Spring Sports Preview

By the News Desk

After a strong winter sports season, all attention shifts to the spring hounds as they look to build on the momentum. All five spring sports are looking to contend for MIAA ‘A’ Conference Championships and take home both team and individual hardware. 

The Gilman golf hounds are coming off a strong season, reaching the semi-finals. Returning Junior Gavin Root ‘25 reflects, “With four seniors graduating during the offseason, the team has large shoes to fill. Every year, the team gets a new wave of upperclassmen players, but this year, talented freshman Drew Klein shows extraordinary promise.” In addition to new golfers joining the program, the hounds are excited to welcome off-campus assistant coach Brad Miller ‘08 to aid in developing new players. Miller is a Richmond golf alumnus with professional golf experience. 

The Hounds have a packed schedule this year, ready to reign victorious over teams inside and outside the MIAA. Two-time captain and MIAA athlete of the year Bennett Espenshade ‘24 remarks, “3 years in a row, we have suffered losses in the semi-finals. With a new lineup and coaching this year, we hope to go all the way.” Calvert Hall and St. Paul’s are the teams to beat, but the team looks forward to the challenge.

After brandishing 8-straight conference championships from 2014-2022, the Hounds fell short in the championship match in 2023, losing to the Calvert Hall Cardinals. Though the team did not accomplish all they wanted last year, the team is looking to improve and begin a new championship streak. Within the league, the main source of competition will be the McDonogh Eagles, who returned the majority of their team, and the reigning MIAA champions, Calvert Hall. The team will feature returning seniors Andrew Hannan, Lleyton Cathell, Nick Sun, Cal Hickey, and Andrea Bovio, as well as strong juniors, Alex Nabit and George Khairallah, and sophomore Anton Grib. The team has truly reloaded, as it only failed to retain two players from last year, Luca Pavlovich ‘23 and Sanjay Geevarghese ‘23. Senior Captain Andrew Hannan had strong feelings about the previous season, saying, “The whole team is out for revenge.”

This season the team will not take their annual trip to California, due to tournament cancellations, but the team will compete in Chatanooga, Tennessee at another national tournament. Hannan is  “excited about the new opportunity in Tennessee.” The Hounds will return to Philadelphia for the Shafer Invitational, hoping to take home the trophy against strong competition such as Delbarton (NJ), Sidwell Friends (DC), and Brunswick (CT). This season, Gilman will compete in fierce non-conference competition, including matches against 4 of the top schools in Washington, D.C. Despite all these competitions, all eyes will be on the conference championship, where the Hounds look to make it 9 in the last decade. Coach Steve Krulevitz looks to continue his wildly successful coaching career and bring home yet another MIAA championship. 

Led by senior captains Brooks Kitchel and Jay Wilkerson, the lacrosse squad is anxious to return the program to its former glory. This year, the team plans to honor Mr. Boo Smith ‘70, who holds an important meaning for the team in a variety of manners. “Mr. Smith meant a lot to me and my teammates, he cared so much about our team and always gave us advice,” Kitchel articulated. A ceremony honoring his legacy will be held immediately before the home game against John Carroll, where Mr. Smith worked for many years.

Beyond the fierce MIAA competition, which is nationally recognized as the best lacrosse conference in the country, the Hounds will face challenging out-of-conference games. They will travel to Norfolk, Virginia for their annual Spring Break trip to face Norfolk Academy (VA) and bond as a team. They will also face D.C. powerhouse Georgetown Prep (DC), and nationally ranked St. John’s (DC), St. Anthony’s (DC), and Lawrenceville (NJ). Led by a strong defensive line made up of George Guyton ‘24, Harrison Schline ‘25, and Captain Brooks Kitchel, coupled with an experienced attack group comprised of seniors Clayton Baddley ‘24, Michael Maloney ‘24, and Captain Jay Wilkerson, the team has a real chance to make a run at the championship. One of the strengths of the team, according to Kitchel, is the “core group of seniors” who have played together for so many years. Kitchel has lofty aspirations for the team, saying, “If the upperclassmen continue to play well, and some underclassmen shine, I think we have a really good shot at the championship.”

The Gilman Track team once again delivered a successful season last spring, finishing third in the MIAA and having multiple individuals and relay teams receiving medals at championships. This year, the track team looks to continue this success with a strong senior class across the short, mid, and long-distance teams. The Gilman track program is renowned for its discipline and hardworking nature, promoted by the coaches who push their athletes to the very best. Cross Country and Indoor Track captain Nathan Koshy ‘24 said the coaches create “rigorous training programs” and much of the team’s success is due to “their support and tireless dedication.” The team will work towards reproducing its success from past years in a difficult MIAA ‘A’ Conference and dethrone current Outdoor and Indoor Track Champions, Calvert Hall. Koshy said the team will “build off their success in indoor” track and “continue to work hard.” If they do these things, Koshy is “certain the team will achieve great things this season. 

Gilman baseball looks to expand on their 2022-2023 season’s success this year. Despite losing integral players like Dom Moats, Peyton Miller, and a star-studded class of 2023, senior captain Dan Leikus knows his guys are up to the challenge. “The only thing we’re thinking about right now are the guys in the blue and grey. This coaching staff has instilled a standard of winning that's been here since Coach Sheets has been a part of the program and we plan on continuing that tradition. Our goal, as always, is to win an MIAA Championship,” said Leikus. 

The baseball team is starting their pre-season shortly, traveling around the area to play many games over spring break to prepare them for their first three-game series against Loyola in March. This year, the MIAA fully revamped the baseball schedule so that each school plays three games a week. This new schedule warrants a deep pitching bullpen, which Coach Sheets addressed in the team's first meeting explaining how it is integral for the team’s pitchers to be healthy and ready to play. 

Good luck to athletes competing in spring sports!