A variety of area sports news

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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