Fall Sports Wrap-Up

12/11/2013

Highlights and awards from the fall athletic season

As the daylight wanes and the days become a little colder, the fall athletic season comes to a close. We look forward to a new season, but not without a plethora of highlights from our fall athletes.

The cross-country teams were their perennial speedsters, winning the Condor league (both girls and boys), finishing 2nd and 4th respectively in Southern Section and both teams finished in the top 10 at the State Championships at Fresno. On the gridiron, the football team fought through some tough injuries throughout the season, finished with a regular season record of 5-3 and earned a berth in the post season. After a first round victory against a tough Desert Christian team, they ran up against #1 seed Lucerne Valley. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to overcome some early miscues and ultimately fell in defeat. On the tennis courts, the girls' tennis team shared the Condor League title with Cate with an overall record of 12-5. Coming down to the last match of the season, the girls dug deep and avenged an earlier season loss, beating Cate 10-8. The girls played their first round CIF match versus against Cajon High School, winning easily 14-4. Unfortunately, their next round opponent was two-time finalist and eventual champion Cerritos, and the girls went down to by a score of 5-13. The volleyball team had its share of close contests, but couldn’t get over the hurdle and string together many victories. It was a tough season for these girls in many ways, but they never gave in and played with pride and determination the entire season.

Overall it was a wonderful season at Thacher with kids learning many lessons that come with athletics. They dealt with defeat, adversity, confrontation, jubilation, and experienced measurable and tangible growth in their athletic endeavors. As a spectator, coach, and teacher, I still am amazed at the dedication, desire and motivation we see from our kids. Every student that puts on the Thacher uniform wears it with pride and dignity.

Director of Athletics – Pete Fagan

Varsity Football

Coaches: Jeff Hooper, Aaron Snyder, Tony Franco

Captains: Blake Bowie '14, Reed Gulick-Stutz '14, Momo Lewis '14

League Record: 3-1

Season Record: 6-4

Seniors: Paul Ammons, Jack Baldwin, Blake Bowie, Caleb Couturie, Reed Gulick-Stutz, Quincy Hunter-Daniel, Momo Lewis, Aidan Waugh

MVP: Momo Lewis '14

Most Improved Player: Caleb Couturie '14

Most Inspirational Player: Reed Gulick-Stutz '14

CIF qualification? Yes, lost in quarterfinals

Season highlights: Opened with big win at home over Faith Baptist. Also had a big playoff win at home against Desert Christian Academy. Momo Lewis '14 rushed for over 1000 yards, threw for over 700, and had 27 total TDs. This was a very cohesive, committed team with great senior leadership.

Boys' Cross Country

Coaches: Fred Coleman, Sarah DelVecchio, Mike McGowan.

Captain: Simon Novich '14

League Record: 3-0 League Champions (8th consecutive League Championship)

Seniors: Simon Novich, Jeffrey Rhee, Alex Zaldastani

Most Valuable Runner: Simon Novich '14

Most Improved Runner (Veteran): Peter Callan '16

Most Improved Runner (Novice): Elliot Schiff '16

Most Inspirational Runner: Simon Novich '14

2014 Team Captain: Kevin Griffee '15

CIF: 8th Place, California State XC Championships

Season higlights: Seven boys qualified for early camp and returned for rigorous pre-season workouts. Their first significant test came at the Brentwood Invitational, where the boys placed 2nd (by only two points!) in a strong field of twenty teams. Our top four finished in the top eight in the race, and our #5 placed 20th, an outstanding result in a race of that size. At this point in the season the boys were ranked 3rd in the Southern Section.

Just four days later (not enough time to recover fully) the boys won the first of three Condor League meets at Cate. They dominated the field to confirm the fact that they were yet another outstanding team. Two weeks later off to the second league meet at Ojai Valley School, where the boys repeated their earlier performance, and solidified their position as favorite to win the Condor League Championship yet again.

Then the varsity runners (top seven, without Kevin Griffee) placed 5th in the Division 5 Sweepstakes Race (including almost all of the best teams in California), at the famous Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) Invitational (the largest in the world). They gained valuable experience on the course that is the site of both the Southern Section Prelims and Finals.

On 6 November, on their home course the boys secured their eighth consecutive Condor League Championship with a dominating performance, placing 7 runners in the top 10. It was their twenty-second consecutive Condor League Meet victory.

On to the post-season: At the Southern Section Prelims the boys won their heat in a disciplined manner, posted the fastest time of the day, and qualified easily for the sectional finals where they ran better than expected with a 2nd place finish that qualified them for the State Championships in Fresno for the fifth time in the last six years. On 30 November, the boys finished 8th in the State of California to take their place as one of Thacher’s finest cross country teams. The order of finish was (5k or 3.11 miles):

#1) Senior Simon Novich 16:10

#2) Sophomore Peter Callan 16:55

#3) Junior Kevin Griffee 17:06

#4) Sophomore Spencer McCune 17:38

#5) Junior Jack Richardson 18:14

#6) Sophomore Jack Pierrepont 18:16

#7) Freshman Ryan Jackson 18:24

Note: Subtract 00:40 from theses times to approximate a flat 3-mile time.

