winter sports wraps
Boys’ basketball
Boys’ basketball, 16-6, played up to the second round after qualifying for the MIAA South Division 1 Sectionals for the 31st consecutive year.
Despite not making it as far into the tournament as they had hoped, they “still matured and grew together to play better” throughout the season, according to senior Tom Andreae, a captain with seniors Tyson Duncan and Grayson Hargens.
For Andreae, one of the highlights of the season came during the game against King Philip Regional High School because “the team played well, and there were a lot of North fans present to support the team.”
While there was no decisive turning point of the season, the team “progressively became closer and tighter,” added Andreae.
Andreae and Duncan were named Bay State Conference All-Stars, and senior Khalil Lofton earned an honorable mention.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the boys’ basketball season.
Boys’ gymnastics
Boys’ gymnastics, 10-0, won the MIAA Division I State Championship for the sixth consecutive year.
According to senior Jacob Forbes, a captain with junior Matthew Hassan, the standard for the season was domination, which they achieved, not losing a single meet all season.
Forbes added that the highlight of the season was a narrow 3/10 of a point victory over Attleboro. He said,“The confidence really kicked in, and we managed to get a win.”
The team’s hard work was rewarded, both by the state championship trophy, and the accolades accrued by the members. South junior Jonah Henderson was named gymnast of the year, while Forbes and Hassan were both Boston Herald and Boston Globe All-Scholastics. Forbes also won senior gymnast of the year.
Next year’s captains are Hassan, Henderson, and South junior Adrian Michael.
Read more about the boys’ gymnastics season.
Boys’ ice hockey
This is a fall wrap and will be replaced asap. Cheer placed 13th in their first State Championship appearance in many years and fourth in the Regional Championship.
According to senior Izzy Day, a captain with seniors Christina Giglio and Danielle Nicolazzo, “Our goal as a team was to make it to States this year and we did it.”
The team, made of 33 members, also placed third in the Bay State Conference Championship. Placing third in Bay States was a highlight of the year, according to Day. She added, “it was a really good season for us.”
Day and Giglio earned Bay State All-Star honorable mentions. Nicolazzo was awarded the sportsmanship award.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the boy’s hockey season.
Boys’ indoor track
Boys’ Indoor Track, 5-0, continued their 23-year undefeated streak in the Bay State Conference, placing first in the Bay State Conference Championship and second in the MIAA Division I State Championship.
“Keeping up that 23-year streak was a huge deal for us,” said senior Raghav Kadambi, a captain with seniors Jack Fitzgerald, Alex Ivanov, and Otis Love. “As a team, I think we did really well.”
Kadambi credited the successful season to the guidance of the coaches and the growth of the team.
“The work ethic of the team was something that was so admirable,” Kadambi added. “Everyone stepped up this year and you really saw the growth as the season went on.”
Fitzgerald, Ivanov, Kadambi, Love, senior Ian Horsburgh, and juniors David Bennett, Bruce Burba, and Alex Sherman, and sophomore Max Klein were named Bay State All-Stars. Senior James Regan earned an honorable mention. Additionally, Bennett, Burba, Kadambi, and Sherman were named Boston Globe and Boston Herald All Scholastics for the 4×400 relay.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the boys’ indoor track season.
Boy’s swim and dive
Boys’ swim, 5-5, placed 9th at MIAA Divison 1 South Sectionals, and 14th at the MIAA Division 1 State Championships.
“Overall, one of our main goals was to be a more serious, put-together, and motivated team,” said senior Colin Foley, a captain with seniors John Ryan Byers, Max Schaefer, and Xander Van Alstyne. “By the end of the season, I think it was clear that we definitely achieved that goal through a lot of hard work and determination to win.”
Schaefer added that the team had a very good postseason. “The team qualified for all three relays for States and we had some amazing individual performances,” he said. SophomoreWill Ayinon placed third in the 200 Individual Medley and Byers placed second in the one meter dive.
“I’m very excited to see what Coach Manning does with our great underclass for their upcoming season,” Schaefer said. “There is a lot of young talent on the team, and Manning is a great coach.”
Byers, Ayinon, and Vanderpool were named Bay State All-Stars.
Next year’s captains are juniors Elliot Alberst, Austin Chen, and Benjamin Ronell.
Read more about the boys’ swim and dive season.
