The Year 2013 was one to remember, both locally and for fans of our celebrated national sports teams.
In January, with champagne toasts fresh on everyone’s minds, the Patriots entered the playoffs, but it was the Ravens who actually bathed in champagne showers amidst Ray Lewis walking off into retirement with the Lombardi trophy.
While the Dolphins were nowhere near the playoff waters, it was a whale of a storm, or rather Winter Storm Nemo, which wreaked havoc across New England in early February.
The Western Massachusetts conference swim championships were on and off and on again. Thanks to a strong push by the unbeaten Westfield High Bombers (boys and girls), and some dedicated parents, the sectionals were saved and held – in front of athletes and coaches only – at two different venues for the first time.
The girls’ team went on to record its highest-ever state championship finish later in the month, placing third at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s winter swimming and diving championships at Springfield College’s Linkletter Natatorium.
Westfield’s 200-yard medley relay team (Kelsey Johnstone, Erin Lewis, Genna Senecal, Jordan Jacobson) had the program’s highest finish of the day (second/1:53.48) and Bombers’ junior Hope Walsh set a new school record in the 500 freestyle (5:12.45).
Westfield senior male runners Tim Dostie and Blake Croteau, and junior girl Ally Morin continued to dominate the running circuit. Croteau and Dostie finished 1-2 in the mile and 2-mile runs, and Morin won both events at the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference championships at Smith College in Northampton.
Croteau later captured gold at the state championships at Northeastern University’s Reggie Lewis Center in Boston in the 2-mile event, completing the race in 9:21.00.
Senior guard Justin Crosby helped fuel the St. Mary High School boys’ basketball team’s rise on the court – in terms of wins and popularity. Crosby and Matt Plasse, both Westfield High School transfers, helped lead the Saints to a spectacular 15-5 record.
Much of the success of the St. Mary Saints could also be attributed to the addition of former successful Southwick-Tolland Regional head coach Joe Molta to lead its staff.
Crosby (24 points) and Plasse (23) combined for 47 points in the team’s opening round tournament game, but the 12th-seeded Saints fell to No. 5 New Leadership, 76-61, in Springfield.
The month of March came in like a lion as the Westfield Bombers roared to a 3-0 lead 13 minutes, 24 seconds into the Western Massachusetts Division III championship en route to a 7-0 victory. Sean Spohr (3 goals, assist) and Adam Collier (goal, 3 assists) scored four points apiece to net the Bombers yet another in a long line of sectional titles (7) under long-time head coach C.B. “Moose” Matthews.
Westfield skated out to a 5-0 lead in the semifinals against Wachusett before securing a 6-4 victory. Spohr tallied the game’s first two goals.
It was on to the finals for the Bombers…
Westfield captured its third state championship in 11 years and first since 2008, defeating Swampscott 4-1 in the state finals at the home of the Bruins.
For Westfield, it was its fourth straight championship appearance in seven seasons, and sixth in nearly a two-decade span (under Matthews).
Adam Collier and Sean Spohr had a hand in three of the team’s four goals, and goalie Nick Liberto preserved the victory.
The month came to a close with the first running of the Run Westfield 5k Flat Fast Road Race through the city’s downtown area. The event was a success with a walk held to benefit Jose Torres, a local officer killed in the line of duty.
April rolled out the annual Little League Parade in the Whip City, where every youth baseball game is akin to a Yankees-Red Sox matchup.
In May, Westfield State University claimed runner-up for the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Howard C. Smith Cup, awarded annually to the member institution which compiles the most points based on the placement of each of its programs competing in the 15 league championship sports.
Bridgewater State won the Cup for the second straight year. The Bears took 114.67 of a possible 148 points, or 77.4 percent. Westfield State scored 112.67, or 70.4 percent, of a possible 160 for second place.
The news was a bit somber shortly thereafter when the Whip City’s face of baseball, Westfield State head coach Ray Arra retired after nine years.
The seventy-two year old Arra retired as the school’s all-time winningest baseball coach with a record of 187-162-1, a true cause for celebration.
Arra, who was an MVP player for the school in 1963-64 and eventually an American Legion, high school, and Babe Ruth All-Stars coach, produced six straight 20-win seasons from 2007-12, led the Owls to three NCAA tournament berths (2007, ’09, ’10) and four MASCAC regular season championships (2007, ’08, ’10, ’11). In 2007, he guided the Owls to its first NCAA tournament berth in 23 years, and its first MASCAC postseason tourney title. The Owls won 30 games three seasons later for the first time since 1979.
Arra was inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997.
In June, the defending Western Massachusetts Division I baseball champion Westfield Bombers repeated. Westfield overcame adversity, playing without its ace pitcher Nate Barnes, who suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the season. The Bombers opened up the tourney with a 4-3 win over East Longmeadow, thanks to a solid effort from Matt Irzyk (8 Ks), before going on to topple No. 3 Amherst 2-1 in the semifinals at Westfield State. In that game, junior Brent Houle pitched a one-hitter, and the Bombers played errorless ball.
