Durfee and N.B. Split Cross Country Meets

The Durfee and New Bedford cross country teams split their meets held in Fall River. The New Bedford boys won their meet, 19-38, while the Lady Hilltoppers captured their first victory of the season by defeating New Bedford, 26-30.

In the boys meet, the Whalers took five of the top six spots. New Bedford’s J.P. Morris led the way, finishing in 18:21. Durfee’s Zach Topolewski was second, as he broke the 20-minute barrier for the first time, finishing in 19:36. The Whalers’ Christopher Bernier (19:37), Henry Anselmo (20:47) and Connor Lipka (20:53) rounded out the top five finishers. Every Durfee runner posted a personal best in the meet.

On the girls side, New Bedford’s Madelyn Baylies finished first at 21:54. The Lady Hilltoppers grabbed the next three spots though. Anjola Olubanwo was second at 22;13, followed by Corrine Wang (24:04) and Shayla Harrison (24:26). June Wildman rounded out the top five, finishing in 24:30. Like their male counterparts, every Durfee runner posted a personal best.

New Bedford’s Serenity Coleman Wins State Title

Congratulations are in order for New Bedford sophomore swimmer Serenity Coleman, who took 1st place in the 50 yard freestyle event at the MIAA Division 1 State Championships, held Saturday, February 15 at Boston University. She becomes the first Whaler swimmer to win a state title since 2016, when Kyleigh Barao completed back-to-back state championships in the 100 butterfly.

In a thrillingly tight race, with the top seven finishers coming within one second of each other, Coleman bested Concord-Carlisle’s sophomore Elisabeth Reiling by one-hundredth of a second to take the title.

Big 3 Athletes win at MIAA South Sectional Championships

On Saturday (Feb. 8) at MIT in Boston, Durfee’s Rachael Silva and New Bedford’s Serenity Coleman emerged as South Sectional Champions. Silva took first place in the diving event (435.20), while Coleman grabbed the top spot in the 50 (24.63) and 100 (54.12) freestyle events.

Below is Silva’s title clinching last dive, a back 1-1/2 somersault with a 1/2 twist in the free position (5231D).

Durfee Dominates Big 3 Diving Championships

The diving portion of the Big 3 Conference Swim & Dive Championships belonged to Durfee. The Hilltoppers swept the top three spots in both the girls and boys action. Complete results

Diving’s Top 3 finishers:

Girls
Rachael Silva – Durfee – 271.20
Madison Ferreira – Durfee – 216.70
Sarah Raposa – Durfee – 211.45

L-R: Madison Ferreira, Rachael Silva, Sarah Raposa


Boys
Seth Vandenburgh – Durfee – 217.60
Micah Ross – Durfee – 208.10
Logan Vandenburgh – Durfee – 200.40

L-R: Logan Vandenburgh, Seth Vandenburgh, Micah Ross

Durfee Boys & Girls Hoop Teams Win Holiday Tournament

The Durfee boys and girls basketball teams both won the Skip Karam Holiday Tournament, held at Durfee’s Luke Urban Field House. Both squads faced Taunton River rival Somerset-Berkley in the finals. The Durfee boys prevailed 60-56, while the Lady Hilltoppers won, 59-31.

Jah Stephenson

In the boys game, Durfee jumped out to a huge lead but the Blue Raiders stormed back in the second half to make it close. The Hilltoppers were led by Tournament MVP Jah Stephenson with 28 points. Alvin Teixeira added 13 points, while Ben Sherry chipped in with eight points and double-digit rebounds.

Durfee advanced to the finals by winning its opener of the two-day tournament, 71-61 over Hingham. Teixeira led the way for Durfee with 29 points, while Jaden Souza added 23 points.

With the wins, Durfee improved to 3-1 on the year.

Jayda Martino

In the girls finals match-up, the Lady Hilltoppers were paced by Skyla Coward with 11 points and Tejeaya Sterling with 9. Jayda Martino (six points) was named the Tournament MVP.

Durfee earned its berth in the finals by dominating Diman Vocational 57-11 in the semi-finals. Avery Lane paced Durfee with 13 points in that one, while Coward added 10. With the tournament victories, the Lady Hilltoppers evened their record at 3-3 on the year.