Lower Moreland Twp. School District
Fall Wrap / Winter Preview Athletics & Activities Newsletter
Lower Moreland Twp. School District Personnel
LMHS Principal: Mr. Bill Miles
Murray Avenue Principal: Ms. Jen Dilks
PRES Principal: Dr. Brian Swank
Director of Athletics & Extra Curricular Activities: Mr. Matt Heiland
Athletic Trainer: Mr. Scott DeLange
Email: mheiland@lmtsd.org
Website: www.lmtsdathletics.com
Location: 555 Red Lion Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA, USA
Phone: 215 938 0220
Twitter: @lmtsdathletics
Message from the Athletic Director
My first thank you needs to go out to our coaches. Without you, we would not have teams for our players to be a part of. There are a ton of sacrifices you make on a personal level in order to help our student athletes both grow on a personal level as well as on the field.
Our events would not be able to run smoothly without all of the help that is provided by a number of people. First I would like to thank our faculty managers at Murray Avenue, Ms. Kristy Huthcinson & Mr. Matt Crouch. Their commitment towards the success of our middle school athletic programs is invaluable to not only the Lower Moreland community, but myself as the Athletic Director.
I would also like to thank Mr. Becker, Mr. Baron, John Lawlor, Gary Mitchell, Anne Reilly, Liam Reilly, Tim Reilly Jr, Eric Freeman, Christina Neto, Ed Neeld, Lisa Kupper Brian Courduff, Coach John Spoerl & Coach Greg Green who all helped work a number of events throughout the fall season.
I would also like to thank Mr. Hector Deflin, Mr. Lance Freeman, and our grounds crew for getting our fields set up for games this fall season. It is also important to thank our bus drivers, for without them, we would not be able to get to and from away games. It is a thankless job, but one that is vital to the success of educational based athletics.
As we approach the winter season it is important to address a big issue in high school sports and that is officiating. It is an aspect of sports that gets a lot of heat from players, coaches, & parents. As much as we all want to compete, officiating is at critical point, as the Inquirer article below cites, 80% of new officials stop within 2 years. I encourage our current athletes and those who want to help get involved to get into officiating. It is a way that you can stay involved in sports and earn a few extra dollars. There are no officials that come into the games with vendettas against us or our kids. So, I ask us as a community, that this winter and beyond, we treat our officials with respect. I hope we can thank them for their services after games, and make them want to come back to Lower Moreland in the future.
High School Today Article on Officiating
Philadelphia Inquirer Article on Officiating
I am looking forward to a successful winter season as we turn the page into a new decade. I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and Go Lions!
End of Year Sports Banquet
High School Athletes who attend, will do so for free.
Cost for Adults is $30/person. Cost for School Aged Childred $21/person.
There will be a buffet style dinner offered as well as awards.
More details will be provided in the coming months, but there will be a fundraiser between the winter and spring seasons to help raise money for the event. Also if there are any community members whose businesses would like to help support the event and get their company name in the program, please reach out to Matt Heiland at mheiland@lmtsd.org.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020, 06:30 PM
Vereinigung Erzgebirge (VE Club), Davisville Road, Warminster, PA, USA
2020 Spring & 2020 Fall Sports Starting Dates
It is important to push out starting dates as soon as possible for our families. It is approaching the time of year when parents begin to plan vacations, it is important to push out start date information in regards to next fall.
Spring 2020 - Monday March 2nd - First Day of Practice
2020-2021 & 2021-2022 PIAA Classification Reports
Important Links to Bookmark
Become a Fan of Lower Moreland Athletics
Go to http://www.lmtsdathletics.com and select join in the upper right hand corner.
- You will enter your information to sign up for the website. Once you do that make sure you are signed into your account for the Big Teams website.
- There a list of tabs towards the top of the screen, you will see Email Alerts on the right hand side. Please click on that tab.
- That will take you to a new screen, click on the My Favorites/Alerts tab. Then you will see favorites. In that window you can add a school, which you will add Lower Moreland.
- Then you can add select teams you wish to follow and get alerts for. This is important in regards to receiving information when events change.
- Click on Alerts and check the boxes of how you want to receive alerts.
- Click on Alert Settings. You can add another email if you want, or add a cell number and receive text messages as well.
This is just another avenue of communication between the Athletic Department and the Lower Moreland Community.
ICAL Feature
In conjunction with Big Teams, I am pleased to announce a new feature on our website that will allow you to download team schedules into your personal calendar. Visit our athletic page to subscribe to the schedule of your choice www.lmtsdathletics.com
If you need help getting started, CLICK HERE for instructions and find the type of calendar options you would like.
