Jay Heaps, a Major League Soccer player with the New England Revolution and former Bedford resident, was a special guest at the Bedford Athletic Club’s recent player appreciation night. Approximately 85 boys and girls from the BAC, a new Bedford travel soccer league, enjoyed a questionand- answer session, one-oneone drills and soccer games ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYPelham girls soccer players, all too familiar with the agony of defeat, are starting to experience the thrill of victory. The Pythons, frequently winless in recent campaigns, have won two contests in recent weeks, a small step for second-year head coach Amy Alfaro, who continues to instill a new attitude in her ...

By Kathy Remillard Tony Sawyer of Weare was presented with Granite State Communication’s Hometown Hero Award at the 17th annual Customer Appreciation Day on Sept. 26. The award is presented to a resident who is giving to his or her community to make it a better place. Sawyer is president of the John Stark Generals Football ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEY A theme developed near the top of the Windham Invitational cross country meet’s individual standings: Bulldogs, and plenty of them. The Bedford High School boys cross country team finished the race on Sept. 22 with four of the top five times, and seven of the event’s top 12 individual results. Thanks to a ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEY Windham doesn’t quite have a home-course advantage yet, but the Jaguars now officially have a course to call home. Though nearly all of the teams at the newly opened Windham High School are junior varsity, the school’s cross country team is competing at the varsity level. On Sept. 22, the school hosted its ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYArriving at the field for a marquee match with one of the top teams in Class I, Michelle Winning wasn’t sure what to expect from her Bedford High team. It didn’t take the girls soccer head coach long to discover the answer. Despite taking on Goffstown the day before, Winning’s Bulldogs came out full of energy ...

The Salem Saints began their second season in the Valley Hockey League. Nine Saints teams play there, while the Midget 1 team competes in the Granite State League. During games played the week of Sept. 14 to 20: The Mites beat S & S, 7- 2, with Mason Drouin and Nick Peters garnering two goals apiece. Brendon Banks, Michael Drouin and Jake ...

By MATT SCHOOLEY The coldest months of winter may still be far away, but Hopkinton residents are already looking to help community members by using their legs, paddles and bikes. For the seventh consecutive year, locals will take part in the Contoocook Carry triathlon on Sunday, Sept. 27. The event is a 2-mile run, a kayak route down the ...

Swimmers from the Greater Manchester Tiger Sharks recently impressed at four championship meets in Dover, Cambridge, Mass., and College Park, Md. During the New England 14- and-Under Long Course Championships at the Jenny Thompson Pool in Dover from July 23 to 26, Nina Levine of Bedford ranked sixth in individual scoring for 10-and-under ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYFor years, Tyson Akl has been called psycho. And that’s OK with him. When your job is to step into a caged-in ring and punch, kick and grapple your opponent into submission, it’s actually not a bad nickname to have. The 36-year-old Akl, a Salem resident for the last four years, makes his professional mixed martial ...