In a grueling mid-afternoon slugfest, the Panthers could not muster enough offense down the stretch to overcome 6 turnovers, losing 15-13 to the Sacred Heart Prep (SHP) Gators. Friday’s road loss was another example of Burlingame’s historic woes in close games against quality competition. Despite a stellar defensive performance anchored by Noah Lavulo and Dylan Neeley in which Burlingame yielded just 3 points, the Panthers offense and special teams struggled to generate momentum against the deeper and physically superior Gators.

As the season wrapped up, the Panthers began to reconcile their small team size and their practice style under coach Bill Smith. Even though the team struggled to recruit older players, the team dynamic ultimately panned out as the season went on. Their last game on Tuesday, April 12 was a nail-biter against Hillsdale High School and a satisfying end to the season according to the team, a diverse group of under and upperclassmen.

The record for the golf team this year has definitely improved since last year. In the game against Hillsdale on Monday, April 16, the team won 226-250. “The boys golf team has experienced a major improvement since the last season and we have won way more games this season due to the new talent and improved skills of the players,” said John Bohdzia, a second-year sophomore golf player.

The boys’ varsity baseball team triumphed in their last games against Menlo at home 9-0 and away 6-1, and their face-off against Carlmont on April 25 ended in a narrow but hard-fought win 2-0. Now they look to their next games against Hillsdale to make up for their brief slump early in the season.

Despite a rough season marked by surprising victories and close losses, the badminton team has gone up from the 5th in the league to the 3rd. Currently, the team has won 7 out of 14 matches against schools in the area including Hillsdale, San Mateo, and South City. Recently, in the Panthers’ second match against Hillsdale High School on Tuesday, April 17, Panthers finished with a 10-5 win over the Hillsdale Knights. Moreover, the badminton team almost beat last year’s champion Westmoor High School 7-8.  

The softball team is more diverse than previous year when it comes to age. With many talented underclassmen, the team is prepared for the games left in the season. With a league record of 1-6, the road ahead looks challenging but, “the team is willing to take this on,” senior Vavineh Jordan said.

Few Burlingame students are aware that they go to school with one of the best chess players in the Bay Area. Ivan Ke, a freshman, has a standard World Chess Federation (FIDE) rating of 2287, making him a top 20 U.S. player under age 16.

Senior Krish Pillai will be taking a gap year after graduating next week. He will be studying at the University of Oxford in England as part of their prestigious gap year program. Pillai intends to apply to college next year and return to the United States.

Senior Remigi Christen is returning next year to his native city of Basel, Switzerland. Christen’s family moved to Burlingame four years ago. “I grew up there,” Christen said. “We moved here before high school. Now we’re moving back.”

Senior Kerry Hu will attend Otis College of Art and Design in the Fall. “I decided to do art because I’m interested in fashion,” Hu said. “My mom does architecture-related work, so I decided to choose interior design, which is kind of related to fashion also.” Hu, who was born in Shanghai and moved to the United States in middle school, began creating art in a school program at a young age.

Senior Ian Aweeka has been a part of crew for five years and has recently committed to the University of California, San Diego to further his skills and experience. Aweeka is currently a part of the Redwood Scullers, one of the best teams in the region.

Quinn Pelichoff plans to attend Syracuse University, where he will compete in collegiate rowing in the eight-manned boats. However, crew is not Pelichoff’s only motivation for attending Syracuse.