Lower Moreland Teams Up With Coaches vs. Cancer
Athletic Hall of Fame
Fall 2019 Wrap Up
First Team Athletes
Celli-ann Courduff - Girls Soccer
Maggie McGarry - Girls Soccer
Payton Lennon - Girls Soccer
Nicole Castor - Girls Soccer
Justin Sandler- Cross Country
Leena Saidi - Cross Country
Bryce Fazio - Golf
Taryn Mayer - Field Hockey
Ashley Tang - Field Hockey
Devon Robinson- Boys Soccer
Nathan Waychoff - Boys Soccer
Devin Green - Football
Nick Degliomini - Football
Nikole Lisovvy - Tennis
Ally Cheiken - Tennis
Maeve McErlean - Tennis
Second Team Athletes
Phobe Lynch - Girls Soccer
Alexandre Krutsinger - Girls Soccer
Demmi Fox - Girls Soccer
Sara Matraku - Girls Soccer
Andrew Ung - Cross Country
Alex Kebuz - Cross Country
Ben Zonshayn - Cross Country
Thomas Hellenbrand - Cross Country
Siri Hellenbrand - Cross Country
Sophia Zalipsky - Cross Country
Anthony Mangan - Golf
Linda Tang - Field Hockey
Bennet Durand - Boys Soccer
Braden Alicea- Boys Soccer
John Sheridan - Football
Joe Kelly - Football
Christian Long - Football
Tim Whittle - Football
Sal Penecale - Football
Honorable Mention Athletes
Kathleen Chen - Field Hockey
Sarah Rosala - Field Hockey
Cheerleading
For the first time, the cheer squad has gone into a more competitive route. On November 3rd the team participated in the Whippet Challenge at Downingtown West, where the team finished in 3rd place in the Co-Ed Division.
The team will participate in the District I Championships at Spring-Ford HS on December 7th. Good luck to the squad in their first ever District appearance!
We look forward to seeing the cheer team support our boys basketball team this winter!
Competing at Whippet Inviational
2019-2020 Cheer Team
Team Performs at Halftime - Go Lions!
Boys Cross Country
The team finished 8-2 on the season and 2nd in their division. At the District I Championships the team finished in 2nd place, 15 points behind Pottsgrove HS. Senior Ben Zonshayn earned a district medal at the District I Championships by finishing 10th. The team will return 5 of its top 6 runners next year as they look to earn a division championship in the move to the SOL as well as a AA Team championship next year.
Fr. Jack Becker
2019 Boys Cross Country
Sr. Ben Zonshayn
Girls Cross Country
Leena Saidi finished in 4th place at the District I AA Championships, and qualified for the state championships. She placed 67th at Hershey, but gained valuable experience for next year.
Leena Saidi
2019 State Qualifier
2019 Girls XC
Fr. Siri Hellenbrand
Golf
Junior Bryce Fazio led the team this year as the teams #1 player. Bryce was an all league selection, qualified for the BAL Championships where he finished 9th. The 9th place finish helped him qualify for districts. Senior Anthony Mangan also was an all league selection, and qualified for the BAL Championships in his final season at Lower Moreland.
Jr. Bryce Fazio
BAL Medalist
District I Qualifier
Jr. Will Klanderman
Sr. Anthony Mangan
BAL Qualifier
Field Hockey
The team finished in a tie for 2nd place in the BAL and they earned the #3 seed in the district playoffs. The team got past St. Basils in a home game in round one of districts, however fell to future league rival, and eventual state-quarter finalist, Springfield 2-0 in the district semi-finals. The team only loses four seniors to graduation, and looks to have a strong 2020 season.
Fr. Liz Neeld
So. Kylie Tammaro
LMFH - District I Semi-Finalist
So. Meredith Lutter
Football
On October 12th, on homecoming the team faced off with the George School. Down by 7 with under a minute left, the team scored to get within one point. Coach Beck went for two, and the team pulled off a thrilling 21-20 victory over The George School.
The team will return a good nucleus of players next year as they look to continue to grow the program and get some more wins in the win column.
Thank You Coach Reilly!!
Sr. John Sheridan
Coach Blair Giving a Pep Talk
Jr. Jared Shein
Boys Soccer
The win over Ghost propelled the young team into the District I 3A playoffs for a second straight season. The team went up to Pottsgrove, where ultimately the were defeated by a tough Falcons team.
So. Braden Alicea
Sr. Emmett Cousins
Sr. Bennet Durand
Girls Soccer
The girls earned the #5 seed in the District Playoffs where, like the boys, they traveled to Pottsgrove High School. The team battled all game long, but fell 1-0 to the Falcons.
