BOSTON — A year ago, Denzel Kisseka finished 19th in the 300 meter dash at the MIAA Division 1 State Championship meet.
That didn’t sit well with him.
So he did what elite athletes are known to do —di work tirelessly to get better. He trained, he hit the weight room and got bigger, faster and stronger while gaining better endurance and more confidence.
Fast forward to Sunday afternoon and all of his offseason workouts paid off when the senior finished second in the 600 with a season-best time of 1:20.96 during the state meet held at the Track at New Balance.
“I trained all summer and lifted a lot of weights and that helped me so much,” he said. “I used to be a 300-runner but moved up to the 600 and knew I could (have success).”
Kisseka was disappointed with his start but was ecstatic with his finish.
Lowell High’s Denzel Kisseka finished second in the 600 at Sunday’s Division State Championship meet. (Courtesy Lowell High Athletics(
“I got out slow and should’ve pushed harder in the beginning. I wanted to stay behind (Brookline’s Harry Flint, the winner), but I just couldn’t keep up because I didn’t get out too fast enough,” said Kisseka. “It means a lot to me to take second place. I finished with a personal record, so I’m just getting better every day. I’m looking forward to next week’s Meet of Champions.”
His performance helped lead the Red Raiders to a sixth place finish.
Beside Kisseka, Jordan Oge placed third in the 300 (35.44) and fifth in the long jump (20-10.50). He was also a part of the fifth-place 4×200 relay team (1:32.07) joining Jermaine Sherwood, James Njonde and Juanito DeLaCruz.
Parris Mbeca added a fifth place in the high jump (6-2).
The 4×800 relay team of Samuel De Souza, Jayden Ferreras, Timothy Schribman and Charles Mirabel finished fourth with a time of 8:16.74.
Central Catholic finished fourth as a team. Carlos Quintana won the high jump (6-6) with teammates Peter Thomas (6-4) and Max Lightfoot (6-2) placing third and sixth, respectively. Amado Ysalguez was second in the shot put (52-5), Quintana was fourth in the 55-meter hurdles (7.83) and Jeremiah Mateo Mora was seventh in the same event with a time of 7.92.
The Central 4×200 relay team of Jordan Baez, Mateo Mora, Yosuhar Diaz and Quintana finished sixth in 1:32.36.
The Lowell High girls team was led by Esther Ofodile, who placed third in the 55-meter dash (8.79) and sixth in the long jump (16-7.25). Ella Machado (3:03.73 in the 1,000), Keelyn Grady (4-10 in the high jump) and Stella Agyemang (16-5.25 in the long jump) picked up an eighth place.
The Red Raiders 4×200 relay team was fourth in 1:47.47 behind the efforts of Kelsey Malcolm, Agyemang, Ofodile and Cindy Soth, and the 4×800 relay team of Kadiatu Jalloh, Anna Samel, Sophia Aspilcueta and Ella Machado finished eighth in 10:12.79.
Central Catholic finished second as a team. The Raiders were led by freshman Avery Strickler, who won the long jump (17-7), was third in the 300 (41.04) and capped off her busy day as the anchor leg of the winning 4×400 relay team joining Lowell resident Kyla Breslin, Emma Finch and Leighton Hickey, who had a combined time of 4:01.44.
Arianna DiPetro was third in the long jump (17-4.25), which came after taking second in the 55-meter hurdles (8.28). In the 300, Finch was third (1:38.94) and Hickey was seventh (1:40.48), while Lowell Breslin picked up a seventh place in the mile (5:11.27).
Finally, the 4×200 relay team of Katelyn Renald, Finch, Addison Brosnihan and Lily McCarthy finished seventh with a combined time of 1:48.84.
LOWELL — Two Lowell High School students and two unidentified juveniles are facing several charges, including armed robbery, after police say they attacked a teenage boy and stole his backpack shortly after he stepped off a bus on Lincoln Street earlier this month.
Devonathan Thanongsinh and Fidell Chan, both 18, along with two 17-year-old boys whose names were redacted from Lowell Police reports due to their age, are accused of striking the victim in the face with a handgun that officers later recovered.
Police said they have not determined which suspect wielded the weapon.
The group also allegedly assaulted the victim’s 58-year-old grandfather when he tried to intervene in the attack.
According to an officer’s incident report, the assault occurred shortly after 3 p.m. on Dec. 5, when police were called to the 400 block of Lincoln Street for a report of a teen who had been attacked “by a group of kids” on the sidewalk.
