Students shine during Special Olympics Games
ANDOVER — More than 200 student-athletes had their moments to shine during the annual Special Olympics School Day Games at Andover High School's Lovely Field a week ago last Tuesday.
The event was a collaboration between Andover and North Andover schools, which partnered with the Special Olympics of Massachusetts for the annual games.
This marked the 22nd year North Andover has participated in the games and Andover's seventh year.
The athletes, escorted by the Andover Police and Fire departments, paraded along the school's track as family and friends cheered them on with signs from the stands on a sunny morning. Some athletes danced to the music from the high school's drum line.
Student athletes competed in track and field events like the 50-meter dash, tennis ball throw and standing and running long jumps. Field events also included activities like bean-bag tosses and soccer ball dribbling. There was also a ring-toss for younger athletes and a specialized program for athletes in wheelchairs.
Mark Gauthier, 7, was one of the young North Andover athletes who had a big smile on his face as he jumped over hurdles on the field.
Gauthier was cheered on by his fans, including parents, a sister, a niece and an uncle who smiled while watching their athlete having a blast. This was the second year in which Gauthier has participated in the games. He had already competed in three field events during the day.
'He is shattering records out there,' said uncle John Crockwell.
Crockwell was holding a large, neon-green sign for his nephew which read: 'Go Markey, my guy.' Crockwell said the athlete saw the sign and his eyes lit up.
His father Mark Gauthier described his son as a shy kid who wasn't as sociable before starting school. He watched as Mark was having fun with his classmates in a large crowd.
Erica Dellorusso said she's seen a change in her brother since he enrolled in North Andover schools.
'He never would have done this before,' Dellorusso said.
At the other end of the field, five-year-old Adriel Lopez was taking a break from the action by keeping his father Rafael Lopez busy running around. His mother Adriana Lopez said her kindergartner loves being outside and this was his third year attending the games.
'And it's just nice seeing the community come together,' she said.
North Andover Superintendent Pamela Lathrop said it's a fun day for the kids to be able to communicate who they are and thrive in an environment geared toward them. It's something the two school districts have strived for in their collaborative efforts.
'Everything is appropriate for them, every activity they can participate in and their families are really proud,' Lathrop said.
Andover Superintendent Magda Parvey said the two districts look forward to this day each year.
'It's the students' day to shine and to really be recognized in a special way,' Parvey said. 'But it's also about people coming together in the interest of our kids. That's why we're here.'
North Andover's involvement in the Special Olympics began more than two decades ago thanks to the efforts of a parent of a child with special needs. Lathrop recalled her school district started participating in Special Olympics when she was a teacher and continued when she served as a principal.
'It has been great to be able to grow the program and share resources and make it a really special Olympics for all the kids,' Lathrop said. 'It's a great way to pull the two communities together and let the kids have fun and the families come out and enjoy it.'
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Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Students shine during Special Olympics Games
ANDOVER — More than 200 student-athletes had their moments to shine during the annual Special Olympics School Day Games at Andover High School's Lovely Field a week ago last Tuesday. The event was a collaboration between Andover and North Andover schools, which partnered with the Special Olympics of Massachusetts for the annual games. This marked the 22nd year North Andover has participated in the games and Andover's seventh year. The athletes, escorted by the Andover Police and Fire departments, paraded along the school's track as family and friends cheered them on with signs from the stands on a sunny morning. Some athletes danced to the music from the high school's drum line. Student athletes competed in track and field events like the 50-meter dash, tennis ball throw and standing and running long jumps. Field events also included activities like bean-bag tosses and soccer ball dribbling. There was also a ring-toss for younger athletes and a specialized program for athletes in wheelchairs. Mark Gauthier, 7, was one of the young North Andover athletes who had a big smile on his face as he jumped over hurdles on the field. Gauthier was cheered on by his fans, including parents, a sister, a niece and an uncle who smiled while watching their athlete having a blast. This was the second year in which Gauthier has participated in the games. He had already competed in three field events during the day. 'He is shattering records out there,' said uncle John Crockwell. Crockwell was holding a large, neon-green sign for his nephew which read: 'Go Markey, my guy.' Crockwell said the athlete saw the sign and his eyes lit up. His father Mark Gauthier described his son as a shy kid who wasn't as sociable before starting school. He watched as Mark was having fun with his classmates in a large crowd. Erica Dellorusso said she's seen a change in her brother since he enrolled in North Andover schools. 'He never would have done this before,' Dellorusso said. At the other end of the field, five-year-old Adriel Lopez was taking a break from the action by keeping his father Rafael Lopez busy running around. His mother Adriana Lopez said her kindergartner loves being outside and this was his third year attending the games. 'And it's just nice seeing the community come together,' she said. North Andover Superintendent Pamela Lathrop said it's a fun day for the kids to be able to communicate who they are and thrive in an environment geared toward them. It's something the two school districts have strived for in their collaborative efforts. 'Everything is appropriate for them, every activity they can participate in and their families are really proud,' Lathrop said. Andover Superintendent Magda Parvey said the two districts look forward to this day each year. 'It's the students' day to shine and to really be recognized in a special way,' Parvey said. 'But it's also about people coming together in the interest of our kids. That's why we're here.' North Andover's involvement in the Special Olympics began more than two decades ago thanks to the efforts of a parent of a child with special needs. Lathrop recalled her school district started participating in Special Olympics when she was a teacher and continued when she served as a principal. 'It has been great to be able to grow the program and share resources and make it a really special Olympics for all the kids,' Lathrop said. 'It's a great way to pull the two communities together and let the kids have fun and the families come out and enjoy it.'
