Ten Moments To Savor

By Bob Holmes, Globe Staff

If you’re a fan of high school sports, the winter never seems long enough. Yes, it was long and cold, but fans in places such as Watertown, Duxbury, Weston, and Winchester enjoyed every minute. That’s because those communities all won state championships and there’s nothing like a trophy to make staying indoors worthwhile. Whether it was seniors capping off a great career, or freshmen getting their first headline, success found many homes. From Barnstable to Ipswich, it was a season of great acomplishments. Following are 10 moments that stood out among the countless athletic stories in Massachusetts.

Click here to view highlights from some of these memorable moments, including Kevin Miranda's 2,000th point, BC High winning two state titles, Weymouth boys' hockey in the Super 8 and much more.

1. A pool, a trophy, and some great memories

If you’re planning your retirement, you might want to follow the same road Weston’s Pete Foley took. It started Feb. 3 at Weston’s last home meet when it was announced that the Wildcats’ pool would be renamed the Peter J. Foley Natatorium in honor of Foley, who was retiring after 35 years as swim coach and athletic director. Later that month at Northeastern, in a grand finale, Foley’s crew won its ninth straight boys’ Division 2 state title. "These guys made my last year a very memorable one,’’ Foley said. "I’m just a lucky guy ... we’ve won nine in a row but it doesn’t get old.’’ The next day Foley’s son and Wayland head coach Michael, won the girls’ Division 2 state title. Dad finished second, and was just as proud.

2. Numbers add up to a record night

If you go into a meet with your top gymnasts limited by injury and illness, you don’t expect to be celebrating a state title and record score hours later. But that’s exactly what coach Duncan Chase and the Barnstable girls’ gymnastics team was doing after recording a state record score of 148.125. The Red Raiders became the first team to score a 148 or better and they did it in the most pressure-filled environment possible. Senior captain Allison Szatek had torn her ACL during practice on the beam, but still managed to contribute on the uneven bars. "Today was the best meet ever. It was so much fun’’ said Szatek. "It made my senior year.’’ Young (freshman Leah Pacheco) and old (senior Melissa Bowe) contributed to a record night that left Barnstable fans beaming.

3. Burlington challenges Braintree responds.

While on the subject of gymnastics, the best contest of the entire winter season took place Tuesday, Feb. 6. It wasn’t a double-OT basketball game, and it wasn’t a shootout in a hockey tournament. It was a regular-season boys’ gymnastics meet between defending state champion Braintree and unbeaten Burlington. That night, Burlington handed visiting Braintree its first and only loss of the winter, winning, 169.8-169.1. Burlington’s win set up a rematch the next week at the state championship meet. This time, Braintree responded to the challenge, winning with a score of 180.55. Burlington was second at 173.10. The title was Braintree’s fifth straight and the sixth of coach Dick Seibert’s 18-year career.

4. City, state, region ... Lowell wins them all

Is there any title that the Lowell wrestling team didn’t win this winter? Division 1 North, Division 1, All-State, and finally at New Englands, everywhere Lowell went, it came home a winner. Led by All-Scholastics Sean Boyle and Phil Gauthier, coach Tim O’Keefe put together a team without a weakness. The most impressive win might have been the New England title. Sandwiched between the All-State meet and the MIAA team tournament, the New Englands are a grueling two-day grind far from home in New Haven, Conn. Because of the timing, Massachusetts teams aren’t supposed to do well. But Lowell won the title, the school’s fifth overall and first since 1987. "To win this is an unbelieveable accomplishment for this team,’’ said O’Keefe.

5. Weymouth hockey, read all about it

There was no better story this season than the Weymouth boys' hockey team. Few expected the Wildcats to do any damage, and few thought their season would extend beyond Super 8 round-robin play. And when Weymouth had to turn to a backup goalie, sophomore Chris Daugherty, to face Catholic Memorial in the second game ... Wildcat fans held their breath. The result was more than anyone could have dreamed. Daugherty was outstanding, his defense never failed and Weymouth beat mighty CM, 2-1. The win was followed up by victories over Central catholic and Austin Prep before BC High stopped the run in the Super 8 title game. ‘‘The thrills that they’ve gone through in this stretch run, these are memories that they’ll have for the rest of their lives,’’ Weymouth coach Bob Donovan said.

