By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
Managing Editor
With the winter sports season finishing up its second month of action, several teams are preparing for state meets and tournaments with hopes of advancing deep into the month of Feb and early March. Several teams like their chances of achieving their goals as South’s athletics continue to show an improvement in both depth and consistency throughout the programs.
Girls’ Basketball (11-2):
Currently leading the DCL, the girls’ basketball team has found success through knocking down the three point shot, while playing stout defense, which has brought the team its first playoff berth since 2012-2013. “We’re not big and we don’t really have a solid post player, but when that ball moves and the kids move without the basketball, it’s very hard to cover a certain player,” Head Coach Sam Doner said after the team’s playoff clinching win against Bedford. “If the defense is focused on one certain player, hopefully another shooter will be open.” Freshman Veronica Burton has coupled with junior sharpshooter Emily Chang to power the Lions’ potent offense, which recently put up 69 points behind 18 and 24 points from each of them respectively. They look to continue their success in the tail end of the season before hoping to win some tough games in the state tournament.
Boys’ Basketball (8-6):
The boys’ basketball team started the season out strong before losing their first game to Newton North by just two points. Following their second loss to Catholic Memorial, the team has struggled to regain their groove against some of the stronger teams in the state. “We have underachieved a little, but we know how much talent and potential we have,” junior contributor Alex Kiritsy said. Kiritsy, the only junior on the senior heavy team, in addition to seniors Geoffrey Gray and Mark Karmiy, has helped lead the team to the cusp of a playoff berth, where they look to make a deep run in the tournament.
Boys’ Track and Field:
The boys’ track and field team is preparing for the upcoming Dual County League Championship meet this Saturday through tough workouts with a focus on technical skills to help them nab their fourth straight DCL win. Though there were many injuries to be overcome early on in the season, the return of senior sprinters Levon Tiekka and Noah Shuster will help fellow sprinters Philip Batler, captain Ben Cooper and the rest of the Lions keep pace with the rest of the DCL.
Girls’ Track and Field:
The girls’ track and field team, coming off the MSTCA Coaches Invitational, looked to build off some success in the season to try to capture their own DCL championship this Saturday. They have battled through injuries, but with distance runner junior Rebecca Grusby joining fellow junior sprinter Lizzie Walkes, in addition to a myriad of other standouts, the Lions look poised to do some damage in the championship meet.
Boys’ Hockey (9-3-1):
The boys’ hockey team, coming off of a deep playoff run last year, came into the season looking to make it to the state championship this year. “We’re 9-3-1 right now. We’ve had some good games and some bad games,” senior captain Connor Kee said. “We’re having trouble playing a full 45 minutes, but if we do we could beat any team we are going up against.” Junior Thomas Tresca has continued his dominance from last season, joining seniors Griffin Connolly and Hampus Samuelsson, in addition to sophomore Sergey Bezrukov to lead the Lions’ goal scoring effort this season.
Girls’ Hockey:
The girls’ hockey team, in their second season joining together with Brookline High School’s girls’ hockey team, has fought through adversity throughout the season. They recently nabbed their first win
Wrestling:
The wrestling team, too, has had to deal with its share of injuries this season. Individual performers have stepped up in place of those who are injured, setting the team up for success in the later part of the season. “Even with our injuries we still did well. We came in third at the Brookline tournament and we have a lot of very strong individuals this year,” senior captain Adam Josephson said. “We are real excited for the end of the season because we have kids with injuries coming back and bringing us to a full line-up for the first time this year.” The goal for the last part of the season, and the measuring stick for whether or not it is classified as successful comes down to states, “I think so far the season has been great but it won’t be truly successful until we have about six kids make it to states,” Josephson said.
Swim and Dive:
The boys’ swim and dive team has enjoyed great success this year, beating LS for the first time in 45 years. They have relied upon two to three top performers in addition to four to five consistent swimmers to make this edition of the team one of the deeper ones in recent years. “To win swim meets you need a couple guys that are really good, we have three, then we have four to five good guys, and that’s all you need to win the meet,” junior captain Alex Song said. The girls’ team hasn’t been as successful this year, though despite some inconsistent meets, they have managed to win some close meets. Both teams look ahead to states, where they hope to place among the best schools in Massachusetts.
Girls’ Gymnastics (6-1):
The girls’ gymnastics team, relying on many proven gymnasts, has accomplished many of its goals this year, going 6-1 thus far. They recently beat AB by just four points, essentially locking up a share of the DCL championship title. Led by Camilla Hernandez and Kalena Wang, the team will try to clinch a share of the title against Cambridge in their next meet which was postponed from Wednesday.
Ski:
The ski team prides itself on being a very close, tight knit group. Though they have struggled a bit this season, they are led by freshman standout Chace Khan for the boys and senior captain Jessica Landon for the girls. “We’re a pretty close group and across grades everyone’s pretty tight,” junior Peter Quinn said. “Like freshman talk to seniors and its sort of laid back a little bit.” The team has their final league meet Feb. 10 while states, which will take place at Wachusett, instead of the regular mountain of Nashoba, will be on Feb. 24.
