by Isai Carmona | sports editor
TENNIS : DOUBLES SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE
Tennis took home more than just pride after finishing their season with an ace. Junior Aaron Bailey enjoyed getting back out on the courts.
“The season was pretty good, we only lost to a couple schools,” Bailey said. “We lost to Westwood, but Westwood is like number two, like they’re insane. We also lost to Reagan, Reagan is also pretty insane, and we lost to Clemwoods; but everybody else, we stomped.”
Senior Logan Hughes has been playing tennis throughout his high school career.
“It’s sad that it’s over, but I had a very good time competing with friends and just spending time with the people that I really enjoy being around,” Hughes said. “It’s sad that it is coming to an end; I loved the experience.”
Head tennis coach Kenneth Bice is also satisfied with his teams abilities at the city and state level.
“Season went well, we finished second in the city of all 6A schools in bear county,” Bice said. “We finished seventh in the region, which is a very difficult region with Austin being included in that. We finished 22nd in the state level. It was nice having a full schedule back.”
Now is the time new players will step up to fill the shoes of the seniors on the varsity team.
“It’s going to be tough losing some of those upperclassmen that have contributed for more than a few years,” Bice said.
CROSS COUNTRY : ANOTHER TRIP TO STATE
As for cross country, the team will have a chance of advancing to state if they persevere at regional level.
“Our district [junior varsity] boys got first, our district JV girls got third, our varsity girls got second, and our varsity boys got second: we are advancing two teams to regionals,” cross country coach Courtney Leftwich said. “Our seniors are doing really well, and we will see next week if they advance to state.”
Senior Ingrid Peredes is experiencing mixed emotions on behalf of cross country coming to an end.
“It was really good, everyone tried their best, it was a really muddy course most of the time: but we all persevered,” Peredes said. “I’m so relieved, honestly.”
Senior Erin Daniel is proud of how well the team did, on account of the challenges they faced last season.
“I think the season went really well. I think I did really well this season, it was definitely challenging just getting back into the groove of things because of COVID, and especially with the meets being bigger,” Daniel said.
Like most seniors, Daniel believes the idea of cross country ending is bittersweet.
“I think overall I did the best of my abilities, and I’m really proud of how everyone else did too,” Daniel said. “It’s definitely bittersweet, because there’s one thing like, I’ll thank god I don’t have to get up at like 6 a.m. anymore, but then also I’ve been doing this for all my life. Getting out of that is a little hard, but I’m really excited to see the best generation of runners come through.”
VOLLEYBALL : SEASON STILL OFFERS UP LESSONS
The volleyball team, on account of having to face off rigorous competition, is not allowing numbers to bring them down. Head volleyball coach Jim Feicht is putting his focus on the things gained rather than the losses.
“We have been going since Aug. 1,”” Feicht said.” “Even before then we had workouts all summer long, so we have been going for four and half months. It’s been a really fun time, we’ve had a lot of growth as players and a team as a whole.”
Feicht is glad to be able to compete without as many restrictions.
“It has been pretty exciting; we were lucky enough to travel to Austin to a tournament this year, which was great because we did not get to do any traveling because of COVID last year,” Feicht said.
Still, the biggest loss the team will have this year is the senior players who are saying goodbye to their volleyball careers.
“We have seven seniors this year and it is always sad every year, because you really know them since they are in 7th and 8th grade, and you see them grow and all of a sudden it’s time for them to head off and do other stuff,” Feicht said. “So that is always sad the way that develops, but we are really excited for them. They have done a great job and have been great stewards of the program. They worked really really hard, and really loved Johnson Volleyball: I could not ask for anything else.”
Varsity player Kendra Grimm is proud of the team’s performance.
“We had to face many challenges so I think it really helped with our mental aspect,” Grimm said.
Senior Caitlin Gonzales could not have asked for a better team.
“For me personally, I think that we had moments when we played really well but I definitely had higher expectations for this season,” Gonzales said. “It’s kind of sad, because this is it. I’m not playing club, this is really just the end of my volleyball career: but it is nice that I get to end it with the people that I played with.”
