Senior co-captain of the boys varsity basketball team, Ethan Russo, reached an impressive milestone in the final game of the regular season. The Trojans played Murdock High School in Winchendon on Tuesday, Feb. 11, winning the game 60-31. But the real victory came when Russo scored his 1,000th point of his high school basketball career.
Russo will be the first student in almost a decade to have his name added to the 1,000-point banner hanging in the Bromfield gym. The last time a name was added was in 2016. Russo has been working to achieve this accomplishment for four years.
“It was just a sigh of relief when I finally made the last shot,” said Russo. “My dad has kept track of my points throughout my entire high school career. At the beginning of this season, I was at 649 [points], so I was 351 away and I calculated what I needed to average and set that goal for myself.”
The game against Murdock was the last before the Trojans compete in the state playoff tournament coming up during the final week of February. “[Murdock’s] team is struggling a bit this year,” said coach Tim Skaggs. “But it was a very important game for senior Ethan Russo. He’s not a very vocal student but leads by example. He always played for the team; he’s very unselfish. His motive was always to score whatever points were needed to get the win for the team, which is interesting because in doing that he was still able to get a thousand points on his own.”
During Russo’s interview with the Press, Coach Skaggs’ character assessment was demonstrated in the gratitude and credit Russo acknowledged for everyone who helped him achieve his goal. “When I was a young kid, my Dad always said ‘your name’s going to be up there one day.’ My parents and grandparents continue to support me, no matter what. They go to every game. Coach Skaggs has been a huge part of my success. And I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, all four years.”
Russo celebrated the milestone with a family gathering. When asked what advice he has for any Bromfield players looking to add their names below his on the 1,000-point banner he said, “The key is working hard. I had to go through a lot of ups and downs. You just have to persevere and not let the bad moments take you down. Everyone has bad games. I had games where I scored zero points, but it’s not about that. You bounce back.”
Russo has one more goal for the season, to win a playoff game for Bromfield. The state tournament is set to begin the week of Feb. 24. “We’re going to be playing a good team,” he said, though the brackets weren’t available at the time of publication. “We just have to stay focused and put in the work over break. I’m optimistic.”
Bromfield is ranked 54th in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association power rankings for Division 4.
Back row, Left to right: Vasilis Psathas, Owen Balsis, Josh Pelak, Jake O’Neil, Alex Senykoff, Brady Quirion, Charlie Gowel, Noah Petrossi, Bode Lee-Feinberg, and Lucas Bala. Front, from left: Isaac Balicky, Jon LeGrand, Ethan Russo, and Ryan Russo.(Courtesy photo)
