We checked in with the Fall Sports as they have progressed through the season.
Boys Water Polo –
Captains: Elles Krieckhaus (11), Luke McAuliffe (11), and Charlie Wright (12)
What have you learned from previous team captains that you want to bring to the team?
“It’s a balance between holding people accountable and then also being part of the team, a friend, and motivating in different ways. No one can really succeed if they’re constantly being yelled at but sometimes you need to motivate in the right way,” Krieckhaus said.
“I learned to create a really good, fun community, trying to make everyone just be friends with each other, instead of just teammates,” McAuliffe said.
What is an aspect of your sport that you enjoy but that people might not know about?
“I really enjoy the fact that the effort you put in is what you’ll get out, it’s just as simple as that. But it also isn’t just linear progression. You learn things from other people and take strategies,” Krieckhaus said.
“I think for water polo people don’t understand how fun it is. We’re bonded so much as a family; we do bondings, after games we’re always grubbing, we love doing that. We’re always trying to hang out, it’s such a family environment. It’s so fun,” Wright said.
Cross Country-
Captains: Skylar Best (11), Henry Horsley (12), Oliver Horsley (12), Caroline Taylor (12)
What have you learned from previous team captains that you want to bring to the team?
“Like connecting, especially with the freshmen. I feel like I want to make sure all the freshmen feel welcome, supported and not alone,” Best said.
“Making everyone feel welcome,” Henry said.
“Staying positive and encouraging your teammates,” Oliver said.
“I feel like the value of community and really bonding the team together makes everyone a lot more motivated and feel connected and improves the team dynamic,” Taylor said.
What is an aspect of your sport that you enjoy but that people might not know about?
“People think that running is an individual sport, like you just run by yourself, but I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without the team. The team is such an important part of the sport and I think people overlook that,” Best said.
“All the people on the team are focused and working hard to work together to make each other better- everyones pushing each other,” Henry said.
“There are also so many fun runs that we do as a team. We go to such cool places and are just exploring the world as we go,” Taylor said.
Flag Football
Captains: Dorothy Nemeth (12), Alma Ruberto (12)
What are you most excited about for this season?
“We get to know people from other grades, even if they’re on JV,” Nemeth said.
“I’m looking forward to Friday relays. We split up into four teams and run relays every Friday, we have opportunities to earn points and whoever wins gets a special prize. It’s a good way for people to be excited to come to practice and excited to be a part of the team,” Ruberto said.
What are your hopes for the team this year and after?
“I’m excited for the sport to grow, for more recognition that it is a sport,” Nemeth said.
“I would hope that the school and community become more accepting towards our team and creates a space for us and future teams to grow,” Ruberto said.
Girls Golf-
Captains: Mei Assalin (12), Mackenzie Seto Nguyen (12)
What have you learned from previous team captains that you want to bring to the team?
“Confidence and reliability are some things I try to bring to the team. Also uplifting the team and making everyone feel good, improving everyone’s golf game,” Assalin said.
“This year I’m trying to integrate the team together and honestly know each other a lot more, try to feel like we’re one unit and that we can support each other,” Seto Nguyen said.
What is an aspect of your sport that you enjoy but that people might not know about?
“I like the strategicness of golf. It’s a really mental game and when you calm your mind it helps your game. I also like seeing how we all grow together,”Assalin said.
“Golf is a lot of mind work and staying positive, in your zone. You have to make sure that if you do hit bad shots you pick yourself up and keep going. It can get to your head – you need to have the mental strength to keep going,” Seto Nguyen said.
Girls Tennis –
Captains: Emma Eisemon (12), Carolina Romanczuk (12)
What are you most excited about for this season?
“I’m pretty stoked to be captain. I’m excited to have more wins under our belt, maybe shoot for WACC. That’s a little far off right now but keeping the momentum going and feeling super energized to play tennis,” Eisemon said.
“All the things that come with being a senior like senior night, being captain,” Romanczuk said.
What is an aspect of your sport that you enjoy but that people might not know about?
“I really love playing doubles. It just makes for a more dynamic and fun game. There are multiple strategies and ways you can beat your opponent which is pretty fun,” Eisemon said.
“The satisfaction of being able to do well in a match and feeling like you got your game done well. When you play a good match it just feels good, especially playing singles because it’s just you. It’s all your work, everything you did on the court was just you. Yes, winning a match is a team effort, but being able to do your best when you’re playing a singles match feels really good,” Romanczuk said.
Girls Volleyball –
Captains: Juliana DeYoung (12), Annika Hattan-Kutter (12), Kalindi Kim (12)
What have you learned from previous team captains that you want to bring to the team?
“Something the captains did last year was buy donuts for everyone and we all had brunch together. We carried on that tradition and we felt like that helped us bond more,” Kim said.
“Being super supportive and taking all the underclassmen under our wings. We always do little spirit days like things before our games where we dress up, like today we did Wacky Wednesday,” DeYoung said.
“The captain’s last year were super supportive and encouraging about everything we did, especially on the first day of practice they were super enthusiastic and the energy stayed for most of the season,” Hattan-Kutter said.
What are you most excited about for this season?
“I’m really excited for the new team because the dynamic is super different. We had eight seniors last year and now we only have three. It’s really nice to connect with the underclassmen and the team gives us a really good opportunity to do that,” Kim said.
“Hopefully we get to NCS. Each year we’ve been getting better and better and I’m just really hoping this is the year,” DeYoung said.
“We have a lot more underclassmen this year but at the same time, its kinda exciting that it’s their first year of being on varsity which can be intimidating but I’m really excited to make them feel comfortable and make sure they have a good time,” Hattan-Kutter said.
Girls Water Polo –
Captains: Abigail Jacoby (11), Sydney Olson (11), Sonja ten Grotenhuis (12)
What have you learned from previous team captains that you want to bring to the team?
“I’ve learned that positivity is so important for our team. In past years, I’d get super down at games and practices when I wouldn’t do well and I think that brings the mentality of the team down, so I think it’s really important to be positive through games and practices,” ten Grotenhuis said.
What are your hopes for the team this year and after?
“Right now there aren’t that many people who want to play, the program is really struggling. We aren’t sure we can have a team next year with the kind of numbers we’re looking at, so I really hope the program will be able to continue and grow back to what it was like in 2010,” Jacoby said.
“For the last few years we haven’t had a pool, so I’m super excited to have a pool next year, and hopefully we can hype it up more and get people to come,” Olson said.
Tackle Football
Captains: Jordan Alemania (12), Nicholas King (12), Markos Lagios (12)
What have you learned from previous team captains that you want to bring to the team?
“Definitely their ability to communicate with everyone on the team, whether that’s their direct friends or people they don’t see as much. Creating a family environment is just crucial for the team to thrive,”King said.
“I think something I’ve gotten better at doing as team captain is holding people accountable,” Lagios said.
What is an aspect of your sport that you enjoy but that people might not know about?
“Every Thursday before game day we do team dinners. So a family will host the team at their house and we’ll all get together, players and coaches, eat together, have some good laughs and it helps us get prepared for the game the next day,” King said.
