Winter 2023–24 Season Wrap-up

Boys’ Basketball
20–7
NEPSAC Class A Semifinalists

After completing a 20-win regular season, boys’ basketball clinched a playoff berth, and were the number four seed in the Class A NEPSAC playoffs. They would go on to win their quarterfinal matchup against Williston by a score of 66–35, before falling 52–50 to Andover in the semifinals.

Girls’ Basketball
7–16

Girls’ basketball finished their season with an overall record of 7–16 in Head Coach Morgan Manz ’13’s first year at the helm, with signature wins coming against Hotchkiss, Kingswood Oxford, and Westminster.

Boys’ Hockey
10–11–4

Boys’ hockey rounded out their season with an impressive 7–4 win over Hotchkiss, along with wins against fellow Founders schools, Choate, Kent, and Trinity-Pawling, and finished their season with an overall record of 10–11–4

Girls’ Hockey
8–12–3

Girls’ hockey finished their season with an overall record of 8–12–3, starting the year with four straight wins and ended the year with wins over Pomfret and Berkshire.

Boys’ Squash
10–2
3rd Place, Class A New England Championships
7th Place, Division I, U.S. High School Squash Championships

The Boys’ Varsity Squash placed 3rd in the Class A New England Championships. The weekend kicked off with a solid win over Andover in the quarterfinals, and continued with a 4–3 loss to eventual champions, Brunswick, in the semifinals. They ultimately defeated the higher ranked Kent 5 –2 to secure the third-place finish. At Nationals, the boys’ finished 7th overall in a competitive Division I field.

Girls’ Squash
9–6
3rd Place, Class B New England Championships
Consolation Final Winner, Division II, U.S. High School Squash Championships

Congratulations to the Taft Girls’ Varsity Squash Team on their 3rd place finish in the Class B New England Championships. The team celebrated a 4–3 win over Nobles, then bounced back from a 3–4 loss against St. George’s, to take a 4–3 win over Milton.⁠ At Nationals, they won the consolation finals, with their only loss coming against the team that would go on to win the tournament. They upset the 4th seed on their way to the consolation round, winning three matches in a row, all 4–3.

Boys’ Skiing
4th Place, NEPSAC Class B Championships

Riley Geurts, Julian Prentice, Jack Moucha, Viktor Maag, and Chattin Simpson had a bit of a challenge in the giant slalom and came back strong in the slalom with Riley earning All New England Honors.

Girls’ Skiing
2nd Place, NEPSAC Class B Championships

Esmee Clew-Bachrach, Bella Dane, Sydney Grogan, Clarisse Moucha, and Tessa Lawson had a great day with both Bella and Esmee earning All New England Honors in both slalom and giant slalom.

Wrestling
10–5
7th Place, Western New England Championships

Taft wrestlers traveled to the Western New England Championships in February, and came home with some impressive hardware. Congratulations to: Co-captain Ben Bazarian, 2nd place at 215 pounds⁠, Jefferson Kao, 4th place at 106 pounds⁠, Russ Fitzgerald, 4th place at 190 pounds, and Chris Joszczyk, 4th place at 285 pounds⁠. Congratulations to the entire team, whose work across the board earned them a 7th place finish in a highly competitive 19-team field.⁠

 

Winter 2023–24 Athletic Awards

Boys’ Basketball
James Paynter Logan Memorial Basketball Trophy—Jordan Elliott ’24

Girls’ Basketball
1978 Girls’ Basketball Award—Faith Graziano ’24
All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention—Faith Graziano ’24
NEPSGBA All-Star, voted on by opposing coaches—Faith Graziano ’24

Boys’ Hockey
Coaches Hockey Award—Archer Brown ’24, Gerrit Lansing ’24
Angier Hockey Trophy—Alexander Kenerson ’24

Girls’ Hockey
Patsy K. Odden Award—Truus van Wees ’24
Coaches Hockey Award—Katie Johnson ’24

Boys’ Squash
Boys’ Squash Award—Eyad Awad ’25, Wei Yan Tho ’25
All-NEPSAC—Eyad Awad ’25, Carl Roux ’25, Wei Yan Tho ’25
All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention—Jayden Oon ’27, Harry Revenaugh ’24

Girls’ Squash
1986 Girls’ Squash Award—Cece Salvatore ’24

Skiing
Boys’ Ski Racing Award—Jack Moucha ’24
Girls’ Ski Racing Award—Esmee Clew-Bachrach ’24, Bella Dane ’24

Wrestling
Harry F. Hitch Award—Jayden Piparo ’25
Wynne Award—Ben Bazarian ’25