CHS Roundup
Five RBI for Manny Ortiz in 12-2 win for CHS baseball
Manny Ortiz went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, five RBI, and a run scored to lead the Chelsea High baseball team to a 12-2 victory over Cristo Rey/Notre Dame Tuesday evening on the local field.
Tom Melanson also played a big role in the CHS offensive onslaught, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored, and four RBI.
Luis Jimenez was 1-for-2 with two walks, a stolen base, three runs scored, and an RBI. Luis also pitched a complete game for CHS head coach Alan Beausoleil’s squad, striking our four and allowing only one earned run.
In a 10-1 loss at Shawsheen last Tuesday, Jimenez was 2-for-3 with a stolen base. Jason Mendez was 2-for-2 and Andony Turcios was 1-for-1 with a walk and a run scored.
In a doubleheader at Essex Tech last Thursday, both of which the Red Devils lost, Eduardo Nunez was 3-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored and Jason Mendez was 1-for-2 in the opener.
In the second half of the twinbill, Ortiz was 2-for-2 with two RBI and George Hernandez was 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored.
The Red Devils, who are 3-14 on the season, close out their 2016 campaign tomorrow (Friday) at Greater Lowell.
CHS girls run past
the competition to
win CAC League Meet
The Chelsea High girls track & field team put an exclamation mark to their undefeated dual-meet season with a resounding victory at the Commonwealth Athletic Conference League Meet this past Saturday.
The Lady Red Devils accumulated 135 points on the day, far outdistancing second-place Shawsheen Tech, which scored 79.33 points.
“It was a great end to the CAC season for the girls,” said CHS head coach Mark Martineau. “We had tremendous performances all around.”
The team victory was further highlighted by the MVP-of-the-Meet awards that were won by sophomore Martin Simon as the field event MVP and senior Katherine Cabral as the track event MVP. For Katherine, this marked the third year in a row that she has been named the MVP of the CAC meet.
Cabral was a double-winner in the 200 (27.11) and the 400 (61.05, a new CHS school record) and took third in the long jump with a leap of 16’-2.5”. Martin won the long jump (16’9.75), took third in the triple jump (34-.50), and finished fourth in the 200 dash (28.40).
Three other Lady Red Devils also were individual CAC champions: Mariama Kamara in the 100 dash (12.82, a new CHS mark); freshman Jocelyn Poste in the 800 (2:36.35, another new CHS record); and Tracey Flores in the discus, who unleashed a monster throw (84’-11”) in the finals that was almost seven feet longer than her nearest competitor.
Second-place performers included Owliyo Mohamud in the 400 (63.14) and 200 (27.88) dashes and Sylvia Agyewaa in the 100 hurdles (18.16).
Other point-scorers for Chelsea were: iron-girl Wendy Becerra, who ran to a fifth place finish in the mile (6:51) and a sixth-place spot in the two mile (13:53); Yarid Deras with a fourth in the mile (6:22); Amanda Dias with a fourth in the two mile (12:51); Jocelyn Poste with a fourth in the 400 hurdles (1:15.62); Melanie Nguyen with a sixth in the 400 hurdles (1:18.95); Alex Martinez with a fourth in the shotput (28’-5.5”); Masireh Ceesay with a sixth in the shot (27’-2”); and Xiana Hersame with a fifth in the discus (68’-0”).
Two Lady Red Devil relay teams also earned ribbons for finishing among the top six. The foursome of Awa Bajinka, Yarid Deras, Emely Burgos, and Cynthia Guzman took sixth in the 4 x 400 in a clocking of 5:21.45. The quartet of Mariama Kamara, Gitu Defega, Ana Davies, and Sylvia Agyewaa grabbed fifth in the 4 x 100 in 55.05.
“This girls’ team is very talented, deep, and well-rounded,” said Martineau. “We placed in every event except two. While we are graduating a strong group of seniors, we have many underclassmen who are working hard to fill the spots that are going to be left behind.”
Moving on to the MIAA Division 2 state meet Sunday at Norwell High are: Mariama Kamara in the 100; Katherine Cabral in the 100, 400, and long jump; Owliyo Mohamud in the 400; Martin Simon in the triple jump, long jump, and 100 dash; and the 4 x 100 relay team.
“We had a handful of other athletes who just missed qualifying for this meet,” added Martineau. “There will be more to come next year.”
CHS boys wrap up
season at CAC meet
The Chelsea boys track & field team had a tough end to the season, finishing seventh at the Commonwealth Athletic Conference meet.
Chelsea’s top finisher was Peterson Braga, who finished second in the shot put (39’-3”).
Other Red Devils who turned in fine performances included: junior Adriel Cedano, who finished sixth in the 100 dash (11.86) and fifth in the triple jump (39’2”); sophomore Jose Leclerc, who ran a personal best time (5:07.72) in the mile to finish eighth; sophomore Alex Pedrero, who finished sixth in the 110 hurdles (18.75); and junior Bryan Rivas, who grabbed fourth in the 400 hurdles (63.38).
“The good news for this squad is that many of our top point-earners are underclassmen who will be returning next year,” said CHS head coach Mark Martineau. “The growth that we saw this year gives us a lot of reasons to be optimistic. The seniors will be missed. They were a great group led by Johnny Gomez, who was been a leader on and off the track for this team.””
Adriel Cedano moves on to compete at the MIAA Division 2 State Meet this Sunday at Norwell High School.
CHS girls finish season
undefeated in dual meets
The Chelsea High girls track team concluded its CAC dual meet season with a resounding 99-37 win over Greater Lowell last Tuesday. The victory gave the Lady Red Devils their second consecutive CAC dual meet title with a perfect record of 10-0. The CHS girls’ team has not lost a meet in over two years.