In the finals, Houle, once again came up big, getting Westfield out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam, retiring nine straight batters to help propel Westfield to a 6-4 championship win over top-seeded Agawam.
Central champ Nashoba edged Westfield 3-2 in the state semifinals.
At the same time, the Boston Bruins captured the hearts and minds of the Hub and well into the Whip City, before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Blackhawks scored twice in a span of 17.7 second span in the final 1:16 to steal the victory and the series.
The news got even bleaker for Boston sports fans as the “Big Three” were down to none. Celtics coach Doc Rivers fled to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Paul Pierce (Brooklyn Nets) and Kevin Garnett (Nets) followed Ray Allen (Heat) out of town, as well.
Attention turned to the Babe Ruth Baseball postseason. Sons of Erin capped off an undefeated season with a 7-0 shutout against McDonald’s-East Main Street to win the Dan Welch City Cup. As the tournament’s fifth seed, Cortina Tile routed Camfour 11-1 to take home the Amanti Cup Championship.
Summertime brought scorching hot temperatures, sizzling bats, and heat from pitchers in the city’s Babe Ruth Baseball and Little League Baseball and Softball programs.
Familiar names rose to the challenge, and others etched theirs into scorebooks for the first time.
Ryan Paro and Garrett Collis threw a combined no-hitter for the Westfield Little League South 11-12-Year-Old All-Stars, an 18-0 win over Gateway. The Babe Ruth Baseball 13-Year-Old All-Stars rallied from a seven-run deficit to defeat Pittsfield 14-13 to win the state title, and earn a trip to the eastern regionals in Manchester, N.H. The defending Babe Ruth Baseball New England Regional champion 14-Year-Old All-Stars were eliminated in their host tournament despite posting a 2-1 record. The 13s continued to stave off elimination in the loser’s bracket before suffering a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to Coventry (R.I.) in the loser’s bracket final.
Local residents got a real cool chance to find some relief from the dog days of summer at the 3rd annual Kevin J. Major Memorial hockey tourney at Amelia Park Ice Arena.
As the temps began to cool, other teams began to heat up.
This past fall, two teams dominated the headlines – Westfield High School gymnastics and football – both due to their amazing success and final runs for their respective head coaches, who both retired at the top of their game.
Westfield head football coach Bill Moore guided the Bombers to one of its most impressive seasons.
The defining moment of the season came in Week 7 when Westfield stormed back from a 22-point deficit, scoring 34 unanswered points to defeat the Spartans in East Longmeadow, 48-36. Quarterbacks Jake Toomey and Austin St. Pierre (briefly due to injury to Toomey) led the comeback effort, also spurred by a solid core of backs and a defense which rose to the challenge.
It was those same backs, Rashaun Rivers and Ben Geschwind, who combined for four touchdowns and more than 300 rushing yards in a 52-22 win over Cathedral on Thanksgiving Day.
Cody Neidig was also a key cog in 2013 for the Bombers, whose only blemishes included two losses to Cathedral, including a west sectional defeat.
While the football team created noise with one of its best seasons – the Bombers were Super Bowl runners-up twice under Moore – the gymnastics team quietly went on dispatching all challengers.
The Westfield gymnastics team won its seventh straight west sectional, improving its win streak to 125-0 under coach Joanne Hewins, who also retired in style.
“It was one of the most memorable nights of my life,” Hewins told supporters. “I’m so proud of my kids. It was a nice ending.”
Westfield senior gymnast Taryn Hamel capped off a sensational season, winning her seventh All-Around competition. Hamel placed first with an All-Around score of 35.15.
There were others who also reached a new level of success in late fall.
The Westfield Voc-Tech boys’ soccer team won its first-ever state vocational championship. Behind a hat trick from Dmitry Stepanchuk, the Tigers defeated Keefe Tech, of Framingham, 3-1.
“This is such a great thing for the school as a whole,” Dulude said.
The Gateway Regional girls’ soccer team closed out the fall season with yet another postseason run. The Gators stunned second-seeded Cathedral on penalty kicks before being edged in the finals by the Division 4 tournament’s top seed, Monson, 1-0.
In Boston, there was something special happening that caught the attention of everyone around the northeast. In a show of support for the Boston Marathon victims, the Red Sox were “Boston Strong,” riding the back of David Ortiz as its bearded ballplayers took everyone by storm, winning their third World Series title in 10 seasons.
At the end of the fall season, Westfield State University sat in third place in the 2013-14 MASCAC Smith Cup standings.
Just around the corner in 2014…
The Patriots, who posted stunning comeback victories against the Saints (30-27), Broncos (34-31), and Browns (27-26), were positioning themselves for a playoff run, albeit without the offensive glue of Aaron Hernandez (murder wrap) and Rob Gronkowski (injured reserve).
A Super Bowl featuring the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in a blizzard in New York City (more accurately, New Jersey) would be a great start of the New Year, wouldn’t it?
