BOW – The gym was full and loud at all the right moments. The spirit team was cheering, and both varsity basketball coaches watched intently. It was exactly what the Bow wrestling team wanted out of Wednesday’s Wrestling Whiteout, a three-team home meet the Falcons have been promoting for weeks.
“The event itself was awesome,” said Brock Hoffman, now in his fifth year as Bow’s head coach. “There was lots of energy. The Bow crowd really came through and made it a great night. That was the biggest crowd we’ve ever had at a Bow wrestling meet.”
The Falcons finished as the Division III runner-up last year and they’ve carried that momentum into this season. Things kept rolling on Wednesday as Bow earned a pair of wins, 54-30 over White Mountains and 48-24 against Pelham, much to the delight of the white-clad crowd.
“The program had been limping along for six or seven years, and now we’re finally competitive,” Hoffman said. “We want to feed off that.”
Senior Zack Anderson, junior Alec Schultz and sophomore Wyatt Reinhardt were feasting on Wednesday as all three claimed a pair of first-period pins.
“Those three are really starting to put things together,” Hoffman said.
White Mountains took an early 12-6 lead before Anderson (126 pounds) took the mat, pinned his opponent in 27 seconds and started a run of four straight first-period pins and seven wins overall that gave Bow a 48-18 team lead.
With the crowd still buzzing from Anderson’s quick work, Schultz kept it loud when he pinned his 132-pound opponent in 37 seconds.
Bow’s Anthony Diphilippo (138) looked spurred on by the gym’s energy as he aggressively attacked Thomas Paquin in the next match. Paquin handled the initial onslaught and even created a moment of concern with a near reverse, but the hard-working Diphilippo pinned Paquin with 18 seconds left in the first period. Andrew Bliss started his 145-pound match by scooping and slamming Jayden Vashaw and ended it with a pin after 1:32.
“The kids all know this is a big night,” Hoffman said, “so everyone was psyched.”
From there, Bow got a win by forfeit from Ben Boufford (152), a second-period pin from Alex Boufford (160) and wins by forfeit from Daniel Scott (220) and William Zachistal (285).
In addition to the first-period pins from Anderson, Schultz and Reinhardt, Bow’s points against Pelham also came from wins by forfeit from Skylar Hattendorf (120), Diphilippo (138), Bliss (145) and Zachistal (285).
Boys’ Hockey
Concord 3, Bishop Guertin 1
Key players: Concord – Tyler Coskren (goal), Kyle McKinnon (goal), Alex Forward (goal), Matt Hauschild (assist), Ryan Philbrick (assist), Devin Philbrick (assist), Derek Kelleher (assist), Parker Taylor (17 saves)
Highlights: The Crimson Tide took a 1-0 lead on Coskren’s goal late in the first period, but BG tied things up just 15 seconds later. McKinnon’s second-period power play goal proved to be the game-winner.
Coach’s quote: “We played well 5-on-5 and we played with more intensity tonight. It was a good win. The kids played hard.” – Concord’s Duncan Walsh
Records: Concord 8-1-0; Bishop Guertin 5-3-0
Kearsarge 50, Timberlane 17
Key players: Kearsarge – Meg Roy (11 points), Tori Andrewski (10 points), Livi Hernon (8 points);
Highlights: The Cougars didn’t waste any time in this one, using defensive pressure to build a 17-2 lead after the first quarter.
Coach’s quote: “Great team win with everyone providing a spark tonight. We have to keep this up and keep working hard every day. We moved the ball well tonight and made the extra pass for open shots, really good to see.” – Kearsarge’s Keith Roberts
Records: Kearsarge 3-5; Timberlane 0-8
Mascenic 62, Pittsfield 45
Key players: Pittsfield – Haylee Gilleney (18 points, 4 rebounds); Cora Lemay (11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals), Paige Provencal (7 points, 8 rebounds)
Highlights: Mascenic had the hot hand early and ran out to a 32-15 halftime lead. Pittsfield’s Lemay and Provencal scored all their points in the second half to help close the gap to 52-43 with four minutes left, but Mascenic took advantage of some late turnovers to earn the win.
Coach’s quote: “I was happy with how hard the girls worked tonight. They never gave up and we were able to score from the inside, which is something that we have had trouble with all season.” – Pittsfield’s Heidi Hall
Records: Mascenic 5-3; Pittsfield 2-9
Monadnock 58,
Hillsboro-Deering 27
Highlights: Monadnock bounced back from its first loss of the season in this game on Tuesday night, which extended H-D’s losing streak to seven straight.
Key players: Hillsboro-Deering – Morgan Racine (11 points), Erin Dean (8 points), Zoe Kemp (6 points)
Records: Hillsboro-Deering 1-10; Monadnock 8-1
Coe-Brown 75, Plymouth 51
Key players: Coe-Brown – Luke McCusker (30 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists), Dominic Cronshaw (13 points, 9 rebounds), Albert Lapiejko (10 points), Keegan Paradise (9 points), Spencer Murphy (6 points), Jacob Rich (4 points, 4 assists, defense), Cayden Donoghue (defense)
Highlights: After losing a pair of three-point games last week, the Bears needed a win in Plymouth, and McCusker made sure they got it. The 6-foot-2 senior forward scored inside and out on his way to the near triple double. David Smith, the often understated Coe-Brown coach, said of McCusker, “He had a pretty good night.”
Records: Coe-Brown 2-3; Plymouth 0-4
Concord 1-2
Key players: Concord – Lexi Quinn (2nd 500 free, 3rd 200 free); Rayya Burns (2nd 100 fly, 3rd 100 back); Abby O’Brien (3rd 100 free)
Highlights: The Crimson Tide had one win and two losses during this Tuesday night meet. Quinn, Burns and O’Brien teamed with Lauren Dusavitch to take first in the 400 free relay and second in the 200 free relay.
Coach’s quote: “The kids have made huge progress and they are seeing significant drops in their times as we approach the end of the season.” – Concord’s William Quinn
Boys’ swimming
Concord 2-1
Key players: Concord – Jay Blasko (1st 200 free, 1st 100 back); Jace Castellano (1st 100 free); Joshua Mueller (2nd 50 free, 2nd 500 free)
Highlights: On Tuesday, the Crimson Tide swam to a pair of wins and one loss. Blasko, Castellano and Mueller teamed with James LeMahieu to win the 400 free relay and finish second in the 200 free relay.
Coach’s quote: “A night of some really good swims. We had some real close finishes that went the other way.” – Concord’s William Quinn