We’re proud of all our student athletes who gave it their all in the winter sports season! There were some notable standouts as well. The coed varsity wrestling team won the 2024 FSL Wrestling Championship and secured first place in the PAISAA Commonwealth Division! The seniors on the team are pictured below. In addition, two wrestlers, Ryan Tookes ’24 and Luke Holgate ’24, qualified for the 2024 National Prep Wrestling Tournament. This was Coach Jay Farrow‘s final season with the team and not only did his team give him a memorable one, but also he was given the National Prep Wrestling’s Coach of the Year Award. Congratulations to the team and to Coach Farrow! (Stay tuned to the next issue of the next Westonian Magazine for more on his storied career at Westtown.)

Meanwhile, the girls varsity basketball team continued their impressive streak of winning FSL and PAISAA State Championships! They went undefeated in the FSL season and won their fourth consecutive FSL title and third straight PAISAA State title. Jordan Palmer ’27 was named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Pennsylvania, and she was also invited to the 2024 USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Minicamp. We are proud of this tenacious team!

Additionally, the boys varsity swimming team secured third place in the FSL Championships! Congratulations also go to the six swimmers who advanced to swim in Easterns: Will Bradley ’25, Mae Conzemius ’25, Rose Cook ’28, Simon Kim ’27, Jacob Liu ’25, and Will Nangle ’24.

Many of our winter sport athletes were named to the Friends School League All-League Team First Team and Honorable Mentions. In fact, over the fall and winter seasons, Westtown School has had more athletes on the All-League First Team and Honorable Mentions than any other Friends School! Go ‘TOWN! We recognize these athletes:

All-League Team
Savannah Curry ’24 (Basketball)
Olivia Jones ’25 (Basketball)
Jessie Moses ’27(Basketball)
Jordyn Palmer ’27(Basketball)
Atlee Vanesko ’26 (Basketball)
Cam Wallace ’26 (Basketball)
Will Nangle ’24 (Swimming) 
Soren Clunk ’24 (Wrestling)
Sam Downing ’25 (Wrestling)
Luke Holgate ’24 (Wrestling)
Devin Swarthout ’24 (Wrestling)
Ryan Tookes ’24 (Wrestling)

Honorable Mention 
Jayden Kelsey ’25 (Basketball)
Malik Rasul ’24 (Basketball)
Felix Cardoso (Wrestling)
Evan Holgate (Wrestling)
Rose Cook ’28 (Swimming)

Congratulations also go to Waring Award winners Soren Clunk ’24 and Vianna Kanyamiheto-Watson ’25! The Waring Award recognizes athletes who “The Waring Award is given at the culmination of each sport season to the student athlete(s) who “have dedicated themselves day in and day out, in service of their school, teammates, and coaches.  This award is intended to lift up those who constantly strive for improvement, who persevere when things are tough, and who lift up those around them with their tireless effort and positive attitude.” 

There are many highlights from the spring season of athletics to lift up as the school year comes to a close!

• The girls varsity lacrosse team wins its first Quaker Cup Championship!
• Boys lacrosse advanced to the Friends School League (FSL) Finals. They had an impressive season, beating two nationally ranked-teams.
• The baseball team also advanced to the FSL Finals. Jack Ingino ’23  pitched a perfect game.
• The girls softball team advanced to the FSL Semi-Finals. Junior Lucia Sanchez pitched a perfect game! 
• Two school records were broken in track and field this year: Santi Benbow ’23 broke the record in the javelin throw, Ella Cook ’24 broke the record for the girls 800m! 

And, drumroll please…Westtown wins the 2023 Patterson Cup, earning it back from George School! The Patterson Cup is a yearlong athletic competition between Westtown and rival George School. 

In addition to team achievements, the following athletes garnered Friends Schools League recognition on the All-League Team: 

First Team Selection

• Santi Benbow ’23 (track)
• Jack Combs ’23 (lacrosse)
• Ella Cook ’24 (track)
• Taj Donald ’23 (baseball)
• Matt Hamill ’24 (lacrosse)
• Jack Ingino ’23 (baseball)
• Michelle Olak ’24 (track)
• Dylan Precious ’24 (golf)
• Lucia Sanchez ’24 (softball)
• Bella Swipes ’23 (lacrosse)
• Carl Wagner ’23 (baseball)

Honorable Mention

• Charlotte Anstine ’25 (golf)
• Jack Bartholomae ’26 (tennis)
• Arjun Gill ’24 (lacrosse)
• Sophie Jones ’25 (lacrosse)
• Delia Sanchez ’27 (softball)
• Noah Snyder ’24 (lacrosse)

The spring season Waring Award winners are: Jack Combs ’23, Avery Allison ’23, and Jack Ingino ’23. The Waring Award recognizes athletes who may not have titles and accolades, but who tirelessly strive for excellence, persevere through hardship, and elevate their teammates with their positive attitudes. It is for those who have devoted their hearts and souls to their teammates, their coaches, and their school.

Waring Award Recipients

Finally, we lift up the the recipients of the Most Valuable Athlete Awards (from left): Lucia Sanchez ’24 (softball), Jack Combs ’23 (lacrosse), Michelle Olak ’24 (track and field), Ella Cook ’24 (track and field), Jack Ingino ’23 (baseball), Carl Wagner ’23 (baseball), and Santi Benbow ’23 (track and field).

