Jack Haddad ‘22 – Boys Varsity Water Polo
Jack has been a key contributor to the success of the boys varsity water polo team this season. Yet again, he had an impressive week in the pool for the Cats as they took on a tough opponent from Hotchkiss on Wednesday. He scored three goals and drew numerous penalties, all while taking on a new position for the team. His malleability and willingness to answer his team’s call when they needed him the most showed proof of his team first mentality. A great competitor, Jack has loved working on making improvements in his game and has made tremendous progress as a player and teammate this season. The team will continue to lean on Jack for the remainder of their challenging schedule this season.
Louisa Weed ‘20 – Girls Varsity Soccer
Louisa has been a key leader and player on the field for the girls varsity soccer team all season. She works hard every day to be her best and inspire her teammates to do the same. Taking all of the team’s corner kicks and restarts, she has consistently created incredibly advantageous situations for the Wildcats with her amazing services. This past week against a talented squad from Cushing, she was able to score on a beautifully executed restart. Her coaches have been so proud of her strong play and integral leadership this season and the team will continue to look to Louisa to provide more examples of these attributes for the remainder of the season.
Megan Ward ’21- Girls Varsity Field Hockey
Megan has been working hard all season to help her varsity field hockey be successful. As a defender for the Cats, she does not have many stats that might note this, but she had her best game of the season this Saturday. The improvement her teammates and coaches see each game is truly a testament to her hard work. As a key part of the defensive unit, it’s been great to see Megan commit to the sport, the position and the people around her. The team will continue to lean on Megan as we approach the second half of the season.
Chris Najarian ‘20- Varsity Football
Chris has been a consistent part of the varsity football team’s play all season. He again performed at a high level this week as he had a big game for the Wildcats on Saturday. Defensively, he led the team in tackles with 11 on the night, two of which were for a loss. Additionally, he added a sack to his stat sheet, further proving his defensive ability. Not only was Chris an important factor on the defensive side of the ball but he also had a solid game both on special teams and at tight end. Chris continues to get better each week because of his work ethic and toughness, and, by doing so, he has provided a solid example to all his teammates every day in both practices and in games.
Katie Borden ‘20- Girls Varsity Volleyball
Katie has been instrumental in the success of the girls varsity volleyball team this season. Her decisive play all over the court were on display again on Saturday as the team mounted a fifth set comeback to win on the road against Wilbraham and Monson. Playing the starting setter position, she consistently makes the right read on serve-receive passes in order to set up the squad’s offense. Her impact this season has been immense as her strength lies in the way she distributes her feeds, keeping all three front row hitters as well as the back row involved in the Wildcat attack. Her evolution as a player this season has been tremendous as her presence is felt in all phases of the game. In addition, she demands excellence from herself and her team, proving her growing comfort as a leader. Katie is, and will continue to be, a key player for the Wildcats for the reminder of the season.
Jerry Landman ’22- Boys Varsity Cross Country
Jerry has been a consistent performer for the boys varsity cross country team this season. He had a remarkable race on Saturday, finishing 3rd on the team in 19:11, placing him 4th on the honor roll. Jerry, being a true multisport athlete has a competitive fire and brings that fire to all his workouts. This fire was evident on Saturday as he stepped up in a big way realizing the team would need everyone’s best efforts to beat a strong squad from Avon. The look of determination on his face while running was indicative of his plan, which was to hold off Avon’s 4th runner. Jerry is a valuable member of the group serving as a role model to the younger athletes. The team relies heavily on the positive spirt and humor he brings to practice every day and they will continue to do so for the remainder of the season.
Ava Larkin ‘22-Girls Varsity Cross Country
Ava had a breakout race against Miss Porters this week, helping the varsity team to overcome the absence of two runners from the top five. She managed to place an impressive fourth for the team and 6th overall, out of 34 runners. Ava obliterated her previous best 5K time by a full minute. This race put her on the Williston Honor Roll at #13, with a time of 24:52. She came through in dramatic fashion when the team really needed her the most. She has shown a tremendous amount of growth this season as she had earned an Athlete of the Week award on the JV team a few weeks ago. After her performance this past week she is now receiving her first Athlete of the Week nomination for the varsity seven. To make such improvement in such a short amount of time speaks to her ability, work ethic and never fail attitude. The Wildcats will continue to look toward Ava for her strong performances as they head into the second half of the season.
