Five Teams Advance to SPC Championships

ATHLETICS

By Paige Farris Chisholm ’87

The Falcons had a fantastic spring season. There was a lot to celebrate for every single team, including teams making it to the SPC Championships. Baseball, boys golf and softball all made it to the championship round, and track sent 17 athletes to the Championship meet. One runner was crowned SPC Champion in two events. Other sports celebrated key victories and recognitions for their programs.

Baseball

Baseball was crowned the SPC Runners-up and the North Zone Champions. The overall program celebrated an amazing season from top to bottom. Both Middle School teams went undefeated with an overall record of 16-0-1. The Upper School program had an impressive record of 20-6-2. Three seniors graduated, Cooper Collinge, Josh Guhl and Max Miller. These players will be missed, but the future continues to look very bright for Falcon baseball.

Boys Golf

The FWCD boys golf team had its finest year. In seven tournaments, it never finished out of the top five. The team defeated rivals Trinity Valley School and St. Mark’s School of Texas in head-to-head matches, won the North Zone Championship, and were the Runners-up in an exciting backand-forth SPC Championship match at Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington.

Standout players were sophomore Connor Henry (with a tournament scoring average of 75.7); seniors Xavier Willars, Aidan Karsten, Briggs Kelly and Beau Poitevent; and junior Jackson Bobo.

In the North Zone Championship at Bear Creek, Willars was tournament medalist (-1), and the Falcons shot an historic team score of 291, winning the tournament by eight shots. Also achieving All-Conference Honors were Henry, Bobo and Kelly.

Boys Tennis

Boys tennis enjoyed their season and saw some impressive wins. This year, freshmen Marco Olmos and Benjamin Hoppe brought new energy, elevating the singles lineup to the next level. Line one doubles, formed by Mitchell Crawford ’22 and Holt Smith ’23, had a great season with the most varsity wins for the team.

Seniors Christopher Hoppe, Paul Alexander and Jack Ethridge had a great season, leaving behind a great legacy for the team to follow. With the success of the JV and Middle School programs, the team is optimistic about its future.

Boys Track

Boys track had an outstanding season with several impressive finishes. Ten runners qualified for the SPC Championship meet, covering seven different events. The Falcons earned AllConference Honors in the 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay, and the 400m. A new FWCD record was set for the 4x200 relay by Paul Ray ’23, Alex Kelly ’23, Jeremy Henderson ’23 and Ayris Cole ’21. Seniors Cole, Henry Lynn and Andrew Nober will be greatly missed. They have left an impressive legacy for the younger runners to follow.

Girls Golf

Girls golf had a great season with three juniors and two freshmen. The team had a tournament early in the season, which helped the girls get back into the swing of things. After practicing hard and preparing for the second tournament, Olivia Neve ’22 shot her best-ever tournament round of 85 at Squaw Creek Golf Course. The team played in a fun scrambleformat tournament and, to round out the season, they played in the SPC North Zone tournament at Bear Creek Golf Club. The team finished in third place, with Neve finishing top 10 and earning All-Conference Honors. With all the players returning, next year looks to be even better.

Girls Tennis

Girls tennis enjoyed great numbers this year with great talent. The players worked hard at practice, and it showed with their winning record. During the season, the team celebrated several exciting team wins and some incredible individual wins. The coaches are super excited for the future since the team won’t be losing any players to graduation.

Girls Track

Girls track had an incredible season. Rachel Nelson ’23 was crowned SPC Champion in the 100m and 200m and broke the FWCD record in the 400m. Sutton Howard ’23 was the SPC Champion Runner-Up in shot put and discus. Prior to the championship, she was undefeated. Nasya Williams ’24 broke FWCD records in the 100m and 200m. The 4x100 relay of Sadie Schuster ’22, Nelson, Williams and Kylie Carter ’24 was crowned North Zone Gold Medalists. The team is sad to lose graduating senior Faith Darrow but is excited about the future.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse enjoyed a great season under new Head Coach Patrick Diamonon. The team had some great wins, including an exciting win at home against Trinity Valley School. The game was close to the end, and the Falcons were victorious, 9-7. They concluded their season with two Falcons earning post-season awards. Rogan Crumley ’22 earned the Texas High School Lacrosse League (THSLL) Class C All-State Middie Award, and Mac Toomey ’22 earned THSLL Class C North District Honorable Mention Defense Award. Crumley finished the season with an impressive 34 goals, four assists, 86 ground balls, and eight forced turnovers. He scored at least one goal in all 13 games this season. Toomey had 18 forced turnovers, 43 ground balls, and one goal during the season.

Softball

It had been 10 years since the softball team last found themselves in the SPC Championship game (which they won in 2011), so it was a great feeling to finally be back in that game. The team went from zero wins in 2019 to a winning record in 2021, which included an undefeated North Zone record. Three players were recognized as area leaders in batting average. The challenge for the leadership this year was for the team to gel quickly, as over half of the starting lineup consisted of freshmen. Senior Emily Lynn led the team, and the team chemistry anchored the season’s success. The dugout was never quiet and kept the rest of the team in the ballgame every game. While the team was disappointed in the outcome of the championship game, the future looks bright, and every player has already set a goal to get back to that game.