Wheeler lands role on UConn varsity
Meghan Wheeler, who earned Globe Player of the Year honors last season while leading Canton High School's field hockey team to the Division 2 state championship, has worked herself into the starting lineup at nationally ranked University of Connecticut this fall.
Wheeler, a two-time Hockomock League MVP, scored 16 goals and 12 assists as a senior at Canton, including the game-winning goal in the state final. At UConn, she has started 11 of the first 14 games at midfield, serving as an integral cog in the Huskies machine even though the freshman has yet to score her first collegiate goal.
The UConn team was 11-4 as of last week and ranked 15th in the nation.
Stonehill to hostnational track eventStonehill College will serve as the host institution for the NCAA Division 2 indoor track and field national championships for the next two years.
The competitions, for both men's and women's events, will be held at the Reggie Lewis Track & Field Center in Boston, with this season's championships taking place there March 10-11.
Stonehill also will coordinate the 2007 championships, which also will be held at the Reggie Lewis Center.
''To be selected as the host for the indoor track and field national championships is a reflection of the hard work of our entire athletic staff, " Paula J. Sullivan, Stonehill's athletic director, said in a news release after the Oct. 11 announcement by the NCAA.
''We will do everything we can to make this a great experience for participants and spectators alike."
Receiver Basconhauls in kudos, tooSenior wide receiver Ben Bascon of Bridgewater continues to play a starring role for the Bridgewater State College football team, earning plenty of recognition in the process.
The New England Football Conference selected Bascon as its Offensive Player of the Week for his outstanding performance Oct. 8 in the Bears' 33-24 win over Maine Maritime Academy.
Bascon is a game-breaker. He snared nine passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, but he also turned around the momentum of the game. With Bridgewater State trailing, 24-14, early in the fourth quarter, Bascon pulled down a 58-yard TD strike from Adam Camobreco of Duxbury to cut Maine Maritime's lead to 3. Bascon then finished off a drive with a 30-yard touchdown catch as time expired for the winning points.
Bascon is closing in on a couple of Bridgewater State College career records. He is second in touchdown catches with 15, sixth in receiving yards with 1,231, and seventh in catches with 54.
Buy Celtics ticket,aid Katrina victims
Want to get bargain tickets to a Boston Celtics basketball game and help victims of Hurricane Katrina at the same time?
The Westwood-based New England Sports Academy has 125 tickets for the Dec. 14 Celtics game against the Indiana Pacers. The youth sports organization is offering the tickets for $55 and $75 -- a savings of $25 off the box-office price -- and earmarking $10 from each ticket for the Katrina Relief Fund.
Members of the New England Sports Academy's Inner Vision Stunt Team will be performing during the pregame activities at the TD BankNorth Garden.
Shapiro takes firstat collegiate meetIf you see Sarah Shapiro of Weymouth running from class to class at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, it doesn't mean she is late. She is working out. Shapiro is a member of the women's cross-country team at UMass, and is having a terrific season.
She captured first place in the inaugural Golden Knights Cross-Country Joust, with a time of 19 minutes 35 seconds over the 5-kilometer course near Albany, N.Y., on Oct. 8.
Shapiro obliterated the field, winning by 23 seconds. With UMass junior Kris Shaw of Carver finishing 23d, in a time of 22:35, their team landed third place, behind champion LeMoyne College and the host school, the College of Saint Rose.
In the men's division, sophomore Mike Leavitt of Brockton finished 15th overall, the top finisher for UMass-Boston, with a time of 28:17 over the 8-kilometer course. Another local runner for UMass-Boston was freshman Ryan Norton of Walpole, who finished 38th with a time of 30:58.
