With the fall sports season wrapping up, as per tradition, the seniors of all eight team sports were celebrated during senior night. Senior night entails a match that begins or concludes with the senior players walking with their families and friends as an announcer summarizes their contributions to the team and outlines their post-graduation plans. This custom is to send off and show appreciation for seniors.
In addition to the traditional walk, each team has different ways of honoring its seniors. Some of the most common traditions include hanging banners of the seniors in the gym and giving each senior a gift basket with their favorite items. Some practices are more team-specific; seniors wear shirts customized with their name and number and wear accessories such as tutus, tiaras, and sashes to school.
The first senior night of the year was the field hockey game against Springbrook on Oct. 16th. The seniors Rachel Longbrake, Evie Smalley, Eleanor Huber, Madelyn Ryals, Kate Dacanay, Laynie Sofelkanik, and Kacey Raines were celebrated. The girls ended their night with a win 4-2, with two goals scored by both Laynie Sofelkanik and Rachel Longbrake.
The same night, volleyball recognized their seniors in a match against Seneca Valley. The seniors celebrated include Caitlyn Ye, Brainy Akpala, Sanjana Shrivatsa, and Iris Duan. The night ended with a 3-0 win.
The next senior night was a doubleheader with girls’ and boys’ soccer playing Wheaton on Oct. 17th. The girls’ seniors include Annelise Allport, Amelia Goettsch, Alex Sosna, Jolee Cowger, Payton Short, Nathaly Diaz, and Alyssa Bailey. The ladies finished the game 2-2 in overtime. Senior Alex Sosna and freshman Molly Schmidt were the night’s scorers. The boys’ seniors include Theo Chisala, Keefer Bowen, Sam Corbin, Nico Martinez, Carter Ortiz, Evan Schnider, Aaron Bhattachan, Shri Basapur, Saahas Yaddula, and Aayush Pandya. Goals made by Nico Martinez, Aaron Bhattachan, and Adam Abzakh brought the team to a 3-2 victory.
Flag Football celebrated its seniors the following week on the 22nd against Damascus. The eight seniors are Zoe Nubeiser, Kacey Raines, Lulu Alcorta, Kristin Lang, Alex Sosna, Paige Soskin, Amelia Goetsch, and Jolee Cowger. Until the fourth quarter, the Falcons held the Hornets to a tie. However, in the end, Damascus scored another touchdown, finishing the game with a score of 6-12.
Poms, cheerleading, and football honored their seniors during the Clarksburg game on Oct. 25th to finish the celebrations. The poms saluted 2 seniors, Zack Lemarr and Julia Kolotev, while cheer celebrated 4 seniors Katy Huynh, Lizzie Lekan-Abioye, Sofia Hersh, and Jillian Dove. The football team honored 15 seniors: Nathan Gili, Noah Taborga, Carter Rice, Nick Feys, Cory Gatons, Johnny Smith, Russell Kimball, Dashawn Stanton, Kage Tupa, Jack Stokes, Racer Anderson, Jacob Smith, Hayden Myers, Aiden Kang, and Kojo Ankrah. The game resulted in a 3-47 loss for Poolesville, with Jack Stokes making a field goal.
**In the original publication of this article, we used the incorrect last name for Lizzie Lekan-Abioye. The Pulse acknowledges this mistake.**
