Girls Basketball Senior Spotlight

By: Chiara Gustinucci ‘27

The Wyoming Seminary girls basketball team had a strong season this year, holding a record of 10-7. This team connection on and off the court is what makes them such a strong team, and supporting that are three seniors Lucy Ruiz, Clare Griffin, Avery Luksic, and team manager Ryan Kersey ‘25.. The team really came together for these seniors, putting time, effort, and money into posters, gifts, and speeches for each senior. “We have four seniors who have really great personalities and really great character and encourage us as a team,” says Madeline Marinello ‘26. These seniors encourage their teammates to go into every game with a positive mindset and motivate everyone. “My favorite part of this season was getting to know the girls and working with them this year,” said Ruiz. This group of seniors believes that the team is strong with skills and confidence, and really sees the chemistry between the girls. The values of girlhood in the tight-knit atmosphere really bring everyone together. 

With Mr. Kersey ‘90 as a coach, this team has improved in so many ways. “After being on the team for a while, it’s nice to see how the program has changed under  Kersey and how the team has improved skill wise and confidence wise,” says Luksic. After experiencing the team in different years, these girls have noticed the changes and have made their own in the team as well. For senior night, each senior received a poster, personal gifts, and a speech from their players. These girls are highly valued on their team and have made a huge impact on their teammates this season. This team will continue to bring a positive mindset to practice and to games, and will continue to value advice and efforts made by the 2025 seniors. 

2025 Blair Duel

Michael DeMuro ‘27

Regardless of sport, Wyoming Seminary versus Blair Academy is one of the most anticipated and heated games for the year. Sure, there are other big games, like against Holy Redeemer, but Sem against Blair is THE game,, no matter the sport played.  Whether it is football, soccer, or in this case, wrestling, everyone who can go, goes.

This year, wrestling had its duel with Blair in New Jersey, at their home gym. The stands were packed with students, teachers, and family all eager to see this duel unfold, and to see who the victor would be.  Sem and Blair had many people there to support them, and Sem had to drive around an hour and a half to arrive. Upon walking into the gym, the wrestlers were met with an impressive display of school spirit from both sides and as Jude Correa ‘25 said “It was a crazy atmosphere… there was a lot of hype around that duel and it’s always pretty great to have that duel.” 

The match itself went in a great direction for Sem, with the final score being 39-21 and Sem winning the duel. As Matthew “Chewy” Botello ‘25 said, “It kinda made history because [it was the] first time we beat them at their house and the first time they lost since sometime in the 1900s home.” Some highlights of the match included Vince Bouzakis ‘25 versus Joseph Schinder and Anthony Evanitsky ‘25  versus Ryan Meier. Both matches were impressive victories for Bouzakis and Evanitsky, with Bouzakis winning 19-2 and Evanitsky winning 14-2. Even though Sem isn’t number 1 in the country like before, make no mistake with assuming they are a bad team, or even just a good team, because although there have been some bumps in the road for their season, they have still proven themselves to be worthy of being top 5 in the country. It is unlikely that will change in the future.

Mock Trial Season

Izzy Shoemaker ‘26

The 2024-2025 mock trial season is well underway for the team at Wyoming Seminary. After graduating all 12 of the varsity team members from last year, this year’s team stepped up and filled in. Twelve new team members filled in, four of whom had never done mock trial before. Additionally, four other members had never competed before this season. In addition to new team members, the team also welcomed Lieutenant District Attorney Tony Ross as a coach alongside returning coach, Dr. Froehlich. Ella Magida ‘26, Nick Delayo ‘25, Isis Gonzalez ‘25, and Kavin Patel ‘25 were named as captains for this season. 

The season began with two invitational tournaments in Philadelphia, LaSalle Blue and Gold and UPenn Benjamin Franklin Invitational. The Blue and Gold and Ben Franklin Invitational are two of the highest level competitions in the state. At the Blue and Gold, Wyoming Seminary went 1-2-1. The next weekend, at the Benjamin Franklin invitational, the Knights went 1-1, as they were unable to compete the next day as a result of weather events in the Philadelphia area. Following the two invitationals, the team had a few days to refine their case materials before moving on to preliminary rounds of district mock trial at the Luzerne County Courthouse.

Sem has done remarkably well in districts thus far. In their first trial, the varsity defense team defeated Marian High School in a unanimous decision by all five judges. Kavin Patel ‘25 and Mirabaai Reitsma ‘26 were awarded best advocate and best witness respectively. Patel said, “It’s great to get results like this in districts. We had big shoes to fill from last year’s team, and I think we are in a good position to have a shot at back to back district titles.” 

A week later, the varsity prosecution team was back in the courthouse against Pittson area. The prosecution swept the judges in a unanimous 5-0 decision once again. Josie Carpenter ‘26, awarded best witness at the trial said, “I think everyone is feeling really good moving into the next rounds of districts. The team will continue competing in high level district competition through the rest of February, culminating with the district championship. If the team comes out victorious, they will continue on in the regional championship, a title last one by the Sem 2023-2024 varsity team.