Fall 2025 Varsity Sports Recap
Cincinnati Country Day School’s Fall 2025 Varsity Sports Recap
It was an incredible fall season for our Nighthawks! Our teams and student-athletes exceeded expectations and shattered records!
Cross Country
This cross-country season lived up to the hype! The team started out the season by hosting the CCDS Invitational. The girls’ team finished first overall, and the boys finished third overall! With 17 girls running, it was one of the biggest teams in program history. Vanca Pandey ’26 finished first for the third time in her career! Max Sun ’27 finished third.
Vanca and Max continued to dominate the rest of the season. With incredible District performances, they both qualified for Regionals along with Dima Chernovol ’28. Vanca Pandey finished 2nd, running 19:12.25 – a personal record and the second fastest time in girls program history! She was just four seconds off the record set by Gita Narayan ‘98 in 1998. Max Sun had an unreal performance, dropping 55 seconds off his personal best with a 16:42.1, which also slated his time as the second fastest time in boys program history! He finished in 5th place.
Vanca went on to qualify for the DIV State Championship Meet after she finished 12th at Regionals. Her career ended with an incredible performance at State, finishing 25th with a time of 19:18.79, the second fastest finish of her career. Vanca left everything out on the course for her final race as a Nighthawk, concluding her high school career holding 12 spots in the girls' top 25 best overall times in program history!
Football
The football team had another record-setting year. They won the MVC Gray Division Championship for the 5th year in a row after finishing the regular season 9-1. Their only regular season loss came from a back-and-forth game with Blanchester, where they lost 56-49. The team earned a first round bye in the OHSAA DVII State Tournament. They faced Cedarville High School in the Regional Quarterfinal, where they lost 49-21. It was an incredible season regardless of the tournament outcome.
Levi Guttman ‘27 had an unforgettable year and was named MVC Offensive Player of the Year. He had 2,848 combined yards in the air and on the ground, leading the team in rushing yards with 969 (5th most in MVC) and passing yards with 1,879 (3rd most in the MVC). The team's two-star receivers, Thomas Huckleby ’28 and Brandon Proffit ’26, accounted for a combined 1,641 receiving yards and 40 touchdowns. Huckleby led the team with 881 yards (2nd most in MVC) and 23 touchdowns (most in MVC). Proffitt was right behind with 760 yards (4th most in MVC) and 17 touchdowns (T-2 most in MVC).
As a sophomore, Huckleby now holds the record for the most receiving yards in a career (1,819 yards) and the most receiving touchdowns in a career (22). Proffitt finishes his career with the 2nd most career receiving yards (1,451), 3rd most career receptions with 100, and holds the record for most career passes defended (21) and most career punt return yards (417).
The Nighthawks’ high-powered offense outscored opponents 410-189 with the help of the defense. The defense accounted for 14 interceptions (3rd most of any MVC team) and 714 total tackles (3rd most of any MVC team). Will Robinson ’26, a three-year two-way starter, led the team with 100 tackles and 5 tackles for loss. He finished his career T-6 for the most career tackles (265). The defensive line of Lucas Donahue ’26, Gabe Odeh ’29, and Kevin Li ’27 accounted for 130 tackles and held the line for the offense. The secondary consisted of all two-way players: Thomas Huckleby, Leon Hall ’27, Brandon Proffitt, Michael Hendrix ’26, and Nathan Kellenberger ’29, who combined for 305 tackles and 11 interceptions.
Most importantly, the Class of 2026 will go down in the history books as the winningest class in program history with 42 total wins! Congratulations to Lucas, Michael, Will, Brandon, and Myles on an incredible milestone and career with CCDS!
Golf
The boys’ golf team saw some new faces take the course, as they graduated four seniors last year. It was a great year as many golfers got to prove what they could do at the varsity level. The team finished 5th at the MVC Championship! Evan Ross ’26 finished T-6 and earned First Team All-MVC honors. They went on to place 4th at Sectionals, qualifying for Districts with a team score of 363! Evan Ross led the team again at Sectionals, finishing T-3 with a 79.
On the girls’ side, three golfers returned from the 2024-25 squad. They welcomed four new golfers this year, and it was a fun year of learning the game. The team finished 4th at the MVC Championship. Lilly Shafer ’26 finished in 4th place and earned First Team All-MVC honors and Ali Zimmerman ’26 finished in 11th place and earned Second Team All-MVC honors. Lilly punched her ticket to Districts after shooting a 93 at Sectional.
It was a great year of golf for both teams! Congratulations to our senior golfers on an exciting final season: Leah Coyle, Gracie Dickerhoof, Noor Elkasaby, John Mullins, Lilly Shafer, Kier Smith, Evan Robinson, Evan Ross, and Ali Zimmerman.
Boys Soccer
The CCDS boys’ soccer team finished season 6-11-1, which included a three-game winning streak at the end of the season before falling to Seven Hills in the second round of the OHSAA tournament. They outscored opponents 17-1 in those last three wins!
Gabe Benitez ’26 led the MVC in saves with 146, which is also the program record for most saves in a season. Gabe also broke the record for the most saves in a career with 442 and holds the record for most saves in a game (13), which he set last season vs. Indian Hill.
