This past Wednesday, the school gathered together to honor and celebrate the individual and team accomplishments of the spring sport athletes. Athletes and parents come out for the award ceremony and the heartfelt speeches delivered by the coaches. For each sports team there is a MVP Award and a Coach’s Award given. Athletes await these awards in anticipation.
To kick off the event Mr. Fegeley, the athletic director here at Green Level, was awarded the Directors Awards and Spring Sports MVP Awards. For each award, there is a male and female athlete recognized. The Directors Award is given to those who excel on and off the field, and make an impact through their leadership, positivity, and not to mention, their talent. The female winner of the Directors Award was all-star lacrosse player, Reese McElreath. Reese had an incredible season, reaching the goal of 200 career points, and led the team through the season as a captain. The male winner was Davis Hunter, whose outstanding performance in men’s golf is consistent and admirable.
The program-wide Spring Season MVP awards are given out to players who have truly defined the spring season through their accomplishments and success. The female award goes out to none other than Jane Moore, the starting striker for the women’s soccer team. Jane Moore, while she is just a sophomore, set the all-time scoring record at Green Level. She doesn’t just lead the team in goals, she leads the team with her positive attitude and competitive fire. The male winner of this award was tennis player, Rishit Sharma. Rishit is a SWAC champion and Regional champion, and truly made Green Level tennis history.
As the ceremony continued with individual team awards, Mrs. Taryn Strickland, athletic trainer at Green Level, stepped up to say a few words about her Sports Medicine Staff. Sports Medicine is oftentimes an underappreciated team, they support every athlete and sports team throughout the year. To appreciate the group, Mrs. Strickland handed out two awards to her most distinguished and honorable team members. First, Lily Silvera was honored for her dedication to the program for three years now. Strickland remarks on being able to count on Lily for anything and how proud she is of how far she’s come. The second student recognized was Alexa Agostini for the Most Distinguished award. Strickland speaks of her highly as she became one of the most distinguished members in her very first year in sports med. Finally, the Athletic Trainers Award went to Jiya Patel for her consistency and passion for the job.
To jump into individual teams, the women’s soccer coaches take the stage and triumph in their remarkable and historic season. Coach Michael Grubstein, the JV soccer coach, mentioned Marwa Souha for her incredible talent this season. On the varsity side, Coach TJ Poland gives some proud words on behalf of the historic season the girls had. The women’s soccer team had numerous individual and team records, beating the school record for wins in a season and tying the record for SWAC wins. Most impressively, the individual records set by Jane Moore earned her the offensive MVP award for the team. Jane Moore’s main goals going into the season were certainly accomplished.
“As an attacker I wanted to do as much as I could for my team and score as many goals as possible.” Jane says.
Looking to next season, there is great anticipation, and great expectations. The Green Level Women’s soccer team had an incredible winning record this year and broke numerous school records.
Jane remarks, “It definitely sets a higher standard for next season, it’s pretty hard to top that.”
But, the team is not solely defined by goals, their strong defense is the heart of the team. Lune Denhartog was awarded the Defensive MVP award for her unwavering effort and leadership. Finally, the coach’s award was given to Stella Eckhart, who anchors the team from the center midfield and inspires all through her incredible work ethic. Coach Poland describes his trust in her and the way he never wants to take her off the field.
Next on the list was the world of lacrosse. The Men’s and Women’s lacrosse teams both play in the Spring, so at this banquet, we cover both of their successes and individual stars. Coach Kyle Sopko of the Varsity Men’s lacrosse team gives the Coach’s Award to Carson Schiszler. Carson brings his positivity and playful spirit to every game and is truly the heart of the team. The second player mentioned was Jacob Iwaniw, the winner of the Most Improved award. Coach Sopko recalls his endless fight and work ethic. Coach Sopko once put a tracker on him and he had run around 5-7 miles in one single game! Now that deserves an award.
On the women’s side, Coach Jarnagin of the varsity women’s lacrosse team stepped up to award two deserving athletes, Reese McElreath and Lexi Arbon. Lexi Arbon, a senior captain, radiates positivity and uplifts everyone around her. Reese McElreath, as mentioned before, reached incredible success this season and is deserving of MVP.
