Yuong Takes First at NE Invitational; Leaps to New RHS Mark
Revere High girls track and field sensation, sophomore Liv Yuong, continued her outstanding 2023 indoor track season this past weekend.
Competing at the MSTCA Invitational, which brought together athletes from throughout New England, Liv won first-place in the high jump with a leap of 5′-4″, a performance that shattered the previous RHS school record of 5′-1″ that had stood since 2006 (set by former RHS track great Peniel Muteba) and which Yuong herself had equaled earlier in the season.
In addition, Young qualified for the New Balance National Championship that will be held in March at the new track at the New Balance facility in Brighton.
“Liv cleared every jump on her first attempt up until 5′-4″, which was amazing to see,” said RHS head coach Racquel MacDonald. “She looked so consistent on each of her jumps and I am confident that 5′-6″ is close in her future.”
In addition to her record-breaking high jump performance, Yuong also set a personal record (PR) in her other specialty, the 55 meter hurdles, with a time of 9.85 seconds, shaving 0.2 off her previous PR in that event.
The meet was marked by additional highlights for the Revere team that saw a number of MacDonald’s Lady Patriots establish their own personal records: Hiba El Bzyouy in the 600m with a time of 2:04.24 (eight seconds faster than her previous PR); Olivia Rupp in the 1000m with a time of 3:37.30; Danni Hope Randall (50.51) and Luisa Khorsi (52.24) in the 300 dash; and Giselle Salvador with a PR sprint of of 8.51 in the 55m.
RHS Boys Track Tops Medford, 47-39
The Revere High boys indoor track and field team earned a 47-39 victory over Greater Boston League rival Medford last Wednesday at the Merullo Fieldhouse.
A big Revere sweep in the 50 yard dash proved crucial to the victory. The trio of Allen Hou (6.1), Anthony Pham (6.5), and Latrell Ashby (6.6) outsprinted all three of their Medford rivals.
The Patriots also swept the high jump, with the threesome of Richard Vilme (5′-8″), Javan Close (5′-6″), and Giancarlo Miro (5′-2″) giving Revere all nine points in the event.
The duo of Isaiah DeCrosta (7.1) and Fajr Riazi (8.6) gave the Patriots a 1-2 placement in the 50 yard hurdles.
Sami El-Asri outdashed all three Medford opponents to win the 300 with a clocking of 40.4. Teammate Kenan Batic topped all three of his Mustang foes in the mile with a time of 5:30.
Ahmed Bellemsieh likewise defeated five Medford competitors in the 600 with his time of 1:37.1,which was more than four seconds faster than his closest Mustang counterpart.
In the shot-put, Gabriel Santana took second place with a toss of 35′-8.5″, as did Zaraius Bilimoria in the 1000 with a clocking of 3:12.4.
Coach David Fleming and his crew, who now stand at 3-1 on the season, will host Chelsea today (Wednesday) and will entertain Malden next Wednesday.
RHS Girls Track Edged by Medford
The Revere High girls indoor track and field came up just short in its neet last week with Greater Boston League opponent Medford, falling by a score of 47-39.
Sophomore Liv Yuong continued her winning streak in both the high jump and the 50 yard hurdles with first place finishes with a leap of 4′-10″ in the HJ and a clocking of 8.2 in the hurdles.
The Lady Patriots swept the 50 yard dash to take all nine points for the Revere side of the scoresheet behind the sprint trio of senior captain Kyra Delaney (6.8), Giselle Salvador (7.1), and Ashley Rodriguez (7.2).
Second-place finishers included Francoise Kodjo in the shot-put with a huge personal record (PR) throw of 23-‘7.5″, Yara Belguendouz in the hurdles with another PR of 8.8 seconds, Rania Hamdani in the 300m (53.1), Yasmin Riazi in the 600m (2:10.8), and Olivia Rupp in the mile (6:24.8).
Third place finishes that contributed points to the RHS cause came from Ayra Vranic in the high jump (4′-4″), Danni Hope Randall in the 300m (53.9), Hiba El Bzyouy in the 600m (2:12.6), Ashley Chandler in the 1000m (4:29.5), and Daniela Santana Bae in the two mile (17:15.6).
“We’re looking forward to bouncing back from this tough loss and meeting Chelsea at home,” said RHS head coach Racquel MacDonald, whose squad hosts Chelsea today (Wednesday).
They will take on Malden next Wednesday.
RHS Girls Basketball Wins Two Straight
The Revere High girls basketball team improvd to 4-3 in the Greater Boston League (GBL) and 4-6 overall with a pair of convincing victories over GBL foes Chelsea and Malden this past week.
