Rams Rewind: 2023 Winter Sports Recap

The conclusion of the winter sports season allows us to remember all of the amazing accomplishments of our student-athletes in this recap. We have much to celebrate. Go Rams!

Girls Basketball

Scott Small

Class 4, District 6 Champions

The MICDS Girls Basketball team, led by seniors Binta Fall ’23, Chelsey Nwamu ’23, Brianna Desai ’23, and Ashley Cooper ’23, finished an injury-plagued 2022-2023 campaign with a 14-14 record. The Rams persevered through these challenges to not only earn big program wins against St. Joseph’s Academy, Visitation, and Lutheran North but, most impressively, won a District Title, the seventh in program history. The Rams lost in the Sectional Round of the State Tournament to eventual champions, Vashon. Fall was named First Team All-Conference and CeCe Harris ’25 was named to the Honorable Mention team. Genesis Starks ’24 and Abby Wyckoff ’24 both bounced back from injury to finish the season and join Julianna Resch ’24, Ava Moore ’24, and Ella Etherington ’24 as next year’s senior leaders. Harris, Lilly Loeb ’25, Mac Froedge ’25, Addie Small ’25, and Addi Farmer ’26 look to step up in increased roles next year to offset the loss of our departing seniors.

Boys Basketball

Travis Wallace

District 4 Champions & Metro Conference Title

This past year was a season of growth. We had a lot of young players experiencing their first varsity season.  Our overall record was 23-7. The team won the MICDS Tip-Off Tournament and took the District 4 Championship. For the third time in four years, the Rams won the Metro Conference Title. The team was led this year by three seniors: Marcus Coleman ’23, Brin Lewis ’23, and Jason Klutho ’23. Next year, the team returns with a good nucleus of players led by Jayden Banks ’24 and Mason Swartz ’24, followed by a good group of sophomores who are anticipated to carry the program for years to come.

Cheerleading

Emilee Lemp Ivie ’06 and Sydney Eisenstein ’05

Building Stunting and Choreography Skills into Post-Season Play

This winter, the Varsity Cheerleading program had 24 talented athletes who rallied around the Boys Basketball team during quarterfinal playoffs. Building on their impressive stunting skills, the squad crafted two stunning full-length routines for the Coaches vs. Cancer game and Senior Night, which wowed audiences and showcased the team’s versatility. The coaches and squad will miss the senior leadership team of Ella Chamberlain ’23, Maya Dickinson ’23, Keller Goldstein ’23, Keely O’Connell ’23, Emily Podgorny ’23, Meredith Purlee ’23, Sanchi Vishwakarma ’23, Belle Wood ’23, and Lucy Zimmer ’23. The season was a resounding success, with the team demonstrating impressive teamwork, dedication, and enthusiasm. As the summer approaches, the cheer squad is gearing up for their annual Universal Cheerleaders Association camp, where they’ll work with top-notch coaches, hone their skills, and bond as a team. These Rams are ready to take their skills to the next level.

Dance

Summer Beasley

Two performances showcase original choreography

The 2023 MICDS Dance In Concert featured five Upper School students: Helen Li ’23, Ella Lin ’26, Azael Mayer ’24, Angel Pura ’23, and Meihua Stansberry ’23. The concert showcased a variety of dance styles, including jazz, modern, and K-Pop. Lin and Mayer co-choreographed a duet titled Lemon Boy. Harper Clark ’26 also co-choreographed a piece titled Good Old Fashion with head coach Summer Beasley. There was an evening performance for family and friends in Mary Eliot Chapel. The dancers also performed for Middle School students during an assembly.

Ice Hockey

John Mattingly Jr.

MidStates Central Division Champions

The Ice Hockey team ended the season with a 19-3-6 record, one of the best in school history. The Rams took home the MidStates High School Central Division Championship and reached the Final Four of the Wickenhauser Cup. The season highlights included: 3-0 record against John Burroughs, 19 straight games without a loss, wins against Challenge Cup Teams Lindbergh and Parkway South, and the team’s first Final Four appearance since 2014. The Rams were lead by 11 seniors, including captains Harry Kohler ’23, Holt Tipton ’23, and George Herron ’23. Goaltender Deren Pellegrini ’23 was one of the top netminders in the area with top 5 finishes in goals against average, save percentage, and wins. Although the Rams fell a little short of their State Championship goal this season, no one would argue this season’s ice hockey team will go down as one of the best ever to wear an MICDS sweater. The future remains bright as a tremendous group of freshman players learned valuable lessons this season from a tremendous group of seniors. Juniors George Williamson ’24, Henry Cordes ’24, and Amir Hajji ’24 will carry the tradition on for an extremely talented youth movement in the coming years.

