The June sucker, the humback chub and the Ute ladies’-tresses have been listed under the Endangered Species Act for decades. But each has made strides toward recovery over the last five years, the Department of Wildlife Resources says.

An endangered species is any species at serious risk of extinction in a specific area or throughout all of its natural habitat.

The June sucker is a native fish only found in Utah Lake and its tributaries. DWR reports the fish declined due to overharvesting, water-flow alterations and drought, habitat changes, and more. At one point, fewer than 1,000 June suckers were in existence. The fish was added to the endangered species list in 1986.

In 2021, the June sucker was downlisted from endangered to threatened. Ongoing conservation efforts, like Provo River Delta Restoration Project, have helped increase the June sucker population 30,000 to 45,000.

The humpback chub is a relatively small fish with a pronounced hump behind its head. It was listed as endangered in 1973 after large dams and human water use changed river flow, impacting its population.

The fish was downlisted to threatened in 2021 after successful conservation efforts through the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program.

Utah Divsion of Wildlife Resources

Finally, the Ute ladies’-tresses is an orchid plant. It features a long spike of small white flowers arranged in a gradual spiral.

The plant was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992 due to habitat loss. At the time, it was found only in Utah and Colorado.

Through habitat management and protection work the wildflower can now be found in eight Western states and southern British Columbia in Canada. In January the Ute ladies’-tresses was removed from the list.

Upper Cape softball have been crowned as this season’s Mayflower League champions.

After beating Old Colony 20-4 on Friday, the Rams (13-5) finished their league schedule with an 8-1 record.

Taysia Lopes led the offense with two triples and four RBIs. Rosie Neville had a pair of hits and RBIs, while Jaelynn Harraden had a big base hit scoring two runs. Patience at the plate was key as the Rams walked home several runs in the first inning of action.

Defensively, the Rams were solid. Lopes had five strikeouts and the infield play of Lucy Pesta and Amya Irving shut Old Colony down, as did the outfield tandem of Jaelynn Harraden and Rosalie Neville. 

In other high school sports action:

Softball 

Falmouth 8, Dennis-Yarmouth 1: The Clippers (9-7), who won their third straight game to lock up a postseason berth, handed the Dolphins (5-10) their fourth straight defeat.

Ellie Bennett gave up just three hits and struck out eight on the mound for Falmouth. Christina Femino (one run and two RBIs) and Natasha Bradshaw (two runs and one RBI) both had two hits. Kaylee Shaw (one double), Ellie Bennett (one double), Tenley Briggs, Azaria Viall and Rachel Perry all recorded a hit.

Barnstable 5, Nauset 4: The Red Hawks (4-13) won in dramatic fashion on Senior Night with senior Juju Nardone (1-for 4, one walk, one single, one run and one RBI) delivering the walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Warriors (6-11) led 3-0 in the fifth inning before the Red Hawks pulled within two runs an inning later. The deficit extended back to three runs by the sixth inning, but the Red Hawks tied the game in the bottom half.

Maddie Flynn, who struck out 11 batters, gave up two walks and allowed three earned runs, pitched out of a jam in the top of the seventh to strand two runners on base. The Red Hawks then loaded the bases before Nardone hit a 3-2 pitch into center field to secure the win.

All four of the Red Hawks’ seniors (Nardone, Sara Ormston, Madyn Field and Victoria Dos Santos) reached base.

Bella DiGiacomo drew three walks and scored twice. Ormston was 1-for-3 with a single and a walk drawn. Flynn scored a run.

Rising Tide 8, Nantucket 5: The Whalers (5-10) couldn’t build upon Wednesday’s win over Barnstable.

Norfolk Aggie 27, Cape Tech 4: The Crusaders (1-10) fell to a 10th consecutive defeat.

Baseball

Falmouth 7, Dennis-Yarmouth 0: The Clippers (12-5) clinched the Cape and Islands League title with a 7-1 record.

