Winter sports previews: Derryfield School
The winter sports season is officially underway and teams from Derryfield School are finding early success on and off their respective playing surfaces. Here’s what the head coaches have to say heading into the new year.
MANCHESTER, NH – The winter sports season is officially underway and teams from Derryfield School are finding early success on and off their respective playing surfaces. Here’s what the head coaches have to say heading into the new year:
Boys Basketball
Head Coach:
- Ed Meade (5th season)
Last season:
- 12-6 (advanced to state quarterfinals)
Top Returning Athletes:
- Jack Krasnof, Senior captain (first-team all-state selection as a junior)
- Alex Comire, Senior captain (all-state honorable mention as a junior)
- Zach Martin, Senior captain
- Alex Drake, Senior
Additional Key Contributors:
“Senior Nick Ferarri is our other starter who is an excellent defensive and rebounding presence. Sophomore Sam Fazelat will provide scoring off the bench, along with seniors, Krishna Katragadda, Billy Gardner and Elias
Kanteres. The rest of the team is senior Logan Purvis, sophomore Nate Boudreau, sophomore John Martinez, and freshman Lukas Gaff.” – Head Coach Ed Meade
Biggest Challenge:
“Our challenges every season always come from our rivals: Epping, Newmarket,
Portsmouth Christian, Concord Christian and Holy Family, and this season will be no different.” – Head Coach Ed Meade
First 2 Games (2-0):
- Friday, Dec. 1 – Win, 65-20, vs. Wilton-Lyndeborough
- Tuesday, Dec. 2 – Win, 43-36, at Epping
Next 3 Games:
- Tonight, Dec. 7, 5:30 p.m. – Away at Concord Christian
- Tuesday, Dec. 12, 6:30 p.m. – Home vs. Holy Family
- Tuesday, Dec. 19, 6:30 p.m. – Away at Mascenic
Girls Basketball
Head Coach:
- Courtney Cheetham (4th season)
Last Season:
- 9-9 (first season in Division II)
- Lost in first round of playoffs
Top Returning Athletes:
- Sam Chappell, Captain
- Abby Fournier, Captain
- Tia Ferdinando
“We also return rotation players: Katie McCormick, Chloe Bremberg, Kailyn Plage and Briana Sanchez, who all have started at various points in their careers and have multiple years of varsity experience. I feel we are still not on a lot of people’s radar in our division, but I’m hoping to surprise some people.” – Head Coach Courtney Cheetham
Promising Newcomers:
- Kim Amendah
- Kelsey Beekman
- Bre McCabe
- Ella LaFlamme
Expectations for This Season:
“After our first season in D-II last year, the girls understand the level of play and commitment needed to reach our potential. They have put in a lot of work in the off season, and expect to improve on our record from last year and make a deeper playoff run.” – Head Coach Courtney Cheetham
First 3 Games:
- Wednesday, Dec. 13, 5 p.m. vs. Concord Christian
- Friday, Dec. 15, 6 p.m. at Kennett
- Tuesday, Dec. 18, 6:30 p.m. vs. Plymouth
Alpine Skiing
Head Coach:
- Kathy Goldberg (5th season)
Assistant Coaches:
- David Marsden
- Vanessa Tancrede.
Last Season:
- Boys – D-IV Champions (First state title since 2016)
- Girls – D-IV Runner-up
Captains (all seniors):
- Ben Rosenthal
- Zach Rosenthal
- Charlotte Smith
- Gabe Poritzky
- Olivia Brar
- Lilly Handwerk
“They are off to a fantastic start, running great dry-land training sessions for the team.” – Head Coach Kathy Goldberg
Top Returning Athletes:
Boys:
- John Small
- Jake Oliviero
- Myles Rozen
“We have a robust roster of 41 athletes, most likely the largest ski team in the state! I brought a team of six boys and have thee of them returning this year to see if they can defend the title. Two members of the boys state team graduated and one changed schools, so we are hopeful we can find another three members from our large boys roster to bring to states this year.” – Head Coach Kathy Goldberg
Girls:
- Lilly Handwerk
- Phoebe Handwerk
- Olivia Brar
- Aubrey Webb
- Pola Jankowska
- Teagan Peabody
“Our girls team have been the D-IV runners up for the last two years. My state team last year included seven girls, with just one graduating. I am excited to have 6 of them returning this year. All of our athletes compete in both Giant Slalom and Slalom.” – Head Coach Kathy Goldberg
Expectations and Potential Challenges:
“I have a great group of students, but I typically can only bring about 22 of them to a race, so my biggest challenge is finding enough race opportunities for them to all get some race starts in during our season. We train at Pats Peak twice a week during the season and will have races at Bretton Woods, Loon, Cannon, Mount Sunapee, Crotched and McIntyre. We re-established the Manchester City Cup race last year at McIntyre after a 20 year hiatus, and look forward to a rematch with the Manchester teams (West, Central, Memorial and Trinity) to defend our title as the fastest ski team in the City!” – Head Coach Kathy Goldberg
Nordic Skiing
Head Coach:
- Peter Breu (20th season coaching, 14th at Derryfield)
Expectations this season:
“The Derryfield nordic team this season is a young group but spirited and ready to ski hard … Dryland training has started on roller skis and running the ski trails in the woods. We are hoping for a good snowy winter with lots of local skiing. “
Potential Challenges:
“As usual we bite our nails until the snow comes and hope that our early races in January have enough snow. Derryfield will be hosting two races at the Beaver Meadow Golf course (fallback is Waterville if the local snow isn’t enough) with another seven races scheduled all over the state.” – Head Coach Peter Breu
Note: We have reached out to all varsity head coaches. The teams of those who have responded are featured here. Please check back as additional teams may be added in the days to come.
