Sports Update

EPHS Girls Indoor Track; Division Champions:

The Townie Indoor Track & Field squat won the Eastern Division Championship on January 28th with a stunning performance outdistancing the closest competitor by 15 points. East Providence scored 73 points compared to Prout 58, Wheeler57, and Hope 56. "I knew it was going to be close and any one of those top tier teams could've won. It came down to the 1000m and Lily Palumbo and Taylor Heck ran a tough race and were able to hold off a crew of talented Prout High runners," said Head Coach Michael Almeida. The Townies won the division for the first time since 2010. "We have a young team comprised of mostly sophomores and freshmen. We recently found some success during the regular season finishing 8-1 and now entering the championship meets and winning the division," said first year coach Almeida. While Almeida coaches other sports, this was his first time coaching high school girls. "I am so proud of my girls right now. We had so many standout performances," said Almeida.
As for the Division tourney, Palumbo placed 2nd and Heck 6th in the 1000m. Palumbo, Christy Long, Krystal Pizzi, and Taylor Heck won the 4x800m relay and currently are ranked top 6 in the state. Palumbo also placed 2nd in the 3000m. Long placed 2nd in the 600m. Haley Teodoro won the high jump, Kylie Bahry placed 4th and Riley Farnsworth 6th. Hasna Badji placed 2nd in the 55m hurdles. 4x200m placed 3rd ( Jade Braxton, Hailey Placido, Alyssa DeOliveira, and Hasna Badji). 4x400m relay placed 3rd ( Placido, Badji, Bahry, and Megan Enes). Dorian Woods placed 5th in the shot put. Placido also got her best long jump of the year placing 6th.

"Next we are preparing for freshman states and the Class A meet. While we won't be favored to win the state championship this year, we will show up and work hard. We are growing and will continue to be contenders going forward," said Almeida. "I wanted to establish a culture and getting everyone on board to share our common goals of improving our personal records every meet and trying to become State Champions," he added.

Earlier in the month, EP defeated Central Falls High 73-34 and Hope High 78-25. The Townies finished 8-1 to close out the regular season. First place finishers were Briana McCarthy in the 3000m, Christy Long in the 1500m, Hasna Badji in the 55m hurdles and 300m, Hailey Placido in the 55m dash, Mary-Ellen Pinson, Placido,Badji, and Megan Enes in the 4x200m relay, and Kasey Playe,Placido,Badji, and Enes in the 4x400m relay. Updates at ReporterToday.com.

EPHS Boys Basketball:

East Providence High Boys Basketball team dealt St. Ray's Academy their first loss in Division One Friday night, January 28th in an exciting 59-52 game before a sold-out Townie gymnasium. "I think we may have turned away about 50 people whom we couldn't seat," said EP Athletic Director Gregg Amore. The Townies struggled early falling behind by 13 early while Coach Joe Andrade used three time outs very early to try to slow the pace and settle St Rays down. "Looks like it worked as we cut the lead to 7 points at the half," said Andrade. The Townies ended up outscoring the Saints in the 2nd half 37-23.

For the Townies January was a good month as they had wins over Central, Classical, Cranston East and Hope twice, culminated by knocking off Number One St. Ray's. The game against the Saints was close through the first period but then St. Ray's opened up a comfortable 13 point lead shortly before halftime. However East Providence clawed back with a Dion Hazard three point shot and after another three pointer by Deyshawn Tengbeh with seconds left in the first half.

After a game in which it seemed like the Saints might pull away and remain undefeated, East Providence never gave up. "We didn't panic and the kids kept charging the boards," said Townie head coach Joe Andrade. "I'm very proud of these guys. Deyshawn Tengbeh led the team with 25 points and 20 of those came in the 2nd half with also a huge fast break dunk in the 2nd half. Dion Hazard's 14 points and he directed the Townie offense all night as Dion played all 32 minutes," added Andrade. Senior Kyerstan casey only had 5 points with the Saints focusing a lot of attention towards him. However when we needed a three with our the score 49-47, Casey hit a three-pointer extended the lead to 5 points."

At times the Townies looked like a track team as they crashed the boards outrebounding the Saints and scoring from the foul line at key points toward the end of the game. With under 7 minutes left to play, the Saints tied the game but Dion Hazard (19 points) and Deyshawn Tengbeh (25 points) led a furious Townie effort to eventually beat the Saints by 7 points. Trevante Jones was high scorer for the Saints with 19 points. Other Townies chipped in with Juston Williams, Kyerstan Casey, Ben Sears, Anuoluwapo Ogunronbi and Quinton Osbourne all scoring and contributing on defense.

