New coach, same position.
First-year coach Emily Hopkins guided the Northampton girls lacrosse team is back to the postseason.
It’s a familiar place for the Blue Devils. They were regular postseason participants under 16-year coach Sue Biggs, who retired after last season.
The Blue Devils (11-7) earned a No. 6 seed Friday in the Western-Central Division 1 Tournament.
Northampton will host No. 11 Westfield (9-8) at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Smith College.
During the regular season, Northampton beat Westfield 18-7 in a game where Megan McCarthy had six goals.
The winner will travel to face third-seeded Agawam (13-3) in the quarterfinals.
In the Western-Central Division 2 Tournament, fifth-seeded Granby (11-5) will host No. 12 Nipmuc (12-6). A date and time has yet to be determined.
The Rams, led by Kate Sarnacki’s 94 goals, are in their third year as a program. They reached the tournament quarterfinals last year.
The winner will play either No. 4 Grafton or No. 13 Notre Dame.
Belchertown (6-12) is seeded 11th and will travel to play No. 6 Littleton at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Emma Jopson has 56 goals for the Orioles this season. Audrey Duhaime was second on the team with 46 goals.
BOYS LACROSSE — Hampshire County has one representative in the Division 2 and Division 3 tournaments.
Northampton finished 12-6 to grab the 12th seed in Division 1. The Blue Devils will travel to play No. 5 Algonquin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Matt Huggett led the Valley League champions in goals with 36, while Henry Attias led the team in points (30 goals, 25 assists) with 55 points.
In Division 2, No. 11 Granby will play No. 6 Wahconah at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Rams (9-8) played the Warriors in the regular season and lost 9-2.
Both of Granby’s leading scorers went scoreless in the regular season contest.
Nick Roberts (46 goals) and Sawyer Mahan (39 goals) lead the Rams.
TRACK ROLLS ON — The postseason for track & field continues Saturday with the Western-Central Division 1 and 2 Championships.
Division 1 will be held at Westfield State University. Division 2 is at Fitchburg State. Both meets start at 3 p.m. with field events. Track events start at 4:30 p.m.
In Division 1 boys, Northampton senior Liam Sullivan is in position for two individual titles. Sullivan is the top seed in the mile (4 minutes, 20.01 seconds) and 2-mile (9:24.46).
Teammate Nik Smith is No. 1 in the 200 (21.9) and No. 2 in the 400 (49.6) behind Burncoat’s Rodney Agyare-May (48.43).
The 400-meter hurdles shapes up to be a competitive race. The top three seeds — Fabian Gaziano (57.52) of Minnechaug, Tim Woods (57.9) of Chicopee Comp, and Sage Bailin (57.97) of Amherst Regional — are all within a second of each other. Northampton’s Cole Lavalle (58.64) is seeded fourth.
The 4×400 could also be close. Amherst (3:28) is seeded first, followed by Westfield (3:28.16) and Northampton (3:28.86).
Amherst Regional’s Jericho Sylla will contend in the jumps. The senior is second in the long jump (21 feet, 9 inches) and third in the triple (43-0).
In the girls meet, Northampton’s Sierra Loomis is seeded first in the 800 at 2:20.14, just ahead of Amherst’s Francis Duncan (2:21.02).
Northampton also fields the top-seeded 4×800 relay (10:03.17).
In the Division 2 girls meet, Jaime Byrne gave Frontier an early lift with a fourth-place finish in the pole vault (9 feet). The event was held Thursday at Nashoba Regional.
Katt Miner is the defending champion and top seed in the high jump at 5-6.
Hampshire Regional’s distance runners could do well. Taylor Blow is at the front of the 2-mile field in 11:22.97. She is also fourth in the mile (5:22), just ahead of teammate Ally Roessling (5:22.3).
South Hadley fields the No. 1 4×800 team in 10:01.01. On Thursday, the Tigers got three points from Sophie Gatzounas, who placed sixth in the pentathlon.
In the boys championship, Hampshire’s Dylan Cross is the top seed in the pole vault at 12-6.
STATE ULTIMATE — For the first time since 2011, the Amherst Regional varsity boys and girls will compete at the state Division 1 championships.
The tournaments will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Oxbow Marina fields in Northampton. Pool play begins at 9 a.m. Saturday. Bracket play starts at 9 a.m. Sunday.
The boys and girls championship games will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The Hurricanes swept both titles in 2011. While the boys have continued to field a varsity team, the girls have only sent their Junior Varsity A team to the tournament.
The Amherst boys last won in 2012. Lexington won in 2013 and 2015, beating Amherst each year. Masconomet won in 2014, beating Amherst in the semifinal round.
Amherst, which swept the Northeastern Regional championships last weekend, should be favored this weekend.
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts will send its boys and girls teams. The girls team won in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Both Northampton varsity squads will compete. The girls finished second last season.
