Chaucer was not kidding when he wrote his version of “April showers bring May flowers.” Despite heavy rain throughout the week, our spring sports athletes are perservering and enthusiastic to share updates in Edition #12 of the Roundup.
—Margarita
Baseball – Daniel Kellis
To start off the baseball season, RABA headed down to Florida for some spring training at ESPN Worldwide of Sports during spring break. After traveling down to Florida on Saturday morning, the team had a light practice and capped off a 4-0 win against the New York Wheatley Wildcats the following day. With a win under their belt, the Raptors took care of the Illinois Grayslake Knights in an impressive 7-0 shutout performance. Sophomore pitcher Austin Havertine handled the Knights with ease, striking out seven batters in six innings pitched. The team also tallied eleven hits in the game, with Sophomore Blake Havertine and Senior Andres Cruz collecting two respectively. Radnor’s final game took place under the lights in the Braves’ minor league stadium against St. Francis High School. In a hard-fought game, St. Francis took the win, with Senior Andres Cruz tallying two hits and Sophomore Daniel Kellis striking out five in four innings pitched. Although injuries have derailed the team, the Raptors came out of the Sunshine State with a respectable 2-1 record to start off the season.
Color Guard – Sofiia Kuzmenko
The past two weeks have been pretty quiet for the guard and filled with practices to prepare the team for some competitions just around the corner. On April 6th, the guard will have two competitions at Perkiomen Valley High School; the next weekend is even more action-packed, as the team will be traveling to Niagara Falls in Canada with the marching band. Since this will be a combined performance, the guard is preparing a new show wonderfully written by the team’s very own seniors Amber Li and Rebekah Tessler.
Crew (Boys) – Dan Kaper-Barcelata
Over spring break, RBCC spent many hours logging mileage on the Schuylkill River. Breaking down our lineups into smaller boats, such as fours, pairs, and doubles, our athletes engaged in intense technical training to come back ready for the next leg of the sprint season. Novices experimented with the Italian feather (a controversial yet sometimes effective technique) and worked on learning how to suspend their weight on the oar. Keep an eye out for the freshman eight on the water next race—rumor has it they have received some guest coaching from an up and coming competitor. Meanwhile, varsity has begun to ramp up the rates to refine their technique at high speed. The team will be competing at the racecourse in Philly this Sunday, so stay tuned for results in the next sports roundup.
Lacrosse (Boys) – Margarita Moreland
The Radnor Boys Lacrosse team traveled to Greenwich, Connecticut over spring break to face Brunswick School. Various players contributed to the scoreboard, including Finn Petrone, Tucker Graham, Sawyer Smith, Kessy Cox, and Nate Lucchesi. The tough matchup unfortunately concluded in a 5-11 loss for the Raptors. However, the boys came back on Tuesday, April 2nd against Haverford and secured an impressive 16-4 victory. Despite the severe weather forecast calling for heavy rain, they persisted and were able to play on Prevost Stadium instead of the flooded Encke Field. Drexel commit Owen Knight secured four goals, while Kessy Cox, Tommy Goldstein, Michael Savadove, Sawyer Smith, Jake Barber, Owen Smith, Bryce Cohen, Reed Gall, and Jude Azzarrano also added points for the team. Looking ahead, RALA looks to advance their 3-1 record with this week’s games against Harriton and Upper Dublin.
Lacrosse (Girls) – Tatum Brown
Over spring break, the Radnor Girls Lacrosse team traveled down to Naples, Florida to partake in spring training. They played one game, securing a promising win against Gulf Coast High School (14-7). Taylor Murphy, a junior attacker for Radnor, reached a significant milestone in her career during the game: she accomplished the feat of scoring 100 high school career goals. Needless to say, this is a very big achievement for her and demonstrates how dedicated she is to playing lacrosse. The girls were also able to spend the hiatus from school growing closer to each other and further building some team chemistry that is certainly evident on the field. In the coming weeks, the girls have several games scheduled. On April 4th at 4:00pm, they have a home game against Harriton High School. Radnor Girls Lacrosse vs. Lower Merion is set for April 6th at 1:30 pm at home. Additionally, mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 30th, which will be the girls’ senior night game and an opportunity to come out and support the seniors!
Softball – Audrey Rubenstein
Shortly before spring break, Radnor Girls Softball took to the field for their first regular season game. They battled against Mount Saint Joseph Academy, with Abby Rasmussen on the mound. After losing last year’s pitcher Meghan Dole, Abby had big shoes to fill and her first outing was spectacular. The following Monday, the girls took on Upper Merion Area High School. Radnor was only down one until the last two innings of the game, when Upper Merion went on a hitting streak to secure the win. RSB was looking to battle it out with Phoenixville High School but were unable to string together enough hits to win the game. In their final game before spring break, they participated in their first Central League game against Penncrest High School and freshman star Abby Krazowski hit her first homerun. While RSB has struggled to take home a win, they continue to grow and become more competitive as the season progresses. The girls play at Marple Newtown High School on Friday and are excited to hopefully get their first win of the season!
