Lawrences to nationals
Competing for Iowa Lakes Community College, former Timberlane standouts and twin briothers Nate and Nick Lawrence both qualified from the junior college regional in Willmar, Minn., the weekend before last and will compete at the nationals this week in Des Moines.
Nate, who has overcome a shoulder injury followed by an injury to his sternum, placed fifth in his weight class while Nick placed first at 174 and will bring a 26-5 record to nationals.
Power of social media
The demise of boys gymnastics in Massachusetts, thanks to its apparent elimination by the MIAA after this year, has struck a nerve with gymnasts from all over according to Andover coach Steve Sirois.
Thanks to the power of the internet, word spread quickly and encouraging responses have been coming in from all over the country, including from a district judge in Oklahoma who was a former gymnast at Burlington High School, and as far away as the country of Paraguay.
The way it stands now, Andover gymnastics will continue to compete next year as a club team and will be sanctioned by the U.S. Federation of Gymnastics.
Unfortunately, there are some teams in the state that are saying that it’s MIAA gymnastics or no gymnastics at all.
No race day entries
Sunday’s Frozen Shamrock 3-Miler, which will clearly be the largest road race in the history of Haverhill, will not be taking race-day entries because the limit of 1,000 runners has already been met.
The race starts at 1 p.m. at Archie’s at Lafayette Square and is the first of the three races in the Wild Rover series. The second race will be held March 3, a 4-miler at the Claddagh Pub in Lawrence, with the final race in the series a 5-miler March 10 in Lowell.
Donations to HHS
Running enthusiasts and race directors Dave LaBrode of Haverhill and Dave Camire appreciate good running programs and they put their money where their sentiments lie.
As race director of the Bobby Bell Road Race in Haverhill, LaBrode is donating $500 to head coach Mike Maguire and the Haverhill High track and cross country programs. And Camire, who is directing this week’s Frozen Shamrock race in Haverhill, is matching that with another $500.
Amazing Quinnipiac
Very quietly, Quinnipiac has enjoyed a rather incredible season in men’s hockey. It’s been winning games all season and last week was ranked the No. 1 team in Division 1 in every college hockey poll while sporting a 21-3-4 record (14-0-2 in ECAC). It was the first time Quinnipiac had been ranked No. 1 nationally in any sport. It split games over the weekend and now stands at 22-3-4 overall and 14-1-2 in the ECAC.
Quinnipiac’s roster includes 12 skaters from Canada, three from Massachusetts and one from Holland along with other countries.
UMass Lowell in Division 1?
Generally, I’m all in favor of teams competing in Division 1 athletics. Having spent much of my career in the midwest, where college sports are king, I’ve seen how they can rally a campus and community. But, if I were an alum or someone associated with UMass Lowell, which announced that it will be joining the America East Conference, the finances of the move would worry me.
It’s an expensive proposition and UMass Lowell would not be receiving the revenue that UNH gets, for example, from football. And, if you’ve ever seen a UNH or UMaine basketball game, you know that there are not big enough crowds in basketball to make much of a profit.
Pairings weekend
This will be a huge weekend for Mass. high school basketball and hockey, but there probably won’t be any games played. Instead, the much anticipated parings will be released Friday for boys and girls hoops and Saturday for hockey. Division 1 girls basketball pairings in New Hampshire will be released next Monday as will be New Hampshire Division 1 hockey. The Division 1 and 2 boys basketball pairings in New Hampshire aren’t announced until March 4.
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