Monday, November 21st was Fall Sports Awards Night, an event that takes place after every sports season recognizing the achievements of the past season. Corey Parker started off the evening recognizing the individuals who do so much behind the scenes so the athletic program can run smoothly. Ken Harrington, groundskeeper, Eric Gelinas, athletic trainer, and Jill Romano, athletic secretary were acknowledged for what they give to the program. Mr Parker also reflected on the successes of the season as well as the influence that sports have on the lives of student athletes. The time management skills and work ethic developed through being a student athlete are tools they will use to enhance the rest of their lives.
After interviewing some of the athletes, asking them about their favorite memories it seemed that the season was both successful and enjoyable for all the teams. When asked about her favorite memory from the season, Kimmy Fountain, a senior on cross country said, “Senior Night, because I’m a senior and it was so much fun and it was really hard not to cry – and I did cry a little bit, but I love this team so I’m really happy.” Sophie Guerra, senior, Jordan Starace, junior, and Sophia Falkengren, senior from varsity volleyball said that their favorite memory was “all the fundraisers we did, the car wash especially, we raised over a thousand dollars and we did the pink bake sale (a fundraiser raising money for breast cancer).” All of the athletes had positive things to say about their teams including Shayna Salis from girls varsity soccer remarking on the team’s spirit “my favorite memory was when my team and I dressed up in Halloween costumes because we’re so…it showed that we all have a different personality off the soccer field and we’re so funky and spirited…and I just love it so much.” CJ Ladue, a sophomore on the golf team shared the exciting success of their season, he said “…we came from behind to win the championship, it was nice because we weren’t expected to win this year and we ended up winning by a substantial margin, which was fun.”
When asked about his favorite memory from the season, Jacob Collins, a junior on varsity football puts it simply, “the homecoming pasta dinner” he says. Ella Erwin, sophomore and Savona Roberts, junior, both on JV field hockey talk about the friendships they formed during the season. Ella says laughing, “my best memory from my first field hockey season was Savona Roberts and I getting to know each other and experiencing the same new adventures together.” Autumn Wallace, a senior on varsity spirit says “our favorite memory this whole season was definitely when we went on a haunted hayride together.” The boys cross country team had a lot to say about their season, they talked about their tough loss in the state championship, others chimed in saying, “…when Luke broke his nalgene” after laughing about that they agreed on the time when the bus never showed up and they were left, stuck in the rain, “perfection” says Jake Zwickau. When asked about the most memorable moment of his season, Mac Chen, a senior on varsity soccer says “when Richard’s cleats ripped on the field during a game.”
This sports season seems it was filled with ups and downs as well as plenty of laughs and memorable moments. With the variety of topics, one can see that there is much more to these teams than the sport they are playing. The athletes talked about special memories made with their teammates and the friendships they formed, reiterating what Mr Parker was mentioned about sports being an influential part of an athlete’s life. The friendships made and the skills developed are some of the things our student athletes will carry with them throughout the rest of their lives. Congrats on another amazing season! Go bulldogs!!
