Marblehead girls hoop opens with win over Saugus

The Marblehead High girls basketball team made new coach Wayne Hanscom?s debut a good one with a 54-28 win over Saugus Thursday at Marblehead.The Magicians got off to a strong start and by the half, had built up a hefty 37-13 lead. They cooled down a bit in the third quarter, only scoring eight points, but fired it up again in a 21-point fourth quarter.Senior captain Emily Freedland had the hot hand for Marblehead with 16 points. She also had five steals and four rebounds. McKenna Barrett was good for 11 points and six assists and Mia Bongiorno had six points and six assists and did a nice job controlling the game. Sarah Snadecki and Lindsay Walker also chipped in a half dozen points apiece. The Sachems, under new coach Mark Schruender, were led by Norma Waggett, who had 16 points.Bishop Fenwick 47, Cardinal Spellman 33At Brockton, the Crusaders took a while to warm up and at the half, only led by a point, 14-13. The third quarter was a different story. Fenwick went on a 12-0 run to open up a little breathing room. The Crusaders led 34-18 heading into the final quarter.Colleen Corcoran was the big gun with 12 points. Kate Lipka added 10 and Lexi Rose was good for nine. Bridget Corcoran and Chandler Wilder each had six points. Fenwick finished 15-8 last year, losing to Pentucket in the quarterfinals of the tournament.SWIMMINGS?scott 93, Peabody 90At the Peabody/Lynnfield YMCA, the Tanners racked up the first place finishes, but the Big Blue got the job done with depth. Swampscott had wins from Jeff Bentz, 50 free (30:52); T.J. Delano, 100 free (1:04); Kasey Kennedy, 100 breaststroke (1:20) and the 400 free relay of Tessa Diaz, Emily Guo, Hannah Schultz and Kennedy (4:18). Rachel Rookin competed in her first event, the 50 free.The Tanner brother-sister duo of Alex Strakosha and Maria Strakosha was tough to stop. Alex Strakosha was part of the winning 200 medley relay team (2:12) that also included John Dominico, Ian Lan and Conor McCarthy. He won the 200 individual medley (2:10) and qualified for the states and he won the 500 free relay (5:27).Maria Strakosha won the 200 free (2:13) and the 100 fly (1:03) and qualified for the states in the latter event. She was also on the winning 200 free relay with Nina Pappacostas, Amanda Lavoie and Meghan Lurvey. Lurvey also won the 100 back (1:14) and Paige Hayward won diving (153 points). Swampscott is 1-0 and Peabody is 0-1.BOYS TRACKMarblehead 54, English 22At Lynn, the Magicians (1-0) had wins from Mitch Norcross, high jump (5-6); Derek Dumais, shot put (43-9 1/4); Conrad Rousseau, 50 yard hurdles (7.1); Jason Lopez, 50 dash (6.1); Jakob Wikar, 300 meters (41.5); Mike Weiderbruch, 1,000 (3:03.7); Jared McKinos, mile (5:06); A.J. Emul, 2-mile (10:04.3). English?s Adam Bryson won the 600 meters (1:38). Chadrick Hernandez took second in the high jump and second in the 50 dash. Sokphaney Pot took second in the 300 meters; Emmanuel Ezemba took second in the 1,000 and Tyler Comer, second in the mile.Peabody 66, Danvers 20At Peabody, the Tanners (1-0) had wins from Connor Rollins in the high jump (6-0); Anthony Christo, shot put (43-7); Zach Persson, 45-yard hurdles (6.6); Christian Cedullo, 45 dash (5.2); David Tramonte, 300 meters (40.8); Alex Greco, 600 meters (1:30.2); Cody Picardy, 1,000 (2:51.6); Drew Fossa, mile (4:52.7) and Richie Fournier, 2-mile (11:01). Peabody won the relay.Beverly 77, Winthrop 8At Beverly, the Panthers took first in every event with Matt Madden a double winner, in the shot put (41-10) and the 50 dash (6.0).GIRLS TRACKPeabody 72, Danvers 14At Peabody, the Tanners (1-0) had wins from Georgia Bena, high jump (4-8); Katie Gallo, shot put (31-1); Erin St. Pierre, 45 hurdles (7.2); Sam Cummings, 45 dash (6.3); Cynthia Aroke, 300 meters (46.9); Sarah Godschall, 600 meters (2:00.9); Lauren Barrett, 1,000 meters (3:29.8); Sam Allen, mile (5:48.8); and Antonia Pagliuca, 2-mile (12:21.0). Peabody also won the relay.Beverly 77, Winthrop 9At Beverly, the Panthers (1-0) were l