High School Sports
COMMUNITY NOTES
PRESS RELEASE: VALE SCHOOL DISTRICT The Vale High School Track and Field team expects victory. Case in point: The Viking track and field team will send over 20 athletes – including a host of district champions – to the 2025 OSAA 3A Track and Field State Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene on May 29 […]
PRESS RELEASE: VALE SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Vale High School Track and Field team expects victory.
Case in point: The Viking track and field team will send over 20 athletes – including a host of district champions – to the 2025 OSAA 3A Track and Field State Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene on May 29 and 30.
The Viking tracksters will make the journey to Eugene after a virtuoso performance at the district meet in Milton-Freewater last week.
“We did well (at district). We expected to do exactly what we did and we knew what our potential was,” said Paul Bentz, Vale High School Track coach.
The Vale girls track team – for the second year in a row – clinched the team title at the district meet while the boys team finished second. Burns claimed top honors in boys team standings at district.
Bentz said the performance of his team was impressive, especially because of the unique attributes of track competition.
“It is a very mentally tough sport. Especially district because you have to do it that day (of district) or it doesn’t matter,” he said.
The Vikings will send 10 girls and 11 boys to the state meet.
On the girls’ side, juniors Peyton Bates, Karlee Crane, Elli Jacobs, Claire Johnson, Addie Saunders and Kesley Stepleton qualified for the state meet. Seniors Brynlee Hartley and Bella Johnson along with sophomore Kaylynn Brandon and freshman Anna Jacobs also qualified for state competition. Hartley won top honors at district in the pole vault event and will compete in that event at state. Johnson clinched the district title in the 300 hurdles and 100 hurdles events.
Bates claimed the district title in the javelin event and will compete in that category at state. Brandon will be part of the Lady Viks’ 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams and will compete in triple jump at state. Brandon claimed the district crown in the triple jump event.
Crane will compete in high jump event. Anna Jacobs will compete as part of Vale’s 4×400 relay team at state while Elli Jacobs will participate in the 4×400, 4×100 relay team events and run in the 400- and 200-meter races.
Claire Johnson will go to Eugene to race as part of the 4×100 relay team and compete in the 100- and 200-meter races. Bentz said Claire Johnson broke her own school record and the district record at Milton-Freewater in the 100-meter race. Johnson captured district titles in the 100- and 200-meter races.
Saunders is set to participate in the 3,000 and 1,500 races while Stepleton will journey to Eugene as an alternate. Saunders was the district champion in the 1,500- and 3,000-meter races.
For the boys, junior Trent Braese will travel to the west side of Oregon as an alternate while senior Skyler Cade will compete as part of the Vikings 4×400 relay team. Rye Cummings, sophomore, will also go to Eugene as an alternate.
Senior Jake DeVos will compete as a member of the 4×100 relay team, run in the 100-meter dash and do the shot put at state. DeVos claimed the district title in the shot put and 100-meter race events. Sophomore Duncan Fritz will run in the 3,000- and 800-meter races at state. Senior Brady Jacobs will compete at state as part of the Vikings 4×400 relay team while freshman Bannock Lamb will participate in the 4×400 and the 4×100 meter relay races. Junior Brody McElroy will travel to state as an alternate in the 4×400 relay team while sophomore Collin Mulvany will run with the Vale 4×400 and 4×100 relay teams.
Senior Kase Schaffeld is set to throw the shot put at state, run in the 100-meter race and compete as part of the 4×100 relay team and compete in the discus event. Schaffeld claimed the district title in the discus event.
Freshman Brandon Stewart will compete in the pole vault event at state.
Bentz said a winning attitude honed in the crucible of tough competition paid big dividends for his team this year.
“We traveled and went to some pretty big meets to get some exposure. That’s probably the biggest difference. We went out to get some extreme competition,” he said.
He said his track athletes arrive for the sport in the spring already primed for success.
“They come in and know how to win,” said Bentz.
