H.S. Roundup: Amherst, Belchertown split Minuteman league swim meet

AMHERST — The Belchertown and Amherst boys and girls swimming teams split their Minuteman league matchup at the Amherst Middle School Pool on Tuesday night. The Orioles boys won 109-60, while the Hurricanes girls won 106-64.

For the Belchertown boys, the victory came on the back of first-place finishes in nine of the 11 total events on the night.

J.R. Zlogar claimed the top spot in four events for the Orioles, with times of 55.19 in the 100 butterfly and 5:30.59 in the 500 freestyle, adding on contributions in the 200 medley relay (1:54.60 overall, 24.74 individually), and the 200 freestyle relay (1:45.37, 26.92).

Drake Dragon also had a big day for Belchertown, finishing first in the 50 freestyle (25.65) and the 100 breaststroke (1:07.86), and playing a role in the 200 medley relay (1:54.60, 28.07), and the 400 freestyle relay (3:49.53, 56.49).

Ryan Gould helped earn two relay victories, while winning the 100 backstroke (57.52) as well. Ryan Shea also showcased his skills, taking the top spot in the 200 individual medley (2:15.90).

“I thought all my swimmers swam great [on Tuesday],” Belchertown head coach Johanna Manduley said. “I thought it went great.”

For the Amherst boys, Tallon Demers led the way with first-place finishes in the 200 freestyle (2:06.26) and the 100 freestyle (56.81).

On the girls’ side, the Hurricanes’ victory came with finishes in the top spot in eight of 11 events.

Rowan Albertson had a successful night, claiming first in the 50 freestyle (25.86) and the 100 backstroke (1:03.67). She added on contributions to top placements in the 200 medley relay (1:59.86, 28.80) and the 100 freestyle relay (1:09.26, 1:02.06).

Teagen Demers finished first in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.26), adding on the quickest time in Amherst’s top spot in the 200 freestyle relay (1:52.21, 27.41).

Audrey Spiridopoulos claimed first place in the 100 butterfly (1:04.82), while Finnley Chambers took the No. 1 spot in the 500 freestyle (5:47.26) for the Hurricanes.

“[Tuesday] felt like we were finally coming back from the holidays, and what ended up being like a whole mess of people being sick over the past month,” Amherst head coach Denise Leckenby said. “We’re finally starting to be back to being a complete team, which is really nice.”

The Orioles girls battled on Tuesday, with Grace Perron finishing in first place in both the 200 freestyle (2:03.19) and the 100 freestyle (57.11). Natalie Parent won the 200 individual medley (2:18.58).

Belchertown’s next meet is on Friday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m. on the road against Longmeadow.

“I’m super proud of this meet,” Manduley said. “I had swimmers who didn’t know how to swim, and they’re coming in, and they’re looking strong and doing flip turns. I see people grasping onto the edge of things and starting to learn things. That’s the biggest thing for me. I’m super proud, and I’m seeing lots of improvement.”

The Hurricanes are back in action on Friday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m. on the road against Agawam.

“We’re going to try to build momentum from here through next week and then into our championship weekends,” Leckenby said. “This feels like the last stretch.”

Easthampton 95, Monson 43 — The Eagles dominated the water on Tuesday night, nabbing first place in eight different events in the win.

Karolina Roback claimed the top spot in the 200 individual medley (2:27.43) and the 500 freestyle (5:56.00) for Easthampton.

Allie St. Pierre won the 100 breaststroke (1:43.15), while Kayleigh and Karolina Hogan finished first in the 100 backstroke (1:22.76) and the 100 fly (1:19.01), respectively.

Boys basketball

Hopkins 69, Pioneer 36 — The Golden Hawks won with ease on their home court on Tuesday, with four players in double figures.

Jack Cycz led all scorers with 12 points on the night, making five field goals throughout the contest.

Chace Earle and Matthew Vassallo each had 11 points for Hopkins, while Spencer Bye added on 10 of his own in the win.

South Hadley 69, Chicopee 63 – The Tigers pulled out a close victory on Tuesday, leaning on junior Tim Loughrey.

Loughrey tallied a game-high 32 points in the victory, making 14 shots from the field along with four free throws.

Noah Hambley added 17 points for South Hadley, while Isiah James’ trio of 3-pointers led to a 15-point performance.

Ware 56, Easthampton 52 — The Eagles struggled in the fourth quarter, dropping a close battle on Tuesday night.

Heading into the fourth, the team faced a one-point deficit. The offense failed to get in a groove, mustering up just eight points in the final frame.

