Ryan Chell
Staff Reporter
Winter is upon us, as some of us got to see a few sprinkles of snow. That seems like even more evidence that we are ready for basketball, track, and wrestling to move indoors. But before we do, here is a wrap-up of several of the sports that recently ended for the fall season:
Cross Country– Points-wise, the men tallied a record of 81-61, while the women had a score of 86-58. The highlight of the season had to have been during the first weeks of September, where both the men and the women finished first in the events here in Westminster, and of the meet in York. The men will lose four top seniors in Kevin Bowman, Scott Pusateri, Dan White, and Cody Crutchley.
The women were led by an energetic youth movement, most notably Lindsay Wilson, who earned 2nd team All-Conference Honors. But they will still be saying goodbye to seniors Katie and Rachel Griffith, who Coach Douglas Renner said were “hard workers and inspiring teammates.” When asked about the season as a whole, Renner had little to look down on. “I really had few disappointments this fall,” he said. “Our men and women worked hard. The women were not the team we could have had due to illness and injury, but we got great effort every time our teams raced.”
Field Hockey- The 2008 squad finished with a record of 8-11, but ultimately the team may be in the toughest conference in Division-III field hockey, with teams like Johns Hopkins, Gettysburg, and Ursinus all nationally-ranked. “I was pleased with the season, but some of the girls were disappointed at the last team meeting. I think we could have done better,” said their coach Melissa Miranda Jones.
The team finished 5-5 in this tough Centennial Conference schedule. Included in their schedule were two other ranked teams in Elizabethtown and Salisbury, and other top-caliber opponents in teams like Christopher Newport.
That element of their schedule is something that actually Jones takes a lot of pride in, and something she uses as a recruiting tool. “I think that when the girls look at the schedule,” Jones said, “it is something that I can offer that other schools cannot give them.”
The Terror were ranked 30th nationally in strength of schedule, and were 4-0 in overtime games this year. And the seniors that Jones had really were the strength of this team, including Lindsey McDonald and Brooke Dixon.
Jones hopes that despite the loss of seven seniors from this year’s squad, her talented juniors like Jessica Largent and the incoming freshmen will be able to fill that difficult void. And hopefully next year, the team will be able to solve the problem that many other schools are facing as well-the opportunity to play on turf all the time.
Jones said that was a major hurdle of both their season, and the recruiting process, and she hopes that some consistency on their playing surface will be decided soon.
Girls Soccer- The Terror had a late slide to their season, as they finished up their season 1-7 since the start of October. It was something that really distressed this team as a whole. “We were able to make progress, but we are not satisfied with our record or conference standing,” said Coach Bryan Shumaker.
Included in the tough stretch of games was an 8-0 loss to Johns Hopkins, which really did not show the overall demeanor and play of the team. Brittany Baer emerged as a real leader and offensive threat on this team, and was named to the All-Conference Second Team.
Rachel Hurst was a freshman that really caught her coach’s eye. This squad could look to be on the rise next year as they only lose two players. “We build around the nucleus we have,” said Shumaker, “and look to bring in some new players willing to accept the challenge to compete for playing time immediately.”
Men’s Soccer- Much like their female counterparts, the men finished the season with five straight losses. They finished the season 4-11-1, and only one of those wins came in the Centennial Conference. They had injuries earlier in the year, and had to move some people around.
The comfort level was off on the team, and unfortunately, five seniors-four of them on the offensive side of the ball-will be graduating, and coach Jim Reigel may have to go back to the drawing board next fall, and hopefully will be granted a healthy, more experienced team next year.
Volleyball- Head Coach Carole Molloy has boasted back-to-back winning seasons the past two years, but this year, the volleyball team fell four games below .500. The main problem with this team this year seemed to be consistency. They would win two games, and then lose three. Three seniors will be leaving, but junior Taylor Herrgott and her team-leading 383 kills will be returning for her senior season next year.