Diving into the pool, playing intense squash matches, being surrounded by electric crowds during basketball games, leaving all of one’s effort on the mat, fencing against great competition, or running one’s heart out, Hackley’s winter season was certainly a remarkable one met by great achievements by student-athletes and their teams.
The Girls Varsity Swim team had an incredible season and broke school records. They were undefeated in the Ivy League and won the Ivy League swim championship (which Trinity held since 2014) and placed second in the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) Championship meet.
The girls 200 Medley Relay set a new record with junior Kayce Park, sophomore Ella Chen, eighth grader Heidi Chen, and freshman Lola Frey winning the event at Ivies with a combined time of 1:52.68. The 200 Freestyle Relay with senior Annabel Hardart, freshman Emma Curran, junior Kayce Park, and freshman Kate Masters set a new record with a time of 1:44.27. Lola Frey set a new record for the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 24.12 seconds and Ella Chen broke the record for the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:06.46. Spurring on the team was senior Annabel Hardart whose presence will be missed next year.
The Boys Varsity Basketball team had a tremendous season and went 12-2 in the Ivy League and earned the second seed for NYSAIS. Playing against a strong Poly Prep school in the NYSAIS championship, the boys fought but lost 63-53. The last time the boys won NYSAIS was in 1993 so their accomplishment this year was tremendous. Seniors Caleb Bae, Mac Broaddus, Jake Hendelman, Matthew Kearns, and Nate Peterson’s devotion and leadership were invaluable to the team.
The Boys Varsity Basketball team had an incredible season. The boys played at the Spence School for the NYSAIS Championship and sadly lost to Poly Prep. The boys are led by the great coaching staff with Zach Kuba and David Zenon.
The undefeated Girls Varsity Squash team won the Ivy League championship and also won NYSAIS, having been placed as a four seed. They won NYSAIS with a close score of 4-3 against Spence School. Both the girls and boys squash teams attend Nationals in Philadelphia every year and for the girls team they played in Division 2 and received eleventh place.
The undefeated Girls Varsity Squash team were a force to be reckoned with this season. Not only did they win the Ivy League but they also won NYSAIS. They also played very well at Nationals held in Philadelphia.
Senior Caroline Didden who has committed to play squash at Middlebury College was ranked No.1 out of 150 individuals according to US Squash in the NYC tri-state area and won all of her 20 matches this season. Seniors Phoebe Abrahms, Lillian Beaton, Caroline Didden, Charlotte Feehan, and Eliza Podvalny certainly made their mark on this undefeated team.
The Boys Varsity Squash team also won the Ivy League championship and went undefeated in the Ivy League but suffered a 4-3 loss against Horace Mann in the NYSAIS semifinals. Yet the boys bounced back and during Nationals they were ranked as No. 1 in Division 3 and took home first place. Senior Shiraz Awan has been vital to this team.
The Boys Varsity Squash team won the Ivy League and went undefeated this season. They unfortunately suffered a loss to Spence School in NYSAIS semifinals. But they bounced back and played well at Nationals.
The Varsity Wrestling team took second place in the Ivy League and placed third overall in the championships. They also placed second overall in NYSAIS with junior Remy Becker and senior Grant Berhalter being crowned as Ivy League champions. Remy Becker was also crowned as the 160-lb NYSAIS champion. Sophomore Owen Lee, senior Harper Kelsey, sophomore Justin D’Alessio, and senior Grant Berhalter all medaled and placed in the top three in their respective weight classes in NYSAIS. Seniors Grant Berhalter, Connor Kelly, and Harper Kelsey gave their all on the mat each and every day.
The Varsity Wrestling team had a fantastic season. They placed second in the Ivy League and third in the championships. Several wrestlers also received medals for their weight classes.
The Varsity Fencing Team had a great season with the boys’ foil and saber teams taking home the regular season league titles and remaining undefeated. They also had their ISFL Championships on February 24 closing out a tremendous season. Seniors Tyler Gandelman, Geoffrey Huang, Sofia Malhas, Sam Nadol, NJ Roc-Sennett, Sam Sanders, Oumar Sow, Cassandra Stand, and Aiden Wasserman have had great success on this team.
The Varsity Fencing team had a great season. The boys’ foil and saber teams remained undefeated and took home the regular season titles. They also competed in the ISFL Championships.
The Girls Varsity Basketball team went 8-4 in the Ivy League and earned the sixth seed for NYSAIS. After winning in overtime for their senior night game against Grace Church School with a score of 71-66, they played Grace Church in the quarterfinals and won once again with a score of 61-51. During a nail-biting NYSAIS semi-final game, they lost to Fieldston 69-65. Seniors Cydnee Copeland, Ashley Currie, Maura McGlarry, Alessa Mendoza, Alex Schiller, and Enya Walsh have impacted this team greatly and their leadership will be missed.
The Girls Varsity Basketball team had an amazing season. Their overall record in the Ivy League was 8-4. After winning in overtime against Grace Church School on their senior night they also defeated them in the first round of NYSAIS.
The Boys Varsity Swim team placed sixth overall in Ivies and ninth out of 14 schools in NYSAIS.
The Varsity Indoor Track and Field team placed sixth and eighth respectively for boys and girls and had an incredible performance at NYSAIS.
Individually, there were seven podium finishes during NYSAIS. Both 4×200 relays medaled with senior boys Ike Shaw, Baraka Middleton, and Jasper Lee receiving third place with a time of 1:35.65, and on the girls side senior Asahi Goods, sophomore Ashley Hollingsworth, freshman Leah Hollingsworth, and junior Linda Ohia-Enyia took second place with a time of 1:52.20.
Sophomore Sophie Frazier placed third in the 3000 meter with a time of 10:49.07, junior Rafael Castro took first place in the 3200 meter running 10:04.08 and senior Travis Knaggs placed second in the 1000 meter with a time of 2:41.72.
Outside of the track events, sophomore Ari Spiegel finished third in the weight throw with a distance of 26 feet seven and a quarter inches. Junior Jimmy Mulosmani also finished third in shot put throwing 35 feet four inches.
The Varsity Indoor Track team had a great season. They had several podium finishes in NYSAIS. Some individuals even advanced to Federations.
But NYSAIS did not mark the end of the winter track season for some individuals with senior Travis Knaggs, junior Rafael Castro, and freshman Caitlyn Morrow advancing to the New York State Federations Championships which was held on March 2 and Caitlyn will also be attending New Balance Nationals in Massachusetts. Seniors Asher Beck, Lulu Bednar, Edele Brennan, Teddy Estrada, Asahi Goods, Gabby Hogrefe, Sami Khatib, Travis Knaggs, Jasper Lee, Baraka Middleton, Enrique Ramirez, Ike Shaw, and Hassan Sajid have been tremendous on the team.
This winter season was met with superb accomplishments by Hackley athletes and the spring season should also bring great outcomes.
