Catching athletic and academic success

From athletic to academic teams Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns (HAFTR) High School students are thriving.
The school’s halls resembled a shining sea of red, white, and blue and HAFTR Hawk jerseys in celebration of the varsity basketball team’s winning the eighth annual Cooper Invitational basketball tournament hosted by Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis, Tennessee. It is the first time HAFTR won the tournament.
The team won all three of their preliminary games leading up to the championship game against the number one ranked North Shore Stars from Great Neck. The game, which was streamed live over the Internet, was close for the first three quarters, but during the fourth quarter HAFTR gained momentum and won 37-33.
In celebration of the momentous win, the following day, Nov. 10, was declared School Spirit Day! Members of the basketball team proudly wore their Cooper champions shirts and paraded around the halls with their newly won trophy as their fellow students cheered them on and congratulated them.
“It was great to see the entire school come together and show their support for us after our hard-fought tournament win,” said guard Jacob Siri. Fellow 11th-grade teammate Ezra Appel, said: “It was a great feeling to win, but now we have to start focusing on the rest of the season ahead.” Sara Krown, a junior, said: “Seeing everyone in the same colors brought a great sense of achdus (unity) and made us feel like one big HAFTR family!”

The boys’ varsity hockey team has also gotten their season off to a great start. The team, which is the reigning league champion, won its first three games against Magen David (7-0) on Nov. 3, North Shore (6-1) on Nov. 4, and Flatbush (7-0) on Nov. 13.
Members of the team are really excited about the way the season has gone so far. “We could not have asked for a better start to the season,” said Jacob Grossman, an 11th-grade hockey player. “Our hard work and dedication is really starting to show.” Ryan Gluck, one of the team’s goalies, said: “I’m really happy with the start to the season. We are trying our hardest to make our school proud. I’m very excited to be part of such a committed, determined, and talented team!”
Both of HAFTR’s College Bowl teams also experienced success at their recent meet on Nov. 6. Both the junior varsity and varsity teams won all three of their individual matches against local yeshivas. “I was very proud of my team and our victory was truly euphoric,” said
Josh Hirsch, a captain of the junior varsity team. Junior Aaron Steinfeld, who recently joined the junior varsity team, added, “It was much more exciting than I thought it would be. I can’t wait for the next meet.”