Click here to read a story on Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Curtis Cobb '15 being named to the MAAC All-Rookie team.

Click here to read a story on Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Derick Newton being named the Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year.

For the fourth year in a row, the Wilbraham & Monson Academy Baseball team will spend part of its spring break walking in the footsteps of some of the best players in Major League Baseball history.

The Titans will play seven exhibition games in Vero Beach, Fla., at the 2016 Historic Dodgertown Spring Invitational, which once served as the spring training home to such stars as Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider and Mike Piazza.

"It's a great time," Coach Jim Irzyk said. "We get a lot accomplished in five days. We get a little bit of a break before we come back to start our season so it fits well with our schedule."

The team will have a practice March 9 before playing seven games in four days, concluding March 13.

"The trip to Dodgertown is remarkable in a few respects," Coach Irzyk explained. "The boys get a chance to see a historic park, which is where the Dodgers played for their preseason. The campus has five fields, a basketball court, swimming pool and dining hall, so the kids get a chance to bond and know each other.

"The other part is we're going to play five varsity games and two junior varsity games. We play against good competition and it gives me a chance to see kids at different positions and gives everyone a chance to get ready for the season."

Click here to read a story on Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Meg Harrington '15 contributing to Vassar College's swim team at a championship meet.

Even though it isn't her top event, Ania Axas '19 was hoping to swim her best time in the 500-yard freestyle at the Bud Erich Championships Feb. 27 at the Hopkins School.

Ania got her best, which was also the best ever in the long history of Wilbraham & Monson Academy swimming.

Ania set a new standard in the 500, touching the wall in five minutes, 16.46 seconds and smashing the previous mark by eight seconds.

"I'm happy I got a best time," Ania said. "I've been working hard, and this isn't particularly my best event, but I'm glad I'm continuing to be better in different events. I'm excited for New Englands."

Ania set the pool record in the 500 on Jan. 16 with a 5:24.4. Establishing a new school mark wasn't on her mind until she finished the race at Hopkins and turned to see the clock.

"I was hoping to do my best," said Ania, who finished fourth in the meet, which included schools of all sizes from Western New England. "Coach (Dan) Moran told me not to pay attention to anyone and to just swim my race and that's what I did.

"The last 150 yards, I just sprinted it. There was a girl in one of the other lanes who was close to me so I started kicking. When I finished I turned and saw 5:16. I was so happy. I couldn't believe it."

Ania also owns the school record in the 200 Individual Medley.

WMA will compete in the New England Prep School Athletic Council Division III Championship March 5 at the Canterbury School.

Below is the list of Wilbraham & Monson Academy swimmers who scored points for the Titans at the Bud Erich Championships Feb. 27 at Hopkins School:

Boys'

200 Medley Relay (Cole Hansen, Wenjun "Happy" Chang, Tom Quinn, Tim Beloborodov) 3^rd, 1:46.35

200 Free – Nick Leone, 16^th, 2:20:19; Di "Johnny" Wang, 19^th, 2:53.6

200 Individual Medley – Happy, 4^th, 2:05.78; Jack Wilson, 9^th, 2:18.74

50 Free – Tom, 9^th, 23.56; Tim B, 17^th, 25.24

50 Butterfly – Sang Seong, 9^th, 44.08

100 Butterfly – Nick Leone, 23^rd, 1:16.23

100 Freestyle – Tom, 8^th, 53.78; Cole, 10^th, 54.66; Tim, 11^th, 54.81; Nick Spellman, 19^th, 58.59

500 Freestyle – Alex Ravelli, 6^th, 5:39.59

200 Freestyle Relay (Cole, Nickolai Borodin, Rin Yamanashi, Daniel Voronin) 8^th, 1:42.67

100 Backstroke – Cole, 4^th, 1:00.6; Nick Spellman, 12^th, 1:06.95

100 Breaststroke – Happy, 2^nd, 1:01.62; Jack Wilson, 11^th, 1:11.76; Rin, 23^rd, 1:19.64

400 Freestyle Relay (Tim, Jack, Tom, Happy) 5^th, 3:35.73

Team: 5^th of 11

Girls'

