Boys Track Tops Chelsea, 68-63
The Everett High boys outdoor track and field team earned a tightly-contested 68-63 triumph over Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Chelsea last Thursday.
Leading the way for coach Jehu Cimea’s Crimson Tide was sophomore speedster Kayshaun Eveillard, who captured two individual events, the 400 dash with a time of 54.7 and the 200 dash in a clocking of 23.7, to score 10 points.
The Crimson Tide swept two events, the 100 dash and the long jump. Junior Jayshaun Coggins sped to first-place in the 100 dash with a sprint of 11.2 to lead an Everett sweep of the dash along with teammates senior Jermeiah Jeanlouis and senior captain Jalen Jones.
In the long jump, senior Khang Nguyen (who also added a point to the Everett side of the scoresheet with a third place in the triple jump) topped the field with a flight of 17’-8.5” and was joined by teammates junior Kawan Medeiros and Jones to make it 1-2-3 for Everett.
Senior captain Shane Mackenzie made a major contribution to the Tide’s winning effort with a first-place in the javelin with a throw of 130’-0” and a second-place in the discus to score eight points.
Senior captain Dawens German took first-place in the high jump with a leap of 5’-2” and second in the 400 hurdles to also score eight points for the Tide.
Senior captain Donald Michel took first place in the 110 hurdles with a clocking of 17.0 and sophomore Lucas Nunez took first in the 800 in a clocking of 2:17.4.
Other point-scorers for the Tide in a meet where every point mattered were: sophomore Anthony Whitlow with a second place in the 2-mile run; junior Fabrice Michaud with a third place in the shot-put; junior Luvens Hector with a third place in both the 200 dash and the 400 hurdles; sophomore Adrien Reyes with a third in the 800; and sophomore Jeremy Whitlow with a third in the 1-mile.
Coach Jehu Cimea and his crew are scheduled to take on GBL foe Lynn English next Tuesday.
Boys Volleyball Wins 2-of-3, Now 5-4
The Everett High boys volleyball team enjoyed a successful week, winning two of its three matches, to raise its record to 5-4.
“We’ve been alternating wins and losses all season, but we showed a lot of grit this week, earning comeback wins over Medford and Essex Tech and hanging tough against a strong Malden team,” said EHS head coach Michael Fineran.
The Crimson Tide hosted Greater Boston League (GBL) for Medford last Monday on Autism Awareness Night and fought off another slow start to earn a shutout victory, 3-0. A good hometown crowd was on hand for the game, but the Tide found themselves down, 6-0, before senior co-captain Nischal Tamang served four times to chip away at the Mustang lead, and later served twice to tie the set at 17-17.
Senior captain Hyan Soares was 5-for-5 serving and had two kills. Junior hitter Caleb Jackson had three kills, junior captain Henrique Franca blasted six kills and two aces, and Tamang served the winning point in the 28-26 win.
Everett started slowly once again in the second set, falling behind 4-0, but came back to bring the contest to level at 5-5, with Tamang’s serves once again playing a major role. Jackson had two more kills, Franca added six more, and junior Jefferson Umana notched his first two kills of the match.
Still, the Tide found themselves on the wrong side of a 24-21 score, and an errant pass over the net set up Medford for the game winning smash. However, Tamang saved the day with the dig of the year to keep the ball in play, leading to a Franca kill. Tamang then served the next four points to secure a 26-24 win.
“Nischal (Tamang) was the hero of that game, for sure,” said Fineran. “He made a couple of other impressive defensive plays and hit all of his game-high 25 serves in. We had no business winning that set, but we kept hanging around and lessened our mistakes as the game progressed. I wish we didn’t dig ourselves into such big holes, but we keep battling no matter what, and you can never count us out.”
Everett reversed that trend in the third set, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. Juniors Bryan Soares and Steve Flores combined for five kills, Tamang added a kill and seven service points, and junior setter Sidney Valentim, who relieved senior setter Mark Pierre, had three service points.
Franca had four kills and two blocks and senior middle Kalleb Miranda had two blocks as well. Sophomore Christian Ramirez served out the set, which the Tide won, 25-20.
Everett traveled the next day to Malden to take on one of the top teams in the GBL.
“We avoided our typical early game troubles and kept the first serve tight the whole way through,” said Fineran. “Our players know how good Malden is. A lot of the players know each other from off-season camps, so I knew we would be up for the challenge.
“Their defense was solid and their hitters were relentless, but we were neck-and-neck with them for most of the match,” Fineran added.
Pierre had a block and a kill, as did Umana. Junior Matheus Queiroz had a block, and Miranda had two. Ramirez served four times to tie the set at 23-23, but the bounces at the end of the set did not go Everett’s way and the Golden Tornadoes narrowly prevailed, 25-23.
In the second set, Flores had two kills, Tamang an ace, and Franca two kills and three service points to pull Everett within one, 17-16. However, Malden turned up the intensity after that and sailed to a 25-17 win.
