After one of the worst winter sports seasons in recent memory, Westridge jumped right back from rock bottom to have an impressive spring season, with three out of the four teams advancing to CIF competition. Swim, track and field, and lacrosse all competed in CIF this year, with many of their athletes experiencing post-Prep League competition for the first time. Softball, the only team that did not advance to CIF in some capacity, has a bright future ahead with a strong freshman core, led by Prep League All-Star pitcher Jadyn M. ’27.
Here’s the last Westridge sports round-up of the 2023-24 academic school year.
Swimming: In my time in the Upper School, Swim has been a consistent middle team, frequently placing fourth in the Prep League. The abundance of club swimmers that Polytechnic School, Flintridge Preparatory School, and Mayfield Senior School have makes having an abundance of league successes difficult, as Westridge’s numbers simply do not compare. Despite the team’s overall performance, Westridge has an array of swimmers who performed well at the league and CIF level, including multiple relay teams. The entire team did swim decently at Prep League finals though, with the 4×100 relay team placing third—the only Westridge team to medal.
Even better, the team’s results at CIF mark the team’s strongest performance in recent years. A relay team of Devanie A. ’26, Margaret Grace N. ’25, Spyglass staff writer Jessica S. ’27, and Aliena S. ’25 placed 7th in the division for the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay and 11th overall in the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Aliena, who is a team captain and arguably the strongest swimmer on the team, performed well individually too; she placed 11th and 16th overall in the 50 Yard Freestyle and 100 Yard Breaststroke respectively.
As the swim team has no graduating seniors this year, look out for another solid swim season in 2025.
Track and Field: Although they moved down one place from last year, from second in the league to third, Track and Field was a star among all teams this year. Again, Ximena A. ’25 remained a consistent force to be reckoned with in long-distance running, placing fourth in the mile and leading the Tigers to a third-place finish in the 4×400 relay at Prep League Finals. But as history repeats itself, the Tigers continued to struggle in sprinting, having no individual athletes advance to Prep League Finals.
The Tigers’ true talent lies in several field events: shot put, discus, pole vault, high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Four sophomores, Isabel D., Teia L., Micaela R., and Whitley L., all placed in the top three for their respective events—long jump, triple jump, and high jump; pole vault; shot put; and discus. Moreover, Micaela, Teia, and Isabel all had CIF-qualifying measures, performances that meet a certain threshold. When all was said and done at CIF, Isabel walked away with 8th place in triple jump and Teia with a championship. With a strong class of sophomore field athletes, Westridge Track and Field is set for the next few years with impressive talent. And hopefully next year, Isabel or Micaela will walk away with their own CIF championship alongside Teia.
To read more about Teia’s CIF championship, click here.
Softball: For a team that has majorly struggled since losing in the CIF Finals in 2019, softball has finally shown sparks of life, despite not advancing to CIF playoffs this year. Last year, the team won zero games in the Prep League and only two all season—a disappointing feat. This year, with the talent of freshman superstar Jadyn M., the Tigers won three league games, and four more overall, solidifying their record as a mediocre 7-10. Though their performance puts them at less than the .500 mark (a standard for determining a team’s success), their improvement from last year is impressive and was desperately needed.
Jadyn, who led the league in strikeouts with 139, is largely responsible for their success. Her consistent pitching allowed Rysie Y. ’25, another team star, to focus on offense and playing infield—skills the Tigers desperately needed. Moreover, Rysie led the league in batting average, boasting an incredible 0.639; the next best in the league was only 0.553.
Rysie and Jadyn are already the dynamic duo the Tigers, but the Tigers need the rest of the team’s support in finally breaking the .500 mark. With Jadyn in the pitching circle for three more years, I truly think it is only up from here for the Tigers.
Lacrosse: Like Teia and the Track and Field team, lacrosse also made history this season, advancing to CIF playoffs for the first time ever. After years of developing Westridge’s program, Coach Emily Mukai and the Tigers finally made playoffs after placing 2nd in the Prep League, with a 5-3 league record. Overall, Westridge had a record of 10-9, a 53% win rate, which is one of the best in team history.
In past years, lacrosse struggled with being a complete team. Too many players were inexperienced and the team could not bridge the gap between those players and those who had played before. Spyglass staff writer Sarah L. ’25, who notably scored her 100th goal this season, has been the most valuable player in her three years on the team. Her leadership and strong play propelled the Tigers to CIF playoffs—but it was not only her efforts. Keira N. ’26, Layla R. ’27, Spyglass staff writer Ari E. ’25, and Maya C. ’24 were all frequent scorers, making their win against Chadwick School much more possible this year than ever before. Their defense, led by juniors Nati L. and Spyglass editor Mirella C., alongside senior Maddy G., also remained steady, a crucial part of the Tigers walking away with wins in close games.
Though lacrosse lost in the first round of CIF, their efforts were nothing to laugh about. Coach Horn said, “I believe this is the best game of Westridge lacrosse I’ve ever seen.”
For the first time in a long time, I am writing that the Tigers had a truly impressive overall season. A CIF championship, several other CIF appearances, and a star softball duo? Give me some more of that! The best part is, only a few seniors are leaving. I can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store for us.
