When junior runner Eve Sharp lined up for the PVAC varsity cross country championship meet, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Weeks earlier, an early-season injury had thrown her off track and tested her confidence. By the end of the race, she powered through to a second-place finish.
Sharp’s performance was part of a strong season for the cross-country program. At the PVAC championship, the boys team secured the conference title, while the girls team finished second overall. Junior Isaiah Segal-Geetter led the boys team, placing first individually. Soon after, the boys won the state championship, and the girls placed third.
“For me, it was definitely a season full of a lot of ups and downs,” Sharp said. “But I was proud of how I was able to turn it around and recover.”
Other teams also achieved success this year. The JV girls volleyball team won its first-ever PVAC championship in program history, finishing undefeated in league play. The middle school boys soccer team returned to the finals for the second year in a row, but ultimately lost to Washington International School (WIS) in overtime.
Girls varsity soccer reached the quarterfinals after defeating Edmund Burke School, but lost to WIS in the semifinals. Overall, the team had a 5-4-1 record. Later in the season, the team demonstrated improvements in their defensive game, making more accurate passes and connecting on the field.
“A really important aspect of having the team improve is getting to know each other,” sophomore Selma Teichman said. “That helps a lot with knowing how each player is gonna react to things differently, and it just makes the dynamic so much better.”
The middle school girls volleyball team also showed steady improvement throughout the season, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to Spencerville Adventist Academy. Spirit played a significant role in the team’s successes.
“We had a lot of good cheers, and we had a lot of energy,” Amelia Smith said. “We worked well as a team. By the end [of the season], we were passing better and getting a lot of our serves over.”
On the tennis court, all five girls singles and doubles positions advanced to the second day of the championship. They secured second place, ultimately losing the final to WIS.
This season also marked growth across the athletics program. Expanded volleyball participation brought middle school, JV and varsity coaches together to strengthen continuity between levels.
“We had all the coaches for middle school, JV and varsity sit down regularly to meet and talk about what the girls need to know,” Director of Athletics Becky Silberman said.
While volleyball focused on long-term development, other teams saw competitive highs and lows. The boys varsity soccer team started off strong, going 3-1. They soon hit a roadblock when they lost to WIS. The team suffered a few injuries as well as some red cards, causing them to fall into a losing streak. They won in the quarterfinals but eventually lost in the semifinals to Don Bosco Cristo Rey.
“I think a lot of the freshmen coming in were very hesitant to go against these bigger guys,” sophomore and captain Nathan Yoskowitz said. “We tried to push them to be more aggressive and less scared, but it was definitely challenging, especially against a more physical team like Don Bosco.”
Moments like these highlighted a growing culture of connection across JDS sports, something Silberman said has been key to the success of the entire athletics program.
“I think the community has really shown up,” Silberman said. “The fall season is always hard, because you start school and then the season is practically over. So the fact that we started this strong with fan engagement and everything, I think bodes well for the rest of the year.”
