Sports

2008 Year in Review


Published: January 4, 2009

January

Jan. 2: Andover sophomore Chris McConnell set the league record with a 5.3 in the 50-yard dash.

Jan. 2: North Reading's Tim McAuliffe scored with less than a second left to beat Newburyport 3-2.

Jan. 4: Londonderry girls basketball, which had never led in the game, beat Salem, 59-58, on Courtney Morissette's buzzer-beater.

Jan. 8: Kelvin Correa scored a lay-up at the buzzer to give Greater Lawrence a 59-57 win over Lynn Tech.

Jan. 8: Sam Wheeler of Timberlane joined the 1,000-career-point club.

Jan. 15: Salem's Kevin Sledge hit two 3-pointers in the final 17.7 seconds to beat Dover, 62-61, and extend the Blue Devils' Class L winning streak to 16 games.

Jan. 15: First-year Greater Lawrence Tech coach Dan Habib won his 200th career boys basketball game.

Jan. 16: In a battle of boys basketball unbeatens, Lowell outscored Central Catholic 20-4 in the final 6:03 en route to a 61-53 victory.

Jan. 19: Meghan Thomann of Andover surpassed 1,000 career points.

Jan. 21: Central Catholic, which lost to Catholic Memorial, 10-1, last year in the Super 8 tourney, earned a stunning 2-2 with the unbeaten Knights on a goal by Justin Kurek with 32 seconds to play.

Jan. 21: Central Catholic hockey player Tim Houston went over 100 career points.

Jan. 22: Merrimack men's basketball coach Bert Hammel won his 400th career game.

Jan. 22: Lawrence's Justin Nieves exploded for 40 points and eight 3-pointers in an 86-62 win over Tewksbury.

Jan. 23: Andover hockey player John Hyslip scored his 100th career point.

Jan. 26: In an interstate showdown between powerhouses Lowell and Timberlane, confusion reigned with Lowell claiming victory and Timberlane feeling it was a tie. The confusion stemmed over if Federation or Massachusetts tie-breaker rules (in this case the number of pins) should be used. It eventually was ruled a tie.

Jan. 28: Central Catholic boys track won the final relay to complete a comeback from an early 36-9 deficit against Lowell. The 44-42 victory gave Central the MVC Division 1 title.

Jan. 29: North Andover boys basketball coach Mike McVeigh won his 400th career game as the Knights beat Triton 58-37.

Jan. 29: Central Catholic boys basketball knocked off unbeaten Lowell, 72-66, behind 20 points from Billy Marsden.

February

Feb. 1: Louann Santos of Methuen appeared on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" and won the "human bowling" competition to win a VIP Super Bowl ticket.

Feb. 2: Amanda Shannon of North Andover scored a career-high 30 points, including the game-winner with five seconds left, as Merrimack beat AIC, 60-58.

Feb. 3: New York Giants rookie Zak DeOssie of North Andover became one of only 10 father-son combinations to play in a Super Bowl. His father Steve was on the Giants' team which won Super Bowl XXV.

Feb. 5: Pelham's Justin Hojlo cracked the 1,000-career-point barrier.

Feb. 8: Methuen's Romeo Diaz erupted for 51 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists in a triple-overtime win over Dracut.

Feb. 8: Andover girls and Central Catholic boys rolled to the titles at the MVC Track and Field Championships.

Feb. 9: Marc Marois won the 200 individual medley and was part of two winning relay to lead the Pinkerton boys to their first state swimming title.

Feb. 9: Jolena Diefendorf and Leeann Vadala starred as Salem repeated as state gymnastics champions.

Feb. 9: Greater Lawrence Tech wrestling rolled to the Division 2 North sectional title.

Feb. 12: Boys basketball coach Dave Fazio won his 300th game at Andover High.

Feb. 12: In a controversial move, Methuen used only two wrestlers in its Division 1 North semifinal matchup with Chelmsford. The Lions rolled 22-6.

Feb. 13: Heavyweight Chris Sharpe set the tone as Greater Lawrence whipped Central Catholic, 69-12, to claim the Division 2 North wrestling title.

Feb. 16: Jarad Smith was one of nine champions for Timberlane wrestling, which rolled to its ninth straight Division 1 state title.

