2022 Spring Sports Highlights

The biggest story of the spring athletics season has to be the work of Ellis DelVecchio CdeP 2022 in track and field. Ellis set school records in the 200m dash running 22.91, the 400m dash in 49.47 seconds, and the 800m dash in 1:50.13. He is one of the top runners in the 800m across all divisions in Southern California since Marcus Stokes in 1992. Ellis won the 800m dash at the California State Championships at Clovis. He is now state champion, a Thacher first. The track team also saw the boys 4x100 team of Trevor Carson CdeP 2022, Arinze O. '24, Nnaemeka Okonkwo CdeP 2022, and Cyrus Leung CdeP 2022 record the fastest time in school history of 46.03 seconds. Diego E. ’24 qualified for the CIF prelims in the 3200. Lily C. ’24 and Taylor G. ‘24 ran the 800m at the CIF prelims, and four girls raced the 4x400 at the CIF prelims: Taylor, Lily, Sera K. ’24, and Sarah S. ’24.

After a two-season hiatus, the girls’ varsity lacrosse program retook the field in 2022. Led by captains Milli Getz CdeP 2022, Jade Robinson CdeP 2022, and Maddy Rosenbaum CdeP 2022 and finishing with a respectable 4-7 record, the team played hard each game, and no contest was a blowout. Highlights included impressive wins against Santa Barbara and Nordhoff, a close game with San Marcos, a huge rally against Dos Pueblos, and a senior game showdown against Cate. The Channel League honored our tenacious players with 1st Team All League honors going to Lola Henderson-Thomas CdeP 2022 and Cate Tracy CdeP 2023, and 2nd Team All League honors going to Lexie G. ’24 and Eva W. ’23. Team voted awards included Overall MVP (Cate T. ‘23, Defensive MVP (Lola Henderson-Thomas), Offensive MVP (Eva W.), Unsung Heroes (Milli Getz, Lexie G.) and Most Improved Anna Kelly CdeP 2022, Margaret Z. ’24.

If you were to only look at the baseball team’s final record of the season, you might not consider it a success (the team was 0-6 in league play and 1-9 overall), but upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that five of the losses were by three runs or fewer, two games went into extra innings, they averaged five runs per game, six of the nine starters were underclassmen, and they competed each game. An example of their resilience and determination is the fact that they were down four runs or more in five games this season and battled back to tie the game. In the final game of the season, they defeated #1 ranked Ojai Valley School 12-6. This team has an exciting future and is poised and ready to have successful and winning seasons for years to come. The team was led by first team all-league selection Ben Kelliher CdeP 2022 and second team all-league Peter R. ‘24.

After a two-year hiatus from full-season competition, the Boys Varsity Lacrosse Team returned this year with a vengeance. Beginning the season with a 15-3 win against league rival Dos Pueblos, the team rolled on to a 7-1 record in the league, which was good enough to earn Thacher’s first playoff berth in officially sanctioned CIF competition (official competition having begun in the 2020 season). The Toads took down a strong Crean Lutheran team, 11-7, in their first round game on Upper Field, but then fell to eventual Division 3 champion Vista Murrieta by a score of 11-4, despite an incredibly strong first half performance, in an away game preceded by an eventful five-hour car ride. In addition to notching Thacher’s first-ever CIF playoff appearance and victory, the season concluded with individual honors for a number of Toads who were recognized as All-Channel League performers. First team: Conor Kelly CdeP 2022 (Channel League Defender of the Year, Javi Z-G ’23, Dash Chaiyasen CdeP 2022. Second team: Todd R. ’23, Henry Mallory CdeP 2022, Cody L. ’23. Honorable

Mention: Augie T. ’24.

The Boys’ tennis team had an outstanding season. Thacher placed second in league competition and went on to play the top seed and eventual CIF champions Cerritos High School. The team put up strong resistance but could not hold on to several key courts down the stretch. Thacher sent six players to the individual league championships. Joe M. ’23 and Justin P. ’24 placed second and qualified for the CIF doubles tournament. They were named first team all league as well. Seniors Matthew James and Hayden Houseman were given honorable mention as was Junior Pierce B. ’23. A strong group of players return next year ready to build off their success from the 2022 season.