Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Lindsay Bond

For many of the fine local high school athletes, the upcoming spring season is their last hoorah and ending on a high note is on everyone’s mind.

One of those superior athletes is Bartlett three-sport girls star Lindsay Bond, who is set to begin her final campaign as the shortstop on the Indians girls’ softball team. Bond has done it all in her four-year Bartlett career, with softball being her “favorite” sport to play.

She began her career on the diamond as an eighth grader and has been the anchor of the Indians defense ever since. 

Indians’ softball coach Colleen Nasis often sings her praise of the senior star. “Lindsay has been part of Bartlett and part of every varsity sport since the eight grade. She is a tremendous athlete, but she is also a great person in school and outside of school. She prides herself on having a good strong character.” said Nasis.

“I am very proud of the young woman that she has become. I have known her since she was very young and I know her family is extremely proud of her. I can’t believe she is a senior, its crazy to think that next year we are not going to have her here. She has really helped female athletes so much, not just here, but at the middle school. I am proud of her.”

Bond shares the same admiration for Nasis, “She is a really smart coach, she knows where people should be playing. She knows their strengths and their weaknesses and that’s what makes us a strong team.”

One of Bond’s long time teammate and friend Megan Dwyer said this about Bond. “She is one of my teammates, one of my best friends, someone who I know understands the sport like I do. She is someone who you know is going to work hard, who you know is not just here to say that she is playing a sport. She is here because she loves it and it’s part of her life. When you see people who play sports like that it makes you want to play even more. You want to help them succeed; you want to succeed like they do. I wish I could see the sport how she does, because you can tell how much she feels for every sport that she is in.”

Fellow senior Alexis Podedworny also chimed in on Bond’s impact. “She’s been an awesome player, a good role model, I went to her when I was having a problem in softball and she was able to help me.  She is not only a role model in sports but in school as well.”

As for the upcoming season, Bond knows this is going to be a challenging one for the Indians, who are coming off a first round district loss at the hands of the Leicester Wolverines last season. “We need to put a lot of time into practice, the girls need to push themselves and play as a team. We have a strong defense, but we need to improve our hitting.”

When asked what her personal goals were for her final year in a green uniform, she said she would like “to get to Districts and hopes to have an error-free season.”  An error-free season is no easy task but if anyone can do it, we will put our money on Lindsay Bond. 

The Sweet Assassin: This week I had a chance to sit down and chat with Oxford High School’s junior track star Emily Dawidczyk, who with her permission, we have nicknamed “The Sweet Assassin.”  Sweet as can be off the track, a killer on the track especially at the 300 meters, a race that she absolutely owns in Indoor track.  She’s not too bad at the 200-meters outdoor track race either. Last year she placed 3^rd in the States which was quite an accomplishment.

Next week we feature Dawidczyk in the View as she prepares for her junior year on the Oxford track team. “The Sweet Assassin” is close friends with teammate Jordan Orrell, who we featured a few weeks back in The Patriot.

Oxford and the other local teams open their outdoor track campaign next week. 

Diamond Openers: Both the Oxford Pirates baseball and softball campaigns get underway today at Oxford High School. The Shepherd Hill Rams open their baseball season on the road at Marlborough and play again on Friday at Quaboag along with the softball team.  The Bartlett Indians boys and girls open their seasons on Friday at home against Grafton High School.

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Rocco DiStefano headed to Springfield College.

Photo and text by Steev Riccardo

The local high school teams could not have had better weather to kick off their spring campaigns last week.  With the actual games starting in about a week, the teams are narrowing down their rosters and getting ready to get their seasons underway. Baseball, softball, tennis, track, lacrosse, we got it all.

Finding their “Way”: The Bartlett Indians are looking to turn around their baseball program after a porous 3-win season a year ago and rookie manager Jonathan Way was hired to help get the program back on the track.

Way grew up in Webster, went to Bartlett High School, and played for the Indians under managers Tony Paranto and Chip Plante, whom he credits with giving him the majority of his knowledge of the game before graduating in 2004.

After high school, Way attended and graduated from Westfield State and started working for the Worcester Tornados soon thereafter as their clubhouse manager under former Boston Red Sox catcher Richie Gedman, who managed the squad up until last season.

He also learned more about the game from being around the likes of former major leaguers Bobby Ojeda and Brian Daubach, who were also involved with the Tornadoes. 

After six years with the Tornadoes he moved to the education field and began teaching at Bartlett. Last year he was able to get some experience as Southbridge High School’s junior varsity manager.

This year, as he put it, he “got really lucky” and landed the managing job with the Indians, a position he is very excited about.

Way is looking at things realistically as he takes over a team that underachieved a year ago. “I look around and see that this team is pretty talented. I don’t expect to win a state championship, although that would be nice, but I am going to be realistic about it.  As far as I am concerned I am going to teach them how to play baseball the right way.”