Feb. 16: Brooks boys basketball beat Thayer for the first time since 1986.

Feb. 16: Methuen's John Sughrue won his fourth straight Division 1 state wrestling title.

Feb. 17: Central Catholic girls basketball tripped Archbishop Williams, the top ranked team in Eastern Mass., 58-53 in the Comcast Tourney title game. Gabbie Polce scored a game-high 14 points for the Raiders.

Feb. 19: Salem boys basketball won its second straight Class L regular-season title. Prior to that the Blue Devils last title was in the 1981-82 season.

Feb. 23: Highlighted by impressive victories by Matt Morris and Alex Smith, Timberlane won its fifth straight Meet of Champions wrestling crown.

Feb. 24: At Division 1 States, Andover junior swimmer Nick D'Innocenzo won four events, sets a state record and broke a meet record held by two-time Olympic silver medalist Erik Vendt.

Feb. 24: North Andover's Kirsten Kasper repeated as 100 freestyle Division 1 state swimming champion.

Feb. 24: Methuen's John Sughrue won the 130-pound All-State wrestling title and became the fourth Bay State wrestler to record 200 wins in the process.

Feb. 24: The Methuen High girls basketball team spent the week assisting Katrina victims in Biloxi, Miss. The team had to raise $20,000 to make the trip.

Feb. 25: Central Catholic's Adrian Gonzalez joined the 1,000-point club.

Feb. 25: The 4x400 relay team of Vanessa Singleton, Kayley Pettoruto, Laura Cody and Colleen Shannon placed second to enable Andover to rally from behind to capture the All-State track meet.

Feb. 25: Andover girls hockey beat Needham on a Sarah Oteri goal with 15 seconds to play in an opening-round state tourney game.

March

March 1: Timberlane won its sixth New England wrestling title and Salem's Trevor Dearden (125) was named Outstanding Wrestler. Timberlane's Brian Nicoll (heavyweight) and Methuen's John Sughrue (130) also won titles.

March 2: Despite seeing their coach, John Fagula, collapse with 1:16 left in the game, the Londonderry girls basketball team beat Salem, 37-35, in the Class L semifinals. Later in the week the legendary coach had a pacemaker implanted.

March 4: Central Catholic boys basketball, which trailed by four with less than a minute left in the Division 1 North semifinals, forced overtime on a Carson Desrosiers lay-up at the buzzer then beat Charlestown in overtime. The Townies were the top-ranked team in Eastern Mass.

March 4: Andover girls basketball, which had been ousted by Lowell the last two years in the Division 1 North semifinals, got its revenge by whipping the Red Raiders in the North semis. Lauren Hughes and Camille Fantini each scored 12 points in the win.

March 4: Georgetown junior Taryn O'Connell surpassed 1,000 career points.

March 8: Mr. Clutch, Billy Marsden, recorded a three-point play with 24.1 seconds left to give Central Catholic a 55-53 win over Lowell in the Division 1 North finals before 5,500 fans at the Tsongas Arena.

March 8: Lauren Hughes tossed in 12 points as Andover completed a season sweep of Central Catholic with a 55-43 win in the Division 1 North girls basketball title game.

March 8: Pentucket girls basketball earned a return trip to the TDBanknorth Garden by dumping Winthrop in the Division 3 North final. Ashley Viselli's defense sparked the winners.

March 15: Behind 28 points from Adrian Gonzalez, Central Catholic boys basketball whipped St. John's of Shrewsbury, 68-47, to capture the Division 1 state title.

March 15: Salem manhandled Trinity, 66-45, to repeat as Class L boys basketball champions. Josh Jones and Mike Kimball combined for 36 points.

March 15: Andover girls basketball fell to Northampton, 50-37, in the Division 1 state final.

April

April 3: Methuen's Sarra Bergeron no-hit Everett.

April 9: Pinkerton's Cara Chooljian no-hit Trinity.

April 9: Freddy Alves and Justin Limoli starred as Haverhill volleyball rallied to topple St. John's Prep, which has won 9 of the last 10 MVC titles.

April 10: Greater Lawrence softball beat PMA 17-10, behind six RBIs from Tatiana Perez. It's the Reggies' first win over their Commonwealth Conference rivals since 1988, according to Reggies coach Jay Santomassino.

