The Vikings made history last weekend! Boys Basketball kicked things off with an incredible, hard fought 73-71 win over Brunswick on Friday night to earn the team's first outright FAA championship, before Girls Basketball used a huge run on Saturday to earn the program's first ever HVAL title with a 64-44 victory over Watkinson School! Ice Hockey gave RCDS all they could handle in a very competitive FAA Championship on Saturday as well.

Varsity Boys Basketball
Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) Regular Season and Tournament Champions (FAA 10-1, Overall 19-6)

In front of a packed, standing-room-only house in King’s Upper School Gym, Boys Basketball rose to the moment, outlasting Brunswick in a true classic on Friday night. The Vikings showed resilience, skill, and drive to answer every run by the Bruins and to make the plays for the impressive and thrilling win! 

In a back-and-forth first half, each team built a small lead before entering halftime with a tie score. The second half was no less exciting and kept the crowd on its feet as the teams traded plays and highlights until the waning moments. King's intensity and determination showed brightest when it mattered most, as Senior Captain Griffin Joo made the defensive play of the game in the final seconds, knocking the ball away from a Brunswick player at the rim to seal the 73-71 win! 

Captain AJ Trimboli ’26 continued his dominance on the offensive end, scoring 33 points. Griffin filled his stat sheet with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals, while Jonova Bracey ’26 came up huge with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a big-time block! It was a total team effort and a tremendous moment for the players and coaches, the family members and fans in attendance, and the entire King community!

The Vikings have only lost three times in the last 22 games and end the season at a very impressive 19-6. On Sunday, they were rewarded for this incredible run and continued to make history by earning a spot in the NEPSAC Class B Tournament for the first time! As the 8 seed in the tournament, they traveled to take on the top seed, Millbrook School, on Wednesday. The final result did not go the way of the Vikings. However, the team and coaches are to be congratulated on everything that was accomplished this season! 

The Vikings were well represented on the FAA All-League list, as the following athletes have been recognized by the coaches in the league for their tremendous play this season:

All-FAA First Team 

• AJ Trimboli ’26

All-FAA Second Team 

• Jonovan Bracey ’26 

All-FAA Honorable Mention

• Henry Simon ’26

Thank you and congratulations also to the seniors who go out on top as FAA champions: Chris Ippolito, Griffin Joo, Jakari Morgan, and George McCormack.

 

 

Varsity Girls Basketball 
Housatonic Valley Athletic League (HVAL)  Regular Season and Tournament Champions (HVAL 14-0, Overall 18-4)

 

The Girls Basketball final was no less exciting, but the game took a much different path. The top-seeded Vikings had run through the HVAL regular season at 12-0 and had done so in dominating fashion. Watkinson showed up to play on Saturday and stunned the home team and the large crowd by taking an early 25-10 lead. King had not been down like this for many weeks, but showed true grit and perseverance by battling back one play at a time to get right back into the game. 

Back-to-back three pointers for Anna Melton ’27 and CT Thompson ’28, followed by a traditional and-one three-point play for Carolyn Joo ’28, capped off a 16-0 run for the Vikings to take a one point lead at the end of the half, 26-25. 

Watkinson came out in the second half ready to fight, and built the lead back up to six, before King climbed ahead for good. Leading the charge was Sophia Lasky ’26, who connected on five three-pointers in the second half to help build the lead and put the game out of reach. After trailing by 15 early, the incredible 54-19 run to end the contest led to one of the most exciting 64-44 games any of the fans could have asked for! 

Freshman star Carolyn Joo was the leading scorer in the game with 19 points and filled the stat sheet with an incredible line of 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals, and 3 blocks. Sophia ended with 15, CT with 8, Ava Angelov ’25 had 6, and Emma Lange ’27 had 6 points and 6 rebounds. It took a total team effort to fight back and dominate late the way King did, and the players and coaches should be proud of this amazing achievement and first-ever HVAL Championship! Congratulations to the team, their families, and to all of the fans who showed up to be so loud and supportive in the stands.

After starting the season 3-4, King won 15 straight games, including the championship, to end the season 18-4! On Sunday, the great news continued, as the Vikings earned the 6 seed in the NEPSAC Class C Tournament! The team traveled on Wednesday to take on the 3-seed, Hamden Hall, on Wednesday, and although the Vikings did not prevail, they are to be commended on all of the achievements from this tremendous season! 

