Credit: Carolina Sdoia, Sasha Libenzon, Sophia Verma and Sofia Ciciarelli.

Staff reporters Joey Fay, Owen Harrington and Ravi Kapadia preview each 2024-2025 winter sport.

Cold weather has arrived in Wayland, signifying the start to a new season of winter sports. Below is some information about each sport and the captains.

Wrestling

After a winning record during the 2023-2024 season, the wrestling team has high hopes for the upcoming season.

“We had a good run in the postseason, but we came second in our section,” senior captain Cole Chase said. “I think we have bigger goals [this] year.”

Chase has been wrestling from a young age, as have several others members of the team. He attributed the success of the team to the experience of its members.

“What got me into wrestling was my family because they’ve always been around it,” Chase said. “I’ve probably wrestled since I was around four or five.”

Chase and the rest of the team always have their sights set on one match in particular.

“I always look forward to LS,” Chase said. “[We are] wrestling on Christmas Eve this year, so that’ll be fun.”

Captains: Chase, along with seniors Cole Duffy, Paul Lang and Michael Keenan.

Girls swim and dive

After recent success, including going undefeated in the Dual County League last season, the girl’s swim and dive team will attempt to carry that momentum into this season. Team members try to swim as much as they can year round to be prepared for the season.

“ I was on a club team called CRA, and then I stopped doing that and now I’m in preseason,” senior Emma Gargano said. “A lot of kids on the swim team do preseason at the pool.”

Several people on the team have been swimming for their current coach, Mike Foley, whose son is captain of the boys team, for most of their lives. This includes Gargano, who started by swimming at the Wayland Swim and Tennis Club (WSTC).

“Our coach is Coach Foley,” Gargano said. “I have been swimming since I was five and Coach Foley’s been my coach since [then], when I swam in the summer at WSTC.”

Captains: Group senior leadership.


Boys swim and dive

The boy’s swim and dive team looks to repeat most of last year’s success. However, they have their eyes set on winning the state championship this year. Last year, the team finished with a record of 15-0-1 and won the DCL Championship, but fell just short at the state championship, getting second place.

“We’re looking to win the title this year for states,” senior team member Brady Foley said. “We have a lot of good returning swimmers and a lot of good freshmen that are joining the team this year, so I think we are looking good.”

B. Foley mentioned that the team’s only tie came against their rival, Weston. They are looking forward to a match up against Weston again this year.

“We always look forward to Weston, they are always the biggest rivalry,” B. Foley said. “We go toe to toe with them pretty much every year. It’s the meet right before Christmas vacation, so everyone’s obviously looking forward to that and just trying to come out with a win over our rival.”

Captains: Group senior leadership.

Boys hockey

The Wayland-Watertown varsity boys hockey team had a successful 2024-25 season with a record of 8-12-2 and made a run in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) tournament. This year, the team is looking to raise a banner as state champions.

The captains start off this season recognizing that the team is different than last year’s, and will have to make adjustments on and off the ice.

“We’re gonna have to build our chemistry a lot along the way because we have a couple new players,” senior captain Thomas Ali said. “We lost quite a lot of seniors, so we’re definitely going to have to up our skill level if we want to make that accomplishment.”

After multiple players graduated, the captains hope that younger players step up in order for the team to reach its goals.

“This year, we have a lot of younger kids stepping up to the big boy roles, so it should be interesting to see how they do against the big guns,” senior captain Shane Desmond said.

With their final season of Wayland hockey approaching, seniors on the team are eager to make this season memorable.

“We have a lot of strong captains, and it should be a fun season, and we have definitely gotten closer with our coaches,” senior captain Jack Gavron said. “We’ve had one since freshman year who’s been really helpful for us developing as players. So I’m excited to spend the last year with him.”

Captains: Ali, Gavron and Desmond


Girls hockey

Last season, the Wayland-Weston girls varsity hockey team had a final record of 8-11-1. The team is looking to build off of last year’s efforts and make the playoffs this year.

To reach that goal, the captains have prioritized helping players without much prior playing experience, which has proved to be a problem in the past.

