By Luke Curran, ’27

Sports Editor

The fall season of Hanover High sports was one to remember. Every team qualified for post-season tournaments, with all seeded high enough to host home games. All teams earned MIAA Academic Excellence Awards, and the Athletic Department secured the MIAA District 9 Sportsmanship Award. Notably, our Golf Team captured Hanover’s first-ever MIAA Division 2 South Sectional Championship — a historic accomplishment for the school. And Competition Cheer won the state title for the second consecutive year, the first back-to-back titles since 1976.

Read on for more about the outstanding achievements of our fall teams. Photos are courtesy of HHS athletics.

Competition Cheer

This year, our competition cheer team had significant success. Led by senior captains Morgan Curtis and Natalie Frank, the team won the state title for the second straight year, the first back-to-back titles since 1976. In addition, they earned first place at the Pumpkin Patch Invitational on Oct. 18 and the Think Pink Invitational on Oct. 25. They also won the Patriot League Fisher Division Championships on Nov. 6. They placed first at the South Regionals on Nov. 16, earning the grand champion title and achieving the highest score in school history. Finally, they attended States in Worcester on Nov. 22 and won for the second consecutive year.

Golf

The Hanover golf team was the champion this year, posting a 14-3 regular-season record. They won the MIAA D2 South Sectional Championship on Oct. 14, with the team +36 in very challenging conditions and solid scores from their four captains: senior Joe DaCosta (+7, T6), senior Cam Melone (+9, T10), junior Owen Crowley (+9, T10), and senior Cole Madden (+11, T19). This was Hanover’s first sectional Golf title; the team finished second in 2014. The team excelled all season, with Madden carding an 80 (+9) for a T17 finish.

Football

Led by senior captains Brandon Errico, Sebastian Brown, Peter Clarke, and Max Johnson, the team went 5-3 in the regular season and earned the No. 3 seed in the D5 tournament. In the round of 16, they faced the Weston Wildcats on Nov. 17 and won at home, 46-14. They advanced to the round of 8 on Nov. 14 against the No. 6 seed, Archbishop Williams, where their season ended in a close 28-26 home loss. Finally, they played their 59th-year Thanksgiving game on Nov. 27 against Norwell, achieving a blowout win with a final score of 49-8.

Boys Soccer

The boys soccer team also had great success this season, earning the #12 seed and posting a 9-6-3 regular-season record. Senior captains Ryan Mutschler and James McDermond led the team and beat #21 Blackstone Valley RVT 3-0 in the round of 32 on Nov. 4. Following this win, they advanced to the round of 16 on Nov. 8, losing 4-1 to Chicopee.

Volleyball

The girls volleyball team advanced far this season, led by senior captains Tess Madden and Dylan Poirier. They finished the regular season 17-3, with setter Sadie Chadwick recording her 1,000th assist. They entered the MIAA Division 3 round of 32 on Nov. 1 as the #6 seed, facing the #27-seeded Medway and beating them 3-1. They then advanced to the round of 16 at home on Nov. 4, where they lost 3-2 to Newburyport.

Field Hockey

Field hockey posted a 13-3 regular-season record, with senior captains Katie Jones, Jameson Bryan, and Grace Gilligan leading the #7 seed team to a 5-1 win against the #26-seeded North Reading in the round of 32 at the MIAA Division 3 playoffs. On Nov. 4, they advanced to the round of 16 at home against Lynnfield, where they lost 2-0. The team showed dominance this season, finishing as Patriot League Fisher Division champions.

Girls Soccer

This year, the girls’ soccer team, led by senior captains Anna Egan, Maelyn Foley, and Abby Kajunski, dominated in the regular season with a 13-3-2 record. They entered the round of 32 as the #5 seed on Nov. 5 and lost at home to East Bridgewater, 1-0.

Cross Country

The cross-country team performed well this year, with the boys finishing 1-4 and the girls 2-2. The boys’ team was led by captains Leo Galvin, Joe Lynch, Dean Gomes, and Drew Keith, while the girls’ team was led by Sawyer Bradford. At the all-league meet on Oct. 25, Ben Willis finished 18th out of 100 varsity runners and was named league all-star, and runner Mae Evans finished 15th out of 79. In their final meet on Nov. 8 at the Division 2 state tournament, Hanover competed at the challenging Northfield Mountain course, with the top seven boys and girls on the team competing. Seniors Leo Galvin (18:47.2) and Willis (18:50.93), and juniors Bradford (23:50.09) and Hazel Blum (24:16.05) were HHS’ top finishers. The team achieved significant success and strongly represented Hanover this fall.