Jack Higgins ‘21 -JV Football
Jack has been a vital piece to the success of the JV football team. He had a great game against Loomis Chaffee in the team’s 6-0 victory on Wednesday. Jack was a force on both sides of the ball. On offense, he had some big plays from his running back position. His most impressive play occurred when he took a lateral pass and weaved his way through the Loomis defense for a 50 yard gain. He was even more impressive on defense where he had two interceptions and multiple tackles. The football coaching staff has been impressed with Jack’s positive attitude, physical toughness, and unrelenting work ethic and they will continue to lean on him as the season progresses.
Erin O’Keefe ‘22- Girls JV Soccer
Erin has been a supportive and hardworking member of the girls JV soccer team this year. She brings experience and confidence to the team through the way she traps, shields, and controls the ball. She is generally involved in forming the team’s strong attacks, but her presence is most often felt on the defensive end as she is one of the team’s most skilled defenders. Erin is constantly a positive force for the Cats, staying focused on what can be controlled and using her energy to continue to compete to put her and her teammates in the best position possible. She has been an excellent leader this year for the Wildcats, providing an excellent example not only on the field but also by being the first person willing to help her coaches prepare and breakdown for practice. Without Erin’s positivity and leadership, the team would not have achieved what they have so far this season.
Calvin Klumpp ’24- Boys JV Cross Country
Calvin has had a series of strong races this fall for the boys cross country team. On Saturday however, he managed to have his best, finishing in 21:06. This is a new personal record and over a minute improvement from last season. He trains hard every day but there has been a noticeable jump in his speed in the last two weeks during particularly hard workouts. While he is only in 8th grade, he trains with the older kids and is always working hard to improve his performance. Calvin has a great running career ahead of him and the team looks forward to seeing him continue to progress.
Greta Saxe ‘23-Girls JV Cross Country
Greta continues to improve week by week, and on Saturday against Miss Porters, she had her best race of the year. She placed 16th overall out of 34 runners, and 10th for the Wildcats, her highest finish yet. She posted a 5K PR with a time of 27:33, about one minute and 20 seconds faster than her previous best on the team’s home course. Greta brings an upbeat, can-do attitude to every practice and every race, and there is no doubt that she is getting stronger and more confident each week and the team will continue to rely on this as they head into each upcoming week.
Sam Foley ‘21 – Boys JV B Soccer
Sam has shown his versatility as a player for the boys JVB soccer team this season. Starting the year as a defender and midfielder for the Cats, he stepped up in a big way by playing forward this past week. Answering the call of his team when they needed him the most. His ability to step into that position and play at a high level was paramount to the team’s success, as he scored a goal in both contests against Wilbraham & Monson and Pomfret. Sam’s willingness to branch out and try something new certainly speaks to his team first mentality and his coaches are proud of his maturity and growth on the field. Sam not only bring strong play to the table, but he has provided his teammates with a great example as he always brings a positive attitude and sense of humor to every practice and game.
Keyu Lu ‘20– Girls JV Field Hockey
Keyu has been terrific in the goal this year for the girls JV field hockey team. On Saturday, she again showed up to play as she earned a shutout in a close match with Ethel Walker. Keyu has shown her resiliency time and time again, as the team has had one tough game after another. Without a doubt she has been a big part of the team’s success this season. Keyu’s positive attitude and strong work ethic make her a fantastic leader on the team, and her teammates have grown because of these attributes. The team will continue to rely on Keyu as they head into the second half of the season.
Eric Albanese ’20-Boys JV Water Polo
Eric was a standout player in both games this week for the Wildcats boys water polo program. An amazing student of the game, he has been tremendously focused on improving his game over the course of the fall and this past week he saw the fruits of that labor. Against Hotchkiss, in a spirited back and forth battle, he was able to maintain the highest levels of sportsmanship and elevate his game to lead the team to a win. He showed up to play again on Saturday, as the team faced the New Haven Hydras. He managed to score two impressive goals and was a shutout defender in a thrilling tie game. Eric has been a mentor to every player on the team as he consistently brings a positive attitude and a ferocious work ethic to each practice and game. He has proven to his teammates that positivity and hard work pays dividends by his strong performance week after week.