High School Sports
Broomfield playwright's unique work highlights barriers to LGBTQ health care, acceptance in society
With his work “gay play (NO HOMO),” a Broomfield playwright uses a satirical lens to explore the barriers to LGBTQ health care and acceptance in society. Drake Susuras grew up in Broomfield and said his start there helped shape him into the playwright he is today. “It was at Broomfield High School that I really […]
With his work “gay play (NO HOMO),” a Broomfield playwright uses a satirical lens to explore the barriers to LGBTQ health care and acceptance in society.
Drake Susuras grew up in Broomfield and said his start there helped shape him into the playwright he is today.
“It was at Broomfield High School that I really was allowed to flourish,” he said. “I was given opportunities there to flourish and thrive but also was given the space to fail and try new things, which helped me be able to throw myself into anything and adapt and learn.”
Susuras performed his play “gay play (NO HOMO)” at Denver Fringe Festival this year, the annual event that focuses on a wide variety of unusual, bold and fringe performing art. With its unique premise and unflinching critique of modern queer politics, Susuras’ work fits right in.
“It follows this main character trying to get an STD test at a free clinic, and meeting all of these comical barriers to highlight what it’s like in America right now,” Susuras said. “It gets into the logistics of donating blood at a clinic and comprehensive sex education for LGBTQ individuals and flips everything on its head.”
Susuras said the character navigates those barriers as best he can but becomes the projected perception of what a gay man is supposed to be. It points a finger at the audience, asking, Susuras said, “Are you entertained now? Am I enough yet?”
Susuras said the play looks at the current political moment, using his experience to highlight the issues of marginalized groups far beyond his own identities.
“Now more than ever, queerness is inherently political,” he said. “Not just myself as a white gay man, but looking further into what a Black trans woman would experience, or the immigrants being raided by (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or the people suffering in Palestine.”
Cole Franklin is Susuras’ partner and did the costume design for the play, and said the show was a unique look into a journey that’s very personal for every member of the LGBTQ community.
“Everybody has their own coming out story, and everybody has their own grappling they have to do with being gay in society, and everybody’s experience is different,” Franklin said. “I pretty much grew up gay — I was a really gay kid and came out very early, but (Susuras) did not.”
Franklin said his partner’s experience with coming out later in life gives them two different perspectives, and with Susuras doing so much of the play himself, the work served as a reflection of his experiences.
“Theater is such a collaborative art form — there’s lots of people attached to it, unlike a painter whose work is pretty much just themselves,” Franklin said. “It’s always interesting and refreshing to see a work of theater that’s coming from one vision and one mind, and it’s a testament to his talent and education that he was able to do this by himself.”
The play was a small production, with Susuras writing, directing, producing and starring in the play. The only other actor in the show, Devon Lainie, played the nurse at the testing clinic.
“It feels like there’s a new wave of playwriting, especially with younger playwrights, of very personal works,” Lainie said. “I had a great experience with it — I thought it was really funny but it also looked hard at our society and took a deeper look at the world we’re living in today.”
Susuras said the juxtaposition of those two ideas were central to the play.
“We don’t necessarily have to stop finding the fun or humor in things, but we also have to clock in and take things seriously … marrying the serious with the comedic is something that shows up in a lot of my work,” he said. “Ultimately, if we’re not loud, if we’re not expressive, then we’ll disappear, and I don’t think we’re too far from that moment.”
Originally Published:
High School Sports
Fryer
Going into this just-completed high school sports year, the 35th consecutive year of covering Orange County high school sports, the thinking was that I had seen everything. Nope. The Dana Hills baseball team committed eight errors but still won the game. The unranked Dolphins beat Aliso Niguel — ranked 13th in Orange County — 9-8 […]
Going into this just-completed high school sports year, the 35th consecutive year of covering Orange County high school sports, the thinking was that I had seen everything.
Nope.
The Dana Hills baseball team committed eight errors but still won the game. The unranked Dolphins beat Aliso Niguel — ranked 13th in Orange County — 9-8 in a South Coast League game on April 25. Sophomore Ryan See’s line drive down the left-field line in the bottom of the seventh inning sent home Tommy Moro with the winning run.
