Pelham News : pelham high school

Top athletes from SHS, PHS push for Meet of Champions

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:29:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Salem High’s track and field team trekked to Concord for the Class L meet on Friday, May 29, while Pelham’s T&F squad traveled to Coe-Brown Academy for the Class I state meet on Saturday, May 30.

Salem
Both of Salem’s track teams scored well, earning finishes near the front of the pack. The boys scored 53 points and the girls managed 47, earning fifth- and sixth-place in the state, respectively.

Several Salem athletes came away with multiple topfive finishes, and the Blue Devils have participants at the upcoming Meet of Champions on Saturday, June 6, at the University of New Hampshire.

Mike Marshall won the 110-meter hurdles and was second in both the high and long jumps, while Jerickson Fedrick was third in the 100- meter dash and fifth in the 200-meter dash for the Blue Devils. Max Jacques was fourth in the 100 and triple jump. Also, the 4x100 and 4x800 relay teams scored points for the SHS boys.

Melissa Higgins was second in the 400-meter dash and fourth in the 200-meter dash, but it was the field where Salem girls earned top marks.

Amy Desrosiers won the discus throw, followed in second place by Robyn Ciriello, who won the shot put with a heave just beyond 38 feet. Erica Begin took third place in the javelin throw.

Pelham
Though the Pelham track teams finished near the bottom of the standings during the Class I competition at Coe-Brown, about one-fourth of the squad qualified for the morning’s events, and several athletes recorded personal best (PR) efforts.

The boys finished the day with six points, while the girls grabbed one point.

Cam Robidoux notched a third-place finish in the 200- meter dash, earning him a spot in the MOC. His feat came just two weeks after he restarted track activity. A hamstring injury suffered at the Pelham Invitational in April had sidelined him for a month.

Kelsi Lynde narrowly missed the finals of the 300-meter hurdles, as she was nosed out by .02 seconds.

While she was unable to make it to the final heat, Lynde knocked .4 seconds off of her PR during the run. Lynde also teamed with Emily Long, Shannon Oriole and Melody Long in the 4x400- meter relay, during which the Pythons notched a time of 4 minutes, 16.56 seconds, good for sixth place.

Pelham edged in semis by Souhegan

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:24:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The third-ranked Pythons fell by a razor-thin 9-8 margin in a 9-7 tiebreaker during the deciding No. 1 doubles match of the Class I semifinal, losing a heartbreaking 5-4 outcome on Saturday, May 30, to second-seeded Souhegan.

Pelham put itself in position to clinch a spot in the state championship match, needing a lone doubles win after Ethan Ely polished off the final match of singles play with a win at No. 6, giving the Pythons a 4-2 advantage. Souhegan first won at No. 3 doubles, knocking off Matt Mercier and Ely, 9-7, to climb within 4-3.

Next to fall for Pelham was the previously undefeated freshmen duo of Jared Taylor and Matt Smith, leaving the collective eyes of the crowd at Jasper Valley squarely on the battle unfolding before them on court one.

With the team score knotted at 4-4, Ryan Fyfe and Brad Shapiro lost a 6-3 lead before bouncing back to grab a 7- 6 advantage, but the Sabers forced a tiebreaker that also went the distance.

Needing to score seven points to win the tiebreaker and the match, the Pythons took the lead at 2-0 and 3- 2 and subsequently tied the score at five, six and seven before Souhegan won backto- back points to complete its comeback and advance.

Head coach Lisa Terwilliger loses just one member of the regular rotation to graduation, and she said the youth of her team may have shown during the match with Souhegan.

“Last time we played them we only won one singles match and won two of the doubles,” she said. “Then to come out today and not be able to win any of the doubles matches, it was a little bit upsetting.”

Freshman Jared Taylor continued his impressive first year of varsity tennis with an 8-2 win at No. 1, while Shapiro and Mercier came away with victories at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively.

Shapiro, the lone senior on the ladder this year, posted an 8-3 win in his final singles match.

Still, with the group’s deep and talented core, Terwilliger knows this was likely not the Pythons’ only crack at a Class I tennis championship.

“We’re a very young team,” she said. “We have a few more years to get it, and hopefully we will.”

Facing D-III power, untested Pelham preps for postseason

Salem Editor — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:11:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The dominance of the Pelham High School football team continues, even in late spring.

