The season is already underway, which means the Wildcats are well on their way in attempting to repeat the success of recent spring campaigns.
Boys’ Golf
On the heels of a fifth consecutive NYSAIS State title and Rye Country Day’s second FAA boys’ golf championship in school history, the Wildcats return in 2011 with their murderer’s row of Brian Starker, Colin McDade, James Kennedy, and Harrison Baker intact.
If the sport of sailing is the equivalent of “chess on water”, then Rye Country Day’s team must be the Bobby Fischer of the Northeast league. The Wildcats have won each regatta they’ve entered this season, besting as many as 10 other teams on their way to victory.
The 12-student RCDS squad practices four days a week at Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich under the tutelage of second-year head coach John Bainton. The coach, the Wildcats’ first formal one in the program’s history, is also the sailing director at IHYC. He hoped his team would be good, but didn’t expect dominance from the outset.
The Wildcats are a unique blend of sailors, ranging in age from freshmen to seniors. Teddy Mark and William Gleysteen are the senior captains, and they’re backed by an excellent roster that includes the standout Mollerus brothers, freshman Andrew and sophomore Matthew. Junior Thomas Dunn and sophomores Michael Ince, Charlie Krause and Reid Secondo have also contributed to the stellar sailing. Juniors Ryan Davidson and Charlie Brooks, and freshmen David Yelsey and Julie Kahn round out the team.
“Sailing requires both mental and physical discipline,” said Bainton. “It’s very individual yet we sail at team level. It’s different in the sense that we compete for an entire day with hours of focus far beyond any other team sport. Every second and every point matters.”
The 2009-10 school year already has been a banner one at Rye Country Day. With three State titles in the bag, the Wildcats are hungry for more as the spring season rolls in.
Boys’ Lacrosse
Rye Country Day was an unrelenting, buzzsaw in 2009, cutting opposing teams to ribbons in their march to a 17-2 record and both the Fairchester Athletic Association and Western New England Division II championship.
The two-pronged engine of that prolific offense – Cody Levine and J.P. Garry – has graduated, but the Wildcats possess a group of four captains who will form the backbone of the 2010 model. Seniors Harry Razook, attack, and midfielder Chris Seter will be heavily relied upon as the only two returning offensive starters. Goaltender Chandler Grinell and defensemen Jack Mandy, seniors as well, are a pair who can spearhead what Rye Country Day hopes is a physical brand of defense.
Harry Razook
“We have a great group of seniors who have worked extremely hard throughout their time here and have meant a lot to this program,” said head coach Matt Rosolen. “Also, we return every defensive player from last year’s team and need their experience and talent to lead throughout the season, especially at the onset as we develop our more inexperienced players.”