The next two major sports on the lineup are baseball and softball. Baseball had a legendary season, doubling their record of wins per season. What is unique about baseball, is they give out a special award called the Silver Slugger, which went to Isaiah Hytmiah, who made a major impact on the success of the team. The MVP award was given to Ben Bernard, for his unwavering dedication and love for the team. Coach David Miller tells a story of how Ben stepped up to be a catcher this year even though this is not his original position. Ben put the team’s needs before his own and truly led the team to success.
On the softball side, two incredible athletes were honored because of their support in leading the team through a historic season. The softball team set the program record of wins per season, a remarkable accomplishment for the girls. The coaches award was given to Vivian Middleton and the MVP award was given to Stella Pepin. Stella is only a freshman this year and is already making an impact for the softball program. Congrats girls!
Moving forward to men’s golf, Coach Kidder awarded two deserving athletes for their outstanding participation in this year’s season. Davis Hunter was recognized as MVP for his incredible talent that he truly embraced this year in his senior season. The Coach’s Award was awarded to Quin Covington. Quin is continuing his golf career playing Division 1 at Old Dominion University. We wish him all the best for his future in golf.
On to the next, the men’s tennis team awards two great players after their historic season. The tennis team broke numerous records this year and took their success to SWAC Championships and Regional Championships. The MVP award goes to James Torbey-Rahme for his countless wins and the Coach’s Award goes to Kaushik Tatiraju for his incredible ability to stay calm under pressure and deliver wins. Coach Mapp is new to the tennis program, and in his debut season, he led the team to incredible success. Coach Mapp thanks all players and parents for all their support and hard work, saying that it was through everyone’s help that he was able to excel as a coach this year.
Track and Field is a big sport to cover, with almost 100 athletes on the squad, it is hard to narrow it down to only a few shining stars. But the Track and Field coaches came to a decision and honored 4 incredible runners and throwers. The female MVP was Sadie Wortman, with her incredible long-distance times, like her 3200 record of 10:55. Jake Lominack was the male MVP for his consistent times throughout his four years on the team. The Coach’s Awards went to Isaiah Ross and Sarah Bowman. Isaiah was spoken in high regard due to his passion and dedication. Isaiah was always the first to show up to the field and threw the discus for hours on end. Sarah Bowman had an exceptional season as she battled through injury, beat the odds, and continued to compete. Track and Field is always an impressive team for Green Level, and this season certainly hasn’t disappointed.
Varsity cheerleading notes Harper Willis and Leah Chodos for their incredible performances this year. Cheerleading shows up and shows out for each and every sports game and have even won impressive titles this year. Equally as impressive is the Stunt team. Stunt had a monumental season, completing an undefeated season, winning the SWAC conference, and winning the title of Wake County Stunt Champions. Not to mention the incredible coaching staff that dealt with challenge after challenge. Coach April Mack stepped down from her head coaching position, and Coach Sam Sopko stepped up alongside Coach Burston-Young. Coach Mack did not give up on her team and showed out to coach the team through the championship game the day before she went into labor. Now that is dedication!
Stunt highlighted two athletes who truly shined this season and helped bring the team to success. The first was Ava Harm who won the Coach’s Award. Ava was recognized for her endless hours spent watching film, assisting the coaches, and leading the team. Secondly, the MVP Award went to a talented tumbler on the team, Caitlin Boyce. Congrats on an amazing season girls!
The final mention is the up-and-coming sport of flag football. These girls have broken barriers and set incredible examples for aspiring flag football players. Flag football has high hopes for its future, the players and coaching staff aspire to be instated as a fall sport alongside tackle football. For now, the Green Level flag football team recognized Diya Patel and Abigail Blanton as outstanding players. There is a positive outlook for Green Level Flag Football, we can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Green Level is proud of every athlete and coach that made this spring season so phenomenal. Athletes fuel our school pride and represent Green Level in such a positive way. These athletes excel in their sports and in the classroom, they deserve celebration. As we wrap up the Spring season, Green Level looks forward to the upcoming fall season that begins right before our next school year. Go Gators!
