The students of Lower Moreland never cease to amaze. Find the major achievements of LMHS’s student athletes from this year’s winter sports season below!
INDOOR TRACK
This year’s Indoor Track and Field team was the largest in school history, with 68 student-athletes.
The Girls Indoor Track team had an amazing season, with 4 school records broken! Kayla Barnette broke the record in the 400M, Kennedy Durand in the 800M, Amelia Ogawa in the 3000M, and a relay consisting of Annie Moniz, Kennedy Durand, Kayla Barnette, and Amelia Ogawa in the 4×800. The girls also had 3 qualifiers for the Meet of Champions All Star Meet: Kayla Barnette in the 400M, Kennedy Durand in the 800M, where she placed 6th, and Amelia Ogawa in the mile, where she placed 2nd. The 4 girls mentioned above also competed at States, with their 4×800 relay placing 2nd! They earned another state medal as well, as their Distance Medley Relay placed 8th. The girls qualified for the Indoor National Championships in the 4×800 relay and DMR, and set the school record in the DMR at Nationals in Boston!! Go Lions!!
The Boys Indoor Track team also had a great season. At the Association meets during the season, Dylan Sandler placed 1st in the 800M, David Rietzen placed 2nd in the 60HH, and the 4×800 relay team placed 1st. The boy’s team also had 3 qualifiers for the Meet of Champions All Star Meet at the end of the season: Dylan Sandler in the 800M, David Rietzen in the 60HH, and a 4×800 relay consisting of Trey Henry, Shane Alden, Michael Hoch, and Vincent Frankina.
BASKETBALL
This season was monumental for the Girls Basketball team. For the first time since joining the Suburban One League, the team won the Freedom Division Championship. Their season record was an impressive 16-6, earning them the number 5 seed in the district playoffs. The team has a bright future, with only one senior leaving the team, 2 to 3 freshmen currently starting every game, and the top 2 overall scorers returning next year. Let’s go, LM!!
This season was also important for the Boys Basketball team, as the team welcomed a new coach: Head Coach Dicky Rhoads. Some season highlights included the boys beating their long-time rivals Holy Ghost Prep in overtime and Senior Kevin Hegedus tying the LM record for 3-pointers scored in a game with a total of 9.
SWIMMING
The Girls Swimming team continues to impress. At Districts, Esther Park won the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke. The girls team placed extremely well overall, placing second at the SOL Champs and 4th at 2A Districts. Esther Park was awarded Girls Swimmer of the Meet at Districts!! Additionally, Talia Wiggins made school history, as this season she beat two school records in the Girls 50 Freestyle with a time of 24.95 seconds and the Girls 100 Freestyle with a time of 55.53 seconds.
The boys also had a phenomenal season, placing second at the SOL Champs and placing second at 2A Districts. At Districts, a relay consisting of Martin Shum, Josh Ferker, Aidan Meehan, and Nick Sleptsov won the 200 medley relay. Martin Shum also won the 100 Backstroke and Aidan Meehan won the 100 Breaststroke. Congrats to both teams on an amazing season!!
DIVING
Lower Moreland Diving had a stellar and very senior season, with 7 seniors at least trying the sport and six of those for the very first time! The sole returning diver from the 2022-2023 season was Leah Weinberg. Both Morgan Pennisi and Joel Amit went all the way to the Suburban One League Championships, a meet where divers need to be able to perform 11 unique dives in specific categories. Morgan ended up in 9th place with a total score of 216.5 and earned 9 points toward the team score at SOLs, and Joel ended up in 6th place with a score of 202.25 and earned 13 points toward the team score at SOLs.
WRESTLING
An extremely exciting development is the addition of Girls Wrestling to LM’s winter sports, as the PIAA officially sanctioned girls wrestling in the summer of 2023 and it has been the fastest growing sport in the country. This year the team consisted of Freshman Alanna Condo and Senior Alana Davila. At the SOL Championships at William Tennent, both girls placed well, with Alanna placing 3rd and Alana placing 4th. At the District 1/12 Championships, Alanna Condo earned a 5th place medal, becoming the first SE Regional qualifier in LM Girls Wrestling history! Alana Davila was a SE Regional alternate after a 6th place finish at districts. The new team has a bright future!
The boys team continued to grow, with just under 50 members on the team. On the boys side, some highlights were the team’s exciting 35-30 senior night win over Springfield Township and three Varsity medalists at the CB West Invitational. At the SOL Freedom Championships multiple athletes did well, including Azizbek Kurbanov, Ethan Pachman, Dan Prater, Josh Simon, Ben Morris, Nick Oqroshidze, Shodibek Pulatov, and Moe Ismael. At the District I East Championships at Quakertown, Senior Josh Simon qualified for the SE Regional Championships after a 4th place finish at 152 lbs.
