Bemnet Banks

Athlete of the Week
February 6 – 12, 2012

Wrestling

For a stellar performance at the Northern New England Invitational Wrestling Championship in which Bemnet won with 2 pins and a tech fall, Banks is this week’s AOTW. He was voted by the coaches as the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament on his way to becoming the 2012 NNEI champ. Coach writes, “Hopefully this will be the start of a 4 week run of outstanding achievements for this guy.”

Hyde-Woodstock: 18

The Roxbury-Latin School: 48

                Roxbury-Latin has always had a strong wrestling program, especially since they begin coaching many of their kids in the 7^th grade through their lower school program.  Although we did not win this match, the Wolf Pack wrestlers showed really toughness and many forced their opponents into decisions rather than giving up pins. Cullum Thompson ’12, Ben Errera ’12 and Andreu Cullere ’12 held their own against tough opponents and did not give up the 6 points each of their opponents desired.  The 18 points scored for our side came from the pins of Marcos Mercado ’13 and Mike Kanda ’12, as well as the decisions of Kevin Smith 12’ in a 10-3 win and Graham Davidson ’13 in a 5-0 win.  A big moment for the team came with Post-grad Mike Kanda ’12 hitting a tough arm throw on his opponent and pinning him in 17 seconds!  This was a move learned the day before in practice and he was obviously excited to give it a try.  The coach of Roxbury-Latin remarked at the toughness of Hyde wrestlers and is excited to keep us in their regular rotation in the years to come.

Hyde-Woodstock: 48

Marianapolis Preparatory School: 34

                In our rematch against Marianapolis, the Wolf Pack won many of the same matches as before but there were a few surprises on the day.  For example, Ben Errera ’12 earned a pin against his opponent who had bested him in the prior match with a 5-3 decision.  Also, Alex Katz ’15 earned his first pin and win of the season against his opponent who had pinned him in the previous match.  Although not a victory,Cullum Thompson ’12 went the distance against his opponent who had pinned him earlier in the season, and forced him into a 12-2 decision.  This toughness is appreciated on the mat and by the team since it is the difference between giving up 6 points for a pin and 3 or 4 points for a decision.  Other highlights included pins by Graham Davidson ’13, Kenrick Vincent ’12, Marcos Mercado ’13, Kevin Smith 12’, Peter Markham ‘13 and Mike Kanda ’12.

All in all, the day was a success.  It was great to see wrestlers beat an old rival or hit a new move on the mat.  It was also great to see our 113lb. wrestler earn his first win of the season.  We have a lot of work to do in preparation of the coming weeks, especially with the NNEI, Class A and NE Tournaments on the next three weekends.  Wish the men luck and hopefully we will bring home some medals in the coming weeks.

Thanks,

Coach Jenkins

The Hyde Dance team travelled to the Westbrook Performing Arts Centre on Saturday morning to participate in the Chinese New Year festivities. This is the second consecutive year that the Hyde team has been invited to the celebration. The team presented a sword dance with ribbons to an audience of over 700. Choreographed by Fan Luo, this dance is inspired by a folk tale about how Chinese people would fight off a monster named Nian (Year). In this tale, the fearsome monster would destroy villages on every eve of Chinese New Year. One year, a little boy discovered that Nian was afraid of the color red. He told his fellow villagers of this discovery and helped them to avert the annual destruction by dancing with red ribbons on sticks. Since then, the villagers have always performed a ribbon dance in honor of the brave warriors who conquered Nian. Follow the link below to see pictures in the Portland Press Herald. Special thanks to Kat Wren (Chris Moreau ’13) and Kate Fusco (Ben Fusco ’13) for attending.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/imagine-_2012-02-05.html

North Yarmouth Academy           38

Hyde                                                     55          

Hyde began a 4 game home stand by defeating the Panthers of North Yarmouth Academy on Tuesday January 24^th, 2012 in Bath. Chris Moulton ’12 had 4 field goals in the in the first quarter  Warsame Mohammed ’14 did the same in the 2nd quarter which allowed Hyde to get off to a 34-9 half-time lead.

The tenacious defense by Hyde held NYA to 2 points in the 2nd Quarter.  The Phoenix started the 2^nd half with baskets by Jonah Alexander ’12 and Kiefer Cundy ’15 and had a 44-18 lead before emptying their bench in the second half.

Andrew Herron ’13 led scorers off the bench with nine points. Point Guard Tyquan Ekejiuba ‘13 contributed 13 assists and 5 steals.