When one of the responding officers arrived in the area, he saw a blue Mazda traveling the wrong way on a one‑way section of Lincoln Street and noticed a pickup truck farther up the road that appeared to have been involved in a crash. The Mazda, meanwhile, had heavy damage to its doors and tires, the report said.
The driver of the Mazda — later identified by police as Thanongsinh — attempted to maneuver around the cruiser but was unable to get by. The officer activated his lights and conducted a traffic stop.
“(Thanongsin) … denied being involved,” the officer said in the report. “I then asked what had happened to the vehicle in which he did not have an answer.”
The officer reported that three other “young male” occupants were inside the Mazda with Thanongsinh, including the two 17‑year‑old boys and Chan, who was seated in the rear driver’s‑side seat.
As the officer was speaking with the group, he was approached by a woman who said her son — whose name was redacted from the report — had just been assaulted by the four males in the Mazda.
According to the report, the woman told police she was inside her Lincoln Street home when she heard screaming outside. She tried calling her son, but he did not answer. Moments later, he ran into the house and told her he had been jumped.
Another family member approached the officer and said that one of the occupants of the Mazda had “used a handgun to pistol whip” the victim, the report said.
With that information, the officer told the four occupants to remain in the vehicle while additional units were called to the scene. At one point, one of the 17-year-olds allegedly opened his door and tried to get out despite the instructions.
The officer said in the report that he “commanded him to remain inside and to close the door in which he complied. I then further instructed all four occupants to remain inside and do not do anything too stupid. All complied.”
Once other officers arrived, the occupants were ordered out of the Mazda one at a time. None of them had weapons on them, according to the report, but officers spotted a handgun on the front passenger‑side floorboard in plain view.
The weapon turned out to be a 9mm loaded with a magazine containing nine rounds.
The victim later told police, according to the report, that he had just gotten off a bus with friends and was walking toward his home when a group approached him and struck him with a closed fist.
He also said he was hit in the face with a “hard object.”
He told police he could not identify his attackers because they were all dressed in black and wearing masks.
The teen said he “blacked out” during the assault, the report said. When asked whether he saw a gun, he said “I thought, I think I did,” but added he could not be certain.
A friend who had been walking with him told police he saw a gun as the group approached and immediately dropped his backpack and ran. Both his backpack and the victim’s were stolen and later allegedly found in the Mazda. The backpacks contained laptops and other personal belongings.
Police also interviewed the victim’s grandfather, who said he saw four males “punching and kicking” his grandson. He tried to intervene but said the group then turned on him, striking him multiple times in the nose and head and causing him to fall and feel as though he had been “knocked out.”
He said he was also unable to identify the attackers because they were dressed in black and wearing masks, according to the report.
After the alleged assault, the victim’s grandfather told police he saw the four attackers get into the Mazda and drive off. He said he got into his pickup truck and followed them around the block. As he did, the Mazda drove the wrong way onto Lincoln Street and allegedly struck a parked vehicle.
According to the report, the 58‑year‑old told officers he then positioned his truck to block the Mazda from leaving. The Mazda then is alleged to have struck his vehicle moments before the responding officer arrived on scene.
The officer said in his report that none of the four suspects claimed responsibility for the handgun found in the Mazda or for the assaults. He added that the incident “appeared to be a planned attack on the victims,” noting that surveillance footage showed the masked assailants punching both the teen and his grandfather before stealing the backpacks.
Both the teen and his grandfather were taken to Lowell General Hospital’s Saints Campus following the attack.
Thanongsinh and Chan, along with the two juveniles, were charged with masked armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, assault and battery, and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Thanongsinh also faces a charge of leaving the scene of property damage.
Because of their ages, the outcomes of the juveniles’ cases were not available in court records.
Lowell District Court documents show that Thanongsinh and Chan were arraigned on Dec. 8 and ordered held without bail pending 58A dangerousness hearings on Dec. 11, a proceeding used to determine whether a defendant poses a risk to the public.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office requested they be held without bail. However, after those hearings, a judge set bail for both men at $2,000 cash, which they posted the same day.
Court documents show that roughly 30 letters were submitted in support of Thanongsinh as part of his 58A dangerousness hearing, including one from a Lowell High School staff member who said the 18‑year‑old “excelled academically” in the classes he taught during Thanongsinh’s sophomore year and again now as a senior.
“Throughout the time I have known him, Devonathan has consistently demonstrated maturity, responsibility and strong character,” the staff member said in the letter. “He approaches his coursework with diligence and focus. His academic performance as a sophomore stood out among his peers.”
The letter described him as “polite, respectful, and genuinely well‑mannered,” adding that he “conducts himself with kindness and humility, and interacts positively with both classmates and teachers.”