Congratulations to all our student athletes for a great spring season! You can enjoy team photo galleries from the school year here. 

Girls Soccer
Congratulations to the girls varsity soccer team, Friends Schools League Champions! The team were also semi-finalists in the PAISAA State Tournament. We offer our congratulations as well to the Friends Schools League All-League honorees and Honorable Mentions (HM): Brianna Bartsch ’26, Olivia Bley ’24, Juliana Del Beato ’26, Lacey Jackson ’25, Berta Grohmann Llinares ’24, Camille Bley ’26 (HM), Lucy Smith ’26 (HM). Olivia Bley was also named an All-State and All Southeastern PA player! 

We celebrate the following student athletes who were named Friends Schools League (FSL) All-League players and Honorable Mention (HM) in their respective sports: 

Field Hockey

• Grace Malavolta ’25, Grace Rhile ’23, Zoe Malavolta ’23 (HM)

Boys Soccer

• Josiah Moore ’23, Carlos Salazar ’25, Tee Johnson ’23, Leo Salvucci ’24 (HM)

Cross Country

• Jamilla Derga ’24 and  Santi Benbow ’23

Girls Tennis

• Leah Stern ’23, Sasha Khalo ’24 (HM)

At the fall sports award ceremony, two students were given the Waring Award: Josiah Moore ’23 (soccer) and Mariana Ortiz ’24 (soccer).  The Waring Award is given at the culmination of each sport season to the student athlete(s) who have dedicated themselves day in and day out, in service of their school, teammates, and coaches.  This award is intended to lift up those who constantly strive for improvement, who persevere when things are tough, and who lift up those around them with their tireless effort and positive attitude.  This award is for those who never took a drill off, always received constructive feedback with a smile, and poured their heart and soul into their sport and their team.  The Waring Award is for those athletes who may not necessarily have the titles and the accolades but go out and grind for the love of the game.  The recipient(s) of this award are nominated by their coaching staff and selected by the athletic department. Congratulations, Josiah and Mariana! 

• Wrestling is back! After a hiatus due to COVID-19 our wrestlers took to the mats for the first time since 2020. The squad was young and inexperienced, but our numbers were substantial, and we filled every weight class with wrestlers to spare. 
• The swim teams had a record-breaking season, with our boys’ 200 medley relay team breaking the Westtown team and FSL record. The relay team is: Puddy Boonkongchuen ’22, Jack Nangle ’22, Tee Johnson ’23, and William Nangle ’24. The boys’ 200 freestyle relay team (made up of the same students) broke the Westtown record, and Paige Fisher set a new team 100 breaststroke record.
• In Indoor Track, Will Nagy ’23 continues to run circles around the competition literally and finished 12th in the Indoor State Championship meet at Penn State.
• For the first time in Westtown School’s history, both our girls’ and boys’ Basketball teams won both the FSL Championships and the PAISAA State Championships! Additionally, Dereck Lively II ’22 was named a McDonald’s All American and received the Morgan Wooten Player of the year award at the event. Kaylene Smikle ’22 and Dereck Lively II were named the Gatorade Players of the Year for Pennsylvania. This season also saw Kaylene Smikle, Quin Berger ’22, and Jameel Brown ’22 pass the 1000 career point milestone. Dereck Lively II passed the 1000 rebounds milestone for his career. Both teams and players gave us a memorable season. 

• Congratulations to the winter sports Waring Award winners: Olivia Wiggins ’22 (basketball), Christina Wilson ’22 (swimming), and Melanie Flynn ’22 (climbing)! The criteria for the award reads, in part: “The Waring Award is given at the culmination of each sports season to the student-athlete(s) who have dedicated themselves day in and day out, in service of their school, teammates, and coaches. This award is intended to lift up those who constantly strive for improvement, who persevere when things are tough, and who lift up those around them with their tireless effort and positive attitude.”

• 18 student-athletes were recognized as FSL All-League or Honorable Mentions this winter, more than any other FSL school! Congratulations to our athletes! You can view the complete list of All-League Athletes here. 

This was the best season yet for the fast-improving Westtown tennis program. For the first time in years, the team made the playoffs and lost 3-2 to the eventual winner GFS. More importantly this season, we saw incredible energy from all participants whether it be varsity, JV, development as well as the boys who joined in for the practices. We congratulate all the players for their growth, efforts, and success throughout the season. It’s been a truly gratifying year!
All-League: Alifa Teke ’24
Honorable Mention: Kapom Vettayawaikoon ’23

This team showed great strength in the Friends School League, coming in second in league competition before being edged out by Abington to place third in the league championships. In the PAISAA State Championship race at Belmont, the varsity finished in 9th on a tougher day for our team against strong competition. Many members of the team dedicated themselves to hundreds of miles of summer running, inspiring their teammates by arriving at preseason at a high level of fitness and ready to jump into speed work and perform at the top of their ability. From school record contenders to aspiring new runners and so many talented and dedicated runners in between, the team put in hours of hard work and supported each other like family throughout the season. 
All-League: Will Nagy ’22