Girls’ Basketball
Girls’ basketball, 14-7, advanced to the MIAA South Division 1 Sectionals before narrowly falling to Needham in the Semifinals. According to coach Mo Hamel, the team had great confidence and grew a lot throughout the season.
Hamel added that the team is grateful for the excellent leadership from the team’s captains, seniors Caroline Alexander, Taylor Bailey, Adriana Reilly, and junior Michaela O’Neil.
According to Hamel, some of the tangible goals the team had were to make the tournament and win more than half of their games, as well as play a home playoff game, both of which they achieved.
During the season, O’Neil was injured and unable to play, but the team stepped up and made up for the loss. “After we won against Natick, I think it gave them the confidence and realization that they really could win if they pulled through together, even though we didn’t have one of our players,” said Hamel.
Bailey, O’Neil, and sophomore Thalia Shephard all were named All-Stars, and freshman Abigail Wright earned an honorable mention.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the girls’ basketball season.
Girls’ gymnastics
Girls’ gymnastics, 5-3, had a season of rebuilding after losing a couple of talented seniors to graduation, according to senior Izzy Day, a captain with senior Heidi Matt.
According to coach Jessica Morrison the senior’s leadership helped to keep the team focused and motivated. She added, “I don’t think we would have even been able to have the record we have known without their assistance.”
Although the team did not make it to Sectionals, the team rallied around each other at important moments in the season, according to Morrison, “We went into our meet with Framingham, knowing that we were probably going to lose, but the girls were awesome.” She said, “They were cheering each other on and they knew that it wasn’t necessarily about winning or losing the meet but it was about how well they could individually do.”
Despite not qualifying as a team for the tournament, three members qualified for the state individual meet. Day qualified for uneven bars, sophomore Sivan Danziger qualified for all-around, and sophomore Kathy Mitchell qualified for uneven bars.
Day, senior Olivia Mooradian, Danziger and Mitchell were all named Bay-State All-Stars. Senior Heidi Matt earned an honorable mention.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the girls’ gymnastics season.
Girls’ ice hockey
Girls’ Ice Hockey, 5-13-2, had a long season of growth in the co-op team’s second year running, according to senior Lila O’Neil, a captain with seniors Lydia Mastroianni, South’s Taylor Paterson and Zoe Verdone.
Made up of both North and South students, the team aimed to meld students from both schools into one cohesive team. “Our goal was to promote a positive attitude and environment for the team and to just try and get closer and build the program,” said O’Neil.
According to Beals House dean Scott Heslin, the coach, although the team did not make it to the tournament this year, the players still came together and gave 100 percent. “One of our goals was to play hard every game and skate hard and I would say we definitely accomplished that,” he said.
A highlight of the season came against Medford, according to Heslin. “The team just played hard until the final horn and we got a win in that game because of the effort from everybody on the team,” he said.
Junior Olivia Slywa earned an honorable mention for the Bay State Conference All-Stars.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the girls’ ice hockey season.
Nordic skiing
Nordic skiing placed 12th for the boys and eighth for the girls at the MIAA Nordic State Championships, in a successful season filled with improvement and collaboration, according to head coach Jeff Parker.
Junior Evan Hoch, a captain alongside seniors Ella Bailey, Jo Graham, Serena Jampel, Ali Lee, Bergen Nelson, and Griffin Steele, placed eighth at States for the boys, and senior Sophia Wax placed 18th for the girls, which were the two highest finishes.
In addition, the girls won the Mass Bay East (MBE) Title. The win was led by Jampel, Bailey, Lee, and Wax, who according to Parker, were dominant against the other competing schools.
Hoch added that the team’s culture matched the competitive success they had this season. “What we’re really known for as a team is our community,” he said. “A lot of days we’re just out on the snow playing games and having a good time.”
Jampel, Bailey, and Lee were named MBE League All-Stars.
Next year’s captains are Hoch, and juniors Emma Ball, Matthew Dagostino, Hannah Price, and Kate Silagi.
Read more about the nordic season.
Wrestling
Wrestling, 10-8, had a successful season, filled with positivity and a focus on establishing a family atmosphere, according to campus aide John Staulo, the head coach. Junior Declan Griffin, a captain with seniors David Koo and Isaac Krieger, placed 6th at the New England High School Wrestling Championships.