The Townies January winning streak came to end in late January in a 66-62 loss to Smithfield. Brian Goodman led Smithfield with a career night 32 points including 7 threes. The Townies played well just could never take the lead and had no answer for Goodman. East Providence was led by Dion Hazard's 16 points.

Earlier the Townies won their 7th league game against a determined Woonsocket team. Woonsocket recently played a tough Hendricken team but lost to EP in a 65-58 game. The Townies were in control of the game from the tip off led by Deyshawn Tengbeh's 22 points including 4 three pointers.

The Townies had improved their Division 1 record to 6-2 with a 66-54 win over Cranston East. The Townies built a 31-26 lead at halftimeand were able to build a lead in the second half up to 16 but the Thunderbolts worked hard to cut it to 6 late in the 2nd half. "We were able to hold off the constant man pressure of the Thunderbolts all game and ended up with an impressive 66-54 win, I thought," said Head Coach Joe Andrade. "Our kids were balanced with scoring with
Sophomore Dion Hazards 18 points, Senior Kyerstan Casey 17, and Junior Deyshawn Tengbeh 16," said the coach.

The Townies were a hot team in January as they won 5 straight after beating Hope High 67-54. "We started league play at 0-2 but now have hit a mini hot streak and have won 5 straight," said coach Andrade. "We seemed to be in control all night and built a 36-24 lead at half time. Hope did cut the lead to 5 in the 2nd half but the we played strong led by Deyshawn Tengbehs 21 points and 6 steals. Sophomore Clinton Ogunronbi had 3 points but was strong on the glass with 11 rebounds. Junior guards Andre Gordon and Juston Williams also were major contributors with a combined 15 points off the bench. Dion Hazard continues to play solid at the point guard with 11 points 6 assists and 3 steals," added coach Andrade.

EPHS Girls Basketball:

The 9-2 basketball team finished off a grueling 3 game week in late January with wins over visiting Pilgrim (56-34), and a very tough Mount Saint Charles team (55-45). Junior Shaniah Hazard led the Townie charge both evenings with a 20 point effort on both nights. Senior Amber Drainville is beginning to assert herself underneath finishing off the MSC game with 13 points, while the team played some grind it our defense in the second half and overcoming a one point deficit at the break. The Townies traveled to Central to take on a very scrappy and aggressive Knights squad, and picked up a nice road win 53-32. "We were paced by Courtney Dorr who finished with 18 points, while sophomore Emma DaSilva finished with a career best 14 points," said Head coach Mike Solitro.

The Townies recorded their highest offensive output of the year in a game filled with big shots and big plays from multiple players as EP beat West Warwick 62- 44. "The offense was exciting to watch but the team was very impressive on the defensive side of the floor, limiting the high scoring Wizards to 44 points (15 in the first half)," said coach Solitro. "West Warwick is in the top 5 in scoring in the league, with one of the best three point shooting guards in the state. We combined hard physical play and smart defensive decisions to hold Young to 16 points (3 in the first half). The team was paced by a monster career night from Lillian Conti who finished with 21 points and 6 steals, all while sparking the defense. Senior Forward Amber Drainville played her best game to-date controlling the Wizards inside game, while chipping in 12 points on the other side of the floor. Junior Courtney Dorr fought off a box & 1 defense for most of the first half finishing with 13 points to the Townie cause. Overall, this was the best team effort of the season, and the team will have to continue to build momentum," added Solitro in post game comments.

The Lady Townies also had January wins over Narragansett, 50-34; Middletown, 60-54 and over Exeter West Greenwich, 57-38.

St. Mary's Bay View Basketball:

Bay View has a 7-4 record in Division One Central with wins over Cranston East, Cranston West, Smithfield, LaSalle, Cumberland, St. Ray's and Portsmouth. The Bengals have losses against Barrington (twice) and Moses Brown (twice).

