WJ sports: year in review

WJ Football players stand on the sideline during their homecoming game victory against Northwood.

Photo by Sarah Shecker

WJ Football players stand on the sideline during their homecoming game victory against Northwood.

Grant Weaver, Online Assistant Sports Editor

As the school year winds down, so are athletics.  The Pitch Online looks back at three sports teams from each of the three seasons of the 2014-2015 school year.

Fall Sports: 

Football:

The WJ football team had another disappointing season this year.  Under the coaching of second-year varsity head coach Greg Kellner, the team went 1-9, with their only win against Northwood on homecoming night, when they won 54-39.  They had another promising game to finish the season, but lost to B-CC with a final score of 7-13 in two overtimes.  The team had a lot of punishing defeats, such as a 41-0 shelling from rival Churchill and another blow-out with a score of 7-49 when the team made the trip up to Cumberland, Md. to play state powerhouse Fort Hill.  In the end, although this was a disappointing season, there is still optimism surrounding the program and the Cats should only keep getting better.

Boys Soccer:

The boys soccer team had another successful season under second-year coach Hector Morales.  They finished with a 9-3-2 record in the regular season.  The team also made a nice playoff run, winning games against Richard Montgomery and rival Churchill before falling to ranked rival Whitman.  Look for the boys team to be in a great position next year, as they have plenty of talent in the program.

Girls Soccer:

The girls team had a nice season, going 8-3 before falling in the second round of the playoffs to Whitman.  This team should also be in a good position for next year, with a lot of returning talented sophomores and juniors.

Winter Sports:

Boys Basketball:

The boys basketball team had a very disappointing season. The Cats finished with a dismal 0-22 record.  Although the team didn’t have a good season this year, they still have  a junior class with potential and some sophomores who should have bigger roles next year.  WJ will have to see if coach Brian Fairall decides to change anything up for the next season to improve on this year’s record.

Girls Basketball:

The girls team had a very good year, going 17-5 in the regular season.  They were aided by strong seniors and good underclassman depth.  The team also won two games in the playoffs, beating Richard Montgomery 58-33 and rival Churchill 52-49 before bowing out to ranked rival Whitman in the third round 54-30.  The team should find themselves in a great position for success with a strong underclassman group lead by freshman forward Jada Dupaa and sophomore guard Jordan Zavareei.

Wrestling:

The wrestling team had an outstanding season this year, finishing as one of the top teams in the DC-Metro Area.  The team was lead by senior Noah Pasquinelli, sophomore JD Fitzpatrick and junior transfer Logan Wilson.  The team should have another great season next year with a wealth of returning wrestlers.

Spring Sports:

Boys Lacrosse:

The boys team had another good season finishing 10-4.  The team started off on a 5-game winning streak before losing to Oakdale in a tournament over spring break.  Then the team came back and easily handled rival B-CC 16-1.  They had a short rough stretch in the middle of the season, losing three straight games to rivals Wootton, Whitman and Churchill, but finished the regular season on a good note, beating Blair, Gaithersburg and Rockville.  In the playoffs, they won their first round match-up against Richard Montgomery before losing to Whitman at home.  Coach Alan Pohoryles should have his team well positioned for next year, as they will have a lot of returning juniors and sophomores who have significant varsity experience.

Girls Lacrosse:

Girls lacrosse finished the season 4-8.  The team had to start off the season when they lost to Springbrook 6-2, but they came back and easily defeated Blake 16-8.  The Cats endured a tough midseason stretch, dropping five straight games before beating Clarksburg.  In the playoffs, they won their opening match against Richard Montgomery, but lost to rival Whitman in the second round.  However, the future looks bright for the program, as the JV girls team went undefeated this season, so that should translate to success in the future.

Baseball:

The baseball team finished 7-9 in the regular season.  The Cats had one of the tougher schedules in the county.  They lost their first two games against Quince Orchard 10-0, then lost to Gaithersburg, 11-0, who is ranked second in the DC-Metro area and just one the state championship for baseball.  The team came back and won four straight against Blake, Kennedy, Einstein and Churchill.  The Cats had a big win against Blair, who had one of the best teams in the county this year.  During the later part of the season, a four-game losing streak really hurt the Cats, before coming out and grabbing a victory on senior night.  In the playoffs, WJ got revenge against Richard Montgomery in the first round and won 6-0.  In their second game, they had a disappointing loss to end the season 1-12 to Blair.  Looking forward, coach Steve Sutherland should have good talent coming up for next year to build off of an average season.

 

 

 

0
0