The rookie manager is in no rush to name starters, “It’s pretty early. We have a lot of talented kids.  Over the next week we will be narrowing down and seeing who can play what position and fine tune things and that is when I will know who is going to play where.”

The team has a lot of talent, including some superior athletes like Nick Kobel, Connor McCarthy, and Billy Phillips, so we can fully expect them to have a much better season this year than last.

The Indians will be scrimmaging Sutton High School next Thursday afternoon at Bartlett and open their season against Grafton on Friday, April 6.

Jamie Hetherman: We had a chance to say hello to Jamie Hetherman, who is the manager of the Oxford Pirates girls’ softball team, as they prepare for their upcoming season. The Bartlett graduate took time away from pitching batting practice to tell us that he is excited about the upcoming season. 

One of his returning players is senior Lauren Puishys, the Pirates three-sport star who is featured in this week’s Patriot.  She will be playing first base for the Pirates.

Final Hoops Rankings: It was no surprise the Shepherd Hill Rams girls’ basketball team ranked 5th in the Central Mass writers poll. The Jim Hackenson-coached and Meghan Fornaro-led team had a fantastic season before losing to Holy Name in the district playoffs.

Fornaro will be attending the Coast Guard Academy and playing basketball there in the fall, and probably burying long-range jumpers for CGA.

Bartlett West: With Rocco DiStefano committing to join high school teammate Arthur Hackenson next year at Springfield College to play football, the Division 3 College is starting to look like an extension of Bartlett.

The pair may also be joined by Indian three-sport star Nick Kobel, who has apparently narrowed his choice down to two schools with Springfield being one of them (Framingham State is also in the mix).  If Kobel does attend Springfield the school may consider changing their team colors to green and white!

Incidentally, Springfield’s football team is playing at Worcester Tech in November and if you are wondering, their soccer team, which will most likely be Kobel’s college sport, also plays WPI. 

Opening Day Baseball: The Shepherd Hill Rams will open at Marlborough on April 4, The Oxford Pirates also open their season on April 4 at home against Quaboag, and Bartlett will also be at home against Grafton on Friday April 6.

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Tyler Mandeville

By Steev Riccardo

What happened last Friday in the NCCA Basketball Tournament was truly amazing. You could not have imagined that two 15-seeded teams would beat two of the best two-seeded teams in the country, but it happened.

Shortly after Norfolk State did the unthinkable and knocked off Missouri, who at times this season were ranked as high as second in the country, Lehigh University did the same thing and beat a very good Duke team.

If you play the brackets, chances are you are among the thousands who saw their dreams of winning flushed down the toilet. Still from a sports perspective, this was a truly magical night, unrivaled by any other first round in the NCAA tournament.

Speaking of bracketology, yours truly is still alive on Sunday morning, having taken the easy and predictable road for a change with Kentucky (eventually winner), Syracuse, Michigan State, and North Carolina going to the final four.

Don Cushing: While working on a story at St. Joseph’s School last week, I spent some time talking to with the great Don Cushing, who among many great feats, still holds the Bartlett High School record for most wins as the boys’ basketball coach.

“Cuffy” told me a bunch of good stories, as he usually does, one of which was how when he met University of Connecticut girls’ basketball coach Geno Auriemma and told him how he taught former Oxford basketball star Carla Berube to shoot.  Of course, Geno found this quite amusing.  He wasn’t really kidding, though, as Berube had attended one of Cushing’s very successful Bartlett Summer basketball camps while she was at Oxford High School, as did just about every kid that played basketball in the area.

Tourtellotte Basketball Camp: Speaking of summer basketball camps, Cushing co-directs the Tourtellotte Instructional Basketball Camp at the high school in North Grovendale with Gary Donahue every summer. This year’s camp, in its ninth year, will take place from Monday, July 9 to Friday, July 13, and is for boys and girls from 7-17. For additional information please call Cushing at 508-943-8959.

Spring Sports: This past Monday spring sports were scheduled to start tryouts and practices at the local high schools. Looks like the weather is going to be good and that should make for a fun week on the fields, tracks, and courts.

Tyler Mandeville: Being both a big music fan and a sports fan, it will be interesting to see if the two can mash together successfully at Bartlett High School this spring.  Word around the school is that few kids can throw a baseball harder than Tyler Mandeville. Well, we haven’t seen him pitch yet, but we can tell you this, the kid is a great musician and is one of the finest bass players in the area.  We are hoping that Mandeville delivers the goods on the baseball diamond because we love the crossover!

Some inspiration for Mandeville is knowing that there have been baseball players who have played music in the past, some are pretty well known in fact. Pitcher “Black” Jack McDowell has a bunch of records out with his band Stickfigure and locally former Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo was known to show up at clubs in Boston and jam on a regular basis.

