After another quality season of basketball and additional winter sports at Meridian High School, it’s time to switch gears into spring. Baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, and track and field will be among the squads facing off over the course of the next two months, and hopes are high for some deep postseason runs in May. With that in mind, let’s take a quick snapshot at what Mustang fans can expect to see.
The baseball team figures to be competitive again after going 14-10 in 2024 and winning one playoff game. Mason Duval, Jack Mossburg, Ben Kozbelt, and Atticus Kim are among the most notable returners, while the pitching rotation will see a bit of a facelift after the graduations of Grant Greiner, Alessio Azimipour, and James Teague. Luke Greiner and Jason Wattles will be asked to headline the revamped unit.
Softball, which went 9-13 in 2024, looks to make some progress under a new head coach in Heath Simon. Simon inherits a group led by two seniors in Elena Clark-Wilson and Flora Pelton, supported by a solid mix of younger players who are eager to make the most of their opportunities. A return to the regional playoffs and perhaps a win or two would be a successful campaign.
On the soccer field, the boys are out to make a statement in reminding the rest of the region and state of their high standard. After winning the State Championship in 2023, they went 9-9 last season due to a mass exodus of seniors, but head coach Nathan Greiner is optimistic for a bounceback with a group that has great chemistry and moves the ball well, and they’ll be battle-tested come playoff time with one of the hardest schedules in school history. Fletcher Saaty, Ben Beloe, and Amin Shams are the senior captains, while Calvin Mayer, Brayden Mellon, Luke Borg, and Yanek Guziewski are expected to be among the additional key pieces. In net will be a combination of Mikey Cook and Addison Turner, both of whom bring plenty of experience.
The girls, who went 10-6-1 a season ago, are also aiming for another successful campaign. Unfortunately their head coach could not be reached for additional analysis, nor could the coaches of either the boys’ or girls’ lacrosse teams, or the girls’ tennis team. Both lacrosse squads are generally among Meridian’s headline spring programs – last season the boys went 14-4 and lost in the first round of the State Tournament, while the girls went 16-3 and made the State Semifinals.
The surprise of the 2024 spring season, meanwhile, was the boys’ tennis squad which completed an impressive turnaround to win the Northwest Region Championship. Tim Goetz’s group figures to be even better this year, returning five of its top six contributors in an experienced rotation headlined by Charlie Taylor and Thomas Lapp. A return to the State Tournament and perhaps a run at a State Title feels like an attainable goal.
Finally, the track and field team returns with a new look after graduating more than 20 seniors from 2024. Both the boys and girls finished ninth at Districts while the boys made States as well, finishing 27th, but now their younger talent will need to step up. State long jump qualifier Kaitlyn Henrikson and 4×800 team members Michelle Malheiro, Alba Selle, and Lydia Sturgill headline the returners for the girls, while the boys will be led by 100m State qualifier Duke Dawson, distance runner William Anderson, and long jump and high jump specialist Jacob Quintana.
