LUCEY, ACQUAVIVA EARN ALL-AMERICAN
A pair of Newburyport natives and former Clipper teammates are two of the better collegiate runners in all of Division III.
A little less than two weeks ago at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship, both John Lucey and Sam Acquaviva placed high enough as individuals to earn themselves the title of All-Americans. Lucey finished an impressive 6th out of almost 300 runners in the 8K, crossing the finish line in 24:35.2. and largely thanks to his efforts, Lucey led Williams College to a 4th-place finish out of 32 universities to secure a spot on the podium.
“It was a really amazing experience to succeed with my team and it makes me unbelievably happy to see our hard work throughout the season pay off,” Lucey said after the race. “Of course I’m very pleased with my individual result, but being able to celebrate a podium finish with the team just means that much more.”
Acquaviva, on the other hand, placed 23rd in 24:52.9. The MIT senior has had a fantastic collegiate career, and certainly finished it in style at the Div. III Championship.
BATCHELDER STILL BALLING!
Newburyport’s Will Batchelder is off to a strong start to his sophomore season for the Holy Cross men’s basketball team.
Through seven games, the 6-foot-1 point guard has started them all and is averaging 8.6 ppg, 1.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals. His best performance so far was an 18-point, 4-assist game against Sacred Heart where he went 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, and he also helped the Crusaders (2-5) earn a huge non-league win over former college powerhouse Georgetown a couple of weeks ago.
Batchelder started every game as a true freshman for Holy Cross last year, and averaged 12.3 ppg while shooting 40.4% from 3-point range.
YAZ SIGNS NEW DEAL
Andover native Mike Yastrzemski signed a one-year deal to return to the San Francisco Giants for a whopping $7.9 million.
Last year, he signed a one-year $6.1 million contract.
Not bad for a guy that got this start in the MLB at age 28. Now 33, the outfielder made $3.7 million in 2022.
In a report by a Giants blog, it was noted that, when healthy he provides “quality defense at the corners, emergency work in center, and pop. His .462 slugging percentage is 27th best in the National League since debuting in 2019. His 10.4% walk rate is 16th. A valuable player to have.”
KATTAR MAY RETURN IN ATLANTIC CITY
Calvin Kattar’s return to the octagon is coming in a few months with his team looking at a possible March main event in possibly Atlantic City.
Kattar, a Methuen native, appears to have fully recovered from an ACL tear in Oct. of 2022 after an awkward landing. One name that has popped up as a possible foe is No. 1 bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling, who lost the bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley.
Sterling apparently wants to move to the 145-pound division to meet Kattar.