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High School Sports

Eight high school takeaways from Friday as the MIAA playoffs ramp up

The playoff battles have begun as Burlington’s CJ Tremblay (left) and Marshfield’s Ali Melvin fight for possession in the Division 2 girls’ lacrosse tournament. Barry Chin/Globe Staff The MIAA playoffs picked up their pace Friday with 118 tournament games spread across the Commonwealth, in addition to three track championships. There’s no better place to start […]

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Eight high school takeaways from Friday as the MIAA playoffs ramp up

The playoff battles have begun as Burlington’s CJ Tremblay (left) and Marshfield’s Ali Melvin fight for possession in the Division 2 girls’ lacrosse tournament. Barry Chin/Globe Staff

The MIAA playoffs picked up their pace Friday with 118 tournament games spread across the Commonwealth, in addition to three track championships.

There’s no better place to start than the first day of the Division 3, 4, and 6 track meets:

Next stop, Friday night’s roundups, featuring recaps of more than 70 games:

1. Milestones

Scituate senior Kate Stone notched her 150th career goal and 200th career point while recording a hat trick in a 10-8 Division 2 girls’ lacrosse first-round win over Algonquin.

Methuen junior goalie Meghan Terry made 16 saves in a 17-9 Division 2 prelim win over Hopkinton, including the 300th of her career.

Greater Lowell senior Emma Finch finished her senior season with 54 goals, and she will graduate as the program’s all-time leader in goals with 153.

2. Upset central

The highest-ranked teams to be eliminated Friday were Oxford softball — ranked No. 12 in Division 4, the Pirates fell, 5-4 to No. 21 Lynnfield — and Wesborough girls’ lacrosse, also ranked 12th in Division 2, which lost, 8-7, to No. 21 Northampton.

Other seeds in the teens that were toppled: No. 13 Norton boys’ volleyball, which fell, 3-2, to No. 20 Lynn Classical in the Division 2 first round; No. 13 Notre Dame (Worcester), which suffered an 8-6 loss to No. 20 Monty Tech in the Division 3 first round; No. 14 Sturgis East girl’s tennis, which lost, 3-2, to No. 19 Palmer, and No. 15 Arlington boys’ tennis, which fell, 3-2, to No. 18 Andover.

The largest upset of the day, by difference in seedings, was No. 39 Greater Lawrence softball taking down No. 26 North Reading, 7-3, in the Division 3 preliminary round.

3. Walkoff wins

Boy, were there some dramatic ones.

It doesn’t get much more intense than a 0-0 game in the bottom of the seventh, but that’s what No. 23 Triton faced against No. 42 Ursuline in the Division 3 softball preliminary round. Ava Johnson was hit by a pitch, stole two bases, and with two outs raced home on Izze Turner’s single up the middle for a 1-0 walkoff win.

Giving that finish a run for its money, No. 31 Sturgis East softball trailed, 2-1, in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded when Sam Orcutt, who had homered earlier for the team’s first run, launched a grand slam for a 5-2 walkoff win over No. 34 Mystic Valley in the preliminary round of the Division 5 tournament.

No. 25 Tantasqua baseball survived an upset bid from No. 40 Lowell Catholic when Brandon Phillips managed an RBI infield single in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-2 Division 3 preliminary-round win.

In the Division 3 softball tournament, No. 31 Blackstone Valley’s Julia Trujillo tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the ninth, then came around to score the winning run on Payton Smith’s walkoff single, completing a 3-2 preliminary-round victory.

This one wasn’t technically a walk off, and maybe we need a new category for these types of games, but No. 33 Martha’s Vineyard baseball won an epic 12-inning Division 3 preliminary-round matchup, 4-3, over No. 32 Ashland on Eli Bryant’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th.

4. Three stars

Mackenzy Ponte, Westport — The senior, in her sixth year on varsity and fifth as the Wildcats’ starter, struck out 10 in a five-inning no-hitter to beat English High, 23-0, in the Division 5 preliminary round.

Dakota Vaudreuil, Bartlett — The senior struck out 17 in a five inning no-hitter to defeat Kennedy Academy, 24-0 in the preliminary round of the Division 5 softball tournament.

Bella Mara, St. Paul — The senior did it all, striking out eight without allowing a run and going 3 for 3 with a double and two home runs in a 10-3 first-round win for the No. 7 Knights.

