CHS Roundup
CHS boys hoop
wins two contests
The Chelsea High boys basketball team enjoyed a successful week, defeating two opponents, Lynn Tech and Whittier Tech.
Friday’s 65-34 triumph over Lynn Tech never was in doubt. The Red Devils grabbed the lead from the outset and never looked back as they built a commanding 35-9 advantage at the half.
The Red Devils continued to add to their margin after the intermission, allowing CHS head coach Jay Seigal to use all of his players starting in the third period.
Jahro Marshall forwarded a big game for the Red Devils with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Jahro also added three blocks to his repertoire for the evening.
Ralph Otero played a strong game and reached double figures with 10 points. Other scorers for the Red Devils were Chris Torrez with eight points, the trio of Werner Mazariegos, Angel Alvarez, and Guillermo Zelata with six points apiece, Mohamed Ghell with five, Jaime Celorio with four, and the duo of Steve Lacey and Cobi Molina with two each.
“We came out at the start with a lot of energy,” said Seigal. “We played strong defense and controlled the boards to get out on the fast break.”
Monday evening the Red Devils made their long ride to Whittier Tech in Haverhill a worthwhile trip with a 69-55 triumph.
Although Chelsea struggled a bit on the offensive end to start the game, the Red Devils displayed the same level of intensity as they had shown against Lynn Tech. A 35-30 CHS halftime edge expanded to a 57-43 bulge at the third buzzer, from where the Red Devils cruised to the win.
A well-balanced CHS scoring attack featured Lacey and Marshall with nine points each; Alvarez and Torrez with eight apiece; the trio of Zelata, Mazariegos, and Otero hitting for seven; Balmeiro Daveiga with four; and Molina with two.
“Our practices have been going well and that has been translating into playing well in our games,” said Seigal. “We’ve been getting better with every game and hopefully that is a trend that will continue.”
The Red Devils now stand at 8-6 overall and 5-2 in the Commonwealth. They need two more wins in their final six contests in order to qualify for the post-season state tourney. They begin that quest Friday evening when they host Mystic Valley (which features a 6’-7” center). They travel to Shawsheen Tech Tuesday and then make the short ride down Broadway Wednesday evening for the Battle of Broadway II with archrival Revere.
CHS track teams
turn in strong
showings at GBL
Both the Chelsea High girls and boys indoor track teams finished the season with solid showings at the Greater Boston League Championship Meet held last Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Boston.
The Lady Red Devils came through with an outstanding performance, finishing third in the team rankings behind only Division 1 powerhouses Somerville and Malden.
Senior Katherine Cabral had an amazing day, finishing first in the long jump (15’-13”), second in the 300 (43.59), and anchoring the first place 4 x 400 relay squad (4:29.1).
Sophomore Martine Simon also had a great day, finishing second in the long jump (14-’8”), 7th in the 55 meter dash (7.88), and leading off the winning 4 x 400 quartet.
Also part of the 4 x 400 foursome were sophomore Awa Bajinka and freshman Jocelyn Poste. It was in Poste’s third leg of the relay that Chelsea took control of the race. Jocelyn also had a great performance in the 1000, finishing second in a close race.
Senior Wendy Becerra was the iron-woman of the day, competing in the two-mile (second place, 13:36.78), one mile (seventh, 6:35.21), and anchoring the fifth place 4 x 800 relay.
Senior Mariama Kamara competed injured and finished third in the 55 dash (7.54). “Had Mariama run the time in the final race that she ran in the trials, she would have won,” said CHS head coach Mark Martineau.
Freshman Masireh Ceesay finished fourth in the shotput with a toss of 27’-4″. Freshman Yarid Deras ran a tough race in the mile, finishing sixth with a personal best time of 6:32.23.
“Just about every girl who ran had a personal best,” said Martineau. “It was a great way to finish the GBL season.”
The boys also had a good day, finishing fourth behind Somerville, Malden, and Everett. As was the case with the girls, almost every Red Devil competitor turned in a personal record (PR).
