It was a spring season that never happened.
While folks throughout Franklin County have been impacted over the past few months due to the coronavirus pandemic, we here at the Recorder sports department have decided to honor all the senior student-athletes who were unable to participate in spring sports. Practices and games were canceled, championship trophies weren’t able to be chased, but the graduating seniors throughout our coverage area still deserve to have their stories told and be honored.
We will recognize all eight of our MIAA schools over the course of two weeks, with senior rosters, photos and information about them all.
We continue today with Greenfield High School’s seniors. Here are their stories, as told by their coaches:
Seniors: Joel Peabody, Jared Hart, Cameron Rice, Joe Monkiewicz, Anthony Hurd
For nearly 50 years, Tom Suchanek has spent every spring guiding the Greenfield baseball team as head coach. He’s never experienced anything like 2020.
“The coaching staff at Greenfield really missed the opportunity to work with all our athletes this spring,” offered Suchanek, who would’ve coached his 48th season with the program had the spring season taken place. “Obviously the void in their lives and our lives is something we’ll be talking about for a lifetime, but we’ve been thinking about them.”
Suchanek said he expected this year’s roster to see contributions from several new faces, and he anticipated increased roles for many players, including upperclassmen.
“I think we had the potential this year where if some of those younger kids stepped up, I think we would’ve been competitive — right in the hunt,” he said. “We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with this group of seniors. They came to practice each and every day wanting to improve as an individual and as a team. We will miss each student/athlete and wish them well in their future endeavors.”
Here’s what Suchanek had to say about the seniors on his roster:
Peabody: “A four-year varsity athlete that played multiple positions. He is one of our top pitchers who has performed well the last three years. We also anticipated him being one of the top pitchers in our league and having a good 2020 season. When not pitching, Joel played a strong third base as well as outfield. He really enjoyed the game and worked hard at improving his skills.”
Hart: “Played second base as a sophomore and moved to shortstop last season. Jared is a steady fielder with good arm strength and more than adequate range. He is another player who we were expecting to have a big season on both offense and defense.”
Rice: “Was a spot starter last season. When in the lineup, Cam contributed both on offense and defense. At the plate, he usually put the ball in play and made things happen. At practice Cam showed a lot of energy and was a team player. The 2020 season could have been a very successful year for him.”
Monkiewicz: “Really enjoys playing the game of baseball. He was always willing to do whatever was asked of him. During practice Joe worked diligently on improving his skill level. A team player who was constantly rooting for his teammates. When playing in the game he always gave his best effort. Because of his work ethic and dedication, Joe would have seen more time this season.”
Hurd: “Played the outfield and hit from the left side. He always practiced hard trying to improve his offensive and defensive skills. When in the game, Anthony usually hit the ball and with occasional power. The 2020 season most likely would have provided more game time for him.”
Senior: Tina Reed
After graduating a big senior class in 2019, the Greenfield softball team was expected to skew much younger in 2020. Just one senior was on the roster, and it was a newcomer in Reed, who coach Rian Lovett expected to fit right into the equation. Reed was also a key contributor on the soccer and basketball teams.
“She is a multi-sport athlete who is a role model for the younger players,” lauded Lovett. “Overall, I have a very young team but it would have been nice to have some senior leadership this year. I am sad I won’t get a chance to be a part of Tina’s senior season.”
Lovett expected an interesting year, saying that she was looking forward to seeing what her roster could do with increased roles.
“As a team I was really looking forward to this season,” she said. “I had a great group of girls who were passionate about softball and wanted to do well. This group had a lot of promise and we would have been very competitive this year.”
Senior: Kacia Kinsmith
A three-year member of the track team, Kinsmith was set to be a senior captain for the 2020 club.
In addition to stellar leadership attributes, she also was a massive talent on the track. She was the defending Western Mass. Division 2 champion in the javelin, winning the 2019 title with a heave of 102 feet, 8 inches. Kinsmith followed that with a fourth-place showing at the Central/West Division 2 championship.
