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Local roundup: Tibbetts propels Falcons to OT win

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The Fitchburg State field hockey team needed extra time to get there, but when all was said and done Wednesday, the Falcons had captured win No. 1 on the season.

Fitchburg State picked up an overtime victory, winning 2-1 over Anna Maria in Worcester to improve to 1-4.

Sophomore Autumn Tibbetts, of Lunenburg, potted both goals for the Falcons, notching the game-winner in the third minute of OT off a feed from Joyce Arbia. The reigning MASCAC Rookie of the Week also netted a marker in the second quarter, giving Fitchburg State a 1-0 lead off an assist from Sophia Yates.

The AmCats pulled even in the fourth quarter with just 3:22 to play as Carly Drew poked home the equalizer.

Senior backstop Jenna Morse made three saves to earn the victory for Fitchburg State, which returns to action Saturday with a MASCAC matchup against Westfield State at Elliot Field at 11 a.m.

High school field hockey

Monty Tech 0, Blackstone Valley Tech 0: The Bulldogs are 2-1-1.

Marlboro 2, Oakmont 1: Rachel Simkewicz scored for the Spartans (1-3).

Girls soccer

AMSA 3, Monty Tech 1: Reyna Moran scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs.

Golf

Shrewsbury 209, North Middlesex 221: Max Caliri was the medalist, carding a 4-over 40 for North Middlesex (2-2) at The Haven.

Monty Tech 146, Blackstone Valley Tech 166: Michael Cannon was the medalist with a 1-over par 37 at Highfields Country Club for the Bulldogs (4-1).

Local roundup: Nashoba’s Balewicz breaks running record

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Nashoba Regional’s Adam Balewicz made sure Tuesday was a memorable day for the Nashoba Regional boys cross country team, win or lose.

And by the end of a tri-meet, the Wolves had both won and lost, but Balewicz’s performance was what took centerstage. Nashoba (3-1) topped Leominster, 15-49, and fell to Groton-Dunstable, 22-34.

The Nashoba standout broke his own record on the 3.1-mile course in Bolton, finishing in 15:48 to top the previous mark by seven seconds.

Nashoba’s Connor Acerino had the fifth-best time on the day at 16:57.

Groton-Dunstable also topped Leominster (0-2), 15-50.

Boys soccer

Oakmont 6, Littleton 0: Gael Vera’s first half hat trick helped propel the Spartans (5-0) past the Tigers.

North Middlesex 7, Hudson 3: Tyler Jastrab scored three goals and added an assist for the Patriots, while Adeel Khan (two assists), Collin Harrington (assist), Jacob Heard and Noah Lake added single goals. Marlon Artuso dished out a pair of helpers in the victory.

Girls soccer

Nashoba 8, Groton-Dunstable 1: Grayson Edwards potted three goals and Holly Bechara added a pair for the Wolves (4-0).

Field hockey

Leominster 2, Algonquin 1: Taylor Boulay and Alana Marchetti scored in the first half to lift the Blue Devils at Doyle Field.

Volleyball

Groton-Dunstable 3, North Middlesex 2: Set scores were 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 16-25 and 15-9.

Marissa Lacreta had 12 digs, 10 kills and three aces for North Middlesex, while Norah Tesini had nine kills, five blocks and three aces and Annie McNabb had 14 digs and a kill.

Golf

Groton-Dunstable 28.5, North Middlesex 25.5: Max Caliri shot a 5-over 40 at Northern Spy Golf Club for the low round for the Patriots (2-1, 2-1 Mid-Wach B).

Ayer-Shirley 155, St. Bernard’s 176: Reid Ohanesian carded a 1-over 36 at Oak Hill Country Club to lead the Panthers (4-0) to victory.

The Bernardians fall to 2-3.

Shrewsbury 212, Leominster 220: Daniel Simons posted a 4-over 40 at Gardner Municipal Golf Course to lead Leominster (0-4) and tie for medalist honors.

Girls cross country

Nashoba stays perfect: Nashoba Regional topped Groton-Dunstable, 26-29, and Leominster, 17-42, to improve to 4-0. Nashoba’s Caroline Collins had the top time for the day, finishing in 19:43.

‘A Leg Forever’ golf tourney keeps helping Boston Marathon bombing victims a decade later

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Boston is only getting stronger.

The 10th annual “A Leg Forever” charity golf tournament at Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover was a sellout Monday as 158 contestants pitched in $250 per player to help Boston Marathon bombing victims cope.

“It’s humbling,” said Liz Norden, whose sons J.P. and Paul lost their right legs in the 2013 explosions at the finish line on Boylston Street.

But that’s not what this August tournament is about. It is about resilience. Community. This city. And the indomitable spirit found in true Bostonians.

