WGGB Springfield » High School Sports

Athlete of the Week – Eve Sullivan, Minnechaug

Mike Leslie — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:25:02 +0000

Minnechaug tennis player Eve Sullivan is our abc40 Athlete of the Week!

Suspect #2 Wrestled Two Western Mass Competitors in 2011 State Tournament

Mike Leslie — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 03:11:28 +0000

(FBI Image)

(WGGB) — Dzhokar Tsarnaev — widely known as Suspect #2 — has a bizarre link to Western Mass athletics.

In the 2011 State Tournament, Tsarnaev wrestled against two student-athletes from Western Mass schools. Tsarnaev defeated Minnechaug’s Cam Servantez, and then lost to West Springfield’s Shawn Le, in the Loser’s Bracket of the 135-lb. Weight Class.

Tsarnaev lost his first round match, against Alex Kwmuntis of St. John’s Prep, before being paired up with Servantez in the first round of the Loser’s Bracket. After defeating Servantez, 10-0, Tsarnaev lost to Le, by pin, at 1:49. The loss to Le ended Tsarnaev’s tournament.

Agawam wins DIIIA State Championship; Westfield Wins in Semi

Mike Leslie — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 04:09:12 +0000

Agawam fell behind 1-0, but came back to beat Grafton 3-1, in the Division IIIA State Championship. Anthony Ascioti made 26 saves in the win.

Westfield, meanwhile came out on fire, against Wachusett, taking a 5-0 lead, on their way to a 6-4 win. The State Semifinal win sets up a State Title matchup with Swampscott on Sunday at 3:30.

Athlete of the Week – KayJuan Bynum, Putnam

Mike Leslie — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 04:04:42 +0000

Putnam multi-sport star KayJuan Bynum is our abc40 Athlete of the Week!!

Clean Sweep; Western Mass Advances 3 Boys Teams to State Finals

Mike Leslie — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 04:22:01 +0000

Putnam, South Hadley, and Smith Academy all won Tuesday night, to advance to the State Championship games in Division I, II, and III respectively. They all play on Saturday.

Chicopee Sees Magical Run Come to an End

Mike Leslie — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 03:53:59 +0000

The Chicopee Pacers entered the Western Mass Tournament as the 7-seed, with very few people on their bandwagon.

But the Pacers beat the 2-seed Longmeadow Lancers in the quarterfinals, then the 3-seed Holyoke Purple Knights in the semifinals, and finally beat the #1 seed Northampton Blue Devils in the championship game.

But Monday night, Chicopee had their magical Cinderella run come to an end, when Holy Name utilized a 21-2 run to knock off the Pacers, 40-31. Chicopee finishes the season at 16-8.

Putnam Pep Rally Honors Football Commits

Mike Leslie — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 07:57:52 +0000

Putnam Vocational High School has had a pretty special week. On Wednesday night, they beat West Springfield in the Division I Boys Basketball semifinals, to advance to the Championship Game for the first time since 1984.

On Friday, the school held a pep rally, supporting the basketball team, but also honoring three football players that signed their National Letter of Intent to play college ball.

Kelly Dobbins — a Class of ’12 graduate who played a year of prep ball at Bridgton Academy — has signed with the University of Rhode Island.

KayJuan Bynum — a senior standout at Quarterback and Linebacker — has signed with Southern Connecticut State.

And Rishawn Harris — a stud wide receiver — has signed with New Haven.

The basketball team plays Central on Saturday night, at 7:30, at the Curry Hicks Cage at UMass. And as always, we’ll have the highlights for you, Saturday night at 11!

Cathedral Bounced by Malden Catholic in Super 8

Mike Leslie — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 05:31:53 +0000

The Panthers carried an undefeated record into the final game of the 2012-13 season.

They lost to Malden Catholic, to close out the regular season.

And then, in the playoffs, Cathedral lost in back-to-back games, as Malden Catholic knocked the Panthers out of the Super 8 Tournament.

Friday night, it was a 4-0 win for MC.

Cathedral finishes at 16-3-4.

