Upper School Students Return to IASAS Sports Competitions

By Brooke Burns, Communications Manager, Ron Reduta, Assistant Athletic Director & Sports Information Specialist, and Ariel L. ’24, Spring 2023 Communications Intern

For the first time in over two years, our TAS student athletes traveled for the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asia Schools (IASAS) sports championships to face off against Singapore

Season 1

In October 2022. 70 student athletes comprising six teams traveled over 5500 kilometers to Bangkok, Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to compete in cross country, volleyball, and soccer.

The TAS Boys Cross Country team set a record neverbefore-seen in the 40 years of IASAS history: They finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th in the 5KM competition. Parent and faculty member Darby Sinclair shared her feelings on the historic win, saying, “The IASAS cross-country race was one of the most amazing things we’ve ever seen. The TAS team started as a pack, ran as a pack, and finished as a pack! There wasn’t a dry eye around!” In addition, Girls Cross Country placed 1st in the 3KM time trial and secured the silver medal overall.

Girls’ Soccer played hard to a 0-0 draw and won 1-0 against ISM, ultimately winning the bronze medal. Boys Soccer finished first in their pool play before defeating the ISM Bearcats 3-2 to bring home the championship gold, the program’s first gold medal since the 2008-09 championships.

Finally, the Boys and Girls Volleyball teams triumphed in their last days of play, each securing the championship gold medals. This is a back-toback win for the Girls Volleyball team and their second championship win in four years (including the year when TAS could not travel to compete!)

American School, the International School of Bangkok, the International School of Kuala Lumpur, the International School of Manila, and Jakarta Intercultural School.

Congratulations to all the teams for their impressive performances. Well done, TAS Athletes!

Varsity Girls Volleyball Head Coach Bill Fillbach said, “This championship is also dedicated to our past alumni players Sarah J. ’21, Sabrina C ’21, Angelina C. ’22, Kimberly H. ’22, and Kaitlyn H. ’22,” who didn’t have a chance to compete for gold due to the pandemic.

“It was really nice meeting the SAS jumpers and helping them with techniques after I broke the IASAS triple jump record. I have enjoyed every moment of IASAS… except for my sunburn!”

Season 2

In February 2023, our Season 2 IASAS athletes roared into IASAS to go for gold. Basketball traveled to Manila, Touch, and Rugby to Jakarta, Swimming to Kuala Lumpur, and Tennis to Singapore. The result: 8 teams, 8 medals, 4 Gold Championships.

The Girls Basketball team won gold against ISM, the Touch team won gold against ISB, and the Rugby team pulled out a last-second try to capture gold against SAS. The Boys Swimming team won gold, while the Girls Swimming team captured silver. The Boys Basketball team won silver against ISM, and the Girls Tennis team won bronze.

Special kudos to Girls Basketball athlete Catrina Y ’23 for scoring her 1000th point for TAS during the championship match against ISM!

Season 3

The season 3 IASAS Championships in March-April 2023 ended strong, with our TAS athletes returning with well-deserved medals. Our Badminton and Golf teams traveled to Bangkok, Baseball and Softball to Singapore, and Track & Field to Jakarta and returned with three gold, four silver, and one bronze medals! Girls and Boys Badminton emerged victorious at the International School of Bangkok, staying undefeated and bringing home gold. A big shoutout to the Girls badminton team for keeping the IASAS championship streak since 2004! Also, the golf teams at Bangkok represented TAS with distinction, finishing in the top three of their respective competitions. The boys team finished with a bronze medal, whereas the girls golf team clinched the silver medal.

Meanwhile, the Boys Track & Field team put on an impressive display of athleticism, easily capturing the gold medal. Max L. ’23 shattered a 23-yearold IASAS record for Triple Jump at a distance of 13.72 meters! Another IASAS record fell in the 4x800m relay consisting of Benedict S. ’24, Matteo O. ’24, Ethan H. ’23, and Charlie H. ’24 with 8:11.26 minutes. The girls track, and field team also had an outstanding performance, finishing with the silver medal.

Softball and Baseball teams finished with silver medals with only one loss to Singapore American School on their home field.

“My favorite part of IASAS is to travel with my team and to have fun meeting more people. It is truly an exciting bonding experience for me! I am really proud of our silver and believe the Girls Golf team will try even harder next year to return with a gold. Go Tigers!”