March 28, 2024

DR & Seekonk Sports Update

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CO-OP HOCKEY

The Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk hockey team had one of the best seasons in program history, finishing the regular season 14-5-1 overall and 8-3 in the South Coast Conference. The amazing season came to an end in the last week of February with a loss to Medfield in the First Round of the Div. 2 South playoff tournament. “It was just a tremendous effort by everybody all year long,” DRS coach Tom Fecteau said after the game. “The development, the improvement; this team got better each and every week. We have players from two different schools but you wouldn’t know it if you just walked into the room one day. You’d think they were all from the same school and they’ve played together forever.” There was a family atmosphere around the team throughout the season, and it was extremely evident after the playoff loss when family and friends waited outside, and even ventured inside, the locker room to congratulate the players on a successful season. DRS will bid farewell to eight seniors - Chares Lehourites, Adam Nastri, Connor Dowty, Jack Whitehead, Mackenzie Rodgers, Malachi Letourneau, Zach Evans and SCC All-Star goalie Paul Jarvis - but will return a solid group and look to compete for a conference title next season. “Our seniors have done so much for the program this year, they have no idea what a positive influence they were for the whole group, on and off the ice,” Fecteau said. “Absolutely, we’re optimistic about the future of the program.”

DIGHTON-REHOBOTH REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Boys Basketball

The Falcons capped a successful season in the last week of February with a close, 41-37, loss to North Quincy in the First Round of the Div. 2 South playoff tournament. D-R trailed by 10 with 2 minutes left but rallied back to make it a two-point game in the closing seconds before ultimately losing. The defeat didn’t put a damper on a great season though as the Falcons won the Blue Division of the South Coast Conference, had two SCC All-Stars in senior guard Shane Mello and junior wing John Marcille, were named the winners of the conference’s Sportsmanship Award, and won enough games (14) in the regular season to host a playoff game for the first time since 2011. “Going into the year, I don’t think anyone viewed us as our (division) champion, going to the tournament, winning 14 games or being the SCC Sportsmanship Award winner,” D-R coach Bill Cuthbertson said after the playoff game. “The kids have a lot to be proud of. By every measure, the season was a wonderful success. The whole team has been wonderful. They come to practice every day and work hard. I don’t have one single complaint. I’m really proud of them. It was a lot of fun for me and I hope they had as much fun as I did.” The Falcons will graduate Mello, Ishmael Christmas and Shayne O’Neil but will return three of their five starters next season in what should be another successful campaign.

Girls Basketball

Dighton-Rehoboth qualified for the playoffs again behind the strong play of senior forward Meg Reed and junior guard Emily D’Ambrosio, a South Coast Conference All-Star who led the league in scoring at 18 points per game. The Falcons’ season came to an end in the last week of February on the road against Foxborough, the No. 2 ranked team in the Div. 2 South playoffs which was charging toward another South title as of press time. Reed was the only senior, and coach Chris Perron said she will be very hard to replace next season. “She is 100% the best leader you could ever ask for,” he said. “You can lean on her. She’s 100% in practice, 100% in the pre-game meeting, 100% talking to the team after practice. She is always on. This team really needs to step up next year with the loss of her.” D-R will return four of the five starters (D’Ambrosio, Jenna Kelley, Megan Reilly and Ella Damon) and other solid contributors (Caroline Reed and Briana Malaguti) from the playoff loss next season in what looks to be another successful campaign for D-R. “It’s kind of early to evaluate for next year but we’re happy with the players we have coming back next season,” Perron said.

Track and Field

Dighton-Rehoboth had an amazing season on the track this winter. The boys capped an undefeated season in dual meets with a first-place showing at the SCC Championship meet in Boston, and the girls also put up some strong performances in Boston in placing fourth. Both teams had amazing showings throughout the season and in the postseasons meets as well. At the SCC meet, Jared Ramos set a new school record in the 300 while Alex Violette (2-mile) and Brodie Jacques (high jump) also took first-place finishes. The success continued into the postseason and beyond, where Jacques, Seth Cordeiro and Miguel Garcia represented the boys and Julianna DaCosta, Ashley Damon and Angel Correia represented the girls team in the state pentathlon.

