Winter sports preview: Manchester Memorial
As many slow down to embrace time with family and friends over the holidays, student athletes at Manchester Memorial are speeding ahead into the winter sports season. Here’s a glimpse at some of the teams and athletes taking aim at personal records, team accomplishments and plenty of fun as they ent
MANCHESTER, NH – As many slow down to embrace time with family and friends over the holidays, student athletes at Manchester Memorial are speeding ahead into the winter sports season. Here’s a glimpse at some of the teams and athletes taking aim at personal records, team accomplishments and plenty of fun as they enter the new year:
Girls Basketball
Head Coach:
Greg Cotreau (7th season)
Last Season:
- 8-11 (including playoffs)
- Lost in first round to eventual champ Bishop Guertin
Top Returning Players:
- Emma Rossi (Senior Captain)
- Fatma Fatah (Senior Captain)
- Maddie Pepra-Omani (Junior Captain)
- Payton Moran (Junior Captain).
- Kayleigh Brunette (Senior)
- Torie Adumene (Junior)
Promising Newcomers:
- Marlaina Schmitt (Junior)
- Jocelyn Eosue (Junior)
- NyAsia McKelvey (Sophomore)
- Vanessa Martinez (Sophomore)
- Hodan Osman (Sophomore
- Ashlyn Kenny (Freshman)
Expectations for this Season:
“I know it sounds cliché, but we want to focus on getting better and growing in practice every day, even if it’s just one percent better from the day before,” said Cotreau. “We want to focus on one game at a time, beat the teams that we know we should beat and win as many of the ‘coin-flip’ games as we can. At Memorial, it has always been about trying to build great basketball habits each day and hope to be playing our best basketball at the end of February.”
Biggest Challenge:
“Our team’s biggest challenge will be to remain healthy,” said Cotreau. “Last season, we were never at full strength and didn’t play a single game with our entire roster.”
Greatest Strength:
“Our team’s biggest strength is our team chemistry,” said Cotreau. “We have a tight knit group who stuck together and played a lot of basketball together during the summer in various tournaments and leagues. Our kids enjoy being around each other and you can see that chemistry translate on the floor during games.”
Next 3 Games:
- Tuesday, Dec. 13, 7 p.m. – Home vs. Nashua South
- Friday, Dec. 16, 7 p.m. – Away at Bedford
- Tuesday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m. – Home vs. Winnacunnet
Boys Ice Hockey (Manchester Memorial-Central-West)
Head Coach:
Jeremy Baker (1st season)
Last Season:
- 4-14
Top Returning Players:
- Joey Velez (Captain)
- Lukas Tafe (Asst. Captain)
- Owen Kelley (Asst. Captain)
- Mack Tripp (Asst. Captain)
Promising Newcomers:
- Brian Baumgartner
- Josh LeBlanc
- Andrue McLaughlin
Expectations for this Season:
“If we can stay around .500, that’s a move in the right direction,” said Baker.
Biggest Challenge:
“Like every team that gets used to losing, (the biggest challenge) is changing the expectations,” said Baker.
Greatest Strength:
“I think our biggest strength is our leadership group,” said Baker. “They have already been keeping things positive and going in the right direction.”
Next 3 Games:
- Wednesday, Dec. 14, 7:10 p.m. – Away at Nashua South-Pelham
- Saturday, Dec. 17, 6:20 p.m. – Home vs. Bishop Brady-Merrimack Valley-Concord Christian Academy
- Wednesday, Dec. 21, 6:30 p.m. – Home vs. Salem
Girls Indoor Track
Coach:
- Leanne Guimond (1st season)
Top Returning Athletes:
- Hollis Velie
- Chiara Roveto
Promising Newcomers:
“There seems to be a lot of promise throughout the whole program,” said Guimond.
- Jordan Couture
- Marvelous Alabi
- Fatumo Nur
- Charline Jackson
- Abby Bah
- Shanelle Jackson
- Philipline Doe
Expectations for this Season:
“My expectation for this season is every athlete gives their best effort during every practice and every meet,” said Guimond. “My goal is for this team to be positive and uplifting to each other and the teams we are competing against. I expect that we will peak at the end of the season in January. This season is a foundational season for our future years to come. We are going to empower each other and those around us as we compete with strength and pride.”
Biggest Challenge:
“Our biggest challenge is that we are a young team,” said Guimond. “However, I would consider this our strength as we move forward this season and develop more experience.”
Greatest Strengths:
“The women’s track team has a strong work ethic, high energy, and a winning mentality,” said Guimond. “We are strong in the sprinting and field events.We are developing a distance crew which will see a positive progression in their stats later in the season. Our biggest strength is we are a young developing team. We have 34 girls who are ready to proudly represent Manchester Memorial’s red, white, and blue. Our teamwork, comradery, and conduct is going to bring us success this season.”
Girls Indoor Track
Head Coach:
Tom Lynch (25th season)
Top Returning Athletes:
- Martin Alisandro (Junior sprinter)
- Steven Elezi (Senior sprinter)
- Owen Davis (Junior distance runner)
- AJ Sebastien (Junior sprinter)
Promising Newcomers:
- Alexis Rivera (Senior)
- Alex Rivera (Senior)
Expectations for this Season:“My expectation is to be as competitive as a team as possible when it comes to the state meet,” said Lynch.
Biggest Challenge:
“Every winter the biggest challenge is finding a good place to practice are field events indoors,” said Lynch.
Greatest Strength:“Right now, it appears our strength will be in the sprint,” said Lynch.
Alpine Skiing
Coach:
- Maureen Couture (1st year)
Last Season:
- Boys – 15th
- Girls – Didn’t qualify due to lack of participating student athletes
Top Returning Skiers:
- Maddie McCaffrey (Top 5 in D-I for both slalom and giant slalom)
- Tyler Telge
- Zach Telge
- Colin Louge
- Ailish Hodgkins
- Caden Capano
Promising Newcomers:
“There are many new skiers this year, so I am looking forward to a lot of new talent,” said Couture.
Expectations for this Season:
- Beat Central at City Championship
- Win costume competition at City
Biggest Challenges:
- Getting the kids to wax their skis
- On mountain training time.
Greatest Strengths:
“This team has a great sense of camaraderie and a strong team bond,” said Couture. “I am looking forward to a fun and successful season.”
Nordic Skiing:
Coaches:
- Peter Goedecke
- Sharon Nault
Expectations for this Season:“Our goal this year is to have a few kids qualify for Meet of Champions,” said Nault. “I think we have a few kids that could qualify. Besides that, just want to see the kids learn the techniques. There is so much to learn and that will be our focus for at least this month. We don’t race until January.”
Greatest Strength:“We have 10 skiers this year, which is a pretty good turnout for Manchester,” said Nault.
Biggest Challenge:“We have mostly new skiers with a few from last year,” said Nault.
Wrestling
Head Coach:
- Craig Whittick (2nd season)
Last Season:
- 5 dual meet wins
- 11th in Division 1
- 24th at Meet of Champions
Top Returning Players:
- Patrick Vachon (Junior Captain)
- Aiden Lafrance (Senior Captain)
- Jackson Schaechtle (Senior Captain)
- Jayden Kuilan
- Dominick Rowell
Promising Newcomers:
- Christian Kuilan
- Caiden Wyman
- Jack Paradis
