Varsity Track and Field student-athletes won several events, claiming league titles, while volleyballers made history by becoming the first-ever team to reach the NYSAIS State tournament in the inaugural year! Read on for all of the highlights:

Boys Varsity Baseball | Coaches Jacob Tobin ’07 and Jonathan Ascher 
The season was truly successful, especially as it was the team’s first time back at bat since 2018. Students were eager to play and build the program’s foundation for years to come. Seventh and eighth graders joined as strong contributors, and some of the great moments included:

• In their very first game, the team triumphed over Churchill. Every player had an impact with a hit, most scoring at least one run. 
• Another standout was the match-up against eventual league and playoff champion, Brooklyn Friends. Max Schoenfeld ’25 was truly dominant with 11 strikeouts over seven innings, holding them to only one earned run.

The team had great leadership from Adam Levine ’22, who most definitely will be missed this year. With great pitching from Max and Pierce Rovine ’24, and consistent timely hitting from standout Connor Janiak ’26, the future of the team and this program is surely bright.

Girls Varsity Softball | Coaches Ted Belcher ’05 and Giselle Louw
This was the team’s second competitive season and everyone improved tremendously. The hard work in the batting cage paid off with multiple home runs from various players. Lions ended with a 3-3 record, placing Dwight fifth in the ISAL. 

It would be an understatement to say that the players were strong hitters:

• The team's batting average was .585, with not a single player batting below .333! 
• Darby London ’25 led with a .909 batting average, which included two home runs and 14 RBIs. 
• Eleanor Constantino ’25 had a batting average of .778, which included one home run and three triples. 

We said goodbye to six seniors: Giulia Alberti, Jane Barbero, Eloise De Jarne, Grace Guthart, Michela Halpern, and Elexis Perls. Without them, the team would have never been founded when they were freshmen and they should be proud of their lasting legacy. The coaches report having a strong core of returning players, who will continue to improve and “make it to the playoffs next season!”

Boys Varsity Rugby | Coaches Heidi Rubenstein-Brethel, Adam Higgins, and Arnold Chavis 
Rugby Lions made Dwight history! For the first time since the team was founded nine years ago, student-athletes made it to the New York State Championship Tournament — and placed second in their division! They boldly and proudly embraced their squad's mantra: EARN IT! Congratulations to all the players with shoutouts to Kyle Mulligan ’22 and Oliver Barlett ’23.

Boys Varsity Tennis | Coach Elliot Muth
Lions had a great season, finishing second in the ISAL behind league winners Staten Island Academy in the playoffs. The team saw strong play from Andres Villarreal ’22, Matthew Brown ’22, Julian Vasquez ’23, and Jack Koczan ’23. Additionally, Julian competed in the NYSAIS State Tournament for the first time in Dwight history!

Boys JV Tennis 
This season’s Lions were a passionate group of tennis players, who were dedicated to practicing and improving their skills. Composed of mostly ninth and tenth graders, the team will return to continue their growth and build on their tennis know-how. We are excited to see their development next year and look forward to seeing them compete next year. 

Girls Varsity Tennis | Coaches Meredith Spiegel and Sara Heath
Six members of the Class of 2022 led the team: Isabel Beiboer, Victoria Pauwels Romero, Maya Gallagher, Regina Roblesgil, and Gwynne Capiraso. This was the first season since their freshman year that we were able to have a complete season. With some students never having played a Dwight match before, they still competed at a high level, earning a 4-2 record. 

• Isabel led our team as the number-one in singles, facing many State-ranked players, and still gave each point her all. 
• Zoe Lowenthal ’25 paired with Sofia Chenillo ’23 to make an outstanding doubles duo, which was a force to be reckoned with. 

Our younger players gained experience and learned that the team’s trajectory is on track. We look forward to seeing the Lions grow and continue to play with passion and smiles. 

Girls JV Tennis | Coach Sara Heath
Many of the girls came into the season with little to no tennis experience, but they ended up playing competitively, participating in long rallies, winning points, and hitting aces! The improvement from the beginning to the end was truly astounding with leadership by Captains Zoe Papavasiliou ’23 and Nuria Diaz Noguero ’23l Some highlights include playing at the National Tennis Center, where the U.S. Open takes place; and

• Nuria won one of our very first matches, starting the season on a high note.
• Elena Shumakh ’25 made an epic comeback during an early match.
• Special shoutout to Mariam Diallo ’25, who stepped in to help out the Girls Varsity team at the end of the season and ended up almost winning in a tight tiebreaker.