April 10: Central's Brendan Walsh no-hit Amesbury.

April 10: Northern Essex' Charlie Spears and Ariel Ramos no-hit Roxbury Community College in a 30-0 romp.

April 11: Pinkerton Academy track coach Walter Roberts administered CPR to revive a Astro hurdler Matt Statler who appeared to go into cardiac arrest.

April 12: Eagle-Tribune All-Star wrestler Kevin Sughrue of Methuen broke his back in a snowboarding accident.

April 14: Tricia Martin's third homer of the day, a three-run blast, gave Andover an 11-9 win over Chelmsford. The Golden Warriors had trailed 9-5 with two outs in the seventh.

April 14: Whittier's Austin Brodie cracked three homers, two of which were grand slams, and drove in 11 runs in a 20-7 win over Greater Lowell.

April 16: Samantha Stabile posted three eye-popping wins to carry Haverhill girls track over reigning indoor All-State champion Andover, 75-70.

April 16: In her varsity debut, Central Catholic freshman Meg Donegan, a recent call-up from the JV, struck out 10 in a 2-1 eight-inning over Billerica.

April 17: Londonderry's Justin Sproul scored 11 goals in 13-6 lacrosse win over Salem.

April 18: In a game in Cooperstown, Methuen baseball stunned Tewksbury, the top-ranked team in Eastern Mass.

May

May 2: Eric Perrault fanned 17 in a one-hitter as Salem blanked Dover, 6-0.

May 2: Unbeaten Winchester girls lacrosse scored twice in the final minute, including the game-winner with a second to play, to down Andover 9-8.

May 3: Andover girls lacrosse beat North Andover in honor of their coach John McVeigh, who can't be at the game as his wife is about to give birth.

May 5: Andover boys tennis coach Mike Wartman earned his 400th career victory.

May 5: Michael Johnson of Georgetown fanned 17 in eight shutout innings but Brooks lost 1-0 in 10 innings to Roxbury Latin.

May 9: Londonderry girls lacrosse beat Pinkerton for the first-time in the 10-year history of the Lancer varsity program.

May 10: Brooks' Britt Hart of North Andover struck out 19 and hit a homer in an 11-1 win over Thayer.

May 11: Timberlane junior Lindsey Patterson broke her own area record with a 12-0 clearance to win the pole vault at the Loucks Games in New York.

May 12: Methuen's Dave Koerner struck out 16 while scattering 13 hits in an eventful 6-5, 9-inning win over Lowell.

May 15: North Reading lacrosse player Marie Pescatore tallied her 200th career goal.

May 15: North Reading's Kevin O'Neil no-hit Hamilton-Wenham.

May 16: No-hit for seven innings, Pinkerton beat Merrimack in the eighth on Brandon Bell's RBI double.

May 17: Bryan Farris' RBI double in the ninth inning gave Phillips a 5-4 win over Worcester Academy in the Central New England Prep finals.

May 17: The Phillips Academy girls track team edged Exeter to capture the New England Prep Division 1 meet.

May 17: The Division 1 state champion Central Catholic boys basketball team is honored by MaxPreps, which ranked the Raiders 17th in the country among public and Catholic schools (prep schools weren't eligible).

May 19: Kevin Dunn, who had only three goals on the season, scored in the third overtime to give Pentucket an 11-10 win over Newburyport.

May 19: Andover girls lacrosse blitzed Billerica to complete its fourth straight perfect season in MVC play.

May 19: Georgetown's Tim Holland collected his 100th career hit.

May 25: MVP Ryan Walsh went the distance as Andover nipped Tewksbury 3-2 in the championship game of the Lawrence Invitational Baseball Tourney.

May 25: Marc Crowley's walk-off walk with two outs in the bottom of the seventh lifted Central Catholic past St. John's Prep 10-9.

May 28: Unbeaten Salem won its first championship in the 52-year history of the state boys tennis tourney, holding off Londonderry, 5-4, in the title match.

May 29: Haverhill boys volleyball stunned top seed Chelmsford, which had 20 won straight matches, 3-1 in the Division 1 North semifinals.

May 30: Pinkerton's Bree Robinson soared 19-4 1/2 in the Class L long jump to break the 31-year-old state record not to mention the meet and area marks.

