Some 45 Nashua PAL Gate City Striders runners competed in the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic Cross Country National Championship races in Myrtle Beach recently, with a good showing, as in a crowded field (some races had between 300-425 runners), had 300-425 runners, five locals placed in the top 50 in their age division races and three teams placed in the top eight nationally.

Age 8 and under: The girls PAL Striders teams placed 10th, led by Dominique Secovich who finished 50th. She was supported by strong runs from Arianna Kouchalakos, Lauren Long, Zelena Long, and Julianna Carlson. Evan Walters ran as an individual in the boys raced and finished a strong 95th nationally.

Ages 9-10: The girls squad placed 15th and was led by Meredith McDermott in 159th place. Also running well for the PAL Strider team were Soray Durham, Christina Juris, Grace O’Malley, Ashley Goh, Acadia Gelineau, Samantha White, and Daija Durham.

The boys team finished in 14th place and was led by Nicholas Dahl in 123rd place. He was followed by Alex Thibeault, Jason (AJ) Mack, Sreeman Lakshmanan, Joshua Rivers, Peter Wilson, and Christopher Prangley.

Ages 11-12: In a field of 421 runners, Haley Schmitt had a strong run placing 181st. In the boys race, Christopher Keefe ran well placing 151st in a field of 363 runners.

Ages 13-14: In the girls race, Lauren Robinson had an extremely strong race placing 27th in a field of 384 runners. The PAL boys ran very well, finishing 7th out of 37 teams. The team was led by 28th (of 405) place runner Oliver Spencer. Also finishing in the top 65 were Forest MacKenzie and Evan Tanguay. They were followed by Henry Keegan, David Cook, Landon Johnson, Ryan Devine, and Patrick Martin.

Ages 15-16: The PAL Striders girls finished seventh and were led by 31st place runner Shannon Earley. She was followed by Kaela Greska, Lindsay Wright, Grace Vogel, and Alexandra Dunhom.

The boys finished eighth in the country, led by Garrett Earley in 52nd place. Also in the top 100 were Aiden van Batenburg and Spense Sawyer. They were followed by Jack Spaulding, Allan Vallante, Matthew O’Brien, and Michael Hagen.

Ages 17-18: The PAL Striders young women were represented by 28th place runner Shannen Arseneault.

BASKETBALL

NASHUA BIDDY

Boys Bantam

Blazers 84, Kings 62

The Blazers had six players in double digits led by Jordan Donnelly with 21 points and numerous rebounds. The Kings were led by Tyler Retkevicz (22 points).

Celtics 55, Knicks 34

Tony Ager scored a game high 15 points for the winners, while Jacob Wilcox and James Degree followed with 13 12 for the Celtics. The Knicks high scorers were Vincent Priore with12 and Stephen Larkin with 11.

Boys Junior Biddy

Bulldogs 21, Mustangs 20 (OT)

Luis Vargas hit a jump shot with three seconds left in OT to give the Bulldogs the win. Dean Adams led the Bulldogs with five points, while Keith O’Donnell, Cayden Ninteau, and Vargas added four each. Hunter Ward and Eli Meesig had three each.

Boys Biddy

Cavs 39, Satellites 13

Cavaliers Mason Matylewski led all scorers with 13,while Stav Alakay added 10. Also scoring were Josh Lentz, Rishi Patel, Miles Rios, Brandon Metivier, Travis and Colin Holbrook, Gavin Belesca, The Satellites were led by Nolan Foss, and Joe Bodi.

Cavs 41, Wildcats 10

Mason Matylewski led all scorers with 12 and Josh Lentz 10 also contributing offensively were Mile Rios, Gavin Belesca, Jacob Soucie Nathan Brodeur and Rishi Patel. The Wildcats they were led by Nate Campbell, Nick Gosselin.

Sharks 54, Jazz 17

Jaden Murphy led the winners with 14 while Jake Taylor added eight and Kyle Gautier seven. Adam Akel played well defensively while Sam Fletcher added numerous asssists.

Sharks 46, Lakers 44

Jaden Murphy led the unbeaten winners with 12 while Johnny Sullivan added eight. Mohammed Ali, Peyton Adams and Timmy Yang aslo played well.

Girls

Tigers 45, Spurs 30

Kendall Bush led a balanced scoring effort by the Tigers with 10 points while Theresa Ellison and Chloe Goforth each had 8 points. Hannah Muchemore had 7 points and a number of assists. Alexa Wilkins added 6 points.

Janessa Lofton had 20 points while Anne Sherman and Haleigh Millette each had 4 points for the Spurs.

