Sports Wraps – October 6

Cross Country
The Varsity Girls’ Cross Country team was honored to participate in the Marianapolis Invitational at Marianapolis Preparatory School on Sept. 28. With a bit of sun and shade and a light wind, the day was perfect for a run! Having hydrated thoroughly during team-building exercises the day before, the runners were ready to go and to support one another (and other runners) throughout the race. As usual, the athletes got to the starting line early and kept themselves limber until the race began, with each runner setting an individual goal they wanted to achieve by the race’s end. Then, once the race started, the KO  runners set out at a competitive pace. The course includes a beautiful trail across grassy fields and a narrow, winding one through the woods, with hills at both the starting line and finish line. With all seven team members have built up a fantastic camaraderie through our team-building exercises and their strength and stamina through daily practices, it’s no surprise that the Wyverns came in third overall! While the coaches were proud of every runner on the team made this victory possible, of particular note are the achievements of Claire Palmer ‘25 who placed 7th with a time of 23:11, Sasha Dausey ‘25 who placed 16th with a time of 24:51, and Sophie Chen ‘25 who rounded out the top 20 with a time of 26:20. 

The Varsity Boys’ Cross Country team traveled to Marinapolis to compete in their annual invitational race on Sept. 28. On a sunny day in the 70s, the boys ran well on a tough course to finish fifth overall out of 10 teams. The first runner for KO was Sam Auclair ’24, who finished in the top 15 runners out of a field of 120 competitors. He was closely followed by Leo Ladewig ’26, Bassil Chugthai ’24, Ted Simons ’24, Charlie Simons ’24 and Oscar Ruser ’24 and Sam Bromberg ’23. The latter runners tried the strategy of pack running to great success. The KO field was completed with Leo Kollen ’26, who returned from injury to run well, and Dorian Ciscel ’26, Dominic Brunalli ’26, Sruthan Tokala ’25, Alex Gumkowski ’26, Dan Petruzella ’26 and Ishaan Bafna ’26.

The Varsity Boys’ Cross Country team traveled to Westminster School on Oct. 1 to compete in the Miller Invitational meet. This competition has been held over the past 17 years. The boys placed fifth in a competitive field of eight schools. Sam Auclair ’24 finished in the top twenty with a time just over 20 minutes. He was followed closely by Ted Simons ’24, Leo Ladewig ’26, Oskar Ruser, Bassil Chugthai ’24, and Charlie Simons ’24 all in the top 40 runners. The varsity race was concluded with a strong finish from captain Sam Bromberg ’23. The JV race included the final six KO competitors. Finishing first for the Wyverns was Dorian Ciscel ’26, who ran almost step for step with Leo Kollen 26′ until the final 50 meters. Finsihing for KO was Dominic Brunalli ’26, Dan Petruzella ’26, Alex Gumkowski ’26, and Ishaan Bafna 26′. 

The Varsity Girls’ Cross Country team earned third place as a team overall on Oct. 1 for the Miller Invitational meet. This was a strong start to their season so far (third place twice in one week!) as they continue to build momentum,m and KO athletes increased their speed and stamina while running over difficult terrain. Two KO athletes received top honors, placing fifth and ninth. Claire Palmer ‘25 and Sasha Dausey ‘25 earned fifth and ninth places, respectively. Kami Tarantino ‘24 and Sophie Chen ‘25 rounded out the top 20, in 13th and 20th places as well. This was the team’s fifth race of the season cumulatively, but also one of the most challenging. Athletes faced a small hill immediately after leaving the starting line and had to use their mental toughness and physical strength to set a competitive pace early on. After running over grassy hills and around athletic fields, the runners were treated to some windy trails through the woods, as well as two incredibly steep hills! After running up and down not one but two of these steep slopes, the Wyverns finished the course by running around Westminster’s track and all the way to the finish line. The coaches are so proud of how well the runners did on this difficult terrain, including both those athletes who placed well and those runners who set new personal records for themselves!

Field Hockey
The Varsity Field Hockey team played their best game yet of the season against Ethel Walker on Oct. 1, even though the team came away with a 1-5 loss. Senior Captain, Alle Kotowitz ‘23 scored the first goal of the season off of a corner in the fourth quarter. Mina Kim ‘25 did a great job covering Walker’s best player. The Wyvern goalies had incredible saves. The team played well and had many scoring opportunities in the circle. 

The Middle School Field Hockey team recorded their second win of the season on the road against Renbrook on Sept. 30. Playing on grass again did not deter the Wyverns from getting on the board early. Minutes into the first half Sierra Wells ’27 broke through the swarm to carry the ball to goal and launched a ball to the back of the cage unassisted. The offensive threat continued with a fantastic corner play where Addie Lang ’27 crossed the ball from the left to Adrianna Cicchiello ’27 who scored the second goal for the team. The last Wyvern goal came when Taylor Benavides ’27 passed the ball to Wells in the circle for the third Wyvern tally. Halftime had KO up 3-0. Isabela Tippner ’28 played goalie for KO and had a handful of strong saves to keep Renbrook scoreless. The second half the opponents came out strong, and KO found themselves on defense much more. Ella Brown ’27 in the center, helped organize the defense. Renbrook did find a hole mid-second half and broke through to score. KO regrouped and held them scoreless for the remainder of the half. Great offensive movement by Ellory Goodhue ’27, Chadly Zahner ’29, Valerie Perkins ’29 and Charlotte Gruber ’29. Molly Silverman ’27 and Delilah Mathews ’28 helped transition the ball several times from defense to offense which helped propel the Wyverns team to the offensive circle. 

