WAHS Baseball Falls to William Byrd in Regional Tournament; Softball’s Season Ends with Loss to Monticello

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Credit: Jim Freeland

Josh Casteen winds up to throw a strike on the mound.

Ben Masselli, Staff Writer

Western baseball concluded a strong 2015 regular season with wins against Monticello and Fort Defiance in order to claim back to back Jefferson District titles. The team is led by senior captains Steven Mangrum, Dylan Weiss, and Josh Casteen, Henry Kreienbaum, and Harrison Lund. The warriors faced a tough conference tournament before moving on to regionals, where they were eliminated a year ago. First, they beat conference rival, Spotswood, to get third place in the conference in order to advance. After dropping their last game to Monticello, the Warriors were hungry for a victory.  The Warriors season came to an end when they lost to William Byrd High School in the regional tournament.

Softball at Western has had their share of tough losses over the course of this season. The team finished with an overall record of 5-15 after losing a hard fought game at home to Monticello in the Conference 29 tournament. The girls were led by Olivia Markopoulos, a Boston College commit, and Makayla Shifflett, who will both be returning next season for their senior years. Although the Warriors had a tough outing in the 2015 playoffs, they will return a majority of their team and show much improvement next season.