SWIMMING
Gloucester shines at NEC meet: The Fishermen turned in an outstanding performance at Saturday’s Northeastern Conference meet at the Beverly Sterling YMCA, with nearly every swimmer achieving a personal best time. The girls squad finished in third place with 308 points while the boys were fifth (188 points), culminating in a fifth place overall team finish for Gloucester (496 combined points).
Leading the charge was Henry Siedzik, who earned a spot in sectionals by qualifying in the 200 freestyle. The sophomore was second overall in the event in a time of 1:56.08 and ultimately tied for the eighth most total points on the boys side with 33. He added a third place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:23.74) and anchored Gloucester’s runner-up finish in the 400 freestyle (4:00.25).
Fellow sophomore Joey Porcello added a second place finish in the 50 freestyle (25.85) and also swam a leg on that 400 free team, securing the 12th most points for the boys with 32.
On the girls side, GHS’s 400 freestyle relay team also secured a sectionals spot with a four place finish (4:26.34). The relay team, consisting of Emma Hoke, Anna Patrick, captain Esme Sarrouf and Susie Low, “swam a phenomenal race and earned a well-deserved qualification,” said Gloucester coach Laura Dale.
Low was the high point earner for the GHS girls with 29 points, followed by Anna Patrick’s 24 and Charlotte Morris’ 20.
Both the Marblehead boys and girls team won in convincing fashion to give the Magicians a combined team victory with 1,138 points. Masconomet was second overall with 775 points, followed by Danvers (601) and Peabody/Essex Tech (559).
GIRLS HOCKEY
Gloucester 4, Masconomet 0: The Fishermen (6-7) snapped a four-game losing streak in impressive fashion, earning a big road win to get back on track. Goalie Kaydin Cusumano was “locked in for the shutout performance,” said coach Rob Parsons, and offensively, GHS had four different goal scorers in the victory. That included Kaya Collins, Keagan Jewell, Fiona Black and Claire Warde. Eighth-grader Emma Brown also added another strong game on the wing.
Gloucester, which scored twice in the first period, once in the second and once in the third, got two assists from Halia Taylor and one apiece from Warde, Lexi Francis and Elliana Parsons to aid in the winning effort.
“Nice team performance with a lot of points spread around,” added coach Parsons.
The Fishermen will be back at it on Wednesday at Hopkington for an 8 p.m. puck drop.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Rockport 54, Pioneer Charter 20: The Vikings (now 8-6) rolled on Friday evening behind 19 points, including four 3-pointers, from freshman Sunny Gallagher. Senior captain Allie George added 16 points while Maggie Reed knocked down three from deep on her way to 11 points. Natasha Proposki and captain Addie Gardner both added strong defensive performances.
“The girls played together as a team,” said Rockport coach Jordan Fears. “Everyone made an impact on the court and our passes were really connecting tonight.”
Rockport is back in action on Monday night against Innovation Charter.
Manchester Essex splits pair: On Friday evening, the Hornets hit seven 3-pointers to help them pick up their fifth win of the season with a 52-33 decision over CAL rival Hamilton-Wenham. Lily Oliver dropped 18 points with three triples to lead the charge, while Anna Gardner chipped in 13 with two threes. Tess Carpenter and Penelope Riggs each knocked down a 3-ball as well en route to eight point outings.
Then on Sunday, Manchester Essex (now 5-8) fell just short against Burlington, suffering a 47-46 defeat. Emerald Jakes (14 points) and Lily Oliver (13 points) both reached double figures to lead the way in the loss.
Saugus 63, Gloucester 50: The Fishermen (now 5-7) fell short against their NEC foes despite 18 more points from Jordan Perdue-Deltorchio. Sophomore center Gabby Martell added a career-high 17 points while Olivia Madruga chipped in seven.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Georgetown 59, Rockport 43: The Vikings (5-8) got off to a slow start Friday evening, managing just eight points in the opening quarter, and were never quite able to get over the hump from there in the CAL setback. Josiah Whitley continued his strong play, finishing with a team-high 23 points in the loss. Chase Wheat added 12 for Rockport.
WRESTLING
Gloucester sweeps quad: The Fishermen swept their Watertown quad meet, topping the hosts, 43-32, while also getting past Dedham (48-32) and Mahar (53-16). Leading the way was Aiden DeCoste at 126 pounds and Joe Allen at 157; both went 3-0 with three pins. Jeremiah Bushfield (215), Zach Hashley (190), captain Jackson Allen (150), Joe Aiello (144) and Jayden Chadwick (120) all added two wins. Cam Russell, Nate Gonzalez, Quadir Divens and Chris Laine all had wins as well.
BOYS HOCKEY
North Reading 7, Rockport 3: Ryan Meaney netted a pair of goals while Ben Ranier had the other to go with an assist in the Vikings setback. Ryan Fazio added two helpers for a short-handed Rockport squad, with Meaney also dishing out an assist on Ranier’s goal. Defensively, goalie Luke Holmes made 33 saves.
“In a game where we were missing six players from the lineup, the guys hustled but just didn’t have it,” said Rockport coach Garrett Stevens, who also shouted out the play of Cooper Miller, one of the team’s two goalies who played as a skater in this one. Miller lined up on both on offense and defense, and added an assist of his own.
“Ryan Meaney and Ben Ranier had great games with the puck and Tim Patrick and Ollie York were awesome on the PK, but we were too undisciplined in taking five penalties as short staffed as we were,” continued the coach. “The team has a tremendous work ethic but some tough habits we’ve been battling all season long.”
Rockport, which despite the recent losses has been playing much better hockey of late, has a quick turnaround with a game on Monday at Dracut.
INDOOR TRACK
Gloucester’s Spencer strong again: Gloucester’s Aili Spencer secured a ninth place finish in the long jump (16-9.75) at Saturday’s MSTCA Coaches Invitational (small schools) at the Reggie Lewis Center. Spencer was the top performer on the day for the Fishermen, also running a leg on the 4×200 relay team’s 10th place finish. That relay squad also included Madison Jewell, Donna Grace Castellucci and Skye Ciolino. Ciolino was 28th in the 300 (44.50), Dylan Rochford was 33rd in the boys 300 (37.81), Seamus Linehan took 29th in the boys 600 (1:29.80), and Leo Cosentino was 31st in the boys long jump (19-1.75).