Catoctin wraps up fall sports

Mia Ferraro
CHS Class of 2022

(11/2021) The Catoctin community has lots of pride for the high school’s fall sports teams as they wrapped up their regular season in the last week of October. A number of CHS teams have advanced to Central Maryland Conference (CMC) Championships and MPSSAA playoff tournaments while athletic seasons began to transition. This fall has consisted of impressive records and new accomplishments, such as a division championship title, one athletes’ first place medal among 80 competitors, and a teams’ first victory in five years.

Earning themselves the title of Gambrill Division Champions, the CHS varsity volleyball team carried nine regular season wins into the last week of October. Preceding two losses, the team won five consecutive matches, starting with the Oct. 7 match against Clear Spring High School. CHS senior Paige Romeril had nine kills, 14 digs, and six blocks, serving as a pillar in their 3-1 victory. The team defeated Walkersville High School 3-1 at their senior night match five days later, at which Romeril led the team with 18 kills. The Frederick News-Post credited her performance at the two matches the following day, naming Romeril "Player of the Week."

After two more victories each resulting in a score of 3-0, the team defeated host Williamsport High School 3-1 on Oct. 21. This victory secured their spot at the CMC Volleyball Championship with a 9-3 record, beating out candidate Boonsboro High School (8-4) after their defeat against Smithsburg High School the same evening. The championship was held two days later at Governor Thomas Johnson High School, where the Gambrill Division Champions competed against the undefeated Spires Division Champions, North Hagerstown High School. The North Hagerstown Hubs began strong, winning the first set with a score of 25-12. The Cougars took advantage of the Hubs’ tumble at the beginning of the next set, but the Hubs eventually pulled ahead with 25-18. The last set, 25-12, resulted in a loss of 3-0 for the Cougars. The CHS team would then proceed to compete at their last two matches of the regular season before MPSSAA volleyball playoffs.

Also representing the Cougars’ success of the season is the CHS cross-country team. On Oct. 1, the team took to Urbana High School for the 1-270 Rush Hour Rumble Invitational. CHS sophomore Jenna Conley took fifth place of 40 competitors from five schools in the Varsity Girls 5000 Meter Run with a time of 21 minutes and 27.85 seconds. CHS junior Alex Contreras finished the Varsity Boys 5000 Meter Run with a time of 17:05.29, putting him in first place out of 80 runners from nine schools participating in the event.

The team then attended the Patriot Invitational hosted by Governor Thomas Johnson High School on Oct. 9. Conley (21:41.97) took fifth place out of 63 runners from five schools competing in Women’s 5000 Meters Varsity. CHS sophomore Hope Brown (23:29.37) took 21st. In Men’s 5000 Meters Varsity, Alex Contreras (17:35.00) took third place out of 88 participants and CHS junior Nikolas Contreras (19:24.43) finished in 25th.

The CMC Championship for cross-country hosted the CHS team on Oct. 15 at Boonsboro High School. Conley (20:32.00) placed 11th of 63 runners in the Varsity Girls 3 Mile Run Finals, which consisted of 10 schools from the Gambrill and Spires Divisions. Her time placed her in second throughout the Gambrill Division, and CHS sophomore Keira Taylor placed 19th with a time of 24:47.1. The girls team placed third of four schools in the Gambrill Division. Alex Contreras (16:48.7) placed third out of 50 in the Varsity Boys 3 Mile Run Finals, consisting of 11 schools from both divisions. His time put him in first place for the Gambrill Division. Nikolas Contreras (18:48.3) finished in 11th place and Santiago Canadas Fraga took 13th with 18:57.7. The boys team finished in third place out of six schools in the Gambrill Division. The CHS cross-country team would then go on to compete at Linganore High School on Oct. 28 for the Varsity Frederick County Championship, concluding another successful season.

The CHS girls and boys soccer teams both accomplished commendable achievements this year. The girls soccer team has maintained steady progress over the past few years. Last season they scored two wins--one more than the previous year which consisted of their first regular season victory in three years. They returned this season with the same dedication and resilience that earned them an overall record of 5-6-1. The team scored their third win of the season at their senior night Oct. 5. when they defeated St. Maria Goretti Catholic High School 5-0. The next game resulted in another 5-0 victory for the Cougars on Oct. 7 against host Clear Spring High School. Following two losses, the Cougars were hosted by the Saint James School Saints on Oct. 19. CHS seniors Jenna Zentz and Emily Williams had six saves each. The Cougars defeated the Saints 5-1, with two goals each from Zentz and freshman Taylor Smith and one goal from junior Nicole Andrew. The regular season would then conclude with a draw between the Cougars and the Williamsport High School Wildcats. The Cougars led 1-0 with a goal from Zentz, and ultimately tied 1-1 after double overtime.

The boys soccer team had much to celebrate after their game against Saint James on Oct. 19. After three goals from sophomore Erick Lopez and one from sophomore Matt Offutt, the team entered overtime and broke the tie of 4-4 with a winning goal from Offutt. The 5-4 win was the CHS boys soccer teams’ first regular season victory in five years, shaping a memorable moment towards the end of high school soccer for the seniors. "Everyone put in 100% and we finally got over the line," senior Nick Miller expressed. The fans immediately responded to the triumph by pouring onto the field to congratulate the team. "The team, the fans, everyone was going crazy," Miller described. "It was euphoric." The team carried this excitement into their final game on Oct. 21 against Williamsport High School. The Cougars led 2-0 in the first half with goals from Offutt and senior Ryan Horning. Offutt scored another goal during the second half when the Wildcats took the lead, resulting in a close CHS loss of 4-3.

With the regular season coming to a close, winter sports make their way around the corner with registration having begun Oct. 5. The season consists of the following sports: basketball (boys) - coached by Brian Burdette; basketball (girls) - coached by Amy Entwistle; unified bocce - coached by Charmane Nesbitt; cheerleading - coached by Stephanie Munday; indoor track (boys) - coached by Dave Lillard; indoor track (girls) - coached by Lois Strickland; swimming/diving - coached by Will Warram; and wrestling - coached by Rick Reeder.

Winter sports begin Nov. 15, and competitions commence Nov. 29th. Registration for winter sports is open until the starting date. All physical examinations must be dated no earlier than April 1 and, like registration, must be completed prior to Nov. 15. Directions for registration can be found at the Catoctin High School website.