Over winter break, Radnor student athletes continued practicing and working tirelessly to accomplish a successful season. The new year brings twelve grapes for good luck and the return of the Radnor Sports Roundup, ready to provide coverage on the winter sports.
—Margarita
Basketball (Boys) – Arielle Mims
This past month, while many were preparing for the holidays, Radnor Boys Basketball was putting in some serious work in practice and games. On December 15th, RBB hosted Marple Newtown and won 42-36. Elijah Sellers had a dominant offensive performance and scored a total of 14 points. Next, RBB went on to defeat Strath Haven at their home court with a final score of 63-35. Leading by 19 points at halftime, the team secured 24 steals and locked SHHS down on defense. In a close game vs. Springfield, RBB managed to win 45-43, showcasing the team’s impressive ability to take care of business. While many students went home to relax for winter break and celebrate the holidays, the boys took a quick hiatus before playing against Episcopal Academy on the 28th of December. EA did not go down without a fight—during the third quarter, the game was tied. When the fourth quarter came around and there were a mere four minutes left, Radnor was leading by one point. Kessy Cox, who scored about a third of the total points (20 pts), made a basket that set off a continuous streak of baskets from Radnor to jump in the lead and win 63-57. Then, RBB took on Garnet Valley in another game that kept fans on their toes. But as we have witnessed in the past, the boys basketball team is not afraid of a challenge. When there were two minutes remaining, the game was tied. But with combined points from Alex McFadden and Michael Savadove and a Kessy Cox layup to close out the game, Radnor triumphed over GV (52-45). On January 6th, the boys went to Conestoga with the intent to lengthen their 6-game winning streak. Unfortunately, Radnor lost the game 48-52. The loss fueled them to start a new streak, as RBB came back on January 9th in a win over Haverford. The final score was 55-38 and four Radnor players scored in the double-digits espectively. On Thursday, January 11th, Radnor Boys Basketball plays against Upper Darby, and you can bet that they will play their best and hopefully come out on top.
Basketball (Girls) – Audrey Rubenstein and Kayla Cormier
RGB has been working hard and fighting through the height of their season. Knee-deep in their schedule, the past week marked six official games, with a winter break tournament sandwiched between the stretch. The girls coasted through the three pre-break games, prevailing against Marple Newtown, Strath Haven, and Springfield on December 15th, 19th, and 21st. The grind didn’t stop for RGB over the holidays and the team participated (and dominated) the 2023 George Snear Holiday Tournament. Sophomore Nyah Yao, who was named the tournament’s MVP, led the team to first place. For the post-holiday festivities, RGB faced Garnet Valley on Thursday, January 4th and Conestoga on Saturday, January 6th. The girls also faced Haverford High School on their away court on January 9th. Unfortunately, RGB suffered hard-fought losses the past three games. However, the team still holds an impressive record of 8-4. Although these busy past few weeks have been up and down, we look forward to continuing the successful season with more hard work. Go RGB!
Cheerleading – Trinity Emery
The cheerleaders are happy to announce that they have scored high enough at their PIAA District competition to proceed to States! On January 26th, the team will make their way to Hershey, Pennsylvania to take on more teams statewide in hopes to proceed to the next day of competitions. In addition to States, the cheerleaders are also preparing for their national competition in Orlando, Florida on February 10th–12th. More locally, the cheerleaders happily cheered on the Radnor Boys Basketball team for their win against Haverford High School, and are wishing the boys the best for their 1/11 game against Upper Darby High School.
Indoor Track and Field (Girls and Boys) – Niva Menon
On the first weekend of the new year, the Radnor Girls Track and Field team hit the road for Penn State for the Kevin Dare Invitational. After a competitive weekend, the results were promising. Captain Zoe Margolies placed 3rd overall in the one mile run and captain Sophia Hill placed 2nd overall in pole vault. Alongside the girls, the boys team came to compete at the Kevin Dare Invitational, where Luke Bodden placed 1st in the 3000 meter run, Noah Wampole placed 2nd overall in high jump and Joseph Garzio placed 5th overall in the 800 meter run. As they train in the middle of the season, the Indoor Track and Field teams are working hard to medal and earn their places at the top. Keep on the lookout for the girls meet at Ursinus College and the boys meet at Glen Mills this weekend. Good luck to the runners!