Girls Squash

Robyn Williams

3rd place finish in Division II at the US Squash High School Nationals Tournament

The Girls Squash team, led by co-captains Rhea Patnana ’23 and Kareena Kanumury ’23, had a fantastic season, continuing their strong run from the previous year. The team kicked off the season with a win at the Tom Flanagan Invitational Tournament held in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. After the winter break, MICDS hosted The Ashes Invitational Tournament, where the team emphatically won all four matches, securing the tournament title against teams from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. The team then embarked on a trip to Connecticut, winning all their matches, including impressive victories against a strong Choate Rosemary Hall team and Loomis Chaffee. At the US Squash High School Nationals tournament, the team was promoted to Division 2 and seeded fifth, a testament to their excellent performance throughout the regular season. Charlotte Medler ’26, Abby Derdeyn ’25, Annabelle Medler ’24, and Charlotte Derdeyn ’24 had exceptional individual performances at Nationals. Overall, MICDS had a remarkable season and demonstrated a high level of skill and determination. For the first time in MICDS squash program history, the team broke into the top 20 squash schools’ national rankings. The varsity squad bids farewell to four seniors who have considerably impacted the girls’ squash program: Patnana, Kanumury, Nikitha Ada ’22, and Evelyn Lui ’22.

Boys Squash

Nolan Clarke

Great determination and resilience for a 14-7 record

The Boys’ Varsity Squash team had an incredible season this year, playing an unprecedented 21 matches, a program first. This year, Haadis Amin ’23, Henry Byrne ’23, and CJ Goot ’23 led the team, which showed great determination and resilience throughout the season. Their hard work paid off as they finished with an impressive record of 14 wins and seven losses. Hosting our very first tournament was undoubtedly one of the season’s highlights. Seven teams participated, providing a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our skills and sportsmanship. Throughout the season, the team faced some tough opponents but never gave up and always fought until the end. Our season concluded with the team participating in Division 3 of the U.S. Squash High School Nationals Tournament. Byrne deserves a special mention for his remarkable achievement of winning all his matches at the High School Nationals, a truly outstanding feat. The squad bids farewell to seven seniors: Amin, Byrne, Goot, Maxwell Birkel ’23, Peter Grace ’23, Jackson Chou ’23, and Owen Zhang ’23.

Girls Swimming
and Diving

Chris McCrary

Second Place in Metro League Conference

The Girls Swimming and Diving team finished the year with great results off the blocks and off the boards. The girls were second in the Metro League Conference and ended up 6th at the MSHSAA Class 2 State Championship meet. Juliette Phillips ’24, Lindsay Naber ’26, Mikaela Mikulec ’25, and Grace Coppel ’26 combined to win the 200 Free Relay and set a new team record at State. State scorers included J. Phillips, Naber, Mikulec, and Coppel. Nina Schuerer ’26, Isabel Phillips ’25, Erica Engelhardt ’24, Everdine Ferguson ’25, Thisbe Diamond ’25, Sophia Goodwin ’26, and Bella Anadkat ’27 also competed at State. Diamond and Sarah Mills ’26 also represented the Rams at the MSHSAA Class 2 Districts diving competition.

Boys Wrestling

Cory Reichert

Team records 16 dual meet wins

Captains Grayson Marks ’23 and Brian Schlafly ’24 led our exceptional Boys Wrestling team this year. The team as a whole won 16 dual meets, a vast improvement from three the year before. Jaxon Abernathy ’26, Schlafly, Lachlan Murray ’24, Max Charnond ’25, and Grant Nicholson ’24 were named First Team All-Conference. Ben Petersen ’26 received Second Team All-Conference honors. David Osborn ’24 and Marks were Honorable Mentions. At the end of the season banquet, Abernathy was named Rookie Of The Year, Charnond earned Most Improved, and Schlafly named Most Valuable Player. The future looks bright for the Boys Wrestling team.