The upper school athletics teams were on fire this fall season! Check out their season highlights and accomplishments.

Boys and Girls Cross Country
It was a historic season for the Romans Cross Country teams. Both the boys and the girls teams won Conference, Regionals and Sectionals. The girls team finished fourth at the State meet in Class 2A. The Boys team WON the State meet and are the Class 1A State champions! It was a fantastic season for the entire team. All-State honors was given to Ryan Hardiman '22 who set a new school record at 14:59. He's joined by Akili Parekh '23 and Ben Gibson '25 as All-State athletes. Ava Parekh '22 won the girls State meet, while also setting a new school record in 16:23. She's joined by Mia Kotler '25 as an All-State Athlete. All five were honored as All-Conference, All-Regionals and All-Sectional athletes.

Varsity Field Hockey
The 2021 Latin Varsity Field Hockey team played one of their best seasons ever! This team demonstrated grit, determination, and passion while competing to finish the season with an overall record of 16-4. They are proud to have swept the ISL league with a record of 6-0. This accomplishment was the first time Latin Field Hockey had won the ISL in 20 years. They had nine clean sheets to the season, and a 14-game winning streak. Not only did this team exceed expectations on the field, but they were a joy to coach with their charisma, free-spirits, and genuine love for one another and this program. The team will greatly miss the 10 seniors next year. They are the trailblazers for what's to come for Latin Field Hockey. 

JV Blue Field Hockey
The 2021 JV Blue team had a record-breaking year. The record of 10-2-2 will go down into the history books, but what got them there is much more important than the numbers themselves. Behind these numbers are 20 individual stories. These are stories about what they learned about themselves and as a team. The things they sacrificed and the things they did both physically and psychologically that they never thought possible. The team made and solidified important and lasting friendships that will last a lifetime. Their stories brought them together to this point. It led them to realize that there is more joy in succeeding together than succeeding alone. 

JV Orange Field Hockey
The 2021 JV Orange squad made tremendous strides on and off the field. Their growth and competitiveness were reflected in our final record of 6-0-4. Each and every individual on the team contributed to our undefeated season. The team hammered down fundamentals, learned new skills and challenged ourselves to think tactically. The top goal scorers were Ulla Ciaccio '24, Maddie Gaines '24, and Alexa Valentine '24. With the potential of the girls on this team, this is surely only the beginning when it comes to their field hockey success! 

Varsity Boys Golf
The 2021 Golf season afforded Latin to continue its recent strong program standing within the ISL and IHSA State series. The program was recognized by the ISL with this year’s Sportsmanship Award, identifying the program's consistent focus on respecting the game, ourselves, and our competitors. The team finished the season with a dual match record of 9-1 and finished in second place in the ISL standings to long-time foe, North Shore Country Day. The program tips our hat to the entire roster, with a special thank you to our seniors; they will be missed!  The coaches look forward to the continued growth and success of the Golf program into the future.

JV Boys Golf
JV Golf posted a strong 8-3 record for the 2021 season. The team's captains, Quinn Lovette '23, Ryan Rose '23 and Clark Patton '22, fostered lively camaraderie and a dedicated but relaxed team culture. The future bodes well for Latin golf, as Freshman Will Behan '25 and Karim Patterson '25 posted the team's lowest scores all season long, quickly cementing themselves atop the roster. Above all, JV Golf had a ton of fun this year - every minute spent with these guys was a pleasure. The coaches couldn't have asked for a better group.

Varsity Girls Golf
The 2021 season was the strongest for the Latin Girls Golf program. The team played a very competitive schedule and finished the season with a record of 11-2. The girls won the ISL conference, IHSA regionals and the IHSA sectionals. At the IHSA state tournament, the team finished in eighth place overall after the two-day tournament.  All of the players made significant contributions to the team’s success. The team was led by seniors Emilia Rose '22, Giuliana Dowd '22 and Pickle Coleman '22 along with junior Lizzie Lucas '23, sophomores Maggie Zeiger '24, Ellery Axel '24 and Nisa Ahmed '24. The coaches look to continue to build upon the success of the golf program next season. 