200 Medley Relay (Clara Harrington, Ania Axas, Christina Felchner, Shaylyn Glenn-Eadie) 10^th, 2:06.82

200 Freestyle – Ania, 3^rd, 2:00.10

200 Individual Medley – Lili Brook, 21^st, 2:58.5; Nicole Czuber, 23^rd, 3:07.6

50 Freestyle – Christina, 3^rd, 25.26; Nicole, 23^rd, 29.6; Clara, 24^th, 1:21.19

100 Butterfly – Christina, 3^rd, 55.28

500 Freestyle – Ania, 4^th, 5:16.46 (school record); Clara, 18^th, 6:29.15

200 Freestyle (Shaylyn, Lili, Norah Omar, Yawen Guan), 11^th, 2:10.30

100 Breastroke – Lili, 24^th, 1:32.76

400 Freestyle Relay (Ania, Nicole, Clara, Christina) 6^th, 4:01.24

Team: 9^th of 13

Click here to read a story on Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Adolph Kawuba '13 and the Boston College men's soccer team finishing the 2015 season ranked #8 in the country after reaching the NCAA Division I Elite Eight.

Below is a list of Wilbraham & Monson Academy swimmers who scored point at the New England Prep School Athletic Council Division III Championships March 5 at Canterbury School:

Boys'

200 Medley Relay (Cole Hansen, Wenjun "Happy" Chang, Tom Quinn, Jack Wilson) 3^rd, 1:45.45 (school record)

200 Individual Medley – Jack, 9^th, 2:16.37; Cole, 10^th, 2:16.53

50 Free – Tom, 3^rd, 23.17; Daniel Voronin, 12^th, 25.12

100 Butterfly – Happy, 2^nd, 55.12 (school record)

100 Freestyle – Tom, 5^th, 23.17

500 Freestyle – Alex Ravelli, 8^th, 5:39.41; Nick Leone, 14^th, 6:20.81

200 Freestyle Relay (Cole, Jack, Tom, Happy) 2^nd, 1:34.93

100 Backstroke – Cole, 8^th, 1:01.31; Nick Spellman, 14^th, 1:06.33

200 Freestyle – Alex, 8^th, 2:05.04; Lucas Roos, 15^th, 2:20.79

100 Breaststroke – Happy, 2^nd, 1:01.05; Jack, 6^th, 1:08.00

400 Freestyle Relay (Cole, Daniel, Nick, Alex) 6^th, 3:55.24

Team: 4^th of 12

Girls'

200 Medley Relay (Marissa Fabbo, Ania Axas, Christina Felchner, Nicole Czuber) 6^th, 2:01.90

200 Individual Medley – Ania, 1^st, 2:10.59 (school record)

50 Free – Christina, 1^st, 25.11

100 Butterfly – Ania, 5^th, 1:00.23 (school record)

100 Freestyle – Christina, 1^st, 54.79

500 Freestyle – Clara Harrington, 15^th, 6:27.16

200 Freestyle Relay (Ania, Marissa, Nicole, Christina) 1:46.02

100 Backstroke – Marissa, 7^th, 1:10.45

200 Freestyle – Marissa, 10^th, 2:16.45

Team: 7^th of 16

It takes talent and a strong work ethic to stand out amongst 1,500 peers.

When it comes to politics, Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Colin O'Brien '16 has plenty of both qualities.

At the closing ceremonies of the 31^st session of Harvard Model Congress, held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel Feb. 18-21, Colin received an Award of Excellence, which included being honored with a gavel.

"When Colin received his assigned role as a Republican from Indiana, he was rather disappointed that he would have to role play the viewpoints of someone quite different from his own personal opinions," explained Ms. Gina Markowski, who heads WMA's Model Congress. "However, Colin didn't let this deter him from making the most of this simulation. He dove right in; researching everything he could to truly become his representative.

"At the conference, Colin went so far as to take the Bible out of his hotel room to use it in Committee as a visual aid to emphasize the views of his representative. He received accolades from his fellow Republican delegates and gained support for his legislation as a convincing orator."

Colin represented Luke Messer, a Republican from Indiana's 6^th District, in the United States House of Representatives Financial Committee. He wrote legislation on Cuban-United States relations, cryptocurrency relations and vaccine injury compensation. He enjoyed the fast pace of the committee work, which included 28 hours in session during a four-day period.

"Things happened quickly," Colin said. "We talked about a different topic every day, wrote a whole bill each day, discussed it, and voted on it as a full house session every single day."

Colin did all of those things at a high level, so much so his committee voted him an outstanding delegate.

Before the final swim meet of the season even began, Ania Axas '19 had a truly great season for Wilbraham & Monson Academy.

Then, throw in the season finale, and Ania had one of the best swim seasons in Academy history – and she's a freshman.

