Sports notebook
Here's a sure sign that the summer of 2007 is quickly winding down: The Northeastern University football media guide has arrived in the mail.
The Huskies open their season Sept. 1 at Northwestern and are hoping that a handful of athletes from the area can help them successfully make the transition from the Atlantic-10 Conference to the Colonial Athletic Association and improve last year's 5-6 record.
The roster lists freshman wide receiver/running back Greg Abelli of Billerica; junior offensive lineman Josh Belko of North Andover; sophomore defensive end Chris Byrne of Tewksbury; junior defensive lineman Wil Colon of Lowell; freshman linebacker Matthew Cunha of Lexington; senior defensive back Barry Jeanson of Acton; freshman offensive tackle Jason Lane of Derry, N.H.; and redshirt freshman linebacker Joe Piccuirro and junior linebacker John Swenson, both of Chelmsford.
Jeanson, who, along with four others, graces the cover of the NU guide, and Colon are featured in the team's defensive outlook. Last year, Jeanson, a safety, had 40 tackles and four pass breakups and was named the team's Most Improved Defensive Player. He also returned 11 kicks for 223 yards.
Colon helps anchor the defensive line and last year checked in with 35 tackles, including 4.5 for losses totaling 14 yards. Byrne played in all 11 games last season on the defensive line and on special teams.
2 enshrined at BC
Boston College has opened the doors of its Varsity Club Hall of Fame to Sean McGowan of Burlington and Ann Porell of Winchester.
McGowan hit for power and average during a stellar baseball career. He finished with a .402 average in 149 games with 208 hits and 148 runs scored. He is the all-time leader at BC in home runs with 53 and runs-batted-in with 184. In his senior year of 1999, McGowan was All-Big East and earned third-team All-America honors. He was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the third round of the Major League draft.
Porell starred for the soccer team from 1981-84 and ranks among the school's leading scorers with 83 points on 27 goals and 29 assists. Thirty-five of the points came in her freshman year, when she was All-Big East. Her senior year she was All-New England, All-Big East, and All-America.
McGowan and Porell, along with five other former athletes and former football coach Jack Bicknell, will be recognized Oct. 6 at halftime of the BC-Bowling Green football game and enshrined Oct. 7 at the Sheraton Needham.
Around the region
Benjamin Jackson of Harvard finished ninth in the standing long jump at the recent Hershey Track and Field Championships in Hershey, Pa. Jackson, competing in the 11-12 age group, jumped 6 feet, 9 inches to finish well behind the winner, Max Doran of Trafford, Pa., who hit 8-11. To qualify for the Nationals, which drew more than 500 of the finest young track and field athletes in North America, Jackson won the Massachusetts qualifier with a jump of 7-4 3/4, which topped all competitors in the New England region and two Canadian provinces.
Andover was without the services of leading scorer Meghan Thomann, but still had enough offense to beat Westford, 44-40, in the championship game of the Hoops for Hope Tournament. Ilana Cohen was the difference down the stretch with four straight free throws after Westford had pulled to within three at 39-36. Laura Renfro (12 points) and Cohen (11) picked up the slack in Thomann's absence. In the semifinals, a 39-36 win over Pentucket, Renfro had a game-high 15 points. In the boys' division, Central Catholic ran all over Lexington, 72-53, to win the title. The offensive star was Adrian Gonzalez, who totaled 35 points in the semifinal win over Andover and in the final against Lexington. Those 35 points came on the heels of a 50-point explosion in the first round and quarterfinals.
Left-hander Derek Miller of Pelham, N.H., was a recent Southern League Player of the Week after winning two games and pitching 12-plus innings of 8-hit, 3-run ball for the Double-AA Huntsville Stars. He also struck out 12 and walked just two. Miller, who pitched at the University of Vermont before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers, began the season in the Advanced A Florida State League before being elevated to Huntsville last month.
Defenseman Brock Wilson has forfeited his junior and senior seasons at Merrimack by signing a pro contract with the Stockton Thunder of the East Coast Hockey League. Wilson was the Warriors' most experienced blueliner, with 53 games under his belt.
Westford's Alison Walshe joined some select company when she won the North and South Women's Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Walshe, 22, defeated defending champ Jenny Suh, 3 and 2, to join the list of champions, who include Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Morgan Pressel, Glenna Collett, Hollis Stacy, and Louise Suggs. The win opened the door for Walshe, who advanced to the match-play bracket in the US Women's Amateur last week, to a possible spot on the Curtis Cup team.
Former North Andover lacrosse captain Rusty Bannister has decided to spend a year in Switzerland before possibly continuing his career at the US Naval Academy. He will head overseas at the end of the summer as part of the North Andover Rotary Club exchange program. Bannister said he was not sure how big lacrosse is in Switzerland, but he was bringing his sticks to find out.
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