Sports
December 2014
Winter Season Preview By RICK MORTENSON and TYLER CHONOLES With the fall season triumphantly concluding, the Friends winter athletic season is just starting to pick up steam and practice for what will be the real deal. The winter teams this year will include Winter Track, Swimming, Women’s Varsity Basketball, and Men’s Varsity Basketball. Each of these teams is accomplished, and will look to build off last year’s success as it prepares to make this season Friends’ best so far. Here is The Insight’s exclusive rundown of each team that will be competing throughout the winter months. First, get your sneakers on, because this year’s runners are better than ever. Cross Country and Track and Field have been some of Friends’ most accomplished teams. Friends’ Winter track, traditionally a powerhouse, takes the field this season led by coaches Chris Krow, Jennifer Melaragno, and Sherwin O’Neil. This year’s team has a talented young core, along with some seasoned veterans. Junior Felix Parker, sophomore Mallie Axon, and senior Matt Bialosky all return for another season of great times, along with other experienced runners . After an impressive qualification for Federations last year, the team hopes to continue this trend. However, with losses of a number of talented seniors such as Will Berg and Dominic Ansel from the 2013-2014 graduating class, the team will have to rely on and strengthen its abundant young talent, including freshmen runners such as Isa Skibelli and Christian Noll. “There are a lot of promising underclassmen”, returning junior Evan “E-money” Liberman relayed with optimism. “This team has a lot of potential. The future is bright.” You can catch the track team in action at a number of competitions in the armory throughout the winter season. If you’re a fan of hoopin’, we’ve got you covered. On the hardwood, the Women’s Varsity Basketball team is ready to avenge a nail-biting playoff loss against Berkeley Carroll last year, and is
back with experienced and savvy coach George Stark. Returning to the Owls are a number of competitors from last year, including seniors Sammie Barken and Erika Mills, juniors Natalie Benderly and Anna Lee, and sophomore Isabella Flores. When asked about the team’s prospects and aspirations for the coming season, starting guard Natalie “Air Natz” Benderly answered with optimism and confidence. “Although we’ve lost our seniors, we’re really excited to start the season off on a good note. There’s a lot of young talent.” she said with enthusiasm, revealing girl’s varsity basketball to be in a similar situation to winter track. You can cheer them on at the Friends gym or other ACIS schools as they compete for the ACIS championship.
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Season Stats From SPORTS AT FRIENDS (SAF)
Men’s Varsity Soccer Athlete
Goals Scored
Assists
Total Points
Rio Hope-Gund
17
10
44
Ewan Creed
14
11
39
Lucas Fairbairn
5
8
18
Alex Jensen
7
2
16
Lucas Pryor
6
0
12
Women’s Varsity Soccer Athlete
Goals Scored
Assists
Total Points
Amelia Smith
5
1
11
Lucy Bryant
3
1
7
Olivia Berke
2
1
5
Ellie Valentine
2
0
4
Natalie Benderly
1
1
3
Caitlyn Starr
1
0
2
Cross Country Top Three Times for 3.1 mile
Women’s Basketball in previous years.
Joining the women’s team in the Friends Gym, the Men's Varsity Basketball team is ready to win a duo of championships under their coach David Lieber. Winning numerous State and ACIS titles in years past, they hope to rebound from a tough loss to Dwight in the ACIS semifinals last year. The Men's team has several returning players, including seniors, Malik Bunton, Jack Thorman, Michael Lowe, and Jonah Philips, junior Cal Freundlich and sophomore Jared Hodges. Also promising is the flock of new prospects that will help the Friends Owls be a top contender for the ACIS championship this season, including Jevaughni Pegues, Andrew Settleman, Jason Liebman, Rick Mortenson, and Will Cohen. Cal, aka “Mr. Automatic” is more than confident about the teams capabilities this season than previous years. “There’s no reason why this team shouldn’t go all the way this year”, he told The Insight. “We have a lot of young talent mixed in with some experienced veterans that are
Runner
Time (min)
Runner
Time (min)
Michael Lowe
19:01
Isa Skibelli
25:11
Felix Parker
19:16
Tsejin Bhotia
26:57
Evan Liberman
19:55
Hailey Aronson
27:55
Runner Christian Noll
Most Improved Runners for 3.1 mile Change in Time Runner (min) 4
Isa Skibelli
Change in Time (min) 7
all determined and focused at the task at hand.” Cal touched on a bigger theme in Friends’ athletics this year: new players mixed with familiar faces. Support Men’s Varsity Basketball live at the Friends Gym or at other ACIS schools. Last, but not least, Friends’ Swimming Team is set to become champion in the water, led by coaches Deanna Yurchuk and Catherine Guerriere. The Boys and Girls team play side by side at all events and usually do not fail to place in the top three at each meet. After winning the 2013-2014 ACIS championship, Mens’s Basketball in previous years.
Continued on p.18