For two consecutive years the Pythons have gone undefeated on the gridiron en route to state championships, and boys lacrosse head coach Matt Regan said his team can reap the postseason benefits.

PHS concluded the regular season with an 11-3 mark and has more wins this year than the previous four years combined, but the coach enters the tournament without a single playoff-tested player.

“It’ll be tough. I’ve got a group of guys who have never been there,” he said. “I have a few football players who know what it’s like to go all the way, so I’m relying on them to share what it takes with their teammates.”

The regular season closed for the Pythons with a 10-7 home loss to undefeated Monadnock on Friday, May 22, in a game that may go a long way in preparing Pelham for the playoffs.

After the Huskies struck first in the opening quarter, Justin Mansfield evened the score, then Tom O’Brien gave the Pythons a 2-1 advantage.

It appeared the game would be tied entering the intermission, but Josh Fisette took a pass from Sean Paradis on a breakaway and found the back of the net as the buzzer rang for a 4-3 Pelham lead.

Monadnock showed how it dominated Division III play with a 13-0 record when it scored five consecutive goals to grab an 8-4 edge.

Pelham bounced back with three straight scores to trim the lead to 8-7, but the locals couldn’t claw any closer.

“When we fell behind by four, things could have gone south very quickly,” said Regan. “They didn’t let that happen. That just shows that we’re ready for the playoffs.”

Last year the Pythons were 2-12, but Regan said he believed entering the 2009 campaign that his team had improved thanks to an offseason of indoor play.

Despite higher expectations, the mentor admitted even he has been surprised at his team’s marked improvement.

Even though Pelham was unable to hand the Huskies their first loss of the year, Regan believes his team sent a message entering D-III postseason play, which is scheduled to begin Monday, June 1.

“We know we can play with anyone,” he said. “I think the moment got us a little, but we made the statement that we needed to make.”

Two teens arrested in prank at Pelham High

Salem Editor — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:58:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

The two teenagers who left the high school on May 20 in handcuffs may have been trying to pull a prank by bringing a toy gun into the building, but police officers and school officials aren’t laughing.

Authorities are not releasing the names of the two male juveniles, ages 15 and 16, but both have been charged with causing a false public alarm and disorderly conduct after another student spotted a plastic western cap gun on a hallway floor and reported it as a live handgun to school officials at about 10:57 a.m.

According to police, by the time the student returned with a school official, the silver gun had disappeared, leaving authorities concerned that a weapon could be circulating among the student body.

Officers located the cap gun tucked between several books inside the locker of one of the students apprehended shortly before 1 p.m., but not before officials put the high school into lockdown – effectively closing off movement in the building – for roughly two hours while authorities conducted a search, according to Lt. Gary Fisher.

While officers were waiting for a search warrant from the Salem District Court authorizing them to begin searching students and containers inside the building, administrators made an announcement asking for anyone with information to come forward. At that time, several students who knew about the toy gun and the two suspects approached the authorities, Fisher said.

According to police, neither of the suspects turned themselves over to the authorities, but school officials said that the student who had stored the toy gun in his locker came forward to administrators before officers took him into custody.

Police believe the pair worked together, with one bringing the cap gun into the school and later storing it in the second student’s locker.

Pelham High School finishes regular season on the rise

Salem Editor — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:40:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The Pelham boys tennis team doesn’t have much to pay back its Class I opponents, but the Pythons prepared for the postseason by avenging one loss from a short list of blemishes in 2009.

After losing to then undefeated Bedford earlier in the week, Pelham handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the year on Saturday, May 16, by way of a 5-4 road win.

With the victory, the Pythons concluded regularseason play at 12-2 and now await seedings for the upcoming Class I tournament.

Pelham took a 4-2 advantage after singles play when Brad Shapiro, Matt Smith, Matt Mercier and Ethan Ely knocked off their Bedford adversaries from their respective third through sixth spots on the ladder.

Mercier’s victory was particularly impressive; the junior trailed 3-0 and 6-3 against Kyle Basoukas before rallying for a 9-7 win.

Pelham’s No. 1 and 3 doubles pairs were unable to muster the lone victory needed to clinch the match, but the team decision was sealed during what went in the books as a 3-2 win for Smith and his partner, Jared Taylor.

Smith and Taylor led, 3-2, when a Bedford foe showed signs of frustration. His coach came onto the court for a conference before deciding to default the match.

