Rivalries, indoor track, and more

By Steev Riccardo

The excitement in the air at the Bartlett High School gymnasium Friday evening for the contest between the hometown Bartlett Indians and the visiting archrival Southbridge Pioneers was at fever pitch to say the least.

Besides all the great action on the court, the chants coming from the fans were priceless. I still haven’t gotten completely comfortable with the Bartlett fans chanting “It’s All Over” before the opening tap off. It’s easy to understand how that could tick off the opposition, but then again, Bartlett does have a little edge these days.

Back to the chanting war, the Southbridge fans proved they can be a little edgy as well as they chanted “What about football?” with their team down by 21 on the basketball court. You really can’t make this stuff up.

The rivalry is definitely beyond the football field with these two teams. Just like the good old days, this is a feud that is never going to end.

If anyone knows what it’s like to wear the Bartlett green and be part of the rivalry, Southbridge High Basketball coach and former Bartlett hoopster and graduate Bob Fowler does. Fowler, who graduated in 1975 and played power forward under Don Cushing, has witnessed and taken part in the rivalry on both sides of the court.

Speaking of coaches, it was good to see Bartlett High football coach Dane Laboissonniere in attendance at courtside on Friday. One player the coach must be curious about is Bartlett’s Alex Givens-Perry, who transferred over from Doherty, missing football season. The word is that Alex is an outstanding football player who surely will be part of Laboissonniere’s plans for next season.

Former Bartlett High Football coach Chris Nassas, who also saw his share of battles with Southbridge both on and off the field, was also in attendance.

Indoor Track meet at Tantasqua:

Last Wednesday eleven Central Mass teams, including Bartlett, Shepherd Hill, and Oxford all competed in a regional indoor track meet at Tantasqua Regional in Sturbridge.

Bartlett’s record setting phenom Rocco DiStefano and Nikita Truhanovitch finished first and second in the 55-meter dash while Jacob Jachimczyk of Shepherd Hill finished third and teammate Brad Picard finished sixth. Nick Rivelli from Oxford High placed seventh and Joseph Wheeler from Shepherd Hill finished ninth.

DiStefano also finished in third place in the 300 meters while Adam Banks from Shepherd Hill finished fifth.

Shepherd Hill’s Leonard Harmon and Daniel Stomski placed first and second in the 600 meters.

Harmon won the 1000 meters, while his teammate Wesley Nelson came in third place.

Shepherd Hill’s Robert Chevalier finished second in the mile run, while his Rams teammate Daniel Stomski won the two-mile run with an impressive time of 10:49.

The Indians Truhanovitch finished second in the 55-meter hurdles and Shepherd Hill’s Jacob Grotton and Pat Tilly finished tied for fourth.

Bartlett’s Arthur Hackenson finished second in the shot put, while teammate DiStefano finished sixth. Nick Rivelli from Oxford High School was eighth.

Shepherd Hill finished second in 4X200 boys relay.

On the girl’s side, Oxford High star Emily Dawidczyk had a great meet winning both the 300-meter dash and the 55-meter hurdles.

Shepherd Hill’s Haley Chamberlin and Emily Thibaud both did well in the 600 meters, finishing third and fourth.

The Shepherd Hill girls also did well in the 1000 meters with Stella Worters and Kaleigh Durkan placing second and third.

Worters also won the one-mile run for Shepherd Hill, while Durkan came in second in the two-mile race ahead of third place finisher Shelby Stretton of Oxford High School. Bartlett Kellie Powers finished ninth.

Shepherd Hill’s Katie McCambridge won the girls shot put competition. Bartlett’s Alicia Garamy finished fourth.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with comments and feedback.