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Season Preview: Baseball coach is aiming big

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The Whitman-Hanson Regional High baseball team is returning some pivotal players from last season’s team that went 16-5 and was bouced in the first round of the tournament.

Whitman-Hanson Regional High baseball head coach Pat Cronin has always had a vision for the future.

Back in the spring of 2016 when Cronin took over the W-H program after spending the past 35 years at the helm of East Bridgewater, this was the season he was building toward.

“I will say this that in the three years that I’ve been here this was the year that I’ve had kind of circled as a year where I was really excited and interested in seeing how much our work paid off,” Cronin, who has recorded 452 wins as a head coach, said.

In the Panthers’ first campaign under Cronin, they advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2007 and won their first-round game 11-0 against Somerset-Berkley before falling to Falmouth, 4-2, in the semifinals. Last season, they finished 15-6, which included a 4-2 loss to Sandwich in the first round. W-H did, however, claim the Patriot League Keenan Division along the way.

“This is a team game more than anything else, so I think implementing a team-attitude that you may want to play short, but you’re a great second baseman or you may want to play center, but you’re a great left fielder,” Cronin said of how changed the culture of the team. “All of the kids bought into that.”

As part of Cronin’s forward vision, he doesn’t just account for the season at hand.

“We plan two of three years ahead when we’re putting our team together,” Cronin said. “I always have planned two or three years ahead.”

While the Panthers may be down Patriot League All-Star at short stop and captain Luke Tamulevich, who helped turn seven doubles plays last season, due to graduation, fellow league all-star junior Mike Cook, who hit .302 and helped spin nine double plays last spring, will slide over from second base to shortstop.

“When he first came up as a freshman, I put him at short when Tamulevich got sick and he played there as a freshman and helped us beat Stoughton,” Cronin explained. “So, I told him later, ‘I need you to go to second base. I’ve got Tamulevich there and I need the big arm to take [Nate] Perkins’ place.’ And then this year, he knew he was stepping in and the beauty of that is we’ll have him for two years now. And he’s perhaps, if not the best, one of my best hitters.”

Senior Ryan Sawtelle, who backed up Bobby Caliri behind the plate last season, will assume the catching duties and will be looked upon to supply some offense.

“He dinged and donged and his stroke has really improved,” Cronin said.

Sawtelle will be tasked with handling a lethal Panthers pitching rotation anchored by their two captains. Senior James Dolan enters the year having posted a 0.35 ERA over 40.33 innings last season while junior Rian Schwede hurled 39 innings to the tune of a 1.44 ERA. Both were Patriot League All-Stars.

“You’ve got your No. 1 and 2 back and they’re both all-league players,” Cronin said. “I think pitching is going to be the strength and then defense, we will work the defense. I hope this, out of the three years, will be our best hitting team of the three years.”

Dolan, who plays first base while not on the mound, also hit a team-high .389 last season en route to being tabbed Patriot League Keenan Division MVP.

Cronin is also high on junior Ethan Phelps (.319 last season) who he will let roam center field and use as a third starter.

“He’s certainly one of our best hitters and he’s back for two more years, too,” Cronin said. “Plus, I’ve held him off because I didn’t need him last year. You should see him on the mound, he’s another pitcher. We worked with him a lot last year, every day to get him ready for this year.”

Senior Caleb Burke is back at third base and senior Jason Green returns as the designated hitter and will see some action on the mound.

The Panthers are scheduled to begin their season at home Tuesday, April 3 at 4 p.m. against Middleboro.

“We won the first game in ’16 and we lost the second game to a good Falmouth team with the kid going to BC,” Cronin explained. “We lost to a good Sandwich team last year with a kid that threw well. We are not ready to hit at that level, that’s what takes time to build in a program and it did the same thing at East Bridgewater. You have to get them in the cages and get them to commit. Defense and pitching, we can work in early on and day in and day out, but to build a good hitter, it’s a different mindset from what they’re used to.

“A good hitter is also somebody who has some varsity reps. You can’t take a kid from the JV and have him step to the varsity and expect him to hit .350, it’s just not going to happen. They need to see those good guys and in this league and there are a lot of good guys. That’s the step and they know it. That’s the step to take this program go to the next level is we need to have them hungry as hitters every free moment they have during the season and during the summer. They need to dedicate themselves to hitting.”

Season Review: Girls’ hockey improved by the day

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The WHSL team shakes hands with a Plymouth opponent following a game in February. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake high school girls’ hockey team finished the season at 2-18 and had 15 new players on its roster. 

The 2017-18 campaign served as a learning experience for the Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake high school girls’ hockey team which skated to a 2-18 record.