With the victory, Taylor and Smith concluded a perfect season at No. 2 doubles.

PHS head coach Lisa Terwilliger said she has seen the importance of depth in several matchups this year.

“When we played ConVal, their (No.) 1 through 3 players were pretty stacked,” said Terwilliger, in her fourth season as coach. “We said on the bus heading over there that we’d have to count on our lower half of the ladder. We won 5-4 based on that, and it showed us how well-rounded we were.”

Pelham is currently seeded second in Class I, but top-ranked Bedford still has four matches to play before the tournament, meaning the Pythons could grab the No. 1 spot.

Taylor, a freshman, has anchored the ladder, losing only four times in his first year.

In addition to his blemishfree mark in doubles, Smith has lost just one singles match as the team’s No. 4 player. Terwilliger said she does not think having a fairly young rotation hurts the team entering the playoffs.

“They’ve been waiting for this all season,” she said. “They’re ready.”

Pelham’s top 3 ready for next step

Salem Editor — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:34:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Four years ago, Cassandra Costello graduated first in her class at Pelham Memorial School. Now, she’s the top student again. Costello is the valedictorian of Pelham High School’s Class of 2009.

“I’m excited about graduating, but I love Pelham High School at the same time,” said Costello, 18, who will address her class as valedictorian at the school’s Friday, June 19, graduation ceremony. “I’m going to miss a lot of my teachers and friends, so there’s kind of mixed feelings.”

This fall, Costello will begin her study of modern languages at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. She wants to be a high school Spanish teacher.

“She has a great command of the language,” said Spanish teacher Allison Walker, who’s been a mentor to Costello. “She’s very energetic; she has a passion for it. I feel she’s going to be very good.”

Spanish has been an important part of Costello’s academic life. She’s president of the Spanish Honor Society, took all the Spanish courses the school offers, and studied Spanish literature at the advanced placement level as an independent study.

She also learned how a teacher does her work. While taking a Teaching in the 21st Century course as part of the Future Educators Academy, Costello helped develop a project assignment with Walker for her Spanish III students, presented it to the students, helped answer questions, and observed the students as they presented their work. Costello has also helped Walker tutor students.

“(Teaching) is something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said.

In addition to her class work, Costello competed in lacrosse and field hockey, and participated in National Honor Society, Peer Outreach, and served as a student ambassador.

The No. 2 senior, the salutatorian, is Gina Guimond, 17, who will attend Northeastern University in Boston and is interested in health science. She’s been active in student government, NHS, Peer Outreach, lacrosse, field hockey and the school’s dance team.

“I can’t believe (graduation) is coming,” said Guimond. “I’m ready to move on. I’m so excited about college, but again I’m going to miss (Pelham High). I’ve put so much time and effort into this school.”

Dawn Ely, 18, who is the class essayist, the No. 3 senior, will attend Ithaca College in New York, where she will major in writing. She’s interested in editorial work or communications.

“I had a lot of really inspirational writing teachers here at Pelham (High),” said Ely. “I’ve taken essay writing, college writing, creative writing and they’ve all helped me really develop myself as a writer.”

She’s competed in tennis, and has been active in the drama club, prom committee, and in the French and National honor societies.

Guimond and Ely will also address their class at graduation.

There are 145 seniors.

All three students took honors and AP classes, and will receive scholarship money at the colleges they’re attending. They credit the support of others, including parents, friends and teachers, along with selfmotivation, for their success.

“There are so many teachers here who absolutely love what they do in every subject,” said Guimond, who credits teacher Lauren Streifer for turning her on to biology. “Every one just loves the subject areas they teach and it helps the kids.”

At times, the students found themselves doing school work at unusual times to get their work done. Costello has worked through lunch. Guimond has hurried to the library between classes to finish papers. Ely would do homework and read during drama club rehearsals when

not on stage.

And there were times when they didn’t always get enough sleep.

“Juggling school work, friends, sports, outside life, and all the clubs – it was hard,” said Guimond. “Time management was something that we learned.”

“Kind of,” said Costello, with a laugh.

“I’d say juggling all that was a challenge in itself but now looking back on it I’m happy I did it,” added Guimond. “Because now I know what to do … at college, where we’re going to have a lot harder homework, a lot more things to do.”