In the third set, the Tide moved out to a quick 5-1 advantage behind Queiroz’s serves. Queiroz, Hyan Soares, and Franca all notched kills, and Ramirez served an ace, but Malden built a 14-12 lead before pulling away. An ace from Tamang made it 24-15, but Everett lost the next point and the match, 3-0.
On Friday, the Crimson Tide made the trek Danvers take on non-league rival Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School.
“We were missing three of our starters, but one of the luxuries of having a deep team — we have 30 boys in the program — is that we have plenty of players who can step up,” said Fineran.
With Pierre out, Ramirez moved from libero to setter, and Tamang played libero. The combination of Ramirez and Valentim setting led to 13 kills from six different hitters in the opening set. Ramirez also added four service points and Tamang delivered an ace in a 25-23 win.
However, the Hawks battled back in the second set with a 26-24 win to even the match at 1-1. Umana (three kills and a block) and Queiroz (two kills, one block) shone for the Tide in the set. Junior Donald Vo added a kill, as did Flores and Hyan Soares.
“We played hard, but too many of our hits went long and we weren’t moving our feet enough to return their serves,” noted Fineran. “We let one slip away and that led to a dismal start to the third set. We were down 11-3, 16-6, and then 18-7. But one thing that’s been true of our team all season is that we know we can come back, and we did.”
Everett chipped away, thanks to Umana, whose serving made it a much closer game, 18-16, and five kills from captain Franca. Ramirez aced the final point, 25-23.
“We found a rhythm that worked for us, and we kept it going in the fourth set,” said Fineran. The Tide rode the hot hand of Franca, who had seven of his 18 kills in the set. Bryan Soares had two key kills in his first front-row action of the game, and Miranda had three blocks and a kill in the set.
Ramirez broke the game open, serving nine times with two aces to build a 22-10 lead, and sophomore Gustavo Franca served twice to end the match, 25-12.
“We stand at 5-4 and we need 10 wins to make the tournament,” said Fineran, referring to the needed .500 record that brings automatic qualification for the state tourney. “We start the second half of the season looking to avenge two five-set losses against Chelsea and Lynn Classical, two solid teams with hard hitters. It’ll take everything we’ve got to win.”
The Tide have four key matches with their GBL brethren in the coming week: They were set to make the short trip across the Parkway to Chelsea this past Monday and will host Classical today (Wednesday). They will travel to Lynn English next Monday and return home to entertain Somerville next Wednesday.
EHS Girls Tennis Tops English, 3-2; Tamang Wins 3-Hour Match
The Everett High girls tennis team earned a big win last Wednesday with a 3-2 triumph over Greater Boston League (GBL) opponent Lynn English.
Yasmine Laabadla played a strong match at first singles, though falling short to her Lady Bulldog counterpart, 4-6, 1-6. Alanna O’Brien, who stepped up to play in the second singles slot, also fell short to her English opponent.
However, at first doubles, the powerful Lady Crimson Tide duo of Rebecca Hickey and Nga Ho came through with a big victory, 6-3, 6-2. At second doubles, the tandem of Rosena Pun and Jessica Du made a speedy run through their opponents, also winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
That left the outcome of the match up to Simran Tamang at third singles, who was engaging in a marathon bout with her English rival in the last-remaining match of the day.
“Simran really stepped it up for us, winning in an almost three-hour match, edging out her opponent, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, to secure the win for us,” said EHS head coach Courney Meninger of Tamang’s gritty, come-from-behind triumph.
“I’m hoping that this victory will give the team some confidence as we head into our next stretch of matches,” Meninger added. “I think we are really starting to get into our groove so I am excited to see how we progress over the next few weeks.”
Meninger and her crew have a busy week ahead against GBL opponents. They are scheduled to play at Revere today (Wednesday) and will return home to host Medford on Monday before traveling to Lynn Classical on Tuesday and to Malden next Wednesday.
Girls Track Falls Short to Chelsea
Although the Everett High girls outdoor track and field team came up on the short end of a 77-46 decision to Greater Boston League foe Chelsea last week, a number of the Lady Crimson Tide turned in superb performances.
Senior captain Darrynn Desrameaux, who set EHS outdoor records in the shot-put and discus in the Tide’s previous meet, was a double-winner in both of those events with tosses of 31’-8.5” in the shot and 89’-2” in the discus.
Senior Kaesta Sandy scored eight points for Everett with a first-place finish in the 100 dash with a sprint of 13.4 and a second-place in the javelin with a throw of 79’-11”.
Senior captain Nicole Brandao took first in the 110 hurdles with a clocking of 18.9. Fellow senior captain Suzanne Maharjan won the 2-mile run with a time of 16:08. Sophomore Casey Martinez took top spot in the mile with a time of 7:28.1.
Additional point-scorers for coach Jehu Cimea’s squad were Milena Antonio with a second place in the 800; junior Zyelle Cannon with a second in the 200 dash; junior Angelina Papa with a third in the 200l and senior Gleidy Tejada with a third in the 800.
