High schools: Northampton’s Keller Mahoney strong again in final PVIAC alpine ski race 

Racers queue up to take the detachable lift to the top during an evening high school ski meet at Berkshire East Mountain Resort recently.

Racers queue up to take the detachable lift to the top during an evening high school ski meet at Berkshire East Mountain Resort recently. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

Staff Reports

Published: 02-08-2024 9:25 PM

The seventh and final race of the PVIAC alpine ski season took place at Berkshire East in Charlemont on Thursday night, with four Hampshire County teams in action once again.

After the original meet scheduled for Tuesday was postponed, Amherst, Hampshire, Northampton and PVCICS took to the slopes to compete in the slalom (boys) and giant slalom (girls) on a somewhat warm winter day with temperatures reaching near the 50s earlier in the afternoon.

Mohawk Trail’s Emmy Sisum won the girls’ race and Pope Francis’ Keegan Sears took first in the boys’ race.

The teams will compete in the annual PVIAC Individual Championship meet on Tuesday back at Berkshire East.

Here’s how each local team fared in meet No. 7:

Northampton

The Blue Devils boys, to no surprise, were led by Keller Mahoney’s fourth-place finish in a time of 44.13 seconds – finishing in the top 10 yet again for Northampton. Behind him was Henry Fallon (28th, 57.29) and Jonah Abel-Waisman (30th, 58.06)

On the girls’ side, Camilla Hatch (21st, 33.99) and Simone Pagar (22nd, 34.16) cracked the top 25 for Northampton, with teammate Crystal Eichwald-Hoopes (27th, 35.62) not too far behind.

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PVCICS

Sarah Fardal impressed for the Dragons’ girls team, crossing the line eighth (31.31) to pace PVCICS. Alexandra Hyrne (37.53) was the next closest finisher for PVCICS in 41st place.

The Scott brothers were out in front on the boys’ side, with Teddy Scott (11th place) finishing in 48.29 and James Scott (14th) crossing the line with a time of 50.71. Clayton English (19th, 53.93) also earned a top-25 finish.

Hampshire

A strong fourth-place outing from Ella Cleary (30.59) saw her lead the way for the Raiders, and teammate Hazel Scully-Henry (31.28) finished less than a second later to grab seventh place.

Dana Warren took 18th for the Raiders, crossing in 33.10 seconds.

Billy Warren and Jon Dunn continued their fantastic seasons on the slopes, as they finished in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Warren’s time of 45.73 edged out Dunn’s (45.80) by seven hundredths of a second.

Brandon Couture (20th, 54.27) and Chad Hockenberry (23rd, 56.17) rounded out the top 25 for Hampshire.

Amherst 

Anne Haugsjaahabink (29th, 35.80) and Maya Phillips (33rd, 36.44) were the top two Hurricane finishers on the girls’ side on Thursday.

For the boys, Alex Cain grabbed 29th place with a time of 57.81 to pace Amherst. Wes Dunford (31st) was close behind, finishing in 58.56.

Girls basketball

Northampton 54, West Springfield 31 – Bri Heafey hit four 3-pointers in the first half alone and finished with a team-high 19 points as the Blue Devils rolled to their 13th victory of the season on Thursday.

Ava Azzaro notched 16 points for Northampton (13-3), and Liv Joensen added eight. The Devils host Wahconah on Monday night.

Easthampton 55, Lenox 49 – The Eagles were able to do what no other team has done all season – win a game in Lenox.

The Franklin County League North champion Millionaires had their unbeaten run at home snapped on Thursday night.

Easthampton rallied from a 30-21 halftime deficit. The Eagles trailed 42-41 after three quarters, but outscored Lenox by a 14-7 margin in the final eight minutes.

Samone Young scored eight of her 12 points in the final quarter, including a 3-pointer. Christine Raymond notched a game-high 17 points for the Eagles, and Kayley Downie added 12 points

Easthampton improved to 13-4 with the victory over the No. 2 team in the most recent MIAA Division 5 power rankings. The club will close out its regular season with independent road games at West Springfield and Westfield.

Hoosac Valley 61, Amherst 25 – Francesca Sloan hit a 3-pointer and scored a team-high seven points for Amherst in Thursday’s loss.

Zola Higham added six points for the ’Canes.

Lee 51, Granby 48 – A wild Rams comeback attempt fell just short, as Granby rallied from a 13-2 deficit after one quarter and a 23-10 halftime hole.

Three Granby players scored in double figures, paced by Aubrey Parent’s 14 points. Kalli White scored 11 points and Autumn Sicard tossed in 10 on the night.

Mahar 40, Hopkins 21 – Cassidy Fyden and Laney Crutch each scored six points for the Golden Hawks in a Franklin County League North contest on Thursday night at Reed Gymnasium in Hadley.

Juliana Eichenlaub hit a 3-pointer for Hopkins.

Boys basketball

Holyoke 88, West Springfield 53 – A monster first half was more than enough to send the Purple Knights to a convincing victory on Thursday night.

Holyoke led 30-10 after one quarter and 56-19 at halftime en route to the independent win.

Dylan Rohan had the hot hand for the Knights (11-6), drilling six 3-pointers en route to a 28-point performance. Dominick Renaldi added 17 points, as 11 different Holyoke players factored into the scoring.

Ware 55, Smith Voc 46 – Trailing just 28-26 at halftime, the Vikings were outscored 20-12 in the third quarter and couldn’t climb back in a loss on Thursday night.

Jack Riley and Myles Chinappa scored 15 points apiece for Smith Voc (7-9), and Dom Sanchez joined them in double figures with 11 points.

St. Mary’s 70,Gateway 42 – Zach Hess (11 points) and Ron Keach (10) were the high scorers for the Gators in Thursday’s loss in Westfield.

The Saints led 18-5 after one quarter and 44-17 at halftime.

Late Wednesday results

Girls basketball

Easthampton 52, Agawam 36 – Dominant offensive nights from Sophia Faginski and Kayley Downie enabled the Eagles to roll to an independent win on Wednesday.

Faginski and Downie each scored 20 points in the win for Easthampton. Samone Young added five points and Christine Raymond scored four in the win.

Hockey

Easthampton 10, McCann 3 – Zach Roy netted a hat trick with two assists, and Jaevian Lopez scored a pair of goals to power the Eagles to a decisive Wright Division win on Wednesday night.

Easthampton goalie Tommy Bixby made 19 saves to earn his first varsity victory between the pipes. Drew Thompson (1G), Minti Peterson (1G, 1A), Rob Herman (1G, 1A), Gabe Growhoski (1G, 2A), Parker Christy (1G), Anthony Torchia (1A), Jacob Ouimette (1A) and Brennan Stortz (1A) all notched points for Easthampton, which improved to 11-5 on the season.