DR FUTURES GAME

The future of the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School basketball team will be on display this month when the Beckwith Middle School Raiders and the Dighton Middle School Lions square off on March 13 in the gym at D-R.

The girls teams will compete at 6 p.m. and the boys will take court at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and all proceeds will benefit the middle school sports programs.

SEEKONK HIGH SCHOOL

Boys Basketball

The Warriors finished the season 6-14, but Seekonk was much better than the record indicated. Several of their losses were by single digits, including a double overtime loss to division champion Wareham. Seekonk bids farewell to five seniors: Kam Casala, Kevin Moszkowicz, Aidan Culpan, Matt Norris and Elijah Leonard, who played their final game in mid February against Dighton-Rehoboth. “It was nice that the seniors got to play a lot together tonight. They played hard and they played for each other,” Seekonk coach Alex DaLuz said after the game vs. D-R. “They’ve been a great group to coach. They’ve all contributed. Elijah has been an immense player for us for three years. I thought Kam and Kevin, with their leadership and how hard they play, that really rubbed off on their teammates. Matt Norris is our most improved player, and Aidan started the season on the injured list but fought back to being healthy and was a great teammate. I was glad to see the seniors go down swinging.” The Warriors will return a solid trio of players next season in Nathan Clarke, Kyle Blanchard and Jake Barreira, all three of which played big roles this season and will be in the driver’s seat in 2020-21.

Girls Basketball

The Warriors are on the verge of big things. Ater going decades with very limited playoff appearances, Seekonk qualified for the postseason for the second-straight year in 2019-20. The Warriors fell to Bourne in the First Round of the Div. 3 South tournament in the last week of February, but the fact they were able to continue to qualify for the playoffs was a good sign for coach Bill Paulo’s squad. “They’ve done a great job getting to this point two years in a row. Now we have to get past this point,” Paulo said after the game. “We’re at the door. We just have to knock it down.” One of the biggest reasons for the Warriors’ success the past few years is Mia DiBiase, a point guard who’s graduating in June and taking her game to Salve Regina in Newport, R.I. She departs as one of the best players in Seekonk history with more than 1,000 career points while also being named a SCC All-Star for all four years. Looking ahead, Seekonk will return four of five starters, as well as freshmen Ally Dantas and Maggie McKitchen, who both saw extended minutes this year and were big parts of the rotation. “We have a bright future,” Paulo said after the game vs. Bourne.

Track and Field

The Warriors enjoyed an amazing season under the watch of coaches Matt McCartin, Earl Berwick and Jason Azulay, doing well in the regular season and continuing into the SCC Championships and the Div. 5 meet. The strength of the team was the distance events, where Hanry Jordan and Andrew Cabral proved to be a solid 1-2 punch. Jordan (600) and Cabral (1,000) took first-place showings at the SCC meet and continued to shine at Div. 5, where Cabral was second in the 2-mile, Jordan was fourth in the 1,000 at David Pedro was eighth in the shot put. The girls’ 200-meter relay team was third at Div. 5, while Hannah Bradbury (sixth in the 1,000) and Mackenzie Gingras (eighth in the shot put) also stood out among the best in the division.

Swimming and Diving

Last month we shared the success both Seekonk teams had at the South Coast Conference championships. Well, the Warriors didn’t disappoint in the postseason either. After an amazing performance in the South Sectional meet at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Seekonk headed to the Div. 2 State Championship meet at Boston University at put in solid showing against the best in the state with the girls team placing sixth overall and the boys finishing 11th. Top performers for the girls at states were Jayla Pina (third in 200IM, fourth in 100 breaststroke), Addison Abreu (seventh in 200IM) and Korryn Cartwright (sixth in the 100 butterfly), while the 200-yard medley relay team of Abreu, Natalie Kach, Pina and Cartwright was sixth and the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Abreu, Pina, Cartwright and Abigail Tenreiro was fifth. For the boys, Robert Strycharz was eighth in the 200IM and ninth in the 100 breaststroke, Blake Anderson was second in the 50 freestyle and 4th in the 100 freestyle, and divers Finn Paterson (third) and Spencer Deering (10th) performed well in the 1-meter diving.

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