Connor Ketchum’12 and Ben Burlock ’13 gave the Phoenix an inside presence off the bench.

Phoenix Lose in Final Minutes!

Hebron Academy             73          

Hyde                                     61

Hyde was narrowly defeated by Hebron Academy in a non-countable, Prep game on  Wednesday January 25^th.  The game went down to the wire, but Hebron managed to pull away in the last minute.  Jack Peters’12 and Tyquan Ekejiuba ’13 combined for 22 points and 11 steals ,but it was not enough.

The action was fast paced and physical.  Hebron took a lead midway through the 2^nd quarter but Hyde was able to counter with an  10-2 run. Hebron held a halftime lead of two points 35-33.

The Phoenix closed the margin to pull within 3 points with 2:32 to go.  However, the Lumberjacks from Hebron Academy pulled away on a final 8-0 run.

Jonah Alexander’12 led the Phoenix with 22 Points. Ryan Cassidy’13 scored a season high 9 points.

Foul trouble plagued the Phoenix in this heated contest.  The final score was 73-61, Hebron.

Phoenix Soar Over Eagles!

Isleboro                                               10

Hyde                                                     65

Hyde hosted Isleboro in MPA Boys’ Varsity Basketball on Thursday January 26^th.  The Phoenix played their third game in as many days.  They got off to a sluggish start but managed a  15-4 lead after the first quarter.

Any attempt by Isleboro to get back in the game was thwarted early in the 3^rd quarter by the Phoenix backcourt.

Talin Rowe’14 and Wilson MacMillan’14, combined for 13 points and 10 steals and 10 assists as their defense forced Isleboro to turn the ball over. The Phoenix went on a 20-0 run and held the Eagles to 1 point in the third. Jonah Alexander’12 led the Phoenix scorers with 12 points. Chris Moulton’12  finished with 10 points.

Evander Lenardson ’14 heated late in the game to do the scoring in the 4^th Quarter for the Phoenix as he hit three 3 point shots.  .

Boys J.V. Basketball

Hyde 51
Portsmouth Abbey 41

Hyde traveled to Portsmouth, R.I. on Wednesday to take on the Portsmouth Abbey School Ravens. Hyde came out and played its best and most complete game of the season. By halftime, the Wolfpack press and defense had stifled the Abbey offense and Hyde was in control of the game. Player of the game, hands down, was junior guard Sam Valentine. Sam scored 20 points, handled the ball very well, and played great team defense.

Other major contributors on the afternoon were Mason Spector who had 12 points in the first half, Griffin Davidson who scored in double digits and hustled on defense, and John Nelson who controlled the paint with 5 blocks. Rob O’Connor also played his best game of the season. It was a good afternoon for the Wolfpack.

Hyde improves to 4-6 on the season and looks to avenge an earlier loss to Wheeler School next Friday, February 10^th, at the Wheeler Farm.

Chester Hill

Athlete of the Week
January 30  - February 5, 2012

Wrestling

This week’s mention goes to a wrestler who has been proving himself on the mat and in the community throughout the season. Coach writes, “Chester went 3-0 in our final quad of the regular season, winning by pin and 2 major decisions (against quality wrestlers).  He seemed to improve constantly throughout the day and anchored the Phoenix effort to reach the goal of our first winning season in the last 4 years!”

Wheeler: 38
The Girls Junior Varsity Basketball team had a home game this past Saturday against St. Andrew’s.  The girls came out in the first half with a lot of enthusiasm, however, struggled to stop one of St. Andrew’s key players from driving to the basket.  The Hyde defense started to come back together towards the end of the first half as the Wolfpack began guarding the ball and became more aggressive when protecting their basket by always having their hands up.  Offensively,Yoomi Ji ‘13 took charge and consistently drove the ball to the Hyde basket.  Although the ball did not fall, she was fouled by a St. Andrew’s player and made one of her free throw shots putting Hyde on the board!  The girls started the second half with a strong determination to start taking more shots at the basket.  Tina Zhang ‘13, came out and put two additional points on the board for Hyde.  In addition to Yoomi and Tina, Molly Giordano ‘13 was able to make two baskets in the closing minutes adding four points to Hyde’s score.  In the coming weeks, the girls will continue to focus on boxing out in order to get the rebound both offensively and defensively as well as make personal skill and athletic goals.