Josh Matta pitched a complete game shutout, scattered three hits, walked two and struck out 12. Jack Frostholm hit a two run home run to deep center in the first inning after Tre’Chaun Days’ lead off single set it up. Trey Cardoza had a huge two-RBI single in the fourth to give the Clippers a 4-0 lead. Max Inman and Eathen Vecchione chipped in with a hit and a RBI each, and Brody Palmer also had a big double and a run scored.

Nauset 5, Barnstable 4: The Warriors (3-14) capped off Senior Night by ending a two-game losing streak. The win was highlighted by James Breda hitting a pair of solo home runs and catcher Paul Alves throwing out two runners trying to steal second base to preserve a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning.

The Red Hawks (4-13) have lost back-to-back games. Eric Stanley went 3-for-4 with a triple, a RBI, three stolen bases and three runs scored. Braedon Costello went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases. Max Clark pitched great in relief, going 4 2/3 innings, while allowing just one hit and no runs.

Cape Tech 17, Norfolk Aggie 1: The Crusaders (6-8) are right back in the win column behind Mike Shea (three innings, zero hits, five strikeouts and one unearned run) and Nick Valiga (two innings and three strikeouts), who combined for a no-hitter.

Nolan Baker went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and five RBIs. George Meca was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, and Josh Cohan went 3-for-4 with a trio of runs scored and four RBIs. Brayden Wright (three RBIs) and Mason Tomilson (three RBIs) both went 2-for-3. Conor Gent was 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs.

Nantucket 11, Rising Tide 1: The Whalers (6-9) halted a two-game skid with a strong win.

Old Colony 2, Upper Cape 1 (8 inn.): The Rams (12-4) lost a pitchers’ duel, which ended their six-game win streak. Devyn Shultze pitched a no hitter for five innings and also had a double. Nolan Roche added a double and scored the Rams’ lone run. Logan Ewell, Jared Coates and Patrick Acord each had a hit.

Boys Lacrosse 

Falmouth 8, Martha’s Vineyard 6: The Clippers (12-4) clinched a share of the Cape and Islands Atlantic Division crown after they matched Nauset’s 7-1 record in league play with a win over the Vineyarders (5-10), who finished 0-8 against the division.

Barnstable 16, Mashpee 9: The Red Hawks (8-8) stopped a two-game losing streak with a non-league win over the Falcons (7-9), which extended their run to three straight defeats.

Girls Lacrosse

Dennis-Yarmouth 19, Cape Tech 9: The Dolphins (10-6) won their fourth straight game behind eight goals and three assists from Kourtney David. Carolyn O’Keefe tallied three goals and an assist, while Jenna Richard added four goals and an assist. Lizzy Mendiola and Nadia Cerqueira both scored, and Mia Medeiros added two goals. Mya Cerqueira made eight saves. 

The Crusadetrs (1-9) were unable to add to their tally after picking up their first win of the season earlier in the week.

Nantucket 8, Monomoy 4: Fresh off clinching a share of the Cape and Islands Atlantic Division title in a three-way tie, the Whalers (10-4) battled to a third straight win. Mayson Lower led the way with two goals and three assists. Louisa Beni (one assist) and Dylan Damian both scored twice. Suz Peraner (one assist) and Maddie Lombardi each added a goal, and Mia Beaudette had two assists. Ella Douglas made five saves.

The Sharks (11-4) saw their two-game win streak end as they finished the week with a 2-1 record across three games. Tessa Grodzicki scored a trio of goals and Paige Nash added a goal and an assist to break 150-career points. Abrielle Long added an assist. Gaby Basset had two assists. Morgan Willis made 14 saves in goal.

Boys Tennis 

Sandwich 4, Randolph 1: The Blue Knights (11-6) emerged victorious from a 10-game superset match against Randolph.

Andrew Emmel defeated Josh Ching in first singles (10-0) and Kallen Kestenbaum defeated Louis Le in third singles (10-3). Liam McLaughlin and Finn Welden defeated Tomson Nguyon and Christian Nguyon in first doubles (10-7) and Colin MacQuade and Andrew Morrison-Sheppard defeated Azlan Hussain and Vincent Huyuh in second doubles (10-0).

