Winter Season in Review

The girls’ hockey team was the last High School team standing this past winter season, having advanced farther than other squad in the program’s six-year history.

C-C made it to the MIAA Division 2 state tournament’s semifinals. There the Patriots ran into Duxbury, and were ousted with a 4-0 loss. Still, the season and the postseason run, they were the No. 11 seed in the tournament, showed that the Patriots are for real now.

They were by far the lowest seed remaining of the final four, and despite the score, put up quite the fight against the very talented Dragons.

Just because winter season was in the books a little earlier for the rest of the C-C athletic teams, that doesn’t mean there were plenty of stellar performances, accomplishments and records broken by Patriot players and teams this winter.

Perhaps the biggest individual accomplishment came from the boys’ swimming and
diving team. At this season’s Division 2 state meet, C-C junior diver Sean O’Brien broke his own state record in the 1-meter event. He scored 639.65.

As a team, the Patriot boys placed third.

C-C was also third in the girls’ event. The Patriots scored many of their points in the
relay events, in which the placed third (200 freestyle), fourth (200 medley) and seventh (400 freestyle).

But the season wasn’t without its ups and downs. After starting strong, the Concord-Carlisle teams ran into some rough patches in loses against Weston and Dual County League rival Lincoln-Sudbury. Still, the Patriots certainly bounced back in time for the championship season.

The championship meet season was also good for the Concord-Carlisle Nordic ski teams. Both Patriots teams placed in the top five of their respective D-2 state meets, both of which were held at the Nochview Reservation in Windsor.

C-C’s girls were fourth and the boys’ placed fifth. Concord-Carlisle’s Olivia Meyerson placed second in the girls’ race and C-C’s Chris Burnham placed third.

It was also an especially memorable season for the C-C wrestling team, which blended individual and team accomplishments to put together one of the program’s most memorable seasons in the past few years.

On the team side, the Patriots steadily improved through the latter portion of the season. They were fourth at the DCL league meet, third at the D-2 sectional team meet and first at the D-2 sectional individual meet.

There was also plenty of success to go around for the basketball and ice hockey programs, which combine to send three of four teams to the postseason, including the continuing run of the girls’ hockey team.

The C-C boys’ basketball turned an up-and-down regular season into a berth in the D-2 North sectional tournament.

During the regular season, like the swimming and diving teams, the boys’ basketball had to weather its own rollercoaster ride. Late in the year, the Patriots took it to then-DCL small division leader Tyngsborough in mid-January. Later in the month, C-C lost by 29 to archrival Acton-Boxborough.

But that didn’t stop the Patriots from finishing strong and entering the sectional
tournament. However, C-C’s postseason stint was short-lived, as the team fell to Brighton in a scintillating First Round matchup. After falling behind early, the Patriots took the lead late in the game, but couldn’t hold off the Bengals for good.

The Concord-Carlisle boys’ hockey team also utilized a strong late-season push to
solidify a place in the sectional tournament. Last month, the Patriots took down Dracut in a non-league game, before throttling Wayland to cloud out the regular season.

Like the boys’ basketball team, though, the boys’ hockey team had a short stint in the postseason. Using a physical gameplan, Belmont punished the Patriots in the First Round of the sectional tournament.

The C-C indoor track and field team recently wrapped up its lengthy season, as the boys’ 4x400 relay team finished sixth at the New England Championships. Before that, the boys’ and girls’ competed in the All-State meet.

In December, the start of the alpine ski season was delayed a bit by a lack of snow. But once January rolled around the Patriots were able to showcase their talents on the slopes. They performed well in a number of meets at Nashoba Valley in Westford.

Though not for a lack of trying, the C-C girls’ basketball team had a somewhat rough got of it this year. Whether it was facing teams featuring a lot of depth, or those with top talent, the Patriots couldn’t seem to catch a break.

However, the season was not without its bright spots for the Patriots.