BASKETBALL

Nighthawks Open Pre-Season in Impressive Fashion

The Nashua Nighthawks’ boys travel basketball program opened their preseason at the Bedford Jamboree. The Nighthawks fourth through eighth grade teams were impressive over the opening weekend with a combined record of 11-3 – with both the fourth and sixth grade teams going undefeated.

Eighth Grade: The eighth grade Nighthawks opened the tournament with an exciting win over Hopkinton 45-31. Despite playing shorthanded, the Nighthawks opened an early lead and never looked back. Dan McCoy and Devante Acorn led the way with 10 points each, while Christian Sullivan finished with eight points and Josh Goulet finished with six.

The Nighthawks next played the Portsmouth Spartans, and dropped a tough one, losing 51-45. Matt Lavallee led the way for the Hawks by scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Mike Osgood and Demitri Jackson led the defense in the second half, holding Portsmouth’s leading scorer to just one basket. Osgood finished the game with eight points.

The eighth grade closed out its pool play with a 56-44 victory over Londonderry. The win moved the Hawks into next week’s semifinals. Mike Habibi and Lavallee each scored 11 points, while Jackson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Also playing well on the offensive end for Nashua was Alex Boudreau (six points) and Acorn (eight points). Jeremy Ouellette also provided strong minutes in his starting role in this game.

Seventh Grade: The seventh grade Nighthawks lost their opening game to the host team from Bedford 48-43. The Nighthawks received strong play from Chad Olivieri, who led all scorers with 24 points. Brint MacDonald and Collin Morrow each chipped in five points, while Patrick Sullivan added four points, Shane LeGraw scored three points and Jarrett Wilson and Casey Fisher rounded out the scoring. Ryan Penkala, Garett Bozek and Dylan Gamache also played well for Nashua on the defensive side of the ball.

In their second game, the Nighthawks defeated the ConVal Bobcats 42-8. The Hawks jumped out to an early 18-0 lead and never looked back. Ben Seegel controlled the early offense for Nashua on his way to six first-half points. Wilson hit a deep 3-pointer from the corner in the first half on his way to five points, while Fisher was 4 for 4 from the floor and LeGraw had six second-half points. Olivieri once again led all scorers with 11 points. Nashua’s remaining points came from Penkala, MacDonald and Sullivan.

Sixth Grade: The sixth grade Nighthawks earned their first victory of the tournament with an opening win against Londonderry. Leading the Nighthawks offense were DJ Frechette, Rohan Patel and Kevin Genao. Also playing well for Nashua were Max Osgood and Cyrus Forcier. Controlling the boards for the Nighthawks were Jishnu Siddabathula, Stephen Signorello and Patel.

Nashua kept its opening game momentum and continued on its winning ways the remainder of the weekend against teams from Brookline and Litchfield. Playing well for Nashua throughout the weekend were Alex Moody, Owen Amigo, Joey Bernard and Zach Boyer.

Fifth Grade: The fifth grade Nighthawks opened their tournament with a 35-28 victory over host Bedford. The Nighthawks jumped out to an early lead and never gave it up. Sclyler Boykin and Xahn Frater each had seven points, while Tilak Patel and John Champa added six and five points, respectively. Razz Alkalay and Ryan Lynn also scored for the Nighthawks and played well.

The Nighthawks earned a convincing 41-12 win over Londonderry in their second game. Champa and Clay Medling led Nashua’s offense. However, also playing well for Nashua and scoring were Alex Amigo, Alonzo Linton, Jordan Donnelly and Joshua Reeder. As the score indicates, the Nashua defense was solid all game.

Fourth Grade: The fourth grade Nighthawks opened their tournament with a victory over Londonderry. Gabriel Perrault controlled the tempo of the Nashua offense from his point guard position and distributed the ball well throughout the game. Leading the Nighthawks offense were Brenden Choate and Andrew Penkala with seven and six points, respectively.

Each member of the young Nighthawks scored during the game. Also scoring but controlling the boards were Nevan Roy, Patrick Gillis and Andrew Moody. Defensively, Jeffrey Reza and Spencer Desrosiers had several key steals.

During the second game, Nashua had a decisive victory over the Merrimack Legacy. Nashua jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back. Leading the Nashua offense were Roy, Reza and Casey McNally. Also playing well offensively for the Nighthawks were Chase Hart and Jake Robbins. Once again Moody and Gillis controlled the boards for Nashua, while Perrault, Desrosiers and Penkala played well defensively.

In the third game of the weekend, the young Hawks defeated a team from the Derry Boys and Girls Club. Once again, the Nighthawks came out of the gate quickly and kept the lead for the entire game. Leading the Nashua offense were Robbins and McNally. Also playing well offensively were Perrault, Hart, Moody, Roy and Penkala. Gillis led all Nighthawks in rebounds, while Choate led the Hawks in steals.

