CHS boys basketball Senior Night is this Friday at 6:00
When the Chelsea High boys basketball team hosts Northeast Regional tomorrow (Friday) evening for a 6:00 opening tip-off, the contest will be highlighted by Senior Night festivities at which the team’s members of the CHS Class of 2026 will be recognized for their contributions to the Red Devil boys basketball program.
In addition, also making the night special will be the appearance of long-time CHS boys coach Jay Seigal, who is now the head coach of the Northeast Golden Knights. Jay served as the long-time CHS assistant coach under the legendary Jack Niven in the 1980s and ‘90s before assuming the head coaching reins. Seigal’s Chelsea teams won numerous Commonwealth Athletic Conference titles and were perennial qualifiers for the state tourney during his lengthy tenure.
Seigal also re-instituted the big rivalry with Revere more than 15 years ago even before Chelsea rejoined the Greater Boston League, creating the highly-anticipated “Battle of Broadway” between the two ancient archrivals — who had been foes dating back to the 1920s — that has provided an opportunity both for the players and the fans on both sides to show their school spirit.
“We’re encouraging the community to come out and support our seniors on Senior Night,” said CHS head coach Cesar Castro. “Adding to the significance, Jay Seigal, my former head coach at Chelsea High, is now the head coach at Northeast. Coaching against him will be a true full-circle moment for me, as he played an important role in my development both on and off the court.
“It should be a special night for our program, and we’re hoping to pack the gym.” Castro added.
Red Devils edge
Revere, now ranked 22nd in Division 3; to host Classical next Tuesday at 6:00
The Chelsea High boys basketball team improved to 10-3 on the season and punched their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney with a scintillating 53-51 triumph over archrival Revere in a Greater Boston League (GBL) contest last Thursday before an enthusiastic “Black-Out” home crowd at the CHS gym.
The triumph assured coach Cesar Castro’s Red Devils of the .500 record needed to qualify for the Division 3 state tourney and kept them one game behind Lynn Classical in the race for the 2026 GBL championship.
The visiting Patriots, despite their 4-11 record, proved to be a formidable foe, as they always have been whenever Chelsea and Revere have gotten together since they re-instituted their ancient rivalry about 15 years ago.
The Revere squad which was coming off a 68-62 victory in double overtime vs. Lynn English and had carried a lead into the fourth period against first-place Lynn Classical a few days previously, moved out to an 11-4 lead after one period.
However, the Red Devils increased their defensive intensity and turned the tables in the second period, creating numerous turnovers that led to fast-break buckets and taking a 25-19 advantage into the locker room at the half.
Both teams came out on fire after the intermission, with Chelsea outscoring the Patriots, 15-14, to maintain its lead, 40-33, after three periods.
The Red Devils pushed their margin to 10 points on two occasions in the fourth period, but the visiting Patriots refused to quit. They cut the margin to eight with 2:48 to go and eventually drew within two, 53-51, with just under a minute remaining after a pair of steals and two-three-pointers.
Revere stole the ball again with 14 seconds to play and had a chance to tie or win it. The final, frenetic seconds proved to be an exciting finish to a high school basketball game. The Patriots had three, point-blank looks on layups and offensive rebounds, but the ball refused to fall through the cylinder and eventually was tipped out of bounds as time expired
The Red Devils were led in the scoring column by JJ Williams, who hit for 14 points and handed out eight assists to his teammates. Moe Osman (11 points) and Geo Brito (11 points) also reached double figures.
Chelsea is now 8-2 in the Greater Boston League and in sole possession of second place, one game behind Lynn Classical and one game ahead of both Everett and Somerville.
Castro and his crew have two GBL contests on tap this week. They were scheduled to play at Medford this past Tuesday and at Lynn English tonight (Thursday).
They will host non-league opponent Northeast Regional tomorrow (Friday) evening for a 6:00 opening tip and then will entertain Lynn Classical next Tuesday (Feb. 10) at 6:00 for what is shaping up as a showdown for the 2026 GBL title. The Red Devils dropped their earlier meeting with the Rams, 67-46, in mid-January, but will be seeking to turn the tables in the rematch.
They will play at non-league opponent Brighton next Thursday.
CHS girls track
defeats Malden
to finish at 4-3
The Chelsea High indoor track and field team defeated Greater Boston League rival Malden, 55-32, last Friday evening in its final dual meet to give the Lady Red Devils a winning record of 4-3 for the 2026 season.
