As the spring sports season approaches, teams are gearing up for competition. From the baseball diamond to the track, the lacrosse field to the golf course, players are training hard to make this season successful. I spoke with key players from the baseball, track and field, boys’ lacrosse, and boys’ golf teams to learn how they’re preparing for the season and what we can expect from them this year.

Baseball
Building off of last season’s success, the baseball team is hard at work with workouts, conditioning, and hitting sessions. The team has been training for months, but in the weeks leading up to the season, they have intensified their regimen to daily sessions.

“We’ve been working weekends and weekdays, with hitting workouts at the new Train Station facility and conditioning in the East gym,” senior player Ethan Roth said. “This will help us later in the season.”

Roth is confident that the team is ready to compete, saying people can expect “lots of wins, a fun season, and exciting games.” He also pointed out senior Reed Reynolds as a player to watch, noting that he has shown lots of growth from last year and will be “a force on the mound.”

While last season was strong, Roth believes the team can go even further in the postseason this year. “We won a lot of games, but I would like to make it farther in the district this year,” he said. With the team motivated and hungry for more, they are determined to carry last season’s energy into an even bigger year.

Track
The track team has been putting in the work this preseason, training five days a week with a mix of indoor running and weightlifting. Senior sprinter Chris Lofton is confident in the team this year saying, “You can definitely expect most of us to be in states this year.” Reflecting on last season, Lofton acknowledged that while the team had a lot of wins, no one made it to states. However, he thinks that the increased dedication will make the difference this year.

“This year we are going to show up to practice more and work a little harder, a lot of us are going to make it [to states],” Lofton said. He pointed out key runners to watch: Aidan Darrah, and Nicole DeCoster, and himself, predicting some big performances and even a possible school record for Aidan Darrah in the 100 meter dash. He ran the 100m in 11 seconds last year and the record is 10.7 seconds. With a lot of hard work and high expectations, the track team is ready to carry last season’s positive energy into what we hope will be a standout season.

Boys Lacrosse
The boys’ lacrosse team is getting ready for the season with open gyms and workouts. “We have open gyms every Saturday at two for two hours where everybody can come in,” sophomore Ben Francis said. “We work on all our drills and everything that we need to do.”

“We’re hoping to go pretty far in districts, if not win them,” Francis said, mentioning that their bracket looks like an easier path to a district win than last year.

Francis pointed to key players to watch this season, including senior attack Jack Thornton, who had a standout year last season, senior defenseman Langdon Hurst, and midfielder Ethan Couzens. Reflecting on last season, Francis said, “We did solid,” but said that they fell short in the district semifinals, with a tough loss to Brother Rice. With that loss in mind, the team is coming into this season with a chip on their shoulder. “We’re looking to bounce back pretty strong from that this season and hopefully win a bracket,” Francis said. Fueled by hard work and a sense of unfinished business from last season, the lacrosse team is looking forward to a successful year.

Boys Golf
The boys’ golf team is getting ready for the season, practicing at the range while waiting for the weather to improve, so they can get out on the course. “We’re going to the range [during the] preseason, and hoping to get on the course soon as the weather gets good,” senior Matthew Rucinski said.

Rucinski has high hopes for this season, looking for a good record and a push for states. He said “We’re hoping for a good season, definitely above 500 in the matches, and really hoping to make a push for states this year.”

Rucinski also pointed to Senior Justin Wolfe and freshman Jonah Sterling as players to watch this year. Reflecting on last season, Rucinski said, “It went pretty well, unfortunately, we didn’t make states, but we were definitely close and one of our better seasons in the past five years.” To have a better season, Rucinski said the team is focused on working harder, improving their short game, and building better team chemistry.

“We’re going to work a little harder, work on our short game some more, and try to have a better team bond,” he said. With these changes in mind, the golf team is excited to build on last season’s success and push for a spot at states.

Check out the Berkley Athletics calendar for a list of when and where these teams are playing.