The banner has been hung. All the hardware has been placed in the trophy cases. The celebrations of Tewksbury High's thrilling 2010-2011 Division 2 MIAA ice hockey state championship run are just memories now. It's time for coach Derek Doherty and his Redmen to get back to work. And with a roster full of young and inexperienced players, Doherty's job may not be an easy one this winter. "We're young," Doherty said. "This is probably as young and inexperienced a group as we've had in a while. We normally have at least 10 seniors on the roster. This year we have four." Filling the shoes (or …
No matter how you slice it, things just won't be the same around the Tewksbury High boys track team this winter. With 35-year coaching legend Steve Levine having retired last June, the highly successful TMHS track program can't help but have a different feel to it. It will be up to 2002 Tewksbury High graduate Bill Meuse to carry on the winning tradition that was established by Levine, and the first thing Muese has to do is find a bunch of runners to replace one of the most decorated graduating classes in recent memory. Guys like sprinters Anthony Arcari and Pat Bernardo and hurdlers Richard …
If you bump into Phil Conners down at the Tewksbury High gymnasium anytime soon, don't expect to meet a guy who paints rosie pictures or looks for silver linings. If nothing else, Conners, the new TMHS boys basketball coach, is a realist. And he knows he's got his work cut out for him if he's going to turn the Tewksbury High program into a winner this year. "We've got a long way to go and a lot of work to do," said Conners, who inherited a team that hasn't won a home game in over three seasons. "We're asking these guys to make an adjustment as far as the level of intensity that they'll have …
If Tewksbury High wrestling coach Brian Aylward has anything to worry about as his team prepares to open the 2011-2012 season Saturday at Greater Lawrence, it's the fact that the football season spilled over into the wrestling season this year. With half of his starting line-up having been wearing shoulder pads instead of singlets until this past Monday, Aylward has had precious little time to prepare his squad for Opening Day. But then again, with top wrestlers like Derek Tarpey, Dan Altavesta, Chris London and Mike Davidian still running high on adrenalin from a Super Bowl football season, …
With very little height but lots and lots of speed, the Tewksbury High girls basketball team figures to rely on an up-tempo style of play this winter. Junior forward Nicole Chaet, the team's leading scorer in 2010, leads a trio of returning starters who will be called upon to run and gun and keep things moving this winter if the team is going to be competitive in the rough and tumble Merrimack Valley Conference in 2011-2012. Chaet is the team's captain. Also returning are two sophomores who started as freshman last year, point guard Sara Semenza and center Chelsee Porcaro. Senior guard Sheri …
When football player Anthony Arcari and soccer player Pat Bernardo line up to run the 55-meter dash for the Tewksbury High boys track team this winter, a friendly rivalry could lead to big things. Arcari, who led the Redman football team in rushing and scoring this fall, is one of the top returning sprinters in the state this winter. Arcari owns the Tewksbury High record in the 55-meters, set last winter, and he was fourth in New England in the 100-meters in outdoor track last spring. Yet TMHS boys track coach Steve Levine isn't even 100 percent certain that Arcari will be the top sprinter in…
It would be easy to confuse the sign-up sheet for this winter's Tewksbury High girls indoor track team with another list. Like, maybe, last year's Merrimack Valley Conference all-star roster? With names like Tucker, Patriarca, Toland, Greene and Bridle adorning the list, Tewksbury High coach Peter Molloy is itching to put together the starting line-up for the team's first dual meet against Andover a week from Friday. "I think this is the biggest collection of state championship calibre talent that I've ever had," said Molloy, who is entering his 11th season as an MVC track coach. "And it's …
After the seasons senior Leanne Tucker had running middle distances last winter and spring, some might consider TewksburyHigh girls indoor track coach Peter Molloy a little crazy when he talks about having Tucker change races and run the mile this winter. But as usual, there's a method to Molloy's madness. "It would be easy to put (Tucker) back into the 600 or the 1000 and just sit back and watch her win a lot of races," Molloy said. "But one of the things that's going to be important to her college coach is her ability to run the mile. So we're going to prepare for the mile and focus on the…
