Baseball

The baseball season is still young! They have only had two official season games thus far due to what appears to be this season’s biggest challenge: rain. The changing March weather has continuously turned the fields to mud leading to rain delays and cancellations. Nevertheless, the team kicked off the season with two scrimmage games as a warm up to their first official season game against rival team, Tallwood. Senior Parker Austin says Kempsville had a good performance at the pre-season scrimmages, “We didn’t win, but we still did everything right. We have all our players ready to do what needs to be done to win, even if we still have some rust to brush off.”

The team is also struggling with the injuries of juniors Reid Hasher and Joe Albert, but they still hope to make this season a winning one and make it through the conference tournament to regionals. Mainly, the strength of this season’s team lies in their team dynamic and the chemistry between the players. Senior Richie Looby says “Our team dynamic this year is as good as it has always been. We’re a team of brothers and we are very close to each other.”

Softball

The softball team this year is a young one, with two sophomore pitchers working hard to reach their potential. The team’s greatest strength is their unity and teamwork. Senior Kellie Mulvihill says “We have very good chemistry on the team and we are all really close. The season is going very well so far, everyone always works hard at practice.” This dedication has really shown through the rain cancellations at the beginning of the season. The girls have worked to maintain focus it paid off in their win against great bridge. Junior Ava Hockey says “The reason we’re playing good is because we’re practicing really hard.”

Girls Track

This year the girl’s track team is ready to take on their season. They’ve been working away all winter, indoors, striving for personal records. The rain has meant several cancellations but it doesn’t stop the team from practicing hard. They’ve made overcoming obstacles a team goal and with a large group of seniors, this season seems to be especially important to them. Senior Caitlyn Mann says “I’ve really loved running with everyone on the team. It’s such an amazing group of people, we have a great coach, and I’m so lucky to have been a part of it all. I know we’re capable of great things this season.”

Boys Track

In boy’s track, the distance runners have made it their duty to reach the standard set by indoor distance runners in the winter. With many talented underclassmen, the program is set certain to improve this year and in future seasons. Senior Tristan Silverstorf says “We have many strong runners, many of them underclassmen, and they’re already performing like seasoned runners. We have great potential for this season and I’m sure we’ll kill it.” In a sport as multi-faceted as track, each athlete blends their personal goals with the team’s objectives. As a team, they’re putting emphasis on form, which translates to speed. Senior Ben Clarke says “As a track team, our goal is always to improve whether it is perfecting relay handoffs, getting better at block starts, or simply dropping time. The team’s biggest challenge is facing new schools they’ve never competed against. Junior TJ Riley says “ We are coming off a Regional Conference championship and a top ten finish in States, so we hope to repeat that this outdoor season.

Girls Tennis

The girl’s tennis team is coming off of last year’s building season with high hopes. The team last year was very new and they worked mostly toward learning the game as they played against tough competition at other schools. This year, the veterans have returned and are helping the new players and the team is off to a good start. Senior and co-captain Carson Heskett is hopeful about the new season “There is so much potential this year. Last year, we were all new to the team and we were still learning as we went from matches to matches.” In the upcoming season, the team hopes to come away with more wins and continue having fun while harnessing their skill.

Boys Tennis

For boy’s tennis, this is a goal-setting season. Each of the members has set personal as well as team goals. With a team made up mostly of new players, they’re working hard to reach their team goal of 6-6. Senior and team captain Mark Williams says he believes this is a reachable goal for them and says “We get along very well as a team and push each other to get better.” Mark hopes to go 12-0 in singles tennis and the team hopes to send him to the conference and state tournaments. In doubles, co-captains Mark Williams and Jon Jackson have teamed up with a goal of 9-3 and the determination to put in the work to go the extra mile in the doubles competition.

Girls Soccer

This year, the girls’ soccer team has been called on to really show their dedication. Senior and co-captain Taylor Russ says “With a pregnant coach, the seniors had to step up for preseason conditioning and practices. The dedications our girls have shown has definitely turned heads in the soccer community.” The team has so far won their first game and is looking forward to a strong season with high hopes to win the conference and advance to regionals. The team is proud of their strengths this year, which lies in the new incoming talent of their freshmen, a solid defense, and high standard of athleticism.