May Philpot rounds a welcomed downhill curve. (Photo courtesy of Gabriella Rivera)
NORTHAMPTON – On Tuesday afternoon, the Westfield High School Bombers girls’ cross country team opened its 2015 season on the road against perennial distance powerhouse Northampton High School at Hamp’s home course at the Northampton Community Gardens. While the final score was 15-49 in favor of the Blue Devils, the Bombers remained undaunted.
“The team has done well in the first weeks with no major injuries, enabling the girls to run 21 of 22 rostered athletes in this race,” Westfield coach Mike Rowbotham said. “Despite the challenging course, most of the Bomber girls logged finish times that were only a minute slower than their 2014 season-best times.”
Northampton girls set the pace and led from start to finish.
Stephanie Jordan (22:04), Erica Dean (22:05), Mairead Blatner (22:05) ultimately finished first, second, and third, respectively for Northampton.
Westfield’s first finishers were Sophie Gronbeck (22:27) and senior captain Madison Eline with a best time since joining the team (22:50). Interestingly, four of the next Bombers’ finishers were new to the team this year, which is very encouraging: Libby Irwin (23:32), Mia McDonald (23:46), Mary Philpot (25:53), and Shyanne Jones (26:18).
Rounding out the top 10 finishers for the Westfield girls were: senior captain Carley Censebella (32:33), Victoria Sardinha (23:48), Julie Guarente (26:48), and rookie sophomore Sarah Grobe (26:53). The Bombers’ regular season schedule will continue with a home opener at Stanley Park on Tuesday against Ludlow High School. – Courtesy of Mike Rowbotham
Rutledge claims 5th for STM
Pioneer Valley Regional 15, St. Mary 40; Granby 18, St. Mary 43
St. Mary junior Casey Rutledge finished fifth overall (25:29), and Saints’ senior captain Madison Bruno placed 12th (29:00).
BOYS’ CROSS COUNTRY
Rams split XC meet
Southwick 25, Palmer 30; Monson 21, Southwick 37
Southwick’s Jack Davis (18:20) and Jared Demaio (18:23) placed third and fourth overall, respectively, to help the Rams earn a split in a cross-country meet at Palmer.
Palmer’s Henry Domnarski won the race in 16:03. Monson’s Robert Scibelli was runner-up (17:29).
Walz impresses in varsity debut
Pioneer Valley Regional 23, St. Mary 38; Granby 20, St. Mary 42
Freshman Joe Walz placed third overall in his first varsity cross country race for St. Mary, posting a time of 18:45. Saints’ Charlie Bonatakis finished eighth overall (20:06).
GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL
Frontier tops WHS
Frontier def. Westfield, 25-20, 25-10, 9-25, 25-18
Rachel Cialek and Remi Quesnelle delivered nine kills apiece, Katherine Conlisk had five, and Emily Woodward contributed 23 assists as Frontier won at Westfield.
Katie Howard (6 aces, 4 blocks, 3 kills) and Alexa Morin (5 kills, 3 blocks, 3 aces) led the Bombers.
GOLF
King … of course
Hampshire 15.5, Westfield Technical Academy 8.5
Westfield Technical Academy’s No. 1 golfer, Matt King show a match-low 38 to earn 3.5 points. Tigers’ Matt Puffer shot a 48 for two points, and Matt Wilcox shot a 49.
FIELD HOCKEY
Brownies blank Bombers
Agawam 2, Westfield 0
Morgan Durocher and Eliza Timms scored one goal apiece as Agawam shut out Westfield at home. Brownies’ goalkeeper Nikii Bates logged six saves in a shutout effort.