Boston Globe
05-06-2025
- Boston Globe
Nine takeaways from Wednesday, when girls' golf champions were crowned and Georgetown hired a new basketball coach
Here's our coverage of all the days action: 1. Upset central The first No. 1 seed fell on Monday when Taunton baseball was upended by No. 32 Winchester in the Division 1 first round. On Wednesday, the second No. 1 seed was eliminated, and once again it came on the baseball diamond, where No. 16 Apponequet took care of No. 1 St. Mary's behind three hits and three RBIs from Gabe Zuber and 4⅔ innings of one-hit relief from Pete Kanakis . Advertisement Taunton and St. Mary's are the only No. 1 seeds to have lost in any MIAA spring tournament thus far, but two No. 4 seeds fell Wednesday. Previously, the only No. 4 seed to be knocked out was Apponequet boys tennis, but the Lakers got some company when No. 4 Old Rochester girls' tennis lost, 3-2, to No. 13 Danvers in the second round of the Division 3 tourney, and No. 4 Shawsheen baseball, which was 20-0 during the regular season, was eliminated, 5-4, from the Division 3 bracket by No. 13 Wakefield. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Also falling was two-time defending champion Seekonk baseball, the No. 6 seed in Division 4, which dropped a 6-3 second-round game to No. 11 Dennis-Yarmouth. Advertisement 2. Milestones Hamilton-Wenham girls' tennis senior Naomi Provost recorded her 80th career win in a 4-1 Division 4 quarterfinals victory over Cohasset, extending her own school record. Also for the Generals, girls' lacrosse junior Evie Bernard surpassed 300 career goals during an eight-tally performance in a 20-6 second-round win over Swampscott in the Division 4 tournament. Medfield boys' lacrosse junior Braeden Sutton scored nine times, including the 200th point of his career, in a 22-5 Division 3 second-round win over North Middlesex. Andover senior Jack Cooper matched the program's single-game record by scoring seven goals in a 20-9 second-round win over Andover in the Division 1 boys' lacrosse bracket. King Philip senior Liv Petrillo not only slugged two home runs, but she reached 100 career hits and 100 career runs in a 12-0 Division 1 second-round softball win over Newton North. Also in the D1 softball bracket, Weymouth junior Jill Ondrick notched her 750th career strikeout, but it came in a season-ending 7-1 loss to Taunton in the second round. 3. Walkoff wins Manchester Essex boys' lacrosse survived Pentucket, 9-8, on Luke Renzi's overtime winner, which came after he won a faceoff in the second round of the Division 4 tournament. Nantucket girls' lacrosse won similarly, with Dylan Damian netting the OT goal to beat Manchester Essex, 7-6, in the Division 4 second round. Westwood's Izzy Walsh supplied the heroics in the bottom of the seventh, delivering an RBI single to capture a 4-3 Division 2 softball win over Malden Catholic. 4. Going, going, gone Power came in bunches, with Bedford's Alyx Rossi and King Philip's Petrillo both blasting a pair of home runs in wins. Walpole's Adriana Torres , Norah Broderick , Abby Riley , and Grace Todd all homered in a 17-0 softball win over Stoughton and Middleborough's Taylynn Robinson and English High's Manny De Jesus both recorded round-trippers. Advertisement 5. Three stars De Jesus, English High — The senior struck out three in three shutout innings, allowing just two hits while collecting three of his own, including an inside-the-park home run, to spark second-seeded defending Division 5 champion English to an 8-0 second-round win over Westfield. Kanakis, Apponequet — The sophomore shortstop was summoned for a relief appearance with the bases loaded and the Lakers trailing, 3-1, in the third inning. He proceeded to pitch 4⅔ shutout innings with five strikeouts, allowing 16th-seeded Apponequet to rally for an 8-3 win over top-seeded St. Mary's. Rossi, Bedford — The Boston College-bound senior was unfathomably good in a 10-0 second-round win over Duxbury, homering twice while also pitching a perfect game (her second of the season) with 16 strikeouts. 