The rundown: fall sports bring mix of team achievements and losses

As the fall sports season comes to an end, each sport team experienced their ups and downs with different achievements. Here is a quick rundown of what went down this season and what accomplishments each team made.

Boys Golf

While the team only won 3 games out of the 8 they participated in, they were able to establish team chemistry, with many players achieving new personal bests. The team did not win any tournaments this season, but they did win 4-5 tournaments over the summer.

Due to the small number of members on the team, Jason Czabaj, senior, believes the stress of constantly playing brought the team to a slight setback. While he did become a sectional qualifier, he also succumbed to the stress of the season.

“My low was definitely the week I took off. I struggled a little against Stevenson and Lake Forest. I just couldn’t take playing and I took a week off. I definitely received some criticism for that, which was deserved. All of us needed rest. We needed everyone there, but not everyone could be there with what went around during the season,” Czabaj said.

Girls Volleyball

In the beginning, the girls volleyball team did not do as well as they wished. Losing games and tournaments, the team could have had a bad season. However, they turned it around after winning some games and tournaments, specifically the Lyons Tournament. The tournament changed the course of their season from a difficult to an improving one.

The Lyons Tournament is a tournament with 5 games with different divisions. The team won all the games in their division, changing the course of their season. Elana Kraversky, senior, was proud of the different games she participated and won in.

“[During] Some of the tournaments that we had, I felt like we didn’t take it as seriously as we could have. But we definitely flipped that switch at the end of the season when we won the Lyons Tournament. But when we started off, our tournaments were a little rough,” Kraversky said.

Girls Cross Country

The entire team may not have made it to state, but the girls cross country team pushed through the mental breaks and the injuries, to make it to sectionals. Working with each other, they were able to overlook the losses and achieve team and personal goals.

For Jillian Baffa, senior, she wishes the team to make it to state due to the 4 losses. They did win 3 dual meets and she hopes for the runners to continue running and join Track to further develop their skills.

“I think the people that are going to be continuing have a lot of potential. I hope that they can place high in sectionals and maybe make it to State and continue it to track as well because running never ends for distance runners. So next year I hope they can work together and pull through to make it to State,” Baffa said.

Boys Soccer

The team had a strong season, winning play-offs and three games during the sectional-finals. They also established a winning record, placing 3rd in the Barrington tournament and winning regionals.

The soccer team won most of their games and Eric Bibb, junior, hopes to play as well as he did this year, possibly reaching even further next year.

“I thought I did pretty well. I was a good teammate,” Bibb said. “Next year I hope we do about the same. We have a lot of people staying so probably get around the same place. Hopefully we can go even farther.”

Boys Cross Country

Although the team was unable to hold on to their dual meet streak, ending it at 73 consecutive wins over the span of a decade, they were able to continue on to state for the eleventh year in a row. The team was able to achieve 23rd at State this year, while also placing 4th in Sectionals, 2nd at Conference, and 2nd at Regionals this season.

Girls Tennis

Olivia Hughesjunior, states that the tennis season did not win any awards, but the team learned new techniques and played against talented players. For her, the season was a learning opportunity. By playing first doubles, she had the chance to play against different players and was able to learn and develop new strategies.

“We didn’t win any awards as a team but we did have some girls on the team make big breakthroughs in their game and all around improvement,” Hughes said.

Girls Golf

Lead by key sectional qualifiers Grace Loverde, Bryana Hogan, and Kiana Pouyat, the team took 2nd/7th at conference, and sent 6 players to Regionals and 3 to sectionals.

“This was one of our best seasons, three people made it to sectionals, which is super fun for the team,” Bryana Hogan, Sophomore, said. “I personally played some of the best golf I have this year and I know a lot of the team has been practicing outside of school to come back next season even better.”