Ice Hockey (Girls) – Samantha Takefman
The girls hockey team has been busy practicing to secure some wins. With a 8-5 victory against West Chester Henderson and a 10-0 victory against Pennridge, the girls took a hiatus entering into break. After resting up, the girls took on West Chester East last Friday. With an astounding seven goals by eighth grader Maeve White, the girls ended with a 15-5 victory—putting them first in their division. We wish the best for the team in their upcoming weeks packed with games and practices!
Squash (Boys) – Rhea Howard
After a replenishing winter break, the Radnor Boys Squash team returned strong in their match against LaSalle College High School on January 6th. The first match of the new year was unfortunately a loss, but the team put up a fight with a final score of 3 matches to 4. Radnor earned wins from Blake Krizek, who played at the #1 spot due to absences, Co-Captain Eli Frankel, who played #3, and Alex Sareen, who played #5. Blake Krizek won 3 games to 1, Eli Frankel won 3 games to 1, and Alex Sareen also won 3 games to 1. There were 5 tough losses from Co-Captain William Meyer, who played #2, and William Curley, who played #4. The Radnor Boys JV team also played a match on January 6th, against Tower Hill High School. The new year brings fresh opportunities for the Radnor Boys Squash team, who have a busy January ahead of them with matches against SquashSmarts, Shipley, Lawrenceville, Saint Agnes, and Princeton Day School. Good luck to the Radnor Boys Squash team on their heavy match schedule!
Squash (Girls) – Julia Sareen
Before winter break, Radnor Girls Squash had a close match against HLM and came out on top. Unfortunately, they also played Agnes Irwin and weren’t so lucky. After a long refreshing break, Girls Squash is ready to hit the ground running with two matches next week against Squash Smarts and GFS. Congratulations to captain Rhea Howard for competing in the US Open this past December!
Swimming (Boys) – Jacob Kellerman
Since the last edition, the Raptors faced off against Marple Newtown and Lower Merion. The Raptors crushed the Marple Tigers (107-74) on December 14th with strong swims by Freshman Ethan Chang in the 100 freestyle and Senior Colin Mucksavage in the 500 freestyle. That weekend, the boys competed at the Delco Invitational meet against nine other Central League teams, finishing 2nd overall. Many swimmers recorded top season times that will determine their placement at Centrals in February. The boys finished off 2023 with a victory over LM (102-82), a meet expected to be a close finish. “I think these first meets are a window into what we can do later in the season, especially at Centrals and Districts,” says Coach Jeremy Byrne. With winter break training completed, Radnor boys swimming has moved into its busy meet season. Last Thursday, the Raptors continued their undefeated streak with a crushing win against Harriton (106-72). Looking forward, Radnor will swim Penncrest, Conestoga, Garnet Valley, and Ridley this month before beginning to taper down workouts for Centrals.
Swimming (Girls) – Cailin Kelly
After intense training, Radnor girls swimming is finally competing. The first meet was hosted by Radnor against Marple Newtown. The girls beat Marple by almost double the points, with an ending score of 115-63. That next Thursday, RGSWIM found themselves in the next town over at Lower Merion High School pool. The entire team put up an impressive fight, notably the 200-medley relay, which includes sophomore Alice Lake, juniors Skyler Semisch and Maly Lindgren, and anchoring the relay was freshman Orla Dill. The meet was a close 91-94 in the end. On January 4th, Radnor beat Harriton 103-77. For more news, many swimmers have already made Centrals times, such as senior captain Kaitlin Browne in the 500 and sophomore Masie Wetzel in the 50 free. The next meet will be against Penncrest on January 11th. Don’t forget to come support!
