With state tournament season approaching, there have been a handful – or, maybe, a few handfuls – of Marblehead athletes giving it their all this spring.
Starting with the girls lacrosse team, the Magicians have been sporting veteran leadership in juniors Ramona Gillett and Maddie Forbes.
Gillett does a little bit of everything. She’s scored 22 goals and provided 15 assists through 14 games. Forbes leads by example, and is the Magicians’ leader in points with 46. Forbes (17 assists) has found the back of the net 29 times, but it’s her unselfishness that makes the offense run smoothly.
Another name to keep an eye on: freshman Kathryn Commoss. She leads the Magicians in scoring with 31 goals. Commoss and fellow freshman Molly Bullard (goalie) have the Magicians in safe hands.
On the boys’ side, Cam Waldman has been on a scoring tear lately. Against Peabody, Waldman registered a hat trick. The game before against Gloucester, he couldn’t be stopped, scoring four goals and providing two assists. The senior is doing a little bit of everything as he tries to wrap up his career on a high.
Freshman Will Sullivan has been impressive in his debut season. In an 8-7 win against Beverly, Sullivan dished out three assists, which proved to be critical in taming the Panthers. Sullivan also showed against Masconomet that he isn’t just a playmaker, netting a hat trick in the 12-5 win.
Onto the baseball diamond, where Brooks Keefe has been Mr. Reliable, leading the team in hits and RBI (15).
Teammate Riley Schmitt has shown his speed around the bases, scoring the most runs, while Chris Cannuscio leads the team in wins with five on the mound (more than 50 strikeouts, to boot).
As for the softball team, Tessa Francis has been a gem on the mound. Just ask Salem. Against the Witches, Francis gave up three hits while striking out 18 in the win.
Hailey Schmitt, Ruby Calienes, Isabel Mortensen, Tessa Andriano, and Luka Bornhorst have all played key roles in Marblehead’s 12-3 start to the season.
On the track, history was made as Alex Hersey set a new school record in the triple jump. Hersey jumped an incredible 42-2.5, which shattered the previous record (41-7) from 2012.
During the state relay championships, Marblehead’s girls took first in the discus. Rachael Albert recorded a 112-5 throw, which broke her previous personal record by a landslide.
On the tennis court, Tracy Ackerman has her girls playing well, sitting at 8-5 and ranking No. 19 in Division 2.
Just recently, the Magicians swept their archrival in Swampscott, 5-0. Maddie Conlon won convincingly 6-2, 6-1, with Sami Dosch only losing one game at third singles.
On the boys’ side, the Magicians – led by last season’s Northeastern Conference Most Valuable Player Mika Garber – have had a strong spring, too. They also enjoyed a win over the Big Blue, beating them 4-1. Junior captain Etan Farfel won his match 6-1, 6-1 to continue his fine form of tennis.
Another name to keep an eye on is TJ Kelly. The sophomore had a back-and-forth match against Swampscott in which he prevailed 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. The future is bright in Marblehead, especially if Kelly can continue to show his experience in tight matches.
The postseason is just around the corner – as in, just weeks away. Let’s see what Marblehead can do.
Talk then.