I’Anson, Vadala head to Virginia and national meet

Salem Editor — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:58:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Chelsea I’Anson and Leeann Vadala won’t need much time to introduce themselves when they leave for Virginia Beach representing New Hampshire in the Senior National Gymnastics Invitational.

Though I’Anson and Vadala competed at different high schools, they have also trained together since sixth grade.

I’Anson, a member of the Pelham High School team, and Vadala, a Salem High gymnast, were among three Granite State athletes chosen to travel to the May 22 competition.

Python head coach Amanda Iwanicki has coached I’Anson for three years at the high school level.

“I couldn’t have thought of someone who was more deserving for it,” said Iwanicki. “It was big because this is a kid that three years ago was fighting to get the program into the school. People were wondering what the big deal was with the team, and now she can show that she took the program to a national level.”

Both gymnasts began the sport at a young age following advice of family members.

At the suggestion of her grandfather, I’Anson tried the sport and loved it immediately.

For Vadala, there was little doubt that she would end up tumbling her way to a successful gymnastics career.

“She had three sisters to pave the way, so she’s been around gymnastics since she was so young,” said Salem head coach Ginnie Lavallo. “When you’re the younger one, you fall into it much better. Her parents were both athletes that instilled that kind of mindset for striving to be her best.”

The bar was set high for Vadala; her oldest sister, now the head coach at Andover High School in Massachusetts, was one of the top gymnasts in the state during her high school career.

“I had to live up to my sisters,” said Vadala. “I always wanted to keep getting better so I could keep up with the rest of my family.”

Entering the national competition, Vadala said she hopes to place in the top 15 on the bars.

The SHS senior said she has often been her biggest critic, but that has helped her find success.

“I am really hard on myself,” she said. “If I wasn’t as successful as I wanted to be, people had to remind me that even if I didn’t do as well as I had wanted to, I was still doing better than most gymnasts.”

I’Anson also prepares to leave for the event with realistic expectations and a relaxed outlook.

“I know I won’t be the best person there,” she said. “I am really just looking forward to having some fun while I am down there.”

Pelham coach reminds players to relax, stay focused

Salem Editor — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:55:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Visiting St. Thomas Aquinas shellacked Pelham’s baseball team.

“So what?”

It’s that phrase that Pelham’s head coach, Matt Stone, repeated to his players throughout the contest on Wednesday, April 29, to help them maintain an even keel during an 11-3 setback and a 2-7 start to the season.

“You can’t show emotion. You can’t lose your composure. That’s what ‘So what?’ means,” said Stone. “You have to be able to brush it off and look yourself in the mirror after the game and say that you didn’t take a single pitch off.”

In the early going, Stone could be heard saying the expression repeatedly, as the Pythons fell behind 8-0 in the first three innings. It appeared the game was headed for a mercy-rule conclusion.

But Stone’s bunch buckled down, held the Saints without a run in back-to-back innings, then began to chip away at the score.

After Louie Lebel and Corey Couillard worked walks, Joe Morin plated Pelham’s first run in the bottom of the third with an RBI groundout.

In the home half of the sixth, Mike Perruccio came off the bench and produced a sacrifice fly, and Jesse Vaiknoris brought the third Python run of the day home with a single that cut the deficit to 9-3.

The hard-hitting, slick-fielding Saints proved too much, but Stone was glad to see his team play for seven innings.

“We’ve gone down before, but we’re not here to get mercy-ruled,” said Stone. “We’re going to keep kicking, keep scratching to try to keep playing.”

Pelham’s most impressive win of the season came April 24 in a road tilt with Kearsarge when the Pythons left with an 8-7 victory, the Cougars’ only setback in five April games.

Following the loss to St. Thomas, the Pythons fell to Souhegan, 11-1, on Saturday, May 2, and Coe-Brown, 10-5, on Monday, May 4. In the setback to Coe-Brown, played at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, James Moran went 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple, Lebel singled and doubled in two official trips to the plate, but Northwood’s boys scored five in the top of the seventh to pull away.

“They’ve learned how to handle being on the underside of some games,” said Stone. “It’s not a sport where if you’re angry you can take it out on your opponent. It’s a game where you have to stay cool mentally to be successful.”

Young players continue to pump up Pelham’s program

Salem Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:57:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Pelham had a few interested parties watching matches throughout the 2008 season. This year, they’re on the other side of the fence.

