With fall sports coming to a close and winter sports kicking into gear, there’s a lot to talk about in the world of Wayland sports. For my first blog post, I’ll be covering the results of fall sports and provide information about the upcoming winter season.

Fall Sports:

After a disappointing regular season in which the Warriors didn’t win the DCL Small league, the boys’ soccer team took to the playoffs with a fury. Despite not having a first round bye, our soccer team was able to win six straight games in the postseason and their third state championship in five years. The senior-led team was magical in the playoffs and won four of their games in overtime, two by shootout. The most memorable play was when senior goalie Nick Smith stopped one of Nipmuc’s penalty kicks, which won the state championship. Immediately afterward, he was rushed by teammates and fans storming the field. It was certainly a season for the books.

Girls’ volleyball was a Cinderella story this fall. For the first time in five years, they qualified for the playoffs. The girls entered the postseason with a 7-12 record and were awarded the 19th seed. In the first round, they were slated to play Danvers, the number three seed. The Warriors pulled off an incredible upset, beating Danvers 3-2. Even though it fell to Melrose in the next round, the team had a great season.

2018 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Wayland football, but the boys surpassed all outside expectations. After a 7-4 season the year before, the Warriors won their second consecutive DCL Small title and finished second in the sectional tournament, the best finish Wayland football has experienced under the current playoff system. The boys also routed Weston 48-8 in the annual Turkey Bowl, rounding out the season at 8-3. WHS boasted nine DCL All-Stars, including senior DCL Small MVP Wellington Pereira, senior Lineman of the Year Brooks Jones and junior Offensive Player of the Year Mason Bolivar.

Winter Sports:

Girls’ basketball went 10-1 in the DCL last year, but they graduated studs in Jackie Stoller and Darby Leid and also lost freshman phenom Lilly Stoller to private school. Hopefully, the girls can bounce back after their first round knockout in the playoffs last year.

Boys’ swim and dive won their second straight state championship in the 2017-2018 season, but they sent Sean Devlin, Tom Simon and Asa Greenaway to Georgetown, Tufts and Lehigh respectively, and they’ll be missed. Despite losing three graduate swimmers, head coach Mike Foley’s program is one that works, and the boys hope to complete a three-peat.

Boys’ hockey was the story of last winter. After going 12-9-3, their playoff run to the sectional finals was legendary, and the chaos in the fan section isn’t going to be forgotten anytime soon. The boys lost their top three points leaders in Mike Jones, Joe Lyons and Riley Bonner, as well as captain defenseman Joe Lydon. Despite heavy turnover, the team has the potential to have another great year with senior Ryan Nolan still in net. Key returning players include sophomore forward Mike Boschetto, junior forward Aiden Chitkara, junior forward Evan Vassilovski, senior defenseman Jack Crowley, junior defenseman Paul Curtin and sophomore defenseman Jimmy Paugh. A notable game for the Warriors is the inaugural Hockey Fights Cancer game against Bedford at 1 p.m. on Dec. 29.

Last winter, the wrestling team didn’t win the sectional tournament for the first time in five years. The team also lost All-State champion Ramazan Attasauov, who was close to unbeatable in his two years at WHS. The team looks to reclaim the sectional title behind state champion captain Jones and sectional champion captain Mike German. The wrestling team also hopes to regain the DCL title, which Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School has claimed for the past two years. This is an attainable goal, as L-S lost its head coach as well as two-time New England champion Andrew Marshall and a slew of other seniors.