According to Staulo, the team had a “high interest level” throughout the season, enabling each athlete to train hard.
Griffin added that the team community and chemistry improved this year. “In comparison to past seasons, it felt a lot more than a team this year,” he said. “We had a lot more team bonding events.We made an effort to be together outside of the room, as well as inside.”
Griffin added that the many sophomores displayed drastic improvement from last year. “An extra year of maturity definitely helped them both physically and mentally,” said Griffin. “They are a lot more competitive.”
Griffin was named a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic. Griffin and junior Nate Chandler were named Bay State Conference All-Stars.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the wrestling season.
fall sports wraps
Boys’ cross country
Boys’ cross country, 5-4, placed 15th in the Eastern Massachusetts State Championships but failed to make it to the MIAA Division 1 All-State Championship. “We wanted to try and make it to All-States this year but were unable to because our top two runners got injured in the last meet of the season,” said Louis Pearlman, the coach.
Despite falling short, Pearlman said that “the team had some great wins and some new members who definitely helped throughout the season.”
He added, “The team ended the season with a winning record thanks to the outstanding top freshman Tyler Tubman and Alex Hrycyszyn.”
A highlight of the season came when the team defeated Brookline 29-26. According to senior Ian Horsburgh, a captain with seniors Sean Evans, Alex Ivanov, and Sam Strymish, “The Brookline meet was a turning point when we finally came together with a number of outstanding performances.”
Horsburgh and Ivanov were named Bay State All-Stars.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the boys’ cross country season.
Boys’ soccer
Boys’ soccer, 7-6-5, qualified for the MIAA Division 1 North Sectionals, and beat Boston Latin and South Boston, before finally falling to Framingham 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
The team went into the state tournament as the 15th seed. After defeating Boston Latin 4-0, they went on to upset second-ranked East Boston 1-0. “It was great to upset a 2 seed,” said math teacher Samuel Shoutis, an assistant coach.
Led by seniors Max Johnston, Toby Lowe, and PJ Membrino as captains, the team achieved their goals of making it to the tournament and winning “One or more games in the tournament,” said Shoutis.
Although the boys did not accomplish their goals of winning the division, or ambitiously to win the state tournament, they look forward to improving and growing as a team.
Johnston and sophomore Will Rooney were named Bay State All-Stars.
Next year’s captains are junior Jay Sharma and Rooney.
Read more about the boys’ soccer season.
Cheerleading
Cheer placed 13th in their first State Championship appearance in many years and fourth in the Regional Championship.
According to senior Izzy Day, a captain with seniors Christina Giglio and Danielle Nicolazzo, “Our goal as a team was to make it to States this year and we did it.”
The team, made of 33 members, also placed third in the Bay State Conference Championship. Placing third in Bay States was a highlight of the year, according to Day. She added, “it was a really good season for us.”
Day and Giglio earned Bay State All-Star honorable mentions. Nicolazzo was awarded the sportsmanship award.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the cheerleading season.
Dance
Girls’ dance won first place in three out of the four competitions they attended, and placed second to Framingham at States, which was the teams’ greatest accomplishment, according to senior Maya Waldor, a fall captain with fall captain senior Ladi Roach, and winter captains .
This season brought many new challenges due to the team competing using pom-poms for the first time ever, but according to coach Caroline Nunberg, “they really rallied for each performance; they wanted it.”
Nunberg added that the team overall had higher scores than in the past, which is a result of how hard they worked during practices.
Waldor said that a turning point in the season came after the first football game performance. “That’s when everyone realized what we’re working for. We all became close friends which was really great,” she said.
Emily Flekel and senior Olivia Tocci were named Bay State All-Stars. Junior Dani Imperato won the sportsmanship award.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the dance season.
Field hockey
Field Hockey, 7-8-4, qualified for the MIAA Division I State Tournament for the first time in six years.
According to senior Gabby Gilpin, a captain with seniors Jen Buras, Yunah Jang, and Darcy Rougeaux, making the state tournament was the primary goal of the team throughout the season. “We all worked incredibly hard together as a team to achieve this,” said Gilpin. “When we realized how real and possible the goal was, we became more focussed, and took practices more seriously.”
One of the main highlights of the season came in the Senior Day game against Weymouth. According to Jang, the team’s 3-2 victory enabled them to make the state tournament. “We knew the game would be pretty evenly matched going in, and it was 2-2 throughout most of the game,” said Jang. “Then with three seconds left in the game, we scored and we couldn’t have been more excited or happy in that moment.”
