Above: ARHS Baseball turned around a rough season start. (photo tweeted by @ARHSAthletics)
I’m behind in reporting on Algonquin’s triumphs and losses in spring tournaments. (I had some obstacles to blogging yesterday, plus some of last week’s mid-week CMass tourney news slipped past me.)
Last night, ARHS Baseball became Central Mass Class A Champions. It was a big deal for a team that had a rough season start.
The team lost its first four games, followed by four more of their next seven. But as Coach Brian Doherty told the Telegram last week, “it doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish”.
Midway through the season, the team rounded a corner and started racking up more wins than losses. Last week, after I posted the schedule, brackets were released for the CMass Athletic Director’s Baseball and Softball tournaments. ARHS Baseball was ranked #7 for its class.
Gonk beat #2 Leominster 7-5 in Wednesday’s Quarter Finals. They went on to beat #3 Wachusett 3-1 in Friday’s semi-finals, securing a place in the MIAA state tourney. (You can read about that here.) Last night, they cinched the championship with a 4-0 win over top seed Shrewsbury.
You can see their joy in the Telegram’s tweet below read their coverage here (and find more pics here).
Photos: Algonquin defeats Shrewsbury to win CMADA Class A baseball title @ARHSAthletics @ColonialsAD @ChrisPetersonTG https://t.co/NmSVXigAci via @telegramdotcom
— Worcester T&G Sports (@tgsports) May 31, 2022
The win must be giving the team hope that they have a chance to prevail in upcoming MIAA state Division 1 tourneys. They are currently ranked #29, but Shrewsbury is ranked #4.
Lacrosse also entered the CMass Class A tourneys after brackets were posted mid-week.
The #2 Girls beat #7 Groton-Dunstable 19-7 in the Quarter Finals. Last night, they lost the Semis 10-6 to #3 Grafton. The #2 Boys are still in it. They beat #7 Westborough 10-0 in Saturday’s Quarter Finals. Their Semi Finals are this afternoon at 4:00 pm vs #3 Shrewsbury.
Catching up on other teams that were competing in CMass Tourneys last week. . .
In Boys Volleyball, the #2 team beat #7 Burncoat in the Quarter Finals 3-0. In the Semi-Finals, they beat #3 Keefe Tech 3-1. (Click here for the Telegram’s photo highlights.) On Saturday, they lost the Finals to top seed Nipmuc 3-1.
The Boys still earned a Bye for the MIAA state Division 1 preliminary round. The 26th seed team will challenge 7th seed Natick in the Round of 32 playoff game this Thursday.
In Tennis, the #2 Boys team had a similar journey. They beat #7 Minnechaug 5-0 in the Quarter Finals, went on to win the Semis 3-2 over #3 Wachusett, but lost the Finals to top seed Westborough 5-0. The #4 Girls team lost the Quarter Finals 3-2 to to #5 Nashoba. (They did win their next two non-tourney matches over Minnechaug and Worcester South.)
Boys Rugby is also entering the MIAA state tourneys this week as 2nd seed for Division 2. They’ll play 7th seed Malden Catholic in the Quarter Finals Thursday.
Last week, I wrote that Track & Field teams were heading to State Qualifiers. Although that’s how it is listed in the ARHS Athletic schedule, a more accurate description is the Division II State Championships. The Girls came in #3 and the Boys #13. (Click following links to see results for the Girls and Boys.)
This week is the MIAA “Meet of Champions“. The Girls team is sending four of their athletes:
Elena Westphal qualified by winning the Javelin Throw- Priscilla De Carvalho qualified for the Triple Jump and High Jump
- Mia Gornman and Grace Ciacca qualified for the Pole Vault
The Boys are sending two athletes – Brogan Madden for the High Jump and Adam Beckman for the Pole Vault.
Three of the Girls team journeys appear to be complete. Girls Rugby didn’t make the cut to play in their MIAA tournament. It looks like Gonk Softball’s journey is done. The team failed to even make the CMass tourneys and are ranks only 57 in MIAA Division 2. They did go out with a win last Wednesday, 15-11 over Fitchburg. And Girls Golf (which plays under Westborough) isn’t listed as playing in the upcoming Central Mass Championships.
Now here’s the official schedule for this week:
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
- 4:15 pm – Boys Lacrosse vs. Shrewsbury High School @ Algonquin (CMass Semi-Finals)
Thursday, June 2, 2022
- TBD – Girls Outdoor Track Championships @ Westfield State University
- TBD – Boys Outdoor Track Boys Outdoor Track Championships @ Westfield State University
- 5:30 pm – Boys Rugby vs. Malden Catholic @ Algonquin Field Football Stadium (MIAA – Quarter Finals)
Saturday, June 4, 2022
- TBD – Girls Outdoor Track Championship @ Westfield State University
- TBD – Boys Outdoor Track Boys Outdoor Track Championship @ Westfield State University
- 4:00 pm – Boys Volleyball vs. Natick @ Natick (MIAA – Round of 3)
(To check for changes or find a complete schedule of Algonquin sports, including JV, freshmen, and unified match ups, click here. Follow these links for the Assabet sports schedule and the St. Mark’s sports schedule. To look for MIAA tournament brackets updates, click here.)
