2024 Spring Sports Overview

As we near the end of the school year, the 2024 spring sports season is also coming to a close. Here are the highlights from the season so far. 

Baseball—Head Coach John Pryme `11: Overall, it has been a great year for the baseball program. We came into the season with higher expectations, as we have been improving immensely over the past couple of years. Not only measuring our success by wins and losses but also by the improvements that we have been making as a team. Our team has shown perseverance and tenacity from the beginning, which has carried them throughout the season thus far.

We started the year strong at 3-2, and we really felt good about the direction that we were headed. But as you may know, baseball has a way of humbling you. We then lost five games in a row, which wasn’t easy medicine to take, and the team had a big choice. Which team did we want to be? Our team answered that question by winning the last three of four games, with one of those wins being against a team that hadn’t lost all year.

Although there is still work to be done, we still have four games to go, and the players have proven themselves to be more than capable and willing to put in the work. It’s a great feeling to have 6 wins under our belt so far, and we hope to keep building and finish the season strong!

Golf—Head Coach Glen Richards `85: Wayland Golf is back! With eight students participating in this season, Wayland Golf has played some of the finest courses in Central Wisconsin. The team, led by sophomore Hyunjae 'Jay' Cho, hosted our first home match this week at Columbus Country Club. As we prepare for our conference championship this week, we are also looking forward to next year.

Lacrosse—Head Coach Rob MacLellan: The lacrosse team has been battling all season. This year, we have been competitive in all our games and are growing in skill and knowledge of the sport as a team. We have made tremendous strides as a program and look to end the season on a high note. 

Rowing—Head Coach Seth Ahlborn: Rowing hosted our first-ever scrimmage on Beaver Dam Lake Parents Weekend. Our friends from Camp Randall RC in Madison and Crystal Lake, IL, came up for a morning of sprint racing. The wind has made it difficult to row daily. However, our land training and fitness gains greatly support our skill development.  In retrospect, during our very first club season in spring 2022, we first got on the water on April 28. We have been on the water a month longer this year, and our crews are learning more quickly each year.  Huge kudos to our senior experienced rowers who have paved the way for our progress!  We travel to Indianapolis and Detroit with select crews as our final regattas this year and look forward to many returning rowers for our fall distance season.

Girls Soccer—Head Coach Matt Smallish: Soccer is a process of fundamentals and principles that this young team is learning and working through. We are learning the ideas of shaping tactically defensively and making strides in the counterattack. We are working on the concept of first to the ball, first touch, and timing. We are also learning how to be a team, lead as a team, and work together on and off the ball. The process must be trusted, and a lot is being learned for first-time players. We have put forth great efforts in all our games, yet it's a learning experience for everyone to understand how the individual works within the team. The process will grow leaps and bounds as we keep improving with the efforts being put in!

Softball—Head Coach Bryanna Michaletz `13: Softball season has been filled with immense growth, development, and positivity. Going into the season, the players were feeling a bit down since they hadn't won a game during the 2022-2023 season. My goal as a coach during the 2023-2024 season was to help them improve their skills, which would lead them to a win. Though we initially faced weather challenges, the players came ready to go. We improved our skills with each practice, tried new positions, and challenged ourselves as a team. Our returning players showed great leadership to the new players, most of whom had never played before! 

The softball team secured its first win of the season during a double-header against Lourdes! We fought hard and used our improved skills to get that win. 

Though the season is not over, the team continues to work hard and grow together. Softball is such a team sport, and the players have learned what this means after every game.

Boys Tennis—Head Coach Amy Pippenger P`23: The tennis team is having a fantastic spring season. We have won at least 40 individual tennis matches and still have two weeks left of our season. We have rung the Victory Bell after six of our last ten meets. This year, our JV team is larger than our varsity team, 15 and 10, respectively. We have been busy working on footwork, skill development, and mental toughness. Many players come in early to practice and stay at least an hour after to improve their skills. We have a dedicated team. There have been many weekends where players choose to come out to work on their groundstrokes, serves, and volleys.

We hosted the Capitol Conference tennis tournament on Saturday, May 11. Teams prefer to play at our site since we have an amazing fieldhouse and 12 courts to allow for a fast turnaround of match play. Another highlight this year was our second doubles team placing 2nd in an 8-team tournament where we were the only Division 2 team playing. Tennis only has two divisions in Wisconsin. It was an exciting day, and the boys earned medals for their hard work. Way to go, Wayland Tennis!

The tennis team has been blessed to have the assistance of a Wayland parent, Greg Schultz, and his son, Gregg `17. Gregg was a talented Wayland tennis player. The team is coached by Wayland parent and Parent Council Member Amy Pippenger, mother of Eli `20 and Hannah `23. Amy has over 18 years of head coaching experience to share with the Wayland tennis players.

Track and Field—Heach Coach James Cleary H`20, P`26: The boys’ and girls’ track and field teams are wrapping up excellent seasons. We finished 4^th and 5^th place in the divisional meet on Monday, May 6. At the Trailways Conference meet on Friday, May 10, the boy's team finished in 11th place, and the girl's team finished in 15th place. Notable performances at the Conference meet included:

• Osaya Sule `24: 2nd place, 100M Dash, 11.08 and 1st place, 200M Dash, 22.31
• Javan Hirwa `24: 2nd place, 400M Dash, 52.44
• Felix Meier `25: 3rd place, 1600M Run, 4:45.19
• Girls 4x100M Relay Team—Lucia Gil Sevilla `26, Ariel Battey, Lela Zafari, Victorious Ezeh `24: 3rd place, 53.67
• Lucía  Mc Guinness `24: 2nd place, Discus Throw, 107'7"

Our team has been led by outstanding performances from veterans Osaya Sule `24, Javan Hirwa `24, Felix Meier `25, Lucía  Mc Guinness `24, and Lucia Gil Sevilla `26, all of whom are elite within the Trailways Conference. After winning the 100M dash at sectionals yesterday (May 23), Osaya Sule `24 will advance to the state tournament on May 30.

This season, two senior-athletes broke a total of four school records. 

• Osayande Sule `24 broke the 100M dash record with a time of 10.74, breaking the record of 10.9 set by Adrian Dragu `92 in 1991 and matched by Kofi Sampong `06 in 2006. Osaya then broke the 400M dash record with a time of 51.64 at the Rio meet on May 16. He broke the 200M dash record with a time of 22.17 at the regional meet in Pardeevill on Monday, May 20. The 400M dash (51.95, set in 2004) and the 200M dash (22.28, set in 2003) records were originally set by Darren Cole, class of 2004 and 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee. 
• Lucia Mc Guinness `24 broke the discus record with a throw of 114'4" at the Randolph Relays on May 13. She broke a 23-year-old record set by alumna Tiffany Tropino Soriano, class of 2001. Lucia then broke her record with a throw of 115'7" at the regional meet in Pardeeville on Monday, May 20. 

If you missed the Spring Sports Awards, you can see photos and award winners online!