Westfield Wins 8th Western Mass Hockey Title in 12 Years

Mike Leslie — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:58:17 +0000

The Bombers got a hat trick from Sean Spohr, and 14 saves in a shutout for Nick Liberto, as Westfield won a Western Mass Championship for the 8th time in 12 years. It’s Westfield’s 2nd title in 3 years.

Agawam wins Division IIIA Hockey Championship

Mike Leslie — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:55:23 +0000

The Brownies got goals from five different players, and 17 saves from Anthony Ascioti, in a 5-1 win over South Hadley. Agawam beat a South Hadley team that they’d lost to in each of the last three Western Mass Championships.

Athlete of the Week – Maya Kerstetter, Northampton

Mike Leslie — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:45:04 +0000

Northampton Junior Forward Maya Kerstetter is this week’s ABC40 Athlete of the Week!

Central, Putnam Set Up City Final in Division I Boys Hoops

Mike Leslie — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 04:50:07 +0000

Central outlasted Holyoke, 52-48, while Putnam ran away from West Springfield, to win 64-42, in the Division I Western Mass Semifinals. Central and Putnam will play Saturday, at 7:30 at the Curry Hicks Cage at UMass, for the Division I Championship.

In Division III Boys Hoops, St. Joe’s will play Smith Academy for the title.

In D-III Girls Hoops, Sabis will face Lee for the title, in a 2011 Championship Game rematch.

Northampton, Chicopee Advance to DI Girls Final

Mike Leslie — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 05:09:20 +0000

Northampton topped Central, and Chicopee took down Holyoke, to advance to the Division I Girls Basketball Championship, on Saturday.

South Hadley, Agawam Win in Division IIIA Hockey Semifinals

Mike Leslie — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 04:46:02 +0000

South Hadley and Agawam advanced to the Western Mass Division IIIA Championship game, set to be played Thursday night, at 5:30, at the Olympia Ice Center, in West Springfield.

Girls Basketball Quarterfinal Friday

Mike Leslie — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 04:53:21 +0000

Division I saw Northampton, Chicopee, Holyoke, and Central advance to the Semifinals.

In Division II, Drury advanced. They’ll play the winner of Saturday’s Belchertown/Wahconah game. Other side of the draw – Hoosac Valley upset Hampshire, while Mahar beat Athol.

And in Division III, Sabis will face Lenox in the Semifinals. Lee and Granby both won. They’ll face one another.

Division I Boys Quarterfinal Thursday

Mike Leslie — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:56:11 +0000

The top four seeds – Central, Putnam, West Springfield, and Holyoke – advanced to the Division I Boys Basketball Quarterfinals.

In Division II, Greenfield, Taconic, South Hadley, and Sabis advanced.

In Division III, Renaissance, Smith Academy, Lee, and St. Joe’s moved on to the Semifinals.

And in DIIIA Hockey, Agawam and Wahconah moved on. They’ll play one another in the Semis.

Athlete of the Week — Zach Parsons

Mike Leslie — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:51:38 +0000

This week’s abc40 Athlete of the Week is Zach Parsons from Belchertown.

West Springfield Tops Ludlow in DIII Hockey

Mike Leslie — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 04:56:42 +0000

West Springfield fell behind 2-0, but came back for a 3-2 win, in the Division III Quarterfinals. West Side now moves on to face Westfield.

South Hadley & St. Joe’s Advance to DIIIA Quarterfinals

Mike Leslie — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 05:21:53 +0000

South Hadley beat Greenfield, 6-0, while St. Joe’s upset Chicopee 5-3, to advance to the Division IIIA Western Mass Hockey semifinals. The two teams will face one another in the semis.

Cathedral, Sci-Tech Advance in DI Boys Bracket

Mike Leslie — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 05:05:35 +0000

Cathedral beat Minnechaug, 73-62 to advance to the Division I Boys Basketball Quarterfinals. Cathedral will face #2 Putnam. Meanwhile, Sci-Tech came back to force overtime against East Longmeadow, and won the game 72-62, to advance to face #1 Central in the quarterfinals.