Basketball
Swim & Dive
Wrestling
Indoor Track & Field
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).
New Bedford Swim & Dive Sweeps Conference Championships
The New Bedford Swim & Dive team cruised to first place in the both the boys and girls divisions at the Big 3 Conference Championships held over two days at New Bedford High School.
Girls Team Score
1. New Bedford – 534
2. Durfee – 427
3. Brockton – 213
Boys Team Score
1. New Bedford – 544
2. Durfee – 343
3. Brockton – 116
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
Boys
Seth Vandenburgh – Durfee – 217.60
Micah Ross – Durfee – 208.10
Logan Vandenburgh – Durfee – 200.40
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.
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.
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.
Durfee Girls, Brockton Boys Win SEC Soccer Titles
The Durfee girls soccer team came from behind on the road against defending Southeast Conference champion Bridgewater-Raynham to pull out a 2-1 victory and earn the program’s first ever conference title. On the boys side, Brockton finished off its strong play in conference action, shutting out New Bedford, 3-0 to win the SEC crown.
The Durfee girls, after a tough 1-3 start to the season, are now riding a 13-game unbeaten streak (12-3-2 overall) and finish at 6-1-1 in the SEC. B-R meanwhile, finishes league play at 6-2, with both losses coming against the Lady Hilltoppers.
The Brockton boys established themselves as the team to beat all season long. The Boxers finish league play with a 7-1 mark. The lone setback came against Durfee, 2-1 back on September 14. New Bedford meanwhile, finishes its SEC campaign in second place with a 4-2-2 record.
In the girls game, B-R needed a win or tie to secure another league title. Things were looking good for the Lady Trojans early on, as they dominated play and got on the board when Willow Forbes-Smith converted on a corner kick opportunity. Emily Lincoln got the assist on the play.
Though B-R was still enjoying an edge in play, the Hilltoppers pulled even late in the first half. Durfee defender, Rachael Silva took a back pass, carried a few steps and sent a high arching ball past the Trojan defense. There, Durfee senior standout Julia Hargraves won the race to the ball and pooched one over the charging Trojan keeper and into the goal for the equalizer.
As the tie game wore on and Durfee still needing a goal, first year Topper coach Hayden Tavares called timeout and reset his formation, putting more bodies toward the front. It paid off, as with just over five minutes to play, Durfee’s Kaitlyn Coutu took a header pass from Maddie Hargraves and struck a low ground ball that found its way inside the far right post. From there, the Hilltoppers’ defense held off a relentless barrage from the B-R offense to hang on for the win.
“This SEC Championship win resembles the dedication, sacrifice and hard work these girls have put in the entire season,” said Tavares. “The results the group has produced is a direct representation of this team and their quality; going on 13 games undefeated and now first-time SEC champions. Hard work pays off and I am so proud of the group. They deserve this!”
Final League Standings:
