Sports
Fresh Faces on the Wrestling Team
By Ellen Oliver
The wrestling team has a new leader as Coach Peter Connery joins the Chieftains on the mats, as well as in the classroom, teaching health and physical education at Nashoba. The team also has 32 kids, with two coming from a new cooperative agreement with Maynard High School, who join in with the wrestlers who already arrive from Clinton. “Wrestling changed a lot this year,” admitted Nashoba senior Joel Sharin. “I like the new coach and like the kids from Maynard, but things are definitely different.”
New Varsity Sport: Swim Team
by Ellen Oliver
The Nashoba swim team is ready for the big leagues. After two years as a club team, the sport was officially added to Nashoba’s varsity roster for the 2012-2013 winter season. “We are a new varsity sport this year. We are not a collaborative – just Nashoba,” said Athletic Director Tania Rich.
Superbowl Win Caps 2nd Perfect Season
By Jordana Bieze Foster
The Nashoba Regional football players did their best to take one game at a time, one win at a time, because that was what got them through that first perfect season. But the dream of yet another Super Bowl victory to end a second consecutive 13-win season was always in the backs of their minds.
Undefeated Chieftains Head to Super Bowl
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Nashoba Regional will defend its Division 2 Super Bowl title this Saturday at Gillette Stadium, after a 21-0 playoff victory over Holy Name on Tuesday night that extended the Chieftains’ winning streak to 25 games.
“It feels good,” said head coach Ken Tucker, “but we’ve got one more game to go.”
In the Super Bowl, scheduled to start at 11 am, the top-seeded Chieftains (12-0) will face 3rd seed Shepherd Hill (10-2), which beat 2nd seed Doherty 34-8 on Tuesday night. The title game will be a rematch of last year’s playoff semifinal, in which the Chieftains defeated the Fighting Rams 35-14.
Soccer and XC Head to States
By Ellen Oliver
Nashoba’s post season success has other schools seeing green, often followed by photos of hoisted trophies or the shine of medals. On Saturday, three Nashoba teams competed to extend their seasons and make their marks on the record books.
Post Season Round Up: NGS To Finals
By Ellen Oliver
The 9-0 Chieftains football season is still running strong after a 42-0 trounce of Hudson on Friday night, but all other Nashoba sports have entered the post season. Currently touting three league championships and one co-league title, the Chieftains look to extend their seasons. Here’s a look:
XC Runs Away with League Titles
By Ellen Oliver
Running strong into the post-season, the boys and girls cross country teams each were crowned Mid-Wach B league champs on Saturday. The girls won with 19 points and six of the top ten spots, the boys with 25 and seven of the top eleven finishers, each easily distancing themselves from the competition.
Freshman Rylee Gillen continued her dominance, coming in first with a time of 19:35.2. Gillen was followed by fellow freshman Grace Dempsey at third (20:25.4), senior Kara McCormack fourth (20.25.1), junior Kelsey Horowitz fifth (20:40.6), sophomore Natalie Bettez sixth (20:41.2) and senior Taylor Brady tenth (21:37.4).
Girls XC “Rebuild” Beyond Expectations
By Ellen Oliver
After losing several top tier runners to graduation, Coach Dan Glover had his mind prepared for a “moderate rebuilding year.” But with his team top in the league and ranking 11th in the state, Glover is the first one to tell you how happy he is with the strength and focus of the 2012 team. “They are working hard, having fun,” he said. “I expected them to be decent. I knew Rylee [Gillen] was coming up and Kara [McCormack] was running as good as she ever has.”
Nashoba Wins a Tough Battle
By Jordana Bieze Foster
With a record of 1-4, long time rival Clinton wasn’t expected to be much of a match for undefeated Nashoba Regional. But someone forgot to tell the Gaels, who very nearly spoiled the Chieftains’ homecoming on Friday night.
Plagued by penalties and consistently harassed by Clinton’s defenders, Nashoba eked out a 7-0 victory thanks to a strong effort by its own defense and a third-quarter touchdown by Stow senior running back John Ojukwu. But it wasn’t pretty.
Special Olympics Hoops Eyes States
By Ellen Oliver
At the start of every sports season, teams gather, coining inspirational mottos and identifying goals. For 11 local basketball players with special needs, the goal is the same one reiterated throughout locker rooms all over the country: “Make States.” For this team, that means the Massachusetts Special Olympics Winter games, held in early 2013.