“This spring, Kacia would have strengthened the team by her performance in the javelin, high jump, 100 hurdles and 4×100 relay,” explained Greenfield coach Peter Conway. “Her leadership and consistency will be missed.”
Seniors: Kevin Chen, Jake Cote, Israel Gallardo, Crescens Iavorschi, Alex Tirrell, Izaak Vigil-Sagan
Greenfield was expecting to return a strong core of six seniors to the track this spring, and five of those seniors were fresh off guiding the Green Wave to an undefeated 13-0 record and Valley League South title during the indoor track season over the winter.
“They hoped to carry the momentum of a stellar indoor season into the spring,” Greenfield coach Stu Elliott said.
Iavorschi was expected to have a big spring in the sprint events. He was fifth in the 100 meter dash at last year’s Central/West championship, and was the runner-up at the WMass Div. 2 championship. He also competed in the 200, 4×100 relay and long jump, and has been in the program since eighth grade.
Chen was a four-year track athlete who competed in the discus and shot put. Cote was also a discus and shot put thrower.
Tirrell was a four-year runner who specialized in the distance events and was a standout cross country runner in the fall. Gallardo was versatile, competing in the 100, 200, 4×100 and long jump, while Vigil-Sagan was a discus and shot put thrower.
Senior: Dina Samake
A standout goalkeeper on the soccer pitch, Samake joined the tennis team last year and quickly proved herself as a contributor in the team’s lineup.
“She had such determination and pushed herself each day to become a better tennis player,” Greenfield coach Alexis Silk said. “On the court, Dina goes for everything and uses great communication skills with her doubles partner. Communication is key when you play doubles and that skill and awareness comes so naturally to Dina. Off the court, she is a role model and the team cheerleader. Her high energy radiates through the team and brings fun and joy to every match and practice.
“I’m sorry Dina didn’t get her senior year tennis season, but the memories made from last season will stay with her and our team forever. Congratulations to Dina on all he accomplishments.”
Seniors: Gabe Larouche, Zonglin Li
Larouche began his tenure with the tennis team in 2019, and on a team with four veteran seniors and two standout seventh-graders, he quickly carved out a place in the squad.
“Gabe wasn’t able to rise high enough on the ladder to play singles, but took to doubles like a student of the game,” lauded Greenfield coach Andrew Varnon. “I’m pretty sure he led the league in fist bumps and partner check-ins. He and Jacob Frank went to the Western Mass. individuals tournament as a doubles team and succeeded to not get bageled in either set by a standout doubles squad from Northampton who wore their collars up and spun their serves in. Gabe understood that was a learning opportunity and he embraced it.”
With a heavy departure to graduation from a year ago, Varnon expected Larouche to help set the table in 2020.
“The 2020 boys tennis season is entirely hypothetical now, but in my imagination, if we go back and erase the pandemic and run it again, Gabe Larouche is captain of the Green Wave,” he offered. “Not because of his tennis talent, but because of his natural leadership skills and his determination.
“Gabe might not have been our first singles player this year, but whoever did make it to the top of the ladder would have had to climb over Gabe to get there, and I’m sure Gabe would have made that player earn every point,” he continued. “He would have been the player on the team to give the pre-game pep talk and lead the cheering section when a match was all over but the second doubles.”
Li was the other senior expected to be on this spring’s roster, and he also joined the team a year ago.
“He was a hard worker in practice, but his tennis skills were as-yet unrefined,” Varnon said. “Zonglin would ask every match if the other team had any extra players and whether he’d get to play an exhibition. Last May, when the team had a rare doubleheader due to an earlier rainout, Zonglin got his chance. With his doubles partner Christian Larouche, he got his first taste of varsity play, and the two went on to beat a team from Sci-Tech.
“Zonglin set about trying to make his senior tennis season count, taking lessons and practicing hard. Word around the squad was that Zonglin had been spending a lot of time on the courts. I would have loved to see him show us all how that hard work paid off this season. But as it is, the 1-0 career record stands.”