The fall sports at Lick-Wilmerding High School include a range of offerings: Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country and Water Polo, Girls’ Volleyball, Field Hockey and Tennis, Co-Ed Flag Football and the informal Ultimate Frisbee.
LWHS Athletic Director and Flag Football Coach Eliot Smith described the uniqueness of fall sports. “It’s great to see kids participate. Everyone has this sense of spirit, [positive] attitude, togetherness, teamwork and culture. I especially love seeing freshmen — you get to see them cheering at the games, going to spirit games and even competing in sports at the Freshman and JV levels,” he said.
Fall sports at LWHS are based on community. They are one of the first aspects of LWHS student life that incoming freshmen experience, and provide a space for new members of the school community to make friends and cultivate connections with their peers of all grade levels.
photo courtesy of Vidigami
Cross Country regularly has the most participants of any fall sport. It is also one of the most successful sports at LWHS. In the 2021-2022 school year, both the Girls’ and Boys’ Varsity Cross Country teams won the North Coast Section Division 5 Championships. In the California Interscholastic Foundation (CIF) Division 5 Championships, the girls’ team placed second and the boys’ team placed first. Two LWHS alumni from the Class of 2022 are going on to continue their running careers at the collegiate level. The current captains on the boys’ side are Paul Finn ’23, Will Yu ’23, Bruno Kai Ong ’23 and Spencer Gibson ’23. “We make running fun,” Finn said. The captains on the girls’ side are Amelie Maltz ’23, Sofia Stein ’23 and Nora Choi ’24. Maltz led the girls’ team last year, and continues to dominate in races this year. “Girls’ Cross Country has an amazing environment of encouragement and determination, and I’m super excited to see how the season unfolds because we have some very promising freshmen this year,” Maltz said.
photo courtesy of Vidigami
LWHS fields a Varsity and JV team for both Boys’ and Girls’ Water Polo during the fall season. They practice at the City College of San Francisco’s (CCSF) pool 4 days a week, including a Saturday practice, and do dry-land practices on the CCSF track for the two remaining practice days of the week. According to Cara Steele ’23, the sole captain of the Girls’ Water Polo team this year, “Water Polo is the best team at Lick-Wilmerding.” Although the girls’ team may have a record of 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the West Alameda County League (WACL), many team members shared enthusiasm for their potential. The Boys’ Water Polo captains are Tommy Ryan ’23, Joe Dolce ’23 and Emmitt Katz ’23. Ryan said that being a member of the team “truly tests one’s character. It’s great to see the team rise to the occasion every time. We have been putting in the work and the results prove that.” Boys’ Water Polo boasts a 7-3 record overall, with a 3-1 record in the WACL. They currently stand third in the league, with Piedmont High School currently standing first and Castro Valley High School in second.
photo courtesy of Vidigami
The Girls’ Volleyball captains this year are Cate Warden ’23, Zoe Yang ’23 and Noelle Winn ’23. According to Warden, “this is definitely the most bonded the team has ever been and I love the girls on the team. I am going to miss them so much next year!” Their record for the season, including tournaments, is 6-15 according to MaxPreps. They currently stand 5th in Bay Counties League West, just above San Domenico.
photo courtesy of Vidigami
Girls’ Field Hockey is returning for its sixth year at LWHS. The returning Varsity players are coming off of a landmark season that included making the Marin Counties League playoffs for the first time and defeating LWHS rival University High School for the first time in the semi-finals. The captains for this year are Sophie Spokes ’23, Sarah Atkins ’23 and Kate Hoffner ’23, and their current record is 4-4-1. “Coming off of last year, we have had a lot of seniors that left. This actually provided us with a great opportunity to build up a new team. I’m looking forward to seeing the future of this program,” Spokes said. Damian Glennon has been the LWHS Field Hockey coach since the beginning of the program, and just recently left for the season to play on the US O-45 Men’s Masters team in the World Cup. Additionally, Oliver May ’24 has been a dedicated member of the Field Hockey team community for the past three years and was recently listed as a member of the US U-18 Men’s Training Squad.
photo courtesy of Vidigami
Girls’ Tennis is led by captains Lilly Varon ’23, Alexa DiSabito ’23 and Emilia Ozer-Staten ’23. They currently hold an impressive overall record of 10-4, and have a top record in the Bay Counties League of 5-1. “We have such a close knit team. Whenever we have to do hard workouts such as sprints, we listen to music and power through together,” Varon said.
photo courtesy of Vidigami
Co-Ed Flag Football is entering its second year becoming a more official sport, with scheduled and refereed league games. The captains for this year’s team are Jay Mason ’23, Johnny Locala ’23 and Rowan George ’23. The team is undefeated so far this season. Mason said that they strive to be “inviting of all underclassmen, who have thus contributed much to our success.” Smith noted that Flag Football fills a much needed gap of a third fall sport option for boys to participate in.
Last but not least, LWHS has offered Ultimate Frisbee as a recreational sport in the past with no official games. This year, interest in Ultimate Frisbee was limited and there is no consistent group, but it is still an option with the potential for revival for those interested.
There has also been some interest in starting a Boys’ Volleyball team that could potentially be a fall sport. Some seniors at the forefront of these efforts have been hosting open gyms for volleyball during tutorial and lunch to gauge interest among the broader student population.
Check out the school calendar, the posters outside the gym and the bulletin board in the first floor hallway to see game schedules for fall sports. Lots of spirit games and Senior Night games are coming up, so be on the lookout for those!