WHSL, which was coming of its first tournament victory since the co-op’s inception in 2014, underwent a complete roster transformation. The Panthers lost 12 players off last season’s roster, which included three of their key defensemen, their lone goaltender and 80 percent of their goal scoring. The departures paved the way for 15 new players, 11 of whom were freshmen, to join the team.

The Panthers, who started the season 0-11, finally broke into the win column with a 3-1 triumph over Scituate on Jan. 27.

“It was a nice feeling for the girls to finally feel the winning situation,” fourth-year WHSL head coach Kevin Marani said. “They never gave up, at practices they came upbeat, wanted to learn, practice on their skills. If you didn’t know our record, you would have never known we had no wins.”

One of those skills was passing.

“Every practice we worked on passing and we became not a good passing team to a pretty good passing team by the end of the year,” Marani said. “Because we were so young and we started off with such a tough schedule, confidence means a lot. If you don’t have the confidence, no matter how hard you’re working or how hard you practice, it doesn’t go that far. We’re losing three girls, three really good leaders, but three girls, that’s it we’re losing from this team.”

Also, midway through the season, WHSL added a goalie coach to work hand in hand with freshmen netminders Kat Gilbert (Halifax) and Rylie Moran (Whitman). Gilbert entered the season with no experience in between the pipes and Moran had little action herself.

“The improvement of those two girls from just getting that goalie coach were leaps and bounds,” Marani said. “Rylie improved unbelievable. She’s really into it, she really wants to practice. She’s playing goalie over the summer doing a bunch of clinics so she’s only going to go up. At some point, I’d love to be able to play two goalies. Kat’s really into it now and she’s starting to play. Both of them truly were the most improved players on our team.”

WHSL surrendered just 16 goals in a four-game stretch from Feb. 3 to Feb. 16. In that span, the Panthers pulled off a 3-2 win over Plymouth. Marani sees a similarity between that Plymouth team, which went from 0-19-1 last winter to 14-4-3 this season, and his club.

“You can look at Plymouth, they had zero wins last year and they ended up having 14 wins this year,” Marani said. “I feel like we’re the exact same team Plymouth was the year before.”

Manning the blue line was sophomore and Patriot League All-Star Natalie Nemes (Kingston), who led WHSL with 14 goals.

“I believe she is the best player in our league,” Marani said. “When you’re that talented and you’re going through a tough season, she could have got down on her and her teammates, but she never did. She was always cheering on every player, no matter what the ability. She’s just a great, great kid.”

Sophomore Meagan Elwood (Kingston) also provided a much-needed spark for WHSL’s offense, ending her season with 10 goals.

“She’s a pure goal scorer,” Marani said. “She can score, she has a great shot, [and] gets to the net which is what you want. Meagan was huge.”

Freshman Emily McDonald (Whitman) ranked third on the team with three goals.

“In the tryouts, she was pretty good and every game she got better,” Marani said. “Now she’s one of the better players. We expect big things from her next year, absolutely. She’s a very, very smart player, got great hands, strong skating. She’s got all the ability. You could see if by the end of the year, she was carrying the play. She’s a good player, very good player.”

The young WHSL team will be in search of some leadership come next season as it will lose senior captains Shannon Elwood (Kingston) and Colleen Hughes (Hanson) along with classmate Emily Knight (Hanson), all of whom were four-year players.

“We’re losing three girls, three really good leaders,” Marani said.

As for the future, Marani believes his team will only get stronger due to the struggles sustained this winter.

“It’s pretty easy when you start losing to start finger point and start blaming people and there was none of that,” Marani said. “They stayed close-knit, they stayed friends, good teammates. It was a good learning situation for all of them. It was a tough season, but the way that they battled through everything and kept a positive attitude, it’s only going to make them better next year.”

Wrestling with fame: Former W-H principal, wrestling coach headed to National Wrestling Hall of Fame

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Bob Gay / Courtesy photo

Longtime Whitman-Hanson Regional High Wrestling coach Bob Gay will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Bob Gay would not have guessed that a late-night phone call would lead to a Hall of Fame career in a sport he knew nothing about.

It was Nov. 30, 1979 and Gay had just concluded his fourth season as the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ golf coach. He was sitting in the dining room of his Raynham home testing his luck at Trivial Pursuit when he heard a ring. It was Ron Brown. The two knew each other well as they were colleagues in the W-H history department and Brown would occasionally attend some of the girls’ golf team’s away matches. But, this call wasn’t about history or golf. Brown, who had started W-H’s wrestling program two years back, needed an assistant coach.

“He asked, ‘Can I come to practice the next day?’ Gay said.

Gay had no prior wrestling experience, but he — still a bit shocked — obliged.