That was one highlight from another entertaining high school sports year that ended this month. There was too much good stuff to include it all here. And some not-so-good stuff.
Let’s take a look back and a look ahead to the 2025-26 high school sports year. …
Mater Dei, Edison and Portola won CIF Southern Section football championships. Raul Lara’s first season as Mater Dei head coach also yielded a CIF State championship. …
The upcoming football season brings some new coaches, like Carson Palmer at Santa Margarita. Palmer was a star quarterback for the Eagles before going on to greatness at USC and in the NFL. …
Among many other football coaching changes, Mitch Olson, Kennedy’s football coach for many years, is the head coach now at Fountain Valley; former Irvine coach Erik Terry is at Northwood; and Jason Jellerson replaces the retired Doug Case at Foothill. …
Servite still is figuring out where to play some of its football home games. Some will be at Orange Coast College, some at Santa Ana Stadium – and there is talk of a game or two on campus. …
Richard Shearer retired after six years as CIF-SS assistant commissioner in charge of football, baseball and other sports. It’s a big job. …
Releaguing completed for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years for non-football sports moved Laguna Beach to a north county conference and expanded the Trinity League to a Trinity Conference that brings in Crean Lutheran, Pacifica Christian, Sage Hill and St. Margaret’s and returns Rosary to the Trinity group. …
Mater Dei won a second straight CIF-SS Division 1 girls volleyball championship. …
Katy Daly resigned as girls volleyball coach at Santa Margarita after a successful run there. …
The fastest-growling sport is girls flag football. The CIF Southern Section had its first CIF-SS championships. Orange County’s Northwood, Orange Lutheran and Troy won CIF-SS titles. …
In boys water polo, Newport Harbor beat JSerra 11-10 in the CIF-SS Open Division final. JSerra beat Newport Harbor in the CIF Southern California Regional Division I final 11-9 for Newport Harbor’s only loss. …
Mega-successful girls basketball coach Kevin Kiernan is returning to Troy to coach there in 2025-26 after 17 seasons at Mater Dei. His 900 career wins is the most in California girls basketball history. …
Trabuco Hills senior Holly Barker won the CIF-SS Division 1 girls cross country championship. Dana Hills senior Evan Noonan won a third consecutive CIF State boys cross country championship. Noonan is one of the all-time greats in O.C. cross country. …
Fairmont Prep, Los Alamitos and Santiago won CIF-SS boys basketball championships. …
Canyon senior Brandon Benjamin was Orange County boys basketball player of the year. He was county player of the year as a sophomore at Canyon, spent his junior season at Mater Dei and returned to Canyon. …
Mater Dei junior Luke Barnett scored 55 points in a game to break the school boys basketball single-game record of 53 points set by Tom Lewis in 1983. …
Nate Klitzing left Crean Lutheran after the 2024-25 season to become boys basketball coach at Orange Lutheran, his alma mater. Austin Loeb was promoted from assistant coach to head coach at Crean. …
Ringo Bossenmeyer resigned as Tustin boys basketball coach after 25 years at that post. He was known for getting the most out of his roster. Jonathan Antolin, an assistant at Foothill, replaces him. …
Matt Kanne replaced Tony Davis as basketball coach at Servite. …
Richard Smith retired as athletic director at Los Alamitos. Long ago Smith was a county basketball coach of the year at Servite. Nathan Berger, this past season’s county boy basketball coach of the year, assumes the A.D. duties and remains Griffins’ basketball coach. …
Jon Hamro retired as athletic director at San Clemente. He is replaced by former Tesoro football head coach Matt Poston, who also will be a Tritons football assistant coach. …
Trinity League boys basketball teams will play each other one time in league play next season and finish the regular season with a league tournament, like they’ve done in the Pacific Coast League. …
(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Esperanza freshman Sammy Sanchez won everything that could be won in wrestling, including CIF section and state championships. Marina freshman Aubree Gutierrez and Esperanza junior Olivia Davis won CIF State girls wrestling championships. …