Boys tennis coach Lisa Terwilliger said she began thinking about this year’s team when her current freshmen – then eighthgraders – showed up to see a PHS squad that was eventually knocked out in last year’s Class I semifinals.

“That was a good sign,” said Terwilliger. “They had interest and wanted to be a part of it. I knew we’d have a good lineup.”

The lineup begins with freshman Jared Taylor, who has already shown he can handle the top rung on the Pelham ladder.

On Friday, April 17, the Pythons knocked off Portsmouth, and Taylor passed the biggest test of his young career.

Trailing, 4-1, in a battle with Eric Levenson, who Terwilliger said is one of the top players in the state. Taylor battled back and eventually secured a 9-7 victory. That win set the tone for a 6-3 final that sent the Pythons to a 3-0 record.

Matt Smith, also a freshman, came away an 8-3 victory that day as well.

The upperclassmen, of course, are contributing mightily as well. Senior Brad Shapiro enters his fourth year with the team as the third-ranked Python, and juniors Ryan Fyfe and Matt Mercier fill the second and fifth rungs on the ladder, respectively.

Ethan Ely rounds out the lineup for the Pythons, hitting in the sixth spot as a sophomore. With a relatively young team, Terwilliger has already identified her challenge this year.

“The biggest thing we have to work on is the mental aspect, and not showing emotions on the court,” said Terwilliger. “For the other team to see that, they know they already have the win. That has happened a little bit early on.”

Pelham handily won a home tilt with Milford, 9-0, on Monday, April 20, before hitting the road for back-to-back contests in Bow and Souhegan on April 23 and 24.

The head coach said she expects her team to make a run in the playoffs, and the tradition the squad has developed in previous campaigns breeds confidence in her players.

“Every year, my team thinks we’ll have a winning season,” said Terwilliger. “This is my fourth year, and every year except one we’ve had a winning record. They want to win, and we’re not used to losing. So having that reputation really helps.”

Hojlo heads to college as Pelham High School record holder and special leader

Salem Editor — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:22:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

He came off the bench his freshman year – a spark amongst a fiery group of seniors, including his older brother – and helped Pelham garner its first Class I basketball crown.

As a sophomore and junior, his flame burned brightly as he guided the team to the Class I quarterfinal round each season.

That flame flickered when his junior campaign ended with him back on the bench, a coach’s decision based on a technical foul for arguing with the referee.

This year, he ignited into a full-blown wildfire, torching opponents to the tune of 28.1 points per game and 702 markers overall. And if it wasn’t for a thumb injury suffered in this year’s state semifinals, he may very well have led Pelham to another state championship. This was the evolution of Justin Hojlo.

In those four seasons he compiled a Pelham record 1,810 points, far past the old mark of 1,621 set by one of his mentors, James Roman, when Hojlo was a freshman.

In that time, the Pythons won 74 games in Class I and lost 12. They were 80-16 overall.

“He walked into a very fortunate situation as a freshman where he was good enough to be a successful player, but he really didn’t have to be thrown into the fire. He had a lot of big brothers on that team that really allowed him to take his time developing as a high school basketball player,” said Pelham head coach Todd Kress of the standout guard, who has averaged 23.2 points per game as a starter the last three seasons. “Once his sophomore year came, … the team was really thrown into his lap … That was a lot for a sophomore to handle. He wanted to defer to the seniors because it was their last year, but he knew, at times, he needed to be the guy on the court.

“As a senior, you saw he was finally able to really step into that leadership role,” Kress continued. “Now it was Justin who had a lot of little brothers looking up to him.”

Every game this season, Hojlo received opposing defenses’ severest concentration.

Every road and playoff contest, he was the object of fans’ hostility. Yet he led the Pythons to a 17-1 regular season.

Hojlo credits his maturation as a cager almost entirely to Kress, assistant Matt Regan and the other coaches at PHS. “I came in and all I could do was shoot three (pointers),” said Hojlo. “Now I have an allaround game, and I’ve got to credit the coaching staff for that. They’ve made me into a real basketball player.”

Despite his 5-foot-10 frame, he leaves behind some very large shoes to fill.

Michael Lombard, along with fellow sophomore Stephen Spirou, are the two most likely candidates to step into Hojlo’s starring role.

Lombard, a post player, said he hopes to succeed in different ways, but doubts he’ll ever have the game-changing impact Hojlo exhibited on a nightly basis.