The Middle School Field Hockey team opened their season with a 2-0 shutout win against Hopkins on Sept. 21. The Wyverns controlled the ball early and had several early breakaway chances. Addison Lang ‘27 used her speed to charge into the circle and score the first goal of the game with a shot from just inside the circle. Just a few minutes later Taylor Benavides ‘27 found herself in a similar situation and put a quick shot on the goal to tally up another Wyvern goal. Ellory Goodhue ‘27 played goalkeeper in the first half while Benavides ‘27 jumped into the gear for the second half, both making critical saves to get the shutout. Strong defensive play was led by Ella Brown ‘27. Sierra Wells ‘27 and Chadly Zahner ‘29 utilized strong stick skills and quick passes to generate more offense. 

Football
The JV Football team lost a close contest 29-28 on Oct. 3 against St Lukes’s. Much like the varsity game 10 days ago, the scoring went back and forth and down to the last second!  Offensively the Wyverns were led by QB Stephen Bailey ’25 who threw two TD passes, one to Christian Gordon ‘25 who had a phenomenal catch and run from 40 yards out and a second to Joesph Kalinowski ’25, who caught a screen pass and made the entire secondary miss screaming down the sideline for a 25-yard score. The final offensive score Bailey ran in it off the right side of the offensive line from five yards out.  The offensive line of Deacon Prince ’25, Max Huang ’25, Adam Gold ’26, Jackson Poulin ’26, Aryan Dange ’25, and Will Bent ’25, were great in pass protection giving Bailey time to throw all over the field. Defensively, Gold scored a defensive touchdown by recovering a fumble in the endzone. Jackson Poulin ’26 was excellent in the middle stopping runs all game and Christian Gingeleskie ’25 was a leader of the defense, with great tackles and great pass defense all day. The kicking game was great all day with Janis Dauksts ’25 and Corey Nguyen ’26 perfect on PATs! 

The Varsity Boys’ Soccer team took on Trinity-Pawling on Oct. 1 and saw a 1-0 defeat. The Wyverns dominated the first half but unfortunately could not capitalize on several chances in front of the opposition’s net, hitting the goalposts and including a penalty kick which was saved from the spot. The Wyverns conceded in the middle of the second half, coming off of a defensive error and fighting hard to try to make up for it. 

The Varsity Girls’ Soccer team was shut out 4-0 on Sept. 28 by a solid Canterbury team. Kyra Dunnirvine ’23 had an outstanding game in goal with 12 saves. 

The Varsity Girls’ Soccer team played a solid game against a strong and physical Cheshire Academy team on Oct. 1. Though the Wyverns lost 1-3, the players never let up with their effort, team play, and support for each other. Kyra Dunnirvine ’23 had another strong game in goal with eight saves. Ella Sokale ’24 scored the Wyverns only goal off a direct kick. 

The Varsity Boys Soccer team matched up against Suffield Academy on Oct. 3 in a hard-fought 1-1 draw. The Wyverns struck blood first in the seventh minute from a strike off of a set piece from Sam Cote ‘24. The Wyverns dominated the first half but conceded to the opposition with four minutes left which led to a change in momentum for Suffield. The second half of play had great goal-scoring opportunities for KO and a couple for the opposition, which were all defused by the defense and goalkeeper Will Slayton ‘24. The team relied heavily on the energy brought from the bench, especially from Scotty Mcloud ‘25, who made his varsity debut at wide back and helped the defense keep a clean sheet in the second half of play. Appeals for a handball late in the second half in the box were made but did not get a call from the referee. The Wyverns had several chances from set pieces to go ahead but were not able to capitalize. 

Volleyball
The JV Volleyball team lost 1-3 against Ethel Walker on Sept. 28. Sophia Brunalli ‘23 stood out in returns from our opponent’s servers, and in sending well-placed taps over the net. Sophie Glazier ‘23 also consistently earned KO points while serving. Els Morris ‘25 sent several well-placed lobs of her own into a hole on the opponent’s side of the net, and Abby Baier ‘23 served consistently and confidently as the team’s libero. Powerful serve returns came from Lucia Martinez-Castro ‘23 and Francesca Lamattina ‘25 throughout the match, and Martinez-Castro’s knockout hits had the other team’s heads spinning.

The JV Girls’ Volleyball team handily beat Suffield 2-0 in the first two games of the three-game match on Oct 1. Lucy Ybarra ’24, Julia Sohn ’25, and Olivia Doran ’26 made their game debut, earning top marks in serve returns and passes. Sophie Glazier ’23 was at the top of her team in serves and Piff LaBoy ’23 was a powerhouse at the net.