D12 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAY, MAY 7 , 2022
BY AARON CREDEURNot everything went Gon-
zaga’s way at the Washington
Catholic Athletic Conference
boys’ tennis championships
Thursday, but that didn’t stop
the Eagles from walking away
with a team title.
After a strong run in the
preliminary rounds, including
an undefeated streak across all
matches in the quarterfinals, the
Eagles entered the finals at Paul
VI with a five-point lead over
second-place DeMatha. But early
losses put the pressure on senior
Carson Foley to deliver in a No. 3
singles match against Ishaan
Breinig of The Heights.
“I was just very nervous,” Foley
said. “I had to just get used to
being in that match and relieving
my nerves. And as I started
playing more, I got more com-
fortable on the court, which
allowed me to pull through.... I t
was the best feeling I’ve had in a
while.”
The momentum shifted in Fol-
ey’s favor when an umpire called
a pause to the match to review(and ultimately overturn) a line
call. Gonzaga Coach Randy de
Guzman said the brief break gave
him the chance to talk to Foley
and get his mind focused on the
remainder of the match.
“Carson was feeling the pres-
sure,” de Guzman said. “[After]
the call, everything stopped, you
know, and he recovered really
well and then just kind of bull-
dozed through the next couple of
points. Definitely triggered, like
some sort of energy in him and
really got things going.”
It was a fitting climax to aweek full of anticipation. Along
with the rest of the WCAC,
Gonzaga, the 2019 champions,
endured two years of canceled
championships. Most of Gon-
zaga’s young squad had zero
tournament experience, leaving
it up to Foley to keep his team-
mates on top of their mental
game despite setbacks.
“It’s the championship. Every-
thing counts,” Foley said. “So
when people get nervous in ten-
nis, they start to get a little tight,
and they swing with their arms.
They’re not loose. So you makemore errors, and you just feel
very nervous. And that’s what we
kind of felt early on.
“But once we got into it, we’re
getting the rhythm and just get-
ting very comfortable on the
court. And that definitely led us
to the win.”
DeMatha No. 1 Charles Woods
captured the individual title.
Woods overcame a back injury at
the beginning of the season that
threatened to flare up again
during his matches.
“The big thing was feeling like
I needed to hold back or not go100 percent because I didn’t
want to hurt myself,” Woods said.
“It took a lot of mental force for
me because there was a part of
me that was telling me just like:
‘Oh, it’s okay. You tried your best.’
But I really wanted to win, so I
fought through that.”
Gonzaga walked away from
the WCAC championship with a
total of 33 points and a 14-1
season record, followed by De-
Matha with 25 points and Paul VI
with 18.
The Eagles now pivot to the
D.C. state championships.WCAC BOYS’ TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Foley fights through nerves to lift Gonzaga; DeMatha’s Woods wins at No. 1
BY TRAMEL RAGGSphiladelphia — As the an-
nouncer’s request for silence cut
through the loud Penn Relays
crowd last Saturday, West Spring-
field senior Kyle LaJoye paused to
let the noise of roughly 30,000
cheering fans rush over him.
After three years spent as a
relative nonfactor within the
school’s ultracompetitive middle-
distance program, LaJoye was fi-
nally getting his big moment as
the lead leg in the high school
4x800 Championship of America
relay.
“I always heard about [the
Penn Relays] as a freshman and
growing up, but I never thought
I’d get here. But now here I am
today,” LaJoye said.
Coach Chris Pellegrini was
used to having a stable full of
strong runners at West Spring-
field, but last summer a combina-
tion of transfers and graduating
seniors thinned the program. As a
result, Pellegrini was unsure of
whom to use for the final spot on
the school’s decorated 4x800 re-
lay team.
LaJoye chose for him. He as-
sured his coach he needed to look
no further. He could be the one to
fill the gap.
“I didn’t want to be a part of the
class that let the great West
Springfield tradition fall off. So I
just said: ‘Why not me?... Why
can’t I be the guy to help this team
win?’ ” LaJoye recalled.