May 30: Sara Missert earned a first and two seconds as the Central Catholic girls captured the Eastern Mass. Division 2 track title.

May 30: Georgetown won its Division 3 North first round baseball game over Winthrop on Anthony Conte's seventh-inning, walk-off single.

June

June 1: Haverhill boys tennis beat Beverly in the Division 1 North prelims for their first state tourney win in at least 19 years and perhaps ever.

June 2: Trailing by two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh of the Division 3 North baseball quarterfinals, top-seeded North Reading pulled out the miracle win against Georgetown All-Scholastic Tim Holland by scoring on a passed ball followed by two RBI walks.

June 3: Peabody had a run nullified in the bottom of the seventh due to interference and Sarra Bergeron pitched out of a seventh-inning jam as Methuen pulled out a 5-4 win in the Division 1 North quarterfinals.

June 3: Phil Johnson battled back from four match points to win his No. 3 singles match, the final match of the day, to give Andover a 3-2 win over Newton South in the Division 1 North quarterfinals.

June 3: Georgetown girls lacrosse led 18-16 with less than a minute left but Arlington tied the Division 2 North semifinal game with four seconds left. Arlington went up 21-18 with 1:30 left in OT but Heather Hartford tied it with three seconds left. Hartford netted the game winner, her 10th goal of the day, in sudden death.

June 3: Kelli Murphy held off Manchester Central's Margaret Teague 7-5, 7-5 to become the first Londonderry tennis player (boy or girl) ever to win a state individual title.

June 4: Londonderry's Brooke Beaudet no-hit Manchester Central.

June 4: Bishop Guertin goalie Brent Lyskawa of Londonderry played the game of his life to beat Pinkerton, 14-11, in the Division 1 title game. Just nine days earlier, Lyskawa had lost his younger brother in a motorcycle crash.

June 7: North Andover's Kirsten Kasper (mile), Haverhill's Samantha Stabile (200), North Reading's Shannon Conway (400), Salem's Mike Marshall (110 hurdles), Londonderry's Steve Carroll (400), Pinkerton's James Hatch (400), Timberlane's Lindsey Patterson (pole vault) and Pinkerton's Bree Robinson (long jump) captured All-State track titles.

June 14: North Reading's Shannon Conway destroyed the area record in the 400 meters en route to winning the New England track title.

June 14: Timberlane scored in the first inning and Steph Barrett made it stand up in the Class L title game against Salem to send coach Mike Sorter out a winner. Salem had won two straight titles and eight of the last 10.

June 14: Goffstown scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh and Salem left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh as the Grizzlies prevailed 4-3 in the Class L baseball finals.

June 22: Pinkerton's Bree Robinson nipped Londonderry's Becca Parascandola to repeat as state heptathlon champion.

July

July 1: Jolmi Minaya-Suriel struck out 20 as Methuen Legion beat Lynn Gautreau, 6-4, in 11 innings.

July 3: Andover High senior-to-be Nick D'Innocenzo finished 15th in the 200 IM at the U.S. Olympic Trials. He swam a 2:02.28 in the prelims and a 2:03.28 in the semifinals, both of which smashed his previous personal best of 2:06.52.

July 4: Kevin Alliette of Methuen won the Sons of Italy 5K Fourth of July Road Race.

July 6: San Francisco Giants reliever Brian Wilson of Londonderry was named to the National League All-Star team, making him only the second All-Star ever from our region. Steve Bedrosian of Methuen is believed to be the only other All-Star from the region in any major sport.

July 17: Benny Fernandez hit two late free throws to clinch Central Catholic's 68-65 win over Andover in the Hoops for Hope Bradner Tourney title game.

July 23: Katie Zenevitch scored 11 points to lead Central past Salem, 49-44, in the Hoops for Hope final.

August

Aug. 10: Andover's Ryan Hanigan, who was called up from Triple A the day before, belted a home run for the Cincinnati Reds in a game against the Houston Astros.

Aug. 10: Behind 33 points from Billy Marsden, Central Catholic trimmed Andover, 69-65, in the Hoops for Hope championship game.

Aug. 11: Ronda Rousey, who is trained by Methuen's Jimmy Pedro, won the women's judo 70-kilogram bronze medal. It's the first medal for a U.S. female since judo was added to the Olympics in 1992.

