ORLEANS – It didn’t take Zach Wells long to realize the talent Olivia Avellar possesses. As an assistant coach for last year’s Cape Cod Furies, Wells got a glimpse of Avellar’s skillset while she played goaltender for the co-op team. “Obviously meeting Olivia last year, I was really impressed,” Wells said. “We brought in a goalie coach this year to work with her specifically because we saw how much talent s...

OSTERVILLE — Monomoy boys basketball coach Dan Taylor knew that his Sharks squad was going to face a substantial disadvantage this winter. In a sport where height and the ability to play near the rim often reign supreme, Monomoy has found itself undersized and overmanned in most of its matchups. “If we spiked our tallest kid’s hair, he might be 6 feet,” Taylor said, “and we’re going up against front lines t...

SANDWICH — With limited senior leadership and a young roster, Nauset’s first-year girls basketball coach Jean Leyton expected this year’s Warriors team to experience some growing pains. Finding consistency has been an issue for Nauset, which overcame a double-digit second-half deficit in a 46-40 win over Barnstable on Jan. 17 before struggling to stick with Sandwich in a 58-26 loss three days later. “I feel...

The majority of high school sports teams starts their season with goals. Many teams aim to win their respective league title, while others set their goals higher and vie for a state tournament appearance. Although many coaches preach the importance of navigating their season with a “one game at a time” approach, local Lower Cape teams are beginning to see where they stand among their peers that are also workin...

Grab your calendars and a permanent marker, it’s time to plan for another summer of Cape League baseball. On Monday, the Cape Cod Baseball League released its schedule for the 2023 season, which marks the 100 th anniversary since the league was officially formed in 1923. The ’23 slate includes a 44-game regular season schedule highlighted by Opening Day on June 10 and the All-Star Game, which will return t...

OSTERVILLE — Between the nerves that come with playing at a higher level and having less experience than the upperclassmen, freshmen rarely separate themselves as difference-makers at the varsity level. However, being a freshman hasn’t held back Zach Martin, the Monomoy guard who has made a splash this winter for the Sharks. “Zach can do things on the court that you don’t see a lot of kids around doing, let...

HARWICH – If you spend much time outdoors, chances are you’ve spotted people walking while carrying Nordic ski poles. Hundreds of people from the Upper Cape to Provincetown and everywhere between are heading outside to try Nordic walking, a total-body version of walking that has recently taken off throughout the Cape, thanks in part to Carla Fogaren, a Harwich Port resident that sparked the craze in June when ...

NORTON – Nauset freshman Violet Roche didn’t have many expectations when she joined the school’s girls indoor track and field team. With no previous experience running track or cross-country, Roche, a Orleans resident, never expected that she’d quickly establish herself as one of the best indoor track and field athletes to ever come through Nauset. However, that’s exactly what has happened. Roche set a n...

HANOVER – The streak has been snapped. For the first couple weeks of the season, the Cape Cod Tech girls basketball team was among the best in the Mayflower Athletic Conference. During their streak, the Crusaders boasted a stingy defense and saw multiple girls contribute offensively to help the team open the season with a 5-0 record. Cape Tech’s pursuit of a perfect season was halted Friday when first-half ...

HANOVER – Throughout the Cape Cod Tech girls basketball team’s 5-0 start, Tech’s first-year coach Nick Conti learned that he can count on Jada Miranda to contribute to multiple facets of the game. Not only has the senior from Harwich made an impact scoring at the offensive end, she’s also been a strong defender that has helped the Crusaders establish themselves as one of the best teams in the Mayflower Athleti...

Dede Griesbauer has a sparkling memory of when she first became enamored with sports as a young girl living in New Jersey. “My first memory of sport was watching the Olympics on TV and seeing how happy the athletes looked with their gold medals,” said the 52-year-old Griesbauer, a part-time Chatham resident who lives and trains in Boulder, Colo. “I was drawn to it and, I’m not going to lie, I wanted a gold med...

FALMOUTH – There was a brief period during the preseason that Cape Cod Tech boys basketball coach Brent Warren had the opportunity to see the full potential of his Crusaders squad. That potential hasn’t materialized — at least not yet — because one of the Crusaders’ best players, senior captain Lucas Gurski, has been sidelined since the first week of the season. Even with Gurski out of the lineup, Cape Tech...