While Pellegrini appreciated
his confidence and boldness, ini-
tially the coach wasn’t convinced.
Because up until that point,
LaJoye was just an average run-
ner.
As a freshman, LaJoye ran the
800 meters in a forgettable 2 min-
utes 34.14 seconds. His sopho-
more season was canceled be-
cause of the pandemic. In his
junior year, he improved, cuttinghis time to 2:02.41, but he was still
off the pace needed to compete
for the Spartans.
What Pellegrini couldn’t see
was that LaJoye — affectionately
known by his teammates as “Tub-
by” because of his incredible eat-
ing abilities — had been building
toward filling the role for years.
Now was his time to prove it.
During Saturday’s Penn Relays
final, LaJoye’s 1:56.44 personal
best in the first leg of the 4x800relay helped his team secure a
third-place finish, the Spartans’
second-best showing at the Penn
Relays and the third-fastest time
in school history.
“What he’s done, it’s hard to
fathom. Usually, kids show signs
early of how good they are, and
then they’ll cut off a few seconds
here and there as they grow and
develop,” Pellegrini said. “In my
21 years of coaching, I’ve seen
maybe one other kid cut 40 sec-onds off their time.”
Part of the reason for LaJoye’s
late rise was that he hadn’t always
been focused solely on track. In
his freshman year, he played bas-
ketball during the winter while
friends on the track team did
indoor conditioning. He noticed
how much they improved, and he
thought basketball was holding
him back. So he committed to
running and quit the basketball
team — much to his mother’s
chagrin.
“I love basketball, and to be
completely honest with you I
didn’t want to stand outside in
the cold and rain to watch him
run,” Kyle’s mother, Crystal
LaJoye, said with a laugh.
With LaJoye all in on track, he
quickly showed how he could
mature as a runner and a team-
mate. “I could see a big difference
in his approach to races; he was a
lot more dialed in, and he was
willing to do anything to beat the
person next to him, and that’s
what made him the great runner
he is now,” senior teammate John
O’Donnell said.
Last fall, LaJoye’s strong cross-
country season put the program
on notice and forced Pellegrini to
acknowledge him as a serious
candidate for West Springfield’s
middle-distance roster.
During indoor season, LaJoye
impressed while competing in the
1,000 meters, in which he clocked
in at 2:36, nearly 16 seconds fasterthan his junior season.
“There’s never been anyone
that’s been a backstage runner
their first few years and then
[senior year] is out there compet-
ing with the top dogs. What he’s
done is incredible,” teammate
and best friend Sean Cochran
said. “He doesn’t do this stuff for
personal gain. He feels this re-
sponsibility to [the team] and the
long-standing success of West
Springfield.”
During the cross-country re-
gional finals last year, Cochran
fell during the early jostling of the
race. LaJoye, instead of focusing
on his own race, picked up Coch-
ran by his jersey. Both ended up
recording personal records.
Despite a standout season —
and a career that includes being a
part of five state championship
teams between cross-country, in-
door and outdoor track —
LaJoye’s running career remains
up in the air. He will attend
William & Mary in the fall for
academic purposes. Recently,
though, college coaches have con-
tacted him about continuing to
compete at the next level.
At West Springfield, he is leav-
ing a lasting impact.
“Seeing him transform himself
has been inspiring,” Crystal
LaJoye said. “He’s really worked
hard. He didn’t just roll out of bed
and do this. He had to slog
through a lot of tough times to
experience this moment.”West S pringfield’s LaJoye goes from the middle of the pack to leading itThe senior dramatically improved over the course of his high school career to become a key member of the Spartans’ decorated 4x800 relay squadTHE WASHINGTON POST
Kyle LaJoye ran a personal-best time leading off the 4x800 relay final last Saturday at the Penn Relays.$10 FIELD-LEVELTICKETSEXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR WASHINGTON POST READERS. Available online only at nationals.com/Post, while supplies last. Certain restrictions apply, see website for details.MAY 10– 12FOR THIS EXCLUSIVE OFFER, VISITNATIONALS.COM/POSTRUIZ
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