Our Wildwood, Summer 2018, Volume 43

WILDWOOD ATHLETICS News from the Wolf Den

Grit and Heart at the Center of Wolf Success

It was a year of historical moments for Wildwood’s athletics program. Several teams qualified for playoffs, one making it all the way to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) quarterfinals. There were also several individual accomplishments, setting new school records, with one athlete competing for a state championship in track and field. Take a look at highlights from the fall, winter, and spring seasons from our middle and upper athletes, and our 5th grade teams. FALL SPORTS With 155 athletes participating, we fielded five upper school teams, seven middle school teams, and one elementary team. They competed in cross-country, girls indoor volleyball, and boys beach volleyball (upper school); cross-country, swimming, and girls indoor volleyball (middle school); and 5th grade girls basketball. The elementary girls basketball team had senior Moreau H. as their assistant coach. A four- year Wildwood player, she was an inspiring member of our student leadership program in which high school athletes help coach our 5th grade teams. CROSS-COUNTRY Our middle school cross-country pack of Running Wolves had 13 runners putting in the work. Cross-country can be a grueling sport, and these kids showed grit. They competed in six meets, culminating in league finals. Seventh grader Jex F. and

6th grader Tess A. were new to the team yet consistently were our top runners. Our upper school boys and girls cross-country teams had a great season and qualified for the CIF championships. On the girls side, 9th grader Dani B. won the league championship, with 10th grader Adele C. a close second. The boys team was led by seniors Matthew Z. and Kamal M., finishing their running careers in style by helping the team to advance. It was a successful year, with a good mix of newcomers and senior leadership. SWIMMING Our middle school swim team, known as our Water Wolves, had 13 committed swimmers. They were led by our longtime coach Rada Owen. By season’s end, several of our swimmers had shaved seconds off their time, setting both personal and school records. With the strength of the wolf being the pack, this team demonstrated great encouragement and support of one another. They had great leadership from 8th graders Noa R. and Yuji W. VOLLEYBALL Our middle school girls volleyball program continues to flourish as we fielded three teams again this year: two 6th grade teams and one 7th-8th grade combined team. Led by the fierce serving of Taylor F. and the consistent play of Sadie C. and Keela B., our 6th grade white team made it to the championship match, bringing home a plaque for Wildwood. The upper school indoor girls volleyball program had 29 girls attend tryouts, making it very competitive. Our varsity team finished the year with two solid victories over league rival New Roads, helping our program take the lead in what is called the “JW Cup” (Jaguars vs. Wolves), a yearlong competition between our schools. Our JV team played in several all-day tournaments on Saturdays throughout the season, making the playoffs each time and earning many trophies. Our boys varsity beach volleyball team made history this year, advancing to the playoffs for the first time since the program’s inception only two years ago.

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