Girls' Cross Country

Coaches: Fred Coleman, Sarah DelVecchio, Mike McGowan.

Captain: Isabel Hayne '14

League Record: 3-0 League Champions (4th consecutive League Championship)

Seniors: Isobel Hayne, Bea Land, Sophie McMillan, Mahogany Monette, Sage Whipple

Most Valuable Runners: Bea Land '14, Sophie McMillan '14

Most Improved Runner (Veteran): Marissa Lopez '15

Most Improved Runner (Novice): Bea Land '14

Most Inspirational Runner: Isobel Hayne '14

2014 Team Captain: Georgie Becker '15

CIF: 9th Place, California State XC Championships

Season highlights: Ten girls qualified for early camp and returned for rigorous pre-season workouts. As always our first significant test came at the Brentwood Invitational where the girls placed 3rd in an excellent field of twenty teams. Our top 5 scorers finished in the top twenty-two, an outstanding result that led to a #4 ranking in the Southern Section at this early stage of the season.

Then, just four days later (not enough time to recover fully), the girls won the first Condor League meet at Cate, followed by a similar result in the second at Ojai Valley School, two weeks later.

Our top seven varsity runners placed 6th in the Sweepstakes Race (composed of almost all of the best teams in California) at the famous Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) Invitational (the largest cross country invitational in the world), where they gained valuable experience on the course that is the site of both the Prelims and Finals of the Southern Section.

On 6 November here at Thacher the girls secured their fourth consecutive Condor League Championship with a dominating performance, placing seven runners in the top 10. It was their twelfth consecutive Condor League Meet victory.

On to the post-season: At the Southern Section Prelims the girls, placed 2nd in their heat, qualifying easily for the finals where they ran far better than expected, placing 4th, which qualified the girls for a trip to Fresno for the 4th consecutive year – a remarkable achievement.

At the state championships, the girls ran better than predicted, finishing 9th. The order of finish was (5K or 3.11 miles):

1) Senior Sophie McMillan 20:57

2) Sophomore Sarah Voss 21:02

3) Junior Arianna Finger 21:12

4) Senior Isobel Hayne 21:26

5) Senior Bea Land 21:31

6) Sophomore Reade Rossman 21:44

7) Junior Georgie Becker 21:46

For an approximation of a flat three-mile time, subtract about 50 seconds.

For more news on the XC teams at the State Championship click here.

Girls' Varsity Volleyball

Coaches: Justina Zenner, Karen Haldeman

Captains: Ciara Byrne '14, Lexie Kirkwood '14

League Record: 0-9

Season Record: 1-14

Seniors: Annie Beckham, Ciara Byrne, Lexie Kirkwood, Alex Purcell, Susanna Renfrew, Truman Hanks (Manager)

Season highlights: Beating Fillmore in 5 games, the second time we played them, was a definite highlight of the season. It was a true team effort with contributions from every player. Both captains served their team admirably as assistant coaches and cheerleaders from the bench that game while rehabilitating injuries, while on the court, all players were required to step up their game against a tough opponent. All five sets were close including a fourth game that we won 27-25 forcing a fifth set tie breaker.

Throughout the season, despite a losing record, all of the athletes on the varsity volleyball team remained positive and continued to fight for a win. The final game of the season against Dunn was a great example of this desire and sportsmanship. Seniors Annie Beckham, Lexie Kirkwood, and Ciara Byrne all had outstanding performances. Lexie as the setter provided many assists to both Ciara as middle blocker and Annie as outside hitter. Annie’s tremendous defensive play also helped keep the game close and force a fifth set tie breaker. Although, we were not victorious in this final match it was incredible to see the team fight for every point and finish the season playing their best volleyball to date.

Girls' JV Volleyball

Coaches: Chris Vyhnal, Bill Omansiek

Captain: Kennedy Green '15

League Record: 6-7

Season Record: 8-9

MVP: Faith Earley '17

Most Improved Player: Elizabeth Swindells '17

Most Inspirational Player: Kennedy Green '15

Season highlights: A delightfully strange season this year in JV Volleyball… with only 3 returning players and 11 freshmen, and more games than full-squad practices on the schedule, we didn’t know what to expect when we started the season. Fortunately, the freshmen arrived with some skills and experience, and contributed from day 1 to a surprisingly successful campaign. Highlight of the season was our home match against a very good Cate team. After losing at their place (with many key players missing), we played much better at home. We dropped the first set 18-25 and went down 0-9 to start the second before climbing back in it and winning 25-22 to force a third set. We couldn’t quite pull off the win, but the girls played their best volleyball of the season in a packed and very loud gym.

