School Roundup: McPherson, Spartans shut Beverly out in the cold

The St. Mary?s girls? hockey team has known all along that its success would start with strong play in the defensive end of the ice, but nobody could have expected the stretch of strong performances goaltender Brittany McPherson has been giving.
The sophomore netminder posted her fourth consecutive shutout, making 24 saves in the Spartans? 1-0 win over visiting Beverly, Wednesday at Connery Rink.
?(McPherson) came up big for us once again,” said St. Mary?s coach Frank Pagliuca.
?Beverly (7-4-1) is a very good offensive team so I have to credit not just our goaltending, but our entire defensive unit, forwards included, for a great job at limiting solid scoring chances.”
Goal scoring wasn?t easy to come by for either side as it took the Spartans until the 3:24 mark of the final period to solve freshman Madison Jalbert who finished with 18 saves.
Samantha Callahan proved the offensive star for the hosts after retrieving a puck in the defensive end before a sensational rush up the ice, splitting two pairs of opponents before making a pretty move to the forehand at the top of the Panthers? crease.
From there St. Mary?s (7-9-0) adopted an ?anything it takes? defensive approach to preserve the win, as the Spartans blocked five shots in the final minute alone.
?That?s something we emphatically work at in practices and it paid off tonight,” said Pagliuca. “The entire team showed a tremendous level of commitment tonight to pick up a very big win over a quality opponent.”Masconomet 4, Marblehead 1
Aly Hopkins made 23 saves in net for the visiting Magicians (5-6-3) whose lone tally came from Sydney Cresta, assisted by Hadley Woodfin.SWIMMING
MIAA Diving Sectionals
Lynnfield freshman Sabrina Bunar turned her 14th seed into an impressive fourth-place finish, totaling 434.5 points on 11 dives while teammate Erika Glowik, a sophomore, took 17th, up three spots from her seeding, with 224.75 points on eight attempts.
Lynn Classical?s Sarah Sirois, a freshman, placed 15th with 323 points.WRESTLING
Wayland 42, Lynnfield 18
The Pioneers (18-3) came up short against an undefeated Warriors squad (21-0) despite wins from Joe Morse at 113 pounds, Max Whyman (126), Lucas Pascucci (138) and Brandon Troisi (285).
Triton 45, Salem 35
In a hard-fought loss, the Witches got wins from Javier Robles (160), Matthew Trainor (170), Chris Pimintel (182), Joey Byors (195) and Luis Vazquez (220).GYMNASTICS
Bishop Fenwick 128.1, Peabody 117.4
Led by its talented pool of underclassmen, the Crusaders (4-2) topped its city rival at Bakers School of Gymnastics.
Sophomores Abby Reignier (34.05) and Taylor Pattan (8.8) scored wins in the all-around and on the floor, respectively, for Fenwick who got a runner-up showing from Colbi Flickinger on bars (8.0) and a third-place finish from freshman Francesca Carpinella on vault (8.2)
For the Tanners (4-2), senior Sam Kinnaly placed first on vault (8.5) in addition to second-place showings in the all-around (32.1) and on the balance beam (8.3).BOYS? TRACK
Beverly 63, Saugus 23
The Panthers (5-2) won all but the 50-yard hurdles against the 1-6 Sachems. Taking wins for Beverly were Sam Abate in the high jump at 5 feet 6 inches; Nick Zelano (shotput, 40-11 ?); Kai Marcos in the 50-yard dash at 5.8 seconds; Bryan Flaherty (300-meter run, 39.3); Brian McPherson (600-meter run, 1:34.7); Campbell Wood (1,000 meters, 2:54.7); Christian Goodwin (mile, 5:04.9) and Matt Staid (two miles, 13:12.0).
Saugus? win came from Alex Kotkowski in the 50-yard hurdles (7.2).GIRLS? TRACK
Beverly 74, Saugus 12
The Northeastern Conference/North champion Panthers (7-0) steamrolled to the win as they took first in every event except the high jump.
Winning for Beverly were Gracie Sparkman (shotput, 31-8 ?); Julianna Devitt (50-yard hurdles, 7.3); Haylea Northcott (50-yard dash, 6.6); Aly Barr (300-meter run, 48.6); Abby Walsh (600 meters, 1:42.8); Julianna Wesley (1,000 meters, 3:18.8); Lexi Sityak (mile, 5:42.4) and Danielle Be