Ania set two school records at the New England Division III Championships March 5 at the Canterbury School, establishing new marks in the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Butterfly.

Coming out of the fourth seed, she bettered her previous school mark in the 200 IM in the trials before going even faster in the final, winning the race in two minutes, 10.59 seconds.

"I was hoping, since I was ranked fourth, I wanted to make it to finals and beat my time because I knew I could," Ania said. "There were a lot of girls from USA Swimming there. I focused on my race. I beat my previous best time in the morning in the trial, and then I beat it again at night in the final."

In the final, Ania trailed before gaining the lead in the final event: the freestyle.

"I'm thrilled all my hard work paid off," Ania added. "It's not my best event, but I enjoy the 200 IM so it was nice to swim it at New Englands. And it was a great feeling to win. Going into prelims I was ranked fourth, and there was tough competition, but I was proud I swam my own race, didn't worry about anyone else, and won."

Setting a new record in the 100 Butterfly was a complete surprise and bonus. Her trial time of 1:00.23 topped the school record of 1:01.12, set by Ivy Durepo '13. She placed fifth in the final.

"I wasn't expecting a record in the 100 Butterfly, but getting the record in the prelims made me really happy," she said.

Ania, who was named MVP of the team at the Athletic Awards Ceremony March 3, said her season couldn't have gone any better. She also set a school record in the 500 Freestyle (5:16.46), giving her a total of three school marks in her first season.

"This is the most fun I've ever had swimming," said Ania, who has competed in high-level swim meets throughout the east coast. "USA Swimming is more individual swimming, but being on a high school team you become family with your team and it helped me grow more."

After the New England Prep School Athletic Council Division III Swimming Championships at the Canterbury School March 5, Wenjun "Happy" Chang '18 had plenty of reasons to be, well, happy.

Happy set a school record in an individual and relay race, and finished on the podium in all four of his events.

"I feel happy. And I can work harder to improve," he said.

Happy established a new WMA record in the 100 Butterfly final, touching in 55.12 seconds. Entering the meet, his previous best was a 59.65. He knocked more than two seconds off his best time in his trial before taking another 1.5 seconds in the final to top the previous school record by .01.

"I wanted to get a medal and believed I could break the record, and I did," said Happy, who placed second overall. "Before the final I just tried to tell myself I could break the record to pump myself up."

Happy swam the second leg of the record-setting 200 Medley Relay, with the team of Cole Hanson '17, Tom Quinn '16 and Jack Wilson '19 finishing in third with a time of 1:45.45. The previous record was 1:46.99. He also placed second in the 100 Breaststroke (1:01.05) and the 200 Freestyle Relay (1:34.93).

At the Winter Athletic Awards Ceremony March 3, Happy was named the team's MVP.

Christina Felchner '16 didn't feel like herself as she entered the final swim meet of her storied career at Wilbraham & Monson Academy. Her right shoulder was giving her problems, and her typical upbeat demeanor was nowhere to be found.

One race, however, changed all that. After sprinting to a win in her preliminary race of the 50 Freestyle, where she felt strong and fresh, Christina won another preliminary before touching first in the final of the 50 and 100 Freestyle races at the New England Prep School Athletic Council Division III Championships, held at the Canterbury School March 5.

Christina received the league's highest honor at the conclusion of the meet when she was named winner of the Robertson Award.

"I was shocked on that," said Christina, referring to the league's top award. "I knew there was a chance I could get that because, generally, in the past, the guys and girls who have won both their individual events and have done well during the season. So I knew there was a chance I could get it but I wasn't sure. Then Mr. (Dan) Moran said I needed to stay (when the meet was over) because I could possibly get an award."

And Christina earned that award, winning the 50 Free in 25.11 seconds and the 100 Free in 54.79. Both were her top times. She won both events last year at the New England meet as well.

For much of the morning of this year's meet, though, Christina didn't think she'd have much of a chance to compete at a high level, let alone win the league's highest honor.

"I was sore and skeptical," Christina admitted. "I'm usually the person who is upbeat and happy and that we're going to do great. But I wasn't feeling like that.

"But in my first race, in the prelim of the 50 Free, I had a lead on everyone by a whole body length. When I touched the wall and saw my time, I kind of fell back and couldn't stop smiling. I thought, 'Oh my God, this is great. It's going to be a great meet.'"

It wasn't just a great meet for Christina – it was a great career. She'll head to St. Lawrence University as one of the most decorated swimmers in school history.

