Living the Mission

Sure, the sports are the same, fall to fall, winter to winter, and spring to spring.

 

Sure, familiar faces reappear, albeit, because of graduation and sometimes attrition, the cast evolves.

 

Sure, the plan remains the same: compete well, win as often as possible, learn from the ups and downs, act sportingly, enjoy the team dynamic, and create memories.

 

That said, there’re a host of variables, all of which combine to make each season a singular experience for everyone involved.

 

Ten days ago, the fall season of 2024 wound to a close.

 

Girls cross country and tennis won League of Independent Schools and VISAA championships. For each, it was the third league and fourth state title since the return from Covid in 2021. Soccer shared the Prep League title marking the fourth straight year they’ve finished atop the standings.

 

Twenty-two athletes earned either All-LIS or All-Prep citations. Twelve were honored as All-VISAA (with football yet to be announced). Two, Alexandra Curtis (field hockey) and Peter Hartmann (soccer), were voted league player of the year in their respective sports.  Allyson Brand (tennis, LIS and VISAA) and Rob Ukrop (soccer, Prep League) were selected coach of the year.

 

You gauge success, though, not just by win-loss records, championships, and post-season honors but by intangibles.

 

“When you look at the outcomes that you can’t control, you have to dig into the data to see what you’re really looking at,” said Andrew Stanley, Collegiate’s Director of Athletics. “When you consider our success, you have to look not just how we did but how we’re doing it. I was very proud of the way all our teams competed this fall.”

 

The tennis team lost four of its top six to graduation and nevertheless excelled with a starting lineup that included three 8th graders new to the varsity level, two freshmen, and two juniors undaunted by program’s history or by the moment. Notable was a 5-3 victory in the state championship match against Potomac, a team that defeated the Cougars 5-2 earlier in the season.

 

Integral to the Cougars’ success were not just the match-winners but senior captains Carly Barnes, Betsy Clarke, Annie Reed, and Perry Smith. Each was an indispensable behind-the-scenes leader, motivator, and mentor. Each brought energy, mindful guidance, and wisdom. Each demonstrated by example, both on and off the court, the importance of the team-above-self mentality.

 

The top six in girls cross country were a senior, four sophomores, and an 8th grader. As was the case with tennis, captains Maddie McComb and Nora Wallace, neither of whom was a regular point-scorer, played a vital role by providing a positive, nurturing presence.

 

“One of the stories of the fall was the leadership from captains who weren’t in the starting lineup,” Stanley said. “The way they were dedicated to the team and focused on the team and their importance to their team were significant. The grace of the older girls to allow the younger ones to take the limelight was a blueprint for what success here could look like for years to come.”

 

Soccer, field hockey, volleyball, boys cross country, and football suffered graduation losses but toughed their way through the fall with revamped lineups, grit, and perseverance.

 

Soccer finished 15-2-4 and, in addition to joining St. Christopher’s as league champ, reached the state quarterfinals.

 

“These guys had a very successful run after very talented players graduated,” Stanley said. “The seniors were very impactful. New leaders stepped up. Hartmann was amazing as well as [the other captains] Josh Parker and Shaan Agarwal. They followed a dynamic situation (24-1, league and state champ in 2023) and handled it with grace.”

 

Hockey went 14-4-1 and reached the LIS championship game and state semifinals.

 

“They didn’t win titles, but if you follow the track of their season, they were playing uphill in some of their games,” Stanley said. “To be in a position to play close games with some of the best teams in the state (including Trinity Episcopal, the LIS champ, and state champ Norfolk Academy) was significant.”

 

Volleyball, with first-year coach Diamond Welton-Boxley, went 16-10 and reached the LIS title game and the state quarterfinals.

 

“For sure, it was a successful season with new roles, new positions, and a new coach,” Stanley said. “They got better and better as the season went on and played a really fun brand of team volleyball to watch.”

 

Boys cross country graduated four of its top five from its 2023 Prep League championship team. Senior Liam Moore (All-Prep, All-State) was the top returner and led a talented and cohesive group of underclassmen new to the varsity level who made significant improvement as the season progressed.

 

Facing its usual challenging schedule of league and non-league opponents, football finished 3-5.

 

“They got better, as all our teams did, as the season went on,” Stanley said. “You watched the way certain members of that team came on strong. They kept grinding, no matter what.”

 

Typical, Stanley said, was the performance of Oreoluwa Tokan-Lawal, who as a senior in his second year of football earned valuable and productive minutes as a cornerback and special teams performer.

 

“He’s a perfect example of a kid who, time after time, when a play broke down, would run the 30, 40, 50 yards to make the tackle at the goal line just because it was the right thing to do,” Stanley said. “When there was every single reason to quit, he kept going.”

 

The success of the fall season, then, isn’t measured as much by numbers and banners as by intangibles.

 

“It’s not victories or moral victories or losses,” Stanley said. “What we’ve defined and have to be comfortable with is the idea that our mission, our purpose, is to develop athletes through competition with a team-first mentality, emphasizing character, and fostering confidence. We did that very well.

 

“There were better days than others. There always are. Hey, I want to win. I want to put numbers on the wall. I want to bring home hardware. Let’s not shy away from that. That’s the goal but not the purpose. I was very proud of the way our coaches, athletes, and fans controlled the parts of the experience that they could control that put us in a position to work closer to our mission every day.”

~Weldon Bradshaw