As the fall athletic season comes to a close, it’s important for teams to look back on their progress in their respective seasons. For the freshman athletes, this season was their first time playing on a high school sport. On the other hand, some seniors are playing their last games with their teammates.
On the women’s soccer team, junior Nicole Wojcik had an incredible season this year scoring hat tricks in two separate games as a defender and midfielder. The women, however, lost to Spalding 0-2 in their semi-final game for the fourth consecutive year.
The men’s soccer team started off their season 6-0-1, but quickly fell behind after a 10 game losing streak. The season ended completely when Gilman dashed their hopes of continuing further into the playoffs, beating them 1-0.
The football team also had a winning season. The Homecoming football game against St. Mary’s was the most intense game of the season, going into one dramatic period of overtime. The men are currently heading into the playoffs on Nov. 11 against the team that previously blew them away, Annapolis Area Christian.
The field hockey season unfortunately ended earlier this year because of the team’s 2-0 loss to Glen Elg in the playoffs. The team, while focusing on playing field hockey, also made their season worthwhile by raising money for cancer research.
The cross country teams continues to fly under the radar of the attention to sports, despite exceptional performances from several of the runners. Senior Holly Cook finished first in the ‘A’ Conference and second all-around in the IAAM championship meet. Overall, the women’s team finished fourth, in front of McDonough, their self-proclaimed rival. The men made JC history by placing third in their championship race.
After a shortened season, the women’s tennis team still managed to pull out a winning 3-1-1 season. The loss of the head coach affected the team marginally, but new coach Ed Miller helped the women to make the most out of their season, with one singles player and three doubles teams reaching the semifinals.
Women’s volleyball joined the ranks of McDonogh and Mount de Sales by winning their third consecutive IAAM ‘B’ conference title (shocker). The team dominated in their season ending up with a 13-4 record.
Men’s volleyball was not as successful. Winning on game in the season, the team ended up far from a conference title. However, the men do not seem to take the season too personally. Watching the men play, it is clear that they have fun playing the game with Julian Maliszewski as the coach (see page 14 of issue 1 from Oct. 2011). There is always next year!
Miranda Ripken is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com