Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, March 10, 2023 Mystic Valley Boys Swim Team finishes 3rd at State Championship By Emily Brennan M ystic Valley Regional Charter School’s boys’ swim team fi nished in third place at the MIAA Boys’ Swimming and Diving State Championship meet held on February 17 at MIT. The team score of 176 points was the largest point total ever achieved by an Eagles’ swim team, outscored only by Wayland and Weston, the former the eventual meet champion. Seniors Armando Indresano, Jeremy Cheng and Aiden Acuna-Rosa all made podium appearances in multiple events. The three captains have registered more top three fi nishes at States than any group in Mystic Valley history. In the opening event, the 200 Medley Relay, Acuna-Rosa, freshman Thomas Sodeyama-Cardoso, Cheng and Indresano set the stage for the day. The team swam to a second-place fi nish with a time of 1:39.83, matching the best fi nish for this event in Mystic Valley history and coming within a second of the school record. Getting out of the water and swimming in the very next event, the 200 Freestyle, Acuna-Rosa led most of the way but was touched out at the end by fi ve-tenths of a second, finishing in third place. In his school record-breaking eff ort, ond place, behind Weston and just ahead of Wayland. After the break, Cheng scored 15 points and placed fourth in the 100 Butterfl y with a time of 51.79. Sodeyama-Cardoso finished 26th at 58.03 seconds. Indresano followed in the next event, the 100 Freestyle, fi nishing in eighth place at 49.85. In the last individual event of Eagle Boys swimmers, from left: Jeremy Cheng, Jason Yan, Aiden Acuna Rosa and Armando Indresano. he dropped three seconds from his fastest time ever, fi nishing at a 1:43.89. Freshman Jaden Anthony, one of two freshmen in the state to score in the event, finished sixteenth at 1:53.82, also a personal best. In the 200 Individual Medley (IM), one of the most grueling events, where each swimmer swims eight lengths of the pool (two of each stroke: butterfl y, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle), junior Jason Yan finished 10th at 2:04.71. Sodeyama-Cardoso placed 15th at 2:09.10. The 50 Freestyle was the next event up and Armando Indresano, one of the most accomplished sprinters in Mystic Valley team history, scored six points. Indresano completed the race in 11th place with a time of 22.74. At the halfway point of the meet, Mystic Valley was in sechis high school career, the 500 Freestyle, Acuna-Rosa swam neck and neck with Longmeadow’s Evan Lyons for 20 laps of the pool, ultimately being touched out by eight-tenths of a second and taking home a silver medal. Acuna-Rosa dropped an amazing fi ve seconds from previous lifetime best and set the school record once again. Anthony fi nished a respectable 20th with a time of 5:17.43. The 200 Freestyle Relay followed, and the young team of Yan, Dylan Phan (freshman), Anthony and Christian Antonucci (freshman) placed 11th, scoring a valuable 12 points. Mystic Valley’s young qualifi ers outperformed expectations the entire day, which bodes well for the future. Cheng, one of Mystic’s most accomplished swimmers ever, fi nished his individual career – bringing home the bronze medal in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 54.76. Yan also scored in the event, fi nishing in 12th place in a time of 57.42. In the fi nal event of the day, Mystic Valley’s senior team of Acuna-Rosa, Cheng and Indresano, along with Yan, did not disappoint. They fi nished in second place with a new Mystic Valley record time of 3:18.0, averaging 49.5 seconds per 100yard yard leg of the event. Few teams in this area have ever accomplished such a feat. Acuna-Rosa, fi nishing a spectacular day, led off the relay and set a new Mystic Valley record in the 100 Freestyle at 48.06, breaking teammate Armando Indresano’s record of 48.67, which was set at States last year. Head Coach Andrew DiGiacomo – recently named Boys’ North Coach of the Year by the Eastern Massachusetts Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association – heaped praise on his accomplished team: “It is hard to believe the season is over and this crop of outstanding seniors, who set a new standard for Mystic Valley by finishing third at States two years in a row, will be graduating. Aiden Acuna-Rosa had one of the best days ever by a Mystic Valley Swimmer, setting three new individual Mystic Valley records and fi nishing second three times and third once, including leading off on the record setting 400 Freestyle Relay. This group will be an inspiration for all future Mystic Valley teams.” Singling out the stars after another competitive hoop season Everett, Malden, Revere boys basketball players make their mark in the GBL By Joe McConnell A s the high school state tournament boys basketball brackets shrink to a precious few teams, who are now getting ready for their Elite 8 games, or the Round of 8, as the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) calls them, respective leagues have been announcing their all-star teams, as well as individual awards to their most outstanding individual players and coaches. The Greater Boston League (GBL) is no exception. Crimson Tide trio earns star status Senior guards Steven Cordero, Kevin Ruiz and David DeSouza completed their scholastic hoop careers on this always prestigious squad. Coach Stanley Chamblain could always count on Cordero to consistently be one of the team’s leading scorers, while Ruiz and DeSouza also did their part to spark the off ense at crucial times during the season. As a team, they were 9-5 in the GBL, and 10-10 overall to qualify for the Division 1 state tournament, where they lost to Attleboro in a preliminary round game, 67-55. Patriots fi nish season strong with two allstars in the lead Revere coach Dave Leary’s team also ended up 10-10 overall after a late regular-season surge. They carried that momentum over to the Division 2 state tournament, where they upset Plymouth South, the 27th seed, 55-50, before bowing out to Nashoba Regional, the sixth seed, in a Round of 32 game, 71-40. Off the court, the Basketball Patriots were honored with two league all-stars: senior forward Domenic Boudreau and senior guard Alejandro Hincapie. Golden Tornadoes complete winning season with two all-stars Malden veteran boys basketball coach Don Nally had a good year in the GBL, and it also helped that he had two senior all-stars leading the way. They are center Jonald Joseph and guard Justin Bell. The Golden Tornadoes through the eff orts of these two players ended up with a 12-8 regular-season record. They then lost a close game to host Lowell, the 20th seed, in the Division 1 preliminary round game. GBL all-star roundup Here’s the 2022-23 GBL girls all-star roster: senior guard Tyrese Melo Garcia, senior center Joshua St. Jean, senior forward Nelson Obarisiagbon and sophomore guard Warren Keel of Lynn English; senior guard Sam Orcutt, sophomore guard Justin Marino and senior guard Anthony Teixeira-Kugler of Medford; freshman guard Marvin Avery, Jr. and junior guard Almina Gerado of Lynn Classical; senior guard Franco DiFusco and senior forward Jared Antonelli of Somerville; and junior guard Brauli Quezada Timeo of Chelsea. Lynn English won the league title, and they also had the league MVP. The aforementioned Keel is already turning heads as a sophomore star. Lynn English’s Alvin Abrue was the GBL Coach of the Year. Lynn Classical secured the sportsmanship award.
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