EPHS Boys Indoor Track:

The boys indoor track & field teamed closed out the dual meet portion of their season by splitting their last two dual meets. The Townies soundly defeated Wheeler and were beaten by LaSalle Academy. The most recent results left the Townies at 4 wins and 4 losses on the season in the state's toughest division the Metropolitan Division and more importantly kept alive the team's long streak of non losing seasons. The following Townies recorded first place finishes against Wheeler; Exondus Barnes in the long jump and high jump, Josh Silveira in the 55 meter high hurdles, Colby Amaral in the 600 meter, Emmanuel Santiago in the 300 meter and 55 meter dash, Jon LaBrecque in the shot put, Tyler Coelho in the weight throw, Troy Deandrade in the 1500 meter, Elliott Charron in the 3000 meter, the 4x400 meter relay team consisting of Colby Amaral, Evan Schwab, Aaron Parsons, and Evan Berger, the 4x200 meter relay team consisting of Colby Amaral, Aaron Parsons, Zach Fanara, and Josh Silveira. The Townies start the championship portion of their season when they compete in the Metropolitan Division Championship at press time. Results at ReporterToday.com. - Bob Lyons, Head Coach.

EPHS Wrestling:

East Providence High grapplers continue to have a strong season with a 5-3 team record as they prepare for the state championships. The Townies defeated Westerly High 64-14, Mount Hope 39-26, and North Providence 44-35. Ep hit a bump in the road when they suffered a lopsided 73-4 loss from 11-1 powerhouse Cumberland High. "We'll be ready for the state tournament, our guys are working hard every day to improve. We have lots of wrestling left," said veteran Head Coach Tom Galligan.

EP Youth Soccer Association Has Great Season During Fall Superliga and 1st Winter Indoor Season:

"The Non-Profit Volunteer Based East Providence Youth Soccer Association thanks its Volunteers for a very successful first year of operation. The East Providence Youth Soccer Association was founded in February 2016 and launched its competitive Dragons soccer program in the Fall of 2016. During its short existence the EPYSA has held a very well attended summer soccer camp, two youth soccer academies and won several championships and a regional title," said Bob DaSilva, President of the EPYSA.

“This non-profit organization would not be where it is today were it not for a very enthusiastic and dedicated group of volunteers. It is an honor and privilege to work with our coaches and board members to bring a great youth soccer experience to our community,” added DaSilva.

During the 2016 Fall Superliga competitive season the EPYSA Dragons fielded 12 travel teams. During that session four of the teams finished at the top of their divisions. They are:

• EPYSA Dragons U11 Boys coached by Victor Flor – Second Place 2016 Fall Superliga
• EPYSA Dragons U12 Boys coached by Pericles Vieira – First Place 2016 Fall Superliga
• EPYSA Dragons U14 Boys coached by Joe Moniz – First Place 2016 Fall Superliga
• EPYSA Dragons U15 Boys coached by Manny Cabral – Second Place 2016 Fall Superliga
• EPYSA Dragons U12 Boys coached by Pericles Vieira represented Rhode Island at the 2016 New England Invitational Tournament. The tournament pits the 1st place teams from the highest U12 divisions in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island. The EPYSA Dragons won the tournament and brought the first place title to Rhode Island.

The following teams finished first or second in their first winter session competitions:

• EPYSA Dragons U8 Girls coached by Joe Capelo – First Place at Sherwood Ultra Sports
• EPYSA Dragons U8 Boys coached by Helder Lopes – Second Place at Sherwood Ultra Sports
• EPYSA Dragons U10 Boys coached by Timothy Calouro – First Place at Teamworks
• EPYSA Dragons U11 Boys coached by Victor Flor – Second Place at WWIS – North Kingstown
• EPYSA Dragons U12 Girls coached by Manny Cabral- Second place at Sherwood Ultra Sports
• EPYSA Dragons U12 Boys coached by Pericles Vieira – First Place at WWIS – North Smithfield
• EPYSA Dragons U12 Boys coached by Bob DaSilva – First Place at WWIS – North Kingstown
• EPYSA Dragons U19 Boys coached by Jeremy Spurr - Second Place at Forekicks - Taunton

"We look forward to continued success. If you would like to learn more or volunteer visit our page at www.epyouthsoccer.org or like us on Facebook," continued President DaSilva.

Middle School Standings:
Martin Boys Basketball: 6-5
Martin Girls Basketball: 1-9
Riverside Boys Basketball: 4-7
Riverside Girls Basketball: 4-7
Martin Wrestling: 8-3
Riverside Wrestling: 4-4
Bay View Girls Basketball: 6-6