Seven high school sports takeaways from Tuesday, when 10 teams punched their MIAA state final tickets
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While the D3 girls' lax final is still to be determined, Thursday's D4 title game (5 p.m.) will pit third-seeded Norwell and No. 1 Cohasset, both of whom won going away in the semifinals.
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Over in boys' volleyball, top-seeded Brookline rallied after dropping the first set to take down defending Division 1 champion Newton North and set up a showdown with third-seeded Needham, a Bay State Conference rival, in Friday's final at Xaverian (6:30 p.m.).
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Division 2 will pit No. 3 Wayland against top-seeded Agawam, which survived a five-set battle with neighboring West Springfield in the semifinals, in Thursday's championship match at Shrewsbury High (6:30 p.m.).
1. The reading list
2. Three stars
Kassidy Carmichael, Westford
— The Ohio State-bound senior scored nine of her team's 11 goals,
Girls' lax final: Westford Academy 11, Wellesley 10
Another day, another fourth-quarter comeback, another winner for Kassidy Carmichael — this one with 1 second left for her ninth goal.
Absolutely unbelievable. What a game
— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass)
Finn Bell, Wayland —
The junior, who reached 1,000 career kills last week, dominated at the net with 27 kills, adding five digs to help the third-seeded Warriors reach the Division 2 final with a 3-1 win over Westfield in the semis.
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After 2: Wayland 2, Westfield 0.
25-23, 25-19 the set scores thus far.
After a back and forth opening frame, Wayland took control early in the second and never relented, with Finn Bell putting away the final point.
— Matty Wasserman (@Matty_Wasserman)
Scarlett Mirak, Concord-Carlisle
— The standout sophomore learned the game from her three older sisters, Gabrielle, Audrey, and Eliza, and will now be the first of her siblings to play for a Division 1 championship after she netted six goals in a 13-6 semifinal win over Chelmsford.
Half: Concord-Carlisle 10, Chelmsford 4
The Patriots won each quarter by a 5-2 score to seize command.
Sophomore Scarlett Mirak has 5 goals and Karleigh Mutch 3 for the Patriots. Four scorers for the Lions
— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass)
3. Daily lacrosse leaderboard
Goals
Kassidy Carmichael
, Westford, 9
Scarlett Mirak
, Concord-Carlisle, 6
Charlie Cox
, Norwell, 5
Avery Regan
, Cohasset, 5
Elisabeth Stutzman
, Sandwich, 5
Abby Beggans
, Wellesley, 4
Reese Hansen
, Cohasset, 4
Karleigh Mutch
, Concord-Carlisle, 4
Caitlyn Naughton
, Walpole, 4
Molly Campbell
, Cohasset, 3
Olicia Comella
, Wellesley, 3
Sophia Fruci
, Walpole, 3
Emily Hagan
, Walpole, 3
Holly Panttila
, Norwell, 3
Emily Regan
, Cohasset, 3
Molly Trahan
, Reading, 3
4. Bedford's Rossi honored
With a spectacular senior season for Bedford,
Alyx Rossi
has been named Gatorade Massachusetts Softball Player of the Year.
'Rossi is such a talented pitcher and hitter as well,' said Westford Academy coach
Gina Mustoe
in a statement. 'She dominates on the mound and has such control over all of her pitches.'
The Boston College-bound Rossi has the Buccaneers in the Division 2 semifinals and has posted a 0.35 ERA with 276 strikeouts in 120 innings. She is hitting .543 with a .614 OBP, seven home runs, 26 RBIs, 31 runs, and six steals.
The 5-foot-9-inch lefthander, who was named the Globe's Division 2 Player of the Year as a junior, has 958 career strikeouts.
A member of the Spanish National Honor Society and Bedford's Academic Hall of Fame, Rossi volunteers with the town's club of social concern and was a member of Bedford's Model UN team.
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5. Commitment central
▪ St. Mary's sophomore
Bella Owumi
will be transferring to the Tilton School in New Hampshire.
Owumi, who has been a varsity starter since seventh grade, already has 1,224 career points and was named Catholic Central MVP after averaging 17.1 points per game while leading the Spartans to the Division 3 state title.
Owumi will be joined by her Spartans and MCW Starz teammate
Lily Norton
in Tilton's 2027 class, which also features
Kam Derba
, who grew up in Easton and played at Dexter Southfield.
