By Julissa Flores ’25
On Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, DHS had its annual senior night for its basketball players. There were a total of four seniors who were honored by their families and community that night. Senior night is an event where senior athletes on all sports teams are shown recognition for their contribution to the team.
Patrick Boateng ‘25 is a senior who came out of his shell in his last year of high school and decided to join the team. Boateng shares that he will miss his teammates and the joy he felt playing with them. “I’m going to miss this sport; I’m going to miss the team and the bonds I’ve built with my teammates,” he said.
Matthew “Magic” Marroquin ‘25 is a senior on the team who has been playing since his freshman year. He’s had dedication on this court for 4 years, always been a team player, and always wanted to reach his full potential. This last game meant a lot to him. He said, “I feel like right now, with this being my last game, I just want to have fun with my friends on the team.”
What’s special about this senior night in particular is that seniors who are on and off the court are still being recognized. Albert Disla ‘25 was unfortunately injured for half the season and wasn’t able to play. However, that did not stop him from being recognized for the work he put in on the court before his injury. Disla stated, “My injury definitely affected my season and caused me not to play, so for my team to still acknowledge and honor me on senior night appreciated.”
What would the team be without the help from a person behind the scenes? Khaleel Auld ‘25, who has been the manager of the basketball team since he was a freshman, will definitely miss what he does. Auld said, “ I will miss seeing these young guys grow and achieve great things together.” Khaleel helps with the stat sheet at games, helps out during practices, gets water during games, and encourages his teammates. Auld also said, “It felt great to be a part of a growing team that is striving to get better for their future.”
Photo by Anthony Mullin: Auld and his family standing together.
The basketball coach, Robert Sweirbitowicz, reflected on how he felt about the basketball season this year. He says, “I feel we achieved our goals for the year and look forward to setting new goals and achieving them next season.” His view on the seniors that he coached this year was nothing but positive. It was definitely an interesting season for him as a coach. He says, “We only had four seniors; two seniors played on the team, one unfortunately was recovering from injury, and another was our team manager. So, we are a very young program, which will allow us to grow in the years to come.
Although they didn’t win the senior night game against Eli Whitney, the seniors on the team still enjoyed playing their last game. The final score for the game was 40-68. The crowd was on the edges of their seats, watching the game, hoping we would win. The 2025 basketball season has come to an end, and they put their best work in until next year.
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