“Everything was foreign to me,” Gay recalled. “I didn’t know how to score, I didn’t know the moves. It was like a brand-newexperience.”

However, Gay didn’t let his lack of knowledge hinder him one bit. He watched, listened, and attended coaches workshops and clinics along the way. 

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The 1987-88 Panther wrestling team’s members celebrate the first South Sectional Championship in school history – under the coaching of Bob Gay, inset. / Courtesy photo

“My job would be to make sure the kids would get into shape and were working out and all that stuff,” Gay said. “When Ron would get there, he would go into the instructional part of practice.”

Gay served as the assistant coach for five seasons, before taking the 1984-85 campaign off for personal reasons. At the outset of the 1985-86 season, he was back and elevated to head coach at W-H. It was a post he held until 2001.

During the course of his 16-year stint, the Panthers reached unprecedented heights. They claimed nine league titles, won three South Sectional championships, boasted nine state champions and had a span in the mid-1990s where they won 53 straight dual meets. The accomplishments of the program became Gay’s biggest recruiting tool.

“Kids like to enjoy some success,” Gay, who also served as the assistant principal at W-H from 1988-95 and the principal from 1995-2001, said. “At the time at Whitman-Hanson, the hockey team was just up-and-coming and the basketball program was going through some lean years, so if an athlete came into the school he would see the kids wearing their championship t-shirts or jackets or such for high school wrestling and I think that drew a lot of the kids that could have gone and played other sports to us.”

Gay’s wrestlers changed by the season, but his expectations of his Panthers wrestling program did not.

“We had the three same goals every year,” Gay said. “Good sportsmanship – I want them to represent their parents, their school, their team with good sportsmanship. No. 2: we’re going to have a positive experience. I want them to have fun, they’re not going to come out and stay on the team if they’re having a miserable time. No. 3: the goal is we will win. We’re not going to practice this hard, work this hard and lose. Losing is not acceptable.”

Because of Gay, W-H created a Good Sportsmanship Award aimed to recognize fairness and respect for one’s opponent displayed outside of its own program.

“I thought, at the time, we have our own awards for most improved wrestler, MVP, rookie of the year, but I thought we should be acknowledging people who displayed good sportsmanship on other teams,” Gay explained. “So, the first one to ever win it was the Rockland High School wrestling coach, Jeff Perkins. He just was a good guy. If he lost a close match he was a gracious loser, if he won a close match he was a gracious winner. Some years we’d give it to a wrestler from another team, some years we’d give it to an official or referee.”

In 2012, Gay began coaching wrestling again as an assistant to one of his former wrestlers at W-H, Nick Flynn, on the inaugural Bristol-Plymouth/Coyle-Cassidy co-op. Gay became the head coach the following season, a position he still holds today.

“If you walked into a Bristol-Plymouth/Coyle-Cassidy practice you would swear you were at a Whitman-Hanson practice,” Gay said. “I brought everything that worked and was successful.”

A few months ago, Gay was shocked again. Not via telephone this time, like it had been 39 years back, but by a piece mail postmarked Stillwater, Oklahoma.

“I don’t know anyone there,” Gay recalled of his reaction to receiving the piece of mail.

But, he went on to open it anyway. The letter explained he was selected to be inducted into this year’s class of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

For Gay, who has already been inducted into the MA Wrestling Coaches’ Hall of Fame in 2012 and New England Wrestling Coaches’ Hall of Fame in 2016, this is the ultimate achievement.

“It really humbles me very much,” Gay said. “I’m looking at the people who have gone in in previous years and you talk about the giants in the sport in our state, and when I first started as Ron’s assistant in ‘79, these people were legends back then and suddenly I’m going to be receiving the same Hall of Fame recognition. It’s an amazing thing, it’s just an amazing thing.”

Gay, despite all the success (355 wins and counting), tried to never stray too far from his primary message.

“We had a lot of wins and we had a lot of titles and stuff, but I’m hoping when all is said and done that I’ve had a positive impact on as many kids as I can,” Gay said.

Gay’s induction will take place Saturday, April 7 at Gillette Stadium.

“That call changed my entire life,” Gay said with a laugh.

 

Season Review: Laying the foundation: Girls’ basketball eyes long-term success

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The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ basketball team finished the 2017-18 season with an eight-year best 13-9 record.

Trust the process.

For the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ basketball team, that’s the perfect motto.

With a roster that consisted of just two seniors to complement six juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen, the Panthers boasted an eight-year best 13-9 record and cracked the tournament for the second straight season. But, back in Division 1 South for the first time since 2012 due to realignment, 11th-seeded W-H bowed out to sixth-seeded Wellesley, 46-37, in the first round.

“The most important goal we start with each year is qualifying for the state tournament,” fifth-year W-H head coach Jenna Olem said. “So, in that aspect we met a very important goal.”