Martha’s Vineyard 3, Falmouth 2: The Vineyarders (14-1) made an immediate bounce back after they narrowly beat the Clippers (13-3), which ended their six match win streak.

Monomoy 5, Barnstable 0: The Sharks (14-3) added a third straight win to their haul after they swept the season series with the Red Hawks (1-15).

Roman Pavluchenko defeated Dean Cordeiro in first singles (6-4, 6-0), Ryan Casey defeated Harry Baroni in second singles (6-0, 6-0), and Zach Shields defeated Seymour Singh in third singles (6-2, 7-5).

Nick Hadden and Blake Noonan defeated Kaleb Jones and Chase King in first doubles (6-1, 6-3), while Ethan Seufert and Thomas Hereford won by forfeit in second doubles.

Nauset 5, Dennis-Yarmouth 0: The Warriors (5-10) ended a four-game slide with their third sweep of the season, and they also swept the season series with the Dolphins (5-11) in the process.

Lucas Wilson-Bevington beat Landon Richter in first singles (6-4, 6-2), Will Murphy defeated Collin Caron in second singles (6-4, 2-6, 10-7), and Lucas Patton defeated Michael O’Reilly in third singles (6-2, 6-2).

Wyatt Carroll and Ronan O’Brien defeated Aidan Karras and Ryan Clarke in first doubles  (6-3, 6-2), and Soren Jones-Carlson and Asher Woods defeated Matt Anderson and Ben Soltis in second doubles (6-0, 6-1).

Fairhaven 4, Nantucket 1: The Whalers (4-9) fell to a third defeat in their last five games with a season finale against undefeated Cape Cod Academy left on the schedule.

Girls Tennis 

Martha’s Vineyard 3, Falmouth 2: The Vineyarders (14-0) were pushed by the Clippers (7-8) to the fifth match on court for a second straight meeting to maintain their undefeated season. They clinched the Cape and Islands Atlantic Division championship with a 10-0 record. Zoe Treitman and Leah Thomson at first doubles won the deciding point.

Sandwich 3, Randolph 2: The Blue Knights (7-9) curbed a three-game slide behind a pair of wins that went the distance in three sets in a league win that improved that record to 7-5.

Senja Kravitz defeated Linda Thea via forfeit in first singles, while Tenley Rothera defeated Michelle Phan (6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-3) in third singles. Izzie Bar and Maylin Alty defeated Kelsey Vo and Shaylan Phan in second doubles (6-3, 0-6, 6-2).

Monomoy 5, Barnstable 0: The Sharks (12-4) collected a second straight win in a sweep of the Red Hawks (1-13), and a fourth in their last five matches.

Hanadi Rezk defeated Sophie Davis in first singles (6-0, 6-0), Ella Cutter defeated Sophia Tymechyehyn in second singles (6-0, 6-0), Darcy Addison defeated Lily Case in third singles (6-0, 6-1).

Karina Khalsa and Madison Mahfouz defeated Kate Condinho and Ava Gregory in first doubles (6-4, 7-6 (5)), and Alexa Babes-Deel and Lauren Da Selva defeated Dame Edwenda and Emily Winfield in second doubles (6-4, 6-1).

Nauset 5, Dennis-Yarmouth 0: The Warriors (8-7) made an immediate return to the win column as they downed the Dolphins (1-14) via a sweep.

Anjali O’Brien defeated Tristin Bradford in first singles (6-0, 6-2), Sophia Volteler defeated Lia Marie Adames De Jesus in second singles (7-5, 7-5), and Haley Jackson defeated Maddy Stewart in third singles (3-6, 6-1, 10-3).

Faye Adams and Chloe Hand defeated Kelsang Gurung and Maddy Burgess in first doubles (6-3, 6-4), and Elexa Malouin and Morgan Johnson defeated Aimee Teague and Willasia Thompson in second doubles. (6-1, 6-1).

Allen Gunn covers high school sports for the Cape Cod Times. You can contact him at agunn@gannett.com and follow him on X at @allentgunn.

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