Pazienza, Zeramby And McAdams Highlight Winter Sports Season

With the spring sports season nearly upon us, this time of the year provides an opportunity to reflect on the winter before going full force into the new season. 

Tuesday evening at North Kingstown High School was dedicated to this winter's athlete as the NKHS kicked off its Winter Sports Awards Night.

While the night was certainly a celebration of all the individual and team performances, a trio of athletes certainly stood out with their level of success this past winter.

Senior , junior and sophomore certainly stood out with their individual performances this winter.

Pazienza won her second straight state title this season at Rhode Island College, making her eligible to tie the state record of three titles next season. As a team the Skippers fell short of post-season play, going just 2-10 on the year.

put up some very impressive numbers of her own in indoor track at the end of the season, being named first team All State and first team All New England for her performances in the 3,000 meters.

The girls’ indoor track team also had a successful regular season, finishing second in D-I with a 7-1 record behind Toll Gate High.

Senior Jason Zeramby helped lead his team to the Division-I South title with his team’s win over Chariho in the final game of the season, and then went on to win the state title at 189 pounds.

“He’s probably wearing his state championship medal around in school,” wrestling head coach David Petrucci joked.

The wrestling team was not the only team to win a regular season division title, as the boys’ indoor track team finished tied for first place with Portsmouth High at 7-0 atop the Southern Division.

Senior captain Brandon DiGiulio had the top finish for the Skippers in the state tournament, placing third team all-state in the 3,000 meters.  As a team, the Skippers took 13th place at states.

The girls’ basketball team enjoyed a very successful regular season in which they went 14-8, but suffered a heartbreaking loss to East Providence High in the first round of the D-I playoffs.

“Overall I could not have asked for a better group of girls,” girls’ basketball head coach Bob Simeone said. “I’ve got 35 new daughters.”

Simeone specifically thanks each of his four seniors – Julia Smiley, Jackie DeCristoforo, Soyria Giraud and Kelsey DeSanctis – who combined for 2,223 points during their tenure at NK.

The boys basketball team suffered a similar fate, falling to Cranston High School East at home in the first round of D-I playoffs.

Fortunately for the Skippers, the new playoff format allowed them for redemption in the statewide tournament a few week later.

North Kingstown knocked off a depleted Rogers squad before falling to Central High in overtime at the Providence Career and Technical Center.

One of the highlights of the season for the boys’ team had to have been the three-point shot by junior Rob Hazard as time expired against the Knights that forced overtime.

The boys’ ice hockey team took their lumps in their first season in D-I, but by just making the move to the highest division in the state it is an investment in the future of hockey at North Kingstown. 

“This season was a bit of an experience. We decided to make the jump to Division-I so there are pros and cons with that,” assistant coach John Morris said. 

Even though the team went 2-15-0-1, that is not to say that there were not numerous positives to take out of the season. 

Senior Matt Cote scored the game-winner in the Skippers first win in D-I, and freshman Tori DeAngelis scored what Morris is “95 percent sure the first goal by a girl in D-I history.”

Athletic Director James Marcello also praised the hockey team for how they carried themselves throughout the season.  Marcello mentioned how the announcer at Boss Ice Arena, who has been announcing hockey games for many years, praised the team for their performance,

“He said that in all his years of announcing that he has seen some teams struggle, but he’s never seen a team carry themselves with such class,” Marcello said. 

The announcer also told Marcello how it was the first time he had ever had a player thank him after the game, in this case senior captain Michael Sherburne.

The competition cheerleading team also had a trying season, but for different reasons. At the start of the season they had 40 girls coming out for the team, but ultimately they ended the season with just 15.

Despite the struggles with numbers, the team still managed to compete in competitions throughout the season.

In swimming both the boys and girls teams had tough regular seasons, yet were still able to come through when it mattered most in the State Meet.

“It takes the effort of each and every swimmer to define our sport,” head swim coach Leslie Becki said.