Celebrations have erupted surrounding sports during the fall season at LFA, as we’ve seen talented wins, shattered records, and loads of skill all throughout our campus. Based on the impressive teamwork and dedication shown, this fall was one to remember for many sports teams. While LFA sports transfer to the winter season, LFA expects to see a lot more success, fostering the school’s sports excellence.
As the school year is beginning, many of us prepare ourselves to watch an exciting and skillful Prep Hockey team. Every year, the team finds a new group of talented players and builds a connected group of competitors. It’s never easy to play alongside an unfamiliar group of people, yet, Prep Hockey got off to a quick start and won their first tournament just weeks into the season. They made the journey to St. Catherines Ontario, and took down several teams before winning the championship in overtime against Upper Canada College.
Evan Stastny ‘24, a captain for this year’s Prep Hockey team stated, “Winning the first tournament helped the team morale go up, and set the tone for what kind of season they were heading towards.” It served as a precedent for how the season would continue, since success is on the team’s mind. Not only that, but finding success to start the year brought the team closer together and developed several profound friendships that would live on this year and beyond. It is always an accomplishment to win a championship, or even a game, yet to do both to start the year is incredible and is not to be overlooked.
A team that doesn’t have as much of a following is the LFA Varsity Boys Golf team. Although accomplishments have been apparent in the past, this year saw several new milestones. The golf team went undefeated in conference play (6-0) and had impressive wins against high school powerhouses like Warren Township, Vernon Hills, Deerfield and finished out the season with a tight win against Carmel Catholic. This season was one to remember for Boys Golf as the success on paper was sweet, but this was a team with much depth of skill at the Varsity level. Out of the nine members that played for Varsity, all nine had their scores count for at least one of the matches.This is significant because in the golf matches against other schools, only the top four scores of the day are counted, so to have nine guys’ scores count throughout the season was a big accomplishment. Fitz Knight ‘27, the only freshman on this year’s team, said in relation to the success of the year, “Some of our factors were our teamwork and our strength in numbers.
Coach Wetherbee stated, “It shows our team was great when of all nine guys who played varsit–all of them had a score count.” This team capped off an impressive display of a year by winning the ISL Championship, beating Chicago Lab School by seven shots, with four out of the six LFA players in the top 10 and all six being within the top 15 out of 40 participants. Achieving second place at the tournament and being the top LFA scorer, Knight described what the accomplishment of this title meant to him, saying, “This season to me was very thrilling as it was my first year at LFA, and it was an honor to play with my Varsity teammates. I look forward to hopefully repeating as ISL champion and our continued success for my next three seasons.” Plus, with only three seniors this season, there is a great deal of hope that the success will continue into the years to come.
Another impressive feat that took place was earlier this season, Tuana Turhan ‘24 set a new record of 59.55 seconds in the 100 M butterfly. In talking about breaking records, Turhan said, “Breaking a record means a lot to me in swimming because it makes me feel like I contributed to LFA’s athletic accomplishments.” Turhan is one of the top swimmers at LFA and was a big part of the ISL title the girls’ team won last year. When asked about what was going through her head at that moment, she said, “I try to stay in the moment and give all my focus to the event I’m doing when I swim.” Turhan also reflected on the importance of honing the mental side of swimming just as much as the physical aspect. As for what advice she’d give to other athletes, she stated, “My advice would be to train hard and have fun when you do it. Records are meant to be broken, so never lose hope.” This has been crucial to her and her athletic success, and she recommends this mindset for others as well. This LFA fall sports season has been a magnificent trip full of triumphant moments, teamwork, and record-breaking accomplishments. Our sports teams’ commitment and teamwork have produced a season that will live on in the memory of everyone who saw it. The fire of athletic accomplishment at LFA continues to burn brightly as we enter the winter sports season. The fall season has left an indelible mark on our campus, with numerous incredible moments and new names adorning record boards and trophies. The next wave of LFA athletes will definitely be motivated by the history of commitment, teamwork, and excellence, and ensure that the tradition of sportsmanship and success endures in our school’s athletic community.