First-place finishers included: freshman Jocelyn Poste, who was a double winner again in the 400 hurdles (77.38) and the 800 (2:39.2); freshman Amanda Dias in the two mile (13:38.6); Sylvia Martins in the 100 hurdles (18.10); freshman Yarid Deras in the mile (6:22); and sophomore Martine Simon in the long jump (15’-4”) and 200 (27.56), as well as a second in the 100 (13.22).
Senior Jazmin Castellon finished off her amazing career by setting the school record and finishing first in the shot put (29’-7”), as well as taking second in the discus.
Senior Katherine Cabral won the 100 (13.03) and the 400 (62.28) dash events and had two second-place finishes in the long jump (14’-11”) and the triple jump (29’-3.5”).
Senior Wendy Becerra finished second in the two-mile (14:01) and senior Cynthia Guzman finished third in the mile (7:13).
“We are graduating an amazing group of girls,” noted Martineau. “They will be hard to replace and the underclassmen will have to work hard to fill the holes left behind.”
CHS boys fall
in season finale
The CHS boys tracksters finished their season at 5-4 after a 90-46 loss to CAC champion Greater Lowell last week.
Event winners for Chelsea were” Adriel Cedano in the long jump (17’-11”) and the triple jump (38’.5”), as well as a third for Adriel in the 100 (11.79); Bryan Rivas in the 400 hurdles (63.71) to go with a second in the 400 (57.32); the 4×100 relay of Cedano, Jose Guttierez, Luqman Shariff, and Nick Ieng (47.3); Isaac Concord in the discus (105’-3”); and Luka Braga in the shot put (40’) to go with his second in the discus (98’-10”).
Other point-getters for Chelsea included Alex Pedrero with a third in the 110 hurdles (17.75) and a third in the 400 hurdles (68.46) and Jose Leclerc with a third in the mile (5:20).
Bruins Beat by Bob Morello
Bruins coaching changes & more
Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced that the Bruins have hired Bruce Cassidy and Jay Pandolfo as assistant coaches. Cassidy and Pandolfo will join Joe Sacco and Bob Essensa on Head Coach Claude Julien’s coaching staff. In addition to the previously announced departure of former assistant coach Doug Houda, Sweeney announced that Doug Jarvis would not return to the Bruins for the 2016-17 season. Sweeney also announced that the club has hired Paul Whissel as the Bruins Director of Sports Performance and Rehab.
Cassidy recently completed his fifth season as head coach of the Providence Bruins in 2015-16, having spent the three previous seasons (2008-11) with the club as an assistant. The 50-year-old native of Ottawa, Ontario compiled a 207-128-45 overall record in 380 games at the helm, including winning seasons in all five years and postseason berths in each of his final four seasons in Providence. In 2015-16, Cassidy helped lead the P-Bruins to a 41-22-13 record. Cassidy, a former defenseman will take over the defense responsibilities for the Bruins, a job formerly handled by Doug Houda.
Cassidy’s previous NHL experience includes a stint as head coach of the Washington Capitals from 2002-04, as he helped lead the Caps to a 39-29-8-6 record and a postseason berth in his first season with the team. Following his exit from Washington, he served as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2005-06 season.
Pandolfo recently completed his second season in the Bruins’ front office and his first as Director of Player Development in 2015-16. In that role, Pandolfo aided in the development of the team’s drafted prospects throughout the system at the AHL, junior hockey and college levels. He originally joined the front office in 2014-15 as a player development coach, following a 15-year NHL playing career with the Bruins, the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils.
Pandolfo was originally drafted in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Devils, and over the course of his career, the left wing compiled 100 goals and 126 assists for 226 points in 899 games. Pandolfo also won two Stanley Cups with the Devils in 1999-00 and 2002-03.
Prior to his professional career, Pandolfo played collegiately at Boston University from 1992-96, tallying 79 goals and 90 assists for 169 points in 136 games. The Burlington, Massachusetts native won an NCAA Championship with the Terriers as a junior in 1994-95 and was named a team captain and Hobey Baker Award finalist as a senior in 1995-96 after leading the team with 38 goals and 67 points in 40 games.
Paul Whissel has previously worked with the Buffalo Bills, Boston University Hockey and University of Texas Basketball. He specializes in integrating a continuum of care starting with physical therapy through strength and conditioning. He is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist, PMA Certified Pilates Teacher and ARC Emergency Medical Responder. Whissel will oversee the Bruins current strength training, medical and rehab staff.
BRUINS SIGNINGS: Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney also announced that the team has signed defenseman Kevan Miller to a four-year contract extension through the 2019-20 season at an NHL cap figure of $2.5 million per year. The Bruins have also signed forward Seth Griffith to a one-year, two-way contract through the 2016-17 season at an NHL cap figure of $625,000 per year.
In his third season with Boston, Miller competed in a career-high 71 games and also established career highs in goals (five), assists (13), points (18) and penalty minutes (53). In total, the 28-year-old blueliner has played in 159 games at the NHL level – all with Boston – racking up 8-23=31 totals, while amassing 106 penalty minutes. He has appeared in 11 postseason contests with the Bruins and registered two assists. Prior to joining Boston, Miller competed in 154 games with the Providence Bruins (AHL) where he posted 7-38= 45 totals. The Bruins signed the Los Angeles, California native as a free agent on October 21, 2011.
Griffith competed in four games for Boston this season, accruing one assist. He also played in 57 contests for the Providence Bruins (AHL) this season where he compiled 24 goals and 53 assists for 77 points. He finished the 2015-16 regular season ranked first in the league in assists and second in scoring en route to being named an AHL First-Team All-Star. In total, the 23-year-old forward has played in 34 NHL games with Boston, earning 6-5=22 totals. The native of Wallaceburg, Ontario was drafted by Boston in the fifth round (131st overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.