Tennis (Boys) – Ben Brecher
At the last match before spring break, Radnor Boys Tennis ended with a 6-1 win over fellow Central League competitor Harriton High School. From there, a bad spell ensued for the team as the next opponent, Upper Dublin, canceled. Not dwelling on this change, Radnor Boys Tennis practiced one last time before break. Upon returning, the boys felt rejuvenated to attack the next couple of important matches. Senior Russell Yeakel says that over break, he personally worked on “strength and explosiveness training” to match the opponents’ intensity. Unfortunately, the weather has been plagued with rain, canceling matches against Downingtown West and forcing the team to reschedule a match against Strath Haven. Radnor hopes to face off against Springfield High School and Strath Haven to end this rainy week. With better weather on the horizon, Radnor Boys Tennis looks forward to eclipsing (no pun intended) their competitors next week!
Track and Field (Boys) – Commerce Fisk
Meets are officially underway for Radnor Boys Track and Field; with two league meets having passed successfully and several key meets approaching, the team shows no signs of slowing down. On a cold and windy March 20th, the boys traveled to Ridley High School for their first league meet, which featured a plethora of big achievements. Sprinters Lionel Dunbar, Quinn Schultz, Luca Jones, and Zeph Yisrael ran an impressive 44.98-second 4×100 meter relay, qualifying them for districts. Over at the high jump mat, Senior Noah Wampole continued his dominance and jumped an astounding 6”2, securing his place at districts among other elite jumpers. As the team came out strong in such a competitive environment, freshmen and novice track and field athletes got their first taste of the demanding and engaging nature of high school meets. Over spring break, the team, once again, made the trip to Ridley High School for the second meet of the season, where a smaller group of athletes performed superbly. Senior and Brown University commit Luke Bodden demonstrated his talents, running just over 9:29 in the 3200 meter and solidifying a spot in districts. A forecast of heavy rain forced Wednesday’s meet at Penncrest High School to be moved to Friday, when warmer weather awaits the eager members of the team. The boys will look to continue their stellar performances as they have a string of highly anticipated meets ahead, including the Haverford Invitational on Saturday, April 6th. But for now, all attention is focused on Penncrest.
Track and Field (Girls) – Kayla Cormier
Since the last roundup, the Radnor Girls Track and Field team has settled into their spring season. Wednesday, March 20th marked the girls’ first CAL meet, for which they traveled to Conestoga High School. Despite that day’s frigid temperatures, RGTF came warmed up and ready to dominate the season’s kickoff. Outstanding performances were seen from all of Radnor’s runners, jumpers, and throwers. These included freshman Katelyn Anderson’s first place in the 1600 meter, with a time of 5:30.92, senior captain Courtney Kearns’ first place in the 800 meter, clocking in at 2:24.56, senior captain Zoe Margolies’ first place with a 11:34.24 3200 meter, and another first place in Radnor’s 4×400 meter relay. Additionally, Lidia Khellouf placed fourth overall in the discus throw. Over the much-needed spring break, the girls participated in the season’s first invitational meet, held at Ridley High School. Unsurprisingly, Zoe won the 3200 meter, Courtney took the 400 meter, and junior Emma Hyde won the 1600 meter. A few days later, on Saturday, March 30th, the girls ran in the PTFCA Track Classic, another invitational meet with more impressive performances. Both the 4×800 meter and 4×400 meter relays earned gold and silver medals, respectively. Katelyn Anderson cruised through the 1600, bringing home another gold medal. RGTF’s athletes were looking forward to Wednesday’s meet at Garnet Valley, until April’s showers forced a postponement to next Tuesday. Now, the girls await this Saturday’s Haverford Invitational.
Ultimate Frisbee (Boys) – Kavin Thapar
The Radnor Boys Ultimate team returned from break with enthusiasm at practice and while reviewing game footage, prepping for the match on Monday, April 2nd. Due to the rain, however, the match was canceled. The weather conditions forced the boys to practice indoors in the weight room that day, while Tuesday’s practice was canceled.
Ultimate Frisbee (Girls) – Sofie Jubelirer
Since the last Radnorite Sports Roundup, RGUF has been hard at work on Loop Field and in the weight room. The team was supposed to have their first game against HUDA on Monday, but due to the rain, it was canceled. However, the girls are working on preparing for Nationals in Rockford, IL on June 7-9. Before then, RGUF has four tournaments to look forward to: RINVITE, Hip Hop, Cities, and States. For nationals, the girls are also working on starting fundraisers, including a clinic on April 23rd for 5th to 8th graders to come and try ultimate. Additionally, the team hopes to participate in other fundraisers, such as going to the Philadelphia Surge games to raise money. Hopefully, the next roundup will bring more news and updates about weekday games. The season ahead looks bright for this team!
Interested in writing about Radnor sports for the Roundup? Contact Margarita Moreland ([email protected], 267-546-7775) or stop by the next Radnorite meeting.
