A Championship Year: Hampshire County teams shine in 2024-25
School is officially over, and with that, summer is finally here. High school graduations have concluded, underclassmen enjoyed their final days of classes and spring state championships wrapped up last weekend.
A plethora of Hampshire County sports teams had terrific seasons throughout the school year, starting in the fall with a pair of Western Massachusetts titles from the Belchertown (Class B) and Granby (Class D) girls soccer teams, transitioning into winter as South Hadley girls hoops played in the MIAA Division 4 state final for a second straight year, and wrapping up in the spring with the Amherst girls track and field team putting forth its best year in program history as well as Hampshire softball continuing its dominant string of success under head coach Brian McGan.
While only the Hurricanes came home with the ultimate prize – a team state title – there were still several performances worth noting. So, let’s take a look back at 2024-25.
It’s tough to talk about the Hurricanes’ outdoor campaign because it hasn’t yet ended, as a dozen athletes are headed to Oregon to compete at Nike Outdoor Nationals this weekend, but what has already been accomplished is plenty enough to give them their flowers. The Amherst girls won their first-ever state championship (Div. 4) earlier this spring just a week after claiming first at the Western Massachusetts Div. 1 Championships following an undefeated dual meet regular season.
Team success in track can’t come without individual success, and that’s what Amherst has had all year. Seniors Moriah Luetjen, Ruby Austin, Elizabeth Sawicki, Skylar Fox and Brooke Nedeau, among many others, have excelled in their individual and relay events both during the indoor and outdoor seasons. Freshmen Juliana Albo and Claire Fortin are among a talented underclassmen crew that help add depth to the lineup.
On the boys side, Miles Jeffries and Logan Alfandari have also turned in strong seasons. Jeffries won the state title in the 400 and Alfandari is known for his prowess in the discus and shot put. Both will be competing in Nationals as well.
It’s not South Hadley’s fault that it didn’t come home with any first-place championship hardware the past two years. The Tigers played against a juggernaut in No. 1 Cathedral (Boston) both times, a team that will be moving up from Division 4 next year.
South Hadley was clearly the second-best team in D4 in both instances. In 2024, the Tigers hoisted the Class B title and won their state tournament games by 34, 21, 7 and 10 en route to the final. In 2025, they fell to Pittsfield (No. 5 in Division 3) in the Class B finals, won their state games by 28, 11, 19 and 3 before once again facing Cathedral in the championship. South Hadley went 22-4 in both seasons.
Seniors Maddie Soderbaum, CC Gurek, Ava Asselin and Caitlin Dean played major roles on that squad and move on, while players like Olivia Athas, Cara Dean, Kate Phillips and Taylor Bullough will return and eye a third consecutive trip to the big game.
Sure, the Raiders wish their season ended differently considering they were the No. 1 seed in the Division 4 state tournament, but it doesn’t mean this spring was a failure.
Hampshire fell to No. 4 Joseph Case – which went on to win its third straight state title – in the Final Four, as its season came to an end to the Cardinals for the the third year in a row. However the Raiders still won a whopping 23 games, and they had winning streaks of 13 and 10 en route to a Class B championship – their 12th WMass title since 2008.
The scary part for the rest of the state? Hampshire is only losing two seniors (CC Thayer and Teagan Charles, both of whom enjoyed illustrious careers wearing red and black), and its starting pitcher, catcher and a handful of strong bats are coming back. The Raiders will only have one senior next year. So this team certainly isn’t going anywhere.
The Orioles defeated South Hadley 2-0 in the Class B final, while the Rams knocked off Hopkins in penalty kicks (4-2) in the Class D final.
Belchertown probably saw its run coming, as the Os played one of the most difficult schedules in the region and only had three regular season games decided by more than one goal. They were battle tested and geared for a deep playoff run. That didn’t make it any less special when Allison Morris and Brianna Ribeiro scored the goals to get past rival South Hadley and clinch their second WMass title in four seasons.
Granby, on the other hand, maybe didn’t expect to win. The Rams entered the Class D tournament having lost five in a row, and they nearly fell to Hoosac Valley in the semifinals. However they continued to fight and figure it out, and they took No. 1 Hopkins to overtime and eventually penalties. Mabel Carillon delivered the clincher, and Granby celebrated its first sectional crown since 2018.
What may have come as a surprise to everyone else, the Hurricanes’ first WMass championship since 2003 didn’t shock head coach Rich Ferro. Northampton had steamrolled its regular season slate, with 13 of its 16 wins coming by five or more goals. But Amherst was ready for its rival in the final, holding the Blue Devils to their second-lowest scoring output of the season in a 9-6 win. A Gatorade bath ensued for Ferro.
In the two teams’ first meeting, Amherst played a zone defense and the Blue Devils won 9-5. Ferro switched up Amherst’s defense from zone to an attack man that fooled Northampton, and it showed in the upset win.
Both teams eventually fell in the Division 2 Round of 32, however this WMass final edition of the Battle of the Bridge will be remembered by both sides for quite a while.
The Granby boys basketball team pulled off an improbable comeback in the Western Mass. Class C finals, overcoming a nine-point deficit in just over a minute to stun Drury and raise its first sectional title since 2005. The Rams also claimed their third straight Bi-County League West title… PVCICS boys tennis won its third straight Western Mass. Class C title, a fitting way to send off six-year varsity players and the team’s lone seniors in James Scott and Teddy Scott – twin brothers and the Dragons’ first doubles pairing… South Hadley softball’s Ella Schaeffer recorded her 1,000th career strikeout this season, a phenomenal feat to cap off her senior year, and led the Tigers to the Class B title game, where they fell 1-0 to Hampshire… Belchertown girls tennis swept Frontier to claim the Western Mass. Class B title… The South Hadley boys basketball team’s 72-68 triple OT victory against Uxbridge in the Round of 32 in February was arguably the most memorable game of the calendar season as neither team deserved to lose. … Amherst won the WMass girls cross country title in the fall, kicking off what was a dominant running school year for the school. … The Hampshire Regional boys won their first XC title in program history, capturing the Class B crown at Stanley Park in October. … Northampton’s Amalia Guerra and Belchertown’s Grace Perron took home state swimming titles after standout winters in the pool.
Daily Hampshire Gazette