6. Daily lacrosse leaderboard Goals Braeden Sutton , Medfield, 9 Evie Bernard , Hamilton-Wenham, 8 Reese Bromby , Newburyport, 7 Jack Cooper , Andover, 7 Caroline Nozzolillo , Westwood, 7 Thomas Donovan , Mansfield, 6 Cece Levrault , Apponequet, 6 Eddie Breslin , Medfield, 5 Tristan Clayton , Acton-Boxborough, 5 Jameson Murphy , Falmouth, 5 Lucas Ogden , Dracut, 5 Emilie Demaio , Westwood, 4 Jack Sovik , Duxbury, 4 Cece Thurmond , Westwood, 4 Points Breslin, Medfield, 11 Sutton, Medfield, 10 Bromby, Newburyport, 8 Matt Grafton , Abington, 8 Finn Wright Jr. , Ipswich, 8 Cooper, Andover, 7 Liam Goodwin , Duxbury, 7 Grace Maroney , Hingham, 7 Nozzolillo, Westwood, 7 Will Cronin , Acton-Boxborough, 6 Levrault, Apponequet, 6 Nico Smith , Medfield, 6 7. Daily strikeout leaderboard Cate Larson , Taunton, 18 Alyx Rossi , Bedford, 16 Kelsey Blanchette , Lincoln-Sudbury, 14 Kiley Hogan , Tyngsborough, 13 Brian Mancinelli , St. John Paul II, 12 Jack Peabody , Mansfield, 11 Advertisement Taryn Clancy , Middleborough, 10 Sharlotte Stazinski , Walpole, 10 Joe Coughlan , Sandwich, 9 Kaylee Gendron , Plymouth South, 9 Mikey St. Martin , Walpole, 9 Lila Alvarez , Joseph Case, 8 Bridget Mulkeen , Westwood, 8 8. Boys' lacrosse has a home After a long search, a venue has been secured for the boys' lacrosse finals. All four divisions will play at Mass. Maritime Academy's Clean Harbor Stadium in Bourne on June 14. Game times are scheduled for 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. Time slots will be assigned to the divisions based on the finalists. The girls' lacrosse finals will once again be held at Babson College with two divisions playing June 12 at 5 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. and two finals June 13 on the same schedule. 9. Coaching carousel Georgetown boys' basketball, coming off a Division 4 state title, has a new coach. After coach Josh Keilty left for St. Mary's, the school announced the hiring of Kevin Fair , a Milford High Hall of Famer (class of '91) who is still the Scarlet Hawks' all-time leader in rebounds, steals, and blocks. Fair also coaches the Royals' girls' soccer team and was named the 2024 MIAA Division 5 Coach of the Year. 🚨Royal News: 🏀New Head Boys Basketball Coach: Kevin Fair Elected to Milford High School Athletic HoF in 2018. MHS all time basketball leader in rebounds, steals, blocks. Fair currently is the Royals Girls Soccer Coach and was the 2024 MIAA D5 COY — Georgetown Royals Athletics (@GMHS_Royals) Brendan Kurie can be reached at
Boston Globe
30-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Eight high school highlights from the first day with every MIAA spring tournament underway
Then we published five playoff primers dissecting the favorites, sleepers, players to watch, longest road trips, and best matchups in the In the afternoon, Globe correspondents Matty Wasserman and Aiden Barker were dispatched to the first day of the Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Advertisement As the evening rolled around, it was all about the playoff action. Now, onto the highlights. 1. Milestones Before we get to some highlights from the end of the regular season, on Thursday North Andover's Isa Robinson netted her 100th career goal in a 16-5 Division 1 first-round win over Barnstable. Earlier, Winchester junior Ryan Martin became the school's all-time leading goal scorer, surpassing Jake Mabardy's mark of 151 goals. Advertisement Congrats to Ryan Martin the new all time leading goals scorer at Winchester High School. — winchesterbvlax (@winchesterbvlax) Newburyport senior Reese Bromby became the program's all-time leading scorer with 263 goals, moving past Molly Rose Kearney's total of 261, set in 2018. Bromby is fourth in Clippers history with 324 points, six behind Lilly Pons ('24) for third. In boys' volleyball, Braintree senior Deon Li surpassed 1,000 career assists last week and Norton junior outside hitter Andrew Strojny was named American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Week for May 12-18 after posting 86 kills, 31 digs, 6 aces, and 3 blocks. Congrats to Andrew Strojny for being named AVCA Player of the Week 🎉🎉 Keep up the great work! — Meg Hardiman (@megmroo) Walkoff wins West Bridgewater's Allie Edgerly laid down a suicide squeeze bunt with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh and Haylee Krakowski raced home for a 6-5 win over Old Colony in the preliminary round of the Division 4 tournament. In the Division 5 baseball preliminary round, No. 29 Hull walked off Avon, 4-3, on Logan Griffin's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. 