WH Update

We are headed down the home stretch of the winter sports season, but that is not to say we are anywhere near done.  Almost all of our teams are post season bound so we are in for some exciting action.  Here is the latest for each winter team:

1)      The boys basketball team started the season by losing their first game but since that time they have not lost a Patriot League game and reeled off 12 straight wins overall. The team has a one game lead over Hingham with 3 left to play in their quest for their 7^th league title and 4th in the last 5 years.  The Panthers boast a balanced attack with 4 players averaging in double figures (Ben Rice, Stevie Kelly, Nate Amado and Cole Levangie).  On Friday night, Senior captain Stevie Kelly led another balanced attack with 20 points for Whitman Hanson as the Panthers recorded a 75-57 road win at Plymouth North.  Junior Nate Amado added 19 and senior captain Ben Rice chipped in with 16 as the Panthers (14-2, 10-1) to the win.  The team is back home Tuesday night at Plymouth South.

2)      The Whitman Hanson girls basketball team (10-5, 6-5) punched their ticket to the state tournament Tuesday as they defeated Scituate 58-45. Junior Reese Codero scored 11 of her team high 14 points in the first quarter. Senior Brittany Gacicia also chipped in with 12 points. The Panthers trailed at the half by a score of 26-22 but buckled down on the defensive end in the second half and held the Sailors to 4 points in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately the girls lost to Plymouth North Friday as they now set their sites on securing a home playoff game.  The team will be on the road at Plymouth South on Tuesday.

3)      The boys hockey team battled their hearts out Wednesday in their quest to remain alive for a league title, but dropped  a 2-0 decision (included an empty netter) to Plymouth North.  The Panthers played the game without their leading scorer Matt Solari but the good news is he returned for the game Saturday night to score twice.  Chris Stoddard was the hero scoring with 19 seconds left to snap a 3-3 tie to give the Panthers a 4-3 win over North Quincy.  Adam Solari also scored and Kevin Willis and Sean Doucette both had strong games in front of Bobby Siders who earned the win in net.  The team will host Duxbury Wednesday night at Rockland at 8pm.

4)      The girls hockey team remains in the hunt for a post season berth but it’s going to come down to the wire.  The girls  beat Marshfield 8-3 on Thursday. Alyssa Murphy led the way with 4 goals and 2 assists, Shea Kelleher had a goal and 3 assists, also scoring goals were Emily McDonald, Caity Hazley and Abbey Powers who netted her 1st of the year and also added an assist. Kat Gilbert and Rylee Moran split duty in net. Unfortunately the girls lost a close one 3-2 to Mansfield on Saturday to drop their record to 6-7.  They will try to get back to .500 at North Quincy on Wednesday.

5)      The Whitman-Hanson Wrestlers traveled to Hanover for a Quad meet Saturday and came away with one of their best days in more than a few years. The Panthers started the day beating Nauset 58-16 and then Rockland 52-27 and finished the day beating host Hanover 53-23. Going 3-0 for the Panthers included Joe Boss at 106 pounds, Myles McInnis at 126 pounds, Captain Damari Goldsmith-Greene at 138, Captain Steve Brooks at 160 pounds (including 2 pins, now has 22 on the year), Mike Gardner also with 3 pins on the day. Panthers with 2 wins each included Aidan Guiliani at 113 pounds, Tyler Cullinan with 2 pins at 170 pounds, Maddox Colclough at 195 pounds, Jason Rapoza with 2 pins at 22o pounds and Declan Hanaphy with 2 pins at 285. Others winners on the day included Captain Bethany Ralf at 120 pounds, Braden Kain at 132 pounds and Sean Noonan with a pin at 152 pounds.

Next up for the Panthers is a home dual meet on Wednesday February 5th where the team will host Senior night as well as Plymouth North.

The Panthers are 0-3 in the Patriot league Keenan Division and 8-7 overall.

6)      The track teams are gearing up for the Patriot League meet on Friday.  The coaches and student-athletes spent this week training for another strong showing in the league wide meet at the Reggie Lewis Center.

7)      The gymnastics team lost to Hingham this week but the team had many strong performances.  Sarah Bomardier was outstanding on the vault with an 8.4 while Madison Scaccia was also strong with an 8.15.  Sarah was also the top finisher for the Panthers on the bars, balance beam and floor.  Riley Getchell took second overall for the Panthers on the day with a 30.1 which includes an 8.1 on the floor.

8)      The swim team wrapped up their season at the league meet on Saturday finishing in third place. Madison Navicky, who has courageously played through injuries all year came in 2nd in the 100 Yard Free with a 102.47, 3rd in the 200 yard Medley-Relay with a 2:16:87, 3rd in the 50 Free with a 28:01, and 3rd in the Free-Relay with 1:57:22. Sabrina O'Connor came in 3rd place in diving with a score of185, she also came in 7th place in the 200 Free-Relay and 8th place in the 200 Medley- Relay. Katelyn Sweeney came in 8th place in the 100 Yard Fly with a personal best time of 1:39:84, 7Th place in the 200 Free-Relay, and 9Th place in the 200 Yard Medley- Relay. Erin Tilley came in 12place in the 50 Free with a 34:68, 9th place in the 500 Free with a 8:07:67, and in 7th place in the 200 Free-Relay with a 2:14:94. Abby Bonney came in 10th place in the 200 Medley- Relay with her personal best time in the breaststroke, with a total time of 2:48:74, she also came in 9th place in the 200 Free- Relay with a 2:27:72.