SSFS 2025 Fall Sports Highlights

Congratulations to all our student athletes and coaches for a fantastic fall season filled with team bonding, skill-building, grit, determination, and championship banners! Thanks also to our amazing community of supporters who came out to cheer on our Middle and Upper School soccer, volleyball, and cross-country student athletes throughout the season.

Now that the fall season has wrapped up, we invite the community to come support our winter teams! See the athletic team schedule web page for dates, times, and locations. 

Cross-Country

UPPER SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY

Varsity Cross Country
The Men’s and Women’s Varsity Cross-Country team was small but mighty this year. Over the season, 'Beest runners came together as a team and dropped some serious time over the course of the season. Particularly noteworthy was the team’s performance at PVAC Championships, where every finishing runner recorded a season’s best. In a sport that is all about perseverance, these athletes not only persevered, they excelled. Along the way, the team became an extremely close-knit group, forming strong bonds and supporting one another throughout the season.

MIDDLE SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY
A small team size did not dampen the spirits of our MS XC team this year. Although we did not have enough runners for the girls and boys to score as teams, our individual runners saw great success in their race times over the course of the season. Congratulations to Makayla C. and Layla P., who earned top-10 positions in almost all of our meets and earned 5th and 6th places respectively in the Championships meet! Our season ended with a fun run through the Sandy Spring fields to the bakery. Several runners also competed in the Maryland Private School State Championship. Bravo, runners!

---

Volleyball

UPPER SCHOOL WOMEN'S VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
The 2025 varsity volleyball season was a tremendous success. Although the team fell short of its ultimate goal of winning the league championship, it will be long remembered for so many other reasons. 

New Head Coach Nalani Lyde began pre-season practices with a handful of new and returning players. Right from the beginning, she set high expectations and began various sets and drills designed to prepare them for the season. Unfortunately, the first three matches were losses. Coach Nalami never wavered in her belief, and the team responded with three consecutive wins, all three-game sweeps. From there it was somewhat of a roller coaster of a season, but the team persevered and finished with an overall winning record, and the #3 seed for the league tournament. By this time, the skills and teamwork for each of the players, led by co-captains Charlotte A. (outside hitter), and DeeDee B., (setter), along with Seniors Teniola A. (libero) and Gabby O. (hitter), had improved dramatically. There was a strong belief that we could compete with any team, including the top two seeds, one of which was the defending champions and the other undefeated. We began by winning our quarterfinal matchup, played at home in front of a boisterous crowd. Excited and determined, we continued that momentum into the semifinal match, winning the first game handily. But despite a spirited fight, including a very close 4th game that would have forced a deciding 5th game, our Beests lost. The defeat stung, but this team can hold their heads high. All season long they exhibited all the traits that are true of a Sandy Spring Wildebeest: strength and perseverance, hard work and determination, sacrifice and striving for excellence, teamwork and genuine support of each other. To each of the players, we are so proud of all you accomplished this year, and will always remember what you gave to the team and school. 1-2-3 ‘Beests!

All-Conference Athletes

• 2nd Team: Charlotte A., Dee Dee B.
• Honorable Mention: Teniola A.

MIDDLE SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL 
Our Middle School Volleyball team had a storybook ending and emerged victorious. SSFS is the 2025 PVAC Middle School Volleyball Champion! At the beginning of the season, the team faced some challenges as they learned to work together and refine their skills. With each game, they grew stronger, building confidence and teamwork along the way. A win in our final home match earned them a spot in the playoffs as the seventh seed. Their hard work paid off, and by the end of the season, they were playing their best volleyball yet. In an exciting championship match, they came together to win it all! (2-1)

---

SOCCER

UPPER SCHOOL MEN'S VARSITY SOCCER
The Varsity Men’s Soccer team had a tremendous 2025 season, culminating with the PVAC A Division regular season and tournament championship! The tournament final was a classic, with the Beests’ prevailing 3-2 in sudden victory overtime! The team finished the season with a 10-2 overall record, and a regular season record of 6-0. The group was led by an outstanding group of seniors, and exhibited unparalleled determination, grit, selflessness, commitment and teamwork. The team improved immensely over the course of the fall, and played some outstanding soccer as the season progressed.

A huge THANK YOU to our families and our fans for their support and encouragement all season long!

All-Conference Athletes

• "A" Division 1st Team: Leo K., Jai P., Sebastian H., Johannas G-P., Azai S.

UPPER SCHOOL WOMEN'S VARSITY SOCCER
This year, our Women’s Varsity Soccer team displayed a tremendous amount of courage, tenacity, and perseverance right from the get-go. Throughout the season, these players showed what a team can do when it plays and trains with passion and love for one another. They never gave up. Even with the schedule being the toughest seen by this program in some time, they remained determined and showed incredible growth, as players and people. Their early exit from the PVAC tournament is not a representation of how well the game was played this season. The growth of every player could be seen each and every day. The fun had by all and the family-like atmosphere will be remembered and cherished.

All-Conference Athletes

• 1st Team: Quinlan G-P.
• 2nd Team: Phoebe Y.
• Honorable Mention: Sadie D., Charlotte E., Sammy S.

MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS' SOCCER
The Middle School soccer team made huge strides this year. Players gained valuable experience playing against really strong competition. Through it all, the team never gave up and played hard. We improved as a team and as individuals. In victory and defeat the team demonstrated good sportsmanship. It was a wonderful group to work with, and we had a lot of fun!

UPPER SCHOOL INTRAMURAL SPORTS & FITNESS

Farming for Fitness
Farming for Fitness was the backbone of our farm revitalization project this fall. During the first few weeks, the students cleaned the space up and made it safe for our Lower School classes to start coming out. The students prepared 17 hilled beds by spreading compost and weeding, layered cardboard and wood chips on the paths, and performed a number of other farming tasks. Thanks to Farming for Fitness, the garden now has 6 rows of onions planted, 6 rows of garlic, three rows of radishes, and two rows of lettuce. We are looking forward to a late fall harvest and also a great early spring.