Change, unchanging

Catherine Heckler, photo of the week

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

This past Sunday, Nicole “The Franchise” Mangaudis walked off the mound for the final time in her orange and black Oxford Pirates uniform, and I guess that is when it hit me just how special high school sports really are.

It may have been a rough turn of life events that led me back to this area and found me hanging out in high school gyms and fields, covering sports after many, many years, but I have to say it has been a tremendous experience. 

Of course, some things have changed, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the competitive spirit that exists in some of these high school kids.  I saw it during football season in Rocco DiStefano and on the hoop court this past winter with Meghan Fornaro, and once again on the baseball diamond with “The Franchise.”

Even though most people know I have those deep down allegiances with my alma-mater Bartlett High School, there is no reason for me not to want to see these kids all succeed, not just on the field but in the classroom. These kids are the future, we need them to carry on tradition and bring their pride with them wherever they may go.

I’ll admit it, watching Nicole Manguadis throw her final pitch and walk off the field this past Sunday in Grafton was sad and it made me feel emotional, but at the same time it made me happy. Her life, just like all the other high schoolers who just graduated, is really just beginning. These kids have so much promise, so much potential, and you know they are going to move on but they will never forget where they came from. I know I never did.
And now back to your regularly scheduled View…

Molly Covill: In an earlier View, we heard Oxford Pirates star pitcher Nicole “The Franchise” Manguadis talk about her rivalry with Shepherd Hill ace pitcher Molly Covill.

This week Covill shared her feelings on her high school rival. “I have known Nicky for a while it’s a friendly rivalry, we like to beat them. It kind of stems from our last coach being from Oxford and she really has gotten a lot better through the years, just to beat her is nice.”

The two played together for several years as members of the Charlton Wildfire, which has produced a surplus of talent over the years.

Shepherd Hill's Shelby Stracher carries a big bat

If you have seen the Shepherd Hill Rams softball team play this year, you probably noticed they have some big bats in that lineup. One of them is sophomore catcher Shelby Stracher, who hits the ball as hard as anybody we have seen at the high school level.

Stracher, who plays for the Rhode Island Thunder Elite team in the off-season, is constantly working to get better.

“When I was younger I grew up playing with older girls and I would play with my sister and I got used to the faster pitching and I had natural power growing up. In the fall I started going to this guy Doug Kemp at Extra Innings in Auburn, and it has made even a bigger difference.”  

It sure has. Interestingly enough, another local underclassman, freshman Evelyn Marquis, who hit well over .400 for the Oxford Pirates this year, also is a frequent Extra Innings visitor.  Take notice youngsters, you want get good, you got to work on your craft.

Webster Summer League: The Webster Summer Basketball League looks like it is going to be a lot of fun to watch.  There was a lot of talent out there on the court this past Thursday and the action will be continued in the weeks to come. If you like hoops and you want to check out some great up and coming talent like Alex Givens-Perry, Brook Packard, and Gigi Guenther, the Bartlett High School courts is the place to be!

View Super Team: In case you missed it we announced the View Super Team last week. We will be talking about and featuring these great young athletes in the next few weeks so stay tuned! The elite crew are Emily Dawidczyk-Oxford junior, Rocco DiStefano-Bartlett senior, Michelle Williams-Oxford senior, Meghan Fornaro-Shepherd Hill, senior Nick Kobel-Bartlett senior, Kyle McKissick-Shepherd Hill senior, Stella Worters-Shepherd Hill sophomore, Nicole Mangaudis-Oxford senior, Arthur Hackenson-Bartlett senior, Lindsay Bond-Bartlett senior, Nick Lemay-Oxford senior, and Anthony Wilga-Shepherd Hill senior. 

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