The twin victories were a nice rebound for the Revere girls after a 56-22 loss to non-league rival Lowell last Monday.
“Lowell got hot early and we never could really put anything together on the offensive end,” said RHS head coach Chris Porrazzo. “We did a lot of soul-searching after this game. We refused to let this game define who we are as a team. We used it as a lot of motivation to finish out the week because we knew we are a better team than that final score indicated.”
In the 60-18 Chelsea win, Rocio Gonzalez led the Lady Patriots in scoring with 15 points. Lorena Martinez turned in a solid, all-around effort, filling up the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, five steals, and four assists.
“We had a total team effort against Chelsea,” said Porrazzo. “It was good to get this win after the Lowell game.”
Two nights later, Porrazzo’s crew cruised past Malden, 48-32.
“We played one of our most complete games of the season against them,” said Porrazzo. “We went deep into our rotation and everyone contributed. Nisrin Sekkat had six crucial points in the second half of the game and it really opened up the rest of the offense for our team. I was also proud of how we defended and rebounded. We had 30 rebounds, seven steals, and three blocks as a team.”
Shayna Smith hit for 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished five assists. Belma Velic made a major contribution with eight points and nine rebounds.
“It was great to play Malden and coach Scott Marino,” added Porrazzo. “Coach Marino organized a lot of off-season programming and included all the Revere players in that. The players remembered each other and it was cool to see them reconnect. We have a lot of respect for Malden and coach Marino.”
Porrazzo and his crew were scheduled to meet GBL foe Everett last night (Tuesday)
“We have Everett at home in a rematch from the first game of the season,” noted Porrazzo, referring to a contest in which the Lady Patriots came up short. “The second time through our schedule we want to show teams how much we have improved. Everett is our first chance to prove it.”
Revere will host Somerville tomorrow (Thursday). They will make the short trek to Winthrop on Friday and will entertain GBL foe Lynn Classical next Tuesday.
RHS Swim Team Celebrates Senior Night With Victory
The Revere High swim team split its two meets this past week. Last Tuesday, the Patriots came up on the short end of a 91-76 decision to Malden.
Despite the outcome, RHS head coach Chris Hill was pleased with many of his troops’ performances.
“We had a number of good results even in the loss,” said Hill.
Junior Alem Cesic won both the 200 IM and the 500 free. In the latter contest, Alem swam a season-best time of 6:00.25.
Junior Nate Hill took first place in the 200 free and added a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
The 200 free relay team of Hill, Gavin Rua, Harrison Rua, and Matthew Terrell took first place. The quartet of HIll, Terrell, Cesic, and Juan Cano lost a close race in the 400 free relay.
Cano took second place in the 100 free and was given second place in the 100 back in a race that was very close and called by the officials.
However, two nights later the Patriots celebrated Senior Night in fitting fashion with a 75-66 win over Lynn English.
The medley relay team of Vilson Lipa, Alem Cesic, Gavin Rua, and Nate Hill got things started for the Patriots by winning the opening event.
Matt Terrell followed up with a win in the 200 free and Cesic followed that with another win in the 200 IM. Teammate Harrison Rua took second in the IM.
The trio of Hill, Gavin Rua, and Luana Carvalhais swept the 50 free. Gavin Rua and Terrell then went 1-2 in the 100 fly. Lipa and Jannet Sehli also went 1-2 in the 100 free.
Hill got his first win in the 500 free with senior Kathy Trihn placing third.
“At this point we stopped scoring since we were ahead by 50 points and couldn’t be caught,” noted Hill. “Lipa and Trihn would have gone 1-3 in the 100 back and we would have won both the 200 and 400 free relays.”
Hill and his squad have only two more dual meets in their 2023 season this week — they were at Somerville last night (Tuesday) and will be at Medford tomorrow (Thursday) — and then will compete in the GBL championships next Thursday, January 26.
RHS Boys Hoop Stands at 5-5
The Revere High boys basketball team snapped a three-game skid with an exciting 60-57 victory at cross-Broadway rival Chelsea last Tuesday evening.
The Patriots had suffered some key setbacks in the previous two weeks, in addition to the trio of defeats, losing senior captain Dom Boudreau and junior Andrew Leone to injuries.
However, the Patriots overcame both their recent adversity and a tough Chelsea opponent to post the victory.
The host Red Devils came out white-hot on offense, making four three-pointers in the first quarter and surging to a 16-6 lead just a few minutes after the opening tip.
The Patriots needed to respond and that they did, as sophomore guard Ethan Day (12 points, five rebounds, three blocks) made three nice drives to the basket and a free throw, while senior captain Sal DeAngelis made a layup, a floater over the aggressive Chelsea defense, and a deep three-pointer to close the gap to 22-16 at the end of a torrid first quarter.
