The boys basketball team finished 8-13, but according to Coach Nick Hannigan, that record does not reflect the hard work and strong performances of his players.

Jack Buckley, a junior, was the team’s lead scorer, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. He was named a Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic and a Patriot League All Star. Ryan Kelleher, a senior, was “a big rebounder and a vocal captain,” Coach Hannigan said. Seniors Brian Wheeler and Dylan O’Neill joined with junior Jack Phelan to move the ball well on the court, and seniors Matt Sointu and Gerard Wynn had “big contributions off the bench.” Senior Alex Harper was strong on defense.

“We persevered through a lot of ups and downs,” said Dominic DiPietro, one of three senior captains along with Kelleher and O’Neill. “We definitely stuck together.”

Teammate Dave Griffin, a senior, agreed. “The team chemistry was strong.”

A highlight of the season, according to Griffin and DiPietro, was beating Rockland to clinch a spot in the state playoffs. The victory was particularly sweet because it followed a loss to Rockland at the buzzer earlier in the season.

The Indians fell in the first round of playoffs to Cardinal Spellman, who went on to win the Division 3 state title. With nine seniors set to graduate, the team looks to returning young players to make another run for the championship next year.

The boys hockey team brought hope to Hanover High School this winter with its first trip to the state championship game in years. After winning the South Sectional Championship for Division 3, they won five 5 playoff games to make it to the state title game at the T.D. Garden in Boston. The Indians fell short in that game, losing 7-1 to Shrewsbury, and although it was a tough loss, it was a big step in the  right direction for the team.

“I don’t think anyone expected us to get that far,” said senior captain Pat Nevins. “With our hard work ethic and really growing into one big family, that was a big part of it. We loved being together.”

“Of course a win would’ve been better,” Nevins added, “but to have my last game at the Garden … we couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

This season’s finish was a big improvement over recent years. The 2011-12 team lost three of four games to end the season and miss a chance at the playoffs, and last year’s team finished with a 5-11-4 record.

Hanover finished this regular season with 13 wins and 7 losses, winning the last four games of the season. The players worked extremely hard this season and the time and effort paid off for the Indians, coached by Jonathan Abban.

“We were a close group, there was more team chemistry,” said junior Andrew Zwart. “Sometimes (in past seasons) the seniors would disconnect, but that didn’t happen.”

The five senior captains included Nevins, Matt McDougall, Drew Caldwell, Matt Randall and Mike Proctor. McDougall was  the team’s leading scorer with 30 points and Nevins had 27 points. Both McDougall and Nevins were named Patriot Ledger All-Scholastics.

A tragedy occurred in the middle of the season,  when Hanover youth hockey player Matthew Cox was seriously injured in a ziplining accident. The team showed a great amount of support for Matthew and dedicated their season to the boy. Players would wrap their equipment in blue tape in support of Matthew while he was still in critical condition and attended his funeral when he passed away. The loss motivated the team to win games not just for themselves but for Matthew as well.

As the 2013-2014 season closes for the Indians, the team prepares to come back next year and go all the way to win the state Division 3 title. Despite losing 11 seniors, strong performances by young players give the team hope for the future. Sophomores Landon Hasenfuss and Colin Mahoney contributed 20 points each in the season.  In net the team was lead by Sophomore Noah Clapp and Zwart. Junior Cole Methot and freshman Mike McGlame were strong on defense.

The HHS wrestling team showed a lot of spirit in the winter season, winning the Patriot League title.  They finished with a record of 8 wins, 4 losses and two ties. They were at their best on their home turf, winning 83 percent of their home matches.

“We had an awesome team because our freshmen came out of the youth program and did great,” said senior Karl Lamoreaux. “It was nice to win the league championship before I graduate.”

The youth of the team gives hope that next year will be just as successful.

The Cohasset/Hanover girls hockey team finished the season with a 11-5-3 record, a big improvement from last year’s 5-10-3. It was their best finish in their short four-year history as a varsity team. They were second in the league, and made it to the playoffs for the first time ever.

Seeded 10th out of 28 teams in the Division 2 State Tournament, the team faced #26 seed Milton  but lost  4-0.

“It was pretty cool to help start the program and then play my last game in the state tournament,” said captain McKenzie Dunphy, who was among the girls who established the original team. “It was pretty emotional.”

The team’s top scorers from Hanover were sophomore Ari Soldano with 22 points, sophomore Sam Taylor with 19 points, and senior Julia Dares with 16 points.

A highlight of the regular season was beating Whitman-Hanson-Pembroke, the top-ranked team in the league, 4-1. “It was awesome,” said Dunphy. “It was the first time we had ever won against them.”

The combined team will lose five graduating seniors including Dunphy, Whitney Joy and Dares.  But with a lot of strong young players on the team, next season looks like it will be a good one too.

“It’s sad not to be coming back,” Dunphy said. “We made our best friends on the team.”

This year, Hanover High School’s girls gymnastics team had a stellar season, excelling both in team spirit and high scores. First-year coach Shannon Gerrish had nothing but good things to say about the team, praising their fantastic skills and great bond.

The team is composed of 20 girls- senior captains Kaitlyn Powers and Marina Goba, Aly Byrne, Haley Kmito, Nicole Manning, Shannon Connelly, Devan Martin, Breanna Harris, Sarah Powers, MaryKate Whitley, Michelle Leary, Charlotte Calkin, Kelsey Kosak, Abby Goodson, Sophia Baker, Genevieve O’Donnell, Taylah Olson, Meaghan Bishop, Lauren Galotti, and MaryKate Armstrong.

