Fall Sports Wrap-Up

For complete season results, go to overlakeowls.com.

CROSS COUNTRY (Co-ed)

Coach

Colton Umberger (’14)

Cross Country has had a strong season, the most competitive season Coach Colton Umberger has enjoyed. This success is due in a large part to a great group of captains: Sameeksha Dangi (’23), Avena Fan (’23), Jack Kehoe (’24), Olivia Stiles (’23), Aleksy Umbers (’24), Mateo Whatley (’23), and Talia Willson (’24). The captains worked hard and led by example every day.

A special highlight of the season was the invitational in Arlington; over 75% of the team hit a new personal record that day! It was a long and very fun day for the whole team to be together. Another highlight of the season was challenging Overlake school records and seeing some fall.

The team captains are already looking forward to next year being another record-breaking year with a strong group of runners returning. “Running competitively is not an easy thing to do but like anything in life: if you put the work in, results will come,” Coach Colton Umberger said as the season came to a close. “This time of year is especially exciting because our runners get to see the progress they’ve made. It’s the time of year when all the hard work comes to fruition.”

Special congratulations to our Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country teams! For the first time in Overlake history, both teams qualified to go to State in the same season!

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Coach Sally Goodspeed

Girls’ soccer had a solid season, with Coach Sally Goodspeed sharing “We have persevered through a tough fall with a small but mighty team and gotten a lot of tight wins keeping us at or near the top of the league standings. During this season, the team has learned to stick together and play until the last whistle. With the challenges of the weather and smoke, the team has worked together to have a strong season record and make a playoff run.”

The team boasts five great senior leaders who have done a good job leading the team through their tough schedule and stepped up both on and off the field. The senior players will truly be missed, they are Celina Kwon, Debbie Mahler, Caroline Min, Flora Roberts, and Siena Verprauskus. Looking ahead, there is room for more players, and Goodspeed hopes more players turn out next year and beyond.

Congratulations to the team for earning a spot in the State Tournament!

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Coach Mindy McGrath

Girls’ Volleyball has had a winning season and has also seen tremendous leadership from their senior captains: Sydney Martin, Sanaya Mundra, Ryma Patil, and Clara Sun. The captains created an inclusive environment and truly united the team. This year the team battled illness more than past seasons and that gave them some challenging adversity to rise above. Through all that, the team supported and cared about each other and it was wonderful to see them dominate when they were all able to play together. Coach Mindy McGrath shared her appreciation of her team, “I’m so proud of all the students in our volleyball program. They show up and give so much time and energy and I hope they get as much joy and fulfillment out of the opportunity as I do.” Through adversity and success, the team always manages to make the most of opportunities and have a good time sharing the sport they love.

BOYS’ GOLF

Coach Justin Prohn

Smoke, smoke, and more smoke! While the smoky skies cancelled so many practices and matches, the Boys’ Golf team made the most of the opportunities they were given. Captains Ethan Haight (’23) and Zubin Sannakkayala (’23) provided team leadership and everyone on the team appreciated being able to play at Bear Creek Country Club.

“Golf is such a mental game and the ability to move past certain things is a great life skill.” observed Coach Justin Prohn, “I also think the leadership that has been demonstrated by our senior captains is something that will be a take-away for our players. Like many of the golfers before them, they have carried on our golf culture in a very respectable and encouraging way.” Highlights from this season include having the four top golfers on the team all qualify in the first two matches of the season as well as seeing growth and improvement from the 5th and 6th golfers. As this season ends, Prohn sees a bright future for the team, “I’m excited to see what we can do in the spring come playoff time. We have a great opportunity to send four golfers to state, so I’m excited to see how they practice and challenge themselves over the winter and early spring in preparing for the playoff opportunities.”

BOYS’ ULTIMATE Coach John

Quandt

While the Boys’ Ultimate team struggled to find victory on the field, they found great success in building team spirit and community. Coach John Quandt shared that, “The attitude and chemistry of this team is the best it’s ever been in the years I’ve been a coach here.” Quandt gave special credit to strong team captains John Boland (’24) and Kai Brown (’23). The captains offered the entire team leadership, encouragement and created a positive team culture. Another unique feature of this season was that there were exactly seven senior players. Since there are seven players on the field at any given time, the seniors were able to improve and play their best ultimate together as the season progressed. Looking forward, Quandt plans to build for a strong season next year, focusing on fundamentals and mental toughness.

BOYS’ TENNIS

Coach Jeff Loranger

Boys’ Tennis achieved an undefeated season in what is believed to be the toughest league for Boys 1A tennis and led the league with 46 individual wins. The team of 13 included 6 freshmen who rose up to hold key positions in the lineup. Coach Jeff Loranger appreciated how the team came together, “I hope that the players take away the team involvement we try to teach within our program in an individualized sport. Not only do we want each of them to improve on their own game of tennis, but they can push each other to be better and raise the level of the team.” The leadership of the team captains, Hudson Im (’23) and Luca Mevawalla (’23), was also meaningful as the season progressed. One highlight for the team was when they traveled to and beat Kamiak High School, a 4A team, in a non-league match. It came down to the final match and all the other teammates were sitting on the next court over cheering the final doubles team on to victory. Every player on the team contributed to the overall success and the future looks bright. While the four graduating seniors will be missed, next year’s returning players will continue to lead the team environment, culture, and add to the success the team has achieved.