Wyvern Sports Wraps – September 22, 2022

Cross Country
On Sept. 17 the Boys’ Cross Country team went to Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford to compete in the Choate Invitational, which has been an annual event for many years. The boys competed in one of two races (a distance of 5.0 kilometers): a veterans race and a novice race for those experiencing cross-country competition for the first time. In the veterans’ race, Sam Auclair ‘24 was the first KO finisher (placing 47th out of 108 runners) with a time of 19:56. He was followed by Charlie Simons ‘24, Bassil Chugthai ‘24, and Ted Simons ‘24 – all close together in the 21-minute range. They were closely followed by Captain Sam Bromberg ‘23 and Sruthan Tokala ‘25. All in all, the veterans had a strong day and were prepared with good training the week before the event.

The Girls’ Cross Country team traveled to Choate to compete with other Founders League teams in the Choate Invitational on Sept. 17. It was a beautiful overcast day with only a light wind–perfect for running! The team had a wonderful course walk where they familiarized themselves with the ins and outs and hills and turns of the terrain of Choate’s beautiful (and difficult!) 5K course. As this was a non-scoring meet, no times were published for these races, but the meet functioned as a great kick-off for this season of racing; it fostered camaraderie both within the KO teams and between the athletes and runners from other schools. Notably, this was the second race of the season for KO’s veteran runners as they ran well at Noble and Greenough the prior weekend. It was also the first meet for the team’s newest athletes (our novice runners) who were away in New Hampshire on the Form 3 trip during the season’s first scrimmage. All runners finished the course and the coaches are proud of how far they’ve already come this fall! The novice runners were also well prepared for the day. The first KO finisher in the race for the boys’ team was Leo Ladewig ‘26, who placed 17th overall with a time of 20:46. He was followed closely by Oskar Ruser ‘24, 23 seconds later. Finishing up for KO, all with good first race experiences were Dorian Ciscel ‘26, Dominic Brunalli ‘26, Corey Nguyen, and Alex Gumkowski. All-in-all, a good day for the Wyverns. 

The Middle School Cross Country team completed a 1.9-mile course at Taft along with several hundred other middle school runners in their first meet of the season on Sept. 21. This was a non-scoring meet and a fun way to kick off the season! The team had several first-time runners, including Jordan Veseskis ‘28 and Ian Cardin ‘27. Sophia Lazor ‘27 placed 2nd and Anya Dausey ‘28 placed 9th overall for the girls. Andrew St. Clair ‘27 placed 24th and Che Shah ‘28 had a strong and consistent run. Both Maddy Patten ‘28 and Izzy Shields ‘28 had really strong finishes. Overall, it was a challenging course and a fun way to kick off the season!

Field Hockey
The Varsity Field Hockey team lost 0-7 against Miss Porter’s at the season opener on Sept. 14. Porter’s came out strong with five goals scored in the first two quarters. KO was able to adjust the defense in the second half and hold Porter’s to two goals. All players got playing time. The game is a great learning experience for everyone and we look forward to growing from this. 

The Varsity Field Hockey team faced a hard loss on Sept. 19, losing 0-7 against Choate. Everyone hustled and continued to improve effort throughout the game. KO held Choate to one goal in the second half.

Soccer
The Varsity Girls’ Soccer team opened up the season with a strong  4-0 win at home against Wilbraham Monson Academy on Sept. 14. Georgia Louis ’24 opened the scoring for KO with a goal in the first half that was off a beautiful pass from Julia Stepnowski ’28. Kyra Dunnervine ’23 had a key save that stopped WMA in their tracks. Unfortunately on the same play, the Wyverns lost Alina Vaughn ’23, a key defender to injury. The score at the half stood at 1-0. Sophia Radmanovich ’24 began the second half scoring with a long outside shot from the right wing that found the net. Ashley Neikrie ’24 scored off a rebound and Georgia Louis ‘24 added a second goal off a nice setup from Ella Sokale ’24. Liv Stevens ’24 and Aashni Patel ’24 anchored the defense playing the entire game and stopping any offense that WMA tried to generate. Every girl on the team played key minutes on the field. A great team win! 

The Varsity Boys’ Soccer team played their first league home game on Sept. 19 and came away with a 4-2 victory. After graduating 17 senior players it was the Wyverns first appearance with the newly established group. Despite being a young team, all the players started the game with high intensity and a winning attitude. The first goal came in the 7th minute by Grant Daigle ‘24, assisted by Ardit Zhuta ‘24. Changing the scoreboard did not take more than 10 minutes. In minute 17th, Sam Cote ‘24 carried the ball from the right side dribbled two defenders, and assisted to Jack Neikre ‘25 who placed the ball on the net with one touch over the opponent goalie. The boys were unstoppable and in minute 34 KO earned a free kick. Kaden Rodriguez ‘25 crossed the ball and Sam Cote ‘24  jumped higher and placed the ball with a header on top of the net. The Wyverns finished the first half with a score of 3-0. The team started the second half with the same high intensity and scored a 4th goal by Senior Captain Max Sams ‘23, who dribbled the ball from his own defensive line up the field, passed two opponents, and struck the ball from 35 yards into the bottom corner of the net.

The JV Girls’ Varsity team dominated their opening game of the season on Sept. 17 with a 8-0 shutout victory against Marianapolis Prep. Putting up four goals each half, the Wyverns maintained intensity throughout and saw goals from Margaret Miller ‘25, Sam Almeida ‘26, Alex Doering ‘26, Hannah Malkin ‘24 and two goals each from Miya Scranton ‘25 and Samaria Gonzales ‘26. While everyone made impressive plays and contributed to the win, the team happily welcomed new goalie Almeida into the net for the second half, allowing lead goalie Yzzy Albert ‘25 to take the field. 