“I’m proud today. Proud of JP, Paul and Liz for doing this every year. They don’t get enough credit,” said Marc Fucarile, who nearly died when the bombs got him, too.

Fucarile said the “kindness and generosity of others” give marathon survivors strength.

Liz Norden wanted to thank “all the sponsors” — but especially Lighthouse Electrical Contracting of Higham and La Famiglia Giorgio’s restaurant in the North End, which parked its mobile brick oven at Indian Ridge. (Update: 3rd Alarm Wood Fired Pizza Company offered up the mobile truck, according to the good people at La Famiglia Giorgio’s.)

“I feel incredibly blessed,” Liz Norden told the Herald. “This has all been because of family and friends who have given $20 bills. This is huge. This is heartwarming.”

Something this good has come out of something so bad. But you see it all over the city, from the remembrances to the Team MR8 runners who compete in the memory of little Martin Richard, who was killed in the twin bombings.

The golf tournament will go on and so too will the fund-raisers and services for those lost and first-responders and the medical community who stepped up that day.

Monday was about golf and a free pair of shoes for all participants so they can feel part of something bigger. An event with heart and soul and a prayer for those lost or suffering.

All proceedings go to helping with prosthetics and other needs for marathon bombing victims from the city that never forgets.

The terror attack killed three spectators — Martin Richard, 8, Lingzi Lu, 23, and Krystle Campbell, 29 — and injured or maimed hundreds of others. Two officers — MIT’s Sean Collier and BPD’s Dennis “DJ” Simmonds — were killed in the manhunt, with Collier shot and Simmonds succumbing to injuries a year later.

JP and Liz Norden, and Paul not shown in this photo, are the driving force behind the tournament. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
JP and Liz Norden, and Paul not shown in this photo, are the driving force behind the tournament. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Nicole Browder and her husband marathon bombing survivor Marc Fucarile stop to talk with charity organizer Liz Norden during the tourney. (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Nicole Browder and her husband marathon bombing survivor Marc Fucarile stop to talk with charity organizer Liz Norden during the tourney. (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Al Giorgio puts some body english on a putt during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Al Giorgio puts some body english on a putt during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Tournament sponsor Herb Aikens tees off during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
Tournament sponsor Herb Aikens tees off during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
J P Norden tees off during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
J P Norden tees off during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
J P Norden gives his Mom Liz a Birthday hug during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover. this was the 10 year anniversary of the tournament and it happened to fall on her birthday 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)
J P Norden gives his Mom Liz a Birthday hug during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover. this was the 10 year anniversary of the tournament and it happened to fall on her birthday 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

 

Leominster claims summer field hockey crown

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LEOMINSTER — The Leominster field hockey team capped a strong season on Wednesday by capturing the Summer Fast Break Field Hockey League championship.

The second-seeded Blue Devils knocked off top-seeded Lunenburg, 3-1, at Doyle Field to claim the title.

Leominster finishes the summer season with a 10-2-1 overall record, while Lunenburg ends the summer campaign with a record of 10-3.

All the scoring came in the first half as the Blue Devils opened a 2-0 lead 16 minutes into the first of the game thanks to goals from Lilah Carr and Emma Miller. Lunenburg cut the deficit in half with a goal courtesy of Erin Peplowski before Leominster added an insurance goal late in the first half when Caroline Kelly beat Lunenburg goalie Ella Zivojinovic on a penalty stroke.

Neither team could find the back of the cage during the second half of action as Leominster protected its advantage and secured the victory.

Ginnity helps lift Bay Staters

Team Massachusetts claimed the boys division team title New England Junior Amateur on Wednesday  at Mt. Washington Resort Golf Course, with former St. Bernard’s standout Patrick Ginnity playing a big role.

The boys team shot a low score of 3-under in the final round, finishing with the event with a team score of 33-under.

Team Massachusetts won the boys team title at the New England Junior Amateur on Wednesday. (Courtesy Teddy Doggett)
Team Massachusetts won the boys team title at the New England Junior Amateur on Wednesday. (Courtesy Teddy Doggett)

“To know the majority of the kids on this team outside of the golf course made this week so special,” said Mass Golf’s Manager of Women’s Events and team coach Jen Morahan said in a press release. “Seeing them in their element battling the weather conditions and staying true to their game was so much fun to watch. For some, it was their last junior competition before heading off to college. They all add their own special piece to the team, and this group really bonded together the last few days.”

Ginnity finished the event tied for eighth, shooting rounds of 71-73-70 to finish 2-under. Luke Stennett of Connecticut took the individual crown at 12-under par.

A 2023 St. Bernard’s graduate, Ginnity golfs out of Northern Spy Golf Club in Townsend.

New number for Fagundez

For the first time in his professional career, longtime Leominster resident Diego Fagundez won’t be wearing No. 14 on the pitch.