Jr. Sara Matraku
2019 Girls Soccer
District Qualifiers
Jr. Amy Zesinger
Girls Tennis
Lisovvy, won the BAL Singles tournament, advanced to districts, where she defended her district title. She advanced to Hershey, where she ultimately finished with the states bronze medal. Ally Cheiken and Maeve McErlean teamed up for the Doubles Tournament. They won the BAL Doubles championships and advanced to Districts. In the District Final, the team fell to eventual state runner-up and league opponents from Delco Christian.
The team will be honored at the December board meeting for winning the District Championship.
Sr. Ally Cheiken
2019 Girls Tennis
District I Champions
State Semi-Finalist
Sr. Nicole Stone
Winter 2019-2020 Preview
Boys Basketball
Season Preview
Coaching Staff - Seth Baron (9th season as head coach), Kevin Blair (2nd season), Mike Landes (8th season), Jeff Pitkow (3rd season),
Key Returning Starters/Contributors: None
Newcomers to Watch: John Przybylinski, Jack Doneker
Season Outlook: We have a lot of potential and are looking forward to competing every night.
The boys will open their season with a lot of fresh faces from last years 4A State Semi-Final run. They will travel to future SOL opponent Upper Dublin on 12/7. They will open up at home on 12/10 vs. Valley Forge Military Academy and 12/11 vs. future league opponent, William Tennent.
Girls Basketball
Season Preview
Head Coach: Rich Becker (15th year)
Assistant Coaches: Dennis Sweeney, Bud Joshua, Olivia Mangan
Key Returning Players: Ceili Courduff (League MVP last year), Phoebe Lynch, Riley Malone Alexandre Krutsinger and Maggie McGarry
Newcomers to look out for: Jess Dugo, Liz Neeld, Ofek Gur and Tori Finnegan
Key Games/Outlook: The key to this season will be how the new varsity players adjust to the speed of the game at the varsity level. Early games against Jenkintown, New Hope and Faith Christian within the first three weeks of the year will determine if we repeat as conference champions again this year. Our goal, as always, is to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season with the hope to compete for league and district titles and hopefully make it to the State Playoffs for the fourth year in a row,
The girls season will kick off at the Lower Merion Tip Off Tournament. They will face Council Rock North on Friday 12/6 at 5:30. They will then face either Lower Merion or Chester on Saturday. The home opener will be on 12/13 vs. New Hope Solebury.
Boys Indoor Track
Season Preview
Head Coach: Greg Green (3rd year)
Assistant Coach Alana Jacrouso (1st year)
Key Returning Players: Sr. Tim Baciu, Sr. Ben Zonshayn, Jr. Thomas Hellenbrand, Jr. Sam Solar, So. Russell Wynn, So. Noah Kim
New Comers To Look out For: , Fr. Matthew Dymowski, Fr. Jack Becker, Fr. Alexander Kebuz
Key Games/Team Goals/Outlook
The key meets this season will take place at Penn State University and NYC. At these meets, the team will compete against top competition with the hope of getting qualifying marks for the indoor state and national championship meets. The goal for the season is to continue to grow participation numbers on both the boys and girls teams, to develop a positive culture, and a belief that the team can compete at a high level against quality competition.
The season will kick off on 12/14 at Lehigh University.
Girls Indoor Track
Season Preview
Head Coach: Greg Green (3rd year)
Assistant Coach Alana Jacrouso (1st year)
Key Returning Players: , Sr Amajie Dunkley, Jr. Leena Saidi, So. Evelyn Xiao, So. Jade McCool
New Comers To Look out For: Sr. Nicole Castor Fr. Siri Hellenbrand, Fr. Sophia Zalipsky, Fr. Anna Zagorodny, Fr. Melina Papanikolaou.
Key Games/Team Goals/Outlook
The key meets this season will take place at Penn State University and NYC. At these meets, the team will compete against top competition with the hope of getting qualifying marks for the indoor state and national championship meets. The goal for the season is to continue to grow participation numbers on both the boys and girls teams, to develop a positive culture, and a belief that the team can compete at a high level against quality competition.
The season will kick off on 12/13 at Lehigh University.
Boys Swimming & Diving
Season Preview
Coach: Karney McNear - 3rd Season as HC at LM, 17th overall
Assistant Coach: Matt Preedy
Dive Coach: Rachel Orsi (1st Season)
Returning State scorers: Alex Yoon; Noah Ferker; Greg Landis; Jaden Feldman
Returning District scorers: Bumyeol Park; Sam Shtrambrand; Michael Goldenberg
Others to watch: Jude Blumhardt; Ashton Feldman
Coach McNear says: “The Lions look to keep the tradition of success.”
