Baseball and softball teams advance into playoffs, finish spring seasons by |Polly Phillips & Natalya Lunsford
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unior Dillon Curtis was the first to shave his head into a Mohawk to get pumped up for the playoffs. He wanted to show his teammates his new hairstyle so he sent a picture to everyone on the baseball team. Later that week the team gathered in the locker room and shaved each other's heads. Even the coaches were in on it after they won the first round of playoffs against Enka,7-6. During the first round of the softball playoffs against East Gaston, senior Brianna Morris stepped up to bat. With the pressure turned up, she let out a deep breath and hit the ball hard. Her solid hit started the game off on a good note. The softball team Still swinging | Senior Mitchtook a home win, ell McCrary takes a swing against 16-0, advancing to A.C. Reynolds in a home game. “It the second round of was a great game overall. Both teams playoffs. were strong, and we fought really “I feel like hard,” McCrary said. The Falcons this seabeat Reynolds, 5-4.
son was much better than last season,” junior Laurel Koontz said. “We felt we ended prematurely, but all in all we stayed together and continued to be a very resilient team until the end.” The team capped off the season with a 3-0 loss against Enka in the second round of playoffs. The Lady Falcons ended the season 17-6 overall, 11-3 conference. According to Coach Ball, the baseball season went well. He believes most of this players made strides and finished the season strong. The team’s record this season was 16-8-1. “The team was an extremely cooperative group and worked really hard to make it to the playoffs,” Ball said. “I’m proud of how much they accomplished, and I think they’re a great group of players.” For the first time since 2007, the baseball team made it to the third round of playoffs. In the second round, the team defeated Asheville, 6-5. The team lost to Burns, 0-6, in the third round. Junior Wes Dolan was viewed as a leader on the team this season. He took responsibility for energizing the crowd and getting his teammates in the dugout ready to win. “The team as a whole played pretty well,” Dolan said. “We didn’t exactly get the wins we wanted because we usually end the season with 20 wins or more rather than 16, but everyone played their hardest.”
Soccer and track teams accomplish new records at the end of the season by |Ari Sen & Olivia Slagle
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ophomore Olivia Hogan jumped up and down at the line attempting to calm her nerves, waiting for the handoff. As the fourth leg of the women’s 4 x 800 relay team, the group was counting on her to finish the race well. As junior Katie Kennedy, the third leg of the team, reached the line, Hogan grabbed the baton and took off. In women’s soccer, junior forward Samantha Holmes ran down the soccer field, looking for the ball. She was cutting it close when senior midfielder Jenna Sharrits crossed the ball and Holmes took a shot. The crowd erupted in applause as the ball swooshed into the back of the net. Both Holmes and Sharrits were named all-conference and all-region players.
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The women’s soccer team lost in the first round of the state playoffs and finished the season, 11-12 overall, 9-5 in conference. “The season has not been what we expected,” Long said. “It was just one of those years.” The men’s and women’s track teams experienced success at regionals. The women’s 4 x 800 relay team competed at the 3A regional meet on April 26 and again at the state championship meet on May 16. The relay team included sophomore Olivia Hogan and juniors Katie Kennedy, Amy Turlington and Kara Kilby. The foursome competed at the regional meet along side the other seven relay teams: the men’s 4 x 100, 4 x 200, 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 teams, and the women’s 4 x 100, 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 teams. Along with the 8 relay teams, West was represented by 10 men and 13 women in individual events.
Head to head | Against Buncombe County high
school A.C. Reynolds, freshman Bradleigh Robinson takes on a defensive player. “It was good to know that even though we lost to them, we did not lose as badly as other teams.” Robinson said. The final score was 0-5.
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