Wilmington Friends School athletics has a bright future, as there is a lot of upcoming talent to watch. Several exceptional freshmen were spotlighted, to see what it is like to play such a big role on the various teams. They are humble about their successes and look forward to challenging themselves to their full potential and playing well.

Olivia Billitto ’20 has played softball for years, and after recently transferring to Friends, she has decided to play on the boy’s baseball team.

“I chose to play baseball because there is no softball team and I wanted to be a three sport athlete. I want to prove that girls can play baseball just as well as boys. It’s going to be hard at first, but I’m ready for a challenge and to make new friends,” Billitto stated when asked what her goals and motivations were. Billitto is excited about her future with the team and has high hopes for her first season.

In football and soccer, Jacob Jaworski ’20 and Oryem Kilama ’20 have already proven to be strong players for their respective teams. With 10 goals and 6 assists, Kilama will surely be one of the state’s strongest soccer players in years to come. In addition to having a role on the soccer team, Jaworski simultaneously served as the kicker for the football team this fall season. Jaworski ended up having 6 goals and an assist as a defensive player in soccer and had a stellar football season as kicker as well.

“It’s amazing to be looked at as a leader in high school sports, especially at such a young age,” Jaworski concluded.

Throughout the rest of their high school sports careers, Kilama and Jaworski are certain to be key players on both the soccer and football teams.

Last year, the lacrosse team graduated their senior captain and goalkeeper, Jakob Katzen ’16. However, this year, Wyatt Skinner ’20 hopes to take on this important role as goalkeeper.

Skinner shared his thoughts about the upcoming spring season with confidence: “It’s going to be a challenge, but I’ve always accepted a challenge. It’s a lot of pressure all around, working to be the starting goalie, but I’m ready.” Skinner was interested in looking at other schools’ lacrosse teams, but ultimately chose Friends, a decision that we’re all happy about!

On the swim team, efforts by Ashley Chompre ’20 and Kate Saber ’20 have helped WFS achieve a 10-1 record as of the middle of the season. Both Chompre and Saber were also on the team last year as 8th graders, so even though they are freshmen, they are accustomed to the team.

“It’s a different experience, but we both really enjoy it,” Chompre said, commenting on their success.

“The upperclassmen took us under their wing when we first started,” Saber added. The two are excited for the future of the season and the team.

Clearly, these freshmen are ready and able to lead their teams in the future. The freshmen class, as a whole, is very independent and keen for challenges, both mentally and physically. With so much talent, the sports teams should have lots of success in the next several years. Go Quakers!