5. Going, going gone

We mentioned Mara’s two home runs for St. Paul, and Orcutt’s walkoff grand slam for Sturgis East, but there was plenty of notable power displays across the Bay State.

Wakefield’s Jackie Sullivan blasted a grand slam, Hudson got back-to-back blasts from Lauren O’Malley and Taylor Attaway, Lynnfield got homers from Olivia Kelter and Morgan Hubbard, and Westport’s Lauryn Souza and Upper Cape’s Jaelynn Harraden both raced to inside-the-park round-trippers.

Also homering were Wakefield’s Chloe Seto, Chelmsford’s Jenna Nigro, Winchester’s Brett Daniels, and Sutton’s Kaila Wheeler.

6. Daily lacrosse leaderboard

Goals

Bella Young, North Middlesex, 8

Mac Cole, Pentucket, 7

Sal Brogna, St. Mary’s, 6

Kiera Fitzpatrick, Methuen, 6

Mason Gadbois, Essex Tech, 6

Lillian Gikas, Tyngsborough, 6

Addie Hajj, North Reading, 6

John Powers, Lynnfield, 6

Finn Racki, St. Mary’s, 6

Kelan Cardinal, Lynnfield, 5

Casey Collins, Essex Tech, 5

Alexis Deschenes, Tyngsborough, 5

Kate Fitzpatrick, Methuen, 5

Cassie Gallagher, Billerica, 5

Daniel Hanafin, Foxborough, 5

Nate Stys, Pentucket, 5

Points

Young, North Middlesex, 9

Gadbois, Essex Tech, 8

Gikas, Tyngsborough, 8

Timothy Tavares, Essex Tech, 8

Cole, Pentucket, 7

Alexis Deschenes, Tyngsborough, 7

Ki. Fitzpatrick, Methuen, 7

Gallagher, Billerica, 7

Nolan Jennings, Burlington, 7

Stys, Pentucket, 7

Cardinal, Lynnfield, 6

Nevin Maher, Essex Tech, 6

Powers, Lynnfield, 6

Michael Torrisi, Pentucket, 6

7. Daily strikeout leaderboard

Dakota Vaudreuil, Bartlett, 17

Emma Penniman, Triton, 16

Tessa Francis, Marblehead, 11

Mackenzy Ponte, Westport, 10

Sophie Baker, Medfield, 9

Molly Abdella, Tahanto, 8

Bella Mara, St. Paul, 8

Mike Scammon has doubled his duties at North Andover, where he will take over as the girls’ volleyball coach in the fall. Scammon has served as the Scarlet Knights’ boys’ volleyball coach for the past five seasons, winning a Merrimack Valley Conference title in 2021, when he was named MVC Coach of the Year. The Methuen native and teacher at Methuen High also serves as the program director for the New England Storm volleyball club.


Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.

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High School Sports

Super Spring For Journal

Spring sports proved to be successful again for Journal-area high school teams, with multiple state champions crowned and numerous state trophies making their way back to area schools.While it was the most recent sports season, here’s a refresher of 2025 spring sports highlights for the Journal-area: Girls Water Polo:State Champion: StevensonState Qualifiers: Stevenson, Fremd Boys Water Polo:State […]

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Super Spring For Journal

Spring sports proved to be successful again for Journal-area high school teams, with multiple state champions crowned and numerous state trophies making their way back to area schools.
While it was the most recent sports season, here’s a refresher of 2025 spring sports highlights for the Journal-area:
 
Girls Water Polo:
State Champion: Stevenson
State Qualifiers: Stevenson, Fremd
 
Boys Water Polo:
State Qualifiers: Stevenson, Palatine
Note: Both teams fell in the state quarterfinals …

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High School Sports

CIF titles highlight Santa Maria Valley school year in sports

The St. Joseph boys basketball team won its second CIF Central Section Division 1 championship in the last three seasons. Sign up to receive headlines in your inbox! Breaking News | Local Sports | Daily Headlines | Local Obituaries | Weather | Local Offers 0

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CIF titles highlight Santa Maria Valley school year in sports

The St. Joseph boys basketball team won its second CIF Central Section Division 1 championship in the last three seasons.

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Breaking News | Local Sports | Daily Headlines | Local Obituaries | Weather | Local Offers
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High School Sports

Ivey highlights summer learning during Cullman STEM camp visit

CULLMAN — In Leanna Smith’s classroom at East Elementary School on Tuesday morning, third graders worked in small groups to construct robots tasked with collecting materials from the surface of a makeshift Mars. 1

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Ivey highlights summer learning during Cullman STEM camp visit


CULLMAN — In Leanna Smith’s classroom at East Elementary School on Tuesday morning, third graders worked in small groups to construct robots tasked with collecting materials from the surface of a makeshift Mars.

