By Nathan Albrinck ’16, Sports Section Editor
Cincinnati Country Day School athletics found extreme success in the 2015 fall sports season. Individual accomplishments like Grace Pettengill’s second place finish at the District Cross Country meet and team accomplishments like the boys’ soccer team’s record setting Regional Finals appearance made the season exciting to the very end. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights.
The Country Day boys’ golf team played their best golf in tournaments, placing 4th at the MVC tournament and 1st in Sectionals. Extremely young, the team should only get better in the years to come. The girls’ golf team had a tough season, but they improved throughout, going from scores of 277 early in the season to 212 and 219 against rival Summit Country Day later in the year. The highlight of their season came in their second match-up with Summit, where they were able to pull off a win. Girls’ tennis also found success late in the season, where juniors Jordan Lutz and Katherine Alsfelder earned second at Sectionals. The team loses only a few seniors and will look to go even farther next year. The volleyball team beat Lockland in an exciting 5 set match to reach the Sectional Semifinals, where they faced a tough Fayetteville team. In addition to time on the court, they led fundraising efforts during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Both the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams, led by juniors Charlie Sachs and Grace Pettengill, reached the Regional meet for the first time in six years after 3rd place finishes at districts. All signs point to an even better season next year. For more information on the seasons of the teams mentioned above, check out the articles linked at the bottom of the page.
As November began, three Country Day sports teams were still standing: girls’ soccer, boys’ soccer, and football. The girls’ soccer team entered the OHSAA tournament with an impressive 13-2-1 regular season record, earning a bye in the first round. In the next two rounds, the girls’ easily beat Ripley and Roger Bacon, 8-0 and 4-0, respectively. In the District Championship game, the team came back after conceding an early goal to beat Lehman Catholic 2-1. They then had to play Badin, the reigning two time state champions. The game turned into a defensive brawl. After 110 minutes of play, neither team had scored. Sadly, the Country Day girls’ team fell in penalty kicks, ending their great season. Captain Lauren Buczek ’16 called this team, “the most supportive team [she] has ever been a part of, on and off the field.” Losing only two seniors, the girls’ soccer team could go even farther in the tournament next year.
The boys’ soccer team had an equally impressive regular season, finishing 13-1-2. With Ian McInturf ’17 in goal, the team began the playoffs with four straight clean sheets, beating Cincinnati Christian, Madeira, Franklin Monroe, and Roger Bacon to advance to the Regional Semifinals, farther than any other team in program history. Thus set up a rematch with the only team who beat them during the regular season, Summit. It was a hard fought battle, but ultimately, the Indians fell to the future state champions. Senior captain Soham Basu called the season “a testament to the principle that with hard work, anything is possible.”
Before football season began, captain Kunal Minhas ’16 told me, “we could be anywhere from 3-7 to 9-1 this year.” They finished 9-1, earning their 3rd straight playoff bid, and a rematch with last year’s opponent: West Liberty Salem. The highly anticipated first round matchup ended 21-7 in favor of West Liberty Salem. The team finished the season with a record of 9-2. Running backs Nick Sam ’16 and Darryn Jordan ’16 finished the year with over 1,000 yards each on the ground, while quarterback J’Quaan Waite ’16 surpassed 1,000 in the air. The team has gone 29-1 in its last three regular seasons, marking one of the most dominant eras in Country Day football history.
Overall, this has been a great fall sports season for all Country Day teams. Congratulations to all the players and coaches.
Other Season Recaps:
Boys’ Golf – https://scrollonline.net/boys-golf-team-looks-ahead-to-mvc-tournament-and-beyond/
Girls’ Tennis – https://scrollonline.net/girls-tennis-finds-success-in-end-of-year-tournaments/
Volleyball – https://scrollonline.net/volleyball-team-wraps-up-a-great-season/
Cross Country – https://scrollonline.net/cross-country-team-finishes-a-fantastic-season/
Image Source: https://twitter.com/CCDSathletics/media
