Boys’ Basketball (Tyler Perry)

The boys had major setbacks caused by injuries this year. However, the Mustangs got their momentum back in the middle of the season.

“I have seen a lot of growth in our young men and maturity,” Isaiah Davis said. “We got off to a slow start because of all the injuries and things like that.”

 They had a 3-2 record which was soon followed up by a six-game losing streak that ended in the East Aurora Holiday Tournament. The guys added more wins to their record and the uplifting second half of the season happened.

In probably their best win of the season, the win over the Redhawks was a definite season highlight. In one of the earlier games during the stretch of six straight losses, the Mustangs were defeated in their first match against the Redhawks by 38 points. The boys avenged their loss and prevailed over Naperville just barely by four points.

This statement win proved to others that the team had made improvements. Shots started falling and the team was more motivated. To stay motivated, the team needed a leader and that was their head coach. Their coach would say what needed to be said and tried to get the team in the right mindset.

“Making minor adjustments, stay doing what you are doing. Trying to keep them upbeat and positive because the start of the second half is so important to the game. You do not want to come out of halftime flat,” Isaiah Davis said. 

The season ended with a loss at Neuqua and a loss to Waubonsie. The up and down season came to an end. Seniors Myles Leavy and Kymari McBride were given deserved recognition and selected to the All-Conference Honorable Mentions.

Girls’ Basketball (Jose Collado)

The team had an up and down season, going 9-18 and reaching the regional semifinal, losing the hard-fought game by a score of 46-68. While 13 seed Metea getting knocked out by second seed Bolingbrook was no surprise, the seasons ending was disappointing. 

“In my opinion, the season ended quite shortly, in other words, we wanted more but it just wasn’t the right time. In most cases, the team had achieved many of its goals such as reaching a certain point total or stopping a specific person on the other team from scoring,” Senior guard Serenity McDaniel said. 

The girls had an inconsistent season. They beat a very solid Neuqua Valley team but got obliterated by Joliet West by a final score of 14-59. This year’s seniors were very influential on the future of the team, leaving the underclassmen with a bright future. 

“Our goal this season was to establish Metea Valley. We had a lot of teams that when they saw Metea on their schedule the last few years they overlooked us. This year we sent a message to the teams in our conference as well as many of the non-conference teams that we are a team to watch out for.” assistant coach Kimberly Puk said. 

Although the season had a disappointing end, next year’s squad will be loaded with experience and will be looking forward to starting a new chapter for the sport. 

Bowling (Tyler Perry)

There was nothing but greatness coming out of the bowling team. Meredith Olef had an unforgettable game, Alicia Anton had an exciting senior season, and the whole group of girls worked well with one another. Their team chemistry was through the roof and everyone was enjoying what they love the most: throwing strikes.

The team stayed consistent throughout the season. As most high school teams do, they used their experience from the beginning of the season and made sure their matches were won by a higher margin. Each individual grew as a person and that showed in their historical year. 

“Throughout the entire season, the girls just grew. From the beginning of the season to the end of the season they just upped their games. I think that was probably the key to their success was just closing frames and making spares,” varsity head coach Kristen Mansmith said.

Some individual improvements occurred during the season. It could have been to raise their match average or rack up more spares and strikes but everyone improved as an individual.

“Instead of practicing my strikes, I started practicing my spares which helped a lot, senior Alicia Anton said.

No one on the team could be seen as a true definite leader. Everyone brought something to the table. Every girl had their time to shine and that showed in the tournaments. Someone new would step up and lead the team that week.

The Mustangs made it to IHSA Regionals and they were one step closer to state. All they needed were a few great matches by the team and another few great matches in sectionals. The team excitingly eased their way through IHSA Regionals and a week later they put up a high enough score which sent them to state. 

The Black and Gold did not finish in the first place, but they were right up there as one of the best schools in the state. This upcoming season will be fun to watch. returning athletes will look to bring their experience for the next season.

Gymnastics (Leland Pan)

The new season brought a young team this year. The Warstangs were lead by five senior leaders and ended the season with a second-place finish at the DVC Meet and IHSA Regionals. The girls also found personal records including senior Thera Bowen’s all-around score of 35.25 at the Neuqua Invite. With an increase in individual improvement, the team grasped a new high score of 135.05.

“We worked well in helping each other and pushing each other through routines and skills,” head varsity coach Phillip Gilmer said. “There was a great cohesiveness with the team .”

