By: Joe Cicchino - Sports Information Assistant

FORT WASHINGTON -- The 2017-18 athletic and academic year was the latest example in a long line of successful seasons at Germantown Academy.

“The 2017-2018 school year was filled with so many highlights, it is difficult to capture them all,” Athletic Director Josh MacArthur said. “Of course, we all like to win more. Too many people focus on the win-loss column, and those that do miss all that has happened in between. The development of our students, their relationships with others, and their experience is paramount to anything else. There is no greater joy than to watch our students challenge themselves in their athletics pursuits. Through this, we challenge them to grow.”

During the year those challenges were tackled and the benefits were harvested. Four teams won league titles, two won Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association titles and three were PAISAA runners-up. In total, 72 student-athletes were named to an All-League Team.

Here's a sampling of Germantown Academy’s highlights from 2017-18:

• Girls cross country won its second-consecutive Inter-Ac title, led by a second-place finish from Isabelle Goldstein '20. A few days later, the team claimed its second-straight PAISAA title.
   
• Matt Sandifer '20 finished fifth overall for the boys at the league championship and took 18th out of 215 at the Northeast Regional. The sophomore finished first in the GA-PC Day race and earned MVP honors.
   
• For the first time since 2007, GA's field hockey team was able to defeat Episcopal Academy. GA ended the year with a second-place finish in the PAISAA Championship.
   
• The boys soccer team earned a thrilling 3-2 win over Penn Charter on GA-PC Day with Michael Roman '18 being named MVP. 
   
• Despite injuries toward the end of the season, the volleyball team managed to place second in the PAISAA Tournament.
   
• The girls soccer team scorched the back of the net in the first round of the PAISAA Tournament against George School with a 7-0 win.
   
• Finn Lillis '18 set the new mark in career goals for boys water polo at 301. The team also placed third at Easterns, its best finish since winning the ‘A’ flight in 2004.
   
• It took a strong second-half effort by the Quakers to take down the Patriots in the 131st edition of the Germantown Academy-Penn Charter football game. In the final two quarters, Penn Charter outscored GA 19-3 on their way to a 26-17 victory.
   
• Despite some wicked snow, fans came out in bunches to watch the boys and girls basketball teams play in the Make-A-Wish Tournament.
   
• If there were any doubts that Jordan Longino '21 would be a big-time performer for the Patriots, he erased them with a buzzer-beating shot to give GA a 61-59 win over Episcopal Academy.
   
• The girls basketball team won the league title for the fourth consecutive year. In the process, Head Coach Sherri Retif became the only Inter-Ac basketball coach -- male or female -- with 18 league titles.
   
• After falling in the Independent Hockey League Championship two years in a row, GA's ice hockey team was finally able to break through. The Patriots defeated Pennington School 6-1 to earn the IHL Championship.
   
• GA's girls swimming team took fifth at Easterns with four first-place finishes. The majority of that roster will be returning next year. Meanwhile the boys team finished 10th despite not having a single senior on the roster. 
   
• Brandon Seidman '18 became the 10th wrester in GA history to place three times at Prep Nationals. Overall three wrestlers placed at the competition and the Patriots placed 12th as a team.
   
• The crew team had a school-record seven boats in the finals for the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association Championships. They also had two boats finish in the top six at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta.
   
• Kyle Garland '18 (110 hurdles), Caleb Johnson '19 (pole vault) and Olatide Abinusawa ’19 (discus) broke league records and helped the Patriots claim the top spot in the Inter-Ac. Garland goes down as one of the most decorated track athletes in school history, while Johnson finished third in the pole vault at Penn Relays.
   
• The girls track & field team finished third in the league. Goldstein’s final laps in the 1600 and 3200 played a huge role, while Meaghan Toscano '20 dominated throwing events for the Patriots and set new league marks in the discus and shot put.
   
• Records continued to fall in Garland, Johnson and Toscano’s wake at the PAISAA Championships. The boys team took first at that meet for the first time ever, while the girls claimed second.