Thank you to Coach
— Bella Owumi (@BellaOwumi24)
▪ Northfield Mt. Hermon junior
Olivia Fleming
has committed to play women's basketball at Lehigh. The 5-foot-7 guard from Wyndham, N.H., was named NEPSAC Class AA Player of the Year and also plays for Rivals.
Next 4! 🤎🤍
— Olivia Fleming (@_OliviaF_21)
▪ Quarterback
Dante Reno
(Sturbridge), who attended Loomis Chaffee and Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, will transfer from South Carolina to play for his father,
Tony
, at Yale. The 6-foot-2-inch, 214-pound redshirt freshman will have four years of eligibility remaining. He threw for 2,358 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior for Cheshire. Tony Reno has coached Yale since 2012 and has won four Ivy League championships.
For god, for country, for Yale.
— Dante Reno (@dantereno10)
6. Coaching carousel
▪ North Andover announced
Ben Murphy
as its new boys' hockey coach.
Murphy, who played at Cushing before winning a Hockey East championship and reaching two national title games at Maine, brings 19 years of collegiate coaching experience.
Most recently, Murphy was an associate head coach on the women's staff at Providence. Prior to that he had stints with RPI, Bentley, St. Lawrence, and Castleton State. He began his coaching career with the Wichita Thunder of the CHL.
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Murphy replaces
Scott Greene
, who led the Scarlet Knights since 2021.
🚨NEW BOYS HOCKEY COACH🚨
North Andover High School is excited to announce Ben Murphy as our new Boys Varsity Hockey Coach.
— Scarlet Knights (@NA_Athletics)
▪ North Andover didn't stop with its boys' hockey program, also announcing the hiring of
Don Viselli
as girls' basketball coach.
Viselli most recently served as an assistant at Derryfield School in Manchester, N.H., and he has 25 years coaching experience, from fifth grade to high school. He started and coached the Merrimack Valley Roadrunners AAU program and has also coached with MassRivals.
🚨NEW GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH🚨
North Andover High School is excited to announce Don Viselli as our new Girls Varsity Basketball Coach.
— Scarlet Knights (@NA_Athletics)
▪ Essex Tech announced the hiring of
Liv Robles
as its girls' basketball coach.
Robles spent last season as an assistant at Emmanuel after graduating from Saint Anselm in 2024 after a four-year career for the Hawks. From Connecticut, she was a three-time All-Southern Connecticut Conference selection at Mark T. Sheehan School.
We are excited to welcome Liv Robles as our Head Girls Basketball Coach. Most recently, Liv was an assistant at Emmanuel College. She was also a 4 year player at St. Anselm College.
— Essex Tech Athletics (@ETAthletics)
▪ After coaching Somerset-Berkley boys' basketball to
Bob Slater
is hanging up his whistle.
The 1987 Attleboro graduate volunteered at his alma mater and was on staff for a state championship run in 1998. He joined Somerset-Berkley's staff in 2002, becoming JV coach in 2005, and varsity head coach in 2009. Slater led the Blue Raiders to the D2 state semifinals in 2023 and was given Globe Coach of the Year honors.
This winter he led the Blue Raiders to a 24-1 record capped with a stunning 65-44 win over three-time defending champion Malden Catholic in the state championship.
'It's a good way to go out,' Slater said. 'It's special to go out with this group after the successes we've had the past few years.'
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7. College corner
▪
Will Jones
,
Jordan Gottesman
, and
Charlie Walker
were among five Northeastern baseball players named to the Northeast All-Region First Team, while
Aiven Cabral
earned second team recognition.
Jones, a graduate student and Hamilton-Wenham graduate, went 11-1 with a 2.62 ERA over 15 starts, striking out 75 in 72 innings and setting a program record for wins in a season.
Gottesman, a graduate student and Acton-Boxborough graduate, was 9-2 with a 2.27 ERA over 16 appearances, striking out 97 in 83 1/3 innings.
Walker, a junior and Milton graduate, was 4-0 with seven saves and a 1.29 ERA in 16 appearances, striking out56 in 48 2/3 innings.
Cabral, a junior and St. Mary's graduate, went 10-3 with a 2.92 ERA over 16 starts, striking out 74 in 89 1/3 innings.
Three pitchers were named to the First Team with one on the Second Team.
