Turning up the heat! Winter snow and cold no match for Falcons' sizzling-hot sports efforts
- Rick Menning
- Mar 5
- 9 min read
By Rick Menning
NEW HAVEN, CT -- Record-shattering performances, skillful play and never-say-die moments, coming though in clutch situations, star-studded showings and high-stakes drama at crunch time.
Put all those elements together and it becomes the formula for a very exciting and memorable winter sports season at The Foote School.
Buzzer-beating victories in junior varsity boys' and girls' basketball, individual marks in swimming and all-around stellar play from all teams combined to make for quite a season to remember in the pool and on the court.
"What an incredible season we’ve had together," Falcons' Athletic Director Carrie Boyce noted in her post-season correspondence to coaches, parents and players. "...We’re building incredible things with each of our winter athletics teams and clubs, and I hope you feel proud and honored to build this together!"
Here are the summary reports/highlights from the coaches of their respective sports:
GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL
Success...with an exclamation point!
This varsity girls' squad made quite the statement during a very special season in which they equaled the wins from the past three years combined.
"This season was a true turning point for our team and program as a whole," Head Coach Carrie Boyce said. "This group worked hard from the opening practice to the very last game of the season."
Two memorable moments during the campaign on the hardwood included the girls playing their best in a seven-point loss to Hamden Hall; and defeating Country School 26-24 after having trailed 24-11 going into the fourth quarter.
"True tests of resilience and toughness this year, and this group rose to the challenge," Boyce said. "We didn’t back down or make excuses."
There was a solid balance to this year's group.
"Our ninth-graders, Isla and Avery, provided the right leadership, while Ellie and Izzy played eighth-grade leader roles," she continued. "Seventh-graders Violet, Greta, Annie and Cornelia were role players who were vitally important, and our new sixth-grade additions of Cat and Sophia gave us the spark of energy we needed to break through to the next level."
Boyce also sends out a huge thank you to girls' basketball parent and volunteer assistant coach Bryan Kelly.
"We learned a lot from you! Thank you for your dedication!"
Get Your Head In The Game Award: Catalina Perez.
Coaches Award: Ellie Sudmyer.
Team Roster: Violet Bradford, Annie Burwell, Darcy Driver, Avery Earnshaw, Greta Kelly, Isla Kelly, Izzy Pakutka, Catalina Perez, Cornelia Piasecki, Ellie Sudmyer, Sophia Villacis. The coaches are Carrie Boyce and Ross Holzschuh.
Coed Swimming
From achieving new heights in the pool to making a solid splash toward future success with workmanlike practices, The Foote School swimmers once again powered ahead and made waves with their effort and perseverance.
The Falcons won three of their five meets, but even more noteworthy was the all-around performance of Simon Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, an eighth-grade standout, set three new school records in the 50-meter breaststroke, 50-meter butterfly and 100-meter individual medley.
"The real winning was done at practice, as some swimmers worked hard on building new skills while others sharpened their already excellent skills," noted Assistant Coach Jimmy McCaffrey.
Tough Duck Award (co-winners): Layla Colon, Scout Lee, Megan Bradford.
F.I.S.H. Award (co-winners): Simon Rodriguez, Alexandra Ipek, Ruthie Myers, Mara Solas-Gandhi.
Coaches Award: Eloise Dickson.
Team Roster: Tovah Berkowitz, Arden Boms, Anna Boyd, Megan Bradford, Brayden Chen, Layla Colon, Alara Deniz, Eloise Dickson, Alexandra Ipek, Scout Lee, Ruthie Myers, Simon Rodriguez, Mara Solas-Gandhi, Cadel Tiernan, Leah Wilderman, Siena Wilhelm, Linnea Wittner. The coaches are Jenny Coniff, Jimmy McCaffrey and Pablo Devos Deak.
BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL
Back-to-back winning seasons that came about in vastly different ways.
One year ago, the Falcons' varsity boys' basketball team was successful because of talent up and down the bench. During the recently completed campaign, The Foote School hoopsters won because of chemistry and camaraderie.
