Two winter sports crown champions

High school ice hockey and basketball teams from around the area tapped off their state title quests this past week, but other winter sports teams have either wrapped up their seasons or are nearing completion.

Here is a look at some of the postseason highlights:

The Bridgewater-Raynham wrestling team celebrated the individual success of 215-pounder Brett Wyman and heavyweight Rich Wapenyi, who each captured all-state titles in their respective weight classes.

Wapenyi, Wyman, and Zach Hixon (125 pounds) were the only seniors on B-R's 25-4 squad this season. It was quite a turnaround for a program that has been near .500 the previous two years under coach Jeff Francis. Francis said the team had about 20 wrestlers about three years ago and has grown to about 40 in the program this season.

Wyman and Wapenyi should serve as examples for the younger wrestlers because of their success over four years. The two also were sectional and division champions. Wyman compiled a 42-1 mark through the all-state competition, while Wapenyi was a perfect 35-0.

The two, along with Plymouth South 125-pounder Scott Coull, were the only three grapplers from communities south of Boston to capture state crowns.

Francis was honored as Division 1 South coach of the year.

"It's great being recognized for having a really solid year," Francis said. "We put the numbers back together and had a great season, and I think we're going to be even better next year."

After capturing five consecutive state titles, the Braintree boys' gymnastics team placed second to Burlington at the state championship meet, 180.30 to 164.05.

Individually, sophomore Blake Ellis stood out as he captured titles in the vault (9.15) and the rings (8.50), where he tied with Lowell's Zach Aguair. Ellis finished second in the all-around with a score of 49.05.

Two area players recently helped Trinity College women's hockey team wrap up its regular season with the best record (17-4-3) in school history. Senior defenseman Alexandra Schmidt of Milton and junior defenseman Kelley McCarthy of Kingston each have been part of the Bantams' strong season. McCarthy (2 goals, 10 assists) ranked fifth overall on the team with 12 points.

The season has been filled with firsts for Trinity. Recently, Trinity hosted Hamilton College in the program's first postseason game at Williams Rink in the Koeppel Community Sports Center.

Trinity entered the NESCAC tournament as the number three seed. This season, Trinity's 10-3-3 conference record was its best in history and good enough for third in the conference.

Curry College women's basketball freshman Cortney Robinson was selected the Commonwealth Coast Conference rookie of the year recently. The 5-foot-11 Brockton High product averaged 10.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Colby-Sawyer sophomore Terri Duffy of Marshfield was selected to the conference's second team. The 6-foot Duffy averaged 12.3 points a game in league play, 11th best in the conference. She also pulled down 7.5 rebounds and had 1.3 blocks per game.

The Chargers were 17-7 overall and 10-3 in the TCCC, entering the conference tournament as the number four seed.

After averaging a whopping 14.5 rebounds per game in two games, University of Massachusetts at Boston guard Myrna Tangar of Randolph earned Little East Conference Player of the Week honors.

The 5-foot-7 Tangar put up the numbers during the week of Feb. 18-24. She also averaged 9 points and 4.5 assists in the two games.

She collected her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a 64-54 win against the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth on Feb. 19. She then returned on Feb. 23 to grab a career-high 17 rebounds for the third time this season against Keene State College.

Ready to think about spring? The Brockton youth softball league for girls will begin registration from 7 to 9 p.m. on Monday at Brockton High's green cafeteria.

The league is open to all girls ages 5 to 16 years old. For more information call 508-941-5766.