Schools
ABRHS Athletes Headed for MIAA Tournaments
Coaches at ABRHS say they know the key to qualifying for and doing well in post-season athletic action: play a tough regular schedule.
The majority of AB’s varsity coaches are in no position to sit back and bask in their teams’ recent accomplishments. The baseball, softball, boys’ lacrosse, girls’ tennis, and boys’ tennis squads are heading to their respective MIAA state tournaments.
Baseball
Coach Patrick Grucela, whose team posted a 14-6 record, had this to say about the season:
Find out what's happening in Actonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“We played a hard non-league schedule. A strong schedule gets us ready for the tournament. We won the last four games against teams that are all tournament bound. At the end of May, beginning of June, we should be playing our best baseball. We really are right now.”
Having been granted a bye in the first round of tournament play, the team will face the winner of Everett vs. Lawrence this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at home.
Follow the action at this link.
Find out what's happening in Actonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Softball
Coach Mary Matthews’ team achhieved a 14-6 overall record this season, making the girls DCL-Large champions for the fifth straight year.
Pitcher Sarah Ropiak celebrated her 500th strikeout this past weekend. She and teammates Maddie Hatch, Nicole Geoffrion, Hannah Graney and Lindsay Chen played in the DCL Large vs. DCL Small All-Star game on Monday night.
“We played a challenging schedule with the hope that we would be prepared for the tournament," Matthews said. "We have strong leadership and a lot of talent and are looking to continue executing and enjoy the tournament level play ahead of us.”
On Saturday, the team will face Concord-Carlisle (in Concord) in a 4:00 p.m. second-round game. Having split the two regular-season contests with the Patriots, the Colonials will need to get past their local rivals in their quest to defend the Division 1 North championship title they secured a year ago.
“We drew a difficult matchup in tournament seeding, but we are prepared and ready. It is about how we play, not who we play,” said Matthews.
Follow the softball team’s progress with this link to the brackets.
Boys Lacrosse
The boys’ lacrosse team’s regular season record stands at 15-3, making them the second seed.
Sixteen seniors led the team this season. Tyler McKelvie and Kyle Soroka were named to the Eastern Massachusetts All American team. Peter Trombly, a two-time honoree, received an Academic All American award.
After sitting out the preliminary round with a bye, the lacrosse team’s first match will take place Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at home on Leary field. They’ll be paying the winner of Thursday night’s game: Chelmsford vs. Woburn.
Follow their path via this link to the brackets.
Tennis
Both the Boys and Girls Tennis teams have secured byes in the first round of tournament play.
The boys, whose record is 14-2 and who won the DCL title, will face the winner of Boston Latin vs. Haverhill on Monday, June 4th, at 3:30 p.m. at home.
“Our team has a lot of depth,” said Coach Kevin Curley. Predicting a win over Haverhill for Boston Latin, he said, “Our first match will be tough, but our team is pretty strong.”
Follow the team’s progress via this link.
The girls will face the winner of Andover vs. Peabody on Monday, June 4th,
at 3:30 p.m. at home.
Follow their progress here.
Track and Field
The boys’ and girls’ Spring Track teams have finished their seasons with strong showings. Both teams boasted perfect 8-0 records, making them league meet champions. In the Division 1 meets, each finished second to Newton North.
Girls coach Daniel Goldner called the season “a huge success.”
"This was the first time the girls were undefeated in the DCL since 1985 and the second year in a row they were DCL meet champions ,” he said. “The girls trained hard and wanted to be successful. They were mentally and physically ready for the big meets,” Goldner added.
Highlights: Maya Jarostchuk placed first in the 400 meter dash. Savanna Craib placed second in high jump and 400 meter intermediate hurdles. Randi Fries took third in the long jump. Sarah Toulmin, Alison Grover, Ellen Conway and Maya Jarostchuk placed second in the 4 x 400 meter relay.
View the complete Girls Track Results here.
Boys Coach Brian Crossman said, “The season has gone great. The boys all trained hard and rose to the occasion for the big meets.”
Highlights: Brian Sommers placed second in the 400 meter dash. Henry Zhou placed third in the 400 meter hurdles and second in the 110 meter hurdles. Akhiel Willis placed third in the triple jump.
View the complete Boys Track Results here.