W-H opened the winter red-hot, winning its first seven contests – highlighted by a 67-64 double-overtime season-opening victory over Bridgewater-Raynham, a 60-57 win at Silver Lake and a 3-0 trip to Florida which resulted in a tournament title.

“We got off to a hot start for whatever reason,” Olem said. “[It] could’ve been strength of schedule [or] new players kind of just playing without a conscious.”

But, the return trip home, which began with a 56-38 loss to Duxbury, wasn’t as kind for the Panthers as both B-R (67-47) and Silver Lake (66-52) defeated them comfortably the next time around.

“When you start seeing league teams or teams for a second time, everyone has made adjustments,” Olem said. “Most teams have gotten much better from when you see them in early December.”

But, despite the second-half struggles, the Panthers remained upbeat, improving on the little things. They finally nailed down their 11th win – to clinch a spot in the postseason – with a 51-36 triumph over Pembroke and in their second match against Duxbury, they held the Dragons to 40 points in a four-point loss.

“It was just important to stay focused and stay positive each day,” Olem said. “To play present was also a point of emphasis. No season goes by without having to withstand some adversity.”

The Panthers were often buoyed on both ends of the court by their junior captain and Patriot League All-Star duo of Kathryn Dunn and Erin Leahy.

Dunn averaged a team-high 11.3 points, 1.9 assists and 1.8 steals and was second with 5.7 rebounds per game.

“She is our most reliable scorer,” Olem said of Dunn. “Kathryn plays very level-headed. She never gets too high or too low. I think a real underrated aspect of her game is her ability to defend great players and crash the boards. She is such a tough kid and seems to be involved in every play.”

Leahy, whose 2016-17 season came to an abrupt end after she sustained a torn ACL in W-H’s tournament clincher, led the Panthers on the boards, averaging 8.5 and ranked second with 9.0 points, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

“To not have played in one basketball game, while most every varsity player plays all offseason, and then come out and play every night and go hard every practice is very admirable,” Olem said. “I think next year, Erin will be able to play much more freely and I have a strong feeling that because she will now be able to work on her entire game over the off-season she will have a great year for us.”

The Panthers also received significant contributions in spurts from freshmen Reese Codero (10 points Dec. 19 vs. North Quincy) and Rylie Harlow (seven points Dec. 21 vs. Hanover), sophomores Brittany Gacicia (nine points Feb. 8 vs. Plymouth North) and Olivia Martin (22 points Feb. 15 vs. Quincy) and juniors Leah Badger (seven second-half points Feb. 6 vs. Pembroke), Anna O’Neill (14 points Jan. 23 vs. Plymouth South) and Olivia Johnson (nine points Jan. 23 vs. Plymouth South).

“I thought everyone made solid progress and jumped up to another level this season,” Olem said.

Olem also lauded her two seniors and quad-captains – Halle Julian and Alyssa Nicholson – for assisting the Panthers’ transition to a significantly younger team than the year prior when they had five seniors.

“Halle and Alyssa are great kids,” Olem said. “They did a great job keeping everyone together and keeping everyone positive all season long.”

Olem said she fully expects the Panthers to take another step forward next winter.

“I think the girls all got a taste of what it means to be a successful team, what it means to work hard, and the importance of doing the little things on the floor,” she said. “In the offseason, I know most of my players play together in summer league, summer tourneys, and fall league as well as on other AAU teams. I expect everyone to take a big jump next year because they had a ton of experience this year.”

A look back on winter’s highlights

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The winter sports season was highlighted by both Whitman-Hanson Regional basketball programs making the tournament.

With the spring looming, here is a look back on the winter season that was for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High sports teams.

Boys’ basketball – buoyed by the dynamic play of senior captains Jacob Hanson-Bartlett and Sean Leahy – W-H found itself in the postseason for a whopping 10th straight winter. The Panthers rebounded from a shaky 5-4 start and 4-2 league record out of the gate and rode a 10-game winning streak to grab a share of the Patriot League Keenan Division crown for the third consecutive season. The sixth-seeded Panthers fell to 11th-seeded Nauset, 65-56, in the first round of the Division 2 South Sectional tournament. Bob Rodgers’ club capped the year at 16-5, improving its record over the past three seasons to 57-11.

Girls’ basketball stormed out to a 7-0 start that included a double-overtime win against Bridgewater-Raynham, its first victory over Hanover since 2011 and a 3-0 trip to Florida where it captured the Queen of Palms Emerald Division title. Jenna Olem’s club received contributions from all over its young roster that featured just two seniors. Junior captain and league all-star Kathryn Dunn (11.3 PPG) paced the team on the offensive end and fellow junior captain and league all-star Erin Leahy (8.5 RPG) was a force on the boards. The 11th-seeded Panthers’ season was ended in the first round of the Division 1 South Sectional tournament with a 46-37 loss to sixth-seeded Wellesley. The team finished the year at 13-9, its best mark in eight years.

