BASKETBALL

Two Nashua Elks New Hampshire State Hoop Shoot Champions, eight-year-old Ryan Owen Bennett and 12-year-old

Ebuka Okorie will be among 36 boy and girl state champions from throughout New England who will be competing in The Elks Hoop Shoot Regionals at Deering High School in Portland, Maine, on Saturday, March 14 at 9:15 a.m.

New Hampshire’s other four state champions competing are 10-yea-old Michsel Gorman of Dover, 12-year-old Brooke Arenella from Rochester,10-year old Markenna Housten of Lebanon and 9-year-old Allison Bastien from Rochester.

The New Engand Regional Hoop Shoot is one of 12 being held in the country to determine the 72 national finalists.

This is the fourth level of competition.

The Nashua area last had a national champion when Hudson’s Caleb Donnelly won the 12-13 boys division 10 years ago.

The Elks Hoop Shoot, now in its 48th year, is said to be one of if not the largest

co-educational sports program in the

country, allowing boys and girls to compete separately in three age-groups, 8-9, 10-11, and 12-13. Each contest consists of 25 free throws. Over one million boys and girls have competed in this year’s program.

The six Regional winners from the South Portland, Maine competition will have a chance to stake their claim to one of six plaque in the Naismith Memorial

Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.in the Nationals next month.

Next weekend there will be a pre contest gathering on Friday in Portland for the contestants and their families, with a breakfast Saturday morning prior to the competition.

The Awards Banquet will be held at the contest headquarters at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at 5 p.. Saturday with speakers and an awards program. A Sunday morning breakfast will wrap up the weekend’s events.

Richard P. Blinn of Massachusetts, is the Director of the Regional Elks Hoop Shoot.

WRESTLING

BOY&GIRLS CLUB WINS NHWAY TEAM TITLE; MERRIMACK WRESTLERS DO WELL ALSO

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua’s K-8 wrestling program captured the 14U NHWAY State Championship Tournament at Nashua High School South, beating out 17 other teams for the tite.

Some 44 BGCGN wrestlers competed. Leading the way for the Pride were Eli Gagnon, Cecilia Jones, Walter Cotito, Victor Lomme, Ruben Dejesus, and Roy McHenry, who placed first in their individual weigh classes.

Runners up in their weight classes were Ben Byrne, Cole Brandt, Caden Bruseo, Ian McCubrey, Jace Gallego, John Cullerton, Jordan Perez, Liam O’Keefe, Noah Lake, and Ryan Ostrowski.

Placing third were Colton Richard, John Forcier, Carter Queenan, Liam Connerty, Nick Samos, Owen Gagnon, Ryan Demmons, and Thomas Avery. Carter Richard, Josiah Spleen, Julianna Jones and Ben Jones placed fourth.

Other wrestlers who competed were Aaron Isabelle, Adam Collier, Avery Gallagher, Caleb Paquin, Cayden Raye, Declan Lambert, Hunter Dailey, Jake Byrne, Jacob Lacroix, Mackelib Decato, Mason Mizula, Natalie Demmons, Nathan Cast, Niko Grillakis, Sanya Rane, and Wesley Blanchard.

Meanwhile, Merrimack took home two individual titles and four qualifiers for the New England Championships out of the thirteen wrestlers that competed.

Rhys Dewar grabbed his seventh straight state title pinning his way to first place on the podium, while sixth grader Jackson Meehan did the same thing en route to the state title.

Kindergartners Emma Townsend and Daxton Solivan in their first state tournament wrestled in a very large bracket with Solivan successfully defeating two of his opponents by pin.

Bennett Meehan, grade one, took second place on the podium with one win by pin and one by points on the day.

Second grader Xavier Hold wrestled hard defeating one of his opponents by pin.

Cash Torres, grade 3, took third place on the podium defeating two of his opponents in his round robin bracket completing one win by pin and one by tech fall.

Fourth graders Leland Eaton and Chase Regal wrestled hard in their respective brackets with Regal completing one win by points on the day.

Fifth graders Luke Emond and Kael McAloon competed with Emond getting one win by pin. Sixth grader John Regal completed one win by pin on the day.

Mitchell Krupp, grade eight, snagged a second place medal defeating his first opponent by points while winning in the semi finals by pin.

BULLETIN BOARD

BASEBALL

NASHUA BABE RUTH

REGISTRATION OPEN

Registration is now open for the Nashua Babe Ruth baseball program, open to youths ages 13-15 (as of May 1), who have a bonafide Nashua home address or attend school full time in the city.

Registration can be done on line at nashua.recdesk.com or forms are available at the Park-Rec Dept. at 100 Concord Street. There is a $20 registration fee. The deadline to register is April 1.

There will also be skill evaluation sessions for all new players on Saturday, April 4 at Ledge Street Field at 10 a.m. If Ledge Street isn’t ready, the session may be held at Stellos Stadium. The rain date will be April 5.

New players must take part in the session to be placed on a team, and they should bring a copy of their birth certificate or any other document proving date of birth tot he session. Catchers should bring full protective equipment. If any players are unable to attend the session, they should inform the Park-Rec Dept. by April 1. Players will be informed of their placement by the end of the following week.

For more information, contact the Nashua Park-Rec Dept.

NASHUA CAL RIPKEN

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

The Nashua Cal Ripen League has begun registration for the 2020 season for youths between the ages of 4 and 12.

To register, or to get more information, go to https://nashuacalripken.org.

SOFTBALL

NASHUA BABE RUTH

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Registraton for girls softball players ages 7-14 is now open at nashua.recdesk.com or forms are at the Nashua Park-Rec office at 100 Concord St. with a deadline of 5 p.m. April 16. There is a $20 registration feel.

Skill evaluations will be on Saturday, Apr. 18 at Labine Field on Cleveland Street. Times are as follows:

Ages 7-8, 9 a.m.-10 a.m.; ages 9-10, 10-11 a.m.; ages 11-12, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; ages 13-14, 12-1 p.m. All participants will be placed on a team; there will be no cuts.

The program hopes to have 8U, 10U, 12U and 14U divisions pending program enrollment numbers.

For more information, contact the Nashua Park-Recreation Dept.

RUNNING

NASHUA HEALTHY KIDS RUNNING SERIES REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

The Healthy Kids Running Series, a five week running program for kids ages 2-14 to help combat obesity and provide a positive, educational, and fun experience in the world of running, will begin in Nashua in early May.

The races will take place at Lincoln Park on Greenlay Street on Sundays May 3, May 10, May 17, May 31, June 7. at 3:30 p.m.

The races range from 50 yards to one mile. Youths will compete each week for a chance to earn the most points. All athletes will receive a shirt and a medal, top placements in each age division with receive a trophy.

To register, go to Healthykidsrunningseries.org. Cost for one race is $10, but there are also reduced fees for early registration for the full series, etc.

For more information, contact Jillian Enright at hkrsnashua@gmail.com

GIRLS ON THE RUN SPRING REGISTRATION OPEN

Girls on the Run New Hampshire program registration is now open for the Spring 2020 season.

There will be over 120 sites this spring across the state for the program that is a physical activity-based, positive youth development program that teaches key life skills to girls in grades three through eight through dynamic discussions and fun games that creatively integrate running.

At each site, volunteer coaches lead teams of 8-15 girls through research-based curricula that include lessons on confidence, treating others with care and contributing to the community. During the ten-week program, girls complete a community service project and become physically and emotionally prepared to participate in a celebratory 5k event.

For more registration information, visit https://www.girlsontherunnh.org/Register-Now or contact Betsy Cissel at betsy.cissel@girlsontherun.org

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