The girls found a new light in strengthing the team through communication and teamwork. Although gymnastics is an individualized sport, the ideology brought the team closer together.

“This year’s team dynamic was a lot better than last year,” senior Thalia Bowen said. “Some things I did was being loud at each meeting. I made sure to support each girl when they needed it.”

Every strong team comes from a strong group of coaches. Gilmer and assistant coach Ashley Piton paved the way for the girls to not only perform at their best ability but to ensure pride and enjoyment in every routine regardless of the score.

“The team was great at talking to each other and by the end of the season, they were helping coach each other,” Gilmer said. “Another thing that they did to show comfort level with each other was dance along with whoever was performing a floor routine.  There were many times when we were on the floor that I would look over and see over half the team dancing on the side of the floor, it was a pretty great thing to see.”

From the flips and turns, the team looks to continue with a stronger team.  With the girls’ work ethic, they are in high hopes for a spot at IHSA State next year.

“We kept a good attitude about what was going on,” senior Thera Bowen said. “It gets frustrating, but we all ultimately push through and tried our best to do well and have fun.”

Boys’ Swim and Dive (Elena Buscher)

This year’s team brought new teammates, which led to new relationships. Thanks to these bonds that have been formed, their success has been boosted due to the support from one another. 

“We’ve grown closer this year through traveling to the meets and hanging out afterward,” senior Alex Lafferty said. “We believe it’s important to grow closer as a team so that during relay exchanges or cheering on our teammates we’re able to grow a close bond, and that will help us at the end of the season”.

The impact this has had on their success has been demonstrated through the high placements they’ve achieved. This season, they’ve seen some great finishes such as placing just 4 points away from 3rd place at the Titan Relay Meet. Their success continued to carry them into the postseason. 

The swimmers saw their hard work pay off at the DuPage Valley Conference Meet. The highlight of the meet, however, was junior Jeddrick Gamilla finishing in first place in the 100 breast for the second year in a row. The momentum of the DVC led them through sectionals, allowing some swimmers to qualify for the state meet. 

The state qualifiers included Jeddrick Gamilla in the 100 breast with a time of 59.21 seconds, freshman Jaeddan Gamilla in the 200 IM with a time of 1:55.94, and the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:36.97. At state, Jeddrick Gamilla finished 9th in the state for his event. This wrapped up the season for the Mustangs, but it will be one that they won’t forget. 

“We’ve put a lot of effort into this season,” Lafferty said. “And because of it, we’ve seen some results that both us and our coaches are very pleased with”.

Boys’ Hockey (Elena Buscher) 

The team had an exciting season that is launching hope and ambition into the postseason. Although their year is not over quite yet, the success they found so far cannot be ignored. Currently ranked in the third seed, the Warriors have put up a fight throughout their numerous competitions this season. 

The start of their postseason led the team to the league championship game against the Maine hockey team. After some intense gameplay, the Warriors fell short and ranked second in the league. However, this was not halting the momentum they have created for the state title.

What makes this year different from others is a large number of new players who have joined the varsity team. This dynamic put a new roll onto the upperclassmen and those who had competed with the team before to serve as mentors. It is beneficial for all the teammates to be exposed to these new skills.

What helped the team this year that was different from any other year is the support the team has had from fans. The attendance of students to the various games has been larger than ever. This helps boost the team’s confidence and gives them a push to see their classmates cheering them on. 

Overall the team has been extremely successful so far this season and they will continue this hard work into the continuation of the postseason.  

Boys’ Wrestling (Alex Bedore)

The boys’ wrestling team had a tough season this year. They ended up with a 4-12 record. However, Senior Sean Burke won the IHSA Regional tournament for the Mustangs and competed at the IHSA Sectionals this year. 

“We improved on a lot of things, but we weren’t consistent,” head coach Matt Long said.

The team struggled to stay consistent as a team, but they fought hard in the latter half of the season especially in their conference meets.

“After we came back from winter break, we battled hard,” said Coach Long.

The Mustangs are determined to stay positive and work hard in the off-season for next year’s season.

“We have a lot of hardworking underclassmen that showed potential as long as we keep working hard,” Sophomore Travis Shaw said.

With a lot of seniors leaving, the wrestling team looks to rebuild their culture with their underclassmen.

“The team learned a lot this year and we’re starting to build a new culture in the wrestling room,” Senior Jack Coyle said.

The Mustangs are looking forward to competitive and positive season for next year and the near future.