The whole rotation plus Charlie Walker 😎
🧵 (2/2)
— Northeastern Baseball (@GoNUbaseball)
▪ Dartmouth senior rower
Jenna Martin
, a Wayland graduate, was named an honorable mention CRCA All-American. Martin was a member of the Big Green's varsity eight that finished fourth at the Princeton Chase, beating Virginia and Harvard. Dartmouth teammate and fellow Wayland resident
Aine Ley
, who attended the Groton School, was also a CRCA honorable mention All-American following her junior season.
Congratulations to Jenna and Áine, who have been named CRCA All-Americans!
📰 |
— Dartmouth Women's Rowing (@DartmouthWRow)
Brendan Kurie can be reached at
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Indianapolis Star
36 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
Doyel: One more day. One more game. And all the grind, nonsense and drama will be over. Who is ready?
Rick Carlisle is sitting up there, talking with reporters, and he sounds exhausted. He's so tired, he almost sounds defeated — but that's not the case. Check the box score. The Indiana Pacers have just won Game 6, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder to save their season and force a Game 7 in these incredible 2025 NBA Finals. And Carlisle is spent. "This is what you dream about growing up," the Pacers coach says of Game 7, and while it doesn't exactly sound like it, you know he means it. Whatever energy he has after 104 games, he's saving it for the film study he'll do to get ready for practice the next day, then for the flight to Oklahoma City, then for more of this — more meetings with reporters, the grind behind the grind, the drain behind the drama. Carlisle is thinking about it all as the clock approaches midnight Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. He's trying to keep his days straight. 'It's getting back on the plane at 3 p.m. tomorrow, have a team dinner tomorrow night, another session with you guys, whatever day that is,' he says, then takes a shot. 'Saturday,' he says, and he's right. Carlisle concludes his media obligation — after 19 days of this, meeting with reporters almost daily and twice on game days must feel like such an obligation — and walks slowly off into the rest of a night that is just getting started. Game 7 predictions: Can Pacers pull off championship upset? Belief is rising Doyel on Game 6: Underdogs in every NBA Finals game, Pacers force a Game 7. Now it's Tyrese Haliburton's turn, and he's not even trying to sound happy. He is happy, no doubt. Just doesn't sound it. He was able to play in Game 6, against some steep odds. The Pacers just won, against even greater odds. Haliburton looked a lot like himself out there in just 23 minutes on the court — 14 points, including a trio on 3-pointers, and a handful of delightful look-away passes among his five assists — but he doesn't sound like himself in here now. What does he normally sound like? Upbeat. Vivacious. Haliburton is the modern-day NBA star, meaning, he gets it. His brand is his brand, and it's not limited to 48 minutes a night, 82 times a year plus the playoffs. Branding is a 24/7/365 thing, and Haliburton is normally up to the challenge, but this isn't normal and he's trying to protect himself. A voracious consumer and contributor on social media, he has deleted the apps from his phone. Someone is asking Haliburton a good question — and there have been some real doozies during the Pacers' 2025 NBA playoff run, including one from me (sigh) we'll get to in a minute — and Haliburton is too tired to fake his answer, to think of the brand. He's exhausted, he's drained, and he's about to sound exhausted and drained. Here's the question: 'This team has never been this close to an NBA championship in its history. You've talked with Reggie (Miller) about how much that would mean to you personally. How do you weigh that over the next 48, 72 hours, with the focus it's going to need to win (at OKC) in Game 7?' Haliburton starts his answer by focusing on focus — 'Yeah,' he sighs, 'not trying to look at it from, like, a big-picture thing' — and then reveals that even the happy stories people will write and tell feel exhausting at this time of year. 'The narratives are going to be almost poison,' he says, and he's about to mention some really happy possible narratives. 'What this would mean to our city, and our organization, and legacy talk. And we played so well and now the pressure is on. 'Like, you know what I mean? There's going to be narratives that we can't really pay attention to.' He's going to celebrate winning Game 6, though. Right? 'I don't even want to say, you know, 'celebrate this one tonight and move on,'' he says. He just wants to get some sleep. The Pacers don't just seem to be playing at a different speed than everyone else. They are playing at a different speed, faster, than everyone. This is actual data logged by the advanced analytical site Second Spectrum, which has tracked the distance NBA teams have run in every game since 2013 — and come up with something that sounds logical, plausible and startling: The Pacers have run more miles and at higher speeds than any team in the NBA Finals since 2013. The Pacers are doing this after 82 regular-season games, followed by three playoff series that went five games (Milwaukee), five games (Cleveland) and six games (New York). No wonder they sound tired, you know? This goes well beyond the media obligations, though let's point out a few more of those. How about Bennedict Mathurin after Game 