Luke Ballard ’23- Boys Varsity Soccer
Luke, a senior co-captain, has played an integral part in the boys varsity soccer teams’ success this fall. Luke’s play in the midfield has helped the Wildcats to an impressive defensive record over the past six games, conceding only one goal in 540 minutes of play. The Belchertown native has also contributed on offense, scoring the opening goal against Deerfield enroute to a 4-0 victory over the Big Green. Ballard’s leadership has been a critical factor in building the team’s strong camaraderie. That spirit will be put to the test this week in the Class B NEPSAC playoffs. The Wildcats start their run at a second title this Wednesday against Greenwich Country Day at 2:30 on Sawyer Field, after capturing the WNEPSSA Class B title this past weekend.
Izzy Ireland ’23- Varsity Volleyball
In the last week of the season, the senior hitter continued the display of excellence she has embodied all season long. The two matches this past week against Cheshire and Miss Porters served to encapsulate the skill, athleticism, steady demeanor, and positive guidance she applies in service to the team. On Wednesday, the Wildcats twice fell a set behind visiting Cheshire. As the momentum shifted back-and-forth all match long, Izzy’s stellar effort at serve, defense, and at the point of attack blunted the opponent’s attempts and opened the path towards the comeback victory. On Saturday’s final senior game, Miss Porters built up sizable leads in games two and three, threatening to derail the team’s hopes at a strong finish to the season. Yet, Izzy refused to bow to defeat, instead maintaining her composure, encouraging her teammates, raising her level of play when the moment demanded, and thus, leading the team to a season-ending victory. What a fantastic way to cap an outstanding prep school volleyball career!
Jonah Berry Brown ‘24 – Boys Varsity Cross Country
Jonah had an outstanding race at the NEPSAC championship meet on Saturday. He led the boys JV team to a first-place finish in a very competitive race and won the overall race. Jonah has been a great addition to the team and has made steady improvement as the season has progressed. He is poised to have a great senior year in the program next fall.
Alyssa Frazier ’25 – Girls Varsity Soccer
Alyssa came into the girls varsity soccer program as a new sophomore this year, with great technical skills and experience playing soccer. After being shifted to a few different positions throughout the season, this past week she jumped in as a center back with an open mind and a team first mentality. She plays smart defense, knows when to step in and win balls in the air and has one of the best goal kicks in the league. This past Saturday in the game against NMH, Alyssa showed she can still be an offensive threat as a center back by rocketing a shot past the keeper from the 35 yard line. Her coaches and teammates are thrilled to have Alyssa playing for the Wildcats for the next two seasons and look forward to her continued growth and contributions!
Beckett Collins ’25 – Varsity Water Polo
Beckett finished his first season with Williston water polo in fine form! Over the past weekend the team played the #3 team from Exeter and, with the team down a couple of key players, Beckett was called on to make significant contributions. After being out for much of the past month, Beckett has worked hard to get back into game shape, but with a big and fast opponent in an all deep pool, the coaches were not sure Beckett was ready. Instead, Beckett demonstrated the competitive drive and determination he displayed earlier in the season with several timely goals, including a laser from outside, in a valiant effort against a strong opponent. Beckett has proven to be a player that the young program can build upon in future seasons!
Camille Armaganian ’24 – Varsity Field Hockey
Camille has consistently been a game-changer all year for the varsity field hockey team. Her tenacity and intense competitive spirit have inspired others around her to raise their game. Camille is always working on her skills in between drills and is a leader for her peers, even instructing many on how to work on their reverse chip. Regularly contributing to defensive and offensive play, Camille truly is a two-way player. This week alone, she was a factor in 4 of the team’s 6 goals and helped shut down the opposition on corners. Her coaches have no doubt Camille will continue to push herself and her teammates toward a common goal of success.
Drew Renzella ’23- Varsity Football
Drew has been a huge reason why varsity football has the #1 Offense in the League. His steady performance all year long has been nothing short of remarkable. With one game to go Drew is currently tied for 3rd all-time in single season TD passes and is nearing 3rd all-time in single season passing yards. His leadership and toughness have been on full display all year with one opposing coach calling him, “The toughest QB in the league.” The Wildcats will rely on Drew for his steady presence, strong leadership, and toughness as they face Loomis in the Mark Conroy bowl on Saturday.
Cici Cao ’25 – Girls Cross Country
Cici ran her final race of the season in the NEPSTA Division II JV Championships at St. Mark’s School. It was a beautiful day for running, and the course offered some good hill challenges for the runners. Throughout the race, Cici pushed on the best she could and right up the last hill before the finish. Cici joined the team as a new runner to the sport in September with no summer training under her, and she often doubted whether she’d be able to ever compete in a 5K race. Finishing this championship race was a big accomplishment for Cici, and she should be proud of her overall season’s performance! Cici’s improvement and perseverance was an inspiration to her teammates. The coaches look forward to seeing Cici get some summer training in, so she’ll be that much stronger for the start of next season.
Dyson Haaland ’23- Boys JVA Soccer
Dyson, a team co-captain, has been a key part of a strong defense all year long even while battling through adversity in recent weeks. His tough, picture-perfect tackling snuffed out numerous attacks all year long, not just in recent games, and he has often been able to launch some of our best counterattacks. Last week, he converted a composed penalty kick and added the hockey assist on a key goal against Salisbury. This past weekend, he helped keep a high-powered NMH squad largely contained despite our man-down situation and helped keep one of our five shutouts this season. He has been a great leader all year long, and a key figure in the team’s successful “reset” during the middle of the season. His coaches report that it has been a genuine pleasure working with him these past two years.
Martina Lopez-Raybuck ’28 – JV Field Hockey
Martina has been a consistent player at midfield all season for the JV field hockey team, but she really stepped up this week in the game against Deerfield where she made great passes to the forwards and hustled back to help the defense. In every game and practice this season, Martina worked hard and had a positive attitude. Her cheerful team-first attitude made her a valuable member of the team. As a 7th grader, Martina has a bright future in field hockey! Her coaches look forward to watching her play in the seasons to come!
Henry Foster ’23- Boys JV Cross Country
Henry wrapped up an outstanding career in the cross-country program with a great race at the NEPSAC championship meet. He ran a great race and helped the boys JV team take first place. Henry has provided outstanding leadership this season and he is certainly going to be missed in the program. Thank you Henry, for all you have done to help this program become what it is today!
Cali Keenan ‘27 – JV Volleyball
Cali has had a great season on JV volleyball. This past Wednesday her steady court presence and consistent serving helped lead the Cats to an exciting 3-2 win over Cheshire. As the team’s primary setter, Cali has been essential to the offense all season by delivering consistently hittable balls to her teammates. Her job on the court is to make everyone else look good, a role that she embraces with enthusiasm and a true team-first attitude. She also reads the pass very well and has the court sense needed to attack on our second touch with tips around and over some strong blocking teams. With the number of setting touches that Cali is responsible for every game, it is sometimes easy to forget that she is also one of our strongest back row defenders. She understands what makes a pass easy to set and consistently delivers high quality passes to our other setters when she is in the back row. Finally, Cali is a frequent positive contributor to time out discussions. She has a knack for saying just the right thing to inspire her teammates to greater efforts. Cali has been a huge part of the Wildcats successful season.