Alan Clinton resigned as Servite wrestling coach, but he will continue to be involved as a consultant/assistant coach. …
JSerra boys soccer won CIF-SS and CIF SoCal Regional titles, and was named national champion. …
Beckman won a national cheer championship. …
Anaheim, El Dorado and Laguna Beach were CIF-SS girls water polo champs. …
The Newport Elks baseball tournament is no more. It was a great season-opening tournament. …
Estancia was Orange County’s only CIF-SS baseball champion, winning the Division 6 title. Sometimes it’s difficult to know how good a middle- or lower-division player is until that player is in an all-star game. Estancia catcher Sawyer Atkinson, the CIF-SS Division 6 player of the year, proved in the county all-star game that he was a Division 1-type of player. …
The Santa Ana Unified School District removed David Casper as Segerstrom principal and Erasmo Ramirez as the school’s varsity baseball coach after the CIF Southern Section found that the school’s baseball program violated CIF rules. …
Servite’s group of freshmen and sophomore sprinters set Orange County records in the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 relays. No California team has gone under 40 seconds in the 4×100 – until next year. …
Santa Margarita senior swimmer Teagan O’Dell was the county girls athlete of the year for the second time in three years. Future Olympian. …
The very-early Orange County football preseason Top 10: 1. Mater Dei; 2. Santa Margarita; 3. Mission Viejo; 4. Orange Lutheran; 5. Servite; 6. San Juan Hills; 7. JSerra; 8. Edison; 9. Crean Lutheran; 10. Tustin. …
The even-earlier Orange County boys basketball preseason Top 10: 1. Mater Dei; 2. Santa Margarita; 3. JSerra; 4. Fairmont Prep; 5. Orange Lutheran; 6. Crean Lutheran; 7. Pacifica Christian; 8. Los Alamitos; 9. La Habra; 10. Corona del Mar.
Getting older means the list of departed friends annually gets too many new additions. Difficult good byes to John Dahlem, CIF historian and former president of the CIF-SS Council and the greatest adventurer one could know; Jerry DeBusk, such a great basketball coach at Newport Harbor and Santa Margarita; Fran Ursini, football ref and supporter of high school athletics in every way possible; Villa Park boys basketball coach Kevin Reynolds, smart coach and a kind, funny man; and Ed Arnold, TV sportscaster who did so much for Special Olympians of high school age and other age groups. …
I need and accept all the help I can get. Thank you to my Register teammates: Dan Albano, David Delgado, Martin Henderson, Michael Huntley, Dan Nilsen, Brian Patterson and Lou Ponsi. Thanks also to a bunch of people who give me great information and ideas including the people at CalHiSports, Thom Simmons at the CIF Southern Section office, Ed Duffy, Rich Gonzalez at PrepCalTrack and Dick Sands. …
Special thanks to all of the athletic directors, coaches and the sensational athletes. All of you people are the greatest.
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High School Sports
WDIV expands coverage of Metro Detroit high school sports with 50+ live games
DETROIT – WDIV Local 4 has partnered with STATE CHAMPS! Sports Network to expand our coverage of high school sports in Metro Detroit, including more than 50 live game broadcasts. Local 4, Detroit’s most trusted source of local news and sports, is greatly expanding our coverage of high school sports on all platforms through our […]
DETROIT – WDIV Local 4 has partnered with STATE CHAMPS! Sports Network to expand our coverage of high school sports in Metro Detroit, including more than 50 live game broadcasts.
Local 4, Detroit’s most trusted source of local news and sports, is greatly expanding our coverage of high school sports on all platforms through our new partnership with STATE CHAMPS! Sports Network.
STATE CHAMPS! Sports Network is the premier provider of Michigan high school sports in the state.
“High school sports are where passion, talent, and community come together,” WDIV Vice President and General Manager Bob Ellis said. “When you want to be the best, you work with the best. STATE CHAMPS! Sports Network is the best in Southeast Michigan, and this partnership allows us to elevate that experience for families, fans, and athletes throughout Metro Detroit and beyond. Together we will be THE source for this content that binds our communities together.”
