Alex Welsh
Reporter
@WelshCourant
With the spring season of sports fully in wing, there are many teams and players that are all looking for personal and team success. With many teams getting off to great starts, there is a lot of hope for postseason success. As a whole, the spring sports season is full of strong athletes to watch as they look to make late runs in the postseason.
On the golf teams, the boys has high expectations in the state tournament, while the girls are full of young talent. The boys’ golf team and freshman Gunnar Granito has come onto the team with a large impact and has been playing at a very high level. Even though Gunnar is a freshman, he still has high expectations for himself. “Have fun, it’s a round of golf. If you play badly, you can always do well next round.” Gunnar said. He praises the fact that golf is about having fun and not stressing. When talking about captain Justin Clark, he said, “the main goal is to follow Justin’s footsteps and have him lead us to the FCIAC and state championships.”
On the girls’ golf team, there are many young players to watch on the team, especially sophomore Lauren Capone. Lauren has been on the team for two years, and has helped them to their current 5-3 record. Lauren is all about teamwork, and wants the team to do well. “I just play day to day the best I can and ultimately help the team get a win,” Lauren said.
Both lacrosse teams have started off strong so far this year. On the boys’ lacrosse team, goalie Drew Morris has been the man in net for the past two seasons. Drew played extremely well in key wins over Loyola Blakefield and Brunswick. Drew looks to continue his career at the University of Maryland, but in the meantime he still has many important games this the season, including one against nationally ranked St. Anthony’s. “My personal goal this season is to give my team the best chance to win,” Drew said. “I have enough faith in our offense that if I mess up, I know they’ll back me up and give me a better chance to bounce back.”
Meanwhile, sophomore midfielder Karlie Bucci has stood out this year and earned a starting spot on the very competitive girls lacrosse team.“Ultimately, lacrosse is a team sport, so I want to get as many draws, defensive and offensive plays as I can to help the team win,” Karlie said. “We have tough goals but we’ve gotten better and better every game so I think by the end of the season, these goals will be achieved.”
On the tennis teams, junior Alex Merjian has been very competitive this season. However, Alex started at a high level in middle school and he continues to practice year round. “My offseason consists of Bluestreak and tennis until about 8 o’clock. On the weekends I have tournaments to expose myself,” Alex said. The work has paid off as Alex has competed in many state and regional tournaments throughout his high school career and hopes to perform well in those matches this season. Alex has set high expectations for himself and is very dedicated to the sport and the team.
Onto the girls team, the boys’ have started undefeated and are also favorites to make it far in the FCIAC tournament. On the girls tennis team, senior Caroline Gordon has been a key player in the team’s overall success with a 12-2 record losing only to Darien and Staples. Caroline has been on varsity since she was a freshman and she has been a leader on the team ever since. For the past two years, Caroline has been the number one singles player. Because of this, she plays many of the same opponents as last year, and is determined to avenge her last year losses. Caroline said, “If I lost to a certain girl last year, my goal is always to try and beat them this year.”
The softball team has loads of talent, and is 9-7 so far this season. The team is led by the Keshin twins. Molly and Rachel Keshin have been starting on the team since their freshman year and have committed to the University of Virginia to play softball. Rachel’s batting average has consistently been above .500 for the past two years. ”I make sure that I do whatever I can to help my team and do my job,” Rachel said. “I also want to improve my all around skills so that I’m ready to play at the next level.”
While baseball is off to a slow start, the team does not lack talented players. One of the juniors that stands out is Matt Burger. Matt takes the role of a utility player and can play almost every fielding position. Right now, Matt has been moved to third base from catching. Having such a versatile player will hopefully help them this season and in the future. “I mostly play catcher and third base, but I let coach know that if he needs me anywhere else, I will gladly take the roll of that position,” Matt said. “I think that the team can bounce back and make it far into the FCIAC and state tournaments.”
The boys’ volleyball team is another team that is off to a rather slow start. However, the team has done well in previous years and has a strong junior and sophomore core. Junior George McMahon has been one of the players who has taken control of the team. “I just want to motivate my team and make them want to win,” George said. “I want them to realize that we’re a lot better than we think we are.” His dedication and great leadership skills are what make him one of the more interesting players to watch this spring sports season.
The boys and girls track teams are full of talented runners, and others who do the sport to stay in shape. Chris Reiss is one that stands out on the boys’ track team. His times show that he is very consistent and one of the team’s best runners. He competes in the 400, 200, and 100 meter events. Chris is very determined to achieve his goals for the season, so that he sets the team up for the best chance to win. “My goal is to time less than 50 seconds on the 400, around 21 seconds for the 200, and in the tens for the 100.”
Senior Amanda Dobbin has been on the track team since she was a freshman and earned captainship for this season. Amanda is motivated to finish her last season with success in the 3200 meter event and she looks to run well in FCIAC’s and states. “I want to help improve the team overall, and motivate them to do their absolute best,” Amanda said.
Without a doubt, there are many different types of athletes to watch and keep tabs on this spring. Many underclassmen have been making great impacts on their respected varsity teams, while the seniors have also been leaving their mark in their last seasons. With the regular season starting to come to a close, all teams look to wrap up their seasons with strong performances and seek to have high seedings in the FCIAC and CIAC tournaments.
