Our Wildwood, Volume 48

FEATURE Competing at the Highest Level

After a dominating season, the upper school girls varsity volleyball team easily qualified for the CIF playoffs, putting the team among the ranks of California’s best. The team knocked out first round opponent Carpenteria High School and advanced to the second round in Santa Barbara, where their season ended in a close match, 2-3, against Laguna Blanca. The middle school girls volleyball teams were impressive in their own right. Both middle school teams qualified for the playoffs and won their first round matches, advancing to the semi-finals. “Our teams have been so successful because of their mental toughness, as well as their ability to encourage and support each other on the court,” said middle school volleyball coach Esther Rogers. “It has been really fun watching them progress as players and teammates.” The boys beach volleyball team wrapped up its season with a strong showing at the JV Tournament of Champions and Varsity Pairs Championships, which hosted some of the best teams in the country. In the varsity matches, the pair of Quinn H. ‘23/Mathew M. ‘25 pulled off a solid win against Viewpoint, while the pairs of Ethan C. ‘23/Jonah S. ‘25 and Will J. ‘23/ Sid Z. ‘23 each got two wins in the JV competition. “All of the boys battled all day and learned a lot,” said boys beach volleyball coach Evan Dean. “It was a great experience for them to play against such quality teams, and really try to do some of the things that we had been coaching them on to get to the next level. Things look promising for the Wildwood beach squad as only four of our 14 players are seniors. I expect big things from our beach Wolves in the years to come!” In addition to running long distance, our running Wolves have been running circles around the competition during this fall’s middle and upper school cross-country competitions. During one of the most recent meets in Palos Verdes, everyone was able to handle the course and the infamous “Agony Hill” fairly easily, while sophomore Theo U.-N. ‘25 won his race and set the school record, running a blistering 11 minutes and 33 seconds.

The boys beach volleyball team wrapped up its season with a strong showing at the JV Tournament of Champions and Varsity Pairs Championships, which hosted some of the best teams in the country.

In addition to long distances, our cross

countryWolves ran circles around the competition during this fall’s middle and upper school meets.

26