2. Going, going, gone It wasn't a big day for offensive fireworks, and we already read about Nick Bonasera's would-be blast for Triton. Mohawk Trail got a trio of homers from Bella Brown Stratton , Sadie Wilcox , and Riley Dyer , Milton's Victoria Fish sent one out against Masconomet, and Will Ferguson launched one for Millis in a 2-1 win over Madison Park. 3. Daily lacrosse leaderboard Goals Julia Kipperman , Nauset, 12 Robbie DeGasperis , Milford, 6 Nick Emsing , BC High, 5 Murphy Belvin , BC High, 4 Meghan Daley , North Andover, 4 Ema Luczkow , Dover-Sherborn, 4 Allie Wile , Ipswich, 4 Points Kipperman, Nauset, 12 DeGasperis, Milford, 7 Emsing, BC High, 6 Isa Robinson , North Andover, 6 Luke Allen , BC High, 5 Advertisement Belvin, BC High, 5 Daley, North Andover, 5 Sophia Fina , North Andover, 5 Lyla Greenleaf , Ipswich, 4 Luczkow, Dover-Sherborn, 4 Wile, Ipswich, 4 4. Daily strikeout leaderboard Regan Bryant , West Bridgewater, 15 Charlie Mallett , West Bridgewater, 12 Grace Stevens , Mohawk Trail, 12 Zahria Daley , Milton, 11 Dani Jameson , Mansfield, 10 Ted Hipp , Hull, 10 Andrew Morse , Millis, 7 Josh Roberts , Amesbury, 7 5. Coaching carousel Millis named Connor Moroney as its boys' basketball coach. Moroney has served as an assistant at Franklin and is an assistant football coach at Norton. The New Hampshire graduate teaches physical education at Callahan Elementary in Norwood and has served as camp director of the Sarah Behn Basketball Camps since 2022 and has worked at the Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton. — Millis Athletics (@MillisAthletics) Billerica football brought back 2009 Gatorade Player of the Year Nick LaSpada to coach its quarterbacks. The former Merrimack quarterback has served as an assistant at Phillips Exeter. Nick needs no Introduction to the Billerica community. Billerica High legend and Merrimack College grad will work with the quarterbacks. The 2009 Gatorade player of the year is one of the area's all time great players and leaders. — Shawn Theriault (@TheriaultShawn) Andover High is bringing back Matt Silva as its offensive coordinator. Silva was the Golden Warriors' OC from 2017-21 and has remained on staff coaching Andover's quarterbacks. The two-time Globe All-Scholastic enjoyed a record-setting career at Framingham State before returning to coach at Andover in 2016. Introducing Coach Matt Silva to the 2025 Andover High School Football staff. Coach Silva is no stranger to Andover and we are excited to bring him back. He knows how competitive the MVC is and he brings a lot of experience as both a collegiate player and a former OC and… — Pact Performance (@PactPerformance) 6. Commitment central Milton senior Ryan O'Donnell has committed to play men's soccer at Mass. Maritime. Congratulations to Ryan O'Donnell has he intends to play soccer at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Well 'Cats! — Milton HS Athletics (@MHS_Wildcats_) Holland (formerly Burke) basketball star Yassine Amghar committed to play at Framingham State. The 6-foot point guard averaged 21 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals after transferring from Excel Academy. Congrats to our guy — Burke Boys Basketball (@Burke_MBB) His Bulldogs teammate, senior Jayden White , a 6-4 wing, announced his commitment to Cerro Coso Community College. The hard work, the ups and downs, the sacrifices — it's all worth it. Blessed to commit to Cerro Coso Community College!!! — Jayden White (@jaydenxwhitee) The Greater Lawrence boys' basketball program enjoyed three college commitments in less than 24 hours, with Ebe Efosa and Ellis Macea committing to play at Southern Maine Community College and Darialdy 'Tahko' Lara announcing he will play at Plymouth State. Advertisement 7. College corner UConn women's lacrosse senior Riley Daly , an Ipswich graduate, was selected to play in the IWLCA Senior All-Star game on Saturday at the USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md. Daly was a unanimous All-Big East first team selection after leading the Huskies with 103 draw controls and finishing her career fourth in program history with 151 draw controls. Congratulations to Riley Daly on being selected to play in the — UConn Lacrosse (@UConnWLAX) Joson Sanon , a Fall River native who played one season at Durfee before transferring to Vermont Academy, has withdrawn from the NBA Draft process, 8. Lastly... And here's your feel-good moment of the day: An unforgettable day. Our team headed in to Mass General to watch our team manager Brady Cullen 'Ring the Bell'. The strength and spirit he has show throughout this process has been absolutely remarkable -an inspiration to us all. — North Reading Baseball (@NRHSBaseball1) Brendan Kurie can be reached at