One of my favorite baseball/music guys is former major league reliever Scott Radinsky, who pitched for several teams, including the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Radinsky was the singer for the west coast punk band Scared Straight, who later changed its name to Ten Foot Pole. Somehow he managed to maintain both careers for some time and once leaving baseball resumed his music career with Pulley, who toured as an opening act for Green Day.

So there you have it, Mr. Mandeville, its been done before, and here’s hoping for the sake of rockers like myself that you can pull it off this season because we love the crossover!

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Photos coming: CAPTIONS: 1.Don Cushing and Gary Donahue, Toutellotte Camp Directors

2. Tyler Mandeville: Bass-Ball Player?

By Steev Riccardo

High school basketball is officially over for the local teams, with the Shepherd Hill Rams girl’s team being the last of the locals to finish its season.

The Lady Rams didn’t go without a fight before bowing out to Holy Name on Thursday night. It was also the end of the Meghan Fornaro era and what we like to call “Fornaro Mania,” as the senior star played her last game in a Shepherd Hill uniform, scoring 26 points in an outstanding losing effort.

Fornaro said after her final game, “I feel sad. I am going to miss them, they are great girls, and we all bonded really good this year and we got close.” On her career in general she said, “It blew by in the blink in the eye. I feel great that I accomplished as much as I did.” Fornaro scored 1000 points in her stellar career at “the Hill.”

Chris D on Fornaro: Bartlett girls’ head basketball coach Chris Delvecchio was at Clark University watching Shepherd Hill play Holy Name and had this to say about the Rams’ star player.  “When she was a sophomore she had the privilege of playing with four seniors who made it all the way to the state tournament. Everything that she has learned from them, she has taken it forward, and she is clearly the leader of this team. She is a very skilled player and combines it with great vision and she makes good decisions on the floor and has great awareness of where her teammates are. She is absolutely the number one reason why they are where they are.”

Gabrielle “Gigi” Guenther: Former Saint Anne’s student and basketball player Gabrielle “Gigi” Guenther, who scored over 1000 points while at the Webster school, has been part of the Holy Name High School’s girls basketball team’s 23-0 (at press time) incredible season. As the back-up point guard, Gigi has had an excellent freshmen year and figures to develop into a star player for the Naps. 

When I caught up to Gigi following the Naps win over Shepherd Hill, she said, “It was a new experience, the transition was really good and my teammates really helped me out and showed me what a team effort is.”  As part of that “team effort,” she found herself guarding Rams’ star Meghan Fornaro and holding her own against the best scorer in Central Mass.  Keep on eye on Gigi Guenther; she has the tools to become a great one!

John Zablocki: I also ran into John Zablocki at the Shepherd Hill game while he was watching his daughter Jordan, who plays for the Rams. The Rams’ “Zab” was with Adam Bonaventura, of Dudley, who told me that his son Pete had a good freshmen year playing for the Holy Name jayvee team and he even saw some time with the varsity squad.

Carla Berube (above): Former Oxford High girl’s basketball star and 1000 career point scorer Carla Berube just completed another successful season as head girl’s basketball coach at Tufts University.  Berube, who is one of the most heralded athletes from the area, also starred for the UCONN Huskies and played in the WNBA. 

Berube’s squad was eliminated from the NCAA tournament on Friday, losing to St. Thomas of Minnesota and ending its season at 23-7.

Kobel College Destination: Bartlett three-sport star Nick Kobel is nearing a decision on where he will be attending college in the fall. The all-star soccer and basketball player has a lot of options and is still weighing them. We think a decision is coming soon.  This writer’s alma mater Framingham State is rumored to be very interested in seeing Kobel play on their soccer field, but they are just one of many possibilities.

Harlem Rockets: Speaking of Kobel, he is part of Webster’s Dream Team, which will be playing against the famous Harlem Rockets on Friday, March 23, at Bartlett High School.  The Dream Team will also include Bartlett players Lindsay Bond and Akeem Belnavis, as well local celebs such as WORC radio personality Adam Webster. The fun starts at 7 p.m. and all proceeds will go the Webster Middle School’s Nature’s Classroom trip. The donation is $10.

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By Steev Riccardo
Don Cote photo.

Meghan Fornaro is rock-star incredible.

Forget about Jeremy Lin, you want to see a show, go to the Clark University gym Thursday night and check out Shepherd Hill Rams’ basketball star Meghan Fornaro when her team takes on Holy Name in the Division 1 semi-finals!

We have been following Ms. Fornaro from a distance all season, but now after seeing her act in person this past Saturday, all I can say is WOW!  She has all the skills, great ball handler, stellar defender, great shooter, but most of all a phenomenal scorer and leader. With all due respect to all the other girls and the boys too, she is the best is these parts.