3? That was the Mathurin game — 27 points in 22 minutes off the bench — and afterward, as one of the game's biggest stars, he was brought into the postgame news conference room. His reward? Questions from an international press corps that is not always, shall I say, reserved. On non-game days, during the players' obligatory media availability, reporters from Japan and Brazil and other places grab whichever players they can, teach them how to say something like, 'Watch (this channel)' in another language, and then put them on camera to say it. The reporters think it's a blast. The players do a good job of pretending. Back to Mathurin. He's just had the game of his NBA life, and here was the first question from a media market far, far away: 'Every day when people go out of their house, they try to have a nice day,' the reporter said. 'Do you think about this, that you were going to have a good game today?' Mathurin stared. 'Yeah,' Mathurin said after a moment of silence. 'Is that a trick question?' The reporter shook his head, no. 'I pray every morning, so what are you trying to say?' Mathurin said, then continued. 'I pray every day, I know I'm going to have a great day.' Before Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse — the Thunder led 3-2, remember — a reporter from a galaxy far, far away asked OKC coach Mark Daigneault, essentially, to taunt the Pacers. How are you going to celebrate, the reporter was wondering, if you win tonight? Or would you maybe prefer to win (the series) at home? 'I'm just going to skip (that one),' Daigneault said pleasantly. It's not only the international reporters asking unanticipated, borderline impossible questions. It's us locals. OK, fine, it's me. This happened after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals in New York: The Pacers, who had a 3-1 lead entering the night, have just played disastrously. They are outrebounded, outshot, out-everything'd, and basically outfought all game. Afterward, Carlisle blasts his team's effort. 'Well,' is how Carlisle opened his postgame news conference, before a question could be asked, 'we obviously didn't play with the level of force that we needed to. "To start the game we didn't have the right level of force, the right level of attitude necessary. Overall disposition, posture, force, intensity — all that — just simply was not good enough." The next person into the press conference room is Pascal Siakam, and he has the misfortune of volunteering that he and his teammates had been 'outfought' by the Knicks. Look, the topic is fair game. Carlisle had just ripped his team's effort, and now Siakam, in his own way, has mentioned the same thing. Now the microphone is in my hands — state your name and media outlet — and to be honest, I'm not thinking very hard. Hey, we're all tired. This was the game where the Pacers' starting five famously scored a grand total of 37 points, but that wasn't a Siakam thing. He has just had another of his adult-in-the-room games — 15 points, six rebounds, five assists — but, as I said, I'm not thinking about Siakam being the one Pacers' starter who has carried his weight in this game. I'm hearing Carlisle question his team's effort, then hearing Siakam question his team's fight, so I'm asking Siakam: How can that happen in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals? Siakam is taken aback, and with the benefit of hindsight, I get it. He probably has no idea Carlisle has just opened the door to this line of questioning, but he knows one thing: He feels under attack, and he's tired, and he's not having it. He pushes back, and I get it. Tried to explain all this to Siakam during the off-day interview session in OKC, but a Pacers official said it could wait for the offseason. So it will. As for the rest of you: Are you not entertained? Media inanity is fun to point out — even mine — but more than anything else, the Pacers are being pushed to the outer limits by the Thunder, and by the grind of playing this many games for this many months. Almost nine months after the start of training camp, the Pacers will play their 105th and final game Sunday night. Think about 105 games. A successful college season, one that goes well into March, is about 35 games. This is three of those. And it takes a toll. Take Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard. After being one of the team's top two defensive stoppers all season, along with Aaron Nesmith, Nembhard has been asked to defend three future Hall of Famers in the first three rounds — the Bucks' Dame Lillard, the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell and the Knicks' Jalen Brunson — and now gets, ahem, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This has been Nembhard's nightly task, as grueling mentally on non-playing days as it is physically during the games, and then comes Game 5 of the NBA Finals when he scores just seven points in 36 minutes and people are wondering: How come the Pacers aren't getting more from Nembhard? Take Pacers center Myles Turner. He played with a cold in Game 2, but didn't tell anyone outside the locker room. You found out only because Carlisle wanted you to know, because he thought it was fair — if he was going to ask Turner to play through a cold against bouncy young Thunder star Chet Holmgren — that media and fans understood. How do you get over a cold during the NBA Finals, with travel and practice and games? You don't. Not completely. Someone asked Turner about the cold before Game 5: Have you recovered? How are you feeling? 