was enough to medal in eighth place. Alaa is similar to Rayan when it comes to consistency, but slightly better. Both of these boys are sophomores, so the future in the throwing events for us is very bright.”

All three of the Patriots’ relay quartets won medals. The 4 x 400 foursome of Augusto Goncalves, Samuel Gonzalez, Antony Arias, and Michael Adolphus finished in fourth place in a time of 3:41.32; the 4 x 800 crew of  Fabio Tran, Christian Madrid, Victor Pelatere, and Cristian Acuna likewise finished fourth with a clocking of 8:39.24; and the 4 x 100 team of  Matt DaRocha, Cam Ventura, Billy Ginepra, and Fray Del Rosario grabbed sixth place with a time of 46.32 in a close competition in which the first-place team won the race in 44.59.

“The final highlight of the meet for us and me personally, as a distance specialist, is the 4×800 meter relay,” Ros said. “For the past couple of years, we knew we had a shot to the break the school record. It was just a matter of getting the right opportunity. This whole attempt centered around senior Cristian Acuna. Cristian had an amazing year last year as a junior. He ran sub 2:10 in the 800. We knew coming into this year we needed to surround him with the right supporting cast, one of which was freshman Victor Pelatere. Unfortunately for us, Cristian dealt with some health issues before the winter season. It put his development behind significantly so much that I wasn’t sure if he would be able to run well for us again this year. Finishing races was difficult for him during the winter and much of spring. Regardless, I kept him training and brought him along slowly, picking and choosing to race him in shorter races. His status for the relay was not decided until the last meet against Malden. There, he ran a PR in the open 400 breaking 60 for the first time ever in 58 seconds. Then he ran another PR 20 minutes later in the 4×400 running 57 seconds. After that meet, I told the boys that we were going to roll the dice and put Cristian in the relay at conference. At conference, our game plan was to average 2:10 and no worse. The boys ran the strategy to perfection! Fabio Tran led us off with a 2:09.7. Christian Madrid back that up with an identical split of 2:09.7. Victor held up with a 2:10.2. Cristian completed an oddly identical split as Fabio and Christian with another 2:09.7! The boys ran so well that at one point they were within five yards of the lead. This was a great way to end Cristian’s high school track career. “

A final noteworthy effort came from senior Jonathan Nushi, who finished in the top 10 in the league in the two-mile run with a clocking of 11:02.

Mahoney Wins NEC Girls Javelin Title

The Revere High girls outdoor track & field team received strong efforts from a number of the Lady Patriots at Saturday’s Northestern Conference Meet that was held at Peabody High.

Gianna Mahoney achieved the top performance of the day, earning the title of NEC champion in the javelin with a throw of 104’-1”, which was 11 inches further than her closest competitor.

“Gianna was in third place going into the final round of throws and then got off a personal record (PR) throw of 104’-1” which won the competition,” said RHS head coach Antonio  LaBruna. “She was the only freshmen in the top 10 in the event, which makes her feat even more impressive. Gianna will be competing in D1 States next week and certainly has an opportunity to medal.”

Teammate Carolina Bettero enjoyed a stellar meet, winning medals in two events with a second-place finish in the high hurdles in 17.17 and then taking a fourth place medal in the 400 hurdles with a time of  71.34.

“Carolina had a huge meet as well,” said LaBruna. “She just missed winning the high hurdles by a tenth of a second and finished fourth in the 400M hurdles. She is only going to get better and she’ll be a top hurdler for the next three years.”

Other medal-winning performances, awarded to the top eight finishers in each event, were earned by Revere girls as follows:

5th place – Emily DeMauro, Kathy Umanzor, Astrid Umanzor, Gabby Mogavero (4X400 relay) 4:42.6

6th place – Luana Barbosa (high hurdles) 17.71

7th place – Soleil Yuong (Discus) 79’-5”

8th place – Erika Cheever, Olivia Novoselsky, Leila Cesic, Soleil Yuong (4X800 relay) 11:37

LaBruna and his crew will head to the Division 1 State Meet this Saturday in Fall River.

RHS Boys Tennis Needs Two Wins

The Revere High boys tennis team, which stands at 6-7 on the season, needs victories in two of its final three matches in order to qualify for the post-season state tourney.

The Patriots defeated Northeastern Conference rival Malden this past week, 4-1. Freshman Ashton Hoang defeated his Golden Tornado counterpart at first singles in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. David Phan triumphed at second singles, 6-4, 6-3, as did Wellan Sok at third singles, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6).