CYO Cadets season kicks off

Cadet (seventh-eighth grade) Girls: The St. Chris Girls Cadets got off to a strong start with a 48-22 win over perennially tough St. Elizabeth Seton of Bedford at Tyngsborough (Mass.) High School. Megan Kerutis (13 points), Marie Laplante (nine) and Meredith Hall (eight) led the scoring effort, with strong performances by Taylor Choate, Sarah Shields, Adezi Okorie, Jackie O’Connell and Jessics Zalzal.

Cadet Boys: The St. Chris Cadet boys posted a 62-28 win over St. Patrick’s of Pelham at the Nashua Catholic Jr. High School gym last weekend. Myles Cassin-Reed and Rob Holbrook were tough at both ends of the floor, with strong support Jack Fahey and Tyler Crisp. Sam McCarthy led all scorers.

Elks Hoop Shoot set for Dec. 11

The Nashua Lodge of Elks will be hosting the 38th Greater Nashua Elks “Hoop Shoot” Free Throw contest on Saturday, Dec. 11, in the Elm Street Middle School Gymnasium on Chestnut Street, beginning promptly at 8 a.m. There is no charge or fees to participate in the Elks Hoop Shoot Free Throw Program.

The competition is open to all interested boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 13, from the Hudson, Litchfield, Nashua, Hollis, Brookline, Amherst, Milford, Wilton and Merrimack areas. A youngster’s age on April 1, 2011 determines his/her age division.

There will be six age divisions, three for boys and three for girls each – 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13. Trophies will be presented to the top three boys and girls in each division.

Contestants will shoot five warm-ups, before shooting 25 free throws for score. They must wear basketball or tennis shoes to compete. T-shirts, slacks or pants may be worn but basketball uniforms are preferred. As each age category is completed, contestants may leave. The entire contest usually lasts about two hours, enabling anyone to make any scheduled league games elsewhere.

Over three million youngsters competed last year in the Elks National “Hoop Shoot” Free Throw contest, starting with the Local, District, State, Regional and National levels. Winners will have their names inscribed in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The Nashua Elks have sent 10 youngsters to the Elks National “Hoop Shoot” Finals – Steven Piwowoski, Melissa Ayotte, Debra Killmon, Ellen Tipping, Ryan Robinson, Ryan Sullivan, Michael Panagoulias, Caleb Donnelly of Hudson, Max Coleman of Londonderry and Tom O’Hearn of Hudson.

In 2006, Caleb Donnelly was the first Greater Nashua Area Champion to win the Elks National Hoop Shoot Free Throw Championship. Youth Chairman Al Savage (888-0064) is running the local contest. Local winners will compete in the State Elks Southern New Hampshire District Free Throw contest in Nashua on Jan. 8, 2011.

RUNNING

Striders strong in R.I.

The Gate City Striders youth team participated in the New England USATF Championships on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Burrillville, R.I. Teams placing in the top three and individuals in the top 25 move on to Region 1 Championships also in Burrillville, R.I.

The Striders Intermediate Girls team (15-16) of Coutney Hawkins, Cassie Wright, Rachel Springman, Felicia Lombardi, Christiana Pike and Emily Benz took first pace with a sweep of 15 points.

Also qualifying was the Girls youth team (13-14) which placed third. They were led by Megan Philpot (fourth), Melissa Hiatt (10th), Brianna Lippitt (11th), Shauna Salem (13th), Victoria Lizotte (31st), Aimee Krafft (47th), Sabrina Bishop (55th) and Rachel Nakos (61st).

Qualifying as individuals were Caroline Fischer (eighth) and Kendra Santoro (21st) in the Bantam girls division (U10), Justin Carbonneau (third) and Ryan Santoro (22nd) in the Bantam boys, Danielle Poublon (sixth) in the Midget girls (11-12), Tim Tamulonis (13th) and Jacob Ricca (18th) in the boys Midget; Tim Faffard (16th) in the Boys youth division (13-14); Erica Notini (first) and Alyss Lombardi (second) in the young womens division; and Aaron Bellomo (10th) in the young mens division.

Teams that place top three and the top 20 individuals in the Region Meet advance to Nationals in Hoover, Ala., on Dec. 11.

Nashua PAL heading to JORs

The girls midget team placed third in the New England Association Junior Olympic race in Harrisville, R.I., on Sunday, Nov. 14, and therefore qualified for the Regional One Championship meet to be held at the same location.

Heidi (16th) and Helen Ntengeri (17th) led the way with teammate Jillian MacGregor (20th) also finishing in the top 20. Olivia Koutsos (26th) and Carla Kossayda (27th) closed the gap for the team score. Racing in right behind were Erika Dahl (41st), Kayla Bednarz (48th) and Lexi Bernier (61st).

Leading the way for the PAL B team was Randi Klayton (60th), followed closely by Olivia Trader (65th), Mary Zhu (66th), Beck Skahan (71st), Meagan Morelli (81st) and Hannah Dobson (88th). There were 105 girls racing in the 11-12 division.

Nashua PAL also had four girls run strongly in the 13-14 youth division. Abigail Pike raced in first of the group for 46th place in the very competitive division. Her teammates, Shannon Joyce, Bridget Murphy and Allison Kraus ran great in their Junior Olympic debut.

