Newton North girls shooting for the ultimate prize: state and national championships

Since then the program has continued its success in part thanks to the growth of the Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance, which runs a youth program that has helped several underclassmen hit the ground running at the high school level.

“That’s really been a game changer,” said Newton coach Heather Raker, a member of the Ultimate Hall of Fame.

“We have great athletes and players who enter the program having played long enough to be really fluid with throwing.”

Leading the way are Newton’s three primary handlers (essentially designated throwers), sophomore Eliza Dyett, junior Mia Diana, and sophomore Ellie Lemberg, who is the only member of the team that attends Newton South. All three handlers have been playing together through BUDA since sixth grade.

Other top players include junior Grace Vaughn, twin seniors Willa and Josie Glass, senior Julia Kezer, junior Ella Waldman, senior Emily Zhu, and senior Emma Kellstein.

Raker and fellow coaches Christine Dunlap and Peg Hollinger won several national championships together with the Boston-based club team Lady Godiva, and now all three Hall of Famers are fostering the next wave of top players to come out of Newton.

“This is definitely our best season yet to date,” said Raker. “It’s a great group of kids, they’re super smart, and they work really well as a team. If we didn’t have all these players, obviously wouldn’t be as good as we are, because wouldn’t be able to scrimmage. That practice time is what’s making those kids so good.”

▪ The inaugural A Shot For Life Hockey Classic is scheduled for Sunday at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton. Led by founder Mike Slonina, the event is a competition and a fundraiser, raising money for cancer research at Mass General. ASFL also holds events in baseball, softball, lacrosse, football, and soccer. The hockey classic features two teams (red and blue) for girls and boys and consists of Massachusetts residents from MIAA and NEPSAC. The girls’ game has a 2 p.m. faceoff, with the boys’ game to follow at 3:45. Here are the rosters:

Boys (red): Anthony Beaulieu (Austin Prep); Leo Covello (Pingree); Kyle Mahan (Essex Tech), Gavin Havens (Williston Northampton); Jackson Powers (Woburn); Mikey Marchese (Governor’s Academy); Brandon Spaulding (The Hill); Connor Lee (Milton Academy); Drew Damiani (Lynnfield); Braden O’Hara (Xaverian); Myles Kidd (Norwood); Jimmy Fallon (Milton); Reid Malatesta (Phillips Andover); Will Matthews (Roxbury Latin); Matthew Biotti (Belmont Hill); Will Doherty (Tabor); Bobby Falvey (Andover); Will Rice (BB&N), Thomas Fulginiti (BB&N); Vinny Pasquarosa (Franklin); Tyler Chenevert (The Hill)

Boys (blue): Dom Walecka (Catholic Memorial); Pelle Russo (St. Sebastian’s); Aiden Harrington (Duxbury); Wyatt Schmidek (Belmont Hill); Jack Farrell (Governor’s Academy); Owen Keefe (Malden Catholic); Ryan Flaherty (Avon Old Farms); Jake McManus (Belmont Hill); Jack Brandt (Tabor), Jake Vana (St. John’s Prep); Coleman Jenkins (Tabor); Brendan Abban (Pembroke); Joe Dimartino (Xaverian); Nolan Leonard (Braintree); Gavin Moynihan (Xaverian); Max Kirianov (Pingree); Sean Connolly (Berkshire); Jackson Faughnan (Milton Academy); Calvin Beard (St. Mark’s).

Girls (red): Ainsley Moulton (Dexter Southfield); Karenna Beckstein (Groton); Cami Bell (St. Paul’s); Molly Jordan (Bishop Kearney); McKenzie Brown (Lovell Academy); Elizabeth Cooley (Lovell Academy); Julia Simon (Andover); Alanna Devlin (NAHA); Tessa Fendelet (Lovell Academy); Julianna Connors (Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake); McKenna Colella (Duxbury), Ava McGaffigan (Tabor), Kayla McGaffigan (Tabor); Maggie Johnson (Loomis Chaffee); Cali Cerruti (Noble & Greenough); Brooke Manning (Noble & Greenough); Carly Ward (Noble & Greenough); Angelina Digirolamo (Bishop Kearney); Lucia Digirolamo (Bishop Kearney); Maddie McDonald (Norwell).

