As East’s fall sports teams finish up their championships, winter sports are gearing up to begin their regular season in the next couple of weeks.
The girl’s Varsity Swim team is sending Brooke Pettis to the state swimming championships on November 22nd and 23rd in Ithaca. Pettis, who broke the school records in the 200 IM and 500 Freestyle events during the Section VI Championships on November 7th and 8th, will compete in the 100 Butterfly and 200 IM events at States. “It was a very successful meet and a great end to a phenomenal year,” said sophomore Sarah Wie of the sectionals meet. Wie finished 14th in the 100 Freestyle and 200 Freestyle events. Diver Junior Kiersten Maclay finished 12th at Sectionals. Lauren Anderson took 11th place in the 500 Free, and Erin Clough finished 12th in the 100 Backstroke; both swimmers are juniors. Sophomore Claire Kim took 13th place in the 100 Backstroke. The girl’s Gymnastics team also had a great season, taking third place overall at sectionals. Ana Reyes took second place in the uneven bars and Alexis Frankowski took second place on the balance beam. The tennis team sent one doubles team consisting of Ananya Murthy and Amy Xiao and singles play Brianna Gibbs to sectionals and sent Brianna Gibbs to states; unfortunately, Murthy and Xiao were defeated during sectionals semifinals, though Gibbs was crowned sectionals champion after defeating Nicole Kozinski of Clarence. “East girls went undefeated for the whole year!” said sophomore Caroline Wang regarding their regular season. The cross-country team sent several runners to the sectionals meet on Friday, November 1st. The boys Soccer team had a great run this year, just missing the sectionals title due to a loss from East Aurora. The girls Soccer team also had a good season with 12 wins and 5 losses, placing 7th overall in their league. Goalie Julia Panepento, defense player Bridget Scioli and midfielder Marissa Birzon were the top three scorers on the team.
“Field Hockey’s always a lot of fun. We’re like a family,” said senior Theresa Meosky. In comparison, “[Ice] Hockey’s different—we’re not as tight because the team members come from all of the middle and high schools in the district but it’s still a lot of fun and a great experience,” Meosky said.
The boys Swim team, led by coach Miller and coach Doerfler, is poised to have an excellent season this year thanks in part to returning states qualifiers James Jiang and Huibo Guan. “[Swimming’s] great. We had a late start due to the girl’s sectionals,” said freshman Aniruddha Nrusimha. Their first meet is on December 3rd at Cleveland Hill High School. The Indoor Track team, lead by health teacher Mr. Townsend, will have their first meet on Friday, December 6th at Lancaster, and the Bowling team will have their first meet against Maryvale on December 2nd. The girls Hockey team will have their first game against Amherst at the Northtown center on November 21st, and the boys Basketball team will have their first game at Daemen College on December 4th against Oracle Charter High School; however, their first scrimmage is an away match against Clarence along with their JV team. Girls Varsity Basketball will have their first game at home against Iroquois on December 5th. The first boys wrestling match was on November 15th, but you can come and cheer them on a their second match on December 4th at home against Starpoint. If you have a chance, come to these games and support our athletes! Become a part of the Sea of Red and show your school spirit!
“It will be interesting to see what this new segment of sports will hold for East,” said sophomore (and East Side sports editor) Claire Kim.
