ATHLETICS

By Paige Walton LOWER SCHOOL TEACHER AND VARSITY GIRLS LACROSSE HEAD COACH

On October 28, 2019, student-athletes Erin Jacobs ’21, Celia Pell ’21, Kristen Verma ’21, and Coach Paige Walton attended the seventh annual IAAM Leadership Conference. The conference’s goal is to engage a diverse and dynamic representation of student-athletes and coaches, provide pertinent and customized sessions that will enhance personal awareness, improve leadership skills, and bring key learning and information back to the school community.

This year’s conference theme was “Stronger Together.” The day kicked off by keynote speaker Cathy Reese, head women’s lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland. Reese shared valuable information with athletes and coaches about being a positive and productive leader not only in sports but in life. She shared how positive leaders can help to build a strong team and school culture.

Athletes participated in a simulated team-building exercise led by Jillian Kochanek from the University of Michigan, a third-year doctoral student in kinesiology, concentrating on the psychosocial aspects of sports. The simulation exercise showed athletes that there are different types of leaders and that each style can lead to a team’s success. Van Brooks, founder and executive director of Safe Alternative Foundation for Education, who was initially paralyzed in 2004 at the age of 16 from the neck down after attempting to make a tackle during high school football, also spoke at the conference. Brooks ended the day with his inspirational story that emphasized “a man is not defeated when he loses; he is defeated when he gives up.”

COACH SPOTLIGHT Eddie Howlette ’15

Varsity wrestling Head Coach Eddie Howlette ’15, joined the Glenelg Country School (GCS) faculty in 2019 after being part of the first Varsity wrestling team in GCS history and wrestling for four years at Ursinus College. Coach Howlette believes that the discipline and work ethic developed through wrestling become skills that can last a lifetime.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND IN WRESTLING.

I started wrestling in sixth grade at GCS under coach Brad Black. When I started wrestling, there was no high school team; we only had middle school wrestling. During my freshman year, in 2011, we started the first varsity wrestling team in school history. We only had eight wrestlers on the team. By my senior year in 2015, we had a strong team that included All-Conference wrestlers, state placers, and national qualifiers. The following year, Glenelg Country School won its first MIAA Championship. I finished my high school career with 104 wins and two All-Conference honors. I went on to wrestle at Ursinus College to compete at the next level.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU BACK TO GCS?

Ever since starting the wrestling program back in 2011, coming back to coach the team after graduation was always something that my assistant coach, Emanuel Curtis ’15, and I talked about doing. At the time, it felt like a pipe dream, not something that would realistically happen. After I graduated from Ursinus in 2019, I saw that there was an opening for a wrestling coach at GCS. The program had taken a few steps back over the years, and I wanted to help get us back on track. When I saw the opportunity to live out this dream, I had to take it. WHAT MAKES YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT COACHING?

Wrestling at GCS taught me valuable lessons that stuck with me throughout my college career, and I developed friendships with my teammates that lasts to this day. Wrestling is the most challenging sport in the world—it tests your physical and mental endurance on and off the mat. The challenging nature of the sport teaches athletes to deal with adversity, face their fears head-on, and embrace the daily grind of life as a wrestler.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS WITH THE WRESTLING PROGRAM?

The main goal is to develop high-achieving studentathletes on and off the mat. Even with a small team, we can achieve ultimate success if we have the right focus. We don’t just want to win the MIAA-B conference; we have our sights set on bigger goals. On the mat and in the practice room, we have one purpose: getting better each day and peaking at the end of the year for conferences and states. We want our student-athletes to know that if they show up every day and give 100% effort, they can become conference champions and national qualifiers. In practice, we don’t train to win our next match. We train to achieve a much bigger goal. To achieve this goal, you need to have an elite work ethic. While many might see this as a distraction, we believe that the discipline and work ethic you develop through this sport become life skills that can last a lifetime.

Seth Miller ’21

BOYS SOCCER

The team started the year strong winning the Boonsboro tournament. The conference season was a different story with the squad losing a total of seven matches by one goal. The Dragons finished eighth in the B Conference with many plaudits from opposing coaches and referees about how hard the boys played. Highlights from the season included a 4-0 Homecoming victory over St. Vincent Pallotti and a season ending 1-0 win over St. Mary’s to spoil their playoff hopes. Senior captains Neal Fyock ’20, Matt Palmisano ’20, and Jacob Schiller ’20 led the team in its return to the B Conference, where every match was competitive. Juniors Moyo Ariyo ’21, Ryan Clemons ’21, and Ryan Russo ’21 hope to carry the team’s momentum into next year.