Girls (blue): Mikayla Williams (Lovell Academy); Lila Chamoun (Milton); McKenzie Cerrato (Austin Prep); Maegan Cronan (Lovell Academy); Clare O’Connor (Noble & Greenough); Celia Wiegand (Lovell Academy); Jenna Chaplain (St. Mary’s); Ayla Abban (Tabor); Molly Boyle (Andover); Hamilton Doster (Loomis Chaffee); Sophia Levering (Noble & Greenough); Faith Steiner (Austin Prep); Michaela Littlewood (Brooks); Lulu Rourke (Phillips Andover); Olivia Maffeo (Noble & Greenough); Ellie Mabardy (Noble & Greenough); Anne Averill (Phillips Andover); Maddie Krepelka (Noble & Greenough); Jaime Griswold (Noble & Greenough); Ainsley Lonczak (Kimball Union); Averi Zhong (Gunn School); Grace Nelson (Bishop Feehan).

▪ Plymouth North sophomore Macey Shriner and Wellesley sophomore Charlotte Tuxbury have been selected to compete for Team USA at the U18 International Running Cup in Annecy, France on May 27. Shriner, who has a personal-best 5:03 time in the mile, was 13th overall at the MIAA All-State Cross-Country championship and second in the 1,000 at the MIAA All-State indoor championship.

“Representing Team USA is something I have always wanted to do,” said Shriner, a Globe All-Scholastic in cross-country and indoor track. “It means a lot to me knowing that all of my hard work is paying off.”

Tuxbury, the reigning Division 2 mile champion indoors and the Division 1B cross-country champion and a Globe All-Scholastic on the trails, said “I am really looking forward to the competition as well as looking forward to getting to know the members of Team USA and the athletes from all of the different countries. I have never been to France and I’m excited to learn more about the culture.”

▪ This weekend, former Everett stars Mike Sainristil and Isaiah Likely will return home to run a two-day youth football camp for K-8 students in Everett and the neighboring communities. Sainristil, a former Gatorade Football Player of the Year, is a defensive back at Michigan who has decided to use his fifth year of eligibility before potentially entering the NFL Draft in 2024. Likely was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft after starring at tight end for Coastal Carolina.

▪ On Saturday, Massachusetts General Brigham Sports Medicine is providing Boston Public Schools free pre-season physicals for fall sports at Madison Park High School from 8 a.m. till 1 p.m. “To be able to provide our student athletes and their families this opportunity for pre-season physicals helps us overcome a significant barrier to participation. For Boston Public Schools, the collaboration with Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine has enabled our athletes to play safely and thrive,” said BPS athletic directory Avery Esdaile. This is the fourth time MGB has provided free physicals to BPS athletes.

▪ Haverhill High will honor its 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame class of inductees June 17 at Bradford Country Club (4 p.m.). The honorees: Rick Brown (’75, football, track), Samantha Good (’96, volleyball, basketball, softball), Sara (Jewett) Hopkins (’96, basketball, softball), Marc Spencer (’91, golf), Paul St. Onge (’70, football, wrestling, track), Amy (Veilleux) Simmons (volleyball, basketball), Steve Wholley (’74, footbal, indoor track, baseball), Mary and Ted Murphy (Brown & Gold Lifetime Achievement). Tickets ($65) can be purchased at www.haverhillhillies.com, or call AD Tom O’Brien at 978-374-5732.

▪ Former Boston College football standout Thomas Claiborne has named athletic director at Catholic Memorial, starting July 1, succeeding Craig Najarian, who takes over the same role at the Middlesex School in Concord. A Wellesley High grad who now resides in town, Claiborne is an assistant football coach and guidance counselor at Catholic Memorial.

▪ Chris Giordano was named Chelmsford boys’ basketball coach, replacing 32-year coach Charlie Micol. The 38-year-old Giordano was an assistant at Tufts and has run Gold Standard Fundamental Basketball Training since 2020. He also coaches AAU with Middlesex Magic.

Correspondent Matt Doherty and Craig Larson of the Globe staff contributed to this story.