Spring Athletic Accolades, and Boston Globe Scholarship Honors for Kofi Fordjour

In addition to Varsity Tennis’s ISL Championship and second place finish in New England, RL’s Varsity Baseball, Lacrosse, and Track and Field teams also had remarkable spring seasons this year, with noteworthy team-wide and individual accomplishments.

Varsity Baseball finished the season with an 11-4 record in Independent School League competition (12-5 overall), winning their last seven games in a row. The team finished a respectable third place in the ISL this year, and is losing five long-tenured seniors: Owen Butler, Harry Lonergan,

Will Matthews, Antonio Morales (who will play at Wake Forest), and Patrick Schultz (who will play at Brandeis). Baseball had a great team performance in their season finale with a 12-0 win over St. Mark’s—facing a pitcher heading to Notre Dame and tagging him for five runs in the first inning!

Varsity Lacrosse finished the season with a winning record of 11-7. The team concluded its season by winning the ISL Consolation tournament, winning their first game against Brooks (17-3), winning their second game against BB&N and a combined field/track athlete at the Championships. These awards mark outstanding performances in what are already outstanding competitive fields. Roxbury Latin’s Kofi Fordjour (I) was named the ISL’s 2023 Most Outstanding Track Athlete. Kofi single-handedly scored 28 of RL’s points, winning both the 1500m (4:10) and 3000m (9:24), and taking second in the 800m (1:58). Only a handful of RL distance runners have ever attempted this “iron man triple” at the ISL Championships, and Kofi’s finishing places put him at the top of that list. “The warm round of applause Kofi received from all the ISL athletes at the end of the meet is indicative of the respect he holds across the league,” said Coach Erin Dromgoole.

(10-7), and finally beating Groton in the consolation championship (9-7), and Hayden Cody (II) was named tournament MVP. On the season, Matt Bastardi (II) led the ISL in assists with 48. The team also had five different players with 20 or more goals this season: Taylor Cotton (III) (28), Jake Popeo (II) (25), Johnny Price (III) (23), Tommy Weber (IV) (23), and Matt Bastardi (20). The team loses five seniors this year: Thomas Connolly, Aidan Gibbons, Will Anderson (who will play at Tufts), Riley Stanton (who will play at Holy Cross), and David Sullivan (who will play at Dartmouth). The team’s success earned Head Coach Mike Higgins ISL Coach of the Year honors.

This year’s Track and Field team had an excellent season, with lots of team and individual highlights. The team finished fifth place overall in the ISL, and in four events at the ISL Championship meet (discus, 110m hurdles, and 100m) all RL entrants set lifetime bests! Michael Thomas (I) and Marc Quintanar (I) both sent the discus over 105 feet. Alejandro Rincon (II) and Ryan Lin (II) showed the power of great teamwork in the 110m hurdles, finishing side-by-side in identical times of 16.74. Bruno Kim (III) and Tyler Duarte (I) both blazed to sub-12 performances in the 100m dash, Bruno for the first time at 11.76 and Tyler in a new lifetime PR of 11.78. Although he was RL’s lone entrant in the high jump, Matt Hoover (I) lept to a new PR of 5'4", making it four events in which all RL entrants set their lifetime bests.

At the ISL Championships, only the top six athletes or relay teams score in each event. With 13 ISL teams all putting their best athletes on the line, it is extremely difficult to score. All the more congratulations, then, go to RL’s three athletes who improved upon their unseeded times/distances and broke into the scoring: Ryan Miller (III) made the most of his opportunity as RL’s lone “wild card” (third) entrant in an event, setting a lifetime PR of 10'6" in the pole vault, catapulting into fifth place. Ezra Klauber (III) set a 14-second lifetime PR in the 3000m to nab fifth, while Alejandro Rincon’s (II) 110m hurdle time was good for sixth place.

Track and Field’s final week included a gritty team performance that resulted in a third place finish at the New England Championships. There Kofi Fordjour (I) continued his track dominance, winning the 1500m and 3000m for the second week in a row at a Championship meet. Ethan Dhadly (I) concluded his career in dramatic fashion by catapulting himself into second place in the triple jump on his final attempt down the runway. Carter Crowley (I) adeptly managed three different events (and multiple shoe changes), scoring in both javelin and 300m hurdles. Michael Thomas (I) had the best meet of his career, launching the shot put 40'8"—a monstrous 2.5 foot PR! Carter, Michael, and Adam Kuechler (I) (400m) all rose out of the unseeded ranks to score in their events—a huge boost to RL’s team score! Adam later had Thomas Savage (I) to thank as a fellow member of the 4x400m team; Thomas’s blazing lead-off leg of that relay positioned RL perfectly to score. Thankfully, pole vault wrapped up before the real downpours began, and it was RL’s highestscoring event of the day. All three RL vaulters set personal bests: Tommy Reichard (I) (12'1"), Alejandro Rincon (II) (11'6"), and Ryan Miller (III) (11'0").

This season marks the 11th year in a row (pandemic years excluded) that RL Track and Field has enjoyed a winning record—a testament to the boys’ hard work and to their willingness to preserve a team culture that starts not with wins and losses, but with loving each other. //

Each year, the ISL coaches award Outstanding Performer plaques to the best field event athlete, track event athlete,

Baseball

ISL All-League

Antonio Morales (I), James Henshon (II), Tom Pender (III) (Morales named ISL Golden Glove award winner)

Honorable Mention All-League

James Gibbons (IV), Patrick Schultz (I), Matt Taglieri (III)

All-NEPSAC

Antonio Morales (I), Tom Pender (III)

Lacrosse

ISL Coach of the Year

Mike Higgins

Academic All-American Matt Bastardi (II)

ISL All-League

Johnny Price (III), David Sullivan (I)

Honorable Mention All-League

Hayden Cody (II), Riley Stanton (I), John Thomas (II), Taylor Cotton (III)

All-NEPSAC

Riley Stanton (I), John Thomas (II), David Sullivan (I)

Honorable Mention All-NEPSAC

Hayden Cody (II), Matt Bastardi (II), Johnny Price (III)

Tennis

Cole Oberg (III) – ISL All-League, Boston Globe AllScholastic, and ISL MVP

ISL All-League

Eric Diop (II), Akshay Kumar (I)

Track and Field

Kofi Fordjour (I) – All-NEPSAC, ISL All-League, Boston Globe Foundation/Phelps Scholar-Athlete Recipient, Boston Globe All-Scholastic, and ISL Most Outstanding Track Performer

All-NEPSAC

Adam Kuechler (I) (400m), Kofi Fordjour (I) (800m, 1500m, 3000m), Levi Harrison (III) (1500m), Ezra Klauber (III) (3000m), Ryan Lin (II) (110m hurdles), Carter Crowley (I) (javelin, 300m hurdles), Arjun

Bose (I) (4x400m), Benji Macharia (III) (4x400m), Thomas Savage (I) (4x400m), Tommy Reichard (I) (pole vault), Alejandro Rincon (II) (pole vault), Ryan

Miller (III) (pole vault), Ethan Dhadly (I) (long jump, triple jump), Michael Thomas (I) (shot put)

Spring Varsity Teams