This fall sports season was one to remember, and it will for sure go down in the record books as one of the most successful seasons in the history of Westfield athletics. Said best by rap star DJ Khaled, all Westfield does is win, win, win no matter what.
Where do I even begin? This fall season nine Westfield teams competed; each scratched its name into the record book. Let’s dive right in!
The girls volleyball team strung together a near-perfect, 24-1 record that resulted in not only a county championship, not only a sectional championship, but for the first time in history, a Group 4 state championship.
Both the boys and girls cross country teams placed in the top three in their county championship races, and each squad took home the sectional championship. With the boys winning the Group 4 championship and the girls placing fourth, both teams earned a bid to the Meet of Champions. The boys placed fourth and the girls finished 13th.
The gymnastics team had a strong season as they finished the year going 6-2 as they suffered two losses, each by less than three points. The girls went on to claim second place in the county championship and finished in sixth place in the North 2 sectional championship, falling out of the top three by less than three points.
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the football team will finish with a winning record (Westfield will play one more game this season, the Thanksgiving game against Plainfield at 11 a.m.). The Blue Devils were crowned divisional champions and their 7-3 record earned them the No. 3 seed in the North 1, Group 5 state playoffs. Squaring off against a high-powered, second-seeded Union City team, the Blue Devils fought hard for all four quarters but were heartbroken in the end as they lost, 20-14.
The field hockey team bounced back from having a sub .500 record last year, to having an impressive 12-8-1 record this fall. Despite exiting in the quarterfinals of the county championship, the Blue Devils remained motivated entering the sectional tournament as the No. 9 seed. After two straight upset wins over eighth-seeded Livingston and No. 1 seed Montclair, Westfield lost to Phillipsburg in the semifinal round. Senior Ella McClane broke the 28-year old record for goals in a single season.
Last year, the girls tennis team took home the Group 4 state championship and found themselves in a similar position this year. Westfield rode into the match with a conference championship under its belt, but unfortunately suffered a 3-2 loss in the Group 4 state championship match. With a 15-4 record, Westfield finished the season ranked ninth in the state.
The boys and girls soccer teams had a combined record of 33-2-5, and for the second straight year, each squad took home a county championship. Despite winning the Group 4 championship last year, this year the girls soccer team lost in PKs against Watchung Hills in the sectional final. However, a game-winning goal from the boys soccer team lifted them to their first sectional championship victory since 2001. The boys were eventually eliminated in their next match in the Group 4 state semifinal round.
I rest my case. Westfield has most definitely earned the respect it deserves throughout the entire state in regards to athletics. Westfield deserves to be referred to as “Dubfield” from here on out. Now, we layer up and pray for more wins and championships to come as 10 different teams will be in action this winter.
1 comment
Fantastically written story!!