Winter Sports Recap

Boys Basketball: Final Record: (6-17, 5-10 District)

The boys' team showed major improvements from last year. They doubled their win total; collecting quality wins against Louisa (twice) and Orange, along with a clean sweep of Goochland. Their best win was a 66-63 overtime thriller on the road against Orange, a game in which Guard Ben Ritterband put the team on his back for 37 points. Ritterband dropped 22 against Covenant the following day. In these two MHS wins, he went 27-32 from the free-throw line. His 12.3 points per game and ability to drive and get to the foul line earned him All-Jefferson District Honorable Mention honors. Ben Giese, another All-Jefferson District Honorable Mention, averaged 7.5 points per game from the guard position. Both Bens provided a lot of offense for MHS, scoring 41% of the team's points per game. Center Jacob Messinger (4.8 ppg, 43.8% shooting), a Hampden-Sydney Lacrosse commit, played a valuable role in the offense, utilizing his strength and height to get points in the paint. The team will lose these three seniors, along with guard Jayby Pour, who showed ball handling and quickness, and forward Spence Doherty, whose leadership and savvy will be irreplaceable.

They will lose loads of talent, no doubt, but will still have plenty of optimism for next season. Josh Walker (7.5 ppg, 5.8 rebounds, 44.9% shooting), maybe the team’s best athlete, is an all-around baller. Walker can dunk, play lockdown defense, and score in a variety of ways on offense. Scrappy defender Aaron Morgan (3.2 ppg), guard Este Newell (4.8 ppg), and big man Thomas White (3.6 ppg, 47.6% shooting) should be standout seniors along with Walker. The boys' JV had an outstanding season, going 16-5. They should bring up a lot of talent, including Zayden Simpson and Sam Messinger. This year’s team showed a lot of improvement, and next year could be even better.

Girls Basketball: Final Record: (5-18, 5-11 District)

The girls' team started the season rough, losing their first nine games, but finished much stronger, going 5-9 to cap off the season. They collected home wins against solid teams (Albemarle, Charlottesville, and Orange) in close games; and throttled Goochland twice. The team also lost a two-point nail-biter to 16-win Western Albemarle. Juniors Samantha Shifflett (First Team All-Jefferson District), Dylan Wood (Second Team All-Jefferson District), and Marisa Dyer (All-Jefferson District Honorable Mention) led the team. They will have most of their talent returning, only losing one senior, forward Octavia Mills. Expect the team chemistry to be strong next year as three All-Jefferson District players will return as seniors.

Indoor Track

The Indoor Track team featured a lot of individual success. The team sent six individuals and one relay to states.

Bazil Mathes had a storybook day to cap off a next-level season. Mathes collected two state championships in the meet, one in the 1600 and one in the 3200. He showed grit in the 1600 with a remarkable kick to pass his opponent within the final seconds of the race, edging him out with a time of 4:15.68. Hours later, he repeated this feat, edging out the same runner by one second in the 3200. Ryan Davidson had an outstanding meet and season, getting 3rd in the girls' 1000 and 4th in the 1600. Davidson is already one of the best runners in the state, and she is only a freshman. Talk about a bright future!

Selorm Kartey qualified for states in the long jump and finished 10th overall. Kartey, a star football player, was a swiss army knife for the indoor track team. He showed versatility and athleticism by competing in up to five events during meets. Danny Vizcaino and Creighton Doherty both qualified for states in the 3200. Vizcaino possesses the raw talent and the ability to get out fast in races. As well as competing in the 3200, he ran in the four by 800 relay the day prior. Doherty is only a freshman but runs like a seasoned veteran. Humble and a hard worker, he continues to improve every race. With Vizcaino: sophomores Owen Sexton and Colin Jumper, and senior Ben Davis compiled the four by 800 relay team. The team got 3rd in their heat, with each leg of the relay running very well. Lastly, Lauren Anderson qualified for states for pole vault. A leg injury during a meet put her season on hold, but she recovered and vaulted in the state meet.

Overall, the boys' team placed 10th out of 34, and the girls placed 17th out of 35. Both teams have a bright future, especially boys' distance, with Mathes, Vizcaino, and Doherty returning along with other great runners. Is a Cross Country State Championship in store next year? I don’t see why not.

Swim and Dive

Both boys and girls teams had strong seasons, finishing well in the state tournament.

The girls' team got 5th out of 36. They were also first in the region tournament. Junior Allisan Bendall became a state champion by winning the 100 breaststroke. Bendall also won an individual title and was part of a first-place relay in regionals. She was also 9th in the state in the 500 Free. Mariam Mithqal placed 3rd in the 100 breaststroke and 6th in the 100 Free. Mithqal is part of the Jordan national swim team and like Bendall, is a standout high school swimmer. These two will have to carry the load next year, as the team is losing three of their top five swimmers. Madeline Malone (committed to Washington & Jefferson College for swimming), Eloise Weary (7th in the state in the 50 Free), and Josefine van Beek (qualified for four events in states). With a state title in 2021, the girl's swim team continues to be one of the strongest teams in the area and represents Monticello well.

The boys' team placed 15th in the state out of 36 teams. They also finished 3rd in the region tournament. Graham Dugas, Val Dowd, and Trevor Tharp represented the team in the state tournament. Dugas placed 7th in the 100 Breast and 6th in the 200 IM. Dowd was 10th in the 100 Free and 9th in the 100 Back. Tharp got 13th in the 100 Fly. All three swimmers will be back next year to lead the team.

Wrestling

Congratulations to Lucy Vlasis on her performance in the state tournament! Vlasis collected two wins in state, representing MHS wrestling honorably. The boy’s team sent four wrestlers to regionals: freshman Athar Aamir, senior Beau Gratz, senior Melvin Bueso-Sanchez, and sophomore Matthew Brookman. The team had six seniors: Ian Miller, Melvin Bueso-Sanchez, Sami Maanaki, Spencer Ratliff (Winner of team MVP award) , Beau Gratz, and manager Disha Patel. MHS wrestling improved tremendously over the season, with several wrestlers that enhanced their game. Wrestling is a very physically demanding sport, requiring hard work and dedication to compete. Shout out to all of our wrestlers for putting in the work!