In fact one of her counterparts from the Shepherd Hill Rams boys team, Chris Patrinos, had this to say about Fornaro. “She is awesome, probably one of the best girl players to come through here.  She could probably be on our team.  She is part of the family here and we all love her.”

When I spoke to Fornaro after her team’s outstanding 77-63 win over North Middlesex, a game in which she poured in a career high 42 points, she gave a lot of credit to her past and current teammates who paved the way for her to have a record breaking season.  

Once the playoffs and her senior year are over, Fornaro will be taking her talents to the Coast Guard Academy where she plans to continue her hoop career while getting a superior education. Before then, don’t miss out on a chance to see rocking out at Clark University on Thursday.

Oxford Pirates: The Oxford Pirates boys’ basketball team may have been eliminated from district play last week in Barre, but you get the feeling that this is a team that is going to be very tough next season.

Head Coach Sean Halloran has ten players returning; yes you read that correctly, ten players, and most of them are key contributors.

Along with lock-down defender Donny Freeland, who missed the end of the season due to injury, fellow juniors Mike James, Cody Stone, Bryan Bjorkland, and Tyler Barrie will all be back.  Stone led the team with a 14.7 average, while James made his presence offensively as well with an 11.2 average.

Quabbin Star to Nichols: Quabbin Panthers star point guard Christopher Horton, who is one of the top players in Central Mass, may be heading to Nichols College. Its not 100% official yet but the word on the street is that the senior star is leaning heavily towards a Dudley residency, just when Shepherd Hill fans thought they saw the last of Horton, who led his Panthers past the Rams in the Clark semi-finals a few weeks ago.

When we ran into former Bison hoop coach Don Cushing, who was at Shepherd Hill checking out his daughter’s Rams’ assistant girls coach Maura Hackenson, he indicated that the rumors may be true and Horton may be headed to Nichols. 

What was funny about my conversation with Cushing about Horton was that he changed the subject mid-sentence and started raving about Shepherd Hill senior Kyle McKissick’s skills.  The Coach loves McKissick’s game and had much praise for him and thinks he is going to be a great college player as well. It’s hard to argue with that assessment.

Former Ram Sightings: Sometimes all you have to be is in the right place at the right time, as was the case last week when I found myself in the middle of a conversation between a couple of former Shepherd Hill stars from back in the day.  Tony Salvaggio (SHHS 74) and John Billis (SHHS 78) supplied the entertainment, discussing their gold games and memories of the hill.

Salvaggio, who is currently an assistant head coach at Bay Path Regional, and was a former head coach both at Bay Path and Oxford, looks to be staying fit these days.

The former Ram, who was in the school’s very first graduating class following 3 years at Woodstock Academy, has coached many great ones over the years, including this writer’s cousin Anthony Riccardo, who was a star running back at Bay Path. 

Billis, a former guard under Coach Jim Ferdella, has been busy working as a referee doing middle and high school basketball games when not out on the golf course.

McCarthy heading west: its official Connor McCarthy will be attending Arizona State University in the fall. The Bartlett football and baseball star was in the desert last week with his mom, finalizing plans for his fall entry. Having spent 18 months in Arizona and visiting the Tempe campus many times, I can tell you this, there isn’t a better atmosphere for a college kid to go to school in except for maybe Pepperdine, which is in Malibu. Before his exit into the western sunset, McCarthy will be wearing the green for one more season when he hits the baseball diamond in a few weeks.

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By Steev Riccardo

Both the boys and girls high school basketball divisional playoffs get underway this week.  All three of the local boys teams are represented and the Shepherd Hill girls squad is also on tap for some action. We can only ask for nearly as much excitement as the Clark Tournament provided last week.

What a week in sports it was! The Clark Tournament doing nothing less than live up to all its hype. Despite the fact that none of the local teams made the finals, all three certainly left their mark on the Clark University gym floor.

Shepherd Hill and Bartlett lost in the semi-finals to a couple of powerful teams.  Quabbin, who beat the Rams, won the large schools title by beating Northbridge, and the Quaboag Cougars, who beat the Indians, lost in the small schools finals to a very good Uxbridge Spartans team.

In honor of the local players that shone on the court last week, we unleash our own All-Clark team consisting of players from Shepherd Hill, Bartlett, and Oxford. 

Point Guard- Nick Kobel (Bartlett)

Shooting Guard- Akeem Belnavis (Bartlett)

Small Forward – Matthew Rayla (Shepherd Hill)
Power Forward – Kyle McKissick (Shepherd Hill)
Center – Tyler Bostek (Oxford)
Sixth Man – Chris Patrinos (Shepherd Hill)

Seventh Man – Alex Givens-Perry (Bartlett)
Honorable Mention – Cody Stone (Oxford)
(Now that is a heck of an all-star team isn’t it?)