“We’ll never have another player like him come through the program,” said Lombard. “It was just amazing to be around him. He could score in a hurry, and he was always there to carry us when we needed him.”

That’s not to say Hojlo was selfish. On the contrary, though he was never afraid to take an important shot, he just as often slashed toward the net, drawing defenders to him before dishing to a wide open teammate for an open look at the hoop.

But the one thing Kress hopes Hojlo leaves behind is his desire to win.

“I hope all the younger players really paid attention to those fourth quarters of tight games because the one thing Justin 100-percent positively showed throughout his four years is he hates to lose,” said the coach. “That’s just Justin’s mentality. You can’t imagine how fiery and demonstrative he is when he loses. I’m sure that 1,810 mark won’t be touched for many, many a year, but what I really hope, if nothing else, he passed on that desire to have the ball in tight situations.”

Kress said the most difficult part of accepting his team’s 61- 48 loss to Portsmouth in this season’s Class I finale was that Hojlo, due to the thumb injury, couldn’t take over one last time in a hotly contested fourth quarter. Still, Hojlo has played in 10 playoff games on the University of New Hampshire’s larger floor, as many as anyone in Class I. Now he hopes to have a similar impact on the Plymouth State University hardwood.

“I think you’re going to see a much different player up there,” said Kress. “You’re going to see a kid that hurts defenses if they don’t play him tight, and you’re going to see someone very dangerous from the perimeter. But I think, more than anything else, you’re going to see a facilitator on a very talented basketball team John Sheinman has up there.

“He’ll be one of the pieces in a bigger puzzle, and I see him fitting right into his role and dishing out a lot of assists. He’ll be a very popular teammate, I’ll put it that way,” added Kress. “Justin isn’t intimidated by anything, and Plymouth is very fortunate to have a player like him.”

Freshman, junior lead Pelham High School at wrestling tourney

Salem Editor — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:02:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Two Pelham wrestlers won individual state championships, and the team finished seventh at the Division II wrestling tournament, hosted by Bedford High School on Saturday, Feb. 21. Josh Medeiros made his first state tournament a memorable one, as the freshman won the 103-pound weight class, while junior Mike Perruccio took home a state championship at 125 pounds.

The two Python victors join teammate Mark Riddinger at the Meet of Champions on Saturday, Feb. 28, after Riddinger took fourth place in the 152-pound category. Head coach Bob Riddinger said his wrestlers and other D-II competitors should prove difficult foes at the MOC.

“The Division-I teams have a lot of upperclassmen, so it’ll be tough, but we will give it our best shot and see if we can come away with some placings,” said Riddinger. “I think you’ll see a lot of Division-II kids making some noise at the Meet of Champions.”

Riddinger said he had hoped his team could have placed higher at the state meet, but the Pythons were hit with a flu bug that affected several wrestlers.

“I think we made some good strides. We had a fairly young team with a lot of the starters being first-year starters,” said Riddinger. “They got some really good experience. Even though we’ll be losing five seniors, the younger guys will be stepping it up, and we hope to see a pretty good influx from the middle school level. We’ll stay on that rebuilding course.”

The coach carried high expectations for Perruccio into the event, and the now two-time champ – he won the 103-pound D-II championship as a freshman – didn’t disappoint. Riddinger was also pleasantly surprised by his freshman state champion.

“With Medeiros, I had him one year in the middle school, and I knew he was athletic. He stepped it up on Saturday,” Riddinger said. “He was a completely different wrestler from his semifinals match to his final. He showed what he was capable of. That’s what we thought we could expect out of him. It was a matter of making him aware.”

Often when his wrestlers were on the mat, Riddinger forgot how young many of them were. He looks forward to molding the team in the upcoming years.

“They have time to hone their skills,” he said. “They’ll be able to take their abilities up to the next level. We expect some good things.”

Pelham, 15-1, escapes from Bedford, 3-13, with basketball victory

Salem Editor — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:23:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Three years ago, the Pelham boys basketball team used a one-loss regular season as a springboard to a state title. The town of Bedford had yet to begin construction on its high school.

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, Bedford’s first-year varsity hoops squad proved it’s set a firm foundation. But at the end of four quarters, Pelham showed BHS what it takes to build a Class I powerhouse.

Despite trailing after three quarters, Pelham left a raucous Bedford gymnasium with a 67-64 victory.