VARSITY GIRLS SOCCER

The soccer season was one with immense growth on and off the field. With every season comes the highs and lows while seeking success. Success was never measured merely by the match result, but rather by the growth in the program. Finding a playing style, improving individual abilities, and building a culture while embracing every step of the journey. The team regularly overcame battles, strengthening the team and preparing them for the next challenge. Although the team was extremely young, the leadership from the four upperclassmen—Grace Pacylowski ’20, Sydney St. Cyr ’20, Celia Pell ’21, and Caroline Rehder ’21—was outstanding and impacted the development of the team’s confidence and promise.

Caroline Rehder ’21

Nicole Diaz-Mackey ’20

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

The team earned a regular season record of 5-3 with close wins all season.

The team finished in fifth place at the championship, capping off a great season.

Asya Loeb ’19 Captain Erin Jacobs ’21 finished fourth in the conference, earning All-Conference

recognition. The top seven also included sophomores Katie Leavy ’23 and Joanie Morningstar ’23; junior Noor Singh ’21; and seniors Faythe Cooper ’20, Nikki DiazMackey ’20, and Kiran Saini ’20. The team achieved many goals throughout the season with many special moments to remember.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

The cross country team finished the year with a record of 2-7 and seventh place in the MIAA B conference. Thomas Demers ’20 led the Dragons with a sixth-place finish earning All-Conference honors for the third time in his GCS cross country career. Jack Roth ’22 missed All-Conference honors by one place with his 11th place finish. Rohit Saha ’21, Jonathan Meitzler ’20, and William Mantzaris ’22 rounded out the varsity top five. On junior varsity, Charles Benedict ’22 was the top GCS finisher with fourth place.

FIELD HOCKEY

The varsity field hockey team demonstrated big heart and unfaltering tenacity. In spite of strong offensive teams in a stacked B Conference, goalkeeper Krissy Verma ’21 (conference honors) averaged double-digit saves per game, with a high of 30. The defense was led by Madisyn Howard ’21 and Grace Dickey ’21, both recipients of IAAM Character Coins this season. Senior Captains Samantha Wollman ’20, Maddy Sesay ’20, and Kayla Rich ’20 established the positive attitude and competitive edge characteristic of the team. The junior varsity team, led by Captains Stella Moynihan ’21 and Briti Nebhnani ’21, grew tremendously throughout the season, despite a losing record. The scoreboard did not reflect the effort and determination each player put forth on a team that was supportive and encouraging of one another.

Madison Sesay ’20

Kelly Rushe ’20

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

The 4-4 regular season conference record for the varsity volleyball team was capped with a decisive 3-0 win over Oldfields School. Heading into the IAAM C Conference Volleyball Championship tournament as the fifth seed, the Dragons fought hard but fell to St. Timothy’s School in the quarterfinal playoff match. Season highlights included an exciting win over the Frederick Force on Senior Night and several close matches throughout the regular season. Sydni Williams ’20 and Amber Garcia ’22 were named to the IAAM All-Conference team. The junior varsity team made great progress in the 2019 fall season. Hana Tujjar ’22 and Sofia Vallejo ’21 led the young team as captains. Vallejo led the team in both service aces and assists, while Jordan Oseghale ’22 led the team in digs and Abby Coppin ’23 led in kills. With an overall record of 6-8, this was a development year for these young players.

GIRLS TENNIS

With 16 players on the team, GCS had a full varsity and junior team which gave younger players some much needed experience. Despite a 2-9 record, the girls played determined, tough tennis showing improvement from the first day of practice. The team went 2-2 in non-conference matches, highlighted by a nice win over Good Counsel. Two losses in the non-conference matches were both 3-2 losses decided by third set match tiebreakers. Esther Nissen ’21 proved to be a force at singles, winning five matches in the A Conference. Mia Fortin ’23 and Natalie Dent ’23, both freshmen, played competitive doubles matches against more experienced opponents. Junior varsity players Taylor Monaco ’21 and Juliette Yoltay ’21 won matches and will be a big part of the team next year. The future looks bright with a squad of hard working dedicated young athletes who represent GCS in a very positive way.

Juliette Yoltay ’21