Yuong Sets New Mark in Long Jump
Revere High junior track star Liv Yuong broke another school record this weekend at the MSTCA State Qualifiers Meet.
Liv jumped 15′-10″ in the indoor long jump, which topped the old RHS mark by 0.75″ that had been held by Luana Barbosa since 2019.
This is Yuong’s second school record — Liv set the indoor high jump mark last year at 5′-4″ — and ensures that she will compete in three events this Thursday at the Division 1 State Meet.
Boys Track Sets New 4 x 200 Record
The Revere High boys indoor 4 x 200 relay team set a new Revere High school record at this past Saturday’s MSTCA Qualifying Meet that was held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston.
The quartet of senior Medy Bellemsieh, junior Oliver Escobar, sophomore Jeremy X, and senior JV Cunha sped around the oval in a time of 1:34.02, breaking the previous mark of 1:34.41 that was set in 2012 by Joe Ritchie, Younes Hartout, Robert Rose, and John Lopes.
“Medy had an average start, but turned on the jets about 40-50 meters in and ran a spectacular opening leg,” said RHS head coach David Fleming. “As he’s done all year, Oliver got the baton and looked like he exploded out of a cannon. He ran a really fast second leg. The handoff from Oliver to Jeremy wasn’t entirely smooth, but Jeremy ran another strong leg and got the baton to JV, who had a blazing anchor leg. JV’s split, which was in the 22-second range, was the difference that carried the team to the record.”
In addition to the record-setting 4 x 200 team (who finished in third place among the 22 schools who entered teams), there were many other highlights provided by the RHS tracksters, who the previous week captured the Greater Boston League Championship Meet.
— JV Cunha won the 600 meters in 1:23.54. “JV was in control from the opening gun,” said Fleming. “He led the entire way and made it look easy. He’s so strong right now. He’s in great shape heading into the D1 State Meet this week.”
–Isaiah DeCrosta finished second in the 55M Hurdles in a clocking of 8.28 seconds. “Zay’s been frustrated with a football-related injury this season, but he’s back. As usual, girls’ head coach Racquel MacDonald (who was a star hurdler at Revere High and Boston College) gets the coaching credit for Zay’s success in the hurdles,” Flemig added.
— Medy Bellemsieh finished first in his heat and seventh overall with a time of 37.13 in the 300 dash, which was a new personal record (PR). “If Medy had been in the top heat, he would have run faster. Overall, I think he was happy with how he performed in his first 300 meter race, but he was a bit frustrated knowing he could have gone faster. Either way, it’s a good tune up for Medy, who will be running with JV in the 600 in the D-1 State Meet.”
— Sophomore Edwin Alarcon set a new PR with a time of 2:50.78 in the 1000 meters. “Edwin won his heat after moving into the lead in the first 100 meters. He went out fast in about 30 seconds for 200 meters and about 61 for 400. He paid the price toward the end, but had enough left for the win. It’s been fun to watch Edwin’s progression in the 1000. He’s worked hard and has chopped approximately 20 seconds off his time this season.”
–Kevin Purcifull turned in a strong performance in the shot-put, finishing in 13th place with a throw of 40′-11.”
Boys Basketball Tops Greater Lowell 67-62
The Revere High boys basketball team gave their fans a lot to cheer about in their final home game of the season with a 67-62 victory over Greater Lowell Tech this past Monday evening at the Merullo Fieldhouse.
The Patriots had knocked off the Gryphons at their place two weeks ago by a score of 58-49 in a contest that was a much-closer game than the final might indicate, so RHS head coach David Leary and his crew knew they would be in for a battle in the rematch.
Revere got the scoring going early. Senior co-captain Luke Ellis drained a three from up top, junior guard Avi Lung (who turned in a fine all-around game with 14 points, four steals and four assists) made a reverse layup and hit a three-pointer of his own, and junior guard Ethan Day sank five free throws and a layup to give the Patriots a 15-14 edge after one quarter.
The Patriots relied on their defense and their bench in the second period. Senior forward Ryan El Babor (6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks) drove to the basket, junior guard Sami Mghizou (7 points) sank a three-pointer from up top and made a nice baseline drive, and Day added a few more buckets as Revere held Greater Lowell to just 10 points in the quarter to push its lead to 29-24 at halftime.
The Patriots came out at a fast pace after the intermission. Lung sank another trey and El Babor and senior co-captain Andrew Leone made layups, but most of the third quarter belonged to Day (who finished with 33 points on the night to go alone with five rebounds and four assists). Ethan exploded for 14 points in the period, including a three-pointer from the top, to push the Patriot lead to 50-38 entering the final eight minutes.