"They had pure love for one another," Head Coach Evan Pasquale said. "After a game (that we lost) at Renbrook School, we had an hour-long bus ride home yet all of our players were laughing and smiling and cracking jokes the entire way."
The team also overcame adversity on one particular afternoon during this season.
After witnessing an injury to a teammate, the Falcons' players were determined to win the game for him.
For Pasquale, the traits the boys showed began in the practice sessions that actually started in late November, well before the actual start of the season.
"The boys bought into (the game plan) and continued to build on the preparation," he said. "That actually began all the way back when they were on junior varsity last year."
The grand finale to this season came in the closing moments of the last game against Hamden Hall.
Hatim Elarabi, who plays with heart but as Pasquale stated is not one of the team's offensive weapons, brought his teammates to their feet as he hit a 3-pointer for Foote's last basket of the season. He was mobbed and hugged on the court.
Triple Threat Award: Yoobin Perry.
Glue Guy Award (co-winners): Hatim Elarabi and Noah Fisher.
Team Roster: Hatim Elarabi, James Elliott, Noah Fisher, Eli Gruntzendler, Emerson Lasater, Carter Liston, Sion Lopez, Matty Matouk, Yoobin Perry, Atticus Roche. The coaches are Evan Pasquale and Bob Vignola.
GIRLS JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL
There's an expression in sports that it's not how you start but how you finish a season.
With this group of girls who were mostly new to basketball, that statement is not entirely accurate as two great wins at the beginning and a fantastic ending via a dramatic comeback win in their final game made it a heartwarming campaign.
With just under seven seconds remaining in the Falcons' home finale showdown against The Country School, seventh-grader Charlotte Martinez hit a decisive free throw to clinch a 13-12 victory. The Foote hoopsters opened the season with a pair of Ws over Ezra Academy and St. Thomas.
The celebration after that last game against Country, with all the junior varsity girls running out on the court and hugging each other, is something that will not soon be forgotten.
This was a team that played hard in all four quarters of every game, and there is great pride in their steady rise in fundamental skills.
The future of girls' basketball at The Foote School is bright, and the 2025-26 junior varsity squad will always remember that thrilling outcome in the last game and carry that into their future basketball play.
With the three seventh-grade captains -- Charlotte Martinez, Maddy Normandin and Avery Weiss -- supporting the sixth-grade group with continual encouragement, there were plenty of smiles, excitement and fun this season.
Swish Award (Team Vote Winner): Avery Weiss.
Swish Award (Team Vote Runner-Up): Charlotte Martinez.
Coaches Award (7th Grade): Maddy Normandin.
Coaches Award (6th Grade): Rowan Botelho.
Team Roster: Sukhi Bindra, Rowan Botelho, Ava Chan, Clara Ederer-Kerr, Jane Ehrlich, Elena Garces-Marques, Maddie Hay, Elise Hsu, Charlotte Martinez, Indra Noble, Maddy Normandin, Nina Rodriquez-Dhir, Eliza Warek, Avery Weiss. The coach is Rick Menning.
BOYS JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL
Quick learners who don't give up.
A perfect description of this season's boys' junior varsity basketball team.
Despite being new to organized basketball, the inexperience factor did not last long as Head Coach Kossouth Bradford's ballers quickly picked up the pace after a tough start in their very first game.
Limited to only two points in the first half against a varsity-level opponent, the JV Falcons clicked on offense over the last two quarters with a 24-point showing. While that effort following the intermission didn't result in a win, those wearing the maroon and gray uniforms learned what it means to be a competitive structured unit.
"We kept the momentum from that second half throughout the season," Bradford said. "With each successive game, the players became more confident with their skills and more comfortable running offensive plays. The growth and progress they continuously made throughout the season was exciting to witness."
Being new to the game, the players received a lot of instruction and feedback during practices and games. Their ability to maturely receive the observations from the coaching staff and execute them in the games became more advanced as the season progressed.
