After a spectacular winter season of Heschel athletics, the spring sports teams look poised to continue the success they have enjoyed in recent years.
Leading the charge is the baseball team. After a quarter-final loss in their league two years ago, the Heat improved to a semi-final loss last year. Although they came up short in both years, the team is full of young talent that will continue to improve as they progress through high school. Led by star juniors Eli Goldman, Sammy Fisher, Jonah Gross, and Abe Charkow, the baseball team looks to finally bring the coveted Yeshiva League baseball trophy to the fifth-floor hallway. When asked about the upcoming season, Charkow said, “The whole team has been putting in work, fueled by our anger from last year’s result. We don’t want to just play, we want to win.”
Adding to Heschel’s spring dominance is the Ultimate Frisbee team. The team was a powerhouse in both the leagues they played in last year, coming in 3rd in one and 2nd in the other. Playing in two leagues is an incredibly difficult task as it increases the number of games the team has to play. The team chose to do this because they found that playing in just one league was too easy, as they had gone 16-0 the year before. They were also ranked fifth in the state but were not able to go to the state championships because it conflicted with Shavuot. The Heat will look to continue their incredible run and hopefully bring the state championship to the Heschel High School. When prompted about the team’s motivation this year, junior Nate Weiss said, “After a strong season, we want to prove that we can compete with the best teams in New York again. I trust Coach Bell to return us to States.”
Heschel’s tennis teams are also full of incredible talent. Although they did not make the playoffs last year, the girls’ tennis team, led by junior Josie Herz, is full of great players and is sure to win more this year. The boys’ team found more success last year as they made it to the playoffs. Junior Jesse Kalimian said, “This team has a bunch of great athletes and once we figure out how to best apply that athleticism to the court, we can improve mightily.”
Lastly, the girls’ hockey team has been, is, and will be a powerhouse within the Yeshiva League. Led by senior captain Lynn Gindi and junior captain Miriam Gross, the team looks to follow up their deep playoff run last year with a championship season. When questioned about this year’s team, Gross said, “We are eager to start the season. We feel like we will continue our Yeshiva League success and be very good this year.”