“The major challenge for us typically is that people are brand new to the sport,” senior captain Tilly Myles said. “[It] is great that they’re willing to try it because it’s harder to try a sport when you’re already in high school. It definitely used to be a lot more Weston but this year we have more underclassmen and now it’s an even split.”

Myles said that the goal for the team this year is to make the playoffs. She believes that the team can use the momentum they gained last year for the 2024 – 2025 season and ultimately play some meaningful games.

“I think the last time we [made the playoffs] was my freshman year, and we were really close last year,” Myles said. “I definitely think we can do it this year, even though we lost some really good seniors. That’s definitely my goal, to make it to the playoffs.”

Captains: Myles


Alpine ski

While some people in Massachusetts may be looking forward to a warmer winter, some members of the alpine ski team realize the negative effect that the warm weather has on their season.

Like several members of the team, junior captain Ori Kohl is eager to begin racing, whether that be on real or fake snow, which has occasionally been used in the past.

“The weather is our biggest challenge,” Kohl said. “[It’s] the only thing that stops us from doing our sport.”

The biggest goal for the team is to improve and have fun while doing so. For some, the sport isn’t competitive, as many skier participate because of their love for skiing.

“[I enjoy] just being on the snow [and] just skiing in general,” Kohl said. “I think we all do ski team because we love skiing.”

Captains: Kohl and juniors Ryan Chase and Sofia DiCarlo, along with seniors Venezia Sebastianelli, Cate Ellenbogen, Finley Knapp, Ella Duffy and Ella Moscoffian.


Nordic ski team

At the 2024 MIAA nordic skiing state championship, the boys varsity nordic ski team finished 10th, while the girls varsity nordic ski team finished 12th at states. Senior captain Naomi Rice finished No. 20 as an individual at the state meet last year. Top boys skier senior captain Adrian Narvaez was out last year due to an injury, but is back and healthy for this upcoming season.

Several members of the nordic ski team have, over the course of their time in high school, come to love the sport.

“I enjoy the nordic ski team because I really like being outdoors, I get to spend time and hang out with my friends, and it is great exercise,” senior captain Adrian Narvaez said.

Captains: Narvaez and seniors Naomi Rice, Zachary Thoen, Finn Jay and Sasha Libenzon.


Indoor track

Last season, 11 members of the indoor track team qualified for the MIAA Division IV indoor track meet. The team competes in DCL meets each week at the TRACK at New Balance in Boston.

Every year a new group of freshmen are introduced to the team and can significantly impact the program.

“Many fast underclassmen are running track this year, which will help us succeed this season, and will help us do well in DCL’s,” junior captain Atticus DeGrenier said.

Captains: DeGrenier, juniors Tristan Norgaard and Mackenzie Morris, seniors Caitlin Heus-Smith and Katie White.


Boys basketball

Last year, the boys varsity basketball team finished its season with a record of 4-16-0. This year, the team has high hopes from seniors Ridley Keegan and Ido Geffen, junior Matty Ross and sophomore Josh Lewis-Guy.

According to Keegan, bonding with teammates is crucial to creating better team chemistry.

“Different from past years, we are a lot closer as a team,” Keegan said. “I am really excited to continue to grow relationships with my teammates”.

According to Keegan, getting in shape for the season is a crucial part of sports, and it helps athletes stay fit throughout the season.

“Wayland basketball has open runs at the fieldhouse almost everyday, so it is a great way for people to get in shape and also practice basketball,” Keegan said.

Captains: Keegan and Geffen.


Girls basketball

In 2023, the girls varsity basketball team just missed the cut-off to qualify for the playoffs. The team finished with a 9-11-0 record and needed one more win in order to secure a spot in the playoffs.

The team hopes to improve its skills this season in order to reach its goal of playing in the playoffs.

“I think the team can improve on running the ball more,” junior captain Sarah Powers said. “If we can make the game at a fast pace it’ll help to improve our outcome a lot more”.

According to Powers, it is important that players stay focused and invest what effort they can.

“My goal for this season is to make sure everyone keeps their heads up and continues to compete regardless of the score,” Powers said. “I want to make sure everyone’s having fun and also set a good tone for my senior year next year too”.

Captains: Powers and senior Annie McQuilkin