CHS boys battle Classical for top spot in the GBL
The Chelsea High boys basketball team took on Lynn Classical this past Tuesday night (as the Record was going to press) in a battle for first place in the Greater Boston League (GBL).
The Red Devils (10-2 in the GBL) entered the contest trailing Classical (11-1 in the GBL) by one game in the standings and needing a win in order to draw even with the Rams.
Classical defeated the Red Devils by a score of 67-46 in their first meeting a month ago. That contest was a closely-fought affair through the first half until Classical pulled away in the third period.
Chelsea is ranked 18th in Division 3 with an overall record of 13-3, while Classical is ranked #4 in D-3 with a 14-2 mark.
The Red Devils have been on a roll of late, riding a five-game winning streak that included wins last week of 53-44 at Medford, 68-54 at Lynn English, and 71-53 over non-league foe Northeast Regional.
The Red Devils are scheduled to travel to non-league opponents Brighton today (Thursday) and Cambridge on Sunday before wrapping up their 2026 regular season with a contest vs. GBL foe Malden next Thursday afternoon at home at 2:00.
Coach Cesar Castro and his crew then will await word of their seeding and opening round opponent in the MIAA D-3 state tournament.
Cespedes Cruz reaches 1000 points
When Monica Cespedes Cruz entered last Thursday’s game against Lynn English with 998 career points, the only question on the minds of Lady Red Devil fans was: “How long will it take for Monica to reach 1000?”
Cespedes Cruz put the drama to rest almost immediately after the opening tip-off when she sank her first shot of the evening to reach the 1000 point plateau, considered the gold standard of achievement for basketball athletes at the high school level.
The senior captain’s decisive shot was hardly a gimme’ — Monica’s history-making bucket was a long-range jumper from just inside the three-point line. The game was stopped and she immediately was surrounded by her teammates to the loud cheers of the Chelsea fans in her home gymnasium as she made her way to the bench area for a brief presentation where silver balloons formed the number “1000.”
Monica would go on to score 15 points in the contest, and though the Lady Red Devils came up short to the visiting Lady Bulldogs, her 1000-point achievement will be forever enshrined in the annals of Chelsa High basketball history.
Serrano, Simon win GBL titles
The Dynamic Duo of juniors Lilly Serrano and Thania Simon both brought home Greater Boston League (GBL) championships at Thursday evening’s 2026 GBL Indoor Track and Field Meet.
Serrano won the high jump with a leap of 5’-2”, a personal record. In addition, Lilly grabbed second place in both the 55m dash and the 300m dash to score 26 points on the night, the highest total of any boy or girl at the meet.
Simon also was a multi-event point-scorer, handily winning the long jump with a leap of 17’-3” (which was almost a foot beyond her closest competitor) and taking fourth place in the 300m dash and fifth place in the 55m dash to tally 16 points for the Chelsea column on the scoresheet.
Additional point-scorers for the Lady Red Devils were: Dieunie Cademus, who scored four points with a fourth-place performance in the shot-put; Katherine Benitez, who scored two points with a fifth-place finish in the 1000m; and Aly Perez, who scored two points in the 2-mile run with an fifth-place performance;
The 4 x 800 quartet of Benitez, Kimberly Fuentes Chavez, Hazel Hatleberg, and Aly Perez scored six points with their third-place finish.
The Lady Red Devils finished in fourth place in the team standings with 56 points, behind Somerville, Medford, and Revere.
Guzman, Romero-Molina take second places at GBL Championship Meet
Xavier Guzman and Kevin Romero-Molina were the top performers for the Chelsea High boys indoor track and field team at last Thursday’s 2026 GBL Championship Meet that was held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury.
Both Red Devils turned in 2nd-place performances,.Xavier in the 600 dash and Kevin in the shot-put, to score eight points apiece for the Chelsea column on the scoresheet.
Other Red Devils who also earned medals with top-6 performances were:
— Bryan Amaya Yanes added two points with a 5th place in the 1000.
— Sebastian Molina Regil contributed two points with a 5th in the 2-mile;
— The 4 x 200 relay quartet of David Ponce, Zakaria Moubrassim, Gregory Ulloa, and Joe Tineo finished in 3rd place to score six points for the Red Devils;
— The 4 x 800 team of Xavier Guzman, Carlos Perez-Acosta, Bryan Amaya-Yanes, and Sebastian Molina Regil also took a 3rd place medal to score six points.
The Red Devils tallied 32 points on the night, which landed them in 5th place in the team standings.
CHS girls hoop defeats Medford
The Chelsea High girls basketball team turned in what coach Bruce Harrison termed “our best game of the year” to earn a 52-48 victory over Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Medford last Tuesday.
Jaliyah Santiago Lozada poured in 35 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
Monica Cespedes Cruz reached double figures with 10 points, dished out seven assists, and made three steals.
“Thiah Young and Fatuma Iman had six rebounds and played great defense,” Harrison added. “That was our best game of the year. We made a lot of mistakes, but never gave up.”
Two nights later the Red Devils battled down to the wire against another GBL foe, Lynn English, but came up short, 57-55 game.
Freshman Jaliyah Santiago Lozada once again led the way in the scoring column with 31 points. Jaliyah also dished out five assists, pulled down eight boards, and made three steals.
Monica Cespedes Cruz, who scored her 1000th career point on the first shot of the game, added 15 points to go with five assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
Fatuma Iman pulled down nine caroms, scored two points, and played superb defense.
“The game went down to the wire,” said Harrison. “With 11 seconds left, Monica pushed up the court and with six seconds left, she shot a wide-open three-pointer that missed. We could not get the rebound and the game ended. It was a great game, but we just fell short.”
This past Monday, the Lady Red Devils played at Northeast Regional and cruised to a 52-16 victory.
Cespedes Cruz struck for 16 points and had four assists. Santiago Lozada hit for 15 points to go with six assists, six boards, and three steals. Taylor Eliana Solano Recio added seven points and snared three rebounds. Melize Siliro contributed nicely with seven points. “The team played great defense,” said Harrison, whose squad now stands at 6-11 on the season. “The girls are playing hard and I’m seeing some improvement.”
Chelsea will host Ipswich tomorrow (Friday) evening for a 5:30 opening tip-off.