Tigers 23, Hawks 15

Kendall Bush had nine points while Shatia Elison played well for The Tigers. Mailee Mcdermott, Merideth Mcdermott, Ainsley Mazerolle and Olivia Mazerolle all played well for the Hawks.

Tigers 37, Knights 13

Grace Wilson and Theresa Elison each scored 10 points to lead the Tigers. Kara Kelliher, Rebecca Zhu and Morgan Laforge played well for the Knights.

Rockets 29, Suns 18

The Rockets were led by Iruka Obinelo with eight points, followed by Caitlyn Olsen with seven and Abby Hill with six. The Suns were led by Alyiah Brown with seven.

Hawks 21, Rockets 17

The Rockets were paced by Catherine Covert’s nine points and six from Olivia Baldassaro. Aryanna Murray had 13 for the Hawks.

Bulls 35, Spurs 17

The Bulls got 21 from Sarah Gelinas while Mia Thomas had four and Kayla Benson two.

CYO

St. Chris Girls Mites win first

St. Chris topped St. Patrick’s 18-16 for their first win of the season, rallying from a four-point deficit thanks to two Ana Stawasz breakaway layups and a tough defense that kept St. Patrick’s off the board for the final three minutes.

Stawasz had 12 points for the 1-4 Huskies, while Ava Therrien had four and Cameron Laquinta had two. Amelia Piercy, Claire LaPlante, Ava Soucy, Aliya Lewis and Julia Gadbois all rebounded and defended well.

Emily Dowling and Zarina Nicholas also played well.

St. Catherine’s 28,
St. Christopher 17

Caroline Vanderburgh was tough on the boards with six rebounds and Ava Therrien had 10 rebounds. Claire Laplante and Julia Gadbois played tough defensively for the Huskies.

PMA Maroon 19, PMA White 14

The Junior Mites Maroon team rallied from a 14-4 halftime deficit to shut out the White team in the second half en route to a 19-14 win.

WRESTLING

Merrimack

Six competitors reach
Granite YMCA finals

Six of the 13 Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program athletes made the finals of the Granite YMCA Holiday Tournament in Bedford with Aiden Hanning, grade 6, pinning all three of his opponents en route to a first place finish.

Rhys Dewar, kindergartner, won one match by pin leading to a second place finish. First grader Cayden Dine won two matches, one via pin, to also finish in second.

Jackson Meehan, first grade, pinned two opponents before falling by pin in the championship match to finish second.

Ivey Johnson, second grade, won one match putting her on the podium in second place.

Kevin Sheridan, third grade, pinned his first opponent but then lost a close championship match, finishing second.

Sixth grader Anson Dewar lost his first match but rallied back in the consolation bracket to win three matches and finish third.

Christian Makowski, third grade, pinned two opponents to finish fourth overall while kindergartner Collin Schuster, third graders Mitchell Krupp and Kennedy Dillon, and sixth grader Anthony Maglio also competed.

CHEERLEADING

Nashua

Two in Disney parade

Two Nashua cheerleaders were selected to participate in Disney’s Christmas Day Parade.

Lauren Grabeau, and Abbie Colebrook, former Nashua Pal Force, Elm Street Middle School and now Nashua North varsity cheerleaders attended a summer cheer camp at SNHU. They were invited to tryout for positions in the Disney Parade, and both were accepted.

BULLETIN BOARD

Soccer

Hampshire FC/United SC
indoor training registration

Hampshire FC and Hampshire United SC is now accepting registrations for its Tots thru U19 winter soccer skill training at the Hampshire Dome in Milford. There are also limited openings on the Boys and Girls U10-U19 spring soccer teams.

For information on Tots thru U12 go to amherstsoccerclub.com. For information on U13 thru U19, hampshireunitedsc.com or contact Lisa Davidson at admin@hampshireunitedsc.com.

Baseball

Nashua Academy clinics

The Nashua Baseball Academy will be hosting upcoming clinics at the Hollis Training Facility, 265 Proctor Hill Road.

There will be a catchers clinic Monday, Dec. 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., featuring quick feet/quick release throws, drop and block and proper sign giving. It is free to members, while a fee of $35 will be charged for non-members.

There will be a pitchers clinic on Tuesday, Dec. 30 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring power windup, stretch, new pitches and pickoff moves. It is free for members, $35 for non members.

On Tuesday, Jan. 6 there will be group training for ages 12 and under and ages 13 and older. The group meets twice a week for one-and-a-half hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays for five weeks and the focus is proper hitting, conditioning and throwing mechanics in a team-like setting

The session for ages 12 and under is 4-5:30 p.m. and 13 and older is 5:30-7 p.m. They are free for members; the cost is $300 to non-members.

