Charlie Breitrose
The Raiders boys hockey team won the first state title in Watertown High School history.
Watertown High School’s athletic teams completed a historic winter, with a state championship, two sectional titles and four league championships.
Last week, the Watertown School Committee congratulated the victorious team, two of which went farther than any previous team in WHS history.
Boys Hockey
The boys hockey team showed off its state championship trophy, which it won after a tourney run that took them on some trips to Chelmsford, to the Cape and finally the TD Garden for the final, where they beat Agawam for the school’s first hockey championship.
The tournament run started with a tough game against Dracut, and Athletic Director Michael Lahiff said the game got so rough that he called the tournament organizers to complain. The Raiders, however, stayed out of trouble.
“They did a fantastic job sportsmanship-wise,” Lahiff said. “They hung in, didn’t engage in that, so there were no suspentions,”
The team did not have as good a regular season as last year, but head coach Mike Hayes said that his players came through for each other.
“Too often coaches focus on how good a kid is, how skilled, but no one looks at things like character, hard work and teamwork,” Hayes said. “When things get tough true character comes out. Teamwork shows. Y0u have to have skill and you have to have character. Too many good teams without character lose.”
Watertown had plenty of tough games, including avenging a section semifinal loss to Wayland, a North Section final against Bedford and a trip to the Cape to play a skilled and big Norwell team in the state semifinal.
Girls Basketball
Charlie Breitrose
The Watertown girls basketball team made it to the state semifinal this year, winning the North Section and the Middlesex League along the way.
The Raiders girls basketball team finished the regular season 18-0, and won the Middlesex League Freedom Division.
For the third time in a row reached the North Section final at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. This time, however, they won the section title by beating Pentucket.
“They lost to Duxbury in the Garden in the State Semifinal, but they went farther than any girls basketball team in the history of the school,” Lahiff said.
Girls Hockey
Charlie Breitrose
The Watertown Belmont girls hockey team won the Middlesex League title this year.
Watertown teamed up with Belmont to put together a co-op girls hockey team. The collaboration resulted in a Middlesex League title and a run in the state tournament.
The Raiders got to the state quarterfinal, but lost to Austin Prep.
Lahiff credited girls hockey coach Steve Russo for helping keep the program going.
“Thank you so much to Steve all the work he does,” Lahiff said. “For getting equipment back from players to give back someone else can use it because it is so expensive.”
Boys Basketball
Charlie Breitrose
Watertown High School boys basketball captains Andrew Massarotti and Mike Hagopian show off the Middlesex League title trophy.
Watertown High School’s boys basketball team has a rich history, and this year may have been a bit of a rebuilding year, but the team still brought home the Middlesex League Freedom Division title.
Boys basketball coach Steve Harrington has a record of 320-155, has one five league titles, six North Section finals and two state championships. He said he was impressed with the support all the teams gave and received this year.
“This winter season thing is really becoming incredible,” Harrington said. “It was great to see all the comradery of people supporting the teams, going to all the girls basketball games, and all the hockey games.”