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Prepping for Preps '22-23: Archbishop Wood (Girls)

10/26/2022, 10:15am EDT
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)

(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2022-23 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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It’s the not-so secret to Archbishop Wood’s success.

For every Bailey Greenberg, Katie May, Kaitlyn Orihel or Ryanne Allen — all selected as state player of the year as Vikings — there have been dozens of players filling various roles, sort of the mortar that keeps the foundation together. 

They’ve been the not-so secret to Wood’s success and this year more than ever, the Vikings are going to need the best out of them.

“That’s Wood’s brand, almost,” senior Kara Meredith said. “You’re pushing the other girls and putting them out there, that’s our thing. When we were freshmen, we’d be out there in the fall playing against 18-year olds to see what it would be like so that when the time came, we’d be ready.”


Holy Family commit Kara Meredith said her team's depth is an attribute that sticks out. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

As always, expectations are high for the Warminster-based Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse and as always, nobody within the program is expecting to have a path cleared for them to get where they want to go. Wood ended last season at the peak, lifting a second straight PIAA Class 4A title after defeating Lansdale Catholic in Hershey.

The Vikings also had to say farewell to an accomplished senior class headlined by Allen, the PCL’s MVP and Class 4A state player of the year now preparing for her freshman season at Vanderbilt. Also gone is tough-as-nails defensive ace Bri Bowen, now at Delaware, and steady point guard Shannon Morgan who matched her older sister Erin with a PCL and two state titles.

What Wood does have is its largest senior class in quite a few years, one loaded with experience, and some promising underclassmen to fill in around them.

“We have a ton of chemistry this year with so many returning girls,” senior guard Allie Fleming said. “We’re working on continuing to play well together and incorporating the newer girls into our system.”

In the center will be Deja Evans, the 6-foot-1 Albany recruit last seen setting the PIAA title game record with 20 rebounds against LC. The senior, who posted a double-double in all five state games last year, brings rebounding and shot-blocking on defense but is also a versatile offensive player who has worked to add some off-the-dribble potential and is honing her jumper.

Wood coach Mike McDonald will have plenty of options this season, both in potential starters and as options coming off the bench. At the wing/forward spots, the Vikings have a plethora of rangy, long-armed two-way contributors led by Holy Family recruit Meredith, senior Delaney Finnegan and sophomore Emily Knouse.

“Our team this year is different from last year, but we’re really deep where we can go five in, five out and have a lot of trust in all our girls,” Meredith said. “Even the sophomores and underclassmen want to contribute, so I’m really excited.”

Fleming, a southpaw sniper and junior Ava Renninger headline the guard rotation with both having a mix of experience as starters and coming off the bench. Junior Alexa Windish seems poised for a spot in the rotation while junior Lauren Greer and seniors Lauren Tretter and Campbell McCloskey are program veterans.

Renninger, a 5-foot-6 combo guard, was a newcomer to Wood last season and has impressed so far this fall with an aggressive, attacking mentality. McDonald is expecting several players like Meredith and Fleming to take a step up and he noted Renninger as a player who should turn some heads this season. 

McDonald isn’t looking to have one explosive scorer on a consistent basis. Production may differ from game-to-game or based on matchups, so he’s expecting to see several different leading scorers throughout the season.

Meredith called it the “brand.” Her coach had a similar description for the method behind Wood’s winning ways.

“That’s our trademark in most cases,” McDonald said. “Our kids are playing against other really good kids in practice, they may not get to show it in games right away but when they have the opportunity, they’re ready because of all that work they’ve been putting in. It’s rewarding as a coach to see them grow in that way.”


Archbishop Wood junior Ava Renninger is one of those expected to surprise this season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

It’s safe to reason that if there are 10, maybe more, players who could see the floor regularly that something is tying them together.

“Our strength is our offense,” Meredith said. “We know it so well, we practice it every day so it kind of gets engraved into your brain where it becomes second nature. We know how to read the defense, there’s like 10 different options we can go out of one play, so we don’t have to be set on one thing.”

The defense is pretty good too, and it will have to be. Finnegan is a terrific defender on the wing, as is Meredith. The guards are scrappy and Evans has a good knack for defending the rim and especially clearing the glass.

“We feel like we’re one of the hardest-working teams around, so we need to put that into play,” Fleming said. “We want to win those championships so badly and we know what it’s like to lose so we never want to feel that again.”

The goal, as it is every year, is to end the season at the Giant Center in Hershey but ask any player or coach and they’ll say this team is a long way off from thinking about that. Wood will have its usual challenging slate early in the season, including a trip to the Washington DC area for the She Got Game Classic and an out-of-state tournament around the winter holidays.

Before they can think about Hershey, the Vikings will be thinking about the Catholic League. This senior class helped win a PCL title as sophomores in the 2020-21 season, but that game was held at Archbishop Carroll due to COVID-19 restrictions and their sole trip to the Palestra as freshmen came with a loss.

“The state championship is awesome, but the Palestra is that dream come true anytime we’re there,” McDonald said. “I’ve been very fortunate to get there but I know this group would like to get back there, play on that court and be a part of it. We’re a long way from there, but it is a goal.”

Nobody at Wood is expecting to just get there, not with a PCL field that again looks incredibly competitive and especially at the top level. The league had three state champions last year with Neumann-Goretti at 3A, Wood at 4A and Cardinal O’Hara at 5A, plus Lansdale Catholic as the runner-up in 4A and Archbishop Carroll a quarterfinalist in 6A.

At the state level, the PCL has seen a couple changes including Wood, which will be competing in Class 5A this year after winning the last two state titles at Class 4A. The Vikings previously won a 5A state title in 2016-17.

“You don’t walk into a gym and win, you have to be ready,” McDonald said. “There has to be a sense of urgency, and it can’t come from just wanting to score or who the opponent is. It’s how we want to play all the time. That’s the way it has to be when you play in the Catholic League.”

McDonald added another ring when he got married on Oct. 8, but that hasn’t slowed him down from getting the Vikings into plenty of fall events. Fleming, who also played on McDonald’s Mid-Atlantic AAU team along with Meredith, said the Vikings’ coach is as big a part of the team’s success as any player with the amount of time he puts in.

Call it a brand, call it a trademark, call it whatever fits but don’t ignore Wood’s player development when talking about the program’s success over the years. This year, more than ever, the secret to the Vikings’ success will be on full display.

“It’s the same as every year, like our coaches say, give it your all, work your hardest at every practice,” Meredith said. “We’re in the gym six out of seven days during the season and in the offseason, we’re there two days a week lifting or working out as a team. It’s a process and it all leads up to what we’re working toward.”


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