Kyle McKissick would have to be our Tourney MVP for his outstanding two-way play and of course the unforgettable crowd pleasing two-handed slam-dunk which nearly brought the roof down.  The graduating McKissick will be very hard for Coach Duane Corriveau to replace next season.

Tyler Bostek put on one of the best individual performances in the tourney with 11 points and 21 rebounds for the Pirates in their loss to Littleton.  Pirate coach Sean Halloran praised his senior afterwards, “The effort he has put in in the weight room and on the court in the last twelve months has obviously paid off. He was a beast on the boards, I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Akeem Belnavis: Lastly a big nod to Akeem Belnavis. This junior has the potential to be one of the best players in the SWCL and perhaps all of Central Mass next season. If he works on his outside shot and continues to improve, he will dominate and that would be very for good for Coach Tony Paranto and the Bartlett Indians.

Don Cushing: It was great to see the legendary Don Cushing, who has the most coaching wins in Bartlett High School basketball history, on hand at the Clark tourney last week. The Coach was in great spirits and seen telling some youngsters some stories about the good old days. If anyone knows the score, “Cuffy” certainly does!

 Clark Sightings:  One of the great things about the Clark Tournament is seeing all the familiar faces from the local sports scene both from the present and the past.  All three local high school football coaches were seen at the gym at one time or another.

Dane Laboissonniere of Bartlett, Chris Lindstrom of Shepherd Hill, and Oxford’s Jeff Parcells were all taking in some basketball.  Former Bartlett Coach and current Worcester State University receivers coach Chris Nasis was also in the building.

Oxford Principal and former Hoop Star Kevin Wells was in his familiar spot doing the color commentating for Charter Channel 3 TV. I caught his act on TV Saturday night doing the finals and was very impressed with the way “Wellsy” called the games. His hoop knowledge is certainly extensive.

Former Bartlett star catcher George Hetherman was also on hand taking in the action and seen with another former Shepherd Hill star, Dave Burke, who was checking out his son Charlie who plays for Groton-Dunstable. The pair was spotted in the stands with another former Shepherd Hill standout Ray Zemski and former Shepherd Hill basketball coach Jim Ferdella.

Fornaro Mania: Everyone has been buzzing over the play of Shepherd Hill girls basketball hoop star Meghan Fornaro.  The Rams senior star went over 1000 points for her career at the Westborough Invitational Tournament last week and has been playing some eye-opening basketball. The Rams play in the districts this Saturday against a strong North Middlesex team at Shepherd Hill at 6 p.m.

Just think, before you know it, will time for some sunshine and some baseball and softball action!

Thank you to Drapery Blinds and Interior Design in Webster for sponsoring this column! Check out their advertisement below.

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By Steev Riccardo

First of all, let me give a big shout out to this column’s current sponsor, Drapery Blinds and Interior Design, in Webster. Check out their advertisement below! Drapery Blind’s own Jimmy Karapanos was a former star cornerback and return specialist for the Bartlett Indians a few years back and is a long time friend of this writer, and we are happy to have him sponsoring this column!

For a lot of high school seniors we are getting down to the nitty gritty in their high school careers and in weeks to come, we will be having some announcements on where some of these

Bartlett Seniors Miranda Smith, Meaghan Dwyer,
and Lindsay Bond. Photo by Steev Riccardo

local stars will be taking their talents. Stay tuned!

By the time you read this we will be right smack in the middle of Clark Tourney Mania and hopefully the local three will still be alive vying for a title. Bartlett is the most recent victor, taking the crown in 2006 and Oxford was victorious in 2000. Of course the dream match up would be Bartlett vs. Oxford in the championship game, but as I sit here writing this on Saturday morning perhaps I am just dreaming.

Lady Indians Blast Pioneers 47-41

Senior Lindsay Bond scored a career high 21 points and fellow senior Meaghan Dwyer also scored a career high 13 points, including a huge three pointer late in the game that sealed the deal and led the Indians to a 47-41 win over arch-rival Southbridge. Miranda Smith, the third senior on the squad, added eight points in the win.

The Bartlett seniors wanted to end their careers on a positive note. “We really wanted this and we played our hearts out. It was our last home game and all our energy came out right and it turned out well.” said Dwyer.

Indians’ leading scorer Bond added, “I came out shaky at the start but we pulled it all together and told all the girls this is it for us, the three seniors want to win this game. We lost by five last time and we wanted to beat them this time.”

Bartlett coach Chris Delvecchio was upbeat about his team’s performance. “From the moment we walked out of their gym the last time we met after losing a tough game, we had this game circled on our calendar. We knew it was going to be senior night, a chance to avenge the loss out at their place, a chance to prove to people that we really have gotten better as the season has gone along.”

The coach went on to compliment the play of his senior shooting guard. “Dwyer has about as much heart as anyone that I have ever coached. She wanted it really badly. She knocked down a huge three-pointer with one second on the shot clock at a critical point in the game.”

