Category: Sports

Tennis on Fire

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by Heiger Chen ’22

After defeating Holy Redeemer with a 5-0, Wyoming Seminary tennis team is ending with a strong season. This year’s season began in March and ended in mid-April with Coach Raphael Cooper hoping the team goes into playoffs, which consist of singles, doubles, and teams. He illustrated that the most important goal for the year was for the the team to be competitive and continues learning game to game.

Although Keefer Wu ’22 and Artur Gilicinski ’23 left the team this year, Vaughn Kutish ’22 and Benjamin (Ben) Ziegler ’22 took the positions of team leaders to bring the team together. As Cooper mentioned during an interview “It’s gonna be a difficult but fun and interesting year making adjustments as we could be scrabbing again before districts to make another adjustment to the roster.” 

When asked about who stands out the most to him, he said that “everyone [is] special in terms of what they are doing. You know, they have their own strengthens and weaknesses. But I would just like to say our captains because they are setting the table for all of us.” He continues by wishing his players a good year. “I want every kid leaving feeling like they got better at tennis as well as enjoying the whole experience. It’s not just about winning but progressing and understanding the concept of teamwork.” Cooper added.

The tennis team had their first competition against Berwick and they won 4-1. Specifically, Cooper highlighted Ryan Chun ’23 who had his first time as a singles player and won the match. Additionally, Yicheng Li ’25, who was new to the team, also performed well; he played in a doubles match and had his first victory.

Nail Biter in Carpenter

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2022 Wrestling Team (Photo Courtesy of Wyoming Seminary Communications Department)

By Shane Holcombe ‘23 and Maddie Olshemski ‘23

“It’s a great day to be a Blue Knight,” has been a staple phrase throughout Wyoming Seminary’s Athletic teams for quite some time now, and the #1 ranked Blue Knights wrestling team held true to the phrase in their victorious dual against #2 ranked Blair Academy. The team came together and were able to put on a show for the fans by winning in dramatic style, as the dual came down to the final match of the night. 

Rarely are the duals between these two decorated programs not decided in the final bouts, and this meeting was no different, as the score was 28-27 going into the final match, where freshman Jude Correa ‘25 had immense pressure to not only win his match, but to win the duel for the Blue Knights. Correa took that pressure and secured the victory with ease, closing out the duel for the Blue Knights. The crowd, although smaller than usual because of limited capacity, made their voices heard to bring energy into the gym and help propel the team to victory. 

Victories from Luke Lilledahl ‘24 , Kai Owen ‘22, Joe Sealey ‘24, and incredible pins from DJ Moehring ‘22 and Nic Bouzakis ‘22, put the Blue Knights wrestling squad in an excellent position to succeed. Kai Owen told “Mat Scouts” after the dual that “he knew going into the night his match could flip the tides.” And that it did. A dramatic last second takedown saw the Senior secure three vital points, sending Carpenter Athletic Center into a frenzy. 

This legendary program saw some changes this year with the hiring of Head Coach, Cornell Robinson. Robinson has an incredible resume, including leading the USA cadet team to a second- place finish in the World Championships. Robinson told The Optinator that “the squad has had to overcome adversity throughout the winter via injuries and Covid, but I’m so happy to see our guys step up in crunch time high stakes moments like tonight.”  Robinson is continuing to make this legendary program his own, while still maintaining the winning tradition, and culture that the program has come to possess. 

Fall Sports During Covid-19

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Fall Sports During Covid-19

By Maddie Olshemski ’23

 

2020 was anything but ordinary, and the fall sports season was no exception to this. Although the fall season looked a bit different than past years, Wyoming Seminary student-athletes made the season the best and safest that they could. Wyoming Seminary fall sports include Football, Field Hockey, Tennis, Golf, Soccer, and Cross Country. The student-athletes on these teams persevered and made the year more memorable than any year before, despite the circumstances and obstacles the Covid-19 pandemic threw their way. 

This fall season was like no other. Adjustments had to be made to fit Covid- 19 protocols and ensure everybody participating was safe as possible to have a season. This means masking at all times, except when playing, and social distancing during water breaks, drills, on the benches, and during bus rides. At a glance, it could be seen as a challenge, but sophomore soccer defender, Aiden Gilbert, talked about in an interview how these protocols brought the Boys Team together. He explained, “[W]e knew that wearing masks was our best chance at being able to keep the season going, so we made sure to keep that in the back of our minds when we felt like taking them off. And although we couldn’t go too close to each other, we all had to go through the same problems, so we were able to relate with each other on a greater scale and become closer as a team.” The Boy’s Soccer Team then came together at the end of their season and finished with a win in the PIAA AA District Championship. 

The student-athletes were not the only ones who had to adapt and make adjustments this fall season. Coaches played a massive role in making sure all student-athletes had the best experience possible playing their sports. Head Field Hockey coach, Coach Karen Klassner, touched on some of the difficulties she and her 3-peat defending PIAA Class A State Championship Team faced. The main challenge she talked about was “[T]he uncertainty of current and future situations, and not knowing from day to day if it would be your last game.” This uncertainty was not just surrounding cases on each respective team but throughout the entire state. The season could have been cut short by several things, including cases within other SEM teams, within the SEM community, other school teams throughout the area, and cases throughout the state. Any of these factors could have ended the season for SEM athletic teams and teams in the entire conference and in the PIAA. But even with this uncertainty, Coach Klassner commended her team for pushing through, “…our team was great, they knew what they had to do and handled every situation knowing they were lucky to be playing.” The Field Hockey Team finished off an already memorable season with a win in the PIAA Class A State Championship, making them the only Pennsylvania team ever to win three State Titles in a row. An unbelievable feat in an even more unbelievable time. 

To play a sport during a pandemic with so much uncertainty where the sport you love can be taken away at any given moment is a challenge. However, every Wyoming Seminary fall sport student-athlete knew how lucky they were to play while making memories and connections that will be cherished. No student-athlete will ever forget the year they overcame uncertainty and adversity in a global pandemic while playing the sport they loved in the blue and white.