“(Pelham) is the best team in Class I, and I think the way they beat us a month ago ... it’s something that really motivated us to come out and play hard, to play with pride and effort, desire and intensity,” said Bedford’s head coach, Joe Kegler. “All I asked them for was an opportunity at the end of the game, and they gave me that.”

“This was supposed to be a walk in the park tonight, I’m not going to lie to you,” said Pelham’s mentor, Todd Kress. “(But) they’ve got a wonderful combination of quick guards that don’t make mistakes and young big kids that already have the skills and just need to get physically stronger.”

The Pythons must focus on playing better – now. The 15-1 record aside, Kress said his team has work to do if it’s to compete for a second championship in four years.

“I told them at the end of the third quarter, ‘We’re going to find out how good we are right now. Are we ready to be a good tournament team? Because a good tournament team comes back and wins this game,” he said. “Everyone has to understand it’s all about the tournament. We’re either going to be a No. 1 or a No. 2 seed … and everyone who has watched Class I the last couple years knows it’s all about matchups.”

Despite earning top-five seeds, Pelham ran into a wall against bigger, stronger Hanover each of the last two seasons. This year, the Pythons’ one loss came in a 66-60 contest at 10-6 Portsmouth on Jan. 6. Though they avenged the setback with a 51-42 home triumph on Feb. 3, Kress admitted the senior-laden Clippers, among others, look scary as potential second-round opponents.

“We drew the one team we didn’t want the last couple years, and I’m not going to say who it is, but there’s definitely a team out there I don’t want to see this time around,” he said.

One thing’s for certain. Kress is happy he doesn’t have to see Bedford again.

“Imagine if (the Bulldogs) snuck in the back door. They’ve got wins against Portsmouth and Milford, two top-eight seeds, and they almost beat us tonight. I wouldn’t want to play them again, I don’t care what gym we play in,” said Kress. “But we’ve got Justin (Hojlo), and with Justin on the floor, I’ll tell you what, we’re going to be a tough out.”

Game notes
Arguably the Class I player of the year front-runner, Hojlo led all scorers with 26 points, but Bedford’s James Schappler forced him to take more shots than he usually does. In fact, Kress said the young guard played the best defense he’s seen on Hojlo this season.

Pelham sophomore Stephen Spirou was a close second in scoring, with 25 markers, while the Bedford trio of Connor Green, Mike Marmelli and Joey Maher managed 22, 17 and 14 points, respectively.

Though Conor McColgan’s name doesn’t often jump out on the Pelham stat sheet, Kress said the junior’s five consecutive third-quarter points were pivotal to his squad’s comeback.

Pelham youngsters continue to improve during difficult girls basketball season

Salem Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:47:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

It was a good news/bad news Senior Night for the Pelham girls basketball team.

The bad news? The Lady Pythons had just three seniors to honor, a reality evident by the 53-38 setback that evening, Friday, Jan. 30, courtesy of visiting Coe-Brown Northwood Academy.

The good news? The Lady Pythons graduate only three seniors. While the losses mount – Pelham fell to 3-10 following a 75-40 loss at Portsmouth on Tuesday, Feb. 3 – head coach Tim Powers knows his charges are showing marked progress.

“They’re young, and they learn every game. They’re improving, and they’re doing things better now than they were at the beginning of the year, so that’s the important thing …,” he said. “Anytime you can get on the floor and get some game experience that’s a huge benefit because you can’t simulate that at practice.”

Though Coe-Brown left the PHS gymnasium with a 10-3 record, the locals were competitive the entire first half, even taking the lead late in the second quarter.

But when senior standout Briana Szidat left with an injury early in the third, Pelham not only lost her scoring – she led the game with 18 points – but her leadership.

“That definitely was a factor, but even with her going out with an injury, we still had opportunities, and we just didn’t take advantage of those chances,” said Powers. “The girls came out and executed the game plan and did things the way they needed to, the way we wanted to do, and we were right in the game. That’s the kind of basketball we’re capable of playing. We just need to do it for four quarters.”

Nicole Mastacouris chipped in six points, while Sarah DeBaldo and Rachael Fournier each added four markers. Also contributing to the stat sheet were Jacqui Perry, Amanda Blake and Kayla Bailey.

Powers admits he looks forward to witnessing the fruits of this year’s lumps, but acknowledged his tri-captains, Szidat, Bailey and April Blinn, will be tough to replace.