The second doubles duo of Vincent Nguyen & Matthew Freitas defeated their Malden counterparts, 6-4, 6-4, and the first doubles pairing of Ergi Ismahili & Michael Marchese  dropped their match, 6-1, 6-1.

In a 3-2 loss to Lynn Classical, Hoang (7-6, (7-0), 6-1) and Phan (6-2, 6-2) won their matches in straight sets.

Coach Mike Flynn and his crew were scheduled to face Lynn English this past Monday. They will take on Malden today (Wednesday) and then will meet Somerville again in the season-finale.

In the individual state tournament this past weekend, Hoang, who last weekend became the first Revere boy to win a state tournament match, fell to one of the top players in the state. After dropping the first set, 6-0, Ashton came back in the second set to take a 4-1 lead before falling, 6-4.

“Ashton played a very smart match against a junior from Peabody who is a a very strong and powerful player,” said Flynn. “Ashton gave it his all, but the Peabody boy made his shots.”

RHS Girls Tennis Teams Wins Pair

The Revere High girls tennis team earned a pair of victories this past week against Northeastern Conference rivals.

In  3-2 victory over Malden, the Lady Patriots were led by their top player, Farah Selman, who breezed past her Malden rival at first singles in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.

Trang Nguyen triumphed at second singles, 6-2, 6-4, and the first doubles tandem of Lina Nguyen and Ayat Zakaria won their match, 6-2, 6-4, to give Revere the victory.

At third singles, Luisa Gil played well, but came up short by a score of 6-3, 7-6. 

At second doubles, the tandem of Nada About Hadiba & Malak Oufessa dropped their contest in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

The Lady Patriots then dropped their next two matches to league powerhouse Marblehead, 5-0, and to Everett, 4-1, in which Gil was the lone Revere victor at third singles, 6-1, 6-1.

However, two days later the Lady Patriots turned the tables on the Lady Crimson Tide to earn a 3-2 victory. Gil once again won her match handily at third singles, 6-3, 6-0, and this time both of the Revere doubles teams defeated their Everett counterparts in hard-fought battles. The duo of Ayat Zakaria & Lina Nguyen won their match at first doubles, 7-5, 6-3 and the tandem of Malak Oufessa & Nada Abou Hadiba triumphed, 6-4, 7-5.

Trang Nguyen engaged in a fierce contest with her Everett opponent at second singles before coming up short, 7-5, 7-6. “This was a great match for both players, even though Trang lost,” said RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco. “This was a great win for our team after losing to Everett two days earlier.”

In a match with Lynn Classical in which the Lady Patriots dropped a 3-1 decision, Trang Nguyen, playing at first singles, was unable to complete her match because of rain. Gil fell at second singles, 6-3, 7-6, in which Luisa played a very strong second set.

At third singles, Lina Nguyen won handily in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. At first doubles, Malak Oufessa & Nada Abou Hadiba came up short, 6-0, 6-1, as did the duo of sophomore Chelsea Phan & Xiomara Romani Rojas at second doubles, 6-0, 6-1.

Rough Patch for RHS Softball Team

The Revere High softball team endured a tough stretch this past week, dropping all three of its contests. Two of the losses came against Lynn Classical, the top team in the Northeastern Conference with an undefeated league mark. The third came at the hands of Medford, another top NEC rival that is ranked in the top 20 in the state.

A 10-6 loss to Classical in the teams’ first encounter last Monday on the Lady Patriots’ home field was a harbinger of their tough week to come.

Revere held a 5-0 advantage entering the seventh and final inning thanks to some timely hitting by Alexis Iacoviello, Danielle Dion, Kate O’Donnell, Olivia McManus, and Eve Lescovitz that produced the Lady Patriots’ runs.

McManus meanwhile, was in command in the pitcher’s circle, spinning a shutout through the first six frames.

But in the top of the seventh, the weather took a turn of the worse, bringing rain and wind — and the proverbial roof fell in. Classical’s bats came alive and by the time the dust had settled, the visiting Lady Rams had scored 10 runs and eventually went on for a 10-6 victory.

A 3-1 loss to Medford was followed by a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Classical in the rematch.

“Admittedly, we played the two top teams in the conference, but we seemed to be lacking the grit that has been a hallmark of our program for the past few years,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello. “Hopefully we can recapture that spirit in the final part of the season as we head into the state tournament.”

The Lady Patriots were scheduled to play at Lynn English this past Monday and will entertain Malden today (Wednesday). They will host Beverly Friday evening for Senior Night festivities.