The Vikings were well represented on the HVAL All-League list, as the following athletes have been recognized by the coaches in the league for their tremendous play this season:

All-HVAL First Team

• Carolyn Joo ’28
• Caroline “CT” Thomson ’28
• Emma Lange ’27

Thank you and congratulations also to the seniors whose careers come to a close as HVAL champions: Ava Angelov, Dahlia Barrett, Abby Kuffel, and Sophia Roy.

 

Varsity Ice Hockey
Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) Regular Season Champions (8-2)

Varsity Ice Hockey advanced to the FAA Finals for the third time in the last four years and put on an outstanding performance on Saturday against Rye Country Day School. After giving up two early goals, the Vikings battled back to tie the score 2-2 and then fought back again to cut the lead to 4-3 late in the game. They were just not able to capitalize on a 6-on-4 player advantage to get the equalizer, and although they continued to put the pressure on the Wildcats, they saw a breakaway, found the back of the net, and gave up a late empty-netter for the 6-3 loss. It was a tremendous atmosphere for the league finals, and the Vikings should be proud of their performance and the fight shown on the ice until the final horn. Several of the seniors wrapped up their careers with four straight regular season titles, three trips to the final game, and two championships won! 

The Vikings were well represented on the FAA All-League list, as the following athletes have been recognized by the coaches in the league for their tremendous play this season:

All-FAA First Team

• Brandon Chan ’25
• Charlie Mattson ’25

All-FAA Second Team

• Alex Strug ’27

All-FAA Honorable Mention

• Brayden Hekle ’28

What an impressive run and congratulations also to the seven seniors for all they have brought to the program over the years: Logan Bruno, Brandon Chan, Gavin Garrison, Will Glassmeyer, Ava Gunthel, Charlie Mattson, and Maggie O'Callaghan!

Congratulations to the players, coaches and managers! A special thank you also goes out to all of our seniors who have now officially wrapped up their winter careers for the Vikings!

 

Varsity Boys Basketball Roster
0 - Jakari Morgan ’25
1 - Jonovan Bracey ’26
2 - Krystian Gaston ’26
3 - Griffin Joo ’25
4 - Chris Ippolito ’25
5 - Matthew Robinson ’26
10 - Ryan Trimboli ’28
11 - George McCormack ’25
13 - AJ Trimboli ’26
14 - Henry Simon ’26
15 - Justin Beazley ’26
22 - Rylan Louis ’28
24 - Myles Gadson ’28

Managers: Nate Barry ’26, Lila Leibowits ’25, and Katie Ruhe ’25

Head Coach: Mike Trimboli
Assistant Coaches: Tim Green and Torey Thomas

 

Varsity Girls Basketball Roster
1 - Sophia Roy ’25
2 - Greta Sunshine ’26
4 - Ava Angelov ’25
11 - Sophia Lasky ’26
13 - Lexi Perry ’27
14 - Abby Kuffel ’25
20 - Dahlia Barrett ’25
21 - Caroline Thomson ’28
22 - Carolyn Joo ’28
23 - Anna Melton ’27
24 - Ava Pufko ’28
30 - Caroline Curry ’27
31 - Emma Drexel ’27
34 - Emma Lange ’27

Manager: Charlotte Frank ’25

Head Coach: Stefan Driehuizen
Assistant Coaches: Jeff Desir and Mike Lasky
JV Coach: Asante Robinson

 

Varsity Ice Hockey Roster
1 - Teddy Pemberton ’28
4 - Juston Martinelli ’28
5 - Gideon Lechner ’27
6 - Will Glassmeyer ’25
7 - Jake Oertel ’28
8 - Brayden Hekle ’28
10 - Charlie Mattson ’25
14 - Matthew Matzelle ’27
16 - Zach Friedman ’28
17 - Thomas Matzelle ’26
18 - Ava Gunthel ’25
19 - Alex Strug ’27
21 - Dylan Oertel ’28
23 - Max Winston ’26
27 - Logan Bruno ’25
30 - John Lewis ’29
73 - Lawson Kearns ’27
88 - Gavin Garrison ’25
98 - Brandon Chan ’25

Managers: Thomas Bonomo ’26 and Maggie O'Callaghan ’25

Head Coach: Guy Savage
Assistant Coaches: John Louizos, Buzz Olson, and John O'Neill