The end of another season of sports came upon us this past Saturday. As with all seasons, some goals were achieved and others were not. For example, the junior high volleyball team may have lost in the second round of the tournament, but as individual players and as a team they greatly improved.
The AIA ref in the junior high boys' last tournament game reflected the attitude of many coaches from opposing teams when he asked them during a break in the action if they were also a club team. Of course the answer was no. It was just a well coached and disciplined team of junior high boys playing in a high school league. Throughout the season the boys showed skill and courage as they played.
Finishing fourth in the same league, the ninth through twelfth grade boys also had two players earn all-state honors. It was a good year for the team.
Cross country performed well in their inaugural season. The junior high boys finished sixth, the high school boys were fourth, and the high school girls third in the state tournament.
And our high school girls won their first volleyball championship in two quick sets. One player earned all-state honors.
Two stories I wanted to share from the week of competition are as follows.
During the third set of the first round of high school volleyball, in what should have been an easy victory, our girls were down 22-18. Victory for the other team and a quick exit from the tournament were only three points away. On top of that some players were beginning to snap and blame each other for their predicament. In a quick meeting after another point lost, one of the girls shouted to the others to stop the bickering and to trust God in this. Whether they had lost this instead of the win, it was a great moment of leadership and trust.
The second story involved one of our girls on the cross country team. A freshman, she consistently came in one of the top three places in our meets during the regular season. During the championships this past weekend she was running neck and neck with another girl for first place for most of the race. With the finish line in sight, the other girl said she felt faint. Our freshman said we'll cross together. So, holding hands, the two crossed together over the finish line. The officials at the meet didn't like this and told the girls someone had to be the winner. Our freshman immediately said for her competitor to be named the winner and she would take second place. And that is how it ended.
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