BCAT News

Burlington High School’s winter sports season wrapped up last week as several Red Devils teams made strong postseason runs in the MIAA state tournaments. The boys hockey team reached the Division 2 Final Four, boys basketball advanced to the Elite 8, and two Burlington wrestlers competed at the All-State Championships.

BOYS HOCKEY DEFEATS DUXBURY, CONCORD-CARLISLE, FALLS TO CANTON IN SEMI-FINALS

The Burlington High School boys hockey team won two games in the MIAA Division 2 tournament last week to advance to the state semifinals. The Red Devils first defeated the Duxbury Dragons 3-1 last Monday in the Sweet Sixteen round at the Burlington Ice Palace to keep their postseason run alive.

Burlington then delivered one of its strongest performances of the playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Concord-Carlisle Patriots in the Elite 8, earning the Division 2 state semifinal trophy and punching their ticket to the Final Four.

Senior Giacomo Berardinelli showcases “Final 4” Trophy

The Devils’ tournament run came to an end in the semifinals against the Canton Bulldogs. Junior James Gordon and sophomore Nick Tulipano each scored while senior goalie Colin MacLeod made 32 saves. Burlington finished the season with an impressive 17 and 6 and 1 record and a trip to the Division 2 Final Four.

The Devils now say goodbye to seven seniors who were instrumental to the team’s success: Jordan Gatimu, Giacomo Berardinelli, Ryan McWhinnie, Logan Nestor, Ryan McElroy, Colin MacLeod, and Daniel Agati.

BOYS BASKETBALL DEFEAT LONGMEADOW IN SWEET SIXTEEN, SEASON ENDS IN ELITE 8

The Burlington High School boys basketball team continued its postseason run last week with a strong performance in the Sweet Sixteen round of the Division 2 tournament. The Red Devils defeated the Longmeadow Lancers 70 to 46 at home last Wednesday night to advance to the Elite 8.

Senior Charlie Poehler led Burlington with 23 points, while senior Matt Gray added 17 and junior Leon Ssekandi finished with 13 as the Devils pulled away for the convincing victory.

Burlington then traveled to face the Masconomet Regional Chieftains in the Elite 8. The Red Devils ran into a tough Masconomet squad and fell 61 to 35, bringing their postseason run to an end.
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Burlington jr. Leon Ssekandi looks to protect the ball with  Masco’s jr. Thomas Denton.

The Devils wrapped up a strong season with a trip to the Elite 8 in the Division 2 state tournament. Burlington will graduate five seniors who played key roles this season: Ryan Ellis, Justin Gray, Matt Gray, Charlie Poehler, and Cole Shannon.

DEVILS WRESTLERS COMPETE AT ALL-STATES

Sophomore captains Max Shvartsman at 106 pounds and Cameron Bonnell at 165 pounds represented Burlington at the All-State Wrestling Tournament held at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Shvartsman entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and delivered an impressive performance. He pinned Jason Ireland-Schmuck of East Longmeadow in 3 minutes and 11 seconds before recording a 31-second pin over eventual fourth-place finisher Gavin Espinola of Greater Lowell Tech.

Sophomores Cameron Bonnell and Max Shvartsman

Shvartsman later defeated Kyle Dube of Shawsheen Tech 11-2 to advance to the finals, where he finished second after falling to Sam Winship of Central Catholic, the only Massachusetts opponent to defeat him this season.

Bonnell, the No. 3 seed at 165 pounds, opened the tournament with an 8-0 win over Logan Schipper of Pembroke before falling to eventual champion Caden Smith of Central Catholic. He rebounded with an 8-5 victory over Matt Patterson of Middleboro, the state’s all-time wins leader.

Bonnell later earned a default win over Tristan Lane of Shawsheen Tech while leading 5-0, then defeated Jake Thompson of Weymouth 12-4 before finishing fourth after a 2-0 loss to Nathan Hicks of Bristol Plymouth.

With the performances from its two sophomore captains, Burlington finished 12th overall out of 155 Massachusetts wrestling teams, the program’s highest finish since 2020.