Bartlett Girls looking forward:

“Record wise we didn’t finish where we hoped to be, beyond that everything about the season has been a positive. The team played really hard. The girls really bought into showing up and doing their job every day which was a tribute to our seniors, our leaders on the floor, they have been outstanding.”

One player who is graduating and will be surely missed and hard to replace is Bond, who scored over 600 points in her five-year career on the varsity, which Delvecchio calls “no small feat.”

Junior Ashley Morio, who will be a key contributor next season, was lost to injuries during the season, but still showed a “great commitment to the team even when she was unable to play, which resonated through to the girls and she set a great example.”

Delvecchio is rightfully excited about where his team is heading. “The development of our young players and even just the fact that we have so many young players in the system who are playing key roles points towards us being more successful in the future.

Eighth grader Olivia Mandeville, who appeared in every varsity game, has the chance to really excel. “Her growth has been noticeable at multiple positions. She can handle the ball and she can play down low as well as she gets stronger and gains knowledge of the game. Through experience she is going to become a much more dangerous player next year as a freshman with a whole season of varsity already to draw upon.”

Another eighth grader who has all the tools to become an impact player next season is Katy Kobel, who is the younger sister of Bartlett boys’ star Nick.

“She stepped in and it’s almost like they took a little piece of Nick’s brain and put it inside of her,” said Delvecchio.

“She reacts and responds to things on the floor instinctively, it’s stuff that you can’t teach. She has no fear, she is a leader on the floor, and you don’t even have to tell her (what to do).”

5’9” Sophomore Kayla Podell, who has had to battle through injuries this year, is another player who has great potential and one that Delvecchio said he has high hopes for.

He also spoke about freshmen Ashley Iwanski, who has a “fantastic attitude and a high confidence level.”

There are several other players returning, including junior Kayla Sizer, a major contributor who played great defense all year, junior Jen Grooms, sophomore Danyelle Stone, and freshmen Lindsay Finkel, who is tough and plays as hard as anyone.

Delvecchio and his staff have plenty to be excited and optimistic about when it comes to the future of the Indians’ girls basketball program.

Bartlett Spring Coaching Staff Announced

Varsity Baseball – Jonathan Way

Junior Varsity Baseball – Enrique Sanchez

Varsity Softball – Colleen Nasis

Junior Varsity Softball – Sarah Kane

Girls Tennis – Phil Alston

Boys Tennis – Van Constantine

Boys Track And Field – Paul Lango

Girls Track And Field – Karen Crosby

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By Steev Riccardo

The historic Clark Tournament will get underway this Sunday at Clark University in Worcester. Bartlett, Oxford, and Shepherd Hill have all been invited.

The tournament has been a permanent fixture in Central Mass basketball since it started in 1939 and is the place to be for some exciting high school basketball action. This year should be quite interesting as each of the local schools have a legitimate chance to go far—perhaps to win it all.

In the small schools bracket, Bartlett will be the #5 seed and take on North Brookfield on Sunday at 6:00 pm, while #7 seed Oxford High School will take on #2 seed Littleton at 2:45 pm.

Shepherd Hill, who is the #5 seed in the large schools division will take #4 seed Clinton at 6 pm on Monday.

The small schools semi-finals will be Tuesday, February 21, while large schools semi-finals will be Thursday, February 23.  The finals for both divisions will be Saturday, February 25. All games are played at the Clark University gymnasium in Worcester.

Clark Facts: The Bartlett Indians hold three Clark records that are unlikely to be broken in the near future.  They hold the record for most points in a game having scored 99 in 2006 against Narragansett in an overtime win. With Narragansett, they hold the record for most combined points in a game (195) in their 2006 overtime win. Third is their record for most combined points in a final game (185) in a 93-92 loss to Northbridge in 1978.

Bartlett has won the Clark Tournament 7 times (73, 74, 79, 80, 81, 86, 06), Shepherd Hill won in 1975 and 1976, and Oxford last won in 1949.

More Clark Talk: All three of the locals are in the running this year and have a chance. An ideal scenario in the small schools division could pit Bartlett vs. Oxford in the finals. When the two teams met earlier this year, Oxford upset Bartlett 48-38 in a game that saw The Pirates’ Donny Freeland shine defensively in his assignment against The Indians’ Nick Kobel.

 “Donny is a great defender, he played me really well in that game. I have a lot of respect for him,” said Kobel when asked about the match-up. He also said that he would love to play the Pirates again.

However, Bartlett Coach Tony Paranto is not looking past first round opponent North Brookfield.  Although he has not seen them play in person, he does know a lot about them through scouting.  “They play in a different conference against a more independent schedule. Their record is good at 12-5. Then again, when you get to Clark, it doesn’t matter what your record is or who you play.”
 
