IACS Athletics Newsletter
Winter 2020 Update
MESSAGE FROM THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, and as always, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns that you may have:
Athletic Director: Nolan McKinnon nmckinnon@innovationcharter.org
Athletic Office: iacsathletics@innovationcharter.org
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
Girls Varsity Basketball
The girls varsity basketball team, after a bit of a struggle, have rallied and pulled together a current record of 5-6. The Lady Hawks have bested their opponents with quick cuts, sharp passes, well-chosen shots, and improved free throw shooting from the line. They have also stepped up their relentless defense to a new level. The Lady Hawks look confidently forward to their mid-season schedule. GO HAWKS!
Boys Varsity Basketball
Record: 5-5
The season opened with an overtime victory over Douglas as sophomore Connor McNamara was unstoppable in the extra session. He hit a key three-pointer to cut the deficit and then made free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.
Close wins over Pioneer Charter, Ayer Shirley, and South Lancaster have shown the toughness that the Hawks will need for the rest of the season. Seniors Derik Linton, Matt Lucozzi, Craig Roche, and Colin O'Neill have been solid this year. Juniors Gautham Giridharan and Chris Candor have played key roles while freshman Caden Smith has emerged as a dependable offensive weapon as he scored 11 points in the victory over Pioneer Charter.
Brandon Parshley had a career-high 24 points in a victory over Fellowship Christian. The team is trying to get back to the MIAA tourney for the fourth time in the past five years.
Girls Junior Varsity Basketball
The high school girls junior varsity basketball team is in the middle of a very productive developmental season. With a mix of high school and middle school players, there was a bit of an adjustment period at the beginning of the season while the players learned how to best play with one another. Now, midway through the season, they are playing in step with one another and making great strides to improving as a team and as individual players. Playing almost an exclusively man-to-man defense, every player works tirelessly during games, giving full effort to guarding their girl and to supporting their fellow teammates on the floor. All players are clearly working together to achieve one common goal, and that is the improvement of all. We are very excited about the great potential that a strong JV team roster will bring to our varsity program in the years to come.
Boys Junior Varsity & Freshman Basketball
After a slow start with an 0-2 record in 2019 portion of the season, the young Hawks have turned the page into 2020 with 2 wins against South Lancaster Academy and Austin Prep.
During that time, key standouts for the team have been Jaydis Gonzalez and Lansana Kaimachiande. Both players have put up double-digit scoring and rebounding figures. Also providing quality minutes are Riley Megyesi, Aaron Negga, and Drew Buckley.
Indoor Track & Field
Update from Coach Kyle Thornton:
"This year, indoor track is in a rebuilding phase. We lost half of our 35-member team last year to graduation and a handful of fall injuries keeping returning athletes off our roster. We have 24 athletes this season, 14 of whom are underclassmen. Top performances so far include Junior Jack Benoit posting a 1:27 in the 600m, Junior Nam Bui jumping 19' in the long jump (a jump which broke the school record), and Sophomore Joyce Nabagereka throwing 32'7" in the shot put. Joyce's throw also broke the school record and ranks her as the 6th best sophomore in the state. We are very excited to see this program progress and new talents develop."
Cheer
Swim
Record: 3-1-1
Update from Coach Lindsey Day:
"The LC/IACS/NT co-op swim team has had a great season thus far, and is looking forward to championships in just a few weeks (2/1)! Our team has grown in size and in ability this year, and our current record is 3-1-1! Our in-league competition has included wins against Arlington Catholic and Saint Mary's and our first ever tie against Bishop Fenwick! We are looking forward to celebrating our two senior swimmers: Leah Doucot (IACS) and Patrick McKenna (LC) this Friday!"
MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS
Girls Varsity Basketball
Record: 4-2
The work the players have put in during HS JV games has helped to develop everyone's individual game and to continue to improve team cohesion and confidence. As the team prepares for their playoff run with a goal of making it to the championship game for the sixth straight season, they look forward to their next match-up against SJA and their first match-up against league-leading SMS. All players on the team, including bench players, are continuing to work hard and improve during JV games, practices, and league play. Despite close match-ups with some limited playing time in league play, the team understands that they are all crucial for the future success of the middle school and high school programs and that one or more may become an integral part of this season's drive to the championship game.
Boys Varsity Basketball
Record: 5-2
The boys middle school varsity basketball team started the season with a tough double-digit loss to perennial powerhouse LCCPS. But, the boys didn't hang their heads and instead worked smarter and harder in practice on their fundamentals and team play. Led by captains D.J. Mowatt and Aidan Virella, the Hawks have won four games in a row. Their most recent win came against the second place SMS, who put a full court press on the entire game. This would have rattled many teams to defeat, but the Hawks used the skills they have been working on in practice and executed a fundamentally sound press break.
Seventh graders Gavin Vail and Nolan Stys continue to show no fear and use their quickness and basketball acumen at the guard positions while Matt Lima has been impressive at the strong forward position as his rebound total continues to climb.
If the boys continue their TEAM first attitude and play well-disciplined fundamental basketball, they look to a very successful season.
Boys Sub-Varsity Basketball
Record: 0-4
This past weekend, the team dropped a close game to SMS with an all-around solid effort. Leading the way offensively was point guard Cameron Kline, while Declan Ryan anchored the 2-3 zone defense. The team is looking forward to their next game against NDA!
Girls Junior Varsity Basketball
Record: 2-2
Update from Coach Mary Carroll:
"Coach “Chef” Jeffrey and I (Coach Carroll) are having a blast with all 13 of our JV MS Basketball Lady Hawks. They are energetic, funny, passionate, serious and are well on their way to being stronger, better basketball players. Having watched my own daughter compete on this team last year, I knew we’d have a strong focus on basketball fundamentals – and I was up for the task! During the first week of basketball, I met girls who had never played the sport prior to this team. On the other hand, I have teammates who currently compete on AAU teams! It is and will continue to be a challenge to best support and guide these 5th and 6th grader players on their unique individual skill improvements and assimilation to basketball – especially given their wide range of skill. But both Coach Jeffrey and I are huge fans of the sport and we hope to spread our love of basketball with the girls, hopefully encouraging them to play for years to come. We embrace this challenge weekly as we continually adjust and alter our practice schedules to best address the needs of our girls and the team. The best part of our week as coaches is watching these girls come together on a Saturday for games, applying what we have practiced as a team -- while cheering each other on from the bench and side-by-side on the court. We very much look forward to the remainder of our season together and seeing more of the growth and teamwork we’ve only so far caught a glimpse of."Boys Junior Varsity Basketball
Hawks Record: 2-2
Red-Tails Record: 0-3
Archery
Hawks Record: 1-1
Red-Tails Record: 2-0
Mustangs Record: 1-1
Innovators Record: 0-2
Pioneers Record: 0-2
Flash Record: 1-1
Cheer
Update from Coach Kim Johnson:
"Middle school cheer is lucky to have a group of very excited and determined girls. We are all working hard and have made a lot of progress in the short time that we have been practicing. We are starting to cheer at games and soon we will begin practicing our routine for competition."