Recently traded from Austin FC to the Los Angeles Galaxy, the 28-year-old midfielder will wear 21 with LA. Fagundez’s former number is Mexican national star Chicharito with the Galaxy.

Quartet of local softball stars honored

Four local softball standouts playing for Worcester State are among 20 student-athletes from the MASCAC have earned Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2022-23 academic year.

Fitchburg’s Bailey Tammaro, Lunenburg’s Abigail Koziol and Leominster natives Lauren Dube and Bella Gasbarro were all honored. The award recognizes the academic prowess of softball teams across the Association’s membership categories, with athletes needing at least a 3.5 GPA to qualify.

Grandview Golf Course lives up to name

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Kristen Majikas of Fitchburg lines up a shot at the ninth hole at Grandview Golf Course in Leominster, a venue that certainly lives up to its name. The venerable public golf course currently has the front nine open and a Tuesday ladies special that can’t be beat — $26 for nine holes and a cart.

Annual golf tourney returns, thousands raised for MS research

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WESTMINSTER — The time has come for the seventh annual Keep S’Myelin for Katie golf tournament, which to date has raised $47,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

In addition, event organizer Julie Tucker and crew will once again be doing the three day, 50-mile Challenge Walk MS: Cape Cod this fall for the eighth year in a row fundraising as part of Team Keep S’Myelin for Katie. The team’s effort has resulted in $88,000 in funds raised to help with multiple sclerosis research and also raise awareness.

“We are grateful for the unwavering support and encouragement that the community has shown us,” Tucker said. “Their kindness has been a constant source of inspiration, and we could not have achieved our goals without their help.”

Tucker said they are looking to get more golfers registered for the June 24 tournament that will be held at a new venue this year, Westminster Golf and Country Club, and have a special to entice them. Golfers register in teams of four and if they do so before the May 13 early bird deadline, it’s $140 per person instead of $150 per person.

The name of the golf tournament is a reference to MS, an autoimmune disease, and Tucker’s daughter Katie Hodge, who was diagnosed with Relapsing and Remitting MS eight years ago just after she turned 20.  MS causes your immune system to attack your central nervous system and the myelin sheath that protects the nerve fibers can be damaged.

Tucker’s connection to MS is very personal. She never saw her dad walk as he was confined to a wheelchair when she was born due to the disease. He passed away at the age of 59, before any of her children were born, including Hodge.

Tucker formed a nonprofit organization to help with the fundraising efforts and as a corporation they added two new events this year — the first annual Corn Hole Tournament on May 20 at Seven Saws Brewery in Holden and first annual bowling event on August 19 at Gardner Ten Pins. The corn hole tournament is already filled but people are welcome to come by and buy raffle tickets and they are working out the details of the bowling fundraiser.

Early bird registration is happening now for the 7th annual Keep S'Myelin for Katie golf tournament at Westminster Golf and Country Club on June 24. To date the tourney and the team's yearly MS walk efforts has resulted in over $135,000 raised for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. One of last year's golf foursomes, (l. to r.) Jim Hohman, Lee Hall, Patrick Cronin, and Frank Cronin. (COURTESY JULIE TUCKER)
Early bird registration is happening now for the 7th annual Keep S’Myelin for Katie golf tournament at Westminster Golf and Country Club on June 24. To date the tourney and the team’s yearly MS walk efforts has resulted in over $135,000 raised for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. One of last year’s golf foursomes, left to right, Jim Hohman, Lee Hall, Patrick Cronin, and Frank Cronin. (COURTESY JULIE TUCKER)

So far, they have 15 teams confirmed for the golf tournament and two gold sponsors lined up, a new sponsorship category this year – Advanced Glass & Mirror of Westminster and the Workers Credit Union Gardner branch. They also have some hole sponsors — Aurora Lodge of Freemasons A.F. & A.M., Avidia Bank, Berlin Insurance Group, real estate agent Davis Asare, Elite Construction, First Financial Trust, Forbes Heating & Air Conditioning, Karas & Karas Glass, Dr. Mark M. Meszaros, D.D.S — many of those repeat sponsors.

Some great raffle items will be up for grabs, including gift certificates to local restaurants and breweries, a cooler, jewelry, and more, and they are looking for more hole sponsors as well as more golfers. Hodge, who helms the MS Challenge Walk team, was exposed to COVID two days before last year’s golf tournament and was unable to attend.

“Even though the event is outside, she didn’t want to take any chances,” her mom said.

Hodge plans to be at the golf tournament this year along with family, friends, and the golfers who are supporting her and her family. Tucker said they appreciate the continued backing from the greater community and encouragement people have shown them when it comes to their fundraising efforts and wants to give “a huge shoutout to our family, friends, and the MS Challenge Walk family that always support us.”

“We thank the community for being there for us, making us feel like valued members of this wonderful community, and for advancing the fight toward a cure for MS.”