Starting on April 22, spring-season sports badminton, soccer, and track and field teams participated in their respective KAIAC and AISA tournaments. As the end of the season approached, the competition gave teams their final chance to prove their hard work and effort all throughout the season, especially for the senior athletes.
“I was passionate all throughout the season,” Jaewon Kim (12), senior track & field athlete, said. “Though this year was my first time participating in Track & Field, the team around me was a great environment to be around, and I think we did a great job at our respective events.”
SIS found great success in this year’s tournaments, with historic performances from the Track & Field team, strong finishes for boys’ and girls’ soccer, and badminton.
Track & Field recorded its best season in the history of the sport at SIS, with athletes breaking countless school records and solidifying the school’s place as a strong competitor. Notable achievements include no.1 in the 100-meter run by Colin Park (12) with a time of 11.91 seconds, as well as no.2 in the 4×100 relay—a relay run by 4 runners who run 100m each—ran by Colin, Carson Park (12), Ryan Jin (10), and David Yeo (10). In the KAIAC-PACWEST Track & Field Championship, SIS achieved a record-breaking four podium finishes, with no. 2 in the 800-meter Short Medley Relay (SMR)—a relay with two 100-meter runs, a 200-meter runs, and a 400-meter run—and no.3 in the 4×100, a four-man 100-meter race, along with the 3200-meter run and the long jump.
Boys varsity soccer finished second in the AISA tournaments, while girls finished no. 5 overall. In the regular season, the boys’ soccer had an outstanding record, placing first in the Red Division with a record of nine wins and one loss. The girls soccer team also showed improvement, finishing no. 3 in the regular season with a record of four wins, three losses, and three draws. In the KAIAC tournament, the girls secured a third-place finish after defeating CDS 1-0, while the boys also finished no. 3 with a 2-0 victory over HHS. Both teams were able to earn a promotion to the Blue Division this year, now entering a league with higher levels of competition.
Adding to the positive results from this season, both soccer teams are hoping to take a more reflective approach to games and practices as they prepare for higher competition, planning to increase communication between players and coaches alike to improve performance and cohesion within the team.
“Communication is extremely important,” Claire Shin (9), girls varsity soccer player, said. “During a rough time mid-season, we were able to talk about the specific habits and skills we needed to improve on in practice. I think this way we were able to create different strategies and more specific drills, and going forward, I hope our team can keep connecting practice to game situations, especially since we will compete in the blue division next year.”
The badminton team concluded the season on a high note, with the boys finishing no. 2 in the regular season while the girls finished no. 4. The boys team performed exceptionally at the AISA tournament: captain Brian Ji (12), finished no. 1 in the singles category, with Yejun Kim (10) and Bernard Chang (10) finishing no.1 in the doubles category. The girls showed a remarkable performance as Lauren Lee (10) finished no. 2 in the girls’ singles category, while Jenny Park (12) and Yoonmin Lee (9) paired together to finish no. 3 in the doubles category.
For the KAIAC tournament, the badminton team traveled to TCIS. This year’s tournament presented a unique challenge, as the two-day tournament was condensed into one day, doubling the number of matches the athletes needed to compete in.
“The tournament was extremely tiring,” Yejun Kim (10), badminton athlete, said. “Especially since the tournament was so far away and we had to play double the amount of matches. We would have performed better if the tournament had kept its two-day format.”
However, the badminton athletes were able to successfully overcome these challenges, as Brian placed first in the tournament for boy’s singles, while Russell and Jaehwi Lee (11) placed in no. 2 in the doubles while Yejun and Bernard along with Alex Lee (10) and Chloe Kim (12) finished no. 4. In the end, the badminton team was able to end the season with boys finishing no. 2 in the conference while the girls placed no. 4.
Overall, this spring season marked a time of accomplishment and recognition for the athletes, as all three sports achieved significant improvements from last year and marked a successful year of sports at SIS.
