Rockets Review: Championship Season in Full Swing

By Micah Hauben, NHS Director of Athletics

The Needham High School indoor track and field teams competed Feb. 8 at the Bay State Conference Championships in a tune-up for the MIAA Division 2 state meet. After a regular season that saw both teams finish 3-3 in the tough Bay State Conference, they set out to show just how good they are and came out swinging. 

Head girls coach Chris Van Cott had the following to say about the meet:

The girls team was led by several well-placed finishers including: senior captain Alison Pildner in the 300m; sophomores Kira Oberle and Rachel Blaustein in the 600 and 1,000m, respectively; senior captain Lily Corcoran in the one mile; sophomore Sammy Lerner in the two mile; and a quartet consisting of freshmen Anya Gorodentsev and Olivia Corkery and sophomores Blessing Ojini and Jasmine Johnson in the 4 x 200m relay. Sophomore Hallie Armstrong, the 1,000m school record holder, was side-lined by illness and did not compete.

Meanwhile the boys team showed equal depth by placing junior captain Kevin Walsh in the 300m; freshman Derek Howes in the 600m; senior captain Ben Lueders in the 1,000m; sophomore Daniel Alpert and junior Tyler Hagen in the one mile; sophomore Adrian Amaya in the two mile; senior Andrew Murowchick in the long jump; and a 4 x 800m relay team consisting of Lueders, Alpert, Hagen and sophomore Tommy Kelley. Senior captain Stephen Farlow just missed out on a top place but threw well enough in shot put to qualify for next week's divisional championships.

Full results can be found online at athletic.net.

On Thursday, Feb. 16, the Rockets will take on the best of the class at the Division 2 Championships as they hope to qualify several individuals and relay teams for the All-State meet.

Boys Swimming and Diving

The team took part in the Sectional Championships on Sunday, Feb. 12 at MIT, and qualifiers will now move on to the State Championships on Friday, Feb. 17 at Harvard. Complete Sectional results can be found at http://miaa.ezstream.net.

Wrestling

After finishing second in the Division II Metro Sectional, the individual qualifiers took part in the DII State Championships at Reading High School on Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11.

Three Rockets—senior Cam Chisholm and juniors Mark Carroll and Mikey Khibkin—will move on to All-States on Feb. 24 and 25 at Salem High School, while the team will take part in the Team Tournament Championship at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell next Sunday and Monday (Feb. 19 and 20).

Boys Ice Hockey

The boys ice hockey team moved back into the Boston Globe Top 10 after defeating both Weymouth and Braintree on the road last week.

Moving to 15-3 on the season, the boys can clinch at least a tie of the BSC Carey Division Title with a win against Newton North on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The Rockets will finish up the regular season at the Springfield Cathedral Tournament over the break.

Boys and Girls Basketball

Both the boys and girls varsity basketball teams will recognize their seniors on Thursday, Feb. 16, as they host Newton North in a varsity double-header. The girls will open up vs. the Tigers at 5:15 p.m., with the boys game slated to start at 6:45 p.m.

The boys have qualified for the postseason and will look to improve their seeding as they finish up with Braintree (away Tuesday, Feb. 14), Newton North and then two games at the Walpole Tournament.  The girls are still alive for the state tournament, standing at 8-10, but they need to win their final two games against Braintree (home Tuesday, Feb. 14) and Newton North, in order to finish at the required .500 mark (10-10) and advance into the postseason.

Gymnastics

On Saturday, Feb. 11 at Newton North, the Rockets placed fourth overall at the Bay State Conference Championships with their second best score of the season, 132.85. Needham finished behind power houses Wellesley and Newton North, and surprise Natick.

BSC All-Stars were announced at the meet, with Maggie Nieto earning honors on floor with her 9.105 average and Maria Smirnov being recognized for the balance beam with her 8.7625 average. Individual and team qualifiers for the state tournament rounds will be announced this week.

Check http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/athletics for Rocket Athletic news, updates, forms, links and complete team schedules.

Rockets Review is a weekly update distributed by email by Needham High School Director of Athletics Micah Hauben and published with permission on Needham Patch. Additional athletics information can be found on the NHS Athletic Department Web site.