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WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 MARCH 5, 2020
Stellar seniors exit the Tanner stage
By Anne Marie Tobin
McCullough a standout wrestler at all-states
Sean McCullough of the
Lynnfield/North Reading wrestling
cooperative finished the
Massachusetts All-State tournament
at Methuen High with a
2 Large
Cheese Pizzas
$14.99
Sammie Mirasolo, left, leaves as the Tanners’ all-time leading scorer with 144 career points.
WATERTOWN — While the
Peabody/Lynnfield girls hockey team’s
season came to end Saturday with a 3-0
loss to Boston Latin in the state tournament
quarterfinals, the truth is, the
Tanners suffered an even bigger loss in
the process.
Senior captains Jeny Collins, Carolyn
Garofoli and Sammie Mirasolo laced up
their skates for the final time as Tanners,
marking the end of an incredible era of
excellence.
“I’m proud of how far we’ve gotten
and how far the program has come especially
with our three seniors,” Roach
said. “It’s been so great to watch them
grow over the last four years. What they
have done in their four years has been so
important to this program in helping us
get to another level. It all started with
them and helped our program get to
where it is today.”
As freshmen, they helped lead the
Tanners to their first winning season in
program history and first-ever appearance
in the tournament after years of
gloomy sub-.500 seasons.
Over the course of their four-year careers,
they were a part of a team that set
program records in nearly every imaginable
statistical category, posting an
overall record of 52-28-9.
This year alone, the Tanners set new
marks for fewest goals allowed (41),
most goals scored (72), longest winning
streak (8) and highest tournament seed
(9).
Mirasolo leaves as the program’s alltime
leading scorer (144 career points)
and a two-time Northeastern Hockey
League MVP. This year, she set a school
record for most points with 46 on 29
goals and 17 assists. Last year, she became
the first Tanner ever to top the
100-point mark and her career total of
90 goals is also a program best.
“She has really set the bar and tone for
the program,” said Roach.
For Mirasolo, however, the numbers
don’t begin to tell the story of what
playing on the team meant for her.
“The experience has been incredible
especially because there have been three
different towns,” said Mirasolo.
“A co-op team is something that not a
lot of teams can experience, the beauty
of three towns coming together these last
four years has been just incredible.”
While still undecided about her college
plans, Mirasolo said she is leaning
toward the University of Massachusetts
where she hopes to play club hockey.
Garofoli, a four-year starter, was a
formidable challenge behind the blue
line for opposing offenses, standing at
six-feet plus. An offensively-minded defender,
she finished the season with three
goals and 10 assists.
“Our nerves got the best of us today
and we were just struggling to find that
final push into the net,” said Garofoli, a
4-1 record to finish third in the
182-pound category.
In the first round, he defeated
Marcos Pereira of Wayland by
pin at 1:07. In the quarterfinal
he defeated Luciano Kodhelo
of Braintree, the Division 1
champ, by a 7-1 decision.
McCullough fell to Michael
Baldwin/ of Hampshire, the
Division 3 champ, 7-5.
The semifinals match was
a back and forth event closely
wrestled by both, and his victory
wasn’t assured until the
final seconds.
In the consolation rounds
McCullough defeated Alexis
Maldanado of New Bedford,
7-5, and in a rematch of the
Division 2 State semifinal
McCullough defeated David
Langlois/ of Woburn, 10-4.
University of New Hampshire Division
1 field hockey commit. “But we played
good and we played to the buzzer. The
last four years have been so awesome
and I am so glad I played hockey for
this team. These girls have become my
family. I loved it and these have been the
best four years of my life.”
Collins had a breakout season this
year in her first year as a full-time starter,
posting a goals-against average of 1.62.
She finished the season with 474 saves
McCullough, who also
placed seventh at last year’s
All-State Tournament, becomes
Lynnfield’s second two-time all
state place finisher. The feat was
previously accomplished by
Eric Kerr, who placed fourth at
113 pounds in 2013 and seventh
at 126 in 2014. McCullough
becomes the program’s highest
all-state place finisher over the
past 16 years of the co-op.
McCullough will wrestle this
weekend at the New England
Tournament (Methuen High
School), beginning at 10 a.m.
Saturday.
PHOTO | MARK GRANT
and was a key factor in a Tanner defense
that held opponents to an average of
fewer than two goals per game.
“Both teams were going 110 percent
the whole game and we gave everything
we could to try to tie the game or pull out
a win,” said Collins, who plans to play
club hockey at the University of Vermont
“Even though it didn’t end the way we
wanted it to, I am so proud of our team
and how hard we worked.”
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