Bartlett senior co-captain DJ Kirby-Thomas is excited to be heading to Worcester next weekend. “The Clark Tournament has a great atmosphere to be at, I love being there, and we greatly appreciate that we are going to be back this year.”
 
Shepherd Hill Girls Hoop: The Shepherd Hill Girls Basketball squad had a great season with a 14-3 overall record at press time.  Meghan Fornoro has been the leading girls’ scorer in Central Mass all season and is the crème of the crop with an amazing 21.9 scoring average.  The Rams are in a good position to do some damage in the district playoffs.

Left: Bartlett Girls Hoopsters

BHS Girls Hoop: Despite have a rough campaign this season, the Bartlett girls definitely had some bright spots and their future looks good. They will be losing star player Lindsay Bond, who led the team all season long, but they have some young players that could help the team down the road.

Freshman Lindsay Finkel, who plays a tough, aggressive brand of basketball and eighth graders Olivia Mandeville and Katie Kobel are poised to step up and make heavy contributions in years to come.

Oxford Girls shine at Districts:  Juniors Emily Dawidczyk and Jordan Orrell, who both have been on top of their game in track all season, were outstanding at the Central Mass districts this past Saturday in Fitchburg. Dawidczyk took the 55-meter hurdles (8.64) and Jordan Orrell won the 300 meters for the Pirates.

Boys Division 2 District Results: Bartlett’s Arthur Hackenson finished third overall in the shot. Bartlett’s Nikita Truhanovitch finished second in the 55 meter hurdles, while Oxford’s Andrew St. Germain came in fourth overall. Bartlett’sRocco DiStefano finished third in the 55 meter dash.

Girls Division 1 District Results (Shepherd Hill):Stella Worters finished third in the two-mile run.Leonard Harmon finished third in 600 meter run.Daniel Stomski finished second in 1000 meter run.

Finally, congrats to Nick Kobel on a great feat: Reaching 1000 in a Bartlett uniform.

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By Steev Riccardo

There was a tremendous buzz in the air last Wednesday (Feb. 1) at the Southern Worcester County League Indoor Track Championship Meet at Tantasqua Regional.
 
First of all, the facility at the high school in Fiskdale is just plain fantastic and the hosts for the event were terrific.  Secondly, the talent level of the local schools and how they were represented in the meet was top notch.  We could name over a dozen athletes and they all would deserve to have their name here, that’s just how good this group is. The talent pool is deep.

Shepherd Hill’s Stella Worters may be only a sophomore, but she was exceptional, as was her teammate on the boys’ side, Leonard Harmon, who had one of the finest finishes of the year in the two-mile run.

Oxford High junior Emily Dawidczyk owns the girls 300 meters in these parts. She also has some pretty good company on her team in Jordan Orrell and Shelby Stretton.

Bartlett is also loaded with talent. Both Nikita Truhanovitch and Rocco DiStefano both excelled in their senior year as two of the fastest sprinters in the area.  Alicia Garamy also deserves a mention for pulling off an upset by winning the girls SWCL shot put title.

Alex Givens-Perry: We were impressed with Bartlett sophomore forward Alex Givens-Perry’s athleticism the first time we saw him and despite some inexperience, he continues to get better and impress. The one area that he really shines at is rebounding.  His 12 rebound a game average leads the Indians and his strong inside presence and 10 point a game scoring average is key to their outside game.
 
Clark Tourney: All three of the local teams look like they will be getting invites to the Clark Tournament this week, barring some sort of a shocker.  Bartlett was 10-5 at press time, Shepherd Hill 11-5, and Oxford at 10-6. There will be an official announcement on the Clark selections this Thursday night. The Tourney will get underway on Sunday, February 19, at Clark University in Worcester.

Kobel in Top Ten: Bartlett senior co-captain point guard Nick Kobel remained in the Central Mass top ten in scoring with an impressive 19.4 average after 15 games.  Bay Path’s TJ Gentry, who is the midst of a great season, is averaging 17.1.  Oxford’s Corey Stone is next for locals at 14.4, with Bartlett’s Akeem Belnavis also in the mix at 13.5. Shepherd Hill’s Jesse Gilchrist is at 13.4

Fornaro Number One: Shepherd Hill’s Meghan Fornoro has been a scoring machine for the Rams and continues to be the top scorer in Central Mass with an impressive 21.9 clip. Lauren Puishys of Oxford is having a solid year with a 12.9 average, while Lindsay Bond leads Bartlett with a 12.9 average.

Pirates Defense: Despite losing to Auburn on Saturday, the Oxford High School Pirates have been putting on defensive clinics on a regular basis. After holding the Bartlett Indians high powered offense to 38 points, a week later they did the same thing to Douglas High School, holding them to 38 points as well.

