Saint Viator is home to and has long celebrated the triumph of its many talented and determined athletes. The Winter sports season has demonstrated this to spectators through the success players have achieved. Biology teacher Mrs. Eileen Cairo pastes newspaper articles on her classroom board acknowledging promising Viator athletes.

“We are so proud of them,” said Mrs. Cairo. “I enjoy reading the paper and seeing students of mine that are in there. It’s exciting.”

This past season, the boys basketball varsity team and the girls basketball varsity team won a majority of their games.

“Winning conference we went nine and zero and those nine games had their own highlights,” said senior Peter Lambesis.  “We won our Thanksgiving tournament and that was one of the big highlights.”

Since the boys had won all of their nine conference games, they gained the East Suburban Catholic League Conference title, making it the fourth time Saint Viator has won conference.

Likewise, the girls had much to celebrate and be proud of this season.

“[The girls] won another regional making it the fifth title of Saint Viator girls’ basketball,” said senior Olivia Solimene. “three regionals in three years made it a three peat.”

Olivia Solimene is one of the captains, along with senior Michaela Mueller, of girls varsity basketball.

Looking back on this season, the players recalled memories that reveal the hard work and dedication behind their victorious wins.

The boys final and ninth conference win was against Nazareth Academy.

“After we beat Nazareth we celebrated in the locker room very hard and it was fun, something you don’t forget,” said junior Jeremiah Hernandez.

The girls also have memorable moments from this past season, in particular, one during a Saint Viator versus St. Charles East game during the Schaumburg Thanksgiving tournament.

“It was a very competitive game,” said Olivia Solimene. “With four point eight seconds left we were down by two points. The score was 41-43. Sam DeJulio passed the ball to me, I whipped it to Myia Clark, Myia Clark dribbled down to the court, dished it to Natalie Krause, and Natalie Krause hit the game winning three. We won 44-43,” finishing that it was her favorite memory from this season.

Similarly, senior Grace Sexton recalled this moment as one of the most unforgettable moments of this past season. She remembers being at November Kairos during the game and later watching the highlight reel.

In addition to the unforgettable games and wins, some players view the entire season of basketball as a great high school memory.

“Every practice is a highlight because we all have fun and we are all friends,” said Lambesis.

From the start of the season, the girls and boys varsity teams looked promising and they dominated in tournaments, home games and away games. The Winter Basketball season generally begins in November and typically lasts until the beginning of spring with dozens of games being played. Where do the players get their drive from and what makes a team successful?

“We all show up and want to be [at practices] and plus we are all friends with each other which makes it more fun and more comfortable,” said Sexton.

“What I think made the team succeed this year was the goals we set forth from the beginning,” said Solimene. “We worked hard in practice, played together, and built a strong bond within.”

The boys seem to agree.

“We all like each other and we all love basketball so it’s easy to work hard and play together when we all like the same things,” said junior Jeremiah Hernandez.

The varsity teams at Saint Viator are filled with skilled and hardworking players, and include players ranging from sophomore year students to senior year students.

As Saint Viator students who will be graduating at the end of this year, senior players have some advice for those who will be playing next year.

“Enjoy the time that you have on basketball and enjoy the program too because the program really is great,” said Sexton.

Players also have some thoughts and comments regarding the playoffs.

“Playing with these guys has been really fun for me and they have been good teammates,” said Hernandez. “I just want to carry that through as far as we can until the end of March, which would be awesome.”

Excitement and goals are high as this winter season of basketball is coming to an end.

“We are looking to keep this run going into the playoffs and make some noise,” said Lambesis.