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Fitchburg State

Local roundup: Falcons grounded by Blazers

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The Fitchburg State women’s basketball team suffered a 67-56 setback to Elms College Saturday afternoon in non-conference action from the Picknelly Arena.

Elms raced out to an early 7-0 edge on a pair of layups from junior Rahmia Johnston before the Falcons (3-16, 1-5 MASCAC) responded with an 8-0 run as sophomore Caileen Hurley, freshman Aliza Som and sophomore Rylie Harlow netted buckets.

The Blazers regained an 11-8 advantage as graduate student Brianna Metellus  hit a jumper, but the Falcons knotted the score at 11 with junior Olivia Almeida burying a 3-pointer.

The Blazers grabbed a 15-11 edge with Johnston notching another layup early in the second quarter, but the Falcons answered back with Harlow and sophomore Stephanie Hart registering baskets for a 16-15 advantage.

Fitchburg State upped the margin to 24-20 when senior Lindsay McDonald hit a jumper before Elms took the lead back 28-25 on a Talia Urbe bucket.

Following the halftime break, Fitchburg State trimmed the deficit to 32-29 when Harlow connected on a fast break layup, but Elms responded with a Metellus bucket to push the lead to 34-29. The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes as Elms lead 38-34.

The Green and Gold continued to battle, cutting the lead to 46-39 with sophomore Morgan Genness and Almeida converting jumpers before the Blazers extended the lead to 53-42 on a pair of free throws by newcomer Kayla Jackson.

The Falcons opened the fourth frame with Harlow draining a jumper and a 3-pointer, while freshman Juliana Davis added a bucket to make the score 53-50 before the Blazers upped the advantage to 59-52 with Metellus posting a bucket.

Fitchburg State answered with a Harlow jumper, but Elms secured the victory on a Metellus 3-pointer.

The Falcons were led by Harlow, who scored a team-leading 17 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Almeida added 12 points, five caroms, two steals, two blocks and an assist in the setback.

For the Blazers, Johnston finished with a game-best 20 points, six boards, four assists and one steal.

Fitchburg State is now 8-7 all-time when taking on Elms, which held a 54-34 edge in rebounds.

The Falcons return to action on Wednesday as they travel to MCLA to take on the Trailblazers in MASCAC action, starting at 7 p.m.

Girls track

Lunenburg had a pair of strong performances at the State Coaches Invitational (Small Schools) on Saturday.

Abby Rodriquenz placed fifth in the 1000m run with a time of 3:09.50 and the 4x800m relay (Lauren Long, Breanna Bajko, Olivia Coronella, Rodriquenz placed third with a time of 10:15.20.

Local roundup: Blue Knights fall on Senior Night

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Lunenburg senior captain Jonny Deyo poured in a game-high 24 points, but it wasn’t enough as visiting Maynard pulled out a 55-48 win over the Blue Knights boys’ basketball team Friday night at Memorial Gymnasium on Senior Night.

Fellow Blue Knights senior Max Meilleur scored 10 points and junior Miles Seminatore added eight points for Lunenburg, which fell to 7-5 with the loss.

St. Paul 61, St. Bernard’s 59: Manny Vega had a game-high 21 points for St. Bernard’s (5-6) and Patrick Ginnity added 11 points.

Leominster 72, Algonquin 52: The win lifts the Blue Devils to 7-5.

Girls basketball

Ayer-Shirley 47, Fitchburg 29: Ayer-Shirley (8-2) was paced by a game high 20 points from Maddie Davis. Ava Murphy and Maleah Figueroa each scored 11 points for the winners.

Gianexis Santiago scored 11 points to lead Fitchburg (1-10) and Gianna Calderon added 10 points.

Shepherd Hill 43, North Middlesex 28: Gabby Durham posted a team-high 11 points for the Patriots, while Norah Tesini chipped in with eight.

Boys swimming

Wachusett 67, Nashoba 11: Thomas Hastings placed second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.06 and took second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:12.59 to lead Nashoba (1-10).

Girls swimming

Nashoba 58, Wachusett 36: Campbell Phillips won the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:20.61 and placed second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:13.21, while Ariel Larrabee won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:42.53.

Abby Horton placed first in the 100  backstroke with a time of 1:17.35 and Paige Mason won the 50 freestyle with a time of 28.85 before taking second in the girls 100 freestyle with a time of 1:06.35. Nashoba’s Erin Coughlan was second in the 50 freestyle (30.16) and second in the 100 backstroke (1:19.97).

The team of Coughlan, Emma Reiner,  Phillips and Mason won the 200 medley relay in 2:10.75.

Boys indoor track and field

Fitchburg 59,  Marlboro 32: Senior Stephen Bate won three events for the Red Raiders Thursday night, claiming the 55m (6.8); the 300 (40.1) and the high jump (5-08).

Effrem Gnepo won the shot put (35-07.5). Josh Nartey won the 55m hurdles (8.8), Kingston Aldrich-Cooper  was first in the 600 (1:35.3) and the 4×220 relay (Nartey, David Afogho, Derrick Lulimachi, Steven Smith) was also victorious in 1:53.1.

