Accolades continue for Caruso
For the fifth time this season, Haverhill resident Sofia Caruso was named the GNAC Rookie of the Week in women’s swimming. The Regis College freshman continued her impressive rookie campaign by opening the weekend with a first-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle, touching the wall in a personal-best time of 2:02.36 — nearly 11 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
On Saturday, she captured the top spot in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 25.25, maintaining her streak as the Pride’s leader in the event at every meet this season. Caruso added another victory in the 100-meter freestyle, winning in 55.77 and finishing more than two seconds ahead of the field.
Stopping the puck
Two local goalies continue to perform well in between the pipes at the collegiate level. Anthony Beaulieu, a sophomore at the University of New England, who last year was named the NEHC Rookie of the Year, is coming off impressive performances against Babson (40 saves) and Plymouth State (31 saves). The Lawrence resident is sporting a 5-9 record, a .897 save percentage, and a 3.41 GAA.
On the women’s side, former Red Rangers standout Taylor Bruno, a junior at Rivier College, has a 5-4 record with an impressive .945 save percentage and a 1.75 GAA. The Methuen resident recorded 26 saves in an overtime loss to Salem State, then 21 in a 5-1 win over Anna Maria.
Possible replacements for Pereira
With Ayden Pereira leaving the Merrimack College football program to transfer to Georgia State, the Warriors have since added two quarterbacks as possible replacements.
AJ Hairston has transferred from UMass where he shared the starting duties this past fall, including completing 107 passes on 216 attempts for 957 yards with four TD passes and four interceptions.
The Warriors have also added Hudson, Mass., resident Jake Attaway. In the fall of 2024, he broke the state’s career TD pass record with 147 after leading his team to the Division 6 state championship title over Fairhaven. He finished his football career with 10,740 passing yards, fifth best in state history.
He then attended Phillips Exeter for a post-grad year. Despite missing three games, he threw for 1,109 yards with 14 TD passes, as well as rushing for 598 yards with an additional ten touchdowns. He was named to the All-NEPSAC team.
A Netflix Gem
For the hockey fans out there, in case you haven’t heard, Netflix is releasing a Documentary on the 1980 U.S. Olympic Gold Medal team this Friday. The trailers make this look fantastic.
Years ago, I sat next to and played Texas Hold’Em with Mike Eruzione. While taking most of my chips on one hand, he couldn’t have been any nicer.