By ERIC BENEVIDES
Valley Breeze Sports Editor
sports@valleybreeze.com
Championships, milestones, records – you name it, the athletes, coaches, and teams from Cumberland and Lincoln did it in 2015.
Here’s a rundown of the highlights:
• Days before 2014 came to a close, Cumberland High wrestling coach Steve Gordon picked up his 500th career victory, courtesy of a 63-15 triumph over Narragansett in the Clippers’ Division I crossover opener. That win raised Gordon’s 47-year coaching record to 500-198-7.
• Cumberland High boys’ cross country coach Tom Kenwood was selected the 2014 Northeast Sectional Coach of Year in cross country by the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) Coaches Association.
• One of the top stories of the winter came from the Lincoln High girls’ swim team, which captured the Division II championship at Roger Williams University, the program’s first title in 12 years.
Led by Mollie Westrick, who took the 200-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle and helped the 200-yard individual medley relay team win its relay, the Lions scored 372 points, 12 more than second-place East Greenwich.
Westrick also came back the following weekend to win two events at the RIIL Championships at Brown University. Not only did she break the state record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.91 seconds, but she also captured the 100-yard freestyle in 51.76 seconds.
• The Cumberland High boys’ indoor track and field team went unbeaten at 9-0 during its Northern Division dual-meet season for the 12th straight winter. The Clippers, who have lost just two dual meets over the past 17 seasons, later went on to win the Northern Division Championships by winning a dozen events and amassing 209 points.
• Cumberland High indoor track and field star Meaghan Scullin delivered an amazing performance at the girls’ Large Schools Championships. She scored 36 points by winning three events, the 300, high jump, and long jump, and placing third in the 55-meter dash.
But Scullin wasn’t done there. She repeated as the state’s long jump champion at the RIIL Championships with a leap of 17 feet, 9 1/4 inches that was more than 7 inches better than the runner-up finisher.
Also taking second places at the RIIL meet were Lincoln High’s Dariy Esenov in the high jump and Cumberland High’s Jared Talbert in the 55-meter hurdles.
• The Cumberland High wrestling team had an exceptional weekend at the RIIL Championships at the Providence Career & Technical Academy field house. Not only did senior Nick Giorgio win the 195-pound championship, but junior Nate Skawinski was also the runner-up for the 182-pound title and the Clippers placed second in the team standings to mighty Bishop Hendricken.
• The Cumberland High boys’ hockey team nearly followed up the Division II championship the Clippers won in 2014 with a Division I title last March, but Burrillville swept the Clippers in the best-of-three finals at Brown University by scores of 3-0 and 5-1. The Clippers, who won their first 16 games of the season, ended up with a 19-3 mark.
• Lincoln’s Ethan Robson and Ryan Kelly and Cumberland’s Tyler Walsh and Tom Pawlitschek helped the La Salle Academy boys’ hockey team win its first state championship in 38 seasons.
• Lincoln High’s Mike Morra became the fourth wrestler in the history of the Lions’ wrestling program to reach 100 victories. The 132-pound standout hit the milestone by pinning Middletown’s Matt Carlone during the Lions’ 60-21 victory on Jan. 21.
Less than a month later, Morra’s teammate, Alex DaSilva, joined the exclusive 100-win club with a 52-second pin of Central Falls’ Pedro Diaz on Feb. 17.
And speaking of the team, the Lions posted a 17-5 record and reached the semifinal round of the Haig Varadian Division II Dual-Meet Championships.
• One year after splitting the Northern Division championship with Burrillville and Woonsocket, the North Cumberland Middle School boys’ basketball team took sole possession of the division title by posting a 14-0 record. NCMS also won its first three games of the state playoffs, but lost in the championship game to Feinstein.
• Cumberland native Hilary Dionne was the 15th female finisher at the Boston Marathon, posting a 2:40:42 time (and getting escorted to the finish line by the 2014 men’s champion, Meb Keflezighi).
• Lincoln High senior Joe Taylor became a state champion in the javelin at the RIIL Championships at Brown University, as his first-place throw of 181 feet, 3 inches was more than 11 feet farther than the runner-up finisher. He also earned All-New England honors in his event at the New England Championships by placing sixth with a throw of 169-8.
Cumberland High had quite a few athletes take second-place finishes at the RIIL meet, such as the boys’ 4x800 relay team of David Agudelo, Kody Sankey, Will Mardo, and James Haupt, Talbert in the boys’ 110-meter high hurdles, Andrew Walters in the boys’ shot put, and Nichole Barger in the girls’ 800 meters.
