Westminster Basketball's Fantastic Season

By: Bennett Varao ‘27
Westminster Boys Basketball had its most successful season under Coach Pringle this winter, posting a 12-10 record. Many at the start of the season had high hopes for the team as they retained key contributors from last season, including Ethan Griffin ’26, Thomas Blouin ’26, and  Sonny Batchelor ’27, while adding new recruits Julien Wiggins ’27 and Elliot Goldberg ’28 to boost their roster. The Martlets started the season slowly, going 1-3 in their first four, dropping games to Loomis, Deerfield, and Kingswood Oxford, and winning against Trinity Pawling. Once winter break ended, the team became red hot, with huge wins over Choate, Kingswood Oxford, and Avon Old Farms. During this period, Wiggins ’27 went off with multiple 30-point performances, while Griffin ’26 dominated the boards. During the Avon game, these two both put up amazing performances, with Wiggins' 27 dropping 33 points while Griffin' 26 had 21 points and 20 rebounds, leading the team to victory over our rival in front of a packed crowd. 
After this stretch, though, the team did face some adversity, losing close games against strong teams: Hotchkiss, Frederick Gunn, and Salisbury. The team pushed through with convincing wins against Kent and Taft to end the season, highlighted by strong performances from Batchelor ‘27: 21 points, 6 rebounds; Griffin‘26: 21 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3 steals; and Julien Wiggins‘27: 28 points, 4 assists. The team finished with a winning record for the first time during Coach Pringle’s fourteen Year tenure as head coach and clinched the #7 seed in the Class B New England tournament. 
During their playoff game, the Marlets fought hard and came back to within 5 points after being down by over 15 points earlier; however, Canterbury held on and secured the win.  Multiple Martlets received awards for their performance during the season. Wiggins ’27 earned All-Founders league first team, while Griffin ‘26 achieved All-Founders league second team and Founders league defensive player of the year. The Martlets had their most successful season in many years, winning huge games against rivals and competing hard till the very end. Congratulations to all players and coaches for this fantastic season.