6. Hold that record ... Mom is stuck in traffic

Avon senior Kevin Miranda was on the verge of scoring his 2,000th career point, but something, or someone, was missing - his mother Maria. But when mom arrived, Miranda went right back to doing what he does best, scoring points on a basketball court. Miranda hit a 3-pointer with 10:22 left in the first half and celebrated becoming the 53d player in state history to hit the milestone. He finished with 31 points, all in the first half. ‘‘He’s got the quickest release of any kid I’ve ever seen,’’ said coach Rich Gifford. ‘‘Today is a great night for him.’’ He also announced a policy change that February night. ‘‘If you get to 2,000 points, and you want to check if your parents are in the building, you can make the call.’’

7. Championship weekend for BC High

Can an entire school be All-Scholastic? No one can argue that between March 11 and March 18, BC High dominated Massachusetts high school sports. For the basketball team, that meant the Division 1 South sectional title on Sunday, followed by the EMass title Tuesday at the Garden, and finally a state championship Saturday on the court of the DCU Center in Worcester. Eight days, three titles, and one undefeated season. But there was still room in the trophy case for hockey. The Eagles dominated the Super 8 field, winning all five games on the way to their second straight Division 1A title. It came to an end March 18 with a win on Garden ice over Weymouth. "They deserve to be state champions,’’ said hockey coach Joe McCabe. He could have been talking about either team.

8. Who says 1 is an unlucky number?

It never gets old for the O’Bryant girls. Lucky 13 came in February as the Tigers rolled, sprinted, jumped, and threw their way to their 13th consecutive City League Indoor track title. The leader of O’Bryant’s efforts was Monete Johnson, a talented shot putter who didn’t limit her titles to the city limits. Johnson followed up the city title by winning the Division 3 crown with a throw of 37-2 1/2. The next week she won the state championship with a toss of 38-1 1/4 and the season ended with an even more impressive effort, a distance of 38-8 1/4 that was good enough for fifth in New England. While the girls made it look easy, the O’Bryant boys won their fifth straight in a nail-biter, edging a talented Charlestown team, 71-63, on the strength of strong results in the field events.

9. Lincoln-Sudbury success starts in the middle

Boston College will find out next winter what folks in the Dual County have known for years. It’s tough to stop Carolyn Swords. And this season you could say the same of the entire L-S girls’ basketball team, which beat Hampshire regional in the Division 2 state championship, 53-32. Swords, Lincoln-Sudbury’s 6-foot, 5-inch, All-Scholastic center, had 14 points and seven rebounds, stayed out of foul trouble and helped lead the Warriors to a 30-15 halftime lead. "I guess this what they mean when they say you have to peak at the right time,’’ said L-S coach Liza Feldman. The game ended the way every championship should, with the Warriors' four seniors on the floor together. "I just wanted the minute to run down so I could freak out and scream,’’ said Brittany Phillips, one of the seniors.

10. Lexington boys enjoy a fun run

They run alone, they run together, they jump, and most importantly, they win. The Lexington boys' track team won the Division 1 and All-State titles with a winning hand no one could match. Darius Walker won the 55 and the long jump. Meikle Paschal won the 300 and was fifth in the high jump. And the 4 x 400 relay team won the state title, just days after taking the Division 1 title. "All the hard work for four years finally paid off,’’ said Walker. "I’m so happy for the team, my coach and myself.’’ The girls’ state title was a split decision with New Beford and Lincoln-Sudbury tied for the title. "We just did the city of New Bedford proud and I real happy for that.’’ said Whalers head coach Tom Glasson. For L-S,the winter title followed a spring title last June during outdoor season.