WHS’s winter sports teams had standout seasons last year, marked by impressive achievements and strong teamwork. The winter athletes are eager to carry lessons of resilience and triumph into this year, aiming for even greater accomplishments and inspiring each other along the way. 

   Teamwork and unity created a great environment for success and should again provide the foundation for a strong record by the season’s end.

   “I think the swim team, and especially the G.L.O.W.S., has really good chemistry, in which we one hundred percent support each other throughout every race,” said senior Nola Dickie. 

   The girls swim team’s strong season came to an end last winter in the Boston University pool where they were crowned state champions in their division. The boys swim team also won the state championship for their second season in a row.

   “Team chemistry is an enormous part of why the WHS [boys] swim team is so successful,” said senior Nate Whitworth. “As a three-sport athlete, I can definitely say that of all the teams I am on, the swim team has probably the closest and most unique relationship, and part of that is because of the nature of the sport.”

   The new season brings new teammates; whether they are freshman or students trying a new sport, swimmers hope to place an emphasis on inclusion and acceptance as a recipe for a successful team.

   “I plan to foster a team that is all about support, love, and community because I think that all leads to our greatest success,” said Dickie.

   Upperclassmen swimmers cultivate an environment for all swimmers to feel included.   

   “I always try to include younger teammates in team events like going out to eat and watching a team movie over break,” Whitworth said. “Like last year, I plan to make this available to as many younger swimmers as possible by offering rides to and from.” 

   While the swim team showed that they are a strong part of WHS, the indoor track team also raced their way through the season, led by strong runners who took home bronze at the state championship. Members of the team moved steadily toward this success all season and used their challenges and hardships to their advantage. 

   “I’ve learned that my best times often don’t come early in the season because the body just can’t perform at its best year round,” said junior Solana Varela. “And I will just come into this year knowing that my best times will come later in the season, and that I shouldn’t be disappointed at the start of the season.” 

   In a sport like track, a lot of training is required to run well for the entire season, so many runners hope to balance that preparation with the actual meets.

   “We are hoping to train more and race less as we raced a ton last season, meaning that we couldn’t get as much training in,” said Varela. 

   The team hopes that these changes will enable them to have another chance at the state championship this year. 

   Another sport that has been a staple in Massachusetts sports for a very long time is hockey, and the Weston-Dover-Sherborn boys hockey team has taken its place in this history by becoming state champions in the 2023 season. They used key strategies in order to succeed on the ice.

   “We did a lot of video review of games and studied what we did well and sometimes not as well as we would have liked,” said junior and goalie Will Goldstein.

   The hockey team competed in the state championship game at the TD Garden in Boston, where they defeated Hanover 5-1 and celebrated their big win. 

   Every year brings change to these teams, however, as seniors graduate and new players join the team.

   “We had three senior goalies last year, so I knew that playing time would be a challenge [for me],” said Goldstein. “I dedicated myself to having a great attitude, working hard at practice and really focusing on technical goaltending skills.”

   Being a team with players drawn from two different schools can make it more difficult for players to connect, but last season the hockey team proved that they have overcome that challenge.

   “It was great to see the friendships and camaraderie between all of the players,” said Goldstein.    

   Winter should again be an exciting time in Weston given the strong winter sports teams throughout the school.