Melrose High Junior Elizabeth Hirsch qualifies for All States

Melrose — Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hirsch is known at Melrose High School as one of the school's top notch athletes, as well as for her kindness and academic achievements. In 7th grade, after playing basketball and soccer, two sports that she says she was "very mediocre" at, Lizzie found her passion when she joined the middle school cross country team. Now, as a valued teammate on the Melrose High Cross Country team, Lizzie has qualified to participate in the All State Championships. How exactly does one do this?
"I qualified for the race by finishing 15th at the [Eastern Mass division] race last weekend," says Lizzie.
"The top four teams and top ten individuals from each division go to All States, and I was one of the top ten individuals. It will basically be a huge race with lots of really fast runners from all over the state, held at Franklin Park."
For Lizzie, this is not a first time State Championship; it is her third year in a row that she has achieved qualification. Even if it is her third year the excitement an nerves of the race still run high.
"I am nervous, but also excited because I've had a good season and hopefully this will be a really good race."
As a member of the Melrose Cross Country team, it seems as though Lizzie will receive a lot of support from her teammates.
"I love my team; it is made up of some of the best people at our school and everyone is supportive of each other," she says fondly.
As well as having a team aspect, running also has personal rewards.
"Running still excites me now because every race is a different experience and a challenge. It is exciting to push myself to my limits and to see how the hard work of training can pay off. Another is the stress relief that running provides. If I am frustrated with school or angry at someone, I just run, and I feel a lot better afterwards."
As for her plans after high school, Lizzie is sure that she will incorporate running into her life. She hopes to run on a college team, and "after college I will definitely find a way to fit running into my life, even if I'm not on a team, since it is such an important part of my life and I really enjoy it."
As a prominent member of the cross country team and a kind person to all who know her, there is no one more deserving of the qualification for the All States than Lizzie Hirsch. In the next coming weeks, hopefully all of her hard work, training, and excitement will pay off once again as Lizzie prepares to take on the All State Championships at full speed.

By: Thea Burke

AFC Championship Preview

             Leaping, a 6 foot 6 inch tight end catches the pass, and quickly a defender slams his helmet directly into the knee of a super star. During the December 8, 2013 match-up between the New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns, a traumatizing hit to the knee of Rob Gronkowski left the fans in awe. Running up the field with a perfectly thrown pass from Tom Brady, it seemed that the Patriots were in a good position to score, trailing the Browns 19-6. Soon after the hit, Rob Gronkowski was carted off of the field, the situation was not looking too good. Many figured that when Rob Gronkowski went down, the Patriots players would be hanging up their cleats until next year, but an outstanding performance led the team to victory clinching a spot and a bye weekend in the playoffs. Earlier in the year defensive tackle, Vince Wilfork, went down during a matchup with the Falcons. It was determined that he suffered from a torn Achilles tendon in his right foot and that he would be unable to return to finish the season. For the past four years, Wilfork has been a dominant defensive threat with his size and strength.                  

 Just this past weekend on January 11^th, the rain didn’t hold back the thousands of fans who had their playoff tickets. The Patriots took on the Indianapolis Colts with Andrew Luck who has been a key component to the Colts offense. Although, the experienced Tom Brady used all of his talent and came out with a quick 14-0 lead within the first few snaps. LeGarrette Blount came alive for the Patriots offense finishing the game with four touchdowns including a 73 yard run.  That Patriots picked off three of the Colts quarterback Andrew Luck’s passes and turned them into touchdowns. The Patriots held on to win remarkably 43-22, advancing them to their third consecutive AFC Championship.

                Next weekend, Tom Brady and the Patriots will be facing the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning. The Broncos have had a successful season and should give the Patriots a good fight. Former Patriot, Wes Welker, will have the Patriots defense on their toes with his quickness and skill in the game of football. Be sure to tune in Sunday January 19^th at 3:00 to see a football game you won’t want to miss.

               As it appears, the Patriots season has been a success and their continuous devotion to the game of football is evident in the beads of sweat dripping off of them after each and every practice.  Will this be another Championship? Patriot’s fans had to put their faith into the hands of head coach Bill Belichick. 

By: Ashley Harding 

World Series Preview

For all of you Bostonians who are unaware of the Red Sox’s recent success, I’m here to let you know that they are, in fact, in the World Series for the third time since 2004. And for the Sox fans out there who just started watching the Sox (i.e., most of you), stop being fair-weather fans. If you didn’t watch the Red Sox during the regular season, then don’t act like you’ve been a fan forever. Admit it: you just jumped on the bandwagon and started cheering. But anyway, I won’t judge if you want to jump on. I’ll just fill you in.