Varsity Boys Soccer
Latin demonstrated a high level of class and resiliency during the 2021 season. For the third year in a row, Latin was recognized by the ISL with the sportsmanship award identifying our program’s focus on respecting and honoring the game. Latin finished 10-4-7 and advanced to the sectional finals. This year’s team was led by seniors Andrei Nikitovic '22, Ascher Cahn '22, Cesar Blas '22, David Cordon '22, Israel Martinez '22, Kai Lugo '22, Reed Rasmussen '22 (C), Sam Gibson '22 (C) and Shane Healy '22. While the team is losing nine seniors, the program has a strong foundation and nine starters returning. 

JV Boys Soccer
JV Boys Soccer was awesome! The boys honored the game by playing good, clean soccer. Every member of the team did their job and no one let their teammates down. The coaches would regularly receive praise from the opposition as well as from the referees! A referee came up to us after a match compelled to share that we were the best team he’s ever seen. And it wasn’t the final score or one individual's skill, but rather the entire team playing good soccer! Every match, they showed up with mad swag and walked away classier than ever. This group was the epitome of cool. It was tons of fun.

Girls Swimming
Led by captains Mia Wolniak '22, Lauren Valentin '22 and Reena Nuygen '22, the Girls Swim team had an amazing season. The team had a final meet record of 6-4, and placed second in the ISL. At Sectionals, the team placed eighth overall. Junior Elynor Starr '23 placed top 12 in her individual events (ninth in the 100 fly, 10th in the 500 free) and scored a lot of points for Latin. In addition, all three relays had season best times by a wide margin. The 200 medley relay finished eighth (Wolniak '22, Valentin '22, Starr '23, Weiskirch '25), the 200 free relay finished ninth (Mann '23, Hallinan '24, Cahill '23, Valentin '22), and the 400 free relay finished seventh (Starr '23, Hallinan '24, Wolniak '22, Weiskirch '25) overall.  

Varsity Girls Tennis
In 2020, Girls Tennis, unfortunately, did not have a State series despite winning ISL and Sectionals. However, they still came back in 2021, firing on all cylinders with the new additions of our two freshmen Marlo Leik '25 and Malia Chen '25. The team was led by seniors Phoebe Lembeck '22, Lucy Mitchell '22, and Junior Alice Mihas '23. Together they led the team to place second in State and ISL. Our State team consisted of our top two doubles teams, Alyssa Batcheler '22 and Lucy Mitchell '22, who had a triumphant win over U-High at the State final and won first place! Talia Truska '23 and Alice Mihas '23 fought their way to fourth place by beating Wauconda in a full third set in the quarterfinals. Overall, the team finished with a record of 13-2! 

JV Girls Tennis
The JV Girls Tennis team had an action-packed season with 12 matches, one weekend tournament and daily practices. Overall the team had a winning season finishing 8 and 4, with some of the losses almost too close to count. The coaches are so proud of the resilience, hustle and sportsmanship they saw on court day in and day out. Special congratulations to McKenzie Goltermann '25 the winning our Most Improved Player award. Alanna Madry '22, for winning the Sportsmanship award, and Lauren Pearsall '23 for winning the Most Valuable Player award. 

Varsity Girls Volleyball
2021 was a difficult season for Girl Varsity Volleyball. After a challenging non-conference start to the season in the TC/Westmont and Niles West tournaments, the girls were able to pick up some momentum for the season. Lead by the seniors Tobi Morrow '22, Remy Rigby '22, and the setting of freshman standout Kate Malaisrie '25, the Romans were able to finish with a respectable 6-2 third place ISL finish and an overall 11-16 record. The team powered through our IHSA Regional competition and ended up falling in the Sectional semi-final to the eventual State championship team. While many individual players showed excellence during the season, three were recognized on the ISL All-Conference Team: Tobi Morrow '22, Remy Rigby '22, and Kate Malaisrie '25.

Freshman Girls Volleyball
As the fall 2021 Freshman Volleyball season has come to a close, the word to best describe it is new. New spaces, new faces, and new experiences. Though new, it was also a time filled with learning, laughing, and most importantly conditioning. The growth of these players in the past 10 weeks was very encouraging and should serve as a positive indicator of what’s to come over the next three years for this group. The season finished with a 5-6 record. However, the improvement that each player made cannot be deduced to a simple win-loss record on the stat sheet. The group showed up each day giving it their all, staying patient, and challenging themselves to be better athletes (and if they didn’t, well we ran). The team bought the mentality of “always believing that they can” and towards the end of the season fought hard with everything with that they had to win.

