Fall Sports Check-In

The start of the school year heralds another season of fall athletics, and The News checked in with varsity teams for a mid-season September update. Multiple teams have positioned themselves well to contend for playoff spots.

Two strong early-season showings from the XC Hounds show promise for their season, with a promising 11th out of 23rd place finish at the Top of the Hill Invitational and the successful defense of their Greenspring Invitational title. Leo Bowen ‘29 highlighted both these meets with two team-high finishes of 11th and 1st, respectively. Cian Connolly ‘27, a mainstay on the team since his ninth-grade year, also provided crucial points in both of their meets. Varsity Cross Country looks to maintain its tradition of MIAA excellence for years to come, with an incredibly deep roster of underclassmen.

The varsity water polo team, captained by Treve Darby ‘27, Hayden Dodge ‘26, and Sam Nuermberger ‘26, kicked off their season with a dominant performance at the Philmore Cup. Despite strong opposition from teams such as Haverford and Germantown Academy, the Hounds went 4-0 throughout tournament play, defeating powerhouse and multiple-time Eastern Prep champion Haverford School for the first time in school history. Standout players of the tournament included Grant Wright ‘27, Treve, who scored 24 goals and 12 assists, and Hayden, who scored.11 goals and provided a crucial offensive edge. Sam remarks, “Beating Haverford was one of our goals going into this season, and all of our guys played very well.” Kicking off the MIAA season, the Hounds won against Calvert Hall (16-10) and Spalding (19-7). The team is poised to be a strong championship contender following a tough loss to Loyola in last year’s semifinals. 

After starting the preseason off strong with victories against Gonzaga (2-1) and Haverford (2-0), Varsity Soccer looks to replicate those performances in the regular season. The start of the regular season proved to be tough, with the Hounds losing two early non-conference games against Boys Latin and Landon. However, the Hounds seek to grow and improve on these losses in order to attempt to secure a playoff berth, having started the MIAA season with a strong performance against MSJ (1-0) and a hard-fought win in the rain against Archbishop Spalding (1-0) for a 2-1-2 in-conference record. Despite early setbacks, the future for Gilman Soccer is promising, with underclassmen Quinn Taylor ‘28 and Gurbaaz Arneja ‘28 proving to be crucial contributors to the team. 

Following last season’s playoff run that culminated in a championship, the Varsity Volleyball Team hopes to dominate the MIAA for a second-straight year. Captain Alex Triplett ‘26 says, “I think we definitely have the most depth in the entire conference. I’m not really worried about any teams in particular.” This signifies the confidence that the team has in maintaining its hold on the MIAA. In addition to this, all of the captains emphasize the role Coach Diego Matorras plays in ensuring volleyball’s sense of community, with captain Coco Bose ‘26 commenting, “Coach Diego is truly the heart and soul of the program.” Going into the regular season, the Hounds fell to Loyola Blakefield in a hard-fought game that went to five sets. The Hounds were able to rally back a set after being down 2-1, but ultimately lost 9-15 in the final set of the match. Despite this early setback, the future is still promising for volleyball, as last year the Hounds managed to stage a late playoff run to eventually win the championship.

With a strong senior class led by captains Patrick Morrow ‘26, Messiah Jews ‘26, Isiah Trusty ‘26, and Noah Lawrence ‘26, Varsity Football started off the preseason with a dominant 24-9 win over Boys Latin. Marcu Turpin ‘27 made a highlight play with an exceptional Pick-Six. In a heartbreaker of a game, the Hounds lost by only 3 points to Bullis a week later. In another tough-fought game, the Hounds lost against Haverford 20-6 in an environment plagued by fierce weather conditions that eventually led to its cancellation. During these games, players such as Jacob Webster ‘27 and Aiden Johnson ‘28 proved themselves as rising assets for the team. Despite setbacks, the Hounds, under the leadership of Coach Van Zile, are working hard to end the 10-year drought and finally make the MIAA playoffs. They will also be looking to avenge last year’s loss at the annual Gilman-McDonogh game by taking the fight to the Eagles.

We hope you enjoyed this Fall sports check-in. Make sure to continue supporting the guys as the regular seasons continue to unfold.