Throughout, there was fantastic team spirit and Lions look forward to getting back on the court again this year. 
 
Varsity Track and Field | Doug Sklar
The Varsity Track team had quite a season, to say the least! During each meet, students saw their running times drop and the distance of their jumps increase. Lions took the second-place team finish for both the Boys and Girls teams at the ISAL Championships. 

At the ACIS Championship meet, individual highlights included:

• Alma Laufer Barhad ’25 won the long jump with a personal best jump of 15' 8.5". 
• Jamie Knox ’25 won the boys 3200 meter race, and placed second in 800 and third in the 1600m.
• Ana Figaredo ’25 placed third in both the 1500m and the 3000m. 
• Natalie Fear ’24 placed first in the shot put.

Lions had even more individual success at the ISAL Championship:

• Ana and Jamie each placed second in the 800m. 
• Ana claimed league titles in the 1500m and 3000m, while Jamie won both the 1600m and the 3200m. 
• Ilan Ibrahimagic ’24 finished the 200m race in second place. 
• Alma became a champion winning both the long jump and triple jump.

With a team of primarily freshmen and sophomores, they’re excited about the prospects for next season and beyond!

MS Track and Field | Coaches Daniel Dawson and Claudia Brown
The Spring Track and Field season sprinted off to an incredible start! As the difficult workouts became practice warm-ups, student-athletes grew in confidence and improved their performances. The team’s dedication, spirit, hard work, and ability to work both independently and together made them unstoppable. This success was due not only to their athleticism —  at which they clearly excelled — but also due to the team’s desire to learn from each other and push their fellow Lions to the best of their abilities.
 
Boys Varsity Golf | Coach Max Tyers
Students were back to playing competitive golf after a year of playing intrasquad matches. The team had a fantastic start to the season with two consecutive wins against Birch Wathen Lenox and York Prep and all players contributing to these victories. The leadership and play of Kyle Mulligan ’22 and Luca Tornambe ’22 helped Lions to reach the ISAL team playoffs, where they came up just short of winning the Championship.

Season highlights include:

• In the ACIS, individual champion Kyle finished second with a score of 39.
• Luca represented Dwight in the NYSAIS Golf Championship, where he competed against the top golfers in the state and performed well in the front nine. 
• The team’s success was also attributed to the consistent play of Ryan Berkowitz ’23, Chinmay Ravindra '24, Ben O’Connor ’23, and Ilan Rivera ’26. Additional contributors were Enrico Hoover ’23 and Giselle McGraw ’26. 

Boys Volleyball | Coach Tiam Chuck
The team was formed and made history in one season. Passionate student-athletes were committed and pushed each other to achieve a high level of success. Not only did they meet their goals, they became the first-ever team to reach the NYSAIS State tournament in the inaugural year!

Each person on the team came with a different level of experience, but after gelling as a group, they formed a team opposing schools feared. Kudos to the following Lions:

• Tom Ifrah ’24 was a big part of the offense as a stronger hitter and led the team in points. 
• Zach Wolf ’25, Doyle Gwon ’25, Dylan Lytle ’25, and Avery Pavlovich ’26 formed our frontline fortress with huge blocks, which made it hard for opponents to score. 
• Daniel Barschdorff ’24 and Ethan Cortez ’24 were setters and leaders on the court for our potent offense. 
• Daniel Born de Andres ’26 and Bruno Silveria ’25 were defensive specialists and passed hard-driven hits.
• Erick Hernandez Lopez ’25 and Brody Shuffler ’24 were always raring to go and step in wherever and whenever the team needed them. 
• Finally, Enzo Palaci Zani ’22 was our all-around team leader and big brother to all. He was used in every position on the floor and flourished in each one. His leadership and presence will be sorely missed. 

Given how successful year one was, everyone is excited to see what’s in store for year two! 

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As the new 2022-23 athletic year kicks off, all of our Lions are rearing to get back in the game!