Girls’ hockey set sail on the season having to replace nearly 80 percent of its offensive production that led it to back-to-back SEMGHL Northeast titles, a league it left this season with the formation of the Patriot League. The co-op also welcomed 10 freshmen to its roster, including Emily McDonald (Whitman) and Rylie Moran (Whitman). McDonald ranked third on the team with three goals and Moran saw some time in net, recording 65 saves. Sophomore league all-star Natalie Nemes (Kingston) led WHSL with 14 goals and eight assists while junior Meagan Elwood (Kingston) potted eight goals. Freshman Kat Gilbert (Halifax) turned away 477 shots in net as a first-year goaltender. Kevin Marani’s squad finished the year at 2-18, but was 2-7 in the home stretch.

Boys’ hockey flipped the script on a tough previous campaign. After an offseason of hard work, the Panthers increased their win total by seven and came within two points of making the postseason. Chris Googins’ club, which finished the winter at 8-10-2, owned wins over postseason qualifiers Abington and Silver Lake. W-H rallied behind its senior captain, Ryan Sawtelle, for an emotional 6-1 win over Plymouth North on Jan. 6 in a game that was- dedicated the night to his late mother, Lori. Senior assistant captains and league all-stars Korey Howard (18 goals, 10 assists) and Alex Uva (9 goals, 16 points) paced the Panthers in points.

Boys’ indoor track raced to a 2-3 record. Mike Driscoll’s group posted wins over Duxbury (55-45) and Silver Lake (57-43) and dropped a pair of close meets to Hingham (57-43) and Pembroke (57-41). Four Panthers partook in the Div. 3 All-State meet and senior captains Brian Edwards (eighth place, high jump) and Andrew Newman (seventh place, 2-mile) captured medals. Newman, along with classmates Brett Holmes and Jack Ryan, were selected as Patriot League All-Stars.

Girls’ indoor track, riddled with injuries, dropped its first three meets before posting a win over Silver Lake (51-49) and a tie against Pembroke (49-49) to conclude the winter at 1-3-1. Adams State-bound and senior captain Nicole Norve qualified for the Div. 3 All-State meet and was tabbed a league all-star. Key contributions also came from seniors Camryn Boyce and Julia Cosgrave along with a handful of underclassman.

Wrestling finished the winter with a 7-13 mark. Sophomore Steve Brooks (152 pounds) led the charge for the Panthers on the mat with a team-high 19 wins. Freshman Matt Butler (126) was second on the Panthers with 16 wins while senior captains Ben Cordingley (138) and Steve Osborne (182) combined to rack up 28 victories. Gary Rabinvotiz’ team boasted eight sophomores and 10 freshmen. W-H ended the season 2-1, with wins over Norwood (46-36) and Everett (30-24) in its final meet of the season Feb. 3.

Girls’ swimming/diving had sophomores Niki Kamperides, Madison Navicky and Sabrina O’Connor all qualify for sectionals. In the regular season, the girls – under the watch of W-H head coach Sean Siciliano and leadership of senior captain Phoebe Bonney – finished with 5-3-1 mark. WHAM scored key wins over Rockland (90-69) and Pembroke (94-74). Its tie came against Norwell (85-85).

Boys’ swimming/diving, in its first season as a co-op between Whitman-Hanson and Middleboro, saw some success. Freshman Brian Pham took the pool by storm, qualifying for sectionals in a pair of events. Junior Nate Manley also chipped in by scoring in a few meets for Siciliano’s club, which finished with a 3-5 record.

Gymnastics concluded its second season with a 9-4 record. Rachel Sferruzza’s bunch opened with a 125.1 score to record quad-meet victories over Pembroke/Silver Lake (123.3), Marshfield (123.05) and Hingham (121.75), matching last season’s win total. Senior Britney Blackstone set the tone for the Panthers all winter, qualifying for the postseason. Senior captains Kaileigh Gordon and Kaylee Torpey were also key.

Jump for joy: ‘We believe’ drives W-H cheer to lucky number 13 championship

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“We believe.”

The phrase can often be heard echoing off the walls in the Whitman-Hanson Regional High gymnasium as the cheerleaders break their huddle. It said before every practice, after every routine and every competition.

The two words have served as a way to draw the Panthers, who lost their coach of five-plus years after a trip in late January to Dallas for nationals, amid tough times.

