CHS Girls Track Tops Two GBL Foes
The Chelsea High girls indoor track and field team got its season off to a fast start with a pair of victories over Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals Everett (57-28) and Lynn Classical (61-20) last Friday in a tri-meet held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston.
Leading the way for the Lady Red Devils was freshman Thania Simon (the younger sister of former CHS track star Stephanie Simon), who topped the field in the 55 meter dash with a clocking of 7.73 and the long jump with a leap of 14′-2.75″. Thania’s winning dash of 7.73 saw her drop a tenth of a second from her fifth-place performance of 7.83 the previous week at the MSTCA Winter Classic and was the fastest time of any female athlete competing among the GBL teams on Friday. In addition, her long jump of 14′-2.75″ was the second-best in the GBL that night.
Thania’s performance at the Winter Festival, in which she placed fifth, already has qualified her for the New Balance Nationals 60 meter freshman event. “We expected her to accomplish this, but it was nice to hit the benchmark right at the start of the season,” said CHS head coach Cesar Hernandez.
The Lady Red Devils took first place in almost all of the events vs. Everett: Keiri Hernadez led a Chelsea sweep in the 300 dash with a clocking of 52.00; Hazel Hatleburg won the 600 dash in a time of 2:09.75; Gizelle Rodriguez took the 1000 in 3:51.48 (which was the second-fastest time among the GBL competitors); Lyssis Henderson won the mile in 6:58.01; Kiara Ramirez topped the field in the shot-put with a throw of 31′-4″; and Giselle Olivar won the 55 hurdles in 10.82.
Adding three points to the CHS cause with second-place finishes were: Meleny Hernandez in the 300; Jada Amezquita in the 1000; Marcaylla Louis Jean in the long jump; and Reina Moreira in the two-mile.
Contributing points with third-place efforts were: Faith Dunbar in the 55 dash; Marcaylla Louis Jean in the 300; Alma Alia in the 600; Katherine Benitez in the 1000 in 4:27.28; and Lauren Nadow in the mile and the 55 hurdles.
In the competition with Classical, additional point-scorers for Chelsea were Lamari Davis with a second-place in the shot-put and Hazel Martinez with a third-place in the shot.
The next tri-meet for Chelsea is set for January 2 at the Reggie, where all of the GBL’s meets will be held this season.
CHS Boys Track Tops Lynn Classical; Aracena Sets Record
The Chelsea High boys indoor track and field team earned a split in its season-opening tri-meet, defeating Lynn Classical (61-20), but falling to Everett (57-36) last Friday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston.
In the Everett side of the meet, Ariel Aracena smashed the field in the shot-put with a throw of 46′-2.5″, establishing a new Chelsea High record that Ariel himself had set the week before at the MSTCA Winter Classic when his toss of 45′-9″ broke the previous CHS indoor record by nearly three feet (previously set in 2022 by Jeffrey Ponce with a throw of 43′-2.5″) and which placed Ariel second at the Winter Festival.
“Ariel has put in a ton of work since the outdoor season ended and it shows, considering this throw was about five feet further than his previous best,” said CHS head coach Cesar Hernandez.
Other first-place finishers for Chelsea vs. Everett were Kyle Leong, who captured the 1000 meter event with a time of 3:13.81; Jose Amaya Raudales, who took the two mile in a clocking of 11:59.71; and Alex Flores, who won the mile in 5:03.52, which was the second-fastest time in the GBL that day.
Adding three points for the Chelsea side of the scoresheet with second-place efforts were: Joao Cassim in the 300 dash; Xavier Guzman in the 600 dash; Alejandro Zepeda in the mile; and Sherwin Kim in the 55 hurdles;
Contributing third-place points were: Sherwin Kim in the 600; Bryan Amaya in the 1000; Joao Cassim in the long jump; and Theo Seale in the shot-put.
“Overall, it was a good starting dual-meet for both teams,” said Hernandez, “and we hope to continue to build and improve with a lot of time until our next set of dual meets.”
New CHS Marks in the Weight Throw
A small contingent of members of the Chelsea High boys and girls indoor track and field teams competed in the Speed Classic this past Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
“With this being the day after our first dual meet, we decided to only bring athletes to compete in the weight throw, as there are not many opportunities for kids to compete in that event,” said CHS head coach Cesar Hernandez. “This would be the first recorded time Chelsea High would ever be competing in the event.”
The highlights for Chelsea were the performances of Theo Joseph-Seale, who set the school record in the weight throw with a toss of 45’2″ (which placed him second overall in the meet) and Lamari Davis, who set the girls’ school record with a toss of 27′-9.5″, placing fifth overall.
Sean Perez-Ramos threw 35′-7″, which also qualified him for the Boston Holiday Challenge during the holiday break at New Balance.
Young CHS Girls Basketball Team Working Hard
Although the Chelsea High girls basketball team has come up short in its first three contests of the season, new CHS head coach Benjamin Jette is optimistic as his squad progresses through the coming campaign.
“We have a young team with many girls new to the sport,” said Jette. “For the first time in a few years we have enough girls to have a JV team. We hope to build off the momentum we had from last season and to continue to improve as the season progresses.”
This past Tuesday, the Lady Red Devils, who will be led in 2024 by the captain duo of Monica Cespedes-Cruz and Isabella Chevez Barrera, dropped a 56-29 decision to Malden. Cespedes paced the Lady Red Devils with 22 points. Keara Chavez Trejo played a large part in the game for Chelsea with multiple assists, steals, and rebounds and freshman Rahama Sidow started in her first varsity game.
The members of the CHS varsity squad are: sophomores Melize Siliro, Monica Cespedes-Cruz, and Dieunie Cademus; seniors Lindsay Pineda; Keara Chevez Trejo, Alessandra Campos, and Isabella Chevez Barrera; and freshman Jolaynnie Zayas.
The junior varsity team members, some of whom also will join the varsity for some games, are: freshmen Zeinab Iman, Jessica Gonzalez Hernandez, Alivia Lavigne, Thiah Young, Rahama Sidow, and Maryan Abdi; sophomores Karla Anzora Amaya, Yarisbel Torres, and Lorena Carriel Acevedo; and junior Nina Reyes.
Joining Jette on the sidelines this season will be assistant coaches Devin Rauh and Joe DiGaetano.
Chelsea will host Revere this evening (Thursday) at 5:30.
CHS Boys Hoop at Revere Tonight
The Chelsea High boys basketball team will make the short trek down Broadway this evening (Thursday) to take on Greater Boston League archrival Revere. The opening tip is set for 7:00.
Revere’s Merullo Fieldhouse should be packed with fans for both the Red Devils and Patriots, whose clashes on the basketball court have been epic since the schools renewed their rivalry more than 10 years ago.
Coach Cesar Castro and his crew, who stand at 1-2 on the season, will take part in the Legends Classic tournament to be held at Cambridge Rindge and Latin during the holiday break next Thursday and Friday.