• The Cumberland High boys’ lacrosse team reached the Division II championship match at Brown University, but lost to the Prout School, 11-8. The Clippers, who were 11-5 and seeking their first title since they won the Division III crown in 2009, had entered the finals with victories in eight of their final nine games.
• Lincoln resident and Rhode Island College junior Ed Cummins earned All-American honors in the hammer at the NCAA Division III Men’s Track & Field Championships in Canton, N.Y. He placed sixth in the hammer with a throw of 59.12 meters.
• The Cumberland High baseball team reached the state finals at McCoy Stadium, only to lose to Bishop Hendricken in three exciting games. In the deciding Game 3, the Hawks, featuring Cumberland native Dante Baldelli, nipped the Clippers in 10 innings, 2-1, but the player of the game was Cumberland High southpaw pitcher Jake Rockefeller, who tossed nine scoreless innings of three-hit ball, recording 14 groundball outs, striking out five batters, and allowing no walks and an unearned run.
• The North Cumberland Middle School baseball team went 18-0 to capture the state championship for the second time in the last four years. In the finals, NCMS defeated the state’s other undefeated team, Feinstein, 1-0.
• Lincoln’s Ethan Robson, a member of the four-time state champion La Salle Academy boys’ lacrosse team, was named a Brine National High School All-American.
• Cumberland’s Jordan McComb, who graduated from Mount St. Charles Academy last spring, was named the Cox Sports Awards’ Female Athlete of the Year. McComb received multiple All-Division honors in girls’ volleyball, hockey, and lacrosse during her marvelous career at Mount.
Among those who were named the top performers in the respective sports were another local Mount St. Charles athlete, Cumberland’s Elizabeth Gross (girls’ swimming), Cumberland High senior Maddie Andrews (girls’ lacrosse), and McComb (girls’ hockey), and Cumberland’s Dave Belisle, the head coach of the Cumberland American Little League baseball team that reached the Little League World Series in 2004, received the Ben Mondor Award for Community Service.
• The Upper Deck Post 86/14 baseball team, which was made up of players from Lincoln and Cumberland, had a marvelous season that saw the ballclub not only win the regular-season title with a 23-3 record, but also capture the state championship, its first since the team played under the Cumberland Post 14 colors and claimed state titles in 2003, ‘05, and ‘06. Post 14/86’s 7-1 victory over South Kingstown Post 39 in the title game raised their overall record to 33-5. Lincoln High graduate Mason Palmieri was named the game’s MVP after tossing two-hit ball in six scoreless innings of work.
In the Northeast Regionals in Bristol, Conn., Upper Deck picked up three more wins and was two victories away from another title and a spot in the American Legion World Series, but Post 86/14 suffered a 9-8 loss to Bristol, Conn., (that took 12 innings to complete) in its bid to earn a berth in the finals.
• The Lincoln Little League’s Major Division all-star baseball team captured the District IV championship for the 17th time in the last 25 years by posting a 4-0 record and defeating Smithfield in the finals, 8-4.
Unfortunately, Lincoln lost in the state finals to Cranston West Little League, which ruled back-to-back games with Lincoln by identical 12-0 scores and went on to represent New England in the Little League World Series.
• The Cumberland Little League’s Major Division all-star softball team won its sixth straight Major Division title by posting a 10-3 victory over Lincoln, and the Senior Division all-star baseball team also captured a District IV banner by sweeping a doubleheader from Smithfield by scores of 12-2 and 12-0.
• The Lincoln Little League’s U9 all-star baseball team won four straight tournaments during the summer, the Lower Cape Cod Tournament, Fairhaven-Acushnet Tournament, Pesky Peckham Tournament in Tiverton, and the Jimmy Fund Tournament in Woonsocket.
• Former Cumberland High football/track and field standout and assistant coach Matt Campanelli became the Clippers’ new athletic director.
• Cumberland’s Jennifer Wasson was also named the new athletic director at Bay View Academy.
• The Lincoln High field hockey team christened Ferguson Field’s new turf surface in style by posting a 2-1 victory over the Lincoln School.
• The Cumberland High field hockey team netted its first championship in its program’s history by defeating South Kingstown High in the Division II finals at Roger Williams University, 3-0.
Led by an offense that saw Karin Dion score 23 goals and Mackenzie Cotter lead the state with 17 assists and a dominant defense that allowed just two goals all season (both coming in a 4-2 victory over Rocky Hill in the quarterfinals), the Clippers posted a sparkling 19-0 record.
• The Cumberland High girls’ soccer team saw a marvelous season come to a cruel, heartbreaking ending in the state championship match against La Salle Academy at Rhode Island College. The Rams, thanks to a goal by freshman Olivia Freitas with 12.9 seconds to play in regulation, posted a 1-0 victory.
