The Old Rochester Regional High School boys’ track team got off to a strong start this spring season, kicking off the spring season with dominant wins over Apponequet and Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. However, there was one valuable asset that the boys’ team was missing: sprinter Colby Gross.
Gross was a standout athlete for the Bulldogs during the indoor season. He placed third in the 300 meters at the Division 4 championship with a time of 36.46 seconds, before running the 400 meters at the New Balance Indoor National Championship in New York. A foot injury kept him from running his best in that race and forced him to miss the opening portion of the outdoor season, but on April 28, he made his return in the Bulldogs’ meet against Somerset Berkley.
In his first race back, Gross came in second place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.1, finishing just short of teammate Leo Schiappa’s 11.0. Gross followed up with a dominant win in the 200 meters, winning the race by a wide margin with a time of 22.5 seconds.
Also contributing to the win was Schiappa, who on top of his 100 win also took first in the 400 and long jump. Sam Balsis came in first for the 400 hurdles, while Jackson Veugen picked up a win in the 2 mile, and John Kassabian won the high jump. Murray Copps, Aidan Silk and Veugen swept the mile, while Copps, Kassabian and Matthew Curry did the same in the 800.
The girls’ team also continued their streak with a dominant 83-47 win. The Bulldogs will have their only home meet of the season on Thursday, May 5, when they host conference rival Dighton-Rehoboth at 3:45 pm.
Baseball
The Bulldogs went 1-1 in their final two games of April, defeating Seekonk on April 27 before taking a 7-2 loss to Somerset Berkley on April 29. ORR kicked off May with a 7-6 win on Monday over Apponequet. The Bulldogs will visit Joseph Case on Friday, May 6, in Swansea.
Girls Lacrosse
Following their first loss of the season to Dartmouth, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back with two big wins. On April 27, they defeated Dighton-Rehoboth, 14-4, in Mattapoisett and followed up the win with a 16-7 victory over Fairhaven on April 29. The Lady Bulldogs hosted Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech on Wednesday and will host Weymouth on Saturday, May 7.
Boys Lacrosse
The boys’ lacrosse team continued to extend its win streak last week. On April 27, the Bulldogs visited Dighton-Rehoboth and picked up a 7-4 win. On April 29, they hosted Fairhaven and defeated the Blue Devils, 6-5. ORR visited Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech on Wednesday and will visit Seekonk on Wednesday, May 11.
Sports Roundup
By Matthew Curry