Sunday, August 26, 2012

Class of 2012 Looks To Continue Athletic Success In College ...

As Tewksbury High fall sports tryouts get underway later this week, many of last year?s standout athletes from the 2012 senior class are about to kick off yet another athletic season too.

Track superstar Jess Bridle is off to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania this fall after coming off one of the most successful track careers in TMHS history. Finishing with a Division 2 State Championship, multiple Merrimack Valley Championships and TMHS school records, Bridle will run track for the Bison at Bucknell.

A three-sport captain in volleyball and both winter and spring track, TMHS athletic director, Brian Hickey is confident Bridle?s success will continue at the collegiate level.

?She?s truly a special level of competitor,? Hickey said. ?Bucknell is a big time program. I know that Jess?s various times in her events are good numbers nationally and I know the Bucknell coaches are just thrilled to have her.?

Chris London?s wrestling career for the Redmen was surely another to go down in TMHS history. During his senior season he finished first at the Division 2 state meet, took third place at All-States where he ended a remarkable 42-match undefeated streak, and also advanced to New Englands.

This winter, London will bring his talent to Roger Williams University in Rhode Island to wrestle for the Hawks.

?Chris was a state champion for us in the wrestling and he was a great character kid,? said Hickey. ?He had a terrific season in wrestling and I remember speaking to the Roger Williams coach at one of the wrestling meets and I know he was all excited. He thought it was a good fit for Chris and I really think that too. It?s a beautiful campus, it?s a great school. They have the programs that are a good fit for him [academically] and they?re very competitive with wrestling as well.?

After a trip to the Division 2 Super Bowl this past fall, the Redmen football squad will see a few of its graduated seniors go on to continue their careers in college as well.

Quarterback Kevin Saunders is attending Division 2 Springfield College to play while Chris Bettano and Derek Tarpey are off to Anna Maria College and UMass Dartmouth, respectively.

?I think overall it was an excellent team effort,? Hickey said of this past season?s football team. ?I thought they did a good job in a very difficult league and had themselves a great year. They were good leaders for the school and general and specifically for the athletics.?

?Kevin?s going on to a real competitive environment in Springfield,? he added. ?We?ve had a lot of kids go to Springfield and be successful. ?

Sheri Liggiero was a standout three-sport athlete for the Redmen, playing field hockey, basketball and softball. She was an All-Star selection in softball her freshman year and then a three-time All-Conference selection. In field hockey she was an All-Star and a two-time All-Conference pick, and an All-Star in winter track one season as well.

She was a three-sport captain her senior year and is off to Newbury College where she plans to play softball and major in sports management.

Courtney Spinelli was a standout thrower in the javelin for the Redmen spring Track and Field team. A three-sport captain her senior year in fall and winter cheerleading and spring track, Spinelli is headed is to Worcester State to throw javelin for the track and field team.

?Courtney Spinelli is a great, hard worker in the track program,? said Hickey. ?Our state colleges are really wonderful schools.?

?I?m very happy to see those kids and many others go on,? Hickey added. ?It?s always been a great sense of pride for me. These kids [are] just great they represent themselves and their family and our town to the best of their ability. Kids really find places where they can go and be successful and competitive as well.?

In addition to these athletes, track and cross country standout Christina Dick is off to Rivier College this fall. Katie Doherty will continue her softball career at Salem State while Alex Bouthot will play soccer for UMass Lowell.

As these and many other TMHS student-athletes head off to college, Hickey said he was proud of what they have and will accomplish.

?They?ve all contributed to an overall success in the school here and we don?t necessarily measure the success by championships or going to Gillette Stadium or going to the Boston Garden, those things are really nice, but I think these kids all really epitomize that work ethic and that tradition and that spirit and that attitude that traditional Tewksbury kids have had. They?re just really solid kids that can be counted on in the hallways of the school to do the right things in the classrooms and in the community as well as on the fields.?

Source: http://tewksbury.patch.com/articles/class-of-2012-continues-athletic-success-at-collegiate-level

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