Coach Kristy Moore added, “I am so proud of everyone, the team dynamic, and how well everyone bonded and worked together.”
Rougeaux and junior Mary Williams were named Bay State All-Stars and Gilpin earned an honorable mention.
Next year’s captains are Williams, junior Isabelle Magré, and other players who are to be determined.
Read more about the field hockey season.
Football
Football, 3-4, qualified for the MIAA Division 1 South Sectionals but fell to Brockton 48-14 in the first round. “We had some untimely injuries to some key guys,” said head coach Mike Coppola.
Coppola added that the team was really proficient in bouncing back from the multitude of setbacks and injuries throughout the season. “I was impressed with their ability to keep working and grinding,” said Coppola.
“There was a lot of hype going into the season,” said senior Michael Coscione, a captain with seniors Nolan Boyer and Andrew Landry. “We were projected to be a pretty high seed.”
According to Coscione, while the team was unable to achieve the amount of success it had hoped for, there were still positive takeaways. Coscione said he was proud of the second team players for stepping up, which prevented the team’s injuries from stopping the Tigers’ season. When it came to playing the younger second-team players, according to Coppola, “At the time it wasn’t good because they were getting their experience on the run. But now, they’ve got the experience and it is good for next year in terms of these guys coming back.”
Landry was named a Boston Herald All-Scholastic. Landry and seniors Alessio Calcagni, Tyson Duncan, and junior Evan Thompson were named Bay State All-Stars.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the football season.
Girls’ cross country
Girls’ cross country, 5-4, placed 4th in the Eastern Massachusetts Championship and 14th in the MIAA All-State Indoor Track Championships, showing drastic improvement from last year’s 2-7 record..
According to senior Sonya Gelfand, a captain with seniors Kendra Abbott, Lucy Bronstein, and Helena Teixeira DaSilva, “The growth that every individual player showed was a real turning point. Everyone grew as a runner and we all grew closer together through meets and practices.”
The team’s goal was to be “as competitive as possible in the Bay State Conference, which is always a challenge. Certainly, on the girls’ side, we are the strongest conference in the state,” said math teacher Brandon Mogayzel, the coach. He added that after setting out to reach the State Championships at the beginning of the season, the team was happy to achieve that goal.
While cross country is an individual-based sport, according to Gelfand, the team’s ability to come together took the spotlight this season. “People think that cross country is an individual sport. But the reality is that it is very team-oriented,” she said. “As captains, one of our main goals was to bring the team together.”
Teixeira-Dasilva, sophomore Vivian Kane and sophomore Charlotte Kouroriez, were named Bay State Conference All-Stars. Senior Katherine Benninger earned an honorable mention.
Next year’s captains are juniors Audrey Boucher, Jessie Coomber, Lila Kritzer, and Isabella Rizzo.
Read more about the girls’ cross country season.
Girls’ soccer
Girls’ Soccer, 4-9-2, continued to improve throughout the season despite many tough games.
Much of the Tigers’ perseverance was due to their team community and support. The team’s culture was exemplified by their slogan: “United we play, United we win.”
A highlight of the season came on Senior Day against Wellesley. Earlier in the season, Wellesley defeated the Tigers 7-1, but this time the Tigers triumphed 1-0.
“It was a really tough game, but we really turned it around and everybody had a really great performance,” said senior Kate Rooney, a captain with seniors Chessie Chinitz and Leah Stonehill.
The team’s improvement was in large part due to the coaching of English teacher Alicia Carrillo, the head coach, alongside special education teacher Brian Rooney, the assistant coach.
Some younger blood made a difference for the team this year as well. According to Kate Rooney, sophomore Lilly Ranalli, who didn’t have a huge impact on the team her freshman year, was very aggressive and scored many of the team’s goals this year. Kate Rooney added, “A lot of the time it comes down to speed and physicality.”
Although the team did not make it as far as they wanted, according to Kate Rooney the team was very united.
Kate Rooney was named a Bay State Conference All-Star.
Next year’s captains are juniors Jessica Minkin, Catalina Powderly, and Malia Sung.
Read more about the girls’ soccer season.