“He may have made some poor decisions, but I believe his foundation of strong character and his family will help him atone for those lapses in judgment and become the productive adult I know he can be if given the opportunity,” the staff member concluded.
Court records show neither Thanongsinh nor Chan have criminal records.
As a condition of their release on bail, both Thanongsinh and Chan were ordered to remain in the custody of their mothers, continue with their high school educations, avoid all contact with the victims and witnesses, possess no dangerous weapons, abstain from drugs and alcohol, and comply with a 24/7 curfew and GPS monitoring.
According to court documents, Thanongsinh was brought back to court the day after his release for what was initially believed to be a curfew violation.
His attorney, Thomas Torrisi, stressed on Friday that the allegation was later determined to be unfounded, explaining that Thanongsinh had not left his home and that the issue stemmed from a GPS signal problem.
“They determined he had absolutely never left the house, so there was no violation found by the judge,” Torrisi said.
Torrisi added about the case that “we’re very much at the infant stages at this point.”
“There’s an awful lot that still needs to be done before we’re in a position to know the totality of the circumstances,” he said.
Chan’s attorney, Stephen Barton, was unavailable for comment.
The pair are scheduled to return to court for a pretrial conference on Jan. 20.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
He was in Salem, amidst the craziness that is the Massachusetts All-State championship meet, but his voice cuts through the noise like a knife through butter.
“It’s a big part of my life. Wrestling is probably the best sport we have to teach discipline. It’s one-on-one. You can’t hide on a wrestling mat. That makes humble pie out of a lot of people,” said the owner of that booming voice, George Bossi, the legendary Lowell High wrestling coach.
The word legend is thrown around too freely; in Bossi’s case, it applies. The 87-year-old Bossi (he’ll turn 88 in June) is still coaching at Lowell High, like he’s done every winter except for three (when he served as the school’s athletic director) since he was hired in 1964, when the country was still reeling from John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
His longevity is remarkable. His passion for the sport is awe-inspiring. Six days a week during wrestling season, he’ll jump into his car and make the hour-long drive to Lowell from Plum Island, where he’s lived since 1978.
Bossi has guided the Red Raiders to five New England state championships (1970, 1973, 1975, 1987, 2007) and coached 16 of the program’s 17 state champion teams. He has coached generations of Lowell wrestlers.
A Milton native, Bossi was a football player prior to suffering five concussions. His football career over, he enrolled at Springfield College, where he was introduced to wrestling. It was the beginning of a seven-decade love affair.
Later, he was a grad assistant at the University of Illinois, where he worked for the football program in 1958 and 1959. On one recruiting trip, he was sent to scout a prospect, a kid named Dick Butkus. Illinois won the battle for his services and Butkus became one of the greatest linebackers in football history.
Bossi began at Lowell High in 1964 as a coach and physical education teacher. He started coaching wrestling that winter.
Preaching discipline and dedication, Bossi has served as a role model to thousands of wrestlers, creating an atmosphere of loyalty and family few programs can match at an inner-city school where hardships often lurk.
“I’ve saved more lives than a Catholic priest,” he once famously told The Sun.
What he’s given his considerable. What has he received during his remarkable 57-year run?
“A lot of satisfaction. Not money. I’m a poor man,” he said.
He hasn’t always been Lowell’s head coach during his amazing run. He served as an assistant to Tim O’Keefe for one stretch. These days he’s listed as the co-head coach with Nick Logan.
Lowell High athletic director Scott Ouellet first met Bossi in second or third grade when Bossi gave a wrestling clinic to Ouellet and his Washington School classmates. Ouellet remembers the thunderous voice. That hasn’t changed. Nor has Bossi’s passion for wrestling.
“Hard work. Discipline. These are high core values,” Ouellet said. “He’s a man of routine. He still makes sure the mats are cleaned up for the next day. He’s still one of the last to leave practice. He still wants the team to be set up to succeed. I still see him being very effective. He has the respect of the kids.”
One of the top tournaments in New England, held at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, now carries Bossi’s name: the George Bossi Holiday Tournament. It’s a nod to his contributions to the sport.
Even pushing 90, Bossi is a formidable force. There’s his thundering voice. Then there’s his vice-like handshake. He works out nearly every day, waging a battle with Father Time he appears to be winning.
“You have to stay active. You have to have a hobby or two,” he said. “I gave up golf for fishing. A lot less aggravation. If you’re not breaking a sweat, you’re going through the motions.”
Bossi has no plans to stop coaching. He expects to coach year No. 58 next winter.
