CHS Roundup
A busy week for Chelsea tracksters
Despite the holiday week, there was no vacation for members of the Chelsea High boys and girls indoor track teams, many of whom competed in various meets over the break.
On Wednesday the Red Devil squad competed at the Boston Holiday Challenge. The meet featured teams from all over New England and New York.
For the girls, the top finisher was junior Martine Simon, who finished 10th overall in the long jump with a jump of 15’-10”. Martine also finished 34th in the 55 dash with a time of 7.97.
Sophomore Yarid Deras continues to improve every race. Yarid broke her own school record with a personal best time of 5:49.54 in the mile. Senior Owliyo Mohamud finished 22nd in the 300m with a time of 45.68. Sophomore Jocelyn Poste posted a season’s best in the 1000 with a clocking of 3:28.41.
On the boys’ side, the top performer was senior Adriel Cedano, who finished 10th overall in the 300 meter dash.
Thursday brought the Greater Boston League Freshman/Sophomore Meet. Top performers for the girls included: sophomore Amanda Dias, who finished second in the two mile (14:06); freshman Isha Osman, who finished third in the dash; sophomore Alexis Shillingford, who finished third in the 300 (52.0); and sophomore Masireh Ceesay, who finished third in the shot-put with a toss of 26’-7″.
The top finishers for the boys included: freshman Adam Rhobi, who finished sixth in the 300 (46.8); sophomore Wilfido Hernandez, who finished fifth in the 600 (1:49); freshman Badreldin Sedik, who finished fifth in the 1000M (3:15.8); and Abraham Barrientos, who finished fifth in the mile (5:48).
“Both the Red Devil boys and girls teams have a solid group of underclassmen who should lead to great teams in the years to come,” said CHS head coach Mark Martineau.
Friday the team competed in the MSTCA Speed Classic. The meet features teams from all divisions from all over the state. More than 1,700 athletes competed in the meet that features just the 55 dash, 55 hurdles, 300, 600, long jump, 4×200 relay, and 4×400 relay.
Martine Simon continued to shine as she finished third overall in the long jump with an indoor personal best jump of 16’-5.5″ among of a field of 105 jumpers. Martine also finished 10th in the 55 dash with a sprint of 7.83 from among a field of 237 competitors.
Also performing well in the dash for the CHS girls wwre freshman Isha Osman (42nd, 8.22) and sophomores Litzy Rodriguez (85th, 8.55) and Alexis Shillingford (86th, 8.55).
In a field of 180 competitors in the 300, Owliyo Mohamud finished 10th in a time of 45.54. Junior Awa Bajinka finished 58th in the 300 in a time of 48.34.
In the field of 170 competitors in the 600, sophomore Jocelyn Poste finished 32nd in a time of 1:52.72. Fellow sophomores Yarid Deras (44th,1:54.66) and Amanda Dias (90th, 2:00.93) also ran very well.
In the hurdles, senior Sylvia Agyewaa finished 31st among a field of 130 competitors in a time of 10.35.
For the CHS boys Adriel Cedano finished 13th in the 300 (field of 170) in a time of 37.97. Junior Jose Leclerc ran the 600 for the first time ever and did well with a clocking of 1:34.
“Overall it was a fun meet with every athlete on the team able to compete,” noted Martineau. “The highlight of the meet was our throws team competing in the 55m dash. They had fun and worked hard, making coach Aronson very proud.”
This coming week marks the halfway point of the season, with the Red Devils taking on Division 1 powerhouse Malden (tomorrow) Thursday.
The State Freshman/Sophomore meet is set for next Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
CHS boys look to get back on track
After winning their season-opener, the Chelsea High boys basketball team has dropped its past few games, including a heartbreaking 52-51 decision to St. Clement’s this past Friday.
The Red Devils had led for most of the contest and enjoyed a seven-point margin to start the final period after expanding on their 27-23 lead at the half.
However, three Red Devil starters fouled out in the fourth period, enabling St. Clement’s to mount a surge that carried them to the victory.