A team that large surely is astounding, according to Coach Gerrish. “When I was in high school, it was a struggle to have enough girls to even have a team, so a team of 20 is really remarkable!”

The team’s overall record was 4-6, yet they came achingly close to winning a handful of times. Three meets were lost by a mere 0.5 of a point or less, and one meet was even decided by 0.05 of a point! But even with the few losses scattered throughout the season, the girls were able to finish 5th overall out of 14 teams at the league meet, their season high score tallying up to a fantastic 134.65.

“We continued to improve as the season progressed, which is every coach’s dream!” said Gerrish. “The girls and myself worked very hard to make changes to their routines to give them the best opportunity of obtaining the best score possible.”

It is clear how hard the gymnastics team worked throughout the season, and their efforts were definitely rewarded with a great overall outcome!

Some of the season highlights were Lauren Galotti’s beam score of 9.0, her vault score of 9.25, Devan Martin’s 8.2 on bars, and Kaitlyn Powers on floor with a 9.25 and all-around 34.9. But though gymnastics does lend itself to individual success, it is still a team sport. And Coach Gerrish makes it clear that the girls led a fabulous example of unity and teamwork throughout the whole gymnastics season.

“We had an amazing team morale and on a couple of different occasions went out to eat as a team after meets,” she said. “The girls were so positive and encouraging toward one another during the entire season!”

Though the gymnastics season has come to an end, it is only a matter of time before it starts up again next year. And Gerrish hopes to take the reins once again to lead her girls to victory, inspired by the fantastic demonstration of determination, skill, and focus shown by all members of HHS’s gymnastics team.

“What a great season we had this year…” Coach Barb Toohey of Hanover Swimming and Dive told the team.  The girls’ season record was 6-5, and the boys were 5-5.

At the Massachusetts Sectional swim meet, four girls competed in individual events: Alex Kelly, Michelle Murphy, Calley Madison and Jodie O’Connor. Alex and Calley then advanced to the State Championship, where they were the only two individual swimmers representing Hanover High School.  At states, Calley placed 7^th in both of her events, swimming personal best times. She was named a Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic for her efforts.

The boys put up a tough fight this season, and their hard work paid off! The boys had many standout performances such as Shawn Doolin’s 50-free personal best of 26.19! Also, Eddie Geswell swam his personal best in the 100 breast stroke! Congrats boys!

The swimming and diving team skyrocketed this year, led by captains Alex Kelly, Emily Doolin and Joe Eastman.

The Girls Basketball Team had quite the excellent season this time around. In fact, Coach Fischer called it “one of, if not the best, seasons, for Hanover High School Girls basketball.” They finished the year off with a 18-4 win-loss ratio, and won their first league championship since 2010! The league championship with North Quincy resulted in a win, with a score of 50-46. The team won the first game of playoffs at home, advancing to the second round of playoffs for the first time in three years. They were knocked out of the tournament after losing to Archbishop Williams, with a score of 67-38.

Stephanie Flynn, a sophomore, was the team’s leading scorer with an outstanding 16.5 points per game, prompting her to be chosen as a Patriot League All Star and a Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic. She didn’t ride this boat alone, for seniors Becca Ritchie and Marie Ribadeneyra, along with the freshman Megan Dixon, joined her as well. Ribadeneyra was the second lead scorer, making just over 11 points per game.

“We were a young team,” said Ribadeneyra, noting the team lost five seniors from last year and had three freshmen on the roster. “But they had a lot of talent. They played like veterans.”

With Ribadeneyra, Ritchie and Lindsay Carroll as captains, the season was fantastic overall. The coach said it himself, “The girls all worked incredibly hard during their offseason, and it clearly showed when it came time to get on the court.”

The next year looks even more promising, as sophomores Flynn and Kayla McMahon will return, along with freshman standout Meaghan Raab. “The next couple of years should be really good ones,” Ribadeneyra said.

The final standings may not show it, but the members of the HHS Ski Team had a fun winter. Although the girls team finished 7th in the Ski East League and the boys finished 8th, weekly team dinners and easy camaraderie helped elevate the season.

“We were never really competitive about it,” said Justin Rosko, a sophomore captain. “The point was just to have fun.”

Coach Bob Egan called the season a “building year after losing some seniors.” The size of the team was the biggest obstacle, since teams are allowed up to 10 girls and 10 boys skiing varsity, and an unlimited number of JV skiers. This year, the girls team had four skiers and the boys team had eight.

Rosko and Josh Joy, another sophomore, were their team’s most consistent finishers, Coach Egan said. Sophomore Tom Cleary represented the team on the snowboard course. Seniors Abby Campbell and Stephanie Ruck, along with sophomores Joy Replogle and Annika Rowland, all gave strong performances. Campbell captained the girls team.

The outlook for next year looks bright, despite the loss of seniors Campbell and Ruck, both four-year Varsity Letter skiers. A solid group of returning skiers will hopefully be able to pick up a few new skiers. Practices and races are held at Blue Hills in Canton, and the team races four times a year at Ragged Mountain in New Hampshire as well.

“Next season we are hoping for a larger group of freshmen to bring the team to 20-plus members,” Coach Egan said.