“As long as I can make kids listen,” he said. “I’m not the same athlete I was, but I can still get around. I have a good voice and I can still make them listen.”
To get an inside view of what makes Bossi tick, The Sun interviewed 10 area wrestling coaches. They all speak of his commitment to the LHS program and to the sport in general. They all marvel at his longevity and passion for the sport.
He is unique. He is George Bossi.
Chris Piscione
“Like most people in the wrestling community, I have wrestled against him as an athlete and coach. Both are and were difficult. His voice definitely resonates through the gym, and when he talks everyone listens. Something I got from coach Bossi is he is always telling his kids, ‘You gotta get tough.’ I agree with him 100 percent and tell my kids the same thing. Bossi coaching at Lowell has been one of the best things for Chelmsford High because we know that we need to be working hard otherwise our neighbors are going to kick our butts.”
Note: Piscione is in his fourth season as Chelmsford’s coach.
Lowell High wrestling coach George Bossi looks on during practice earlier this season at the high school. Bossi is in his 57th year of coaching wrestling at the school and has no plans to retire any time soon. (Aleah Landry photo)
Bruce Rich Sr.
“George Bossi has been an outstanding coach and role model for hundreds of wrestlers for over six decades.
I remember many of the Lowell, Chelmsford matches were wrestled in front of a packed gym. It was a very intense atmosphere and the league championship was often determined that night. If we won, George would be the first one to come across the mat and give that great handshake. Whenever you ask him how his team was doing, he would say, ‘We’re building character.’ That’s what George does, he teaches kids how to compete and deal with adversity.”
Note: Rich coached at Chelmsford for 41 years. He’s currently the Bishop Fenwick/Northeast coach.
Bruce Rich Jr.
“I grew up watching him go against my father in the early 1990s. It was always Lowell-Chelmsford competing for a league title. My dad in my eyes was always cool, calm and collected. Then you had coach Bossi on the other side getting into the faces of his kids before a match. It’s intimidating. Within the match he was calm. When I took over Westford Academy we go every year over to Lowell’s wrestling room. It was eye-opening. The kids were crammed in. Kids listened to him. They didn’t talk back to him. It’s a respect thing. I give him credit. It’s a family atmosphere. Once a Lowell wrestler, always a Lowell wrestler. He’s still got it.”
Note: Rich, who wrestled at Chelmsford from 2000-04, is in his ninth season as Westford Academy’s coach.
During a Dec. 1, 2011 practice, Lowell High wrestling coach George Bossi demonstrates a drill to senior Connor McHugh. Bossi, still coaching at age 87, has led the Red Raiders to five New England championships. (Julia Malakie/Lowell Sun)
Steve Kasprzak
“No one could ever question Lowell High’s greatness in terms of wrestling or argue who’s the best the area has ever seen, because it’s a slam dunk. George Bossi runs away with that title. Our league, the Merrimack Valley, is the best in the state bar none, and George Bossi is the measuring stick.
What I admire most about coach Bossi is his willingness to mentor and grow the sport. As a young coach, coach Bossi would always speak to me as if I was his equal (far from it), and he would give little bits and pieces of advice/wisdom that are woven into the fabric of what we do here in Tewksbury. Although our talks and interactions were small compared to some, coach Bossi was a mentor to me, and I made sure I soaked up any bit of advice or knowledge he threw my way. Coach Bossi was always about the sport and making the sport better. What I love most about him is that he loves competition. Coach Bossi is not afraid to wrestle anyone. I know for certain he wanted the best possible version of Tewksbury when Lowell stepped on the mat with us. Coach Bossi wants to compete, and he wants his competition to be the best possible.
It’s very evident to me that coach Bossi values two things above all when it comes to this sport. No. 1, the kids of Lowell. And No. 2, competition and its ability to bring out the best in people.”
Note: Kasprzak has coached at Tewksbury since 2012, the last four as head coach.
Bill Corr
“My first handshake with coach Bossi was in 1963 as a member of the Westford Academy wrestling team that wrestled at Winnacunnet HS with head coach Bossi. Coach Chet Steele’s team beat coach Bossi that day and since then having wrestled against, coached against and coached with coach Bossi, I have been shaking his hand for over 60 years. Coach Steele and coach Bossi come from the old school of wrestling, which I learned early in my career and have tried to follow their example in my coaching. Having coached and traveled with George to many USA Junior National Championships and to Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in 1989, I learned that he loves Hawaiian-style pizza and don’t get him started on fishing.”