Franklin Cruz led Chelsea with 17 points. The trio of Ralphie Otero, Chris Torres, and T.J. Patterson all tingled the twine for eight points apiece.
“We have a lot of talent, but we have some new players and we’re still trying to figure out how to put the pieces together and come together as a team,” said first year head coach Judah Jackson, the former Everett High star, whose varsity assistant coach is former CHS great Cesar Castro.”We need to develop a sense of cohesion and find our will to win.”
Jackson and his crew travel to Shawsheen tomorrow evening (Friday) and then will trek to Greater Lawrence Tuesday.
Bruins Beat by Bob Morello
Bruins need to up their game
The time for ‘Happy New Year’ greetings is now. But for the Boston Bruins that greeting is not apropos, as the team’s play continues to fluctuate up-and-down. Their inability to put together a hot streak as they near the season’s halfway point leaves them in a very precarious position – meaning, the possibility of missing the NHL playoffs for the third time in three seasons. The team’s lackluster performance against the also struggling New Jersey Devils, was even hard to watch from the Bruins bench. Following the game coach Claude Julien summed up the ‘no-show’ effort with, “We just couldn’t muster up anything tonight. We were flat. We were flat from start to finish.” Former Boston College standout, Devils’ goaltender Cory Schneider had an easy task while picking up his second shutout of the season, the 23rd of his career. Joining the festivities was another former BC player, defenseman Steve Santini, who picked up his first NHL point in only his second NHL game, with an assist on P.A. Parenteau’s first period goal.
A major concern for Boston continues to be their lack of offense. Despite their focus on puck management, the team continues to be unable to finish off their plays and put the puck in the net. Another concern is Boston’s intensity when playing teams below them in the standings – examples: their play Monday against the Devils, the pair of losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping decisions to the Carolina Hurricanes, the New York Islanders, and even the Colorado Avalanche who occupy the bottom spot in the NHL’s overall standings. Their loss to New Jersey quickly deflated the excitement that followed Boston’s back-to-back end of December wins over the Buffalo Sabres.
Unable to put together a decent winning streak has put the Bruins in a very difficult position, as they have allowed both Toronto and Tampa the chance to move up closer to them in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings. Boston currently holds eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 44 points, and third place in the Atlantic Division, something that could change quickly in both, should either the Leafs or the Lightning manage to put together a couple of wins, and Boston continues to play poorly. Toronto in ninth place is two points (42) back of the Bruins, plus they own three games in hand, while Tampa in tenth place, also with 42 points, have a single game in hand.
If the Bruins are going to make the 2016-17 playoffs, they will need to continue their effective penalty killing (87.6%), maintain their strong defensive efforts, find a way to improve their almost non-existent power play (14%), and be able to reward Tuukka Rask for his constant, solid performances – 1.93 goals-against-average, and a respectable .928 save percentage. Still puzzling is the lack of points from Patrice Bergeron who has garnered a mere 12 points in 37 games, playing on a line with Brad Marchand (31 points), and David Pastrnak (26 points). The goal scoring slump that has kept Pastrnak at 19 goals in 33 games, none since December 15th, is expected to be temporary, but the indefinite loss of the team’s third leading goal scorer, David Backes, due to a concussion suffered versus Buffalo (12/29), will have an effect on their ability to put the puck in the net. David Krejci continues to show signs of solid play, but still does not appear to be at 100%.
Tonight (Thursday), the Bruins will host the Edmonton Oilers, currently holding down sixth place in the Western Conference standings with 45 points, before leaving TD Garden ice for a road trip of four games in six nights. Boston will have road games over the weekend, with the Florida Panthers (Saturday, 1/7 at 7:00pm), and 22-hours later, with a 5:00pm faceoff versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Tuesday, 1/10 at 8:00pm they will be hosted by the St. Louis Blues, and close out their road trip with a stop in Nashville (Thursday, 1/12 at 8:00pm) to take on the Predators.