The long jump was the best event for the Red Devils, with three of the six places going to Chelsea athletes. Junior Adriel Cedano finished second with a jump of 19’-3”; Junior Leonardo DeAlmedia came out of nowhere to finish fourth with a jump of 18’-9”; and senior Alezio DaSilva finished sixth with a jump of 18’-0”
Other Red Devils who contributed points to the CHS scoring column included: Jose Aguiar in the 600 (third, 1:30.44); Adriel Cedano in the 55 dash (fifth, 7.01); DeAlmedia in the 300 (sixth, 39.66); and Johnny Gomez in the two mile (sixth, 12:16.65).
Chelsea also picked up more points in the relays with the 4 x 400 squad (Cedano, DaSliva, DeAlmedia, Aguiar) finishing third in a time of 3:44.15. The 4 x 200 team (Nick Ieng, Isaac Colcord, Luis Jimenez, Bryan Rivas) finished fourth.
“The boys fought for every point they got,” said Martineau. “As coaches we could not be prouder of the performance they delivered. What makes our team performances, girls and boys, even more impressive is that we compete against schools that all have over 100 athletes, combined girls and boys. This season we finished with just under 40 athletes. Every member of our team is a major contributor. We are so proud of the teams who competed this season.”
A number of CHS performers have qualified for the State Meet and will be competing in that meet are February 10th.
On the girls’ side are: Cabral in the 300m and long jump, Kamara and Simon in the 55m, and the 4 x 200m relay team of Kamara, Simon, Bajinka, and Cabral.
The boys are sending two relay teams: The 4 x 200 (Ieng, Cedano, DeSilva, Aguiar) and the 4 x 400m of (Cedano, DeSilva, DeAlmedia, Aguiar).
Bruins Beat by Bob Morello
Bruins seek stability
The Bruins find themselves right back in the mode of inconsistent play following Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Toronto. The fact remains that when this team ends up in a 3-on-3 overtime, they just can’t find a way to dig down deep and notch that game-winning goal. One needs to look no further than in the six games in which they’ve been in 3-on-3 situation, and they’ve lost five or the six times.
With the standings as tight as they are, points are crucial at this time… for example, a two-point win last night would have moved the Bs into second place in the Atlantic Division, jumping them over Tampa Bay and Detroit. Instead they remain in fourth place in the division. More importantly, they could’ve jumped into a tie with the New York Rangers for third spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Boston’s problem continues to be the inability to hold a lead in the third period, as they did on Tuesday versus Toronto. Up by two goals early in the third period, they allowed the Maple Leafs to tie the game on tip-in goals, and finally let the additional point disappear with Toronto’s overtime winner. The winning goal was scored on a power play in the overtime, with David Krejci in the box serving a penalty for holding. The Leafs’ P.A. Parenteau gathered a rebound, and was able to find the back of the net at 3:06 of the overtime, to end the game. Coach Claude Julien explained, “We go out there in the third, and determined to win. We score two goals, and then we turn around and we get sloppy again. So I don’t know if it’s relaxing, or losing focus, but certainly not good enough right now for our hockey team to think that we can contend if we keep making those kind of mistakes.”
Boston’s loss spoiled a solid two-goal effort from Brad Marchand who has now scored a total of seven goals in the last seven games, and wasted a 31 save performance from Tuukka Rask. In Rask’s defense, all three Toronto goals in regulation came via tip-ins. “It was poor coverage, all three goals were tipped 10-15 feet from our net,” stated Julien, “The slot area was not covered very well.”
Now, it is ‘on to Buffalo’ for a home-and-home series to face the lowly Sabres who are members of the ‘bottom six,’ clustered at the base of the league standings, with Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Columbus currently in possession of last place overall in the National Hockey League. The Sabres host the Bruins tonight (Thursday 2/4), before the Bs return to Garden ice for Saturday’s (2/6) second half of the home-and-home series, with both games beginning at 7:00pm. The Los Angeles Kings will complete Boston’s two-game homestand on Tuesday (2/9 @ 7:00pm), before the Bruins head out on an extended, six-game, 10-day road trip that includes stops in Winnipeg, Minnesota, Detroit, Columbus, Nashville and ending in Dallas.