It's a delightful dozen for St. Mark's squad

The following is a weekly column that focuses on five winter-season high school teams.

Tricaptain Mike Gately of Sudbury will play at Columbia University. Dave Hendrie, another captain, will enroll at Colby College and suit up for the Mules. Bryan Lytle, the third captain, is looking at Stonehill College and Bryant University to play hoops.

The trio is part of a solid core that has led the St. Mark's School boys' basketball team to a 12-0 record heading into yesterday's action. Head coach Dave Lubick, now in his ninth year, said it is the best start in the team's history. The team has also won 30 straight New England Prep School Athletic Conference games at home.

''Our reputation is to get after people defensively," said Lubick, who also teaches English at the Southborough prep school. ''We pressure people and just keep on coming."

St. Mark's posted a 27-3 record last season, advancing to the New England Private School playoffs. Five of the top six players from the squad returned this year. The 6-foot-8-inch Gately is the lone player hailing from Boston's western suburbs.

''He's a very, very skilled big kid," Lubick said. ''He's been our best shooter and he's an incredibly skilled and smart player. He's faced some big-time Division 1 players."

St. Mark's has a few of those players on its own roster, too.

Junior guards Salah Abdo and Tommy Hubbard are targeted to play Division 1 basketball in college, according to Lubick.

Abdo, of Chelsea, has drawn interest from the College of Charleston, Northeastern, and Brown, among others. Hubbard also plays for Leo Papile's Boston Amateur Basketball Club team and is a ''tenacious athlete, an absolute tiger for us," Lubick said.

''We had a strong core coming back from last year," added Lubick. ''So the success has been a combination of maturity and an infusion of new talent."

Building blocks in Watertown

The Watertown High varsity girls' hockey team is in the first season of a two-year cooperative agreement with Melrose. Eight Melrose players (four varsity, four JV) make the trek to Watertown each day, and head coach Steve Russo calls the arrangement a happy marriage.

''It gives each town a chance to build up their program," said Russo, pointing to similar arrangements involving Reading and Lynnfield team and a Weston-Wayland squad. ''Our goal right now is to get the numbers [of players] up."

Russo has 33 players in the program, which is skating varsity and junior varsity teams. Of those 33 players, 16 are playing hockey for the first time.

Russo envisions a day when players arrive at the high school level with a few years of prior experience. With this in mind, the high school program and Watertown's youth hockey program have teamed up to offer a weekly clinic on Sundays for girls in grades 4-8. Russo said one of the benefits of the program is that players are supplied equipment, defraying what can be a costly investment for parents.

The Watertown-Melrose varsity squad was still searching for its first victory as of last week, but Russo sees plenty of bright spots. Freshman goalie Courtney Hopkins has been excellent, facing 35-45 shots per night. Seniors Maryellen Barba, Hannah Epstein, and Kayla Sheehan, along with juniors Christine Sideris and Hannah Robinson, have also played key roles.

Russo said it has been nice to see the Watertown and Melrose players meshing seamlessly. ''The girls have formed real good friendships already," he said. ''As far as I'm concerned, it's been a great mix."

Cotto hurdles obstacles

When Holliston High boys' indoor track coach Sam Blackmore recaps how senior Tyler Cotto has become a state-level competitor, he finds it hard to believe.

Cotto was a middle-of-the-pack distance runner as a freshman, standing maybe 5 feet 3 inches. He switched to hurdles as a sophomore, but didn't instantly make his mark running behind the talented Jeff Mansfield. Then Cotto missed his junior season due to a knee injury he sustained while playing soccer.

This season, after a dramatic growth spurt, Cotto stands about 6-1 and is the top hurdler in the Tri-Valley League. Where he once ran the 45-yard course in the low-9s, he is now clocking low-6s.

''Hurdles require a lot of form, technical expertise, it's something that has to be practiced over and over again," said Blackmore, noting that his assistant, James Lavasseur, coaches the hurdlers. ''Most people are not able to glide over them, but Ty is a beautiful hurdler."

Doubling the fun is that Cotto and his twin brother, Mitch, are Holliston's top two hurdlers. Both have come a long way from when they ran distance as freshmen.

''They were no more than 5-2, maybe 5-3," Blackmore said. ''I still talk about them being small, but I walk up next to them now and I'm looking up. It seemed like it happened overnight."

Tyler is also Holliston's top high jumper.

''In practice, when we first started, he was having trouble clearing 5 feet," Blackmore said. ''Then, in the first meet, he clears 5-8. It's fun to see a kid who just bounces into stuff and emerges."

Assabet hockey on the rise

Assabet Valley Regional in Marlborough has been moving up in boys' hockey in recent years, prompting the team's shift to a more competitive division. The team was elevated from Central Massachusetts' Russell Conference to the Coughlin Conference for this winter's campaign.

The Aztecs also added another wrinkle to their schedule, with a Feb. 4 date to play Hudson High marking their first meeting in recent memory. ''We see each other at the rink for 5:45 a.m. practices all the time," said Assabet coach Dave Quinn. ''We have Hudson kids on our team. I'm from Hudson. Hudson has a storied tradition. We just thought it would be good for the kids."

Quinn, who graduated from Hudson High in 1969, said the Aztecs are taking a realistic view of their strong start (six wins) to the season, since the upcoming schedule is loaded with challenging games. The team is led by senior captain Jeff Bahosh of Hudson. The alternate captains are Tim Brannelly of Maynard and Derek Carvalho of Hudson. Senior Craig Tyler and Maynard's Bobby Searle and Nick Moretti also play major roles.

''We have a really good core of juniors and seniors," Quinn said. ''They dedicated themselves this summer, all playing together with a team. They like each other and enjoy playing with each other. It's a neat group."

In the Coughlin Conference, Assabet joins Littleton, Northbridge, Nashoba, Lunenberg/Ayer, and Fitchburg.

Showdown looms for wrestling rivals

When it comes to wrestling in Boston's western suburbs, a major showdown looms Wednesday when Lincoln-Sudbury hosts Wayland. Both teams are undefeated in the Dual County League. Lincoln-Sudbury is off to a 9-1 overall start this season, although coach Harry Coffin projects his team as the underdog.

''They have a little more experience than us," he said. ''Hopefully it will be a competitive match. That's always one we circle on the schedule."

Coffin said his team is backboned by a strong junior class, which includes Jason Orlando (heavyweight), Ryan McCann (125-pound weight class), Nico VonStackelberg (160), and Justin Nicholson (171).

Orlando has ''learned how to wrestle and is moving better on the mat," Coffin said. McCann is ''coming into his own," VonStackelberg earned a second-place finish at the Lakeville Tournament, while Nicholson won his weight class at Lakeville.

Senior Eliot Gibbs (140) is also ''putting together a real good year," Coffin said.

''We're happy with the way things are coming together."

Mike Reiss can be reached at 508-820-4234 or mreiss@ globe.com.