This week, standout athletes from Brooks School’s squash and wrestling teams will be taking their talents on the road — to compete in national championships in Pennsylvania!
Starting on February 23, Aiden Crott ’25 will show his mettle on the mat at the two-day National Prep School Wrestling Championships at Lehigh University, while Brooks’ boys and girls squash players will serve up their skill at the three-day U.S. High School Squash Championships in Philadelphia.
“We're incredibly proud of Aiden,” said Assistant Athletic Director John Cunningham, commending Crott’s “amazing performance” at the New England Preparatory School Wrestling Association’s tournament at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Conn. February 16-17. Crott’s sixth-place finish qualified him for the national meet — and revived Brooks School’s tradition of sending wrestlers to nationals.
“Other than the last few years [in the aftermath of COVID], we’ve had a wrestler attend nationals every year for quite a while,” said Cunningham.
The secret of their success? Attention to technical details and conditioning. "We spend a significant amount of time working on technique at the beginning of practices. That's when our athletes minds are freshest," said coach Christopher Barker. Conditioning comes at the end. "By embracing this routine, they've been able to develop the physical stamina and mental toughness that enables them to 'grind it out' in the waning moments of a closely-contested match."
The fact that Crott is the one kicking off Brooks’ comeback is no surprise to the athletic department (which also recognizes the wrestling team as a whole for placing fifth out of 12 at the Graves Kelsey Tournament at Belmont Hill School on February 10: Philip Choi' 24 earned a silver medal, while Mujeeb Amin '25, Crott and Nicholas MacCormack '27 each earned a bronze. Other place-finishers: captain Ryan Tsai '24, Leito Betts '25 and Drake Tarlow '25).
“Sitting right across from the William K. Poirot Wrestling Room, we get to witness the relentless effort and attention to detail that Crott puts into his craft,” said Cunningham. “His qualification is absolutely earned and we know he is going to represent himself and our school extremely well in his upcoming matches.”
As will Brooks’ boys and girls squash teams, competing 57 miles away in Philadelphia this weekend.
“We can't wait to see the squash teams test themselves against national opponents this week,” said Cunningham.
Boys squash is scheduled to participate in division five at the Germantown Cricket Club and Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center, while girls squash plays in division four at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as at the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center and the Germantown Cricket Club.
Many close, five-game battles marked the girls squad’s fourth-place finish in their division at the New England Interscholastic Squash Association’s New England Prep School Championships at Portsmouth Abbey School on February 10, when the boys team also finished fourth following many close matches.
Before New Englands, the girls team was seeded #1 in division five based, on their players' ratings. After performing better than their ratings during New Englands, they were bumped up to division four (seed #13-16).
“Although we are bummed that we would have had a better chance of winning the nationals in division five,” said coach Kihak Nam, “the girls are excited and ready to play more challenging teams in division four this weekend.”
This nationals meet is “the culmination of a season that saw every member of each squash team give their very best effort and they deserve this experience,” added Cunningham. “We wish them the best of luck and hope they are able to enjoy themselves in what should be an awesome event!”
Wishing the best to all Brooks School's U.S. High School Squash Championships competitors:
- Tri Changkasiri '24
- Scotty Gribbell '24
- Adam Jin '24
- Thayer McClintock '25
- Jeffrey Pan '24
- Alex Staniscia '24
- Diego Torio '24
- Shawn Wei '26
- Sofia Fortenberry '24
- Caroline Gay '24
- Dri McClintock '25
- Niamh O'Brien '26
- Eliza Olsen '27
- Sarah Pan '26
- Jasmine Shi '24
- Ella Whelan '25