Leading the way for Chelsea was junior Lilly Serrano, who scored 13 points for the Chelsea column on the scoresheet. Lilly took first place in the high jump with a leap of 5’-00” which was the top jump of the evening among all of the GBL schools.
In addition, Lilly won the 300 dash with a time of 43.75 and took second place in the 55m dash with a sprint of 7.45. Both of those clockings were the second-best among all of the GBL schools that night.
Junior Hazel Hatleberg turned in a performance worthy of Iron Girl, winning both the 1-mile with a clocking of 6:34.99 and the 2-mile with a time of 14:47.12.
Also scoring major points for Chelsea was fellow junior Thania Simon. Thania won the long jump with a leap of 16’-00.25”, which was the best jump of the evening among all of the participants from the GBL schools. Thania also took second in the 300 dash and third in the 55 dash to contribute nine points to the Chelsea winning effort.
Kimberly Ardona Romero scored six points, finishing second in both the 55 hurdles and the long jump. Kimberly Fuentes Chavez won the 600 with a time of 1:56.43 and Katherine Benitez won the 1000 with a time of 3:46.91
Also adding valuable points to the Chelsea victory were Aly Perez, who took second place in the 2-mile and third place in the 600, and Dieunie Cademus, who scored three points with a second-place finish in the shot-put.
The Lady Red Devils now will compete this evening (Thursday) in the GBL Meet at the Reggie.
CHS boys fall
to Malden 44-43
The hard-luck Chelsea High boys indoor track and field team came up just short in yet another close meet, falling to Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Malden, 44-43, last Friday evening at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury.
This marked the third loss for the Red Devils this season by a razor-thin margin, the other two having been by one point and two points.
Chelsea took first place in five events:
Xavier Guzman grabbed first place in the 600 with a time of 1:30.45; Bryan Amaya-Yanes took top spot in the 1000 with a time of 2:59.64; Sebastian Molina Regil took first place in the 2-mile with a time of 11:17.83; Gregory Ulloa won the long jump with a leap of 19’-2.50”; and the Red Devil 4 x 400 relay quartet of Bryan Amaya Yanes, Xavier Guzman, Carlos Perez-Acosta, and Zakaria Moubtassim defeated their Malden counterparts by almost five seconds with their clocking of 3:51.95.
Additional point-scorers for the Red Devils were:
— Gregory Ulloa grabbed a third in the 55 dash;
— David Ponce took second in the 55 dash and third in the 300 dash;
— Zakaria Moubtassim finished second in the 600;
— Carlos Perez-Acosta took second in the mile;
— Kevin Romero-Molina took second in the shot-put;
— Nathan Pleitez took third in the shot; and
— Aiden Rivas Ortega took second in the long jump.
The Red Devils, who finished their dual-meet season with a 2-5 record, will compete in the GBL Meet this evening (Thursday) at the Reggie.
CHS girls edge
Latin Academy, 42-41; host Lynn English tonight
The Chelsea High girls basketball team defeated Boston Latin Academy, 42-41, in an exciting contest this past Monday evening.
Monica Cespedes Cruz poured in 27 points for the Lady Red Devils, including four clutch free throws down the stretch. Jaliyah Santiago Lozada turned in a superb all-around effort, hitting for nine points, grabbing six rebounds. handing out seven assists, and making three steals.
Lidya Castillo Rodriguez made a major contribution to the victory, pulling down eight boards and scoring four points. Fatuma Iman also provided a strong presence in the paint, hauling in seven rebounds and scoring a big bucket,
“We played sloppy, but a win is a win,” said CHS head coach Bruce Harrison.
The Lady Red Devils were coming off a 51-27 loss at Revere last Thursday in which Monica Cespedes Cruz led Chelsea in scoring with 18 points. Jaliyah Santiago Lozada turned in a fine all-around effort with eight points, five rebounds, three steals, and four assists
“Zeinab Iman had five rebounds and showed great hustle,” noted Harrison.
“But overall, we did not come to play and did not play well, with too many turnovers and missed layups,” Harrison added.
The Lady Red Devils are scheduled to host Lynn English this evening (Thursday) at 5:30. They will travel to Northeast Regional on Monday and to Lynn Classical on Tuesday before returning home to host Ipswich next Thursday.