Girls’ swim and dive
Girls’ Swim and Dive, 4-5, placed third in the MIAA Division I Swim and Dive State Championship with 199 points and fourth in Swim and Dive South Sectional with 228 points.
The team started the year strong with two consecutive wins but faltered losing the next two meets. James Saidnawey, the coach, said that this start humbled the team. After finishing out the season 2-3, they went on to place fifth in the Bay State Conference.
“They all had personal bests,” said Saidnawey. “They were all getting better throughout the season.”
Saidnawey added that a number of North athletes qualified and competed in states, including senior Anna Rahilly, a captain with seniors Bella Donovan, Rebecca Longo, and Ella McNally.
“The team definitely came together,” said Saidnawey. “They were always positive about it, really optimistic. Definitely the captains helped lead the team that way.”
Sophomore Honour Dufresne was named a Bay State All-Star this year.
Next year’s captains are juniors Alex Filipova, Katherine Kett, Daisy Proskauer, and Karen Tong.
Read more about the girls’ swim and dive season.
Girls’ volleyball
Girls’ volleyball, 16-2, finished second in the Bay State Conference, but fell short of winning its second straight State Championship, after Needham defeated the Tigers in the MIAA Division 1 Central/East Sectional Semi-Finals.
The team’s goal was to defend their State Championship according to senior Liisa Halloran, a captain with seniors Caroline Alexander, Christina Butera, Anna Gately, and Kayla Rigoli. While they were unable to achieve their goal, Halloran said, “more importantly than winning I think is that our program stresses becoming a well rounded confident player.”
Coach Richard Barton praised the leadership of the captains. He said that they stepped up after a lot of strong players graduated last year.
A highlight of the season came on Senior Night against Wellesley. The team won, and according to Halloran, “Senior Night is always memorable and the underclassmen did a great job with their speeches and decorating the gym as well as getting a lot of people to show up.”
Overall, Barton said the team’s strengths this season included defense, setting, attacking, and serving. “I don’t think I could name any of the leading scorers on the team because every single one of the 16 players play at the varsity level and I’m very proud of them,” he added.
Junior Tessa Lanfear was named a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic. Butera, Halloran, Lanfear and junior Makayla Marucci were named Bay State All-Stars. Lanfear and Marucci were named to the Massachusetts Girls’ Volleyball Coaches Association All-State team.
Next year’s captains are Lanfear, Marucci, and juniors Emma Larson, Sofia Landry, and Giulia Morgan.
Read more about the girls’ volleyball season.
Golf
Golf, 7-4, qualified for the MIAA Division 1 North Sectionals for the second year in a row after starting the season off strong with three consecutive wins, which allowed the team to qualify for playoffs halfway through the season.
Although the team “didn’t do as well as they had hoped at sectionals,” according to senior Jake Forbes, a captain with senior Pete Delmonico, under the coaching of health and wellness teacher Robert MacDougall, the team did still well at the Bay State Championships.
The team’s main goal, according to Forbes, was to qualify for the State Championships, something the team hasn’t achieved in about ten years. While they didn’t qualify, many team veterans, including seniors Theo Sox and Jacob Teszler, stepped up in the second half of the season.
According to Forbes, one of the season highlights was beating top-ranked Braintree at Brae Burn Country Club, the Tigers’ home course. Forbes said that the win was due to good individual performances.
According to Forbes, overall, “the team really came together to create a memorable season.”
Teszler was named Bay State All-Star.
Next year’s captains are to be determined.
Read more about the golf season.
Unified basketball
Unified basketball, 1-4, added more team members this year and worked to foster new relationships between students at North.
The co-ed varsity basketball team is a unique program that allows students with disabilities, partnered alongside their peers, to experience playing on a varsity sports team at North.
Since it began last year, the team has grown from 10 to 30 athletes. According to math teacher Keith Whelan, a coach, “That is the number one thing that stands out: how interested the students at North were in joining the team.”
Whelan added the number one goal of the team is to “foster connections or relationships between different students in the building and to increase inclusion in our school.”
While the team wants to win, “it is not really about how many games you win or lose, but it is about the feeling you have when you are with those people,” said Whelan. “It’s the relationships that are built as we go and that sense of team.”
According to senior Brendan Whalen, a team-member, “My favorite part of the season for unified was being with my friends and the coaches. I am so happy that I am a Tiger.”
Read more about the unified basketball season.
