Track
The track and field team ended their season strongly at the league championships, May 8. There the boys placed first in every event they ran, except the 4 x 400-meter race.
The championship was one of the team’s best meets, coach Nick Domich said.
Senior Morgan Bennett-Smith placed first in the 100-meter and 200-meter.
Senior Ben Hernried earned first in the 300-meter hurdles and first in the 400-meter.
Senior Jacob Frankel placed third in the 400-and first in the 800-meter.
And senior Logan Winfield earned first in both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter.
“It was cool to advance to sections where we could measure ourselves against the elite runners in the area,” Bennett-Smith said.
“Even though there were only two other schools, it was awesome to know that we could win so many events,” Domich said.
After league championships the competitors who placed first in their events moved on to the SJS Division IV-V Championships, March 14.
Winfield finished in seventh place in the 1600 at the SJS Division IV-V Championships, the highest finish for a Country Day athlete.
Domich’s goal is to get athletes to try as many events as possible so that they can find what they are good at or what they enjoy.
That isn’t always easy.
Getting the runners to run long distances is tough, Domich said. It requires a lot of work, and most aren’t willing to put in the effort.
—Emma Brown
Golf
With fewer than 10 strokes separating them from second place, the golf team finished third in the league championships.
Last year the team placed second.
Individually junior Garrett Kaighn received the First Team All League Award, a collection of the top six league players.
Kaighn was the top scorer on the team for every event.
“To be placed in the top six he had to play exceptional golf,” coach Greg Kaighn said.
“There are players in our league that could play with anybody. So for any one of our guys to play with the elite players is a great thing.”
Initially, the team was mostly newcomers, with half of the six starters never having played high-school golf.
They included freshmen Tom Long, Jacob Sands, Bradford Petchauer, and Manson Tung; junior Daniel Kong; and seniors Brandon Mysicka and Wanning Liu.
After the freshmen had time to learn the basics, some began to stand out, Kaighn said.
Petchauer improved tremendously according to Kaighn, even making a 30-foot putt for birdie during the 18-hole League Championships at Hagen Oaks, April 22.
“I was ecstatic because it was the best shot I had made all year,” Petchauer said.
“Even the other team complimented my shot.”
Next year, coach Kaighn foresees even more improvement across the board, especially in next year’s sophomores.
—Maxwell Shukuya
Baseball
The baseball team played its last game May 7 with a loss against Trinity Prep.
Despite their final record of 3-7, coach Chris Millsback said that the team was better than last year’s, improving their win rate from 25 to 30 percent.
Initially, Millsback was fearful that the team wouldn’t have enough players to field all positions, as many of last year’s players didn’t play this season.
However, a number of new sophomores joined the team.
The team also looks to incoming eighth graders, specifically Peter and Alec Viao, who have already practiced with the Cavs and plan to play next season.
Millsback cites the 5-3 defeat of Trinity Prep on May 2 (the first time in years the Cavs had beaten Trinity) as the season’s high point.
“You could just see that we were getting better as the weeks went on. That all culminated in our victory,” he said.
—Grant Miner