Coach DeAngelis

PSA: 35

The Wolfpack 3rds Basketball Team faced Putnam Science Academy on Friday, January 27^th. With a hard week of practice the team was confident in a victory. Lead by Apache He (’12) at Point Guard, the Wolfpack took control of the court from the first whistle and they did not lose that control until the final buzzer sound. All of the hard work and determination exemplified by the 3rds basketball team landed them a victory over PSA 49-35. Apache He (’12) lead the team with 19 points followed by Jack Yan (’13) with 11 Points and Nick Davis (’13) with 10 points. The team will head back to practice to begin preparation for their game on Wednesday against St. Andrews.

Coach Gaines

The Hyde Phoenix wrapped up the 2011 – 2012 dual meet wrestling season in Avon, CT yesterday in a quad with the host Winged Beavers of Avon-Old Farms School as well as Lexington Christian Academy and Class A League rival Worcester Academy.  The Phoenix  finished the day 2-1 to complete the dual meet season with a record of 7-6!

In the opening round of the event, Hyde squared off against Lexington Christian Academy, an Eastern Independent League team the Phoenix hadn’t beaten in several years.  The Phoenix prevailed by the score of 48 – 34 on the strength of dominating performances from senior 160 Chester Hill and senior 170 Bemnet Banks.

Hyde faced the Hilltoppers of Worcester Academy in the second round and really went after them with focus and intensity.  The Phoenix earned 2 pins a technical fall and a  major decision in the first four bouts with senior 145 Alec Randall wrestling to a shutout 15-0 win by technical fall, seniors Scott Georgaklis (152) and Bemnet Banks (170) winning by pin and senior 160 Chester Hill earning a win by major decision.  The phoenix would continue to roll with victories from senior 220 Michael Novas,   junior Austin Wang at 113 and sophomore Andrew Martz at 138.  Hyde upended Worcester by the score of 61 – 12.

In the final match of the day, the Phoenix and the Winged Beavers took to the mat.  The matches were all well contested, and the battle waged back and forth through the weight classes.  Despite Hyde’s best wrestling of the day, Avon won 2 of the final 3 bouts and emerged victorious by the score of 45 – 31.  Standouts included seniors Alec Randall (145) and Chester Hill (160) who both earned major decision wins – with Chester working hard in the final moments to score a reversal which guaranteed the bonus point for the team score!  Lukas Fischer (195) and Michael Novas (220) continued their winning ways by earning pins against stout competition.  In the most anticipated match of the day senior 170 Bemnet Banks met his Avon opponent in a matchup of the #3 and #6 ranked wrestlers in New England.  Bemnet simply dominated his opponent by the score of 19-3 to win by technical fall and keep his New England Prep record a perfect 13- 0 on the season (15 -0 in all competition).

The Phoenix now head into TOURNAMENT TIME!  On Saturday Feb. 4, Hyde will compete at Tilton School in NH in our final regular season event, the 2012 Northern New England Invitational.  This our final tune up opportunity before hosting the 2012 Class A League Championships in Bath on February 11^th, with qualification for the New England’s up for grabs to the top four place winners in each of the 14 weight classes.  Hyde School is ready to host, and Hyde Wrestling is ready to COMPETE!  Please join us in Bath for an amazing day of wrestling.

JV Basketball Takes on NYA and Waynflete

JV Men’s basketball started off the week with a rematch against NYA. The Phoenix got off to a quick start, leading 8-0 and holding NYA scoreless throughout most of the 1^st quarter. The Phoenix continued to push the ball in transition and make smart passes on offense in the 2^nd quarter, giving them a 33-11 halftime lead. In the 2^nd half the Phoenix focused on execution and getting every player on the team significant minutes. The highlight for the 2^nd half was definitely Marley Dutton ’13 scoring his first basket of the season. Overall, nine players scored for the Phoenix as they emerged victorious with a final score of 60-25.

The following night the JV men headed down to Portland for a game against Waynflete that was rescheduled due to weather. The Phoenix came out strong and took a quick 6 point lead as Luis Allen ’15 had some nice finishes on offense. Waynflete responded with a run of their own and the Flyers and Phoenix began a battle that would last all game. Kiefer Cundy ’15 and Zach Heatley ’14 kept the tempo up throughout the first half and Wondo Shaw ’13 controlled the paint down low giving the Phoenix a 6 point halftime lead. The Phoenix and Flyers exchanged baskets throughout the 3^rd quarter, but Waynflete hit a bucket right before the buzzer, giving them a 1 point lead heading into the 4^th quarter. In the final minutes of the game the Phoenix played strong defense but couldn’t convert on offense. Waynflete hit a few key free throws in the last two minutes of the game sealing victory 37-33.

