Photo by Liam Christensen

Sophomore Ashton Ingram practices his shot during a lacrosse winter workout. Ingram gets in his practice time because he has high hopes for the season. “I hope to make varsity this year, and have a winning record,” Ingram said.

Teams are springing into action, getting ready for Mar. 1, when the spring sports season begins, but for athletes, the season already has started.

After going 9-3 in the regular season, boys’ lacrosse is looking for similar results. The boys have been preparing for the season with their captains running their winter practices. Senior Daniel Son, one of the team leaders, said that the team will have a good atmosphere and a lot of potential for this season. The hope for the season is to win the regional championship. “I’m going to set the best example I can by action and guide the younger players,” Son said.

The track team had more than eight athletes who qualified for nationals and more than 10 athletes qualifying for states last year. The team expects to get that number higher this year, training athletes to qualify for regional, state and national championships. Senior Troy Bailey said that the track team is growing immensely and becoming one of Maryland’s top teams. The team is also making preparations for the season from their winter season. Those who are serious about track do both the indoor winter season, which is wrapping up, and the outdoor spring season. The extra conditioning helps the athletes get ready for the main event of the outdoor track and field season. “I’ve been waiting for this season this entire year and I’m excited to have a full healthy season running outdoor track,” Bailey said.

The tennis teams, both boys’ and girls’, have had success in previous years and are well-prepared for the season. Boys’ tennis went completely undefeated in regular season matches last year. Girl’s tennis combined for both teams had impressive records, county titles, regional titles, and the impressive state title of then senior captain Anusha Iyer and then junior Naomi Esterowitz. Senior tennis player Maya Buchmuller said she has high hopes for defending their regional title. “I expect our team to be just as great as all our previous years,” Buchmuller said.

Other preparations include the baseball and softball teams, which had impressive seasons and are making preparations by their own winter workouts and bullpen sessions. Baseball went 11-7 last year and has been among the top in the county. Junior Mathew Kunst said that there are always high expectations, especially with their tough schedule, and they hope to make a deep playoff run.

Softball is also hoping for a good season. Senior Malia Schmelzer said that the softball team has a great atmosphere and is looking forward to good memories. “In my experience, the softball atmosphere has been really fun and welcoming with tons of energy,” Schmelzer said.

The remaining three sports, girls’ lacrosse, coed volleyball, and boys’ volleyball are also looking for impressive seasons respectively. Boys’ volleyball had an amazing 2023 season and is looking for similar success, as well as coed volleyball, which also had a great season last year.