The Old Rochester Girls’ Track team showed why they’re a juggernaut in the Massachusetts high school track scene as they crushed all competition at Saturday’s SCC Championship meet at GNB Voc-Tech. It marked their sixth straight SCC title. Meanwhile, both boys’ hockey and boys’ basketball captured a pair of victories as the hockey team in particular has played excellent of late. Girls and boys’ swimming both wrapped up their seasons, and the girls’ team will have swimmers moving on to sectionals this week.
Boys’ Basketball: The boys began their home stand on Tuesday against GNB Voc-Tech. In a physical game, the Bulldogs were able to distance themselves from Voc in a 73-53 victory, powered by junior Russell Noonan’s well-balanced performance: 15 points, 7 boards, and 6 assists. Senior Will Santos added 13 and junior center Matt Valles scored 10 as he came back from an illness that held him out of the Apponequet game last week. On Saturday, the team took on Wareham High. The Dogs controlled the first half as they scored 27 in the first quarter and led 44-27 at halftime. Wareham played well in the second half, but ORR held on for the 70-62 victory over their rivals. Valles finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds while Noonan had 14 and senior guard Evan Santos scored 9 and dished out 5 assists. They will head to the road for both of their games next week: against Dighton-Rehoboth on Tuesday and Bishop Stang on Friday, which is their first non-conference game.
Girls’ Basketball: The Lady Bulldogs were away for both of their games this week, starting off on Tuesday against GNB Voc-Tech. The team lost 65-39 to a tough Voc team that is undefeated in conference play. The leading scorers were juniors Katelyn Bindas, Sophie Church, and Emma Collings, with 9, 8, and 7 points, respectively. The girls took on the Lady Vikings of Wareham on Friday. It was a very close game throughout, and Wareham held a 24-23 lead at the half. However, ORR’s girls put it together in the second half and played well to capture a much-needed 47-41 victory. Freshman Maddie Demanche made a clutch steal and assist down the stretch, and junior Olivia Labbe led the team with 12 points. Collings and Church both added 10 in the big win that keeps the team’s playoff hopes alive. This week, they’ll be back at home to play the D-R Lady Falcons on Tuesday and non-conference Bishop Stang on Friday.
Boys’ Track: This week, the boys competed in the SCC Championship at GNB Voc-Tech on Saturday morning. Junior Danny Renwick earned a personal-best high jump of 6-3 that was the best in the SCC. Fellow juniors Will Hopkins and Eli Spevack went 1-2 in the 55m hurdles with times of 8.19 and 8.22 seconds. To cap off a second-place finish with 73 points (Dighton-Rehoboth was the winner), freshman Adam Sylvia fended off some veteran racers in the 2-mile with an exciting finish and an excellent time of 10:49. This upcoming week, top athletes will participate in the D-5 State Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
Girls’ Track: The girls were at GNB Voc-Tech on Saturday morning to run in the SCC Championship. They cruised to another victory, scoring 134.3 points to Seekonk’s second-place 50 points. Among the big winners were senior Nina Bourgeois in the 1000m (3:22) and senior Emily Josephson in the mile (5:48.85). To keep up the distance running success, senior Madeline Meyer won the 2 mile with a time of 12:04. Also, senior Zoe Smith continued her big season with wins in the 55m hurdles (8.78) and the high jump (5 feet.) Many of the team’s leading athletes will be at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston to run in the D-5 State Meet on Saturday.
Boys’ Swimming: The boys wrapped up their season by finishing fourth at the SCC Championship at Seekonk High on Thursday, scoring 78 points. Congrats to the boys for a solid season and good luck to Bulldog swimmers in the future.
Girls’ Swimming: The Lady Bulldogs competed at the SCC Championship at Seekonk High on Thursday. They finished second to Apponequet by scoring 360 points and will move on to swim in the South Sectionals Meet at MIT in Cambridge on Saturday, February 13.
Boys’ Ice Hockey: On Monday, the boys traveled to the Driscoll Skating Arena in Fall River to take on D-R. Senior Kam Silvia notched a goal and three assists as the ‘Dogs also got goals from juniors Landon Gougen, Sam Henrie, and Ryan Labonte (Fairhaven). Ryan’s brothers, ORR students Zak Labonte and Tayber Labonte (both sophomores) had big nights as well, contributing a goal and two assists, respectively. The Bulldogs/Blue Devils continued their week at home (The Travis Roy Rink at Tabor Academy) on Wednesday against conference rival Wareham. Silvia pushed three goals through the net and was flanked by Gougen, R. Labonte, ORR freshman Owen Powers and Fairhaven sophomore Ryan Raphael chipping in with a goal apiece. Junior Chase Cunningham made his third-consecutive shutout with 13 saves. This Wednesday, the Bulldogs/Blue Devils play GNB Voc-Tech at home before traveling to Driscoll Skating Arena in Fall River to face Apponequet on Saturday.
Girls’ Ice Hockey: The Bourne, Mashpee, Wareham, and ORR team began their week by taking on conference foe Marshfield at home (The John Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne). They lost 5-2 with goals coming from Bourne sophomore Carly LaCasse and ORR freshman Kaitlyn Kelley. Assists were made by Bourne sophomore Leah Hidenfelter and ORR freshman Elsie Buckley. On Saturday night, the girls faced off against Sandwich in another game that was played at the Gallo as part of the Canal Cup. Unfortunately, they lost that match 3-0. The girls will travel to Martha’s Vineyard this week on Wednesday, then return home to play Bishop Stang on Saturday night.
Below are the overall winter team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of February 8.
Boys’ Basketball: (14-1-0)(14-1-0); Girls’ Basketball: (5-10-0)(5-9-0); Boys’ Track: (8-1-0)(8-1-0); Girls’ Track: (9-0-0)(9-0-0); Boys’ Swimming: (0-8-0)(0-6-0); Girls’ Swimming: (3-5-0)(1-5-0); Boys’ Ice Hockey: (10-3-4)(7-0-1); Girls’ Ice Hockey: (2-12-0)(2-11-0).
By Patrick Briand