The season opens up with home meets on 12/10 vs. Bishop Shanahan at 3:45 and 12/17 vs. Upper Moreland at 3:45
Girls Swimming & Diving
Season Preview
Head Swimming Coach: Karney McNear - 3rd Season as HC at LM, 17th overall
Assistant Coach: Matt Preedy
Dive Coach: Rachel Orsi (1st Season)
Returning State scorers: Yuval Levi
Returning District scorer: Sam Becker
Others to watch: Grace Dudek; Emma Volokhonsky; Emily Vaidyan; Melanie Hwan; Ashley Kim; Isabella Gioia
Coach McNear says: “The Lions look to continue the building process.”
The season opens up with home meets on 12/10 vs. Bishop Shanahan at 3:45 and 12/17 vs. Upper Moreland at 3:45
Wrestling
Season Preview
Key Returning Wrestlers: Sr. Nick Bratspis, So. Derek Mironenko, Sr. Eric Srulevich, Sr. Patrick Whittle
Others to Watch: Jr. Adrian Kebuz, So. Matan Macholf, Jr. Julian Ogawa
Outlook: The team lost two key seniors from last years team, but still return a handful of wrestlers with experience. The team is coming off a 2nd place BAL finish last year, and with their depth look to make a run at state power Church Farm in 2019-2020. For the first time in 4 seasons, the team made District Duals last season. They look to get back there this year and avenge their loss in the first round.
The team will kick off the season at the Upper Merion Duals on December 7th at 1:00PM. On December 19th Lower Moreland will host the BAL Tri-Meet starting at 5 PM.
Murray Avenue Athletics
Fall Sports
The Murray Ave FH team was filled with numbers again this year. For the second consecutive year over 45 girls were a part of the team. A number of 7th grade girls were out for the first time and the coaches came away impressed with their improvement throughout the season, especially on the defensive side of the field. The 8th grade team finished with a 2-5-3 this year, with two close losses. Coaches again praised the effort and comradery that was exhibited throughout the season.
Cross Country:
For the first year we offered Cross Country at the middle school level. Former High School coach Mrs. Esposito, ran the team in its first year. We had 30 students register for the club, and they got the opportunity to run in one race versus Colonial MS and Wissahickon. Coach was very proud of the work that the kids put in this year, and is excited to see what next year can bring. The hope is to get our kids into a weekend invitational with our high school team and participate in more league meets.
Girls Soccer:
The girls soccer team had a combined 7th/8th grade roster this year. The team was full of energy and goal scorers this year. The team finished the season 3-4-1 including a stellar win over Faith Christian to close out the season.
Boys Soccer:
The 8th grade boys soccer team finished with an undefeated record this year in the Montgomery County Athletic Association. The boys came together as a unit throughout the year, and continued to raise the bar of excellence at Murray Ave. Pictured below is the 8th grade boys team with their league championship shirts.
The 7th grade team, finished the year 2-4-1. Coaches were very pleased with the progress made from the first game through the last. Despite only winning 2 games, the team did play very well in some close losses.
Winter Sports
Wrestling - The team begins practice next week, in preparation for the regular season when we return from December break. The team will be led by Mr. Giordano again this winter. We are still looking for an assistant coach, so if interested please contact Matt Heiland at mheiland@lmtsd.org.
Boys Basketball & Cheer- Information about tryouts/team info will be sent out in Mid-December.
Other Important News
If you have not done so already, register your child for Murray Avenue Athletics.
Winter Athletes - The FamilyID portal for both new athletes and returning athletes is now open. Please click on the following link and follow directions. https://lmtsdathletics.com/main/otherad/contentID/48614455
Please remember that if your child is a new athlete, which means didnt try out or play a fall sport, you need to click on Murray Avenue Winter Athletics 2019-2020 NEW Athletes. You then need to upload the Section 6 portion of the form to the account.
If your child did try out or play a fall sport, we already have your physical on file and you need to fill out the Murray Avenue Winter Athletics 2019-2020 Re-Certification Link.
Spring Sports
Information will come out in January for dates and schedules in regards to the Spring Middle School sports season.
Fall Drama
The cast and crew of the Fall Drama production of Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias worked together to produce a successful production of this funny and touching story of friendship, love, and loss. Tech crew worked seamlessly to provide lights and sound for the production. Each night, audiences laughed and cried and were impressed by the talents of our cast, giving them a standing ovation.
Cast members: Brenna Alicea, Naina Devgan, Giovanna Ditro, Erica Duffey,Jarred GraBois, Paris Keegan, Gianna Vona
Student Assistant Director & Stage Manager: Hayley Warnalis
Lower Moreland School District Music Dates
12/5 Murray Ave. Orchestra and Chorus Winter Concert
12/9 Murray Ave. Band Winter Concert
12/12 High School Winter Concert
12/16 Pine Road Chorus Winter Concert
12/18 Pine Road Instrumental Winter Concert
10/29 -
The LMHS Jazz Combo performed at the Huntingdon Valley Library for a fundraising event.