“We came out about seven weeks to coach and we were looking to kind of find a way to really come together and one of the biggest thing this season was teamwork,” said Alyssa Hayes, who now coaches the team alongside Keryn Cordo and Melissa Scungio. “So, one of the things that we had talked to the girls a lot about was if they believed in themselves and they believed in each other and their team that they could do anything.”

On Sunday, on its home mat, the cheerleading team had every reason to believe. The Panthers boasted a 200.1 score to secure their 13th MSAA Division 2 state title.

“They came together, they worked hard from the second they arrived on Sunday to the second they left,” Hayes said. “I could see it in their face. I could tell that this is what they worked for and they weren’t going to let anything stop them.”

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Photo by: Sue Moss

The victory also marked the program’s fifth straight winter crown.

“I think that this season the girls were so resilient and they really rose above and worked together, so I think after a [second-place finish] at regionals and after being at home, at least, they really wanted this title,” Hayes said. “This was definitely one of the sweetest ones of all.”

Milford, which finished second with a score of 196.2, edged the Panthers, 195.40-194.70, the week before in the South regional competition.

“We had been hitting prior,” Hayes said. “We had been hitting the routine and I think some days it’s just not there, so we used that as motivation during states week to work even harder to really ask them: how bad do you want this. This is your home and this is your mat. How bad do you want it?”

The Panthers also lost one of their flyers this winter, thrusting a base into action to learn new techniques on the fly.

“We had alternates step up to compete, learning the routine in less than 48 hours,” Hayes said. “I truly believe it was a season of teamwork and I’m really proud of that. The girls worked at 1,000 percent to make sure their dynasty lived on.”

The cheerleaders will not be attending the New England regional competition due to a scheduling conflict, but they’re perfectly content with the way things ended.

“They qualified, but they’re ending as state champions and they’re definitely pleased,” Hayes said.

The cheerleading team was captained by junior Anna Franklin and consisted of senior Nicole Masone, juniors Madelyn Anderson, Ashley Davis and Shelby Newcomb, sophomores Kaylee Diehl, Rachel Hunter and Ryley Hurley and freshmen Melanie Hulbert, Olivia McCarthy and Savannah Poirier.

Season Review: Girls’ indoor track regained its footing

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After a rocky start, the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ indoor track team regained its footing to finish the season strong.

Through their first three meets, the Panthers sat at 0-3 with losses to Hingham (87-17), Duxbury (54-46) and Plymouth North (67-33).

“The Patriot League is an extremely competitive league with some enormously talented athletes,” W-H head coach Steve George said. “We faced the very best teams during those first [three] weeks. While we kept it close with most, we had some key athletes go down with injuries.”

Reinforcements would be on their way, however, and in the Panthers’ fourth meet of the season Jan. 24, they scored a nail-biting 51-49 victory over Silver Lake.

Trailing by three with one event to go – the 4×400 relay – the Panthers’ crew stepped to the line. Coincidentally, W-H was missing three of its four runners who had competed on the team all season long, leaving junior Dorothy DiMascio-Donohue as the only one who had previously done the event. So, the Panthers went with a next man up approach, inserting senior Julia Cosgrave and sophomores Victoria Boss and Courtney Woodward into the lineup.

The tandem finished the course in 4:39.56, besting Silver Lake by nearly 13 ticks to lift the Panthers to victory.

The girls then carried that momentum into the final meet of the season, two weeks later, tying Pembroke, 49-49, to cap off the winter at 1-3-1. The Panthers were led by first-place finishes from DiMascio-Donohue (55-meter hurdles, 10.17), junior Allison Bartlett (long jump, 15-foot-2), junior Maeve McDonough (2-mile run, 13:16.77), freshman Isabelle Amado (600-meter dash, 1:52.16) and senior captain Nicole Norve (1-mile run, 5:26.63).

It was one of many top-place finishes for the Adams State-bound Norve, who was tabbed as the team’s lone Patriot League All-Star. Norve also represented the Panthers in the Division 3 All-State meet, where she placed 10th in the 1,000-meter run (3:09.28) and 12th in the 1-mile run (5:26.81).

“Nicole has literally led by example during her four years at Whitman-Hanson,” George said. “I recall as a freshman cross country runner we saw that she was talented and invited her to run at the Martha’s Vineyard Invitational. She initially declined, I think feeling a bit uneasy as the only freshman entry. But she ended up running that meet and since then has worked tirelessly to improve. It’s as simple as – she loves running.”

Norve was one of a few runners who impressed George this season.

“I would have to say seniors Julia Cosgrave and Camryn Boyce were as consistent as it gets,” George explained. “Each could be counted on to participate and score in multiple events each week. Maeve McDonough has really worked hard to become a very good distance runner.”