For more information and to reserve a spot, email Coach Loftus at nashuabaseballacademy@comcast.net or call 603-233-5587.

NH Knights openings

The New Hampshire Knights have a few openings for their 13U team that finished third in the New England AAU Regionals last year as a 12U team.

This team will be attending Baseball Heaven in New York in the spring. All home games are played at Academy Field in Hollis, so there is little travel.

Ages are determined as of
May 1, 2015. Contact coach Rich Loftus to schedule a tryout at nashuabaseballacademy@comcast.net or call 233-5587. Financial aid is available based on financial need. For more information, go to www.nashuabaseball
academy.com.

NH Grizzlies openings

The New Hampshire Grizzlies U14 baseball team has a few openings left for the 2015 season. This is a full-year program with winter workouts.

Managers are not parents and all practices are at the team’s private indoor facility.

For more information, email teamnhbaseball@comcast.net or call 577-1772. Over 100 members have played on collegiate teams at all threeivisions, some with scholarships.

John Roper pitching lessons

The John Roper Pitching School, run by the former Major Leaguer and Nashua Pride hurler, has openings for private and semi-private pitching lessons. Pitching classes include pitchers fielding practice, pick off moves, covering bunts etc. There is a maximum of 10 students per class. Group pitching lessons will be a maximum of six students. For more information, go to leaguelineup.com/teamgid or email jcrope1@yahoo.com.

Softball

NH Hammerheads seek players

The NH Hammerheads Softball Club, a competitive travel softball program in the Manchester area, is looking for a few 16U players to fill their2014-2015 roster. If interested, please contact Andrea to schedule a individual tryout at nhhammerheads@yahoo.com or 860-6872.

Comets 16U White openings

The New Hampshire Comets 16U White ASA softball team is looking to add a pitcher, a catcher, and a strong infielder to our roster for the 2015 season. Contact Comets manager Bill Varnell at wdv1@comcast.net or 219-5452.

Comets 16U Blue needs catcher

NH Comet 16U Blue Fastpitch team is looking for a catcher to share duties for the 2015 season. The Comets are based out of with winter workouts at New England College. Those interested or looking for moreinformation can email manager Peter Jenovese at pjeno@msn.com or text at 724-5023.

Nashua Sports Academy

Registration is still open

Nashua Sports Academy is now accepting registrations for the following programs:

C4 Youth Flag Football Program Boys/Girls ages 8-14; Youth Rec League Hoops Boys/Girls ages 7-14; C4 Indoor Soccer Boys/Girls ages 6-13; Youth Lacrosse Skill and Drills Boys/Girls ages 8-15; Youth Girls Field Hockey Skills and Drills ages 11-15; C4 Baseball Infield Skills and Drills Boys ages 10-18; NSA Men’s Mon Night Indoor Hoop League (A/B/C Divisions); C4 Performance Training for Youth Athletes (10-22 years old), Adults (23 and up) and Private Workouts.

Visit http://nashuasportsacademy.
com/new.php for more details.

Lacrosse

North Shore winter training

North Shore Lacrosse will offer both leagues for youth, and a winter training camp for high school players. The high school winter training camp will be Sundays starting January 11 through mid-March. Classes will be limited to a max of 25 players only, with Mark Anastas as one of the head coaches/instructors.

Registration is open at www.northshorelacrosse.com/page/show/1507431-boys-high-school-winter-camp

Meanwhile, a league will take place for boys in two separate groups.Grades 4-6 (exceptions are made for skilled third graders) and Grades 7-8 will play on Sunday afternoons at either 12, 1, 2, or 3 p.m. And an option (free) to play on Monday afternoons at 3 p.m.

Registration is open now, limited space is available. For more information and to register go to http://www.northshorelacrosse.com/page/show/1315779-boysythleague-winter-2015-winter-middle-school-league-

Gymnastics

UNH Night Out and Show

The University of New Hampshire gymnastics program will hold a Kids’ Night Out And Show on Tuesday, Dec. 30, from 5-9 p.m. at the UNH Field House. Children age 3 to eighth grade are invited. The night will feature a performance from the Wildcat gymnastics team, plus gymnastics instruction, games and pizza under the supervision of the UNH gymnasts and staff.

The event, a fundraiser for the UNH gymnastics program, costs $40 per child and $35 for additional children from the same family. To register for the event, visit www.unhwildcats.com. Cash and checks will be accepted at the door.

For more information on this event, contact UNH gymnastics assistant coach Ali Carr at
alison.carr@unh.edu.