The Bantam girls placed fourth as a team with Rebecca Ntengeri (14th) and Tylee Thurber (16th) both qualifying as individuals for the Regional race.

Other strong performances were turned in by Alexis Desfosses, Madelaine Duda, Julia Gagnon, Emma Branquinno, Elise Michard and Jordon Parker.

The Youth Boys team had two runners who finished in the top 25. Both Ryan Doyle and Tom Lessard will run in the Regionals as individuals. Other strong perfomances were turned in by Brian McAfee, Tyler Doveno, Ethan Michaud, Phillip Demers, Grant Lerude, Ryan Szcygielski, Owen McNulty, Zachary Pike, Garett Bozek, Patrick Swanson, Andrew Dahl, Joey Tibando, Frank Cunniff and Alex Arika.

The Bantam Boys team will advance to Regionals led by Alex Koutsos, who finished 8th with a time of 12:26. Other strong performances were turned in by Kyle Fisher, Brendon Frost, Conner Dube, Zack Bethiaume, David Pike, John Sullivan, Joseph Ntengeri, Andrew Arike, Jacob Crain, Jacob Pike, Sam Smythe and Owen Duda.

The Midget Boys Team placed third and were led by Cameron Jackson (fourth, 11:04) and Conor Canfield (fifth, 11:07). Rounding out the Midget Boys team were Aidan Sullivan, Simon Morrier, Ryan North, Connor Muise, Ryan Vermette, Tyler North, Evan Branquinho, Alex Creem and Irving Scales.

SWIMMING

Nashua Storm swims with Fins

The Greater Nashua YMCA Storm continued to make progress swimming head-to-head with the Southern New Hampshire Fins. The dual meet took place at the Nashua Boys and Girls Club.

Seventy Storm swimmers achieved personal best times during the meet. Two Storm swimmers broke team records, while Carl-Nico Laborera broke his own team record in the Boys 13-14 100 Backstroke; Eric Howard however broke three team records in the Boys 15-over 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle and 200 Backstroke.

The team took 30 individual wins and 9 relay victories overall. Head coach Corey Sullivan, said. “We are mixing up the relay teams to help swimmers to become better at new strokes. With mid-season meets we continue to work new distances and strokes among the swimmers to keep everyone learning in a competitive setting.”

Some Storm members claiming victories at this meet include: Jared Beauregard, Boys U8 50 Freestyle; Danielle Dumont, Girls 13-14 200 Freestyle; Jacqueline Dumont, Girls 9-10 50 Breaststroke; Elise Jolly, Girls 11-12 50 Backstroke; Rebecca Jolly, Girls 15-19 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke; and Bryan Li, Boys 11-12 50 Freestyle and 50 Backstroke.

Four swimmers made a clean sweep of the three events they could enter when Eric Howard won Boys 15-19 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle and 200 Backstroke; Carl-Nico Laborera won Boys 13-14 100 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, and 100 Backstroke; while Alice Loucroft represented the Storm ladies by taking Girls U8 25 Freestyle, 50 Freestyle, and 100 Individual Medley; and John Puksta earned first place finishes in the Boys 9-10 100 Freestyle, 50 Breaststroke and 100 Individual Medley.

The Storm’s next meet is in Andover, Mass., at the Greater Lawrence Technical High School. For more information about the Greater Nashua YMCA and the Storm Swim team call 598-1533 or visit www.nmymca.org.

SOCCER

Granite FC GU13 Play in State Championship

After a successful regular season, the Granite FC GU13 team entered the Granite State Youth Soccer League playoffs with a 6-2 record.

They saved some of their best soccer for the playoffs, first beating Oyster River in the quarterfinals 3-0 on goals by Hannah Chick, Juliane Donahue and Maura Rapposelli. In the semifinals, they faced Salem but with some strong defense by Anna Sparks and Zoey Shapiro and goals scored by Hailey Johnson (two), McKenna Hopp and Allison Chapman, they prevailed again by a score of 4-2.

As Division 2 defending state champions, they were ready for the match against Sanborn. With the game tied at 2-2 after regulation on goals by Hannah Chick and Caroline Boudreau, the defense stayed strong behind the commanding play of Alana Barretto and Bree Johnson.

Overtime could not resolve the tie and the game went to penalty kicks. Hannah Smith provided strong goal keeping, but Sanborn finally prevailed on the ninth penalty kick. The team showed great skill and heart throughout the season and was thrilled to be one of the top two teams out of 23 in the division.

Members of the Granite FC are Hailey Johnson, Anna Sparks, Addie Stevens, Allison Chapman, Abigail Pike, Maggie Tule, Jordan Kania, Kassiana Gagnon, Jessica Lapsley, Caroline Boudreau, Alana Barretto, Hannah Chick, Hannah Smith, Juliane Donahue, Bree Johnson, McKenna Hopp, Zoey Shapiro, Maura Rapposelli, coach Amy Sparks and assistant coach Marie Tule.

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