Starting this fall, Local 4 viewers will get expanded live game coverage, highlights, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content from schools across Southeast Michigan. It will be available on air, online, via streaming, and on our social media platforms.
STATE CHAMPS! Sports Network has built a strong reputation for energetic and professional coverage of high school sports, live streams, in-depth interviews, and gameday excitement.
STATE CHAMPS! content will be built into WDIV’s daily sports segments, online sports coverage, and Local 4+ streaming.
“The high school athletic experience truly brings athletes, families, and communities into perspective,” STATE CHAMPS! President Lou Bitonti said. “State Champs covers the high school athlete from freshmen year through senior year. This partnership lets us showcase even more schools, sports, and standout moments — and bring them to a bigger audience than ever before.”
Full high school sports coverage
Here’s what this partnership will include:
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An aggressive schedule of more than 50 live games of several boys’ and girls’ sports on the station’s streaming channel, Local 4+.
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Expanded coverage of high school sports on Local 4 News, including a weekly football highlight show each Friday night during football season.
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Weekly power polls to rank the best teams in the state in all sports to get a real-time pulse of the teams destined for postseason success.
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A weekly magazine show with content and features about all high school sports airing Saturday morning following Local 4 News and NBC’s The Today Show.
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Expanded live coverage of the Catholic League of Detroit, founded in 1926 — the largest Catholic sports league in the United States with 33 member schools competing in more than 20 sports.
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Each week during the school year, recognition for a Team of the Week, during which one team is celebrated from a different school for their accomplishments both on the field and in the classroom.
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A special MIPics feature section on ClickOnDetroit, where fans and families can send their photos from high school competitions of all kinds to be featured on the news and the station’s website, ClickOnDetroit.com.
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Weekly short programs on the station’s streaming channel, Local4+, featuring experts from STATE CHAMPS! and their analysis of several high school sports.
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A weekly high school sports newsletter on Thursdays covering high school sports and highlighting each week’s schedule of live game coverage.
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Showcasing of the often unseen and unappreciated support structure of high school sports, including parents, coaches, officials, athletic support staff, and cheerleaders on Live in the D, the station’s daily lifestyle show airing weekdays at 11 a.m.
High school football All-Star game
This coverage will begin Saturday, June 21, with the MHSFCA Coaches Association 2025 High School Football All-Star Game. The game will air live on Local 4 and Local 4+ at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Lawrence Tech is hosting 80 of the top senior football players from around the state of Michigan. The game will take on an East vs. West format, with Gladwin head coach Marc Jarstfer leading the West and Detroit Central head coach Jimmie Macon leading the East.
Prep Kickoff Classic
Football season on Local 4 begins Aug. 28-29 with a live broadcast of the Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University.
Eight of the top high school football teams from the area will compete on the Warriors’ field, and you can watch all four games live.
High school sports live streams
We’ll also have a full slate of other live high school sports, including:
Fall sports:
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Volleyball (3-4 games).
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Boys soccer (3-4 games).
Winter sports:
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Hockey (10-12 games).
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Boys and girls basketball (6-8 games).
Spring sports:
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Girls soccer (2-4 games).
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Baseball (2-4 games).
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Softball (2-4 games).
Additional coverage:
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All-star games featuring top players from across the state.
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Catholic League championships for volleyball, hockey, basketball, softball, and baseball.
Follow Local 4, ClickOnDetroit, and our social media pages, as well as the STATE CHAMPS! social media channels for schedules, featured matchups, and other exclusive content throughout the season.
2025 high school football Game of the Week schedule
For the eight weeks following the Prep Kickoff Classic, the high school football Game of the Week presented by STATE CHAMPS! Sports Network will be Fridays at 7 p.m.
The broadcast will be live from the top game in Southeast Michigan that week.