Girls indoor track and field

Marlboro 50, Fitchburg 41: Noella Tamfu won the 55m hurdles in 9.8 seconds to pace the Red Raiders on Thursday night. The 4×220 relay (Julianna Ortiz, Fiona Palmer, Brianna Demers, Tamfu) placed first in 2:05.0, as did the 4×440 relay (Mia Robertson, Molly Sacramone. Andrea Silva, MacKenzie Roy) in 5:08.5.

College field hockey

Thirteen members of the Fitchburg State field hockey team were named to the 2022 Little East Conference (LEC) Fall Academic Honor Roll on Friday morning.

Carley McCaie, Lena Kassel, Oliva Narkevicius, Sophia Yates, Samantha Rozum,  Alexis Raymond, Joyce Arbia, Emma Ganley, Sophia Piper, Jessica Morse, Jenna Morse, Grace Kerr and Lena Spadafore were all named to the 2023 LEC All-Academic Team.

Members of the 2022 LEC Fall Academic Honor Roll must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher through the Fall 2022 semester. The student-athlete must also be a full-time member of a varsity sport and be enrolled in its institution for a full academic year.

The Fitchburg State field hockey team concluded its 2022 campaign with an overall record of 10-8 and an 8-4 mark in the LEC, earning the sixth seed in the LEC Tournament.

Fitchburg State to present ‘Chroma’ exhibition

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FITCHBURG — The Fitchburg State University CenterStage arts and culture series presents “Chroma,” a gallery exhibit by New England Wax, through March 3 in the Hammond Hall Art Gallery, 160 Pearl St.

There will be an artist talk and reception at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1 at the gallery featuring New England Wax members Trina Abbott and Pamela Dorris DeJong. Admission is free and open to the public.

New England Wax is a lively and growing professional organization connecting artists in the six New England states who work with encaustic and other wax-based mediums.

The works in “Chroma” use color pigments that are suspended in either encaustic or cold waxes. The exhibition, on display during the depths of a New England winter, is intended to provide a colorful oasis for students and visitors alike.

To learn more about the university’s arts and culture offerings, please visit fitchburgstate.edu/centerstage.

Local roundup: Falcons grounded in overtime

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The Fitchburg State men’s basketball team fell to Worcester State, 69-62, in overtime in MASCAC action at Parkinson Gymnasium on Wednesday.

The Falcons (7-8, 2-2 MASCAC) opened with six straight points as Javon Taylor, Dayne Allen and Frederick Siayor each had buckets. The Lancers responded with jumpers from Erik Bjorn and Aaron Nkrumah to cut the deficit to 8-6.before a layup from Tyrone Manderson pushed the Falcons’ lead to 12-6 and forced a Worcester timeout with 11:55 on the clock.

Worcester (12-5, 4-0 MASCAC) reeled off five points to make it a 12-11 ballgame, but the Falcons answered with a jumper in the paint and a deep 3 from Matthew Tanis to give the Falcons a 17-13 lead.

Worcester State capitalized on a Falcons turnover for a fastbreak bucket and a pair of free throws from Nkrumah to tie the game at 19. The Green and Gold finished out the half with five points from Siayor and a 3 at the buzzer from Tajahn Joyner to take a 27-21 lead at intermission.

Worcester State came out on an 11-3 run to take a 32-30 lead after a deep 3 from Nkrumah. Bjorn extended the lead for the visitors to 36-32 with a shot under the basket, but Allen responded for the hosts with a layup to make the score 36-34. Senior Zion Hendrix pushed the Lancer lead to 42-37 with a 3 from the baseline.

With 5:22 remaining Javon Taylor sank a 3 to keep it close at 46-43.

Trailing 47-45, Fitchburg State’s Tanis drained a 3 to give the Falcons a 48-47 lead, but the Lancers caused a turnover and a dunk from Ryan  Rubenskas gave the lead to Worcester State with 2:45 to play.

With 18 seconds remaining, Siayor knotted the game at 51 with a 3 to send the game to overtime.

Worcester State opened extra time with a 6-0 run including a 3 from Dion. Joyner stopped the streak with a jumper at the elbow to make it a 59-55 game with 2:02 to play, but the Lancers sealed the victory with free throws from Hendrix and Rubenskas resulting in the 69-62 victory.

Tanis paced the Falcons with 16 points off the bench. Allen added a game-high 16 rebounds and nine points, while Siayor added 12 points and Taylor had 10.

Women’s basketball

Worcester State 66, Fitchburg State 34: Kathryn Hart led the Falcons (3-13, 1-3 MASCAC) with nine points, while Morgan Genness added eight.

Sarah Blomgren, a Lunenburg High grad, had 10 points for the Lancers in the win.

Local roundup: Cookson, Falcons get past Rams

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Dean Fuller’s 1,000th game as head coach of the Fitchburg State hockey team was certainly a memorable one.

The Falcons (7-6-2, 5-2-2 MASCAC) got a pair of goals on the power play from sophomore Oliver Cookson to pick up a conference win on the road Thursday night, topping Framingham State, 4-3.

