THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, JunE 26, 2026 Page 13 MIAA moves one step closer to a Football ‘Super Eight’ Tournament Tournament Management Committee narrowly approved proposal; final vote by Board of Directors in August Special to the Advocate T he proposal for an MIAA football “Super Eight” took a major step toward fruition this past week. A proposal with the inclusion of a Div. 1A tournament had been agreed upon at the football subcommittee meeting in May. This meant that the next step was for the Tournament Management Committee to approve the proposal, and that step was narrowly cleared during the TMC’s virtual meeting last Thursday. The delegates approved the proposal 10-9 to send it to the Board of Directors meeting in August. If the proposal is approved at that meeting, it will be fully implemented for the fall 2027 season. The “Super Eight” tournament Tyrese Baptiste runs for a touchdown for Everett over Masconomet. (Advocate File Photo) is a major item within the proposal and would include the top eight programs via power rankings that are playing at the Div. 1 and Div. 2 levels. Teams that are Div. 3 and lower would be ineligible for the Div. 1A tournament. The proposal also would cut the playoff field down from 16 to eight across all divisions, balance the divisions and have each have at least 30 teams in the field as well as eliminate the minimum win requirement (three) that is needed to qualify for the postseason. At Thursday’s meeting, the TMC did discuss two amendments to the proposal. One would allow for three separate special tournaments (Div. 1A, Div. 3A and Div. 5A) that would have accompanied shrinking the divisions from eight to six and give all programs a chance to qualify for a “Super Eight” tournament at their school size. This motion did not pass, with three voting yes and 16 voting no. The other amendment would have eliminated the Div. 1 and Div. 2 only rule and instead opened up Div. 1A inclusion to all eight divisions with no opt-out option. This amendment did not pass either, with seven members voting yes and 13 voting no. The main reason for both amendments not passing were several committee members voicing concern over not having spoken to their districts about these concepts. Previously, the TMC and Board of Directors approved the revival of the Super Eight 1A Tournament in Baseball and is near the finish line for the same in Boys Hockey and Girls Hockey. Girls Hockey would be the first Super Eight 1A Tournament for Girls Sports. GBL honors EHS Spring sports athletes with all-star selections across all sports A By Joe McConnell s another high school sports year winds down, the Everett High School athletic department celebrated a whole host of spring all-stars across all sports who stood out with their peers on their respective Greater Boston League (GBL) elite squads. Leading the way among the spring athletes was Kayshaun Eveillard, who was chosen GBL MVP in boys track. Teammate Kervens Joseph was also an all-star, along with Lucas Nunez. During the State Division 2 Meet at Merrimack College in North Andover recently, Eveillard was in the spotlight, when he finished second in the 200 on the first day of competition. He eclipsed his previous best school record by a wide margin going from 22.64 to 22.04. Joseph also finished in the Top 10 in this event, coming in eighth overall. As a result, they are first and second in the EHS record book among 200-meter runners. But just two days later on May 31, Eveillard (49.38) did even better, winning his first state title after exploding past the competition in the 400. He then teamed up with Sandesh Pun, Joseph and Saymon Silva (44.24) in the 4x100 relay to end up seventh in the state. Junior captain Graziella Foster turned in an all-star season on the girls spring track squad as a shot-putter. On the baseball diamond, two of Everett’s young stars – sophomore M.J. Guida and junior Tyler Freni – ascended to star status in the GBL. Coach Malik Love also mentioned that the team had four freshmen – Luke Wood, Nick Young, Luis Quintanilla and Christian Bruno – play in the second annual Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association (MBCA) freshman game earlier this month, while Guida participated in the eighth annual sophomore classic. “All of these kids were deserving of this (all-star) opportunity,” said Love. “We were a really young team, and so hopefully we can take that next step next year (to get to the postseason).” Coach Stacy Schiavo’s softball team is represented by Olivia Dresser and Arianna Orsorio-Bonilla on this year’s GBL allstar team. Henry Chen is Everett’s E v erett High Scho ol sophomore baseball player M.J. Guida made this year’s GBL all-star team, along with junior Tyler Freni. (Courtesy photo) all-star selection in boys tennis. Nicole Damaceno and Amanda Verteiro are the Tide’s all-star girls lacrosse picks. Luna Sepulveda and Abby Falkowski are the girls tennis all-stars. Sepulveda was one of four seniors, who led the varsity through a rebuilding year to help secure four wins. Coach Courtney Meninger said that her seniors Amelia McNally, Morgan Watkins, Ashley Pineda and Sepulveda provided “leadership, dedication and a positive attitude to help shape this team and will truly be missed both on and off the court.” Everett High School junior baseball player Tyler Freni, shown with his dad Marc as an eighth grader on the JV team in 2023, was selected to this year’s GBL all-star squad, along with sophomore M.J. Guida. (Courtesy photo) Senior Matheus Teixeira Fernandes was only on the boys volleyball team the last two years, but through hard work he made the all-star team this spring, representing his Everett teammates. “We had eight seniors on this year’s boys volleyball team,” said coach Mike Fineran, “and Matheus Teixeira Fernandes was one of them. He led the team with 165 kills and 29 aces this season, while finishing up with 304 career serves.” Senior EHS boys spring track stars Kervens Joseph and Kayshaun Eveillard, from left, show off their medals after the Division 2 state meet at Merrimack College in North Andover late last month. Eveillard was the team’s lone state champ from that meet after breezing to victory in the 400. He also finished second in the 200 to pick up another medal, while Joseph was eighth to secure his medal. They have since made the GBL all-star team, along with Lucas Nunez. But Eveillard did his peers one better with League MVP honors. The Everett dynamic duo is also the top two leading 200-meter runners in school history. (Courtesy photo)
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