As the school year comes to a close at McNick, so do the sports. The spring sports season is well underway and teams are now rolling into tournament play.
Softball
Coached by Terry Doyle, the Women’s Varsity Softball Team is currently sitting in second place in the GCL behind Badin with a 22-3 record and 12-2 in the GCL. The team is led by senior Haven Dwyer with a batting average of 0.697 and an earned run average of 0.41. Dwyer also broke the school record for most strikeouts and leads the GCL with 281 strikeouts. They played their first tournament game on Monday May 10 with a 12-0 win over Seven Hills. While having a lot of success there are still challenges have still been faced.
“The most challenging thing we have faced was losing to Badin. This was the biggest game of the season for us because we knew we needed to win if we wanted a chance at winning the league. Losing this game [was] definitely hard on us, but we came back and kept fighting in the rest of our league games,” Dwyer said.
“Our biggest challenge in the tournament will be playing Williamsburg if that matchup ever happens. They are a very good team and so are we, so it should be a good game,” Dwyer added.
Baseball
Coached by McNick grad Jake Oester, the Men’s Varsity Baseball team is also currently sitting at number 2 in the Co-ed GCL behind Badin with a 14-10 record and 8-5 in the GCL. The team is led by senior Lauden Brooks with a batting average of 0.514 and junior Drew Fulmer with an earned run average of 1.795. Fulmer has a 2-0 record with 30 strikeouts through 39 innings pitched. The baseball team will open up tournament play on May 19 against Reading High School. The baseball team has faced many challenges this season while also having achieved a lot. “Earlier in the year we struggled a little bit in our hitting and pitching but now everything is clicking at the right time,” senior Clay Badylak said.
Badylak added, “The greatest accomplishment this season was having the top 5 in batting average all be McNick guys at one point in the season.”
Women’s Lacrosse
The Women’s Varsity Lacrosse team is coached by Maeve McGoff, and they are currently 1-12 this season. This year’s team includes seven seniors.
“Even though we may not have won the game, I feel that our game against Mercy McAuley was one of our greatest accomplishments. All the odds were saying that we weren’t going to do well, we had many players injured and the other team was overall better. [Still,] we played our hardest and put 100% effort into the game and lost by 1 point,” senior Claire Crawford said.
“The best thing about playing with my team is everyone’s ability to have fun and stay positive. Many teams we have played this season have commented on how we look like we are having fun and are just happy to be there,” Crawford added.
The lacrosse team has also run into many challenges during the season such as injuries. “The most challenging thing I have faced this season is seeing a lot of my teammates and friends getting hurt and not being able to play,” Crawford said.
The team will play their first tournament game on May 20 against Wyoming High School.
Men’s Lacrosse
The Men’s Varsity Lacrosse team is coached by Jeffrey Shepard and the team has a record of 4-13. The team is made up of seven seniors and led by captains Will Ross, Daniel Auxier, and Jack Suttles.. “The most fun thing about playing with this year’s team is all the different personalities and the fact that we all get along with each other no matter that we all differ in graduating classes,” Auxier said.
With a team made up of many first year players and underclassmen comes accomplishments for these players and accomplishments for the seniors to see. Auxier added, “I think the team’s greatest accomplishment this year has been getting to see the first year players [play] and getting to watch them score and have fun playing the game I’ve been playing.”
The Men’s Lacrosse Team concluded their season on May 17 against CHCA.
Men’s Volleyball
The Men’s Varsity Volleyball Team is coached by Julie Mulvey and currently has a record of 8-12 and 3-8 in the GCL. The team is currently number 5 in the Co-ed GCL. The team is led by senior Tyler Walter with 269 kills and senior Evan Bolin following behind him with 187 kills. Walter also has 32 saves. Senior Nathan Braig leads the team in digs with 302 and pass points with 906. “Our greatest accomplishment this year has been beating Roger Bacon both times we’ve played them,” said Bolin.
While there are accomplishments, there are always challenges. Bolin added, “The most challenging thing we’ve faced this year has been overcoming the set back of not having last year’s season.”
The team wraps up its season on Friday, May 21 at home against Chaminade-Julienne, which is also senior night. Tournament action begins on May 25 when the Rockets take on Taylor High School, who they beat during the regular season.
Men’s Tennis
The Men’s Varsity Tennis team is coached by Brian Combs. The team is 0-12 overall and 0-5 in the Co-ed GCL. The team is made up of 10 players, seven of which are seniors. “The most challenging thing we’ve faced are some of the players that have played year round from a young age. There were times we faced previous state champions that pushed us to our limits, but we still stayed positive throughout,” senior Hadley Jerome said.
“The most challenging thing we’ve faced was probably just the overwhelming experience the other teams have had, as well as some general rudeness from other teams,” Richmond said.
While there are challenges during the season there are always accomplishments too. “Our greatest accomplishment was being able to come together and build each other up. As a team we always give pointers and help[ed] when we c[ould,]” Jerome said.
Track and Field
The Track and Field Team is coached by Bill Valenzano and had multiple GCL champions in different events. Junior Zachary Fein placed first in the 400 meter dash while also being involved in the winning 4×400 relay that also included CJ Mullis, Pete Carroll, and Jack Caccavari. The Men’s 4×800 relay team got second place at the GCL championship. While the track and field team are winning multiple events, there are other accomplishments being made. “We only have twelve girls on the team, but the relays have done especially well, and everyone has had multiple PRs in their events,” senior Lauren Cox said.
“In discus I hit a new PR of 96’8 at our league meet– farthest I’ve thrown this season for discus,” senior Aarron Martin said.
Though the Track and Field team has had great success and many accomplishments there are always challenges during the season. “I’ve dealt with a slight injury that probably won’t go away for the foreseeable future. I’ve been working with tendonitis in my right knee for a while now,” Martin said.
Martin added, “It’s been challenging mainly because as a thrower, your knees are a vital part to making perfect throws. But I’ve found a ‘silver lining’ and have been taking caution with everything I do.”
“For me personally, I am very prone to injury when I run, so being able to keep up with training while also taking care of myself is always a constant struggle,” Cox said.
The Track and Field District meet is on May 18 at New Richmond High School.
The McNicholas Milestone 