PRIDE ATHLETIC ROUNDUP

Winter Sports at Trinity-Pawling School

WINTER SPORTS WRAP-UP

Wrestling

Devon Diaco ’22 won New Englands — defeating the wrestler who beat him in the Western New England finals a week before in double OT — and was voted by coaches as the Most Outstanding Wrestler. This is the first Most Outstanding Wrestler at New England’s for Trinity-Pawling since Kyle Palmer in 2009. Congratulations to Devon Diaco! Kyle Lee ’22 also placed 5th in the New England tournament. Both Kyle and Devon also qualified for the National Prep Tournament. Kyle went 2-2 and Devon went 3-2. Both fell short of All-American placing but wrestled well throughout the tournament.

Varsity Basketball

The varsity basketball team finished the season 10-6 in Class A competition, and 12-9 overall. Captains Nzube Mekkam ’22 (12.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and DeAndre Williams ’23 (16.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.5 apg) led the team through exciting home wins, challenging losses on the road, and an excellent showing despite falling to St. Sebastian’s in Needham, MA in the conference quarterfinals. Postgraduates Austin Williams and Sean Conroy contributed with consistent scoring and strong defense, bolstered by the rim defense of Mikkel Cintron ’22 who was the team’s blocks leader. The Pride also saw contributions from Bryan Lee ’23, Amadin Collete-Ighele ’23, Justin Umunakwe ’23, and future big-man Vincent Chaudhri ’25. The success of Coach Tarik Smith’s first year at the helm proved exciting for the School community, as they look towards returning stars and a ride to the playoffs once again.

JV Basketball

The Trinity-Pawling JV basketball team completed a very successful season. Despite injuries and illnesses, the team ended with a 10-4 record. The Pride played with a focus on effort and defense throughout the season, and many of their wins came from pressure defense. Captains Matt Yamin ’22 and Garrett Backus ’23 showed leadership and skill throughout the season. Freshmen Jace Emerson, Gianni Fidanza, and Ryan Bellamy all made significant contributions throughout the season.

Varsity Hockey

The Pride finished the season with a record of 8-16-1. There were many key victories for the Pride this season over highly competitive teams. Growing pains were a key reason for some of the struggles this year, as 20 out of the 26 players were new to prep hockey. The Pride will only graduate six players this May, so the team looks to build off this season with heavy contributors to the prep scene next year. The Pride found its stride in the middle of the season, downing St. Paul’s School to close out the 2021 calendar year. The Pride earned some key victories over challenging teams in the next stretch — defeating Kent, Lawrenceville, The Frederick Gunn School, and Hoosac. Down the final stretch of the season, the team played 8 games in 16 days. The final week of hockey for Trinity-Pawling saw big wins over Taft on the road, and Hotchkiss at home: an exciting 8-4 victory in a charity game honoring Chris Tschupp ’90, who is battling ALS. The lineup for the Pride saw many contribute to the score sheet, which looks promising for the years ahead. Seniors Dario Cantini (G), Michael Santonelli (D – 8 points), Gavin Bloder (F – 23 points), Justin Bello (F – 4 points), Captain Adam Franasiak (F – 2 points), and Captain Ryan Walker (F – 20 points) will be missed.

JV Hockey

The JV hockey team concluded their season with a six-game winning streak to finish 9-3-1. As with all good hockey teams, success begins in the net where PJ Angotti ’24 and Marcelo Saviano ’24 split the duties. The two were quiet leaders and stout netminders, whose calm and consistent play anchored a talented defense. The defense was led by Michael Blaymires ’22 and Avery Ferraris ’24 who logged many minutes of even play while anchoring the man up and man down units. The Pride allowed over four goals only twice in thirteen games. Offensively, the Pride was led by Joe Porto ’22 and Milan Kumenah ’23, who were regular scorers and playmakers.

Varsity Squash

The top player for varsity squash was Jesus Fierro ’24 who played No. 1 all year. While he only won 2 matches, he played against some of the top players in New England tournament. Other notable players were Shun Shiraishi ’23, who won 2 matches as he advanced from No. 5 to No. 3 over the course of the year, and Francisco Bendezu ’22 who also won 2 matches, including the last match of his Trinity-Pawling career against Millbrook to end with a great statement. The squash team ended with a 1-14 record. At the New England tournament, the team was presented with the Sportsmanship Award, Congratulations gentlemen!

JV Squash

Peter Link ’22 and Nick Gimbel ’23 did a great job at the top of the JV ladder. Carson Sibilio ’23 was an awesome flex contributor who played anywhere from the No. 1 to the No. 4 for the Pride, and Brayden Lahey ’24 also showed a lot of improvement.

PRIDE ATHLETES TRAVEL TO FLORIDA

Varsity Lacrosse

The Trinity-Pawling varsity lacrosse team landed on the Gulf Shore over Spring Break this month for a game against collegiate players at the University of Tampa. The boys had a great first game — they dropped the scrimmage 11-10, yet experienced some great learning moments along the way. Upon returning home, the team played Noble and Greenough School and showed their plans to dominate in New England this spring. Up 3-0 in the first quarter, the Pride extended their lead to 6-3 at halftime and won by a 13-7 final score. The defense played a great four quarters and the Pride saw goals from returning offensive stars Tucker Kellogg ’23, Brayden Lahey ’24, and PG Jake Likes ’22. The boys look forward to a slate of games against rugged Founders League competition.

Varsity Baseball

The varsity baseball team also went south this month for a set of games and some outdoor practice. In the first game, the Pride handled John Carroll High School 17-2. Peter Link ’23 led the offense with 2 hits and reached base safely 4 times. Against Elev8 Academy, captain Nick Vega ’22 was 2 for 3 with two hard-hit balls, but the Pride lost 12-3. In a 7-6 win against The Hun School, Ryan Lorenzo ’22 reached base safely in all three at-bats in the leadoff spot, while also adding 2 innings of quality relief to earn the victory on the mound. Liam Haywood ’23 chipped in from the plate with 2 hits and 2 RBIs in the tight win. The Pride opens the regular season on March 30 against The Frederick Gunn School.