EHS Softball Team Rebounds With Three Wins
The Everett High softball team, shaking off its first loss of the season last week to Greater Boston League rival (GBL) Medford, bounced back with a pair of runaway victories over Malden in a home-and-home series last Wednesday and Friday.
The Lady Crimson Tide then made it three in a row with a 15-2 win over Chelsea this past Monday to improve to 9-1 on the season and move within one victory of qualifying for the post-season state tourney.
EHS pitcher Peyton Warren turned in a stellar performance in last Wednesday’s 13-0 victory over Malden on the Glendale Park softball diamond, allowing just one hit, walking none, and striking out seven Lady Golden Tornado hitters over six innings.
Everett’s offense was led by a plethora of Lady Crimson Tide: Emma Longmore, who went 3-for-5 with four RBIs; Bryanna Mason, who was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a home run; Alexa Uga, who went 2-for-3; Emilia Maria-Babcock, who was 2-for-4; and Kassidy Rivera, who was 3-for-3.
Everett grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening inning on an RBI-base hit by Gianna Masucci and then exploded for five runs in the second, the key blows coming on a pair of two-RBI doubles by Longmore and Mason and an RBI triple by Uga, who is back in action after suffering a knee injury two weeks ago.
A homer by Mason in the fourth upped the count to 7-0 and the Tide then brought on the mercy rule in the sixth with a six-run outburst, with a multi-RBI triple by Longmore sealing the win.
“Peyton did a great job pitching and our defense made the plays to keep runners off the bases when Malden did make contact,” said EHS head coach Stacy Schiavo. “We had to adjust to the speed (of the Malden pitcher) and we finally did that in the sixth inning.”
The rematch at Malden two days later pretty much followed the same script in a 17-2 Everett romp. Warren once again was dominant in the pitcher’s circle, tossing shutout softball for four innings and yielding just one hit, issuing just one walk, and fanning six Lady Golden Tornadoes.
In the hitting department the EHS offense essentially put the game away with 11 runs in the first inning, with most of the damage coming with two outs. Key hits were delivered by Uga (who had a pair of two-run doubles), Longmore (a two-run double), and Olivia Dresser (a two-run triple).
Uga came through with her third two-RBI two-bagger of the day in the second and in the third and Dresser struck for a two-RBI double with the bases-loaded (scoring teammates Jayla Davila and Arabella Cvitkusic).
Mia Allen tossed one inning for Everett, striking out three Malden hitters, though allowing two runs.
“We have really been focusing on our hitting,” said Schiavo afterwards. “We have the defense, but need to be more consistent throughout the lineup when runners are on base. Peyton has been doing great and gets better with each game and I think that also has to do with the confidence she has in her teammates.
“We are not taking any team for granted and are going to play at our best potential,” added the coach.
The 5-2 loss at Medford last Monday saw Warren yield just three hits, but walk 10 opponents, which is almost as many bases-on-balls as she has issued in the Tide’s other eight games this season (Peyton has walked just 12 in those other eight contests).
“Both pitchers were squeezed by the plate umpire, but we were more aggressive at swinging than Medford,” observed Schiavo. “They waited because they knew the umpire was calling more balls than strikes. Warren never walks that many batters and when they were on, we made some errors.”
At the plate, the bats of both teams were silent until the fourth, when Dresser drew a walk, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a base hit by Maria-Babock for a 1-0 Everett lead.
However, Medford responded in the bottom of the frame thanks to two errors, a bases-loaded walk, and a base hit, though the Everett defense limited the damage on the hit when right fielder Ashley made a relay throw to first-baseman Mason, who in turn threw home to catcher Maria-Babcock for the out at home plate.
The Lady Mustangs then added three runs in the fifth to move out to a 5-1 advantage.
Everett got one back in the sixth with Dresser scoring after a lead-off double, but that would prove to be as close as the Tide would get the rest of the way. Everett loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh (Davila drew a walk, Longmore doubled, and Dresser was hit by a pitch), but was unable to score.
“This was not the hitting team that we have been seeing all year,” noted Schiavo, whose squad has scored 141 runs in their nine wins. “This loss is not one we wanted, but it may have woken us up a bit.”
Schiavo and her crew will seek to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney when they host GBL rival Lynn Classical today (Wednesday) at Glendale at 4:15. They will travel to non-league opponent Boston Latin Academy on Friday before returning home to meet Lynn English next Monday. They will travel to Somerville next Wednesday.
With the 2024 season just about at the halfway point, the statistical leaders for the Tide are as follows:
Pitching:
Peyton Warren: ERA=2.58, K=50, W=22, IP=46
Batting:
Alexa Uga: .750, singles=12, doubles=4, triples=4, home runs=1;
Olivia Dresser: .607, singles=20, doubles=7, triples=1, home runs=3;
Emma Longmore: .586, singles=15, doubles=8, triples=7;
Bryanna Mason: .500, singles=11, doubles=4, triples=1, home runs=1;
Ashley Seward: .469, singles=9, doubles=6; and
Emilia Maria-Babcock: .458, singles=9, doubles=1, triples=1.