It’s winter, and that means it’s time to hit the ice, the court, the pool, the mat and the indoor track.
Last winter season, 29 GA students were named to Inter-Academic All-League teams for the 2022-2023 winter season, and seven students were named to Independence Hockey League All-League teams. GA had one boys basketball player, three girls basketball players, seven ice hockey players, six male swimmers and divers, nine female swimmers and divers and three wrestlers who made the teams.
On National Signing Day on Nov. 8, several winter sport athletes committed to Division I and Division II schools. Jessica Aponik ‘24 committed to Kutztown Women’s Basketball, Landon D’Ariano ‘24 committed to Texas Men’s Swimming, Taylor Grimley ‘24 committed to Auburn Women’s Swimming, Brenden Hodgens ‘24 committed to Georgetown Men’s Diving, and Andy Zhou ‘24 committed to University of Pennsylvania Men’s Swimming.
“Every year, we are sad to see the seniors go, but there’s always that genuine piece of excitement to see who the next thousand-point basketball scorer is or who will break the butterfly swim record,” Athletic Director Tim Ginter said. “That’s what’s awesome about the new season.”
Swimming and Diving
Boys Results 2022-2023: 6-0
Girls Results 2022-2023: 7-0
GA Swimming and Diving went undefeated last winter and won the Inter-Ac Championship.
Standout performances were made by Libby Brewer ‘25, who won the Diving Championship at Easterns, Landon D’Ariano ‘24, who won the boys 200 IM and 500 freestyle, Taylor Grimley ‘24, who won the girls 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, Emily Hammill ‘25, who won the girls 200 freestyle, and Eliza Meth ‘24, who won the girls 100 breaststroke. GA won Easterns for the second year in a row!
Three divers and nine swimmers were recently named NISCA All-Americans, and five swimmers were named to the USA 2022-2023 Swimming Scholastic All-America Team.
All three of the All-American divers will be returning and seven out of the nine All-American swimmers will be returning. This means that the team will still be very competitive in the Inter-Ac, with many of their star swimmers and divers continuing to contribute to the team.
“I would love to go back and win Easterns again, but overall I just want to improve myself by doing harder dives. I would also love to break the school record score for total points,” said Brewer. “As a team, we really want to go back as a team to win the Inter-Ac title again. We also just want to go as far as we can for Easterns.”
Indoor Track and Field
GA competed at the PA Independent Schools Athletic Association Championships at the end of the 2022-2023 season where the boys placed second overall. Evan Badami ‘26 won the boys 400-meter dash, Gavin Fountain ‘24 won the boys shot put, and Robby Bright ‘25 won the boys pole vault. The boys 4×400 relay team placed third.
At the final championship meet of the season, the PTFCA Indoor State Championship at Penn State Main Campus, Blake Brown took 7th place in the Long Jump and Fountain took 9th place in the Shot Put.
“I’m really looking forward to the Championship Meet at the end of the season. I’m hoping to defend my title as pole vault champion,” said Bright. “Not only that, but I’m looking forward to what our whole team can do.”
Basketball
Boys: 11-16
Girls: 19-11
Though the boys varsity basketball team went 11-16 overall and 3-7 in the Inter-Ac League, the team had a group of talented sophomores. These players will return this year to help lead GA to success this winter season.
“This year is a unique one for the program because we do not have any seniors,” said Men’s Varsity Basketball Coach Matt Dolan. “Our team will goal set this week and I am excited for the year. We hope to continue to get better every single day and I believe this group will have high aspirations both in the Inter-Ac and in the non-league.”
Girls varsity basketball went 19-11 overall and 9-3 in the Inter-Ac League last year. The girls varsity basketball coach, Sherri Retif, retired after the 2022-2023 season after 25 years of coaching the team. Coach Retif will still be here at GA as a Middle School Teacher.
Lauren Power has been named head coach, and she comes to Germantown Academy from the Academy of Notre Dame, another Inter-Ac school.
Wrestling
Results 2022-2023: 2-6
Varsity Wrestling took 8th place at the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Wrestling Tournament last winter, and four GA wrestlers qualified for the National Preps in Maryland in February 2023.
“I would like to see seven of our wrestlers go to the National Prep Tournament this year,” Coach John Staudenmayer said about his goals for the upcoming season. “I think last year, we saw what we are capable of, and this year we are building on that. We have some pretty good guys this year and we are really excited.”
Ice Hockey
Results 2022-2023: 9-4-1
The Varsity Ice Hockey team has a new head coach for the 2023-2024 season. Coach DeLayne Doyle has been an assistant coach for several years and will now be the head coach.
“The ice hockey team has had a tremendous run over the last four or five years,” Mr. Ginter said.
The team ended the regular season with six wins in a row and went to the Independence Hockey League playoffs where they unfortunately did not take home a win. They were four-year champions prior to last winter season and are ready to win back the championship title this year.
“One main goal for the team this season is to win the IHL Championship like we did my freshman year. Even though we lost a lot of great players, I believe that we still have the potential to win it,” said Dominic Perazza ‘25, a defensive player. “We just need to work really hard on and off the ice and also play it smart during games.”