THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 23, 2022 Page 15 Malden High swim has strong season opener, topping Bishop Fenwick, 84-77 Relay teams, Captain Nathan Nguyen lead the way in great start for Golden Tornados By Steve Freker M alden High coed swim team Head Coach Jess Bisson was not exactly sure what she had in the preseason practices, with so many new swimmers on the roster this winter season. But the rookies mixed in just fine with the more experienced Malden swimmers in the season opener last Thursday, Dec. 15 as the Tornados took an 84-77 win at the Barry Fitzpatrick Pool at Malden High. The win put Malden at 1-0 to start the season. The Tornados team was back in action Tuesday on the road at Medford in its Greater Boston League (GBL) opener. “It was a very good start to the season with a win over a strong non-league team like Bishop Fenwick,” Coach Bisson said. “We got some solid performances with some of our swimmers already qualifying for Sectionals and one swimmer qualifying for States with their times.” Malden got off to a big start by winning the 200-yard medley relay with senior co-captain Nathan Nguyen, seniors Nimon Jusufi and Kyle Lee and sophomore David Xu coming in at 1:56.15. The team of Jocelyn Nguyen, Hailey Tran, Sophie Tran and Wara Ramirez Morales took third place (2:04.51), and the team of Christina Mui, Danielle Harrington, Tiffany Pham and Justina Lim was fourth at 2:45.02. Malden had a solid showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay Malden Mayor Gary Christenson attended the first Malden High coed varsity swim meet on Thursday, Dec. 15. Above he is shown with swimmers (not in order) Wara Ramirez Morales, Sophie Tran, Hailey Tran and Joslyn Nguyen. (Courtesy/Malden High Athletics) (1-2 and 4th) and in the 100yard freestyle (1-2-3 sweep) to extend their lead and eventually help carry the day. Sophomore Karim Ammar led the way in the sweep of the 100 free with a time of 1:04.86. Lee was second at 1:05.16. Pham was third at 1:06.7. In the 200 freestyle relay, Malden won that event as well, which put the Tornados over the top. The home team also took second and fourth places. Nathan Nguyen, Nimon Jusufi, Kyle Lee – all seniors – and sophomore David Xu combined for the winning time of 1:52.72. Taking second was the four of sophomore Hailey Tran, freshman Danielle Harrington, sophomore James Zhou and sophomore Jocelyn Nguyen. Fourthplace finishers were Malden’s Stephanie Wong, a sophomore, senior Leo Chen, junior Justina Lim and sophomore Lanyu Liang. Co-captain Nathan Nguyen came up big for Malden with a win in 50-yard freestyle at 25.42 seconds. Kyle Lee was third (27.68 seconds) and Joao Victor Santos fourth (30.22 seconds). Jusufi won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:17.04. Hailey Tran was third at 1:18.37 and the seventh-grader Sophie Tran fourth (1:19.78). Another key reason Malden was able to pull out the overall meet win was that the Tornados THUMBS UP! Senior Allen Xaio was all smiles after finishing third in the 100 backstroke, his first-ever event in his first year on the team. (Courtesy/Malden High Athletics) filled in either two or three other places in the events they did not win. Malden took 3-4-5 in the 200-yard freestyle. Kyle Ammar was third (2:30.79), Joyce Zhou was fourth (2:49:10) and Ryan Li was fifth (3:01.17). Bishop Fenwick won the 200yard medley, but Malden took 2-3-4; Hailey Tran was second at 2:28.43, David Xu was third at 2:35.55 and Jusufi was fourth (2:55.59). Malden also went 2-3-5 in the 100-yard backstroke. Nathan Nguyen was second at 1:08.63. Senior Allen Xaio, swimming in his first-ever event as a first-year swimmer for Malden, finished third at 1:22.19, and Ryan Li was fourth at 1:39.21. The Tornados went 2-4-5 in the 100-yard butterfly. Malden seventh-grader Sophie Tran placed second, qualifying for the 2023 MIAA State Swim Tournament with a 1:05.49 finish. David Xu was fourth at 1:08.03 and seMalden High School Swim Team Head Coach Jess Bisson was greeted by Mayor Gary Christenson at the season and home opener meet at the Barry Fitzpatrick Pool at MHS. (Courtesy/Malden High Athletics) nior Liam Bloom fifth at 1:08.73. Malden went 3-4-5 in the 500 freestyle. Joslyn Nguyen was third (6:41.28), Bloom fourth (6:53.96) and co-captain Wara Ramirez Morales fifth (7:16.42). The Tornados were second in the final event, the 400-yard medley relay. Bloom, Santos, Ammar and Sophie Tran finished at 4:28.69. Crimson Tide Co-Op hockey begins new season with positive results Talented Everett turns heads after competitive battle against perennial postseason contender Medford By Joe McConnell I n recent years, the Medford High School Hockey Mustangs have been a dominant team in the Greater Boston League. But only two games into this season, the Everett Crimson Tide co-op squad (1-1) is quickly sending a message to its opponents that they are not going to be taken lightly anymore. After defeating the Lynn Jets 8-1 to open up the season, Everett literally put a scare in the host Mustangs last Wednesday (Dec. 14) at the LoConte Rink, where they led after two periods, 4-3. At that point, Medford knew work had to be done to come away with two points. After scoring a couple of third-period power play goals, followed by one into the empty net, the Mustangs managed to escape with a 7-4 victory. Considering they blew away the Tide last year – also right before Christmas – to the tune of 11-1, the Medford boys now understand they will have to pay attention to Everett in the standings throughout the next three months. First-year Everett head coach Craig Richards already knew what he had on the roster before the Medford game, but his club only reinforced his belief in them after last week’s game in Medford. “We’re still firing on all cylinders, even after this loss,” Richards said. “We have a deep, hardworking team that has a lot of talent this year, and we’re definitely on par with Medford after I was able to see a lot of positives that came out of this game.” Mystic Valley’s Mike Brandano of Malden paced the offensive attack against Medford with two goals. Revere’s Frankie Annunziata and Mystic Valley’s Lucas Deguire accounted for one apiece. Revere’s Chris Cecca was the assist leader in this game with two. His schoolmate Matt Lacroix and Everett’s Cam Couto each setup one lamplighter. Goalie Ben Rosa of Malden was in net versus Medford. But he also had help from his defensive friends, specifically Everett sophomore Andrew Crasco, who was one of the players of the game, according to the coach. “(Crasco) blocked six or seven shots in this game to help keep his teammates ahead or close on the scoreboard,” said Richards. The Everett boys are currently on holiday break after taking on Lynn again in the home opener on Dec. 21 after press deadline. They will resume the schedule against host Somerville on Jan. 4, starting at 5:30 p.m. Malden High sophomore David Xu (left) and senior Kyle Lee talk between events at the swim meet. (Courtesy/Malden High Athletics)
16 Publizr Home