Fall teams succeed with limited fan support
WHS golf team
October 12, 2022
Fall sports that receive a lot of attention, such as football and soccer, have started their seasons with big games and big crowds. Other sports with less student recognition are also hoping to have a great fall. Specifically, the golf, crew, and volleyball teams are all looking to make their mark this season.
The crew team actually starts their season in the spring and finishes in the fall. The team, which is a combination of both Weston and Wayland students, doesn’t get as much attention or as many cheering fans, in part due to the nature of the team.
“We’re a co-op with Wayland, we’re off site, and there’s only three or four regattas during the year, which are a far distance away,” said Michael McGrath, WHS athletic director. “It’s hard to get the student body to those events so [the team] doesn’t get the same publicity.”
Despite the lack of students at their races, the crew team has always been fairly successful. They competed in the fall state championships last year as their final competition of the season. The women’s eights (eight-person boats) competed in two races and won them both. On the boys side, the eights finished third behind Brookline and Duxbury, and in general many athletes have had significant success as part of the team.
“We have had multiple boats win gold at Nationals, countless athletes recruited to D1 colleges, and even some Olympians arise from our team,” Weston junior and team captain Siena Flanigon said.
Even with past achievements, the rowing team still remains motivated to continue their success this year.
“We are excited to row in the Head of the Charles again this fall, and our team hopes to send multiple boats to nationals again this Spring,” said Flanigon.
Also starting in the fall is Weston’s golf team. The golf team has performed well in the past nineteen years that their current coach, Mary O’Brien, has led the team.
“This team has made sectional and states every year,” said O’Brien. “They’re probably one of the only teams in division three that have done that.”
Even with their success, the golf team fell short last year in the state championships. Six student athletes are brought to the championship, and each player plays a round of golf. The top four scores for each team are the ones that are counted. When the four final scores for each team were counted, Weston tied with Dover-Sherborn. Weston ended up losing to Dover-Sherborn in a tie breaker because the tie breaker is determined by the fifth best scorer for each team. Even with last year’s loss, the team is not in low spirits for this season.
“I had the six players who played in the tournament meet with me so we could have a debrief,“ said O’Brien. “They came into this season with a very positive attitude and high hopes for the outcome of this season.”
Finally the school’s volleyball team, looks to build off a season in which they were seeded number fourteen in division four volleyball. Despite being a small school, the Weston volleyball team always competes well against bigger schools.
“There’s a lot more students interested in volleyball in those [larger] schools compared to here, but our kids hold their own and really work hard to be successful,” said McGrath.
Last year varsity girls volleyball made it to the second round of the state tournament, and they hope to build off the momentum from last fall and continue that level of play again this season.
“We’re doing a really good job so far, ‘’ said varsity player Joss Kaden. “We need to stay focused on doing our best.”
While these sports don’t draw the crowds a football game does, this is often due to circumstances that have nothing to do with how impressive the team is playing. Golf, despite their many years of success, faces just such limits to fan attendance.
“You’re not going to get your kids going to a golf match because there’s rules in place for [attendance at] the course,” said McGrath.
Nonetheless all of these teams look to continue their high level of play, and their players hope for support from the WHS community in whatever ways are possible.