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4 p.m. Aug. 28 (Thursday): Belleville vs. Clarkston
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7 p.m. Aug. 28 (Thursday): Northville vs. Lake Orion
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4 p.m. Aug. 29: Allen Park vs. Trenton
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7 p.m. Aug. 29: Cass Tech vs. Toledo Central Catholic
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7 p.m. Sept. 5: Warren De La Salle @ Davison
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7 p.m. Sept. 12: Rochester Adams @ West Bloomfield
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7 p.m. Sept. 19: Cass Tech @ MLK (played at Wayne State)
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7 p.m. Sept. 26: Rochester Adams @ Clarkston
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7 p.m. Oct. 3: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley @ Utica Eisenhower
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7 p.m. Oct. 10: East Kentwood @ Hudsonville
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7 p.m. Oct. 17: Howell @ Brighton
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Oct. 25 (Saturday): Detroit PSL vs Detroit Catholic League (played at Ford Field)
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High School Sports
A Championship Year
Daily Hampshire Gazette – A Championship Year: Hampshire County teams shine in 2024-25 South Hadley’s CC Gurek (11) drives the ball against Cathedral defender Hijjah Allen-Paisley (2) in the first quarter of the MIAA Div. 4 state championship in March at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. PHOTO BY DAN LITTLE Granby players celebrate after winning […]
South Hadley’s CC Gurek (11) drives the ball against Cathedral defender Hijjah Allen-Paisley (2) in the first quarter of the MIAA Div. 4 state championship in March at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. PHOTO BY DAN LITTLE
Granby players celebrate after winning the Western Mass. Class D girls soccer championship against Hopkins Academy last fall at Ludlow High School. PHOTO BY DAN LITTLE
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School is officially over, and with that, summer is finally here. High school graduations have concluded, underclassmen enjoyed their final days of classes and spring state championships wrapped up last weekend.
A plethora of Hampshire County sports teams had terrific seasons throughout the school year, starting in the fall with a pair of Western Massachusetts titles from the Belchertown (Class B) and Granby (Class D) girls soccer teams, transitioning into winter as South Hadley girls hoops played in the MIAA Division 4 state final for a second straight year, and wrapping up in the spring with the Amherst girls track and field team putting forth its best year in program history as well as Hampshire softball continuing its dominant string of success under head coach Brian McGan.
While only the Hurricanes came home with the ultimate prize – a team state title – there were still several performances worth noting. So, let’s take a look back at 2024-25.Amherst’s historic season
It’s tough to talk about the Hurricanes’ outdoor campaign because it hasn’t yet ended, as a dozen athletes are headed to Oregon to compete at Nike Outdoor Nationals this weekend, but what has already been accomplished is plenty enough to give them their flowers. The Amherst girls won their first-ever state championship (Div. 4) earlier this spring just a week after claiming first at the Western Massachusetts Div. 1 Championships following an undefeated dual meet regular season.
Team success in track can’t come without individual success, and that’s what Amherst has had all year. Seniors Moriah Luetjen, Ruby Austin, Elizabeth Sawicki, Skylar Fox and Brooke Nedeau, among many others, have excelled in their individual and relay events both during the indoor and outdoor seasons. Freshmen Juliana Albo and Claire Fortin are among a talented underclassmen crew that help add depth to the lineup.
On the boys side, Miles Jeffries and Logan Alfandari have also turned in strong seasons. Jeffries won the state title in the 400 and Alfandari is known for his prowess in the discus and shot put. Both will be competing in Nationals as well.
It’s not South Hadley’s fault that it didn’t come home with any first-place championship hardware the past two years. The Tigers played against a juggernaut in No. 1 Cathedral (Boston) both times, a team that will be moving up from Division 4 next year.
South Hadley was clearly the second-best team in D4 in both instances. In 2024, the Tigers hoisted the Class B title and won their state tournament games by 34, 21, 7 and 10 en route to the final. In 2025, they fell to Pittsfield (No. 5 in Division 3) in the Class B finals, won their state games by 28, 11, 19 and 3 before once again facing Cathedral in the championship. South Hadley went 22-4 in both seasons.