Aug. 17: Brooks School grad Elle Logan and Phillips Academy grad Caroline Lind helped the United States women's 8 rowing capture the Olympic gold medal.

September

Sept. 6: With only 18 players dressed, North Reading football knocked off Pentucket, 8-6.

Sept. 6: With 42 seconds left, Keene went for the game-winning two-point pass but Salem's Mitch Baldwin deflected it and Matt Stanton pulled it in for the interception and a 15-14 victory.

Sept. 10: Haverhill's Carlos Pena clocked a three-run homer in the top of the 14th inning to beat the Red Sox in a crucial AL East matchup.

Sept. 12: Timberlane's Derek Furey erupted for 340 rushing yards on 40 carries and scored five touchdowns in 34-13 win over Dover.

Sept. 13: Brooks girls soccer coach Bob Morahan won his 300th game.

Sept. 16: Central girls soccer downed Andover, 4-2, giving fifth-year Raider coach Anne Marinaro her first win with the Raiders over her alma mater.

Sept. 19: Haverhill girls swimming tied vaunted Andover, 93-93. The Hillies would have lost but an Andover swimmer who was poolside displaying how many laps a teammate had remaining fell in the pool resulting in forfeiture of points. Stephanie Murray and Amy Fay powered the Hillies.

Sept. 19: Chris Najem scored three times as Salem football drubbed Memorial 65-20. That's the most points by the Blue Devils in the modern era (beginning 1965).

Sept. 19: Tampa Bay slugger Carlos Pena of Haverhill was the beneficiary of the first reversed call ever ruled a home run in the instant-replay era.

Sept. 24: Lawrence boys cross country beat Tewksbury, 22-34, snapping it's eight-year conference losing streak. Adderly Gonzalez was the first Lancer finisher.

October

Oct. 2: Salem golf, which was just the sixth seed, won the Class L Championship Meet, the first title in the Blue Devils' 17-year history as a varsity team. Jeff Cohen finishes fourth to lead the champs.

Oct. 8: The Lawrence girls cross country team, led by Giselle Munoz and Kayla Rodriguez, snapped an 8-year losing streak by downing Notre Dame of Tyngsboro.

Oct. 10: Methuen football, which just last season snapped a 33-game conference losing streak, posted a stunning upset, pounding 11th-ranked Chelmsford, the defending Eastern Mass. Division 1A Super Bowl champs, 34-7. Mike Bartlett rushed for 245 yards to lead the way.

Oct. 14: Lawrence field hockey ended a 32-match losing streak by tying Haverhill on a Melanie Batista shutout. The Lancers' last point was Oct. 5 2006 in another tie with the Hillies.

Oct. 15: Methuen boys cross country won a battle of unbeatens with Lowell to capture MVC title. Methuen's Jared Reddy won the race.

Oct. 17: Quarterback Ramon Heredia, who had been benched last week, threw three touchdown passes and Jose Vargas made the stop on the two-point conversion try with 33 seconds remaining as Lawrence beat undefeated Wilmington, 34-33. Wilmington had been 5-0 and had won 51 of its last 60 games.

Oct. 17: Timberlane stunned unbeaten (6-0) defending Division 2 state champion Exeter, 21-7. Erik Hatton ran for a TD and passed for another.

Oct. 20: For the first time in the 37-year history of the program, North Andover girls cross country beat Masconomet. Kirsten Kasper smashed the course record to lead the Knights. The win clinched the CAL Large title.

Oct. 20: In a battle of unbeatens for the CAL Large cross country title, North Andover tripped Masconomet behind overall winner Alex Kramer.

Oct. 21: Rachel Bourque scored the game's only goal as Central Catholic girls soccer blanked Andover to clinch its first MVC title since 2001.

Oct. 21: Eric Hooker earned medalist honors and lifted Andover to the title at the Division 1 North golf championship.

Oct. 25: The Methuen boys, Haverhill girls and North Andover boys rolled to league cross country meet championships. Haverhill's Ethan Penney and Julie Solimine (new course record) are the MVC individual winners and North Andover's Kirsten Kasper (new course record) and Alex Kramer earn top honors in the CAL.

Oct. 25: In a matchup featuring two of the four unbeaten teams in the state (all divisions), Bruce Vieira and Joe DeAngelo scored in the final 4:02 to give Pelham a 17-3 win over St. Thomas.

