That's a wrap: Spring season in the books

The final day of competition for the spring season — and for the school year — saw championships earned, medals won, records broken, and a spirited day of competition with rival Andover.

Exeter boys tennis enjoyed an exciting cap to their season as Kiran Raval ’24 took home the New England Prep School Invitational Tennis Championship. The top-seed heading into the tournament, Raval marched through the bracket in impressive form before earning a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the championship match over Andover rival Ethan Wong. Clark Pearson ‘23 and David Dai ’26 also enjoyed success on the day, as Pearson climbed through to win the “A” consolation bracket, while Dai earned the “B” singles championship, winning his semifinal match 8-1 and the title match 6-0, 6-0.

Exeter crew brought home some more hardware at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championships. The girls first boat earned a third-place medal, while the girls second boat won a second-place medal. On the boys side, the first boat won the petite final to finish in seventh place overall, while the boys second boat earned a third-place medal. The boys third boat claimed fifth overall.

Back on campus, the rest of Big Red played host to Andover in the annual battle to close out the athletics calendar.

The boys track and field team, fresh off their 2023 New England Championship last weekend, topped the Blue 90-55. Byron Grevious '24 set an Exeter/Andover meet record in the 1,500 meters with a blistering time of 3:52.50. Jaylen Bennett '25 added another meet record in the 400, crossing at 48.77. Bennett, Brandon Wong '23, Jackson Giampa '23 and Enzo Nakornsri '23 teamed up for another meet record in the 4x100 with a time of 42.70. Grevious also finished first in the 800 with a time of 1:58.25. The boys also swept the javelin, as Tanner Boulden ’24 (180 feet, 9 inches), Carter Johnson ’26 (161-5), and Will Simpson (150-10) each had monster throws.

The girls team, who finished second at New England’s a week ago, fell to Andover 77-68, but not without fireworks. Willa Hock '23 broke the school record in the long jump with a leap of 19-1 while also placing first in the triple jump with a distance of 35-5.75. On the track, Hock finished first in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.53 and teamed up with Kaylee Bennett '23, Tenley Nelson '24 and Jannah Maguire ‘25 for a first-place finish in the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:10.13. Nelson also enjoyed a fantastic day, as she took home victories in the 800 (2:20.22) and the 1500 (4:45.99).

On the diamond, Exeter baseball came through with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Andover. Captain Andy Houghton '23 struck out 11 over six innings before Beau Elson '24 came in to close the door with three shutout innings of his own as the duo kept the Big Blue offense at bay. Malachi Johns '23 reached with a single in the seventh inning, stole second, and came home on a double to right field by Dylan Shapiro '23 to supply the lone run of the game. 

Boys varsity lacrosse also nabbed a big win with a 15-6 decision. Ryan Nagle ’23 (five) and Casey Realini ’23 (four) combined for nine goals to power the Exeter offense, while Aidan Olazabal ’24 was sharp in between the pipes to anchor a solid defensive effort.

Boys JV baseball earned a 6-2 win over the Blue on the back of Jack Dougherty ’26, who pitched a complete game. Boys JV lacrosse rolled to a 15-5 victory, while a goal from Eveland Sherman ‘25 in the final minute earned a 7-7 tie for girls JV lacrosse. Andover softball bested Big Red 9-0, while Big Blue girls varsity lacrosse topped Exeter 13-7 in their annual tilt on Friday night.