Seniors Maddie Soderbaum, CC Gurek, Ava Asselin and Caitlin Dean played major roles on that squad and move on, while players like Olivia Athas, Cara Dean, Kate Phillips and Taylor Bullough will return and eye a third consecutive trip to the big game.
Sure, the Raiders wish their season ended differently considering they were the No. 1 seed in the Division 4 state tournament, but it doesn’t mean this spring was a failure.
Hampshire fell to No. 4 Joseph Case – which went on to win its third straight state title – in the Final Four, as its season came to an end to the Cardinals for the the third year in a row. However the Raiders still won a whopping 23 games, and they had winning streaks of 13 and 10 en route to a Class B championship – their 12th WMass title since 2008.
The scary part for the rest of the state? Hampshire is only losing two seniors (CC Thayer and Teagan Charles, both of whom enjoyed illustrious careers wearing red and black), and its starting pitcher, catcher and a handful of strong bats are coming back. The Raiders will only have one senior next year. So this team certainly isn’t going anywhere.
The Orioles defeated South Hadley 2-0 in the Class B final, while the Rams knocked off Hopkins in penalty kicks (4-2) in the Class D final.
Belchertown probably saw its run coming, as the Os played one of the most difficult schedules in the region and only had three regular season games decided by more than one goal. They were battle tested and geared for a deep playoff run. That didn’t make it any less special when Allison Morris and Brianna Ribeiro scored the goals to get past rival South Hadley and clinch their second WMass title in four seasons.
Granby, on the other hand, maybe didn’t expect to win. The Rams entered the Class D tournament having lost five in a row, and they nearly fell to Hoosac Valley in the semifinals. However they continued to fight and figure it out, and they took No. 1 Hopkins to overtime and eventually penalties. Mabel Carillon delivered the clincher, and Granby celebrated its first sectional crown since 2018.
What may have come as a surprise to everyone else, the Hurricanes’ first WMass championship since 2003 didn’t shock head coach Rich Ferro. Northampton had steamrolled its regular season slate, with 13 of its 16 wins coming by five or more goals. But Amherst was ready for its rival in the final, holding the Blue Devils to their second-lowest scoring output of the season in a 9-6 win. A Gatorade bath ensued for Ferro.
In the two teams’ first meeting, Amherst played a zone defense and the Blue Devils won 9-5. Ferro switched up Amherst’s defense from zone to an attack man that fooled Northampton, and it showed in the upset win.
Both teams eventually fell in the Division 2 Round of 32, however this WMass final edition of the Battle of the Bridge will be remembered by both sides for quite a while.
The Granby boys basketball team pulled off an improbable comeback in the Western Mass. Class C finals, overcoming a nine-point deficit in just over a minute to stun Drury and raise its first sectional title since 2005. The Rams also claimed their third straight Bi-County League West title… PVCICS boys tennis won its third straight Western Mass. Class C title, a fitting way to send off six-year varsity players and the team’s lone seniors in James Scott and Teddy Scott – twin brothers and the Dragons’ first doubles pairing… South Hadley softball’s Ella Schaeffer recorded her 1,000th career strikeout this season, a phenomenal feat to cap off her senior year, and led the Tigers to the Class B title game, where they fell 1-0 to Hampshire… Belchertown girls tennis swept Frontier to claim the Western Mass. Class B title… The South Hadley boys basketball team’s 72-68 triple OT victory against Uxbridge in the Round of 32 in February was arguably the most memorable game of the calendar season as neither team deserved to lose. … Amherst won the WMass girls cross country title in the fall, kicking off what was a dominant running school year for the school. … The Hampshire Regional boys won their first XC title in program history, capturing the Class B crown at Stanley Park in October. … Northampton’s Amalia Guerra and Belchertown’s Grace Perron took home state swimming titles after standout winters in the pool.
Long Island’s newest soccer team, the Fighting Tomcats, has signed 16-year-old Dylan Lopez. Photo courtesy of Dylan Lopez