Oct. 28: Central Catholic girls volleyball posted an unbeaten regular season for the first time in its 13-year history.

Oct. 31: Behind the brilliant Bartlett brothers, Methuen football topped Central Catholic, 21-14, snapping a 12-game losing streak against the Raiders.

Oct. 31: Led by Meme Okeke, Salem swept Timberlane, 3-0, to capture its fifth straight boys volleyball title and extend its national-leading win streak to 93 matches.

Oct. 31: Linebacker Ricky Williams made the big tackle on the conversion rush, enabling North Andover to hold off Triton 37-35 in double overtime.

November

Nov. 1: Brendan Smith of Andover returned an interception 48 yards for a score with 12 seconds remaining to give Northwestern a 24-17 win over Minnesota.

Nov. 2: Londonderry got goals from Kristin Spera and Kayla Green and blanked Pinkerton, 2-0, in the Class L field hockey title game to earn its second state title. The first was in 1981.

Nov. 6: First baseman Carlos Pena of Haverhill became the first player in the 11-year history of Tampa Bay Rays franchise to win an American League Gold Glove Award.

Nov. 6: Lucy Francisco, a girl who plays on Lawrence High's boys varsity soccer team, is chosen to the All-Merrimack Valley Conference team.

Nov. 8: Zach Wheeler's late first-half goal stood up and Pinkerton tripped Concord, 1-0, for its first Class L title in 15 years.

Nov. 8: Kirsten Kasper ran away with the Eastern Mass. Division 2 race to lift North Andover to first ever EMass cross country title.

Nov. 9: Jon Woelfel of Haverhill, who had scored one goal all year, erupted for a hat trick as Nov. 16: St. John's Prep downed No. 3 Haverhill High, 4-1, in Division 1 North opening-round action. The Hillies had blanked the Eagles, 3-0, a month earlier.

Nov. 13: Lawrence High football, which at 5-4 was enjoying one of its best season since the early '80s, had to forfeit four victories for use of an ineligible player.

Nov. 15: Playing in its first ever state final, unbeaten Central Catholic lost to Medfield in the state Division 2 volleyball title match. Defending champion North Reading lost in the Division 3 final.

Nov. 15: North Andover's Kirsten Kasper, who collapsed as she crossed the finish line and was hospitalized later in the day, won her third Division 1 All-State cross country title. The other three time-time All-State winners reads like a who's who of racing legends: Lynn Jennings, Shalane Flanagan and senior hotshot Emily Jones.

Nov. 15: Pinkerton drove 88 yards in 68 seconds and scored on a 40-yard run by Colby Verge with 44 seconds left to down Londonderry, 19-15, in the Division 1 semifinals.

Nov. 22: Bruce Vieira scored all 22 points as Pelham blanked St. Thomas Aquinas, 22-0, for its 22nd straight win and second straight state title.

Nov. 22: Poised to win its fourth straight Division 1 state title, Pinkerton lost a heartbreaker, 33-32 in overtime to Nashua South.

Nov. 27: With quarterback Matt Bartlett (267 yards passing, 2 TDs) outdueling his highly-acclaimed Dracut counterpart Matt Grimard, Methuen stunned the conference champion Middies, 37-33. Dracut was ranked No. 4 in Eastern Mass.

Nov. 27: North Reading's Harry Norton won The Eagle-Tribune Feaster Five 5-mile race. The various races drew over 8,400 competitors.

December

Dec. 1: Boston College junior Chelsey Feole of Windham was named a second-team field hockey All-American (16 players made each team).

Dec. 11: North Andover wrestling coach Dave Castricone won his 600th career match to move within eight of tying the state and New England record held by Lowell's George Bossi.

Dec. 12: Georgetown's Jaymie Spears' buzzer-beater beat Manchester Essex 61-59.

Dec. 13: Sparked by Juan Rodriguez, Lawrence wrestling roared back from a 31-12 deficit to stun St. John's.

Dec. 13: North Andover's Kirsten Kasper placed 31st at the 30th annual Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals in San Diego. She's the eighth local runner ever to qualify.

Dec. 28: Goalie Rob Liberatore was named MVP as Salem won the Blue Devil Hockey Classic.