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WESTMONT – Now that school is out and high school sports won’t start again until August, it’s the perfect time to look back on a successful spring for Westmont High School. Here are some of the Sentinels’ highlights, in no particular order:
Sentinels’ girls soccer program captures first regional title
In terms of overall record Westmont girls soccer has had better seasons, but this year the Sentinels set the bar for success. With freshmen Kaitlyn Niemer and Kerry Slaga finding the back of the net with frequency all year, Westmont went on to top Chicago Hope Academy and St. Joseph to claim the first regional title in program history.
Quotable: "In terms of won-loss record this was the second-best year for us, but as far as we got in the tournament and winning a regional, it's never been like this before," coach Ron Neurauter said.
Baseball brings home hardware with regional, sectional title wins
After placing third in the state last season, Westmont baseball had a target on its back all season. The Sentinels answered the challenges, setting the program record for regular season and overall wins (30-9) and bringing home regional and sectional titles. There was a highlight after the season was over as four-year standout shortstop Charlie Donovan was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB Draft.
Quotable: "You have to have a lot of things go your way to get to 30 wins. It's a great accomplishment when you can only play 35 games in the regular season to win 30 games and win a regional and win a sectional. It's not easy by any means," coach DJ Cocks said.
Young Sentinels softball team finds success on the diamond
Few expected a young Westmont softball team to succeed this season as it lost several key starters from a team that won regional and sectional titles last season. But seniors such as Emma May, Alana Pace, pitcher Kristen Skala and catcher Skyler Poel led Westmont past the 20-win mark to another regional title.
Quotable: "It was really good considering how young we were. Mr. Bolden was even saying he thought we would be a .500 team and the fact we finished 22-10 is ridiculous, beyond what he expected. We've done a lot better than everyone would have guessed. Everyone stepped up and did what they had to do," Skyler Poel said.
Westmont junior Carlson cashes in at state track meet
Athletes are limited to competing in four events at the state track and field meets. There’s no doubt Annie Carlson had an outstanding showing at her state meet as she notched four all-state finishes, including second-place finishes in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and third in the triple jump; she was seventh in the 200 dash. Her showing at state brought her career total to six all-state finishes with another year of high school to go.
Quotable: "It wasn't my best time in the 200 ... but I understand that after a day in the sun and three events later I'm just happy I made the podium because the beginning of the season I didn't think I was going to make the 200 podium. I'm just really happy with that," Annie Carlson said.