George added he was pleasantly surprised with a handful of freshmen who burst onto the scene this season as well.

“Isabelle Amado, Hailey Minicucci, Alaina Mutascio and Emma Rogers all showed some real ability in multiple events and should make an impact over the next three years,” George said.

Next up for many the girls is the spring campaign.

“Many of our kids run all year long and our between-season goal is just to get them rested so they can be healthy going into the outdoor season,” George said.

Season Review: Battling through a tough season

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The Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team knew it could improve, and a fixation on its vision fueled its turnaround this winter.

One season after posting a single win, the Panthers raised that number to eight, as they just narrowly missed out on the tournament by two points with an 8-10-2 record. W-H head coach Chris Googins said the success had nothing to do with anything he tweaked, but was largely in part due to what his returning juniors and seniors set out to accomplish.

“It has a lot has to do with the players that came back,” Googins said of the turnaround. “The core group that came back from last year were very serious about improving and they showed that in the offseason. A lot of the kids played summer hockey, a lot of the kids played fall hockey and I think they saw the fruits of their labor of putting in that extra work.”

Through their first 10 games, the Panthers sat at 6-3-1, highlighted by a 1-1 tie against Duxbury, a pair of wins – 7-3 and 4-2 – over Abington and a 3-1 triumph over Silver Lake. All those teams would go on to make the tournament, but W-H would not, as some of the aspects that you can’t control in sports caught up to it.

“It’s pretty evident that three kids went down with significant injuries [and] along with any other team, we had a bout of the flu,” Googins explained. “At times, there were kids playing that weren’t used to playing so much. We had a lot of key players out.”

At one point, the Panthers were dealing with a pair of broken wrists. Senior defenseman Ryan Lincoln had one of those, and he even returned with a week remaining and a cast on to try and salvage the Panthers’ playoff chances.

“Ryan Lincoln [is a] high-character [kid],” Googins said. “He’s just a tough kid who said I want to come back, got cleared and really couldn’t even shoot the puck, but it showed he wanted to come back, and he was a kid that was out for a while that we needed.”

Kevin Willis was another key defenseman out of the equation after suffering a torn ACL toward the latter half of the season.

“You’re talking two of your top four defensemen out,” Googins said. “It hurt.”

Sophomore Chris Stoddard, who was tied for fifth on the team with nine points through 12 games, would also be sidelined for the final three weeks.

But, despite the injuries, there was no lack of drive from the Panthers, especially out of their elder statesmen.

“The best thing that stands out was the group of seniors that every night just gave their best effort, they really did,” Googins said. “I don’t think it was one particular game or one shift. Just every night it seemed like whatever seniors were in the lineup, they would just almost be like assistant coaches and help out. They were just there to get the kids fired up, and I appreciated that. It was such a pleasure to come to the rink every day. It really was, based upon those kids.”

It is certainly a unit – led by captain Ryan Sawtelle and assistant captains Korey Howard and Alex Uva – Googins will have tough time replacing.

Howard (18 goals, 10 assists) and Uva (9 goals, 16 assists), both of whom were Patriot League All-Stars, paced the team in points. But, ranking behind them were junior Ed Scriven (11 goals, 11 assists), sophomore Adam Solari (8 goals, 11 assists) and junior Owen Manning (7 goals, 6 assists). Sophomore goalie R.J. Flynn, who posted a 3.22 GAA in limited action, is likely to take over the reins from senior Ricky Welch. Freshmen Jack Allen, Josh Pike and Kevin Willis also form a solid nucleus set to return inside the blue line.

“I’m very optimistic of the retuning players,” Googins said. “What they need to understand is that they need to take a couple months off from the game, but then you have go to start to re-fire the engines up again.”

Season Review: Boys’ indoor track made strides

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Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ indoor track head coach Mike Driscoll is pleased with the effort put forth by his team this winter.

The Panthers, who finished the season at 2-3, owned wins over Duxbury (55-45) and Silver Lake (54-45) and were clipped by Hingham (57-43) and Pembroke (57-41).

“With the exception of the Plymouth North meet (70-30 loss), who were the [league] champions, we hung with some really good teams,” Driscoll explained. “We beat Duxbury, we beat Silver Lake, and Duxbury is a really good track team. We got within two events of beating Hingham, which we haven’t done in a long time.

“These kids worked really hard. We had a small senior class with only six seniors, but four of them are state-level competitors. I’m happy with the young kids, I’m happy with the older kids, we had a lot of freshmen, we had a lot of new kids this year, so the numbers are good.”

The four Panthers to crack the Division 3 All-State meet, which was held Feb. 18 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, were senior captains Brian Edwards and Andrew Newman (Patriot League All-Star) and classmates Brett Holmes (Patriot League All-Star) and Jack Ryan (Patriot League All-Star).