One coach who is also impressed with the Pirates is Bartlett High School head coach Tony Paranto. “They have a winning record, they have some quality players, and they buy into their defense and they play real well.”

Paranto’s got skills: Logan Paranto, son of Bartlett High School boys head basketball coach Tony Paranto, won the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship last Thursday, making 14 of 15 shots. The competition was held at Park Avenue Elementary School in Webster.
 
Key Game of the Week: The Bartlett-Quaboag rematch contest Thursday night in Quaboag has the makings of one of the best of the year. Quaboag won the first meeting 72-63.

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By Steev Riccardo

We are still buzzing from the exciting game between Bartlett and Shepherd Hill that took place this past Friday night on the hill. The atmosphere was nothing less than electric and brought out a plethora of former players and students from both schools.

You could tell the way the Bartlett players and fans celebrated afterwards that this was no ordinary game.  One of the things you often hear from Bartlett players and fans is that they don’t feel respected by some of the surrounding towns; well, let me say this: if you go into an opposing gym, win the game, and the crowd behaves, you earn respect and that is exactly what happened Friday night.

One player who deserves a lot of credit for the Bartlett win and whose name will not show up in the box score is sophomore Evan Anderson. The kid played his heart out, especially on defense, drawing at least three offensive fouls. He gets our nod as the unsung hero in the win.

SH Summer Sports Clinic: Shepherd Hill Athletic Director Sean Burke unveiled his plan for Shepherd Hill’s summer sports clinic, which will be held at the high school this summer. Although the dates and details are still being worked out, it sounds like a great opportunity for Dudley and Charlton kids. Stay tuned for more details.

Donny Freeland: Oxford Pirates’ guard Donny Freeland has been receiving accolades from all directions on his tremendous defensive skills. Freeland did something unheard of, when he held Bartlett star and one of Central Mass’s leading scorers Nick Kobel to one point last week.

Gino Manzi: One of Bartlett’s all-time great scorers Gino Manzi was in the crowd on Friday night cheering on his alma mater.  Manzi scored over 1300 points in his heralded career at Bartlett and went on to coach high school basketball for 16 years, spending 12 years at Southbridge High School and four more years at Shepherd Hill.
 
Lindsay Bond: Three-sport Bartlett star Lindsay Bond is thinking about attending Arizona State University in Tempe AZ in the fall, which makes her the second Bartlett athlete considering ASU, with Conner McCarthy also looking towards the desert.  Bond is currently Bartlett’s leading scorer in girls’ hoops and is looking forward to a strong senior year of girls’ softball under coach Colleen Nasis in the spring.
 
Bartlett Football Banquet: It was a pleasure to attend the Bartlett Football Banquet, sponsored by the Gridiron club, at Point Breeze in Webster this past Saturday.  The event featured awards, video highlights, dinner, and an impressive MC job by coach Dane Laboissonniere, who also announced that Akeem Belnavis, Kelly Chisholm, and Mina Zaky, will be the Indians’ co-captains next season.

Track:  Last Thursday, Bartlett High Seniors Nikita Truhanovitch, Rocco DiStefano, and Amy Panczyk all competed in a regional long jump meet. During the meet, Truhanovitch broke the boys school record by jumping 18’7,” while Panczyk broke the girls school record by jumping 14’ 1 ½.”

On Wednesday evening, Bartlett and Oxford squared off in a meet at Northbridge High School, which also included competitors from Millbury, Uxbridge, Grafton, Southbridge, and Notre Dame.

On the girls’ side senior Alicia Garamy of Bartlett won the girls shot put, while Oxford junior Emily Dawidczyk finished in fifth place overall.  Dawidczyk also won the girls 50-yard dash.
In the girls high jump, senior Jordan Orrell of Oxford came in third and Bartlett’s Amy Panczyk came in fifth place.

Shelby Stretton of Oxford won the two-mile run, while Senior Kellie Powers of Bartlett came in sixth place. Stretton also came in sixth place in the one-mile run.

Sophomore Chloe Doyon of Oxford finished sixth in the girls 1000- meter run.

On the boys’ side, Arthur Hackenson came in second overall in the shot put, while Rocco DiStefano finished fourth overall.

Nikita Truhanovitch came in fourth overall in the high jump, beating out Scotty Smith and Sam Dowd of Oxford, who finished fifth and sixth overall. Truhanovitch also won the 50-yard hurdles while Andrew St. Germain of Oxford came in a tie for third overall.

Rocco DiStefano won the 50-yard dash and Truhanovitch finished in second place. DiStefano also came in second place in the 300-meter dash.

Oxford’s Cody Jarobski came in third place overall in the boys 1- mile run and Bartlett’s Jeremy Guyette came in third overall in the boys 1000-meter run.

There will be a regional track meet next Wednesday night at Tantasqua Regional. 

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