On February 9, members of the varsity wrestling team competed in the prestigious Graves-Kelsey Tournament (the ISL championship tournament), earning a competitive second place finish overall in a field of 13 teams. RL’s wrestlers achieved this accomplishment through a collective effort, with 10 of 13 wrestlers placing. Doevy Estimphile (I) earned first place in his weight class. Earning second place finishes were seniors Makoto Kobayashi (captain), Liam Rimas, and Eric Zaks. Coming in third place in his weight classes was Mat Cefail (II). Earning fifth-place finishes were senior captains Nate Lopes and Alvin Massenat, and sophomores Miguel Rincon and Keaton Sahin. Pete Levangie (II) placed sixth in his weight class. Led by head coach Josh Wildes, tournament representatives from RL were rounded out by AJ Gutierrez (III), Daniel McElroy (I), and Elias Simeonov (I).

The Graves-Kelsey Tournament was named in honor of Bert Kelsey and Gibby Graves in 1966. Bert was Roxbury Latin’s wrestling coach from 1937 to 1966, earning 24 winning seasons and numerous individual championships. A master of English and debate, his energy and good nature endeared him to hundreds of students. Gibby Graves was a long-time coach at Buckingham Browne and Nichols and was a pioneer in developing the league tournament. Roxbury Latin has earned the title of Graves-Kelsey Champion 20 times since 1966; this marks the eighth time the team has placed as runner-up.

Several members of RL’s wrestling team will continue on to the New England Championships this weekend.

Varsity Tennis senior and co-captain Harris Foulkes was named the Independent School League MVP and a Boston Globe All-Scholastic student-athlete this spring for his performance and leadership on the court. In his time at R.L., Harris had a significant role on two ISL Championship Teams, and he is the only Roxbury Latin player to have ever played in three New England Class B team finals.

Harris and co-captain Brendan Jimenez (II) helped lead the team to an overall season record of 18-2, and to a second place finish in the New England Championships. Season highlights included Harris finishing 27 and 1 at #1 singles in the ISL and winning all of his singles in the New England Tournament. Joey Barrett (III) finished undefeated in the ISL at #2 singles, and Walker Oberg (IV) was the only player on the team to be undefeated in singles in both the ISL and in the New England’s. (The last freshman to do that was Harris Foulkes.)

Long-time head coach Ousmane Diop describes Harris as one of “the best players to have ever come to R.L. He is the smartest player and the best doubles player we have ever had. To see him manage a match and attack, in the most precise way, the weaknesses of other players is a thing of beauty. Harris is irreplaceable. I will miss him as a player, as a captain, and more importantly as a person. He is one of the kindest and most humble players I have ever coached.

“This season was also a success because of the way our players conducted themselves on the court. They always worked hard and were graceful in victories and in defeats. I have never received more compliments from other coaches about the character of our team than I did this year, which says a lot about the leadership of Brendan and Harris.”

Other R.L. boys earning league and New England honors this spring, by sport, include:

Baseball ISL All-League

Will Greer (II)

Ben Rounds (II)

Joey Ryan (III)

Baseball ISL Honorable Mention

Jimmy Duffy (I)

John Frates (II)

Lacrosse ISL All-League

Zander Keough (I)

Collin Bergstrom (III)

Lacrosse ISL Honorable Mention

Deven Varney (II)

Charlie Weitzel (III)

Tennis ISL All-League

Joey Barrett (III)

Track and Field ISL All-League and All-New England Honors

Milan Rosen (II)

Track and Field ISL Honorable Mention

Ejiro Egodogbare (III)

On 19 May, Roxbury Latin’s track and field team bested its competition in the weekend’s New England Preparatory School Division III Championship hosted by the Hyde School in Bath, Maine. For the second year in a row, RL took the coveted title—this year by a margin of 13 points, over Hyde.

For the second year in a row, RL pole vaulters finished in first, second and third place, with Milan Rosen (II), Evan Lim (I), and Alvin Massenat (II) sweeping the medals. Milan broke his own school record (which he set just last week) clearing 13’3”. His previous record stood at 12’9”. Milan emerged as a double New England champion, also winning the 300 hurdles. In the pole vault event, Milan secured his fourth straight ISL and New England title.

Younger athletes on the team figured significantly into the successful season, and in the Championship meet: Ejiro Egodogbare (III) took the silver medal in shot put; Reid Corless (III) scored in three events; and Quinn Donovan (IV) and Daniel Gillis (III) scored in the distance events.

Other point scorers this weekend (placing in the top six for their respective events) were co-captain Paul Kuechler (I), co-captain Ayinde Best (I), Ben Lawlor (I), John Philippides (I), Brendan Gibbons (II), Adam Berk (II), Aidan Bowen (II), Nate Ukoha (III), Thomas Gaziano (IV), and Sam Morris-Kliment (IV).

A symbol of the team’s supportive and collaborative foundation was displayed by the 4×100 relay squad—which included one senior, one junior, and two freshmen. Seeded sixth, the relay team finished in second place.

The team will graduate 11 seniors—six of whom have been members of the team for four years. With a record of 16-2 on the season, Coach Erin Dromgoole credits the team’s senior leadership with setting the example of strong work ethic, stellar sportsmanship, and deep care for one another.

While each senior contributed in many valuable ways, several seniors made tangible progress over their RL track and field experiences: Andrew Steinberg progressed to become one of the top runners in New England, finishing his career with the equivalent of a 4:43 mile, good for 12th all-time at RL. Ben Lawlor graduates as RL’s fourth fastest 3000m runner of all time, running an average of 5:03 per mile for nearly two miles. Evan Lim graduates as the bronze medal winner in the pole vault at two straight New England Championships and the program’s fourth best vaulter all-time, clearing a bar height of 11 feet. On Saturday, co-captain Paul Kuechler ran a lifetime personal best to finish third in the New England 400m race.

“I’m proud of and grateful to [co-captains] Ayinde and Paul for embodying our team motto, Love Each Other, to its fullest,” said Coach Dromgoole during the Spring Athletic Awards Hall.

“In any given season, we normally return about 12 of our Championship meet ‘starters,’” continued Coach Dromgoole. “This year, we returned just six. We were—and are—a team full of young talent. [The team’s younger athletes] rewrote the school record books, setting new Class IV and Class III records in five different events, and scoring 30% of our points in our successful defense of our New England Championship title.”

The future is bright for Roxbury Latin track and field. Captaining next year’s team are Alvin Massenat (II), David Meneses Ontiveros (II), and Milan Rosen (II).