"It's been memorable," she said. "This is my favorite swim team ever. There are others where you feel like a family, but it's different here. The team is smaller so it's close knit and you get to know everyone more intimately. I'm going to miss it."

Even before Maria Baltazar '19 arrived at Wilbraham & Monson Academy, it was well know she was a soccer player.

No one, however, knew that Maria was also a force on the track – not even Maria.

In her first season on winter track, Maria excelled, to the point where she was named the team's Coaches Award winner.

"Maria was a natural talent who, even as a freshman, led by example this year," Coach Sean McGrath '07 said. "Maria was one of our strongest performers in the meets. She often ran against much more experienced girls in the 50 (meters) and 300 and never shied away from competition.

"But I think most impressive was her attitude each day in training. She was part of a core group of runners who bought into the team philosophy of "get better every day" and "don't waste time." She is a promising athlete for WMA to have in the years to come."

After an impressive first year on Varsity Girls' Soccer, Maria was equally impressive on the track. She even surprised herself.

"This was my first time with any form of track," said Maria, who hopes her sprint workouts will help her with her speed on the soccer field. "I thought it was a good experience. It was my first time and I was going against older girls from all over New England. Going to The Armory in New York City and racing against people from everywhere, I think I did pretty well.

"I'm really honored to receive the Coaches Award from Coach McGrath and I'm looking forward to next year."

Click here to read a story on Wilbraham & Monson Academy Boys' Basketball player Wenyen Gabriel '16 being featured in USA Today.

Click here to read a story on Matt Naumec '15 posting the low score for Boston College at the Clemson Invitational.

The good news just keeps coming for Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Wenyen Gabriel '16, who was just one of 21 basketball players in the country to be named to the roster for the Jordan Brand Classic.

Wenyen will play in the 15^th annual game on a big basketball stage – at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn April 15. He was the only player from New England selected.

"It's an honor," said Wenyen, a 6-foot-10 forward. "It shows how hard work pays off. Being able to play for the Jordan Brand . . . it's a huge brand. I haven't bought a pair of Jordans before because I couldn't afford it but now I get to play in the game. It's exciting. It's another opportunity to show what I can do."

Wenyen, who was notified he made the team through snail mail in early March, will play with three future teammates at the University of Kentucky. A Jordan representative presented him with a banner at the Academy March 31.

"This will be fun and my chance to play with my future teammates," he said.

Wenyen will play in the Jordan game six days after he competes at the Nike Hoop Summit in Oregon as a member of the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team.

Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Oron Steingrub '18 and Lucas Roos '17 will be among some of the best and most passionate teenage writers in the country when they attend the New England Young Writers' Conference at the Bread Loaf campus of Middlebury College in Vermont May 19-22.

This is the third year in a row two WMA students have been picked for the select program.

"I'm delighted we keep sending two students every year to experience this wonderful program," WMA Dean of Curriculum Meg Hutcheson said. "It's a special place. It sits on top of a mountain and you go to school in a building called 'The Barn' and you're surrounded by talented writers and teachers. It's a literary experience that Mr. (Tim) Harrington '73, Ms. (Heidi) Ostendarp, Mr. (Wally) Swanson and I have had through our work and education. We are excited to share the experience with WMA kids. It's a special program."

Along with seminars, workshops and readings in a scenic and relaxing setting, students will be able to interact with published writers.

"I saw the importance of writing in every day life," Oron said. "No matter what class you're in, you're going to find a way to make writing useful. I signed up for the non-fiction section. I thought that would best enhance my writing skills.

"In the future, as I develop more and move, having new skills I learn at Middlebury will help."

Lucas was determined to apply for one of the spots but was surprised he was selected since English is not his first language.

"I've always liked writing," said Lucas, whose primary language is Portuguese. "But the English was hard for me to write. It was a challenge and I got some bad grades. Now I have an opportunity to improve my writing. Also, I had a concern about my creative writing getting better. Now I can improve that, which is great.

The Wilbraham & Monson Academy Spring Track team split with Hyde April 9, with the Girls' winning 51-31 and the Boys' losing 67-60. Below are the results:

Girls'

Boys'

Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Maodo Lo '12, a senior on the men's basketball team at Columbia, earned two major awards April 12, being selected to the Academic All-Ivy League team for the 2015-16 Winter and the First Team All-Metropolitan.

Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Maodo Lo '12, who recently completed his senior year of basketball at Columbia, has been invited to compete at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. The PIT invites just 64 players and is attended by every general manager in the NBA.