Spring Sports Update: Week Five

Boys’ Tennis

On Saturday, April 19, the varsity team competed in the district tournament. East placed first with 39 points, followed by SM Northwest with 28 points, SM West in third with 18 points, SM South in fourth with 14 points, and SM North in fifth with one point. Senior Brooks Kendall won the singles championship for east, winning with a final score of 9-1 against SMNW. The doubles team of junior Reese Goulding and senior Jamie McDonald won the doubles championship 9-1, also defeating SMNW.

On Monday, April 21, JV took on Blue Valley West. Tuesday, April 22, JV takes on Blue Valley Northwest on the plaza courts at 7:00 am. The same day, JV takes on Maranatha Academy at East right after school. Wednesday, April 23, and Thursday, April 24, no matches take place, and both teams will have practice as usual. Friday, April 25, the JV Sunflower League tournament takes place at Harmon Park at 7:30 am. The same day, the Varsity Lawrence Invitational takes place in Lawrence at 2:00 pm. Players will leave classes for at 12:45 to prepare for their matches.

Softball

The softball team, currently 3-6, tied against SM South April 21 in a scoreless game at the SM Softball Complex. The next two games will be against SM West at 4:15 p.m. followed by 6 p.m. at the Softball Complex.

As of now, four seniors will be playing softball in college — Erin McGinley, Savannah Bellem, Maty Gray and Rowan Turner.

Boys’ Lacrosse

Since the team suffered their third loss of the season to Rockhurst by one goal, Lacrosse has had two easy wins.  Currently, the team stands at 8-3, and is starting to look ahead to potential playoff situations.  Their next two games are on Tuesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 24, both against teams with losing records. These games are leading up to a trip to St. Louis this weekend.

Girls’ Swimming

The Girls’ Swim and Dive team beat Lawrence Free State by 30 points on Tuesday, April 22, which was also Senior Night. This weekend, the Lancers will travel to Wichita for a meet against a variety of 5A and 6A teams. The teams current record is 9-0.

Girls’ Lacrosse

The girls’ lacrosse team wrapped up a successful week after both the varsity and JV team beat Lee’s Summit. Lee’s Summit is a tough, aggressive team so the team was mentally prepared going into the game on Thursday.

The game started out with the girls’ varsity team obtaining a four point lead by half. However at the start of the second half, the team lost momentum, allowing Lee’s Summit to score three goals in a row.

“We couldn’t stop the transition on the fast break after the draw,” junior and goalkeeper Jenn Young said. “They had one girl, number 44, who was able to win the draw, and no one was getting in front of her on the fast break. She would just charge through and get an open lane and at the 8-meter-fan, would turn a fire the ball like a tank fires a cannon.”

However, the Shawnee Mission girls’ team was able to get their momentum back and win 15-7. The team is now 4-2-0.

“[That game] was by far our most fun and successful game but not because of the score,” junior Molly Gasperi said. “This was the first game that everyone really felt like we were a team. It was a big game for us so we went out there and played our hardest and it payed off.”

For the past two weeks, the team has been working exclusively on set plays. Previously, the team relied a lot on fast breaks and good skill work. Coach Krause has started implementing these plays after playing against other teams such as St. Teresa’s Academy with similar plays. The team so far has about four plays that they have been working on that they hope to use in their upcoming game. The varsity team will be taking on Olathe on Tuesday, April 22 at SM South. The game will begin at 6:20 p.m.

“[The game] is against Olathe, the worst team in the league, so as long as we don’t get cocky or overconfident and we go into the game ready to play our game and play the sport we all love, then I think we will do well,” Young said. “The key is the mental balance, not down on ourselves but not so confident that we get cocky.”

The JV team is playing the C-Team of Notre Dame de Sion High School on Friday, April 25. The game starts at 4:20 p.m. and the varsity team is traveling to what the game. The varsity team was hoping to participate in a tournament in Columbia, Mo. over the weekend, but unfortunately the tournament was canceled.

Girls’ Soccer

The girls soccer team are 6-3-1 so far and are mid way through their season. Just over half way through the season, the team is starting to look forward to the playoffs and state.

“Our goal for the rest of the season is to keep winning and then win league and make it to state,” said senior Quincy Hendricks.

The Lady Lancers defeated SM South 7-0 on Tuesday, April 22.

Baseball

The boys’ team won on Monday, April 21 against Lawrence, marking a three game winning streak. They’ve won their past to games against Olathe North and Leavenworth, now at 8-2 on the season. They’re ranked third in the Sunflower League behind Olathe South and SM Northwest.

Track and Field

Last Friday and Saturday, a few athletes competed at KU Relays, which is a huge honor in the first place to be accepted into. Juniors Erik Harken and Will Oakley competed in the 110 H and 300 H. Senior Grace Quinlan competed in the 800. Quinlan, Phoebe Aguiar, Kaycee Mayfield and Annie Kuklenski competed in the girls’ sprint medley. Mayfield, Quinlan, Hope Dunn and Brit Hoffman competed in the girls 4×200. Will Clough, Dylan Martz, John Arnspiger, and Will Moore competed in the boys 4×800. Clough, Martz, Jack McDonald and George Miller competed in the boys’ distance medley.

This Friday, all varsity will compete at SM West for a mid-season meet.

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