Wrestling, 15-10

The 2018-19 wrestling season officially came to a close in Hershey with the PIAA Class AAA Championships medal round. For the seventh year in a row, a Boyertown wrestler brought home some hardware. This time it was sophomore Julien Maldonado who placed 8th at 106 pounds to earn his first state medal.

Maldonado is the fifth BASH wrestler to place at states as a sophomore. He started his first trip to states with a first period pin to advance to the quarterfinals, where he’d fall (by pin) to drop into the consolations. There, he needed to win against Keanu Manuel from Downingtown East in order to guarantee a spot on the podium. He beat Manuel for third at the regional tournament, and defeated him again (this time 1-0) to earn that first state medal.

Seniors Brett Breidor (152) and Jacob Miller (195) and junior Evan Mortimer (160) were also in Hershey but fell shy of meddling. Breidor and Miller each went 1-2 while Mortimer went 0-2. Breidor’s career ends with a record of 74-53. Miller’s career finished with a record of 108-44 to put him 28th on the career wins list at Boyertown. He qualified for states twice. Mortimer closed out his junior season with a career mark of 74-51, having reached states twice.

-Holden O’Donnell

Boys Basketball, 8-14

Throughout the season, the boys basketball team did not just struggle with adversity but injuries to key players impacted their season.

“Some challenges we faced were injuries to three starters, going up against teams with a lot more experience, and struggling to finish games,” junior Alex Obarow said. “We overcame these struggles by joining together and not trying to do everything on our own. It was always a team effort and we improved significantly by the end of the season.”

But according to Obarow, the future is bright.

“We have four out of the five starters returning as well as most of our scoring production,” he said. “We also have a solid group of guys moving up from JV and everyone has a great attitude to try our best and make it far into the postseason.”

-Shannon Ludwig

Girls Basketball, 8-14

As the girls basketball team went into their last regular season game, they were hoping it wouldn’t be their last. But placing two spots below the cut off, the girls fell short.

“The main challenge that we faced as a team was overcoming mental blocks, whether that be defense, offense, or finishing games. But it is something that we must grow and mature with moving into next season,” junior captain Amber Marburger said. “But we have great potential coming into next year. Only graduating one senior this year, the majority of the team will be returning and we are determined to redeem ourselves from what had happened this past season.”

-Shannon Ludwig

Girls Swimming: 11-1 

The Lady Bears almost made undefeated in Pac 12 with only one loss to Owen J Roberts. The Lady Bears also sent 5 girls to PIAA District 1 competition. The girls 200 Medley and the girls 400 free relay came seconds away from qualifying for states achieving their best times this season. Lady Bear Gabby McKee made the podium at Districts, landing her a lane at States where she got a solid 13th in the 500 freestyle. Her favorite part of states was “the energy and unity of everyone there made it fun and exciting”.

-Hannah Shaner

Boys Swimming: 8-2

BASH Boys Swimming and Diving had a rough season with a lot of men’s swimmers getting injuries, but that didn’t stop them from getting 9 boys to PIAA District 1 competition and 4 boys to State competition. The boys 400 free relay had an outstanding finish at states getting personal best times. Swimmer Nolan Benner said, “ I enjoyed getting to know the boy’s team more this year and coming together to make this year a successful year with best times as a result.”

Coach Draves said the BASH swimming and diving the team pulled together when things got tough, making this season one to remember. “Success and growth can only come through struggle and persistence,” he said.

-Hannah Shaner

Boys Winter Track

Five members of the boys winter track team qualified for the state meat at Penn State, but found little success. Christian McComb qualified for the mile of a time of 4.30, but ran 4.41 at the state meet. Payton Stanziani ran the open 400 meter race, but ran 52 seconds with his personal best being 50. The 4X400 team qualified early in the season with a time of 3.31, but injuries affected the team as they ran 3.39 at states. “The season went very good for everyone as a whole because a few people went to states and the freshman kept getting personal records which shows how they are able to improve,” sophomore Jacob Bardsley said.

-James Sahakian

Girls Winter Track 

The girls winter track team found success this season with the 4*200 record being broken and athletes qualifying for the state meet. “Definitely breaking the record twice was super fun along with qualifying for states,” junior Anna DeRafelo said. “The friendships I made were definitely the best part of the season.”

-James Sahakian