BOYS WATER POLO

This year is Nick Fleming’s (11) third year on the boys’ water polo team. He feels that this year’s team chemistry and performance is better than that of last year. 

“I think we’re definitely playing better as a team than we were last year,” Fleming said. “This year a larger percentage of the team are returners, so our chemistry has had more time to develop. We definitely still need to work on game awareness and getting back on defense though,” Fleming said.

Fleming also knows his personal performance still has room for improvement.

“My offense is just not as good. Last year I was definitely scoring more. But this year I think my defense has gotten better.”

Team Captain, Nathan Thayer (12) also feels that his performance this year is somewhat lacking.

“My performance has been okay. It’s been better in past years. It’s still the start of the season. So, the more we play, the better we’ll all get.”

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Elsa Elhenicky’s(12) priority for volleyball this yearis to have a memorable senior season.

“I feel like in previous years, I had a lot of stress,” Elhenicky said, “but this year, being my senior year, I’ve really taken a step back and just appreciated the sport.”

Although Elhenicky wants to have more of a fun season, that doesn’t mean she isn’t ready to help fill the rest of her senior volleyball season with wins. She is excited to go head-to-head with Okemos on Oct. 10 and is determined to get 10 aces in one game.

Like Elhenicky, Ava Smith (12) has high hopes for the season as well.

“If we continue to practice well, then we can probably move forward and advance in districts after our season,” Smith said.

Smith has been preparing for the season by putting in extra work off of the school court to perform her best.

“I practiced hard during the summer and continue to every day so I can swing harder at the ball,” Smith said.

GIRLS GOLF

Standout rookie Zoe Van Dorn (9) is committed to enhancing her skill level.

“There are good days and bad days,” Van Dorn said, “but I think there’s only room for improvement.”

Van Dorn is looking forward to upcoming invitationals and working hard to get her scores lower.

Lola Henderson (11) is also proud of herself for her focus on golf this season.

“I’ve been training with varsity, going to all the practices and not dropping out of any of the matches last minute,” Henderson said.

Her goal is to qualify for a regional match, but even if she doesn’t, she is prepared to be there to cheer for the team.

“I definitely want to be there to support our teammates that do make it to regionals,” Henderson said. “I feel like its important to show respect and commitment but also to celebrate others’ successes.

FOOTBALL

Quarterback Benjamin Fletcher (12) takes his role as leader very seriously and likes seeing the team come together.

“We’re a good team, Fletcher said, “I think that we know what we should do, and we’re gonna win a lot of games.”

Running back Jace Clarizio (12) is putting his efforts in to earn the title of Mr. Football, also known as Player of the Year.

“I just stay consistent, and work hard in practice every day,” Clarizio said. “I think the team only gets better with every game we play.”

CROSS COUNTRY

Aaron Ostrowski (12) is looking forward to a season filled with fun and hard work with his teammates.

“I feel like our team’s got good chemistry,” Ostrowski said, “but we’re not really performing to the best of our ability. I know we can work harder, perform better, and win more meets.”

Ostrowski sees the potential in his teammates and wants to see everyone run to the best of their ability as the season continues.

“I think we just have to train, take workouts seriously, and be good teammates,” Ostrowski said.

This is Madeleine Plowright’s (11) first year in cross country. She participated in track and field in the spring and has been training all summer to prepare for the upcoming season. 

“I started the season off kind of disappointed because my performance wasn’t matching the amount of work I had been putting in, but now I feel like I’m finally hitting my stride.”

Plowright loves to run, but it’s not her only motivation for being on the cross country team, she also enjoys the team environment. 

“The atmosphere is really good. We’re all very supportive of each other both at cross country and school,” Plowright said. “We have a lot of really, really fast girls. But we also have some good competition, so it’ll be a fun season.”

BOYS SOCCER 

When asked how the season has been going, soccer captain and center midfielder Jake Robinson (12) said that while they had started the year off slow, they are beginning to pick up the pace. 

“Overall, we’re playing strong,” Robinson said. “The results aren’t capturing how good we’re actually playing. I think as the season goes on and we build up our finishing ability, we might catch some teams off guard.”

Winger Patrick Spencer (11) agrees that the team still has room for improvement.

“We have a great group of players this year,” Spencer said. “But I feel like everybody, especially right now, with playoffs coming up, knows that we can still play better than we are right now.”

BOYS TENNIS

JD Hawthorne (12) has been playing varsity tennis since his freshman year. This year he is plating one doubles with Nat Hickner (12). 

“So far Nat and I have been performing well this year,” Hawthorne said. “Our team morale is the best it has been. Everyone on the team is really good friends and I think everyone is happy about how the season is going.”

GIRLS SWIM AND DIVE

According to swim team captain Sophia Fickies (12), the girls have had a strong start to theirlong season.
“We’ve been performing very well,” Fickies said. “We’ve won a few different meets and gotten second place in a few of them too. The new people we have this year fit in with our team really well.”

Aside from the team performance, Fickies has also seen improvements in her personal performance. 

“I’ve been dropping time at every meet so far, so I’m happy,” Fickies said. “We’ve all been putting in so much work and I’m glad that that’s really paying off and showing in the results.”