Edwards finished the contest tying his career-best of a 6-foot high jump, which was good for eighth place and a medal.

“Brian is just a natural high jumper,” Driscoll said. “That’s his event, it’s been his event since he was a freshman and it’s just a natural event for him. He can get up over that bar at six feet like it’s nothing and it’s pretty fun to watch.”

Newman also medaled with a seventh-place finish in the 2-mile run at 10:08.66.

“Andrew is one of the examples of a kid that if you just stick with something, you’re gonna be good at it,” Driscoll said. “Andrew came in as a freshman and he was maybe a little below average. And now with all the hard work he’s put into this program, and into himself and running, he’s an above-average runner now and he’s earned everything.”

Holmes and Ryan missed out on medals in the long jump and 1,000-meter run, respectively.

The Panthers were also bolstered this season by the addition of indoor track newbie and the progression of a seasoned veteran.

“[Junior] Billy Martell had a great year for us, his first year doing winter track, in the 300 meters and our 4×200 team,” Driscoll said. “And then senior Joey Coletti had another spectacular year in the 600 meters and 4×400 for us.”

Driscoll said Coletti was the biggest surprise of the winter.

“I wasn’t sure what we were gonna get out of him,” Driscoll said. “I knew he was a senior, [but] he really bought into the team this year and bought into the running, and I think he had an outstanding year for us.”

Coletti was a leg on the 4×400 relay team, along with sophomore Kyle O’Brien, Ryan and senior Andrew Tassey, that finished in 3:51.62 to help the Panthers edge Duxbury on Dec. 19.

“I think that was our best meet,” Driscoll said. “Beating that team with a lot of depth. We really, really ran well and jumped spectacular that night. We had to hit all our marks and all our spots and we did that night. “

Driscoll said he hopes to continue to develop the indoor track program by attracting more student-athletes over the offseason.

“We’d love to have every kid come out for track, but we get kids need rest after their fall seasons,” Driscoll said. “We just really want to build the program back to where it was.”

Season Review: Youth takes control on wrestling mats

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The 2017-18 campaign served as a bridge year for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High wrestling team, which finished the winter at 7-13.

One season after boasting a core of six seniors – three of which competed in the Division 2 state tournament – the Panthers had an infusion of young talent this winter. Not only did they boast 10 freshmen and eight sophomores on their roster, but a significant number of them ended up playing large roles.

For starters, sophomore Steve Brooks (152 pounds) seized the most of his opportunity, racking up a team-leading 19 wins, after just three the year prior. Freshman Matt Butler (126) also took his opportunity by storm, ranking second on the team with 16 victories to conclude his inaugural campaign. Second-year Panthers wrestling head coach Gary Rabinovitz admitted he wasn’t expecting much out of either at the outset of the year.

“We really had two big surprises this season,” Rabinovitz said. “First is freshman Matt Butler. Matt placed in three tournaments this year. The second surprise is sophomore Steve Brooks, [who also] placed in three tournaments for us. Steve proved that offseason wrestling really works.” Screen Shot 2018-02-24 at 12.02.00 PM

Also, bursting onto the scene for W-H were freshmen Damari Goldsmith-Greene (132), Theo Kamperides (113) and Myles McInnis (106).

“We had a great group of freshmen this season and I am looking forward to many of them playing a big role in next year’s team,” Rabinovitz said. “These kids are the future of our program. With another class like these guys next year, we could be a force before too much longer. I really see us winning 75 percent of our dual meets next year, [but] time will tell.

While the youth movement was evident, the Panthers still received plenty of production out of their two senior captains – Ben Cordingley (138) and Steve Osborne (182). The two combined to win 28 matches and account for 154 of W-H’s points this season.

“Both Ben and Steve have been great leaders for our squad this year,” Rabinovitz said. “Ben was a four-year wrestler and was very consistent this year winning some big matches for us.

“Steve was a very vocal leader always putting the team ahead of himself and his leadership was very much appreciated. Steve was a three-year wrestler for us. Both Ben and Steve led by example throughout the season.”

For the Panthers as a team, they began the season at 4-5 after a 45-36 victory over Duxbury on Jan. 10, before dropping to 5-12 with one meet remaining. And in that final tri-meet Feb 3, the Panthers went 2-1 with wins over Norwood (46-36) and Everett (30-24) to cap the season off on the right note.

Rabinovitz said that despite the team falling a bit short of his expectation, which was at least 10 wins, he is looking for his players to remain driven.

“Offseason wrestling is a critical part of our growth as a wrestling program,” Rabinovitz said. “All of the kids are encouraged to participate in offseason wrestling or play another high school sport.”