Cookson opened the scoring 10:32 into the first with assists awarded to Joshua Miller and Wyatt WIlmshurst, but the Rams answered with a pair of goals in the second to take a 2-1 lead.

Antoine Gignac pulled the Falcons even with 5:30 left in the middle frame — just 54 seconds after the Rams went ahead — off a feed from Miller before Cookson put the guests ahead with 2:09 left in the second with Miller earning his third helper of the night.

Gene Bouthiette added what proved to be a huge goal with 3:44 left off feed from Corey Tumenas to put the Falcons up 4-2. Though the Rams scored with the goalie pulled in the final minute, the hosts were unable to find the equalizer.

Freshman goalie Max Macchioni stopped 24 shots for Fitchburg State.

With the win, Fuller — whose head coaching career begin at FSU in 1984 — has a career record of 585-351-64. He’s just the second coach in NCAA Division III history to have coached 1,000 games, joining Salem State’s Bill O’Neill.

Boys track and field

Leominster 45, Marlboro 45: The Blue Devils tied the Panthers on Wednesday evening thanks in part to first-place finishes by Kayden Gonzalez (55), Carson Wilbur (600), Stefano Penniman (300) and the 4×200 relay.

Connor Fournier took second in the shot put and third in the 55, while Darius Davidson was second in both the 55 hurdles and high jump.

North Middlesex 48, Fitchburg 43: Stephen Bate won three events for the Red Raiders on Wednesday, claiming the high jump, 55 and 300.Kingston Aldrich-Cooper, won the 600m and the 4×220 relay (Ryan Tamfu, Connor Johnson, Joshua Nartey, David Afogho) was victorious in 1:52.8.

Girls track and field

North Middlesex 47, Fitchburg 43: Noella Tamfu won the 55 hurdles and Emelia Robertson claimed the 1,000 for Fitchburg. The 4×220 (Julianna Ortiz, Fiona Palmer, Brianna Demers, MacKenzie Roy) was first in 2:11.0.

Lunenburg 57, Littleton 34: The Blue Knights (3-0) won a battle of unbeaten teams behind the efforts of double winners Abby Rodriquenz (mile, 1,000) and Carli Stanford (55, 300).

Other first-place finishers for Lunenburg were Sarah Viveiros (shot put), Lilia Baril (high jump), Lauren Long (2 mile), Rylan Arnold (600) and the 4x400m relay team of Karynna Long, Emma King, Anita White and Arnold.

Boys swimming

AMSA 132, Nashoba 19: Thomas Hastings won the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:09.03 at Wednesday’s meet. The Wolves fell to 0-5.

Girls swimming

Nashoba 93, AMSA 74: Emma Reiner was a double winner with a time of 2:20.00 in the 200 freestyle and a 1:14.41 in the 100 butterfly, while Campbell Phillips won the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:01.22 and placed second in the 100 backstroke (1:11.84) for the Wolves (2-3) on Wednesday.

Paige Mason won the 50 freestyle (28.18) and Ariel Larrabee placed first in the 500 freestyle (7:01.55), while the victorious 400 freestyle relay team of Reiner, Phillips, Larrabee and Michelle Nguyen qualified for the Central/West sectional meet with a time of 4:22.72.

Local roundup: Falcons grounded by Lions

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The Fitchburg State women’s basketball team dropped an 89-70 decision to Eastern Nazarene College on Wednesday.

Fitchburg State (2-10) raced out to an early 9-0 lead to start the contest as sophomores Ephemian Bailey, Stephanie Hart and Rylie Harlow notched buckets, while classmate Morgan Genness added a 3.

Eastern Nazarene rallied to knot the score at 9 as sophomore Ahidali DeHuelbes connected on a layup. The Lions went on to take a 21-18 lead on a 3 from junior Delaney Walker, but the Falcons trimmed the lead to 23-20 with freshman Juliana Davis registering a layup.

Fitchburg State battled back to tie the contest at 25 in the second with Harlow burying a 3 pointer, but DeHuelbes gave the hosts a 33-29 advantage with layup.

The Falcons answered as senior Lindsay McDonald notched a bucket to trim the lead to 38-32 before Eastern Nazarene grabbed a 40-32  lead at the break.

Following the intermission, Eastern Nazarene built a 69-49 edge by the end of the third quarter. The Falcons battled in the fourth, but were unable to erase the deficit.

Fitchburg State was led by Davis, who had 17 points, seven rebounds and one assist, while  Bailey added 16 points, six boards, two assists and two blocks.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday as they host MCLA in a MASCAC matchup at 2 p.m.

Girls basketball

North Middlesex 54, Lunenburg 37: Senior Julia Landry scored a game-high 17 points for the Patriots (1-3), while classmate Gabby Durham contributed 14 points and junior Isabella Young added 11.

Leading the way for Lunenburg (0-5) was Erin Peplowski with 11 points, while McKenzie Martell added eight points in defeat.

Worcester Tech 54, Fitchburg 36: Beautiful Sanchez led the Red Raiders (1-4) with 15 points. Gianna Calderon added seven points in the loss, while Gianexis Santiago chipped in with five.