This progress wasn't just in skill acquisition, but also in how to be supportive teammates. The camaraderie and team spirit they exuded, grounded the team through the ups and downs of the season.
Bradford was especially pleased with how the JV boys played in their own gym.
"This team seemed to really respond to the home crowd. Our best and most exciting games occurred on our home court," he stated.
One of those games was highlighted literally an incredible last-second win as Quincy Jones was fouled outside the three-point line and hit the game-deciding free throw with 0.3 seconds left.
He made his first two shots and then launched a ball off the rim so that the final fraction of a second could run off the clock and achieve the victory.
The crowd went wild even before the final buzzer since there was no way the visitors could inbound the ball and launch a shot with that amount of time remaining.
The game was evenly matched from the outset, and both teams were playing great basketball both offensively and defensively. This game was a microcosm of the back-and-forth, exciting play that epitomized the JV boys' season.
Titanium Falcon Award: Graham Dickson.
Team Roster: Tomas Castro, Cyrus Charles, David Crump, Graham Dickson, Aran Esmailpour, Kieran Hagen, Gabriel Jones, Quincy Jones, Colin Keung, Christopher McCray, Alonso Talavera. The coach is Kassouth Bradford.
SQUASH
This year, The Foote School squash team welcomed five new players who had never played the game before.
Despite this being their first time on a squash court, their adaptation skills and athleticism said otherwise.
"Overall, our season was amazing and full of great fun," Head Coach Maury Escalona said. "Our returning players made our new players feel welcomed and this in turn helped create an amazing atmosphere.
The squad's biggest challenges were playing teams that were physically stronger. Despite that, however, the motivation and grit displayed by the team was admirable. Each player coaching each other between games and cheering from outside the glass was what made the team special.
"We took our losses the same way we celebrated our wins," Escalona continued. "I think the best moment for me was when I would hop on court with them, do some feeding/drills and really help them build a better technique."
The athletes were willing to learn and made that very clear in their matches. To see that from the outside was special and I’ll forever remember those moments.
The makeup of the team was centered around beginners with backgrounds of playing tennis. They adapted to squash in many ways, including being able to hit a one-handed backhand, serving without bouncing the ball, learning the patterns, game tactics and rules of the game and all-around technique.
"The game of squash requires attention to the littlest of details, and for them to almost perfect it in their first couple of months playing is super cool," Escalona concluded.
Boaster Award: Rae Shaw.
Coaches Award: Tristan Shahid.
Team Roster: Mateo Caliendo, Pablo Cruz, Anika Deshpande, Ellen Ferguson, Rohan Ketwaroo, Caroline Matouk, Rudra Patel, Charles Schwartz, Tristan Shahid, Rae Shaw, Petra Teng. The coach is Maury Escalona.
ROCK CLIMBING
While there are no wins or losses, and no scoreboard to keep track of the challenges, the sport of rock climbing continues to be a popular alternative to the more traditional winter sports at The Foote School.
Indoor rock climbing involves moving up a steep wall using a series of climbing holds. Each climbing route is a puzzle waiting to be unlocked.
The athletes have to use their problem-solving skills to figure out how to move their bodies from one climbing hold to the next to reach the top. This figuring-out process can develop analytic skills as well as their planning and decision-making skills.
For Jessica Murphy, who coaches the team along with Kristie Guevremont, it was all about the interaction with the rock climbers.
"I would have to say that the highlight for me was getting to know some of the middle schoolers," Murphy said. "Being a newer lower-school teacher at Foote, I have not had the opportunity to teach. I also would say it was wonderful to see them take on the challenges of rock climbing especially when there are new challenges weekly."
Project Crusher Award: Mateo Cruz.
.
Team Roster: Lea Antonello, Mateo Cruz, Clio Ditner-Tiven, Matthew El Fahkri, Io Hawkins, Bodhi Henley-Cohn, Maryam Nguyen, Ben Normandin, Eleazar Parra, Matt Sweet, Keda Tan, Alexander Teng, Vivian Vytlacil. The coaches are Jessica Murphy and Kristie Guevremont.
Comments