Chestnut Hill Academy Gets Ready For Spring Sports

Mike DelGrande has seen his share of lacrosse over the years. He knows what it takes to win, to break through.

That is exactly what DelGrande is hoping Chestnut Hill Academy’s boys’  lacrosse team will do this season. Now in his 22nd season as a head coach, and his second as boss of the Blue Devils, DelGrande is looking for Chestnut Hill’s relatively young program to improve upon last year’s 7-10 overall record, including a 0-5 record within a brutally tough Inter-Ac League.

Leading CHA this spring will be senior co-captains Corbin Booker (goalie) and Matt Rubin (defenseman). Also expected to play a big role on defense is junior defenseman Max Keyser. Junior attackman Kyle Espenshade and junior long stick midfielder Jamie Hearn along with sophomore midfielders Forrest Rall and Evan Fireman will anchor CHA’s offense.

Sophomore middie Peter Nicolo and freshman attackman Jackson Kleintz will also have an opportunity to contribute on the varsity level.

“The 2011 CHA varsity lacrosse team still lacks experience, but we will be much better as a team,” DelGrande said. “They have spent a lot of time since last season working to develop their skills and hopefully this time spent in the offseason will translate to results this upcoming season. We have the most experience at defense with a lot of young talent at the midfield and attack. Hopefully as the season progresses our experience and confidence as a team will grow.”

The Blue Devils only big losses to graduation were Evan Booker (midfield) and Peter Adubato (attack), but they are still relatively inexperienced and don’t have great depth according to DelGrande, two areas of weakness that Inter-Ac teams like The Haverford School, Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy tend to prey on.

“If we can continue to develop as a team, we will have better results than a year ago and continue to grow as a program,” DelGrande said.

Teeing off

Unlike CHA’s lacrosse team, the school’s golf team is loaded with experience. This spring, six seniors return to the Blue Devils, including First Team All-Inter-Ac selections John McNiff and Jack Russell.

Both McNiff, a captain, and Russell, along with fellow seniors Ted Dalglish, Jack Maine, Ian Kuo and Quint Frazier, are eying that Inter-Ac championship title.

Last season, CHA finished second in the Inter-Ac behind Malvern Prep. The Blue Devils finished 8-2 overall.

CHA’s seniors won’t be doing it alone, though. They’ll certainly be helped out by juniors John Hass, Nick McNiff, Carson Mutch and Laurenson Ward, all of whom bring a golf bag full of experience with them.

CHA lost First Team All-League selection Ed McCrossen and John Canning, a Second Team All-Leaguer, to graduation, but still have plenty of experience and talent to get the job done.

“The team has had a great three weeks of practice prior to the spring break,” said Blue Devils’ coach Francis Vaughn.

CHA’s first match is against Germantown Academy on Tuesday.

Hot Start

Last season, CHA’s baseball team had 37 boys come out for the varsity and jayvee teams. Among those athletes, a whopping 26 were made up of freshmen and sophomores. Even with all that youth, the Blue Devils finished above .500 with a 17-12 record (3-6 Inter-Ac).

Now, a year later, CHA is looking to climb a little further up the ladder in the Inter-Ac, arguably the best baseball league in the area. So far, the Blue Devils are off to a good start. They recently returned home from their spring break Florida trip with a 7-1 record. After losing to Salisbury School (CT), 8-7, they rebounded by winning seven games in a row. They beat Lakewood (KY), 13-3, Iona Prep, 4-0, Glenn Wind (IN), 17-0, Taft School, 15-12, Lawrence Academy (MA), 2-1, St. Margaret’s (MO), 6-3, and Eaton (CO), 13-1.

CHA faces the Perkiomen School in a doubleheader on Saturday before beginning league play on Tuesday.

Going the distance

Some area track teams feature sprinters, some feature distance runners. This season, CHA is the latter with junior Dustin Wilson returning to the track for the Blue Devils. Wilson took first at the 2010 Pennsylvania cross country championship meet back in the fall, and most recently he earned All-American honors by winning the unseeded boys two mile race in a time of nine minutes, 12.16 seconds, which was fifth overall, at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at The Armory Track and Field Center in New York City.

He was joined in New York by his distance medley teammates (Mike Fuery, Ian Miller, Tate Sager). CHA’s DMR team, which finished ninth at the Pennsylvania indoor championship meet, took 17th overall with a time of 10:31.41

On Saturday, the Blue Devils’ distance runners, along with a larger number of other versatile CHA athletes, will get a chance to show off their talents at CHA’s annual invitational. Inter-Ac League action begins on Tuesday with a home meet against Malvern Prep.