JOHNSTON SPORTS YEAR IN REVIEW

The Town of Johnston had another big year in sports in 2024. There were four notable stories that captured headlines throughout not only the town, but throughout the state and in some cases, the world.
The Johnston High School girls basketball team enjoyed one of its biggest seasons ever under new head coach Jhamal Diggs. The team, led by standouts such as Annabella Gesualdi, Ava Waterman, Jayanah Rollins, Olivia Iafrate and Aubree Allen, had a monster campaign in Division IV as they went unbeaten all the way until the state championship at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Despite the loss in the finals, it was a season to remember for the Panthers who were one of the state’s most dominant teams.
“They did a great job in getting the program back in the right direction. They bought into what I brought to the table for them and they ran with it. These seniors were awesome. They came in every day and did what they needed to get Johnston basketball back to where it needed to be,” said Diggs after the title game.
Johnston freshman Gianna Desmarais had a breakout season in gymnastics last season and ultimately won the state championship in the vault as the town’s lone representative. The big outing qualified her for the regionals as well. She also qualified for regional in bars, where she finished second in the state.
“I’m very proud. I definitely think I can be much better, especially after coming back from injuries, I think I can be much better than my freshman year,” Desmarais said when thinking about the 2025 state championships.
Next up was Johnston native Joe Mazzulla leading the Boston Celtics to their NBA record 18th championship when they beat the Dallas Mavericks in the finals back in June. Mazzulla became the youngest coach in nearly six decades to win an NBA title after guiding the Celtics throughout a dominant regular season and postseason run.
Mazzulla would then go on a tour in the summer, making stops at the Rhode Island State House, Johnston Town Hall and his alma mater Bishop Hendricken.
“I left Rhode Island as a very young 17 year old, and I think when you leave that early, you don’t realize the relationships that you build and the impact you may have on the people you have met. When I left, I didn’t realize the identity I had in the state,” said Mazzulla at the state house ceremony. “One of the greatest gifts that God has given me is being able to come back to where I’m from, redeveloping those relationships, having an understanding. I’ve reconnected with so many people and those memories come back up. I realize how many people went into making sure I got to where I am today.”
The Johnston boys soccer team wrapped up the year by reaching the Division III state finals. The Panthers had just one victory in 2023 and no wins in 2022. The core remained hungry to prove itself this time around and did just that, finishing the regular season with 11 wins and going on an unlikely run all the way to the finals, where they lost to undefeated Scituate.
“It’s an unbelievable atmosphere here and it’s a nice honor for us to be here,” Johnston head coach Yevgen Fedorchuk said. “Nobody expected us to be here, but we’re here. We worked hard. We built from last year. Our seniors stepped up. Assistant coaches, our athletic director, the parents - everybody was built around the team and that’s why we had success.”