SPORTS ROUNDUP
Patriots mange on Panthers
Sean Sweeney Journal Correspondent

Memo to North Middlesex boys' basketball coach Eric Dellasanta: stock up on the spaghetti sauce.

One night after holding a spaghetti dinner for his team, the Patriots - led by senior tri-captain Kyle Capsalis - rallied for their fourth win of the season, knocking of Quabbin Regional, 64-56, at Bartlett Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

Capsalis, whose lay-up with five minutes remaining gave the hosts the lead for good, scored 11 second-half points for a game-high 22. NM was trailing by 16 points at the break before it was able to eke out the victory to improve to 4-15 overall.

Justin Gay added 13 points for North Middlesex.

The win came on the heels of a 100-64 defeat to Mid-Wach A rival Leominster last Friday. Gay led the Patriots that night with 15 points while Ben Ingerson had 13.

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The Oakmont boys' indoor track team came away with second place during last Saturday's District E Division 2 Track Championships at Fitchburg High School's Doug Grutchfield Fieldhouse.

The Spartans, which finished with 45 points to eventual champion Sutton's 61, had two first-place finishes from Matt Dubois and Jeff Brighenti. The team's 4x400-meter relay team also set a meet record.

Dubois was the top finisher in the 55-meter hurdles in 8.18, while Brighenti placed first in the 300-meter dash with a blazing time of 38.65.

Dubois and Brighenti teamed up with Alex Leblanc and Brett Haschig to claim the 4x400 title in 3:48.40. Haschig had a second-place finish in the 600, while Leblanc had a third spot in the hurdles.

The Oakmont girls' track team finished in a sixth place tie with Hudson. Beth Kiuru had the best overall finish for the Spartans, placing fourth in the hurdles. Colleen Hall (600) and Lindsay Laserte (2-mile) each had sixth-place finishes in their respective events.

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Three members of the Oakmont ice hockey team were named to the Russell and Coughlin Conference North All-Star team recently.

Paddy Rafferty, Mike Girard and Ian Cornwall were all named to the team, which will take part in the Central Mass. All-Star Game next Sunday, Feb. 25, at the Northstar Youth Forum in Westboro. Face-off is 1 p.m.

Head coach Tony Gleason said that Rafferty was named to the team due to his physical presence on defense, Girard for his endless energy and hustle, and Cornwall for his skilled defensive play and his ability to move the puck up ice.

The Spartans lost two games this past week, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Grafton, and a 5-0 loss to Assabet Valley. Brendan Gallagher had the lone goal of the week for Oakmont, with CJ Shell and Nick Carter assisting on the marker.

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The Oakmont boys' basketball team has lost two straight after it was named the large school bracket top seed in this coming week's 68th Annual Clark University High School Basketball Tournament.

This past Monday, the Spartans lost to Fitchburg, 59-48, in South Ashburnham. Blake Sheldon paced the Spartans with 13 points, while John Griffin added 11. Kyle Anderson was held scoreless by the Red Raiders in the first half and was limited to seven points overall.

Last Friday, the Spartans were barely defeated by Clinton, 52-51, as Anderson and Max Shenk each had 10 points for the Big Green Machine to force a three-way tie for the Mid-Wach C crown. Oakmont, Clinton and Hudson all have 8-2 league records, and there is no true tiebreaker.

But hold the phone.

Oakmont (13-5), who plays arch-nemesis Gardner tonight in the Chair City, will play eighth seeded Uxbridge at 7:45 p.m. this Monday evening in the quarterfinals of the Clark Large School bracket. The winner moves on to face the winner of the Westboro-Quabbin matchup in the semifinals on Thursday night.

Clinton and Hudson are also in the Clark Large School bracket as the second and third seeds, respectively: the Gaels will tangle with seventh seeded Nipmuc and the Hawks face Northbridge, both of those games in the afternoon set. Should the planets align properly and fate intervene, there is a possibility that the real Mid-Wach C champion could be crowned on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Kneller Athletic Center on Downing Street in Worcester.

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The Oakmont girls' basketball team needed overtime to upend Mid-Wach C rival Clinton, 52-49, last Friday night. Oakmont trailed, 19- 10, at the half before forcing the extra session.

Stacy Watt had a monster game with 21 points, while Tracy Letourneau and Allie Mohnk each had eight points for the Spartans.

This past Tuesday, Oakmont improved/ dropped to 11-7 with a 54-28 loss to Division 1 Tourney-bound Fitchburg. Oakmont spread out the scoring, with no player scoring more than four points.

********** The North Middlesex girls' basketball team lost to Leominster, 39-30, last Thursday night. Angie Johnson led the Patriots with 10 points, while Tracy Erickson added five. This past Tuesday, the Patriots lost to Quabbin, 46-38.

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The Monty Tech boys' basketball team just got by Valley Tech, 51-49, last Friday. Joe Flanagan scored 22, while Eric Diaz had 14 points for the 'Dogs.

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The Monty Tech girls' basketball team continued its winning ways with a 45-43 win over Valley Tech. Three Bulldogs scored in double figures, as Janna Malo (14 points), Madeline Merchant (13) and Liz McQuade (10) all contributed to the victory.

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For the first time this year, two former high school teammates were named to the Worcester Area College Basketball Association's Men's Honor Roll the very same week.

Former Oakmont stars Chris Vallee and Peter Normandin, who now play at Nichols and Clark, respectively, were both nominated to the honor roll on Monday. Both were members of the 2003-04 Spartans team that reached the Central Mass. Finals.

Vallee scored the game-winning basket in a key 76-74 victory over Salve Regina for the Bison last week. In three games, he averaged 17.3 points off 17-of-36 shooting, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 block. In a 95-83 win over Anna Maria, he netted 26 points, including a perfect 12-of-12 from the line. In the win over the Seahawks, he drained a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to make it a one-point game before hitting the game-winning jumper along the baseline at the buzzer.

Normandin averaged 12.0 points, on a perfect 7-of-7 from the line, and 8.5 rebounds in Clark's 1-1 week. The sophomore forward notched his second double-double of the season with 16 points, shooting 3-for-3 at the stripe and 6-for-12 from the floor, and 14 rebounds to go along with two blocks and two steals in a 55-53 win at Coast Guard. He also chipped in with eight points in a loss at Babson.