However, Greater Lowell did not make the long bus ride for nothing and the Gryphons opened the period with a 6-0 run that sliced the Revere lead in half. The Patriots settled down, with El Babor, Mghizou, and junior guard Josh Mercado (who made a nice baseline floater) responding to give the Patriots a little breathing room. Greater Lowell remained stingy and continued to claw back, as the Gryphons cut the margin to four, 60-56, with just under two minutes remaining. Lung gave the Pats some breathing room (pun intended) when he found himself open on the wing and calmly sank his third three-pointer of the night. Day and Lung then combined to shoot 6-of-7 from the free throw line down the stretch when Greater Lowell began fouling intentionally to stop the clock and the Patriots held on for the 67-62 victory, marking their highest scoring total of the season.
“We did not make it easy on ourselves, but Greater Lowell is well-coached, young, and hungry,” said Leary. “They came at us all night. We had a lot of guys step up and obviously Ethan had himself quite a game offensively. It was nice to have Avi back to 100%. We had struggled with free throw shooting at points this year, but we hit some big ones to close it out. It was a good team win.”
Revere will wrap up the 2024 campaign next week in the annual General George S. Patton Holiday Tournament at Hamilton-Wenham. The Patriots will face Southeastern Regional Vocational in the tourney opener on Monday at 3:30 and then will meet either Greater
Lawrence or the host Generals on Tuesday in either the consolation game at 3:30 or the championship game at 5:15.
RHS Boys Hoop Honors its Seniors
The Revere High boys basketball program honored the senior members of the team and cheerleading squad with a festive Senior Night celebration in front of a great home crowd in the Merullo Fieldhouse last Thursday evening.
Seniors Ryan El Babor, Domenic Belmonte, Amir Yamani, and co-captains Luke Ellis and Andrew Leone were honored with their families in an on-court ceremony pre-game. After the quintet from the RHS Class of 2024 were announced as the starters, Olivia Freni (RHS Class 2020) sang a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem.
The Patriots, hosting GBL rival Somerville, came out fast and used the emotions of the ceremony early on. Senior co-captain Ellis (12 points, 4 rebounds) got things going for Revere, draining two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Fellow senior co-captain Leone (4 points, 8 rebounds) slashed to the basket for a layup and senior forward El Babor (a nice double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds) made a sweeping hook in the lane and a put-back rebound.
However, the Patriots still trailed, 13-12, at the end of the first quarter. Revere inserted their normal starters to start the second period and had some success early. Junior guard Avi Lung (7 points, 4 steals, 4 assists) got to the basket plus the free throw. Junior Guard Ethan Day (12 points, 5 boards) made a pair of free throws and floaters, and Ellis sank another trey, while El Babor finished on the fast break to give Revere a 26-23 lead at the intermission.
The second half started slowly for both squads. Revere got baskets from El Babor and Leone, Ellis drained his fourth three-pointer of the night, and Day dropped in two more layups, but Somerville closed out the third quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 38-37 advantage heading into the final frame.
Revere was hoping to avenge its loss at Somerville three weeks earlier, but the Patriot offense went cold. Revere scored just two free throws and a layup from Lung, two more free throws by El Babor, and a bucket by Day on the baseline. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the visiting Highlanders found their shooting touch, sinking three three-pointers down the stretch to claim a 55-45 win.
Revere head coach David Leary kept things in perspective post-game. “We obviously wanted to win the game tonight for our seniors and our team, but give Somerville credit,” said Leary. “They made the big shots late to take it.
“What an atmosphere we had here tonight for these guys,” added Leary. “The student body, friends, and families really came out and made it a special night for our seniors. Luke tried to bring the house down early with those early threes, Ryan played his best game of the year, and Dom, Amir, and Andrew all competed hard. Hopefully they and their families will cherish tonight regardless of the final score.”
RHS Girls Close Out Season With GBL Co-Championship
The Revere High girls basketball team closed out its regular season on an overall successful note, defeating Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals Lynn English and Somerville this past week to earn a share of the 2024 GBL title with Lynn Classical with a 12-2 league record. First-year head coach Ariana Rivera’s squad, which dropped a 62-33 decision to non-league rival Gloucester in their regular-season finale on Friday to finish with an overall record of 14-6, now will await word of their final seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming MIAA Division 1 state tourney.