Revere head coach David Leary was not too keen on giving up 22 points in eight minutes and decided to have his Patriots come out of their zone defense.
The second quarter was a complete 180, as both teams put their best foot forward defensively and slowed the game down. Revere point guard and senior captain Alejandro Hincapie had some hard-nosed takes to the basket, Day made a baseline floater, and DeAngelis made a nice basket to close the half with the Patriots trailing 29-25.
The third quarter was more of the same as both teams exchanged baskets in the first few minutes after the intermission.
Revere senior captain Vincent Nichols (eight points, five rebounds) got going — after a quiet first half with foul trouble — soaring to the basket for an offensive rebound tip and then draining a corner three-pointer from a great pass by senior captain Vinny Vu (five assists).
Hincapie (16 points, seven rebounds) had a big quarter, making all six of his free throws, and DeAngelis hit a jumper from the elbow.
However, Chelsea would not give the Patriots any chance to cut into the lead and the score heading into the final quarter remained in the Red Devils’ favor, 43-38.
The fourth quarter was very intense, with every possession becoming more important as the clock ticked away. Nichols had a smooth drive, scoring the basket plus the foul, to cut the lead to 43-41 with just under five minutes remaining.
Chelsea responded with a rebound and put-back to keep it a two possession game, but Day sprung free against the Chelsea pressure and made a nice reverse layup plus the foul, cutting it to 45-44 Chelsea.
The Red Devils, who refused to relinquish the lead all night, made another big basket after a timeout to push the margin to three, but DeAngelis (14 points, five rebounds, three assists) had an answer, pulling up from deep behind the three-point line to tie it up at 47-47 with 1:48 remaining in the game.
Revere made a defensive stop and Hincapie got fouled. Alejandro calmly made the first free throw to give the Patriots its first lead of the night 48-47 with just 1:14 on the clock. After Revere got two more big stops on defense, Day and Hincapie each made a free throw and a Chelsea desperation shot to tie it missed at the buzzer for a Revere win, 50-47.
“We expected nothing less,” said Leary after the roller-coaster win. “When Revere and Chelsea get together it’s always a heavyweight fight. Throw out the records — the kids on both sides are always up for this game.
“Our defense won us this game,” Leary continued. “We knew we needed to change things up after giving up 22 points in the first quarter and the kids responded. We hit some big shots, but our defense kept us in it.
“I’m proud of the grit we showed,” Leary added. “It’s been a tough few weeks. Holding Chelsea to four points in the last quarter was all about effort and our kids fought to the end.â€
The Patriots hosted a much-improved and talented Malden team last Thursday night and right from the jump ball both teams were intent on stopping each other on defense.
The Golden Tornadoes are a much bigger team, but Revere would not back down, Senior captain Vinny Vu was asked to guard Malden big man Jonald Joseph, who is five inches taller, but Vu was equal to the task, limiting Joseph to only four points in the opening half.
Revere senior captains Vincent Nichols (12 points, four rebounds) and Alejandro Hincapie (eight points, four rebounds) got off to hot starts, each making a three and a few layups in the first quarter, but Malden, behind a balanced attack, led 15-12 after the first frame.
The second quarter was a grind as both teams struggled to score until Revere sophomore guard Ethan Day (nine points, five rebounds) got to the basket for two. Senior captain Sal DeAngelis also had a nice layup in traffic and junior forward Luke Ellis had a strong put-back. Luke also did a nice job defending the Malden big man, spelling Vu for a few minutes, but Malden took a slight 22-20 lead into the break.
Revere continued the third quarter as they had played in the first half, grinding out every possession on both ends of the floor. Vu (five points, three rebounds) made a tough layup over Joseph. Nichols had two highlight-reel moves to the hoop and DeAngelis made two free throws to boost the Patriots into a 34-31 advantage after three periods.
The fourth quarter saw the margin remain close through the first five minutes, as neither team could get any separation going back-and-forth.
But then with three minutes left, Malden big man Jonald Joseph went the length of the floor for an emphatic dunk to tie the game at 38, sparking a 12-2 Malden run that included a Golden Tornado three-pointer to beat the shot clock buzzer.
Revere could not muster enough offense to stay close and Malden made its free throws down the stretch to close out the win, 50-40.
The loss leaves Revere at 5-5 on the season. The Patriots travel to Somerville tomorrow (Thursday) to take on the Highlanders in a GBL showdown, with the freshmen at 4:00, the JV at 5:30, and the varsity contest at 7:00.
Leary and his crew then will travel to Lynn Classical next Tuesday.