The loss to Waynflete was tough, but overall it was a productive week. On Thursday the team met to identify areas they need to work on. Each player established and committed to improving an area of their game. The team also discussed ways to increase spirit and unity. The squad currently carries a .500 record, with 5 wins and 5 losses, with 5 games to go. The last third of the season is shaping up to be an exciting time! The JV Phoenix’s next matchup is a rematch against Waynflete at home on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 4pm.

Hyde’s Indoor Track program competed on Friday in our second meet of the week at the University of Southern Maine against our Western Maine Conference rivals.  It was an evening in which 1) virtually all our athletes achieved a personal record on the season, 2) we scored season high team meet points, and 3) one of our athletes was named the senior division MVP of the meet.

On the women’s side, Dexie Cercos `12 won the 55m hurdles (9.91… a PR), took second in the 200m (29.19) and placed 5<sup>th</sup> in the triple jump (30’ 1″… a PR).  Dexie was also named the women’s senior division MVP of the meet! Xi Wang `14 continued to surprise everyone with a 7^th place… 30 second improvement… in the 1-mile (6:18.21).  She also scored 6^th place for Hyde in the 2-Mile (13:57.9).  Mady Preece `13 took second place in the 400m dash (1:08.18) and scored a 6<sup>th</sup> place finish in the 200m 31.09… a PR).  Erika Corley `13 shaved 4 seconds off her mile time with a 14^th place finish (7:00.47… a PR).  She also placed 8^th in the 2-mile (15:34.41).

While unable to score for the team because of his 5^th year status, Ben Webber `12 took second overall in the 55m (6.97) and placed 5<sup>th</sup> out of 41 in the 200m (24.74).  Isaac Pfosi `12 ran two sub 2:20 800m runs… one in the 4 x 800 relay (a 2^nd place finish and seasonal PR), and the other in a 9^th place finish in the open 800m (2:19.3… a PR).  Isaac also scored 5^th place in the high jump (5’ 2″… a PR).  Alexi Philippoussis `15 scored 3<sup>rd</sup> place – in the junior division shot put (30’ 3″) and ran a personal best 400m time of 1:01.47 as well as a personal best in the 2-mile (11:45.22).  As mentioned above, our men’s 4 x 800 relay placed second with a personal best time of 9:27.34.  Adam Patterson `13 won both his heats in the 55m and 200m with personal record times of 7.44 and 27.43.

Other men’s performances included…

• Cody Mitchell `13 – 5<sup>th</sup> place in the 2-mile (11:07.9… a PR)
• Zach Betancourt `12 – 11^th place in the 2-mile (11:58.4)
• John McManus `13 – 29.67 in the 200m and 8.03 in the 55m dash
• Richard Liu `14 – 5:54.6 (a PR) in the 1-mile and 13:34.35 in the 2-mile.
• Isaac Preston `13 – 15<sup>th</sup> place out of 35 in the 1-mile (5:32.95… a PR) and an 10<sup>th</sup> place finish in the 2-mile (11:45.8… a PR)
• Riley Mitchell `12 – 25’ 2″ in the shot put.
• Griffin Palola-Harriman `14 – 10^th place out of 35 in the 1-mile (5:25.75… a PR).

Final Team Results:

WESTERN MAINE CONFERENCE INDOOR TRACK – 1/27/2012

USM

Team Rankings – Through Event 42

Female Team Scores

Place School                                          Points

===================================================================

1 Falmouth High School               FAL             202

2 Gray New Gloucester                GNG              89

3 York                               YORK             84

4 Yarmouth High School               YHS              78

5 Poland Regional High School        PRHS             45

6 Traip Academy                      TRP              44

7 Hyde School                        HYDE             30

8 St. Dominic Regional HighSchool      STDM             27

Male Team Scores

Place School                                          Points

===================================================================

1 York                               YORK            274

2 Falmouth High School               FAL             122.5

3 Yarmouth High School               YHS              78

4 Gray New Gloucester                GNG              56.5

5 Poland Regional High School        PRHS             46

6 Traip Academy                      TRP              27

7 Hyde School                        HYDE             18

8 St. Dominic Regional HighSchool      STDM             15

Our next meet is next Friday (2/4) at the University of Southern Maine… 7:30PM start.