Ryan Pavlisko ’28 led the team in scoring with 9 goals, and Trey Blum ’26 was the second leading scorer with 8 goals. Morris Helmantel ’26 led the team in assists with 9 (4th most in MVC) and added 5 goals. The most memorable game of the season came from the first round of the tournament when CCDS defeated Lockland 8-0. Not only did the team advance in the tournament, but five Nighthawks scored this game: Trey Blum, Paxton Fleischer ’29, Morris Helmantel (2), Ryan Pavlisko (3), and Matthew Wood ’27!
This team fought hard every game of the season. Next year’s squad will look different with the graduation of seniors Gabe, Trey, Morris, and Kane Ma, but should look forward to another exciting season as 11 members will return.
Girls Soccer
The girls’ soccer team started this season with a clear goal in mind: a deep tournament run after the 2024-25 season ended in the second round. An injury-riddled season made for lots of close games, and the team finished the regular season 6-8-3. They closed out the season with a 3-0 win over Dayton Christian as they celebrated seniors Alyssa Easter and LC Cicchinelli. The Nighthawks went on to dominate at the beginning of the tournament, winning three straight and outscoring opponents 14-2. They defeated Dayton Christian once more in the District Final to win their 8th District Championship in the past 10 years!
Alyssa Easter capped off her career with an incredible season in the net for the Nighthawks. She broke the record for most saves in a career (509), season (215, most in MVC), and a game (20).
The group of Audrey de Alarcon ’27, Zoe Doerger ’28, Nicole Hardesty ’27, and Josie Hyden ’27 accounted for 49 of the team's 54 goals in the season. Each player almost doubled their statistics from last season. Audrey had an incredible season, sitting in the top 5 in three different statistical categories in the MVC: points (4th most with 47), goals (5th most with 15), and assists (3rd most with 17). Zoe was the second leading scorer on the team with 13 goals, including three different games with a hat trick. Nicole battled injuries all season and was out for numerous games but was still the third leading scorer on the team. There’s no doubt that she will have a dominant senior season next fall. Josie was a lockdown defender for the Nighthawks but also notched 10 goals this season, a career high. She was also named to the All-Ohio team as a junior.
The team battled with tough talent from the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area all season. With only one active senior this season, the team will return the entire roster with hopes of another District Championship and more next year.
Girls Tennis
The girls’ tennis team had an unforgettable season. The team started the season with a bang, hosting the CCDS Invitational and taking home the championship, a feat that hadn't been accomplished in almost two decades. The Nighthawks went on to win seven straight before they fell to a talented Indian Hill team. The back half of the season was just as successful as the front half, winning another seven straight and finishing the season 15-2.
The Nighthawks were crowned MVC Co-Champions with a conference record of 9-1. They split the title with CHCA. This is the team's first MVC Championship since 2012 and just their second in 20 years.
Most notably, the Nighthawks posted their best season record in program history, finishing with a win percentage of 0.882 (15-2)! An incredible finish after closing the 2024-25 season at an even .500.
Caroline ‘26 and Katherine Connelly ’26 had an incredible final season with the Nighthawks, posting a 13-2 overall record and 8-0 in the MVC. Three players were seeded at sectionals: Reema Arebi ‘27 was the #4 seed (singles), and Caroline and Katherine Connelly were the #3 seed (doubles). The Connellys battled all the way to the OHSAA D2 State Championship, where they fell short to a talented Columbus Academy team but had an incredible run.
To cap off an incredible year, Coach Kyle Scully was named the MVC Coach of the Year! A well-deserved honor for a remarkable season. Next year, the team says goodbye to senior captains Caroline Connelly, Katherine Connelly, and Ellie Texter, but will return five members from the varsity team to continue the legacy.
Volleyball
The volleyball team had an incredible end to their season and has a lot to look forward to with such a young team. Only two varsity players returned from last year’s squad, Ellie Albers ’27 and Jordyn Brown ’28. The rest of the team consisted of six freshmen and two sophomores. Their record does not reflect the hard work and resilience of this team. During the postseason, they defeated the #1 seed, East Clinton, to move onto the District Championship for the first time since 2019! They fell short in the District Championship, but it was an incredible postseason run.
Ellie and Jordyn stepped into new roles this season, becoming the leaders of this team. Ellie had an incredible junior season leading the team in kills (236, 3rd most in MVC), aces (76, 4th most in MVC) and blocks (21). She set the program record for most kills in a season and sits at third for the most kills in a career. Jordyn dominated for the second year in a row. She led the team in assists (364, 6th most in MVC), digs (209, 5th most in a season in program history), and had the fewest errors among the starters (5). Jordyn has the 5th most career assists as a sophomore with 779.
Newcomers Samirah Barber ’29 and Ece Karakus ’29 had outstanding freshmen debuts. Ece had the second most kills and digs on the team, and Samirah had the second most assists. Carolyn Shafer missed numerous games due to an injury but was a difference maker when healthy. She led the team in passes (325) and had the third most digs on the team.
This team had an incredible season and competed with some talented teams, including Regional Champions, Summit Country Day, and defending OHSAA IV State Champions, Roger Bacon. With most players returning next season, this team has a lot of upside for the future!