Note: Corr has been Nashoba Tech’s coach since 2015. He wrestled at Westford Academy from 1961-65 and served as Westford’s head coach from 1983-2005.
Lowell High wrestling coach George Bossi gives pointers to Aaron Diaz prior to an 195-pound match at the Bossi Holiday Tournament at the Tsongas Center in Lowell on Dec. 28, 2018. (Julia Malakie/Lowell Sun)
Mike Donovan
“I’ve been coaching for six years now, but my dad and uncle (Al and Mark Donovan) coached Tewksbury and Shawsheen Tech, respectively, my entire life, so they often competed against Lowell, and I competed against Lowell when I was in high school at Tewksbury. So I’ve competed against George both as a wrestler and a coach. Whenever you wrestled Lowell, you knew you were in for a fight. George has always gotten the most of his wrestlers whether it’s by technique or maximizing their toughness. There is always an aura there when wrestling a George Bossi-coached team. The handshake is legendary too, even still at his age he still crushes your hand. I’ve had kids shake his hand after a wrestling match, not knowing about the legendary handshake and they come back like, ‘That old guy just crushed my hand.’ ”
Note: Donovan is in his sixth season as Tyngsboro/Dracut’s coach.
Tom Cassidy
“He’s definitely a great guy. He’s a great ambassador for our sport. When you compete against his teams you know they’re going to be in shape. He’s pushing 90 and he’s still getting out there. He’s still sharp as a tack. God love him. He’s done a lot for kids. It’s great to see him at the tournaments. Everyone respects him. I wrestled for him at Lowell High in 1985-86. He was the same. He was very hard on us. He made sure we were all in shape. He preached hard work. He would go the extra mile as a coach. You’re going to get a work ethic out of that guy. I hope he goes forever.”
Note: Cassidy wrestled one season at Lowell under Bossi and has coached 30 seasons at Greater Lowell Tech, the last 28 as head coach.
Victor De Jesus
“I’m not going to put that time in, I’ll tell you that (laughs). He’s the reason I wrestled in college. I have a lot of respect for Bossi and for what he’s done for me. My junior season (Tim) O’Keefe hurt his ankle and Bossi took over. We got the more mild-mannered version of him if you hear a lot of stories from the older guys. His handshake is crazy. You have to understand the handshake to beat it. If you don’t he’ll crunch it. It’s genuine, though. I’ve been to his place on Plum Island. He loves fishing. His voicemail says it all: ‘The tide’s in and I’m out.’ ”
Note: De Jesus wrestled at Lowell from 2005-09 and is in his third season as Billerica’s coach.
During a quad meet at Shawsheen Tech on Dec. 23, 2015, Lowell High wrestling coach George Bossi looks on during a 106-pound match. (Julia Malakie/Lowell Sun)
Doug Pratt
“He still has the interaction with the kids and the knowledge. It’s amazing to watch. Let me tell you something, when you’re with coach Bossi at a tournament meeting or a seeding meeting, people stop to listen when he speaks. We’ve learned so much from him through the years. He’d say, ‘Listen to me, if you want to be the best you have to wrestle the best. Chase losses.’ He’s respected among coaches. (The late) Mark Donovan idolized George Bossi. I was with George Bossi for two and a half hours earlier this week. He is THE legend. No question. There’s no one even close to him. His handshake is still a vice. He’s one of the most successful coaches to ever walk the earth.”
Note: Pratt, an assistant coach to Donovan at Shawsheen Tech for 30 years, is in his third season as ST’s head coach.
Kevin Riley
“Not only is he still doing his thing, but he commands the respect of the room still. When he walks in you know the guy is special. He was the guy. The brass ring. Two things come to mind when I think of him. One, I went to Shawsheen Tech and it was Mark Donovan’s third year. We were still building and went to the Lowell Holiday Tournament. I wrestled a Lowell kid. I beat the kid and I’ll never forget the look on Bossi’s face. He said, ‘You lost to a Tech kid?’ I felt sorry for the kid. That’s when I knew I did something special. Beating a Lowell kid for the first time meant a lot to me.
The second thing is later I became an assistant at Salem in the late ’90s. We had three kids who were state champs. One day we went up to Lowell to practice. We broke off into groups. I was a big guy and even though I was 10 years older I had a young face. Bossi looked at me and said, ‘Get over there’ with the heavyweights. I got the crap kicked out of me that day and I should have told him I was a coach, but it was better than talking back to Bossi. He has that look. You can tell exactly where you stand with him. There’s not enough words to say what kind of impact he’s had on our sport.”
Note: Riley is in his second season coaching Wilmington.
