Strong Fall Season Kicks Off Athletics 2024–2025

To kick off a new year of Westmark Athletics, a remarkable 46% of students competed on five teams. In the end, the season yielded five All-League performers and one league championship!

Here’s a quick recap of what was accomplished by our athletes and their coaches.

Volleyball

Drawing inspiration from an amazing group of senior players, the Upper School Girls Volleyball team had a steady start, stumbled a bit mid-season, then finished strong, winning three of their last four matches—including a Senior Day victory over Summit View and an incredible down 0-2 comeback victory over Magnolia Science.

Class of 2025 co-captain Dejah was the team MVP and Coaches’ Award winner. Fellow senior and co-captain Lark was named a 1st Team All-Leaguer, while yet another senior, Ali, earned an Honorable Mention. Sophomore Ari rounded out our All-League squad by garnering 2nd Team honors; senior Mae provided great inspiration off the bench; and senior Julianna was a rock on defense and her sidewinder serve proved to be a potent offensive weapon!

Flag Football

Returning to Westmark after a four-year hiatus, Coach Juette Bush brought back energy and enthusiasm to the Upper School Flag Football team. A last-second loss in the Homecoming game cost the team a playoff berth, but the players’ commitment and improvement of the players throughout the season was incredible. Six members of the Class of 2025—Julian, Radley, Ethan, Jacob, Eli, and Derek —provided leadership on and off the field. Jacob was named team MVP and earned a 1st Team All League Award. Radley was a 2nd Team All-Leaguer, while Preston earned the Coaches’ Award.

Grades 7–8 Flag Football, led by Coach Casey Cacitti, battled through early-season heat to come oh-so-close to a playoff berth. The team was boosted by the tremendous play of eighth graders Donny, Sophia Z., and Damien, with support from Grade 7 players Logan and Noah. A 50-48 loss to North Hollywood Christian in overtime cost them a playoff berth. On the bright side: just a week earlier, the team thrilled our Homecoming crowd with an exciting 32-12 win over Pilgrim.

Coached Jelani Kelly and Erin Shapiro guided our Grades 5–6 players to the VCAL League Championship with a 3-1 record! Led by the stellar offensive play of Joseph, Apollo, and Sosie, the Lions were an offensive juggernaut. On the defensive side, the stellar flag-pulling of Chase led the way, with strong support from Leon, Roman, and Jackson. 

Cross-Country

Coached by Sean Magee and Valerie Mazzanti, the Lions Cross-Country program took a big step this year. The high school team returned to the Omega League for the first time in over five years, and the Middle School had its largest number of runners ever. Our Upper Schoolers were led by junior Ben, who won the Coaches’ Award, as well as senior Leonie and ninth grader Franki. The Middle School team of ten runners, also known as “harriers,” was led by eighth grader Sophia L. and seventh grader Auglin.