The Varsity Girls’ Soccer team has a tough loss 1-4 against Marianapolis on Sept. 17. The team looks to work hard in their upcoming practices to make a strong comeback in their next game.

The JV Girls’ soccer team defeated Miss Porter’s 4-1 on Sept. 21. Moving quickly to score in the first half, Bella Deurloo ‘25 put the ball in the net off a corner kick from Alex Doering ‘26. Sprinting to pop in a cross from Miya Scranton ‘25, Samaria Gonzales ‘26 put up the second goal soon after. Finishing off the three goals scored in the first half, Maya Gerrits ‘25 found the back of the net off an assist from Hannah Malkin ‘24. Yzzy Albert’s ‘25 quick feet and determination pushed her into striking range where she scored the fourth goal in the second half. The impenetrable Wyvern defense successfully shut down numerous fast-moving attacks and left Miss Porter’s unable to score beyond putting one in on a PK. 

The Varsity Girls’ Soccer team may have lost to Miss Porters 2-0 on Sept. 21, but this was the start of a new attitude and approach for our Wyverns. Every girl had time in the game and made important contributions all over the field. The score was 2-0 at the half so the Wyverns kept Porters scoreless in the second half while making some nice runs at the goal ourselves. We kept the pressure on and never let up. It was a tremendous team effort and one to be proud of. 

Volleyball
It was an exhilarating official start to the season for the Varsity Volleyball team on Sept. 14, with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Taft with an extra-points final set. What an opener! The first set had the Wyverns ready to launch their offense, with precise serving from Co-captain Keira Sullivan ‘23 and Ava Cashman ‘24 to put the Wyverns in the lead. Lola Peck ‘26 was finding great angles for her hits from the middle, and Jill Plaut ‘23 was setting up the offense for success with each point. Taft came back with a strong response and narrowly took the set 25-21. In the second set, it became clear that KO was in it for the long haul. Jillian Alexander ‘24 was everywhere, starting the team off with a long service run and then transitioning to solid passing and blocking. Sullivan was making ruthless net decisions to boost the offense, and Quinn Kearney ‘23 followed suit on the right side with consistent hits and some scrappy saves on defense. The Wyverns took a commanding lead and managed to hold it, taking the set 25-16. The third set was a true back-and-forth battle from the first point when Allie Arcaro ‘24 made a diving save that proved that KO wasn’t going to rest on their laurels after the second set. In the middle of the set, Lila Klinzmann ‘27 gave a boost to the team’s defense and made quality hits from the outside, adding to Peck’s effective tipping in the middle. It was a nail-biter of a set that Taft took 25-22, but we were just getting started! In the fourth set, KO took charge and made a BIG response to being down 2-1 in sets. Cashman started off the team with a nonchalant 10-point service run, which was quickly followed by a five-point run by Alexander, and the Wyverns found themselves charging towards a deciding set. Plaut took some great opportunities to do some punishing right-side hitting, as well, before KO took the set 25-5. To say the fifth set was a rollercoaster through a tornado would be an understatement. The Wyverns took the lead early on and held steady as the teams changed sides, but Taft elevated their game and brought us into an extra-point showdown. It was an amazing display of high-pressure court coverage, offensive transitions, and decisions at the net that saved the Wyverns from a few match points down and pushed them to a 21-19 win. It will be hard to top the excitement of this match, but it was an awesome start to the season that energized all of the players! 

The Varsity Volleyball team had a solid 3-0 win against Greens Farms for their first home game of the season on Sept. 17. After settling in and getting some wonderful support from friends and family in the stands, the Wyverns dug into the first set and came back from an initial deficit. Quin Kearney ‘23 took on a new position in the middle of the front row, making strong net plays and joining forces with co-captain Jill Plaut ‘23 to meet GFA’s outside hitting with well-timed blocks. Co-captain Keira Sullivan ‘23 was finding all the angles with her hits from the outside, which helped the team secure enough points early in the game to stay locked in it. Great deep serving from Jillian Alexander ‘24 and Lila Klinzmann ‘27 allowed the Wyverns to pull ahead, and Ava Cashman ‘24 sealed the deal with powerful cross-court hitting and a clever push from the outside. KO succeeded in taking the set 25-21. The second set started with what is becoming a routine event already this season: Allie Arcaro ‘24 made a phenomenal defensive save with a one-handed diving swipe that set the team up for an energetic second set. The defensive work continued with consistent blocking from Plaut, Kearney, Alexander, and Klinzmann that either denied or neutralized many of the offensives from GFA. With Plaut throwing in some offensive pushes with pinpoint accuracy, and Sullivan and Cashman finding creative attacks on the outside, the Wyverns won the second set 25-21. The third set saw KO taking an early lead and holding on as GFA fought back. Alex Segal ‘25 made her promising debut on the service line and backed up her offensive contributions with steady passing on defense. Jhanvi Daddala ‘23 took charge in key net decisions in the middle, finding the precise time to redirect the ball or take a swing for a point. Cici Freeman ‘24 helped the team hold steady with solid serve receive and defensive consistency that GFA was unable to overcome. It was a great team effort that showed the variety of strengths at the Wyvern’s disposal, and they took the third set 25-23.