The Clippers, who ended the season with a 15-4-1 record, were back in the state finals for the first time since their undefeated 2004 season.
One of the Clippers, junior striker Julianne Ross, was one of 43 players (10 from New England) selected to the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) Fall High School All-America team. The two-time All-Stater scored 22 goals and added nine assists.
• The Lincoln Lions’ U8 football team wrapped up a wonderful 11-0 season by capturing the BVYFC (Blackstone Valley Youth Football Conference) Super Bowl with a 32-6 victory over the Central Falls Panthers at Durfee High School in Fall River, Mass.
• Cumberland’s Andrew Kun, in just his second season as a competitive race car driver, captured “Fast Friday” Pure Stocks championship at Seekonk Speedway.
• Among the local high school student-athletes to publicly make their collegiate plans official were Cumberland’s Dante Baldelli (Boston College, baseball), Chris Wright (Bryant University, baseball), Amy Laverty (Quinnipiac University, women’s cross country/track and field), Will Mardo (Assumption College, men’s cross country/track and field), and Madison Soullier (Assumption College, women’s track and field), and Lincoln’s Jack Bacon (Boston College, men’s soccer), Mollie Westrick (University of Pennsylvania, women’s swimming), and Marissa Isabella (College of Saint Rose, women’s golf).
• The Cumberland High boys’ and girls’ cross country teams had three athletes earn All-State honors at the RIIL Championships at Ponaganset High. Junior Ben Drezek, a newcomer to the cross country scene, earned First-Team honors by placing sixth in the boys’ 3.1-mile race in a 16:02.6 time, and senior Sean Laverty, a First-Team pick last season, copped a spot on the Second Team by finishing eighth in 16:13. On the girls’ side, senior Amy Laverty landed on the Second Team for the fourth straight season by finishing 11th in 19:07.
In the team standings, the girls finished in third place with 131 points, while the boys were fourth with 124. As a result, they earned berths in the New England Championships in Thetford, Vt. Drezek earned a spot on the All-New England team by placing 12th at the New Englands in a 16:39 time.
• Cumberland’s Audrey O’Neill and Lincoln’s Elise Papazian helped the La Salle Academy girls’ cross country team win its third straight state championship and repeat as New England champs.
• The North Cumberland Middle School boys’ and girls’ cross country teams doubled up on their competition at the state championship meet at Goddard Park. The girls, who a week earlier had clinched their fifth straight Northern Division championship, won the state title for the fourth time in the last five years (and seventh since 2006).
Eighth-grader Adah Anderson also became the fourth runner in the program’s history to place first in the girls’ race, as she covered the 1.8-mile course in an 11:47.2 time.
As for the boys, who had won their third straight Northern Division title, they were state champs for the first time in seven years.
• The area’s two high school volleyball teams enjoyed memorable seasons. Cumberland High, in just its second season back in the state’s top league, went 11-7 to finish in second place in the Division I-North standings, while Lincoln High went 14-2 in Division II-North for its best season since 2004 and first winning season since 2007.
• After 39 seasons, Cumberland resident Phil Pincince retired as the head coach of the Brown University women’s soccer team. His career record was 324-254-55.
• The Davies Tech boys’ soccer team won its first Division III championship in 20 years by beating Woonsocket High in the finals, 4-1. During the regular season, the Patriots finished in first place with a 10-2-2 record and outscored their opponents, 49-17.
• Sean Cavanaugh’s first season as the Lincoln High head football coach saw the Lions return to the Division III playoffs with a 5-3 record and nearly knock off undefeated East Greenwich High in the semifinals, but the Avengers held on for a 32-27 victory.
• The 1966-67 Cumberland High boys’ basketball team and “The Ladies of the Club” were this year’s honorees at the 4th annual Night of Legends ceremony, which was hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of Cumberlabd-Lincoln and the Roadshow, a group of Boys & Girls Club alumni.
• Cumberland’s Chris Magill captured the USATF New England Masters Cross Country Championship at Boston’s Franklin Park, winning the 4.97-mile race in a time of 26:47, and first place in the 40-44 age group in the USATF New England Road Race Grand Prix championship series.
• Lincoln’s Rich Gingras retired from boxing after putting together a magnificent career that saw him win seven amateur championships, capture the New England and UBF (Universal Boxing Federation) titles in 2014, and post a professional record of 15-5-1 with nine knockouts.
Town:
Cumberland
Pubzone:
Cumberland, Lincoln area
Category:
Sports
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Lincoln swim, Upper Deck baseball, Cumberland field hockey teams highlight 2015
Email:
sports@valleybreeze.com
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