For the first time since winning the World Series in 2007, the Boston Red Sox are back. This time around they will be taking on the St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. The Series starts tonight with the Cardinals travelling to Fenway for Game 1, which will start at 8:05 p.m. For the Sox Jon Lester (15-8 regular season) will take on Adam Wainwright (19-9 regular season). Lester has a 2-1 record in his last three games with an ERA of 2.33 while holding opponents to a .229 batting average. However, Wainwright is also 2-1 in his last three games with an ERA of 1.57 while holding batters to a .231 batting average. When the Sox were facing elimination against the Tigers, Lester was quoted as saying, “We have options, give up or fight.” The Sox later came back and won the series.

Even though everyone in and around Boston seems to think that the Red Sox will take the Series, many forget that the Cardinals have had an amazing season as well. The Cardinals held the Dodgers’ star rookie Yasiel Puig to just 5 hits in 22 at bats on their way to winning the NLCS in six games, shutting out the Dodgers 9-0 in game six. The Cardinals’ pitcher for Game 1, Adam Wainwright, is a star pitcher who was voted to the 2010 All- Star Game, where he pitched one inning and struck out two of the American League’s best hitters. Wainwright is on a roll as of late; during the 2013 postseason alone he has struck out 20 batters while allowing just one walk, one home run and just four earned runs. While the Cardinals’ batters left a little to be desired during the NLCS, the pitchers have picked up the slack, holding opposing batters to a batting average of .211 while allowing four homeruns.

The Red Sox, though, have been on a tear as of late both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Boston's base runners are doing a good job this postseason, stealing eleven bases during the ALDS and ALCS combined. Although the Sox hit a meager .204 during the ALCS, they’ve hit a little better during the postseason as a whole with an average of .234. Even with those numbers, though, the Red Sox players always seem to come up with a big hit and the perfect time. Shane Victorino propelled the Sox to the World Series with a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning of Game 6. And before that, Jarod Saltalamacchia hit a walk-off single to tie the ALCS at one game to one.

If you’re a bandwagon fan and haven’t seen him pitch before, Koji Uehara is turning into the Red Sox’ star closer. The Red Sox acquired him this past offseason as a free agent. In 2011, he was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Texas Rangers. Uehara won the ALCS MVP award for his masterful pitching performances against the Detroit Tigers, and he will look to keep it rolling in the ALCS against the Cardinals. Uehara’s story is amazing, and to go from being traded from team to team to being able to win the ALCS MVP award is incredible. I have a feeling that he will be a centerpiece for the Red Sox organization for a long time to come.

Whether you’re a long-time Red Sox supporter or just getting into things, most would agree that the Sox will take the World Series. A lot of people keep bringing up the fact that the Red Sox swept the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series but that is irrelevant. These are two completely different teams with different managers than were in place at the 2004 World Series. Having said that, I believe that no matter how the Cardinals try to compete with the Red Sox, Boston will bring the title back to Boston in five games.

Red Sox in ALCS

For the first time since 2008 the Boston Red Sox are on their way to the American League Championship Series. The Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series, 3 games to 1. Boston put an end to Tampa Bay's season with 3-1 win at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night. Game 1 of the ALCS takes place tomorrow night at 8:00 pm as the Red Sox host the Detroit Tigers.

Everything seems to be clicking for the Red Sox, with David Ortiz hitting 2 home runs and Dustin Pedroia getting 5 RBIs in the ALDS. It seems like hiring former Sox pitching coach John Farrell as the new manager was a smart move by Boston's front office.

Jon Lester (1-0 in the postseason) will be taking on Anibal Sanchez (0-1) in game one.

By: Alden Bedsole

Spring Sports Wrap up

           Three boys teams made it into the State Tournament this year in the spring. The boys tennis team made it, but all of them lost in the first round. They all fought extremely hard but they did not come out with a win. Baseball also made it into the State Tournament with a season ending record of 10-10, however they lost in their first game again Masconomet by a score of 9-0. Boys lacrosse had a great season and made it into the tournament. They beat Sandwich in their first game but lost the very next one. Girls tennis also came out to be co-league champions with the powerhouse Burlington. Overall, it was an extremely successful season for spring sports.
            

By Megan Tryder