This year, the St. Edward sports teams emerged victorious from the fall season. From football to golf, many accomplishments were made, and obstacles were passed.
Golf
The St. Edward Golf team had a triumphant season with many achievements and victories. Head coach, Gordan Brown, lead the team to these accomplishments, with the help and the leadership of Evan Sperling, ‘24, and Nick Lombardo, ‘25. Evan Sperling has guided the team while golfing at St. Edward. “I’ve helped build this golf program since I joined the team my freshman year. I hope it continues to thrive and the young kids on the team go on to do bigger and better things.” The team’s overall statistics were 9-4. At Conference, the golf team finished in 4th with a score of 3-3, but this wasn’t their only accomplishment while at Conference. Nick Lombardo was the #1 golfer in the Conference and Evan Sperling was the 6th. When asked about how the season went, Coach Brown said, “The season went well. Everyone had fun, and every golfer improved.” The team not only made many achievements, but they also had fun and bonded with each other. William Foley, ’26, says, “My favorite memory of the season would be making new friends and staying in touch with old ones.” The St. Edward golf team had an eventful season, from making memories to improving their skills.
Cheer
The Green Wave cheerleaders had a successful season, filled with many memories and accomplishments. Coaches Jordyn Stratman and Allison Ulmanis taught many new skills to the cheer team, which strengthened the team. Coach Jordyn reflects on the season by saying, “Football season was a lot of fun, and the girls worked very hard. A lot of the girls had to learn new skills this year, and everyone on the team was doing high level stunts by the time Homecoming came.” This year, the cheerleaders preformed an ’80s-themed routine for Homecoming. The team preformed a Barbie-themed routine on senior night to honor their beloved senior, Lucy Foy, ’24. When asked about her opinion on the cheer season, team captain Lucy said, “I loved that I could spend my last football season with such amazing girls. We had such a good season and I feel like we bonded so much.” Even though they weren’t victorious by the books, their season was filled with a different kind of success. The cheerleaders formed a bond with each other that is stronger than no other. Katie Shannon, ’25, says, “Football season is super fun, and the best part is getting ready for the games when all the cheerleaders are together and bonding.” They cheered on the team at most games, encouraging the football players to keep their morale up. Their dedication helped motivate the football team to work even harder to try and achieve victory.
Football
Tom Brady once said, “Football is so much about mental toughness, it’s digging deep, and it’s doing whatever you need to do to help a team win.” The 2023 Green Wave football team epitomized toughness and dug so deep that they could almost see China. “I was proud of the perseverance and fight our team showed this season,” stated Coach Shane. “That being said, there is a renewed commitment to excellence that requires a lot of offseason work and I look forward to seeing that process through helping the team get better every single day.” The process involved long grueling practices and a schedule against many schools three times the size of St. Edward. The competition brought out the best of all of the those who wore green and gold. With many athletes having to play both sides of the ball, the players thrived against all odds. Team captains Dominick Nemec, Nolan Pomeroy, and Jack Wright worked hard this season. They were not only vocal leaders but also led by example through their athletic prowess. “If you want to be the best, you got to practice like you’re the second best,” stated Luciano Mauro, ’26. The tough competition brought out the most in the Green Wave while they improved by leaps and bounds by the end of the season. “We left the team in a good direction, put the underclassmen in the right place to keep the team moving positively” stated Drew Walker, ’24. Even though the Green Wave found it difficult to get in the win column, their perseverance and fortitude definitely built a foundation for a promising future.
Cross Country
This year, the St. Edward Cross Country team had a great season, despite their small numbers. Head Coach Jennifer Davis lead the team to victory with the help of Assistant Coach Emily Wagh. This was Coach Davis’s first year of coaching Cross Country at St. Edward, but she has had extensive experience from coaching other teams. She reflects on this season when she said, “I was hopeful to have a bigger team, but the quality of the athletes, effort and team chemistry could not be topped. I was impressed with the improvement that every athlete exhibited and particularly liked seeing the team come together as teammates and friends.” Team captain and only senior Evan Wagh, ’26, motivated the cross country team to push them to do their best. The advice he gives to younger runners is simple, yet impactful. His is advice is, “Don’t think too much; just run.” The runners each improved greatly as individuals this season. Jayden De La Torre, ’27, took over 4 minutes off of his 3-mile race time since the start of the season. “Being my first year of Cross Country, I didn’t really know what to expect. However, I do feel as though the season was very challenging and overall productive. It truly was an amazing experience for me especially considering that I had never done anything of the sort.” Sophie Holland, ’26, qualified for sectionals and achieved a season personal record of 23:25 for 3 miles at sectionals. Evan Wagh achieved his season personal record with a time of 22:12 for 3 miles. Even though the Cross Country team is small, they still had a great season with many improvements, memories, and achievements.
Volleyball
This year’s St. Edward Volleyball season was one to remember. Head Coach Dawn Gross and Assistant Coaches Mallory Gross and Felicita Buono helped lead this team to many victories. Captains Caitlyn Madsen, ’24, Morgan Lutzow, ’24, and Samantha Pogorzelski ’26 helped motivate their team and gave many inspirational speeches to try and cheer up their team. Overall, their overall statistics of the season were close with 15 wins, 17 losses, and 3 conference losses. At the regional match, the team played well together, yet victory was just out of their grasp. Even though they lost, they appreciated the relationships that were strengthened by this defeat. “Going into this year’s volleyball season, I knew this new conference would be challenging,” said Coach Dawn Gross. “I am so proud of how hard this team worked together and persevered. This year seniors hold a special place in my heart and will be missed. Thank you for all your hard work and for being incredible role models.” Alaina Nolan, ’26 reflected, “It was so fun getting to know the girls and playing with the seniors one last time.” Senior Caitlyn Madsen, ’24, summed up the season by saying, “Going into the season I was confident in our new group of girls because of our strong connection on and off the court, I will miss this season and I’m proud of all the hard work we put in.” The St. Edward volleyball team had many victories, on and off the court. They worked hard and strengthened their relationship with each other and look forward to next season.
Soccer
The St. Edward Boys soccer team had an eventful and successful season. Coach Brieger led the team to many victories over the course of the season. The team had a total of 6 losses and 4 wins this year, yet some of the games were very close. One of the most notable games they had was when they made a legendary comeback against Marian Central, when they were down by 4 points with sixteen minutes remaining. Some big wins that the team had were the games against Bishop McNamara and Manteno, where they won both games in overtime. Even though the team lost in the eighth round of the shootout, this was still an immense accomplishment. The majority of the team was underclassmen, so the season was mostly a learning process for the new players. When asked about what he is looking forward to next season, Coach Brieger said, “Watching the younger lads grow. We got so much experience for the young guys that they will return as seasoned vets next year. We can only go up from here!” Benjamin Aguirre, ’26, reflects on the season, “My favorite memory during the soccer season is when I scored my first goal giving us the lead against the opposing team. As a freshman on a high school varsity team, it was definitely an unexpected and intense season but as a team we got through lots of hardships and prevailed.” Senior Anthony Tabares, ’24, reflects on his time on the soccer team, “What I’m going to miss the most is playing with my team and all the memories we made.” This season was not only monumental, but also successful in strengthening the bonds between the players.
Each team had many accomplishments throughout the season. They were all very successful in many different ways. The teams strengthened their relationships and improved their skills. St. Edward is proud of each of these teams and their success this season. We hope the winter sports teams are just as successful as this season and we are wishing them luck!
Scarlet Enright, Mariana Hernandez, Sophie Holland, Denise Ibarra, Courtney Kaye, and Samantha Pogorzelski all contributed collected information to this article.
