Dan Guttenplan
It's time to clean out the notebook after a half season of high school sports.
For as much as we associate the River Rival Region with running, it's interesting to note that our golf teams are perhaps the most successful on a Cape Ann League-wide level. The Triton golf team completed its second consecutive undefeated CAL schedule last week, pushing its league record to 12-0, which matches last year's record. But this year the Vikings did it without reigning Division 2 state champion Cam Kneeland, who now attends UMass-Lowell. Credit Triton coach Rich Dube for piecing together another league champ with perhaps less talent.
The Newburyport golf team clinched a CAL Division 2 title last week, improving to 8-3 in the league with a win over Rockport. The Clippers surprised many in the CAL a season after posting a 6-6 record in the league. They lost captain Richie Burke from that squad, but senior Tom Morris and junior Ben Tyler emerged as strong leaders. In the clinching win last Thursday, Tyler played while battling an illness because he wanted to play an active role in the title.
The Clippers could remain on top of the CAL for a while. Freshmen Cam Caldwell and Cooper Hines were key contributors along with sophomores Ben Gross and Jack Ronan. But the strength of the team is its junior class in Tyler, Ryan Cutter, Sam Jordan and Jeff Wile.
Not to short-change running fans, the River Rival Region will see two of its teams — Newburyport and Triton — face off tomorrow at Wilmington. The girls meet will feature a Newburyport (5-4) squad that has been successful with its pack mentality. Lindsay Cullen has consistently positioned herself at the front, and she will look to break up Triton's twin-sister 1-2 punch of Colleen and Erin Loughlin. The Vikings (6-3) have not suffered the drop-off many predicted they would after graduating Keely Maguire.
On the boys' side, Newburyport (6-3) enters as the favorite, but Triton (5-4) has done well with its own pack mentality. Running behind Triton's Brian Cosgrove is a herd of runners that could finish in any particular order including Andrew Buckless, Zack Peabody and TJ Howard. Newburyport will hope to place Brian Morse and Greg Englehart in the top two spots and clinch the win by splitting up the Triton herd.
In field hockey, Newburyport (8-2-3) clinched a tournament berth with a 3-1 win over Pentucket Friday afternoon. If the season ended today, Newburyport, led by its strong senior class, would be the lone state tournament representative in the River Rival Region. Surprisingly, Amesbury, Pentucket and Triton have combined for a record of 9-21-9.
On the soccer field, three of the River Rival boys teams have a pivotal stretch of upcoming games. Newburyport (5-5-1) has bounced back strongly from its one-win season last fall, but the Clippers must finish with a .500 or better record in their remaining six games to clinch a tourney berth. Pentucket (5-4-2) and Triton (4-3-4) have a little more breathing room, but it's safe to say all three teams must play their best soccer in the coming weeks.
The Newburyport girls soccer team (9-2-1) is encountering a minor slump, and while it's safe to say no one feels sorry for the defending state champs, the Clippers would like to gain momentum heading into the state tournament. The Clippers are 2-2-1 in their last five games, but losses to higher division teams like Masconomet and North Andover will be of no concern come Division 3 state tournament time.
We'll get to the football later in the week. I hope everyone enjoyed their Columbus Day.
Dan Guttenplan is the sports editor of The Daily News. E-mail him at dguttenplan@newburyportnews.com.