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High School Sports

National Meet Merge

This year’s slate of national championships more than lived up to the hype, but some of the best performances of the national postseason came from up-and-coming sophomores who gave us a preview of what’s to come over the next two years. Whether it’s Bullis School’s (Md.) next star, Cameron Homer, or the newly minted 800m […]

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This year’s slate of national championships more than lived up to the hype, but some of the best performances of the national postseason came from up-and-coming sophomores who gave us a preview of what’s to come over the next two years.

Whether it’s Bullis School’s (Md.) next star, Cameron Homer, or the newly minted 800m national record holder, Justin Northwest’s (Texas) Cooper Lutkenhaus, the Class of 2027 is filled with some of the best high school athletes in the country.

Here are the top 50 sophomore boys from last month’s national championship weekend. 

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High School Sports

ABC24 highlights Sunset Skate at Tom Lee Park

Get the most current news to help keep you informed, safe and healthy on 24+ News Live. Author: localmemphis.com Published: 8:23 AM CDT July 17, 2025 Updated: 8:23 AM CDT July 17, 2025 1

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ABC24 highlights Sunset Skate at Tom Lee Park

Get the most current news to help keep you informed, safe and healthy on 24+ News Live.

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High School Sports

Alleghany High School Named Level Up Virginia Champion

COVINGTON, Va. (VR)— Alleghany High School has been named a Level Up Virginia Champion for the 2024–2025 school year by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Alleghany High School is one of only 28 schools in the state to receive this special recognition. This honor highlights the school’s strong commitment to helping students […]

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Alleghany High School Named Level Up Virginia Champion

COVINGTON, Va. (VR)— Alleghany High School has been named a Level Up Virginia Champion for the 2024–2025 school year by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Alleghany High School is one of only 28 schools in the state to receive this special recognition. This honor highlights the school’s strong commitment to helping students plan for life after high school.

School officials are quick to credit this achievement to the hard work of Sarai Warrick and Heather Terrell. Warrick organized all four statewide Level Up Virginia events at Alleghany, and she and Terrell both presented at each one. Terrell serves as an academic advisor at Alleghany High School, and Warrick served a two-year assignment at AHS under the Virginia College Advising Corps. The Corps has assigned another advisor to Alleghany High School for the coming school year to continue this important work.

The four Level Up Virginia events, ECMC College Nights in Virginia, Virginia College Application Week, FAF$A Next, and Decision Day VA, help students explore college and career options, apply for college, and complete financial aid forms.

By hosting these events, Alleghany High School has shown strong dedication to creating a college- and career-going culture. Virginia’s goal is to be the best state for education by 2030, with more students earning college degrees and credentials.

Schools like Alleghany High are helping make that goal a reality.

To celebrate, the school will receive a 2025 Level Up Virginia Champion pennant to proudly display as a symbol of this success.

“We are so proud of our students, staff, and families for supporting these efforts,” said Derek Cantrell, principal of Alleghany High School. “Special thanks to Sarai Warrick and Heather Terrell for their leadership and dedication to our students’ futures.”

About Alleghany High School: Alleghany High School serves students in grades 9-12 as part of Alleghany Highlands Public Schools (AHPS). AHPS was established in 2022 through the merger of Alleghany County Public Schools, Covington City Public Schools, and Jackson River Technical Center. Funded by Alleghany County and the City of Covington, the division combines local resources to provide an efficient and high-quality education for approximately 2,700 students.

Stay informed about AHPS news and events by following AHPS on Facebook at AHPublicSchools and on Instagram at ahpublicschools. For more information, visit www.ahps.k12.va.us.

Alleghany High School Academic Advisor Heather Terrell stands with Class of 2025 seniors at the Senior Academic Awards Ceremony in May. The seniors pictured were awarded scholarships, with Terrell and College Advisor Sarai Warrick playing a key role in helping them plan for life after graduation. Alleghany is one of only 28 schools in Virginia named a Level Up Virginia Champion for 2024-2025 by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Pictured above L-R: Terrell, Kaitlyn Petrero, Shantia Sterling, Kelsey Nicely, Kinlee Huffman, and Ella Hicks. (AHPS Photo)

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