'I'm all right,' he said. 'No excuses this time of year — it is what it is. People get sick all the time. You can't stop the train from rolling. Take it for what it is, take my medicine and get rolling.' Someone asked him about it before Game 6: How are you feeling? Are you over the cold yet? 'It doesn't matter,' he said. 'That's the best I can put it.' Take Tyrese Haliburton. He twists an ankle in Game 2 at OKC, the pain finally hitting after the adrenaline from the game subsides, and is spotted limping away from the postgame news conference. Then he strains his calf in Game 5, plays with it, makes zero field goals and takes a beating for that unproductivity in the press. To get ready for Game 6 he goes through 72 hours of what he describes as nearly round-the-clock care. 'Massage, needles, hyperbaric, H-waves,' he says when asked about it on Wednesday, then expands on his preparation for Game 6 when asked about it again after the game. 'Went to hyperbaric chamber, had an MRI,' he said of his Tuesday — the day after Game 5 — in Indianapolis. 'Had a meeting with a couple specialists and my agents and the organization, and then the next day more treatment at the gym, more stuff at the gym, tried to get some shots (Wednesday). 'And then just around the clock — hyperbaric again, and (two Pacers training staff members) have been at my house, coming and putting H-wave on me and doing a bunch of treatment on me that way. And then this morning (before Game 6), hyperbaric again. Usually not a gameday hyperbaric person, but just trying to give myself the best shot that I could coming into today. And then just more H-wave, more treatment at the house.' No wonder, after the Pacers won Game 6, Haliburton sounded a little bit less than happy, and a lot more than tired. Relief is coming soon, though. One way or another, the 2025 NBA Finals end Sunday night. One team will mourn. One will celebrate. You just wish both could sleep soundly. Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Threads, or on BlueSky and Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar, or at Subscribe to the free weekly Doyel on Demand newsletter.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Former Ohio State offensive lineman Kirk Barton charged after fatal crash
Former Ohio State offensive lineman Kirk Barton has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide following a fatal crash early Saturday in Dublin, Ohio. According to the City of Dublin, Barton, 40, is suspected of driving a Ford F150 Raptor pickup track "at a high rate of speed" before entering Historic Dublin, where he crashed into a Lexus on West Bridge Street around 3 a.m. Advertisement The driver of the Lexus, 24-year-old Ethan Perry, died on the scene, according to the city. Barton sustained non-life-threatening injuries. He was eventually released from Riverside Methodist Hospital into Dublin Police custody, the city said. Barton was then moved to Franklin County Jail. NBC4 reported Saturday that Barton was charged with a second-degree felony count of aggravated vehicular homicide while operating a vehicle under the influence, according to Franklin County court records, which also show Barton has been charged with multiple traffic-related offenses in the past. Barton is scheduled for an arraignment Monday at 9 a.m., per NBC4. Advertisement Once a 2008 seventh-round NFL Draft pick of the Chicago Bears, Barton bounced around the league during his three-year pro career. In addition to the Bears, he also spent time with the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. Barton played at Ohio State from 2003-07. He earned first-team All-American honors at right tackle in 2007. That season, the Buckeyes went 11-2 and finished No. 5 in the AP Poll. Ohio State was ranked the No. 1 team in the country before losing the BCS Championship to LSU 38-24.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Patriots rookie TreVeyon Henderson's real reason for jersey number choice
New England Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson revealed the real reason why he wears the No. 32 jersey. According to Henderson, his grandfather wore that same jersey number when he played football. Henderson chose to pick up the number after his grandfather passed away to carry on the legacy and honor the name. Advertisement He has done a tremendous job of both so far in his young career. He helped the Ohio State Buckeyes win a national championship in his final college season, and he went on to be selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft. 'I've been wearing No. 32 pretty much since Little League," said Henderson. "My granddad, he was a great running back, and he used to wear number 32. He passed away, and so I wear it to carry on his legacy and make my mom proud. Last year, winning the national championship in his number 32, that's my favorite memory.' Henderson will look to continue his rise in the running back ranks in his first NFL season. He's an explosive playmaker who has made an immediate impact on the field in the spring practices. Advertisement What Henderson is capable of doing with the ball in his hands will add a legitimate home run threat to the Patriots' offense. That extra spark could be exactly what the struggling unit needs to finally turn things around. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook. This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson's real reason for jersey number choice
