The Sports Watch for April 4 - 9

It's Sunday, and you know what that means. It's time for the Sports Watch, the fastest three minutes in Weston Sports coming your way right now:

Well, it was a grand opening for several Weston High sports teams this past week. The baseball, boys’ lacrosse, and girls’ lacrosse teams all won their season openers. Baseball shut out Marian, while both lacrosse teams defeated archrival Wayland.

Let’s go to the diamond first, where the host baseball Wildcats got the new campaign started with a bang, defeating non-league foe Marian, 15-0.

Senior pitcher Robert Charpie got the win on the hill, while southpaw and fellow senior David Miller proved strong in relief.

“Robert and David threw well and made pitches when they needed to,” Weston head coach Jon Beverly said.

Charpie also aided Weston’s hitting barrage, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Also contributing at the plate were senior Matt O’Connor, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and senior Mike Guappone, who went 2-for-3, driving in a run.

“The real storyline was us taking advantage of Marian miscues and capitalizing on second chances,” Beverly said.

The Mustangs helped the ‘Cats out with eight errors, and Marian hurlers had four walks and two hit batsmen.

Meanwhile, Weston played pretty stellar in the field. Senior shortstop Zach Cannon and second baseman O'Connor secured the middle.

"[They] played very well in the field, robbing Marian of some sure base hits," Beverly said.

The coach added, “We were pleased with the defensive play of the team. With so many days indoors, teams usually come of out the gates rusty. However, they really played focused and fundamentally sound.”

To the turf we go, where the boys’ lacrosse team rallied from deficits of 3-0, 6-5, and 8-7 with five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to stun visiting archrival Wayland, 12-9 in a huge Dual County League Small Division matchup.

“It was a hard fought win,” Weston head coach Jim Wilcon said. “Wayland is a very solid team and well coached. Our kids deserve the credit for staying together and being mentally tough through the fourth.”

Jordon Fong led Weston with three goals and an assist, while Captain Kyle Nickerson added two goals and a helper. Fellow captain Greg Cohen and Joey Pasquale also tallied twice.

Also contributing were Adam Guerin and Matt Knight, who each had a goal and two assists, and Kerry Ecker who scored a big goal to tie the game at 8.

Meanwhile, Weston goalie Jared Fong and the ‘Cats defense also came up big. Fong made some terrific stops in the final frame, while Steve Iodice, Rob Bennett, Matt Atkins, Nick Litas, and Owen Ward secured the turf in front of Fong, with the help of defensive middies Greg Lanzillo, Harrison Fontaine, Jarrett Rowe, Derrick Shay, Peter Scarpato, and Matt Martin.

Wayland jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, before Weston tied it to end the first quarter. The Warriors regained the edge, 6-5, by the end of the first half, and led, 8-7, after three frames, before Weston took over in the final stanza.

In girls’ lacrosse, Emma Dagres and Hannah Dinardo each scored three goals and Julia Meehan had two goals and two assists as visiting Weston scorched rival Wayland, 12-3.

“We made great connections on the attack,” Weston head coach Chrissy Swanson said in praise of the three star forwards.

The coach added, “We came out strong from the first whistle. We won the majority of draw controls in the first half and throughout the game. In the first few minutes, it was clear it was our first game and we needed to get into a rhythm, but after we settled down, we were able to play our game and control the tempo.”

Also contributing for the Wildcats was Anna Duffey, who had a goal and a helper, and Lindsay McCabe and Cara Lembo, who scored a goal apiece. All three players are midfielders.

“We also did a great job transitioning in the midfield,” Swanson said. “Our defense came out strong making over 15 caused turnovers. Overall, we did a nice job."

Well, we switch gears to the slopes now, where two Weston High School students excelled at a national level in cross-country ski racing this winter. Sophomore and All American Hamish McEwen was National Champion in two of four events at the Nationals in Minneapolis, MN, competing against the top 65-plus skiers in the country.

Freshman Zoe Snow had a top-10 finish nationally, making her All American. She also earned a spot on the podium with a third place in the relay. Hamish earned second in his relay.

Hamish and Zoe are part of the Cambridge Sports Union (CSU), a cross-country ski club that practices at the Weston Ski Track in Weston.

CSU took third among all the cross-country ski clubs in the country at the Nationals, behind Stratton Mountain School and The Alaska Stars. In total, nine CSU skiers qualified to represent New England at the Nationals, also known as the Junior Olympics. Skiers qualify through their performance in the Eastern Cup race series that takes place throughout the winter. Hamish and Zoe both competed in the J2 age category, comprised of skiers born in 1995 and 1996.

CSU teammate and Lincoln Sudbury junior Corey Stock also was National Champion in three of four events in her age group at the Nationals. Corey Stock and Eli Hoenig, both of Lincoln Sudbury High School, and Cate Brams of Belmont High School, also qualified as All American at the Nationals.

Corey, Hamish, Zoe, and Eli - along with Weston resident and Belmont Hill sophomore Ian Meyer - were among those who competed for Massachusetts in the Eastern High School Championships in Rumford, Maine one week later. Hamish won the individual sprint. Zoe  finished 10th overall for girls, grades 9-12. Corey and Eli finished first overall. Ian finished 33rd overall.

Finally, the Little League Challenger Division is starting up this spring and registration is now open to Weston and surrounding towns without their own division.

The Challenger Division is an adaptive baseball program, which allows for communities to establish a structured athletic program for children with physical and mental challenges. Boys and girls, ages 5-18 (up to age 22 if enrolled in high school), can enjoy the game of baseball tailored to their abilities, and can benefit from the socialization of team sports.

Ann Delduchetto of Weston was a teacher and a coach for the Challenger Division where she lived in New York. She wanted to bring the program to Weston when she moved here since she knows first-hand what the program brings to the whole community. “This is a very special program which fits the needs of every child participating.”

In Challenger, everyone gets to play. Teams are made up of 15-20 players, and the same equipment and fields are used as the other little league divisions. Teams are established according to player-ability, rather than age, and the levels of play are tee-ball, coach-pitch or player-pitch. The games are only one or two innings, about one hour of play, and every child goes up to bat, each run is a homerun, and there are no scores.

Depending on the player’s ability, Buddies are used to assist the players. “The Buddy element is the most wonderful addition,” says Delduchetto, “This set-up allows the parents of the players to sit back, relax, and enjoy their children as they watch them play a game of baseball.”

Volunteer Buddies are trained in how to assist their player as necessary per their specific need and the players choose their Buddy. It is preferred that the Buddies make it to each game so that the players can have the same person for the whole season.

There are no other adaptive town sports programs in Weston. In order to obtain a Challenger charter with Little League International, a minimum of two games must be played in the season. “My hope is that a whole season’s worth of games can be played and that our division can eventually play other town divisions.”

“What I hope is that the Challenger Division takes off and the other community sports in town start offering adaptive programs,” says Kimberly Costello, of Weston who has registered her daughter. “The Challenger division allows my daughter the opportunity to be a part of a team. She wants to be with her peers. Meghan sees her brother and sister participating in activities and wants to play, too.”

Each Challenger player will receive a hat, team jersey, trophy, and a certificate of participation. Registration is open now for players and the cost is $35 per player. Opportunities are available for volunteer Buddies. The initial games are scheduled for May 14th and June 4th. To register to play, volunteer to be a Buddy, or request additional information, contact Ann Delduchetto, League Director, at challenger@westonbaseball.org.

Little League Challenger Division was started 22 years ago through Little League International. More than 30,000 children participate in nearly 1,000 Challenger Divisions in seven countries.