Girls' Varsity Tennis
Coaches: Peter Fagan, Kevin Berigan

Captains: Auden Ehringer '14, Shelley Vohr '14

League Record: 5-1

Season Record: 11-5

Seniors: Annika Bhasanavich, Lili Boyle, Auden Ehringer, Felicia Jiang, Joanna Knutsen, Olivia Simonson, Shelley Vohr

MVP: Grace Bingham '15

Most Improved Player: Lili Boyle '14

Coaches Spirit Award and Most Inspirational: Olivia Simonson '14

CIF qualification? Yes, lost to Cerritos in the second round

Seasons highlights: Winning the Condor League by beating Cate in our second head-to-head meeting. Overall, an awesome season with wins over Dunn, Laguna, and Cate in the Condor league. Great team effort in our last regular season match, a victory over Cate. Winning our first round CIF match 14-4 over Cajon H.S.

JV Girls' Tennis

Coach: Jason Carney

Captains: Jillian Elkin '14, Lane Sohn '14

Season Record: 5-3

Seniors: Jillian Elkin, Lane Sohn

MVP: Jamin Arculli '17

Most Improved Player: Lydia Paxton '16

Most Inspirational Player: Lane Sohn '14

Seasons highlights: Great season. Loads of fun and skill development. 23 girls in the program, which kept things busy and lively on the lower courts. The girls supported one another throughout the season and worked hard to achieve individual and team goals. Beating Cate at home represented a huge highlight, but overall, witnessing substantial progress in all of the girls’ tennis games was gratifying.

Dance
Coach: Gallia Vickery

Seniors: Leah Ho-Israel, Nayla Kidd, Ana Levy

Most Inspirational Dancer: Wesley Liang '15

Most Versatile Dancer: Morgana Van Peebles '16

Most Improved Dancer: Elizabeth Zhang '16

Best Turner: Carrie Eastburn '16

Best Memory for Choreography: Hayley Kong '15

Season highlights: This fall we had a terrific group of experienced dancers who all worked at a high level. Individual growth was significant as some mastered double or even triple pirouettes in ballet class. Everyone continued to build strength and flexibility during warm-ups and learned a variety of longer combinations in modern and jazz classes. Guest teacher Kelli Forman added new combinations in contemporary and hip-hop as well as exercises in improvisation. Spirits were always high, but a few theme days like Miley Cyrus day added to the fun.

More news on the dance group's trip to China here.

Rock Climbing

Coaches: Brian Pidduck, Bo Manson, Juan Sanchez

Season Record: Fantastic! One of the best seasons in rock climbing ever. In fact, our students are climbing more and harder climbs than any students have done in the past.

Seniors: Pascal Cevaer-Corey, Drew Combs, Jackson Dolphin, Grant Ellman, Hannah Everett, Erich Herzig, Annie LeFevre, Willy Newirth, Cooper Penner, Raul Soto, Madeline Taylor, Wade Warren

MVP: Jackson Dolphin '14, Grant Ellman '14

Season highlights: Climbing at Banjo Cave and working on the delicate moves on Prison Wall; clearing brush and scrubbing lichen to make new climbs at Banjo Cave; our strength workouts and hill runs (amazing how much the students love these strenuous and grueling work outs – Sienna pushed herself so hard she fainted again this year (whoa!); our trip to Horse Flats in the Angeles National Forest to climb on the exceptional granite – camping out under the stars, chopping wood for the fire with, spotting each other as we tried time and time again to climb the Opposition Movement Problem, The Refrigerator and Das Problem, watching. They showed some of the most inspired and dedicated climbing of the whole term. Lastly, but most importantly, it was the enthusiasm of the whole crew and their attention to safety during the entire term. All learned a lot, were safe, challenged themselves and are excited to climb again. We couldn’t ask for more.

The most impressive ascents:

Yardarm Boulder, Horse Flats: Drew Combs '14, Robin Evans '15, Adam Silberberg '15, Doug Klink '16,

Das Problem, Horse Flats: Jackson Dolphin '14, Madeline Taylor '14, Robin Evans '15, Adam Silberberg '15, Nevin Bernet '16, Doug Klink '16,

Jameson Face, Thacher School: Hannah Everett '14, Madeline Taylor '14, Robin Evans '15, Adam Silberberg '15, Nevin Bernet '16, Doug Klink '16

Happy Trails, Thacher School: Drew Combs '14, Jackson Dolphin '14, Grant Ellman '14, Cooper Penner '14, Doug Klink '16

Meditation 41, Thacher School: Drew Combs '14 A VERY IMPRESSIVE CLIMB, PERHAPS THE MOST DIFFICULT CLIMB A THACHER STUDENT HAS EVER DONE.

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