For a photo recap of the fall season, check out this video by Alyssa Batcheler '22, which was created for and presented at Fall Sports Banquet in November.

Athletics

There is an inherent connection between diversity, equity, inclusion and wellness. Children and adults benefit from cultivating a strong sense of identity within themselves and through relationships with others. This strong sense of self and connection to others creates feelings of belonging, which is essential for students to bring their authentic selves to school.
In order for students to engage in our anti-bias identity work, they need to feel the security and support that comes with knowing they are included. In order for students to engage in our anti-bias identity work, they need to feel the security and support that comes with knowing they are included. Conversations that foreground belonging are paramount in creating a community that values wellness. 

A recommendation from Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Eleannor Maajid and Latin's DEI team, this interview with Jessica Ulrich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Alaska Anchorage, discusses the importance as well as the benefits to the well-being of a child to be connected to community, family, land, earth, etc. 

At Latin conversations around these topics take place in many different forms and spaces, including morning meetings and roundtable discussions in the lower school, affective education and homerooms in the middle school and affective education and advisories in the upper school. 

Our Voices

Having trouble with friends… stressed about an upcoming test... generally feeling anxious… just to say hi... or grab some candy! Those are only some of the many reasons why students might visit Upper School Counselors Jane Knoche and Anneliese Kranz. 

“We want to "normalize" going to see a counselor for all types of support,” said Kranz. “That way, students don't think seeing a counselor is only for helpful for someone who is experiencing ‘issues.’" We want to "normalize" going to see a counselor for all types of support.
Anneliese Kranz, upper school counselor

Knoche and Kranz, both new to Latin themselves, spent a significant amount of time this school year running events for upper school students, especially the ninth grade class, to help support their mental health and wellness and provide bonding time for students to get to know each other. 

“Half of the ninth grade students are new and all of them are coming out of a remote learning year, so offering activities like Cocoa and Cookies and the Scavenger Hunt give them opportunities to bond with each other and get to know us,” said Knoche.

At Cocoa and Cookies, each ninth grade student got some hot cocoa and freshly baked cookies and received a personal handwritten note from Knoche that included a motivational message.

A couple of weeks later, students teamed up with their advisories and participated in a ninth grade scavenger hunt around the city. Below are some of the clues and challenges students were tasked with. However, it’s much more fun to see them in action: check out this slideshow of photos and videos from the day!

• A picture of your advisory doing headstands
• A picture of your advisory in front of Twin Anchors
• A video of one advisory member juggling while everyone else cheers them on
• A video of your advisory singing the Latin Fight Song
• A picture of your advisory doing the downward dog yoga pose in front of the Chicago History Museum
• A video of your advisory saying "Four score and seven years ago" in front of the Abraham Lincoln statue
• A video of someone in your advisory telling a joke in front of Second City and the rest of your advisory laughing (bonus points for how funny the video is)
• A picture of the "Class of 2025" written in M&Ms

Affective Education class in the upper school is another way for students, especially ninth graders, to get to know the counselors in a different setting. In the counseling and mental health unit of ninth grade affective ed, upper school counselors explore the following important topics with students: stress and anxiety management; depression and suicide awareness/prevention; substance use/abuse; and healthy and unhealthy relationships. Throughout the course, students engage in relevant group discussions and activities regarding these most prevalent and relevant mental health issues facing teenagers. Additionally, during each class, students learn and practice a new coping skill/strategy, helping them to gain the necessary tools to navigate these issues if/when they arise. 

Knoche and Kranz have other activities for students planned throughout the year to help build class comradery and bond with each other.
 

Students in Visual Arts Teacher Derek Haverland's Computer Graphic Design class are working on LED light boxes. First they created a design in Adobe Illustrator. They have been working with Shane Enderle, Innovation Studio manager, to print those designs on the Glowforge and a 3D printer. Next they will learn how to solder (join two metals together) before using coding to program the light colors and timing.

Academics