Jay Brown led Easthampton in scoring in the loss, making nine shots in a 21-point effort.

Veritas 52, Smith Voc 49 — The Vikings couldn’t surmount a comeback on Tuesday after getting out to a slow start.

After scoring just six points in the first quarter, Smith Voc bounced back, but couldn’t match its opponent.

Domeniq Sanchez finished with a team-high 14 points for the Vikings, while Theo Wojcik added on 12 of his own.

Northampton 62, Palmer 52 — The Blue Devils exploded for a big fourth quarter that led to a 10-point victory on Tuesday night.

Roan Steed had a team-high 12 points, while Nathan Lupert’s trio of 3-pointers led to 11 points of his own.

Brayden Nichols-Staples finished with nine points, along with another nine from Eli Reed. Four other players recorded at least one point for Northampton in the win.

Mahar 57, Smith Academy 42 — The Falcons got out to an early deficit and weren’t able to make a comeback on Tuesday night.

Eight different players tallied one or more points for Smith Academy, with Rowan Jeffress leading the way with 10.

Matt Scagel hit three 3-pointers en route to nine points, while Grant Murray’s four made shots led to an eight-point performance in the loss.

Girls basketball

Pope Francis 49, Amherst 19 — The Hurricanes struggled to find offense in a tough loss on Tuesday night.

Aliya Morales-Fernandez finished with a team-high eight points in the defeat for Amherst.

Ruth Robison and Iman Skouta each tallied four points, while Leeann De Alba netted three. 

Easthampton 41, Smith Voc 39 — The Eagles defeated the Vikings in a tight battle that came down to the wire on Tuesday night.

Nola Ross led all scorers with 15 points for Easthampton, while her teammate Samone Young was close behind with 14.

Smith Voc’s scoring approach was more spread out, with a team-high 11 points from Isabella Letourneau. Savannah Fredette added nine points of her own.

Belchertown 62, Agawam 40 — The Orioles came away with a dominant victory Tuesday night, in large part due to a 22-point second quarter.

Gabby Slovack tallied a game-high 19 points for Belchertown in the win, making nine shots in the process.

Aubrey Klingensmith was close behind with 17 points, while Morghan Litz’s four 3-pointers led to 14 points. Kina Roy rounded out the Orioles in double figures, totaling 11 points on the night.

PVIAC Alpine Skiing

Hampshire’s top boys duo of Billy Warren and Isaac Stith led the way yet again during Tuesday’s fourth PVIAC ski meet at Berkshire East Mountain Resort.

Warren and Stith came in at second and third place, respectively, for the Raiders in 31.79 and 32.79 seconds.

James Janssen also snagged a top-10 finish for PVCICS, claiming ninth place in 35.56 seconds.

Four local girls skiers finished within the top 10, starting with Amelia Morse of Amherst, who grabbed third place in 47.24.

Hazel Scully-Henry (sixth, 50.13) of Hampshire, Maya Phillips (ninth, 50.41) of Amherst and Greta Lepore (10th, 50.48) of Northampton also raced well.

MSTCA Kalperis Relays

The Amherst Regional girls indoor track and field team took first place at the MSTCA Kalperis Relays on Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury.

The Hurricanes won the 4×400 relay in four minutes, 12.53 seconds–nearly setting a new meet record in the process–as the highlight of the meet for Amherst. The ‘Canes concluded the event with 37.5 points, good for first overall.

Julianna Albo and Claire Fortin also took the top two spot in the girls long jump competition for Amherst. Albo’s winning leap measured out to 17-4.25, while Fortin’s jump came in at 16-6.5.

The Hurricanes boys team finished in sixth place with 22 team points. Amherst’s 4×800 squad secured second place in 8:23.28 as its best finish of the event.

Nordic Skiing

Calvin Miller led the Amherst boys Nordic Ski team with a second place finish in a Berkshire League meet last week.

Miller finished in 18:26, which was just 10 seconds slower than first-place finisher Owen Tucker of Wahconah.  Otis Fairey (seventh), Hunter Pete (16th), Ben Cianfrani-Shin (18th), Ian Burns (19th) and Alex Fitz-Gibbon (24th) rounded out the Hurricanes’ finishers, who took third as a team.

The Amherst girls got strong performances from Ella Workman, who paced the ‘Canes with an 11th-place finish, followed by Elsie Woodruff (16th), Leah Cunningham (23th), Luna Paradis (25th), Anna Kuhn (27th) and Elo Schwabe (28th).