CHS Boys Top Revere in Round Two of Battle of Broadway
The Chelsea High boys basketball team earned a sweep of the Battle of Broadway, 2024 edition, with a 62-47 victory over their archrivals from Revere this past Tuesday evening at the CHS gym. The Red Devils had defeated their long-time Greater Boston League (GBL) foe in their first meeting this season, 51-50.
Coach Cesar Castro’s squad shook off a slow start — Chelsea trailed 22-12 after the first quarter — but closed to within a point, 27-26, at the intermission, before taking firm control in the second half.
“After our slow start in the first quarter, I told the boys, ‘It’s okay fellas. We are ok. They made their run, now we will make ours. But it starts on the defensive end. Our goal is to only let them score max eight points in this quarter’.”
The Red Devils followed Castro’s plan by clamping down on defense — Revere scored only five points in the second period — led by David Wright, who made numerous steals.
“Our press was amazing,” said Castro. “Everyone was rotating, which created many turnovers. It was a collective effort. We held them to five points in the second quarter, which got us into halftime down by just one, 27-26. We had the momentum and it carried over into the second half.
“A lot of our shots weren’t falling in the first half, but I told the team at halftime that it won’t be that way all game and the shots will start to go down,” added Castro.
Moe Osman was a force at both ends of the floor for Chelsea, achieving a double-double by pumping in 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots. Moe was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
Wright also attained a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists and made four steals. Justin Toro and Brauli Quezada Tineo contributed to the offensive output, hitting some big three-pointers for the Red Devils.
There was a somber note for the CHS squad prior to the contest. “I told the kids that one of our assistant coaches, JC Sanchez, could not be here tonight because his cousin, Pedro ‘Choco’ Valentin, passed away,” said Castro. “ ‘Choco’ was a special person in the city of Chelsea who always had good energy and showed love to everyone. He saw me grow up as a kid. I told the boys we will be playing this game for coach Sanchez. The boys responded and I’m glad we were able to get it done for coach Sanchez. Everybody shines together.”
The Red Devils, who stand at 4-9 on the season, will travel to GBL opponents Medford tonight (Thursday) and Lynn English next Thursday.
CHS Tracksters Shine at Northeast Invitational; Seale, Ramirez Set New Marks
A contingent from the Chelsea High girls and boys indoor track and field teams competed in the recent Northeast Invitational Meet, with a number of the Red Devils turning in outstanding performances.
The biggest highlights from the meet came from two of the Red Devil throwers. For the boys, Theo Joseph-Seale rebroke his weight throw school record by a foot, improving it to 53’-5”. Theo finished second overall at the meet and is currently ranked third in the state for the event.
On the girls’ side, Kiara Ramirez also had a great day in the shot-put. Kiara broke the CHS school record that had stood for six years with her throw of 32’-2.75.” Kiara placed seventh in a field of 128 throwers.
Ariel Aracena and Joseph-Seale also shone in the shot-put event. Ariel placed 12th overall and Theo placed 30th overall in the shot-put among the field of 178 male throwers.
Freshman sensation Thania Simon also had a great meet. Thania competed in the triple jump, finishing with a mark of 32’-2.75”, landing her in 11th place overall. In the 55 meter dash, her sprint of 7.84 placed her 29th overall in the field of 238 athletes.
However, Thania’s best event of the weekend came in the 200 meter dash. Her clocking of 27.05 seconds placed her 12th overall out of 187 entrants and ranked her as the fastest freshman. Her time set a new PR (personal record) in the 200, eclipsing her clocking of 27.15 at Outdoor Nationals last year.
Giselle Olivar also turned in a superb effort at the meet with a season-best time in the 55 meter hurdles of 9.82 seconds, good for 38th spot out of 153 entries.
CHS Girls Basketball Hosts Medford, English
The Chelsea High girls basketball team will host a pair of Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals in the coming week. Coach Ben Jette’s Lady Red Devils will entertain Medford tonight (Thursday) and Lynn English next Thursday. The opening tip for both matches is set for 4:00.
In contests this past week, Chelsea hosted Everett and came up on the short end of a 49-27 decision. “We played much better as the game went on, holding Everett to 16 second-half points while scoring 19,” noted Jette. Monica Cespedes led the Red Devils with 16 points.
Last Thursday the Lady Red Devils fell to Malden, 59-24. Cespedes struck for 13 points and Keara Chavez Trejo hit for six points.