“Obviously, Briana is the one that does a lot of the scoring and gets all the headlines, but the other two are … hard workers, and they do all the little things that, if you look at the box score, you’re not going to see,” said the coach. “But they do the things that make the team go: they push the young girls and do a lot of the dirty work. They’re very important pieces, all three of them.”

Pelham High School fix needed

Salem Editor — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:51:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Looking to avoid a loss of accreditation, school administrators have teamed up with education officials and local residents to find a solution to the high school’s failing facilities.

Since the New England Association of Schools and Colleges put the school on a warning status in November – citing 31 areas that need improvements, including inadequate classroom space, outdated equipment and insufficient instructional materials – Superintendent Frank Bass said a committee of local residents have been meeting on a weekly basis to determine the best course of action.

Sean Minuti, a member of the high school facilities committee formed last spring in response to the problems plaguing the high school, said administrators and educators were aware of the issues at the high school before the report came out in November.

“The administration knows the space issues and how equipment is getting old,” he said. “I’m not sure that we were surprised by that report. We’re hoping that it will help the rest of the town to get more in tune to the issues. It’s really up to the whole town body to kind of come together on a solution.”

The committee is currently examining solutions, including building a new school on a different site, building additional classroom space or renovating the entire structure, according to Minuti.

Though the committee – sidetracked by December’s ice storm and the holidays – does not plan to give a recommendation to the School Board in time to put together a warrant for March’s town meeting, Muniti said the committee hoped to have their work wrapped up early this spring, giving the board a year to publicize the issue before putting anything before voters.

According to Principal Dorothy Mohr, the school has two years to complete at least 30 percent of the needed improvements to avoid a probationary status or a loss of accreditation. A special progress report detailing the school district’s plans to address the deficiencies is due in May.

In the meantime, she said the warning status would only affect those students applying to competitive colleges or universities.

“When it may come down to one seat, colleges may look at the accreditation of the student’s school,” Mohr said. “The major impact will come later. If we lose accreditation it may determine where (students) can go to school. You’re going to see the affect on property values and the school’s ability to attract teachers.”

Either a major renovation of the existing facility or the construction of a new building would keep the high school accredited, according to Mohr, though she said that with the tough economic times, education officials would have to get creative and think outside of the box to convince voters of the need.

Minuti said residents had taken a minimalist approach to making improvements in the past and the real challenge lay in getting past what he described as a townwide sentiment.

“There is a wide spectrum of people (in town) with different interests,” he said. “There’s new families with young kids, older families that don’t have kids in the schools anymore, and trying to figure out a common ground for the full spectrum of the town is challenging.”

Pelham seeks return to playoffs following difficult campaign

Salem Editor — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:26:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Following a generally disappointing 2007-08 campaign in which his Pelham girls basketball team posted a 4-17 record, Tim Powers plans to use this season to move the program back to a level of respectability – and the postseason.

The Lady Pythons have already taken step one, knocking off fledgling Bedford in the season opener, 55-51, on Dec. 2. Though they dropped game two, 64-36, to an ever-solid Souhegan squad, Powers said he’s pleased with the progression he’s seeing.

“Obviously we have some room to improve from last year, but I expect that every time we go out to play, we get better,” he said. “I’m looking for our leaders to take on bigger roles this season and aid the younger players as they mature into their roles.”

Briana Szidat, said Powers, is one of the best players in the state.

A standout 6-foot-3 center, Szidat averaged more than 13 points per game last season and rides a full hoops scholarship to UMass-Lowell next year.

“Szidat can obviously play, so there’s a huge chunk of the offense,” said Powers. “A lot of teams will try to stop and scheme around her. She’s going to see double- and sometimes triple-teams all year, so to combat those defenses they’re going to throw at us, we’re going to need someone to step up each game and provide us with a solid secondary scoring option.”

Against Bedford, returning sophomore Alex Catalano contributed nine points, junior Sarah DeBaldo dropped in eight and Jacki Perry added six markers to complement Szidat’s 31 points.

DeBaldo and Perry both started last year, along with senior guard April Blinn, who captains the team with Szidat.

Kayla Baile and Amanda Blake are back as well. They’ll help acclimate first-year varsity players Christine Morgan, Rachael Fournier, Katie Halpin and Nicole Mastacouris.

“This is a good, hard-working group,” said Powers. “I fully expect to be in almost every game we play.”