The Paw Print

By Maren Theyssen, Contributor

Payton sports had an amazing kickoff at the start of the school year! Fall sports moved into full force with the Grizzlies traveling around the city and dominating in their respective conferences. The 2024-2025 sports year is looking promising for Payton.

Girls golf started off hot as they faced fellow CPS teams. They have fallen short in some matches but are very close to strong teams such as Whitney and Jones, and they took a big win against Kenwood after Kate Kozlowski put the team ahead on hole seven. Juniors Kate Kozlowski and Annika Sengupta represented Payton as individuals in the City Championship. Boys golf had quite a few wins throughout September. They took wins over Amundsen, Taft and others, and they also took a win in their CPS tournament at Jackson Park. They played in the City Championship on Sept. 26 and finished second in the city. Juniors Henry O’Toole and Mason Fernandez both medaled.

Boys cross country was first to the line and had an amazing start to the season, being named the second ranked team in 2A for the whole state. Both the Varsity and Frosh/Soph teams won at the Macnider invite on the Sept. 28, and the Frosh/Soph team also won the Latin invite on the Sept. 25 with a perfect score of 15 points, finishing first, second, third, fourth and fifth. Girls cross country has also had a successful September by finishing 21st out of 56 in the largest meet in Illinois, and multiple members have bettered their PRs meet after meet. They will continue their season into October and compete in more meets.

Boys soccer started off hot, taking wins right out of the gate of the season. They went 3-2 in conference play and beat rival school Jones, as well as taking a win against St. Patrick’s in penalties. Senior goalie Ulises Zepeda has 52 saves over the season and has one shutout. He also averages 5.2 saves per match, keeping the Grizzlies locked on defense. Junior central attacking midfielder Edgar Pinon leads the team with seven goals and five assists. They made it to the round of 16 in the city playoffs and ended up losing to Solario. The team is preparing for the state tournament which starts in mid-October.

Girls swim and dive has had a strong season. They’ve taken wins against Taft and Lindbloom. At the city championships, swim finished second in relays. Sophomore Madeline Bussell has been a star for Payton diving, where she has placed first for both of her meets. Junior Nadia Williams leads the swim side, putting in amazing times to bring the Grizzlies to victory.

Girls tennis has had a successful season, playing well in their conference and beating multiple rival schools. They took wins against Northside, Jones, Taft, Lincoln Park and a few other schools. Sophomore Saya Tanabe has taken a good sum of wins in the singles division, and she took second in the Lockport tournament. The team has overall taken strong wins in their doubles divisions and face off in the city championship on Oct. 4 to try and win for the third year in a row.

Girls flag football had a competitive season, going 4-3 in conference and 5-5 overall. Senior captain wide receiver Sariyah Thomas led the team with the most touchdowns, and Junior quarterback Kayla Reed leads the team with the most passing touchdowns. The Grizzlies had huge wins against Rickover, Mather and Bulls College Prep. They play in the first round of the state tournament on Oct. 7.

Tackle football went 3-2 for the month. They had a great 28-0 start against Hubbard but then fell into a slump and lost 27-0 against Kenwood in the homecoming game and lost 30-29 against Westinghouse. However, the Grizzlies were able to prevail against Amundsen 26-19 on the 26th in a huge game. Senior running back Allen Greyer leads the offense, with the team averaging 24.8 points per game in total. The defense has been solid, letting up an average of just 17.2 points per game. The Grizzlies play in a huge game on Oct. 18 against Lane Tech.

Also, a huge congratulations to the co-ed 16” softball team, who just won the city championship! The Grizzlies took a walk off win after the opposing team walked in the winning run. They continue their amazing run of seasons, capping it off with the biggest win possible.

Girls volleyball is our team of the month for September. They went 14-5 for the month and finished third in the Northside Invite. Sophomore right side Charlie Fumerton-Porter led the team with the most kills, kills per set, aces and aces per set. They have swept many of their match opponents, including Northside, De La Salle and Lincoln Park. Setter Isa Hughes (Junior) and libero Marissa Mancine (Senior) helped set up the team’s success, with Hughes having over 200 assists over the season and Mancine having over 100 digs.