Golf Team Suffers From Rain

By Aly Doty

The FHN Varisty golf team moved on as a team to Districts which were held on May 4 at The Falls golf course. Three of the five golfers will move on to Sectionals this includes, Ryan Dickey, Kyle Melchior and A.J. Porter. Overall, the team shot a 324 placing third in Districts, one spot away from advancing as a team. The three that advanced played on Monday, May 11 at Forest Hills golf course. 

“We went into it very well as a Varsity team,” Senior A.J. Porter said. We didn’t have the best season, we got off to a bit of a slow start and I believe we were entering the conference tournament in fourth place as a team. In the conference tournament I personally was fifth place and player of the year.

The FHN Boys Golf team has been having a season filled with rescheduling this year due to the weather conditions such as rain and thunderstorms.

“You just get your hopes up and then they get crushed,” sophomore Ryan Hale said. “And trying to reschedule is always a pain.”

Their coach agreed.

“The rain causes the course to be wet, which can make it a lot tougher to get a solid hit on the ball,” Coach Mark Wright said.

Despite not having many cancellations, the ones they have had are still making an impact on the season. Players prepare for the match and get upset when they get cancelled, and rescheduling can cause issues such as players not being able to attend the rescheduled match.

“Rained out games are difficult because you get super prepared and ready for the one game, and then it just gets cancelled,” sophomore Avery Bond said.

Three Teams, One Rival

By Belen Herrera

In the past seven years, FHSD has not had a rugby team, making this past season the players first experience of rugby. Having played eight rugby games and only winning one, they feel they’ve done well for never having played the game before. 

“My goals were not to mark a win and loss column, but more so for growth as players and growth as people,” Coach Trevor Locke said. “I’ve really looked forward to seeing students progress as rugby players not so much worried about success in terms of a team goal but as individuals as well. I wanted the kids to grasp the sport to grasp the concept and the basics and really progress themselves moving into their rugby careers in their future, if they hopefully keep playing.”

Just one school by itself would not have been enough to make a team and to have enough kids to be subbing in and out, so FHSD decided to join together and create one team, the Francis Howell Force.

“It’s difficult because obviously my sphere of influence is at FHN, but from subbing the last couple of years and student teaching between all three schools I was able to grab some kids that I had known at FHC and FHHS,” Locke said. “Also word of mouth was good, because kids obviously know each other between the high schools. I was also able to go and speak to the weight rooms at both high schools and get some kids interest level up and get them out to play.”

The team has bonded in ways that would not have been possible if these three rivals teams had not joined forces. Players connected with boys they probably would not have met if not for this team.

“They put me in a good mood,” FHHS sophomore Uriel Zamudio said. “Every time I was down they’d put me up.”

Age Doesn’t Matter, Skill Does

By Belen Herrera

Sophomore Samantha Donaldson plays for the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Premier team, and also currently plays for FHN’s girls Varsity soccer team. Donaldson was noticed by college coaches and offered a full ride college scholarship.

“It’s surprising, that there’s really no other sophomores with a scholarship, so I’m really proud of all the work I’ve done and that it really has paid off,” Samantha Donaldson said. “I was really excited when I told my dad. He was so proud of me that he almost started crying. It was a great time. I loved calling [the coach] and hearing [his] voice whenever I told him I accepted it.”

Donaldson is a hard working player for both her school and club team as she works to become a better player each day.

“The type of player that she is, she’s fast, she’s aggressive, those things tend to not go unnoticed,” Club Coach Shaunna Brandt said. “It’s her willingness to do some of the physical things that a lot of the players aren’t willing to do. To sacrifice your body she tackles very hard, she’s not afraid to push people around and to mix it up. Not everybody is willing to do that. She’d break her leg before she’d let the ball go by her.”

Verbally committing to the college was a big step, although Donaldson cannot completely commit to the University of Arkansas, Little Rock because she is not yet a senior. 

“I hope she’s made the right choice,” Samantha’s mother, Carolynn Donaldson said. “I think it’s a little overwhelming, She did do a verbal commitment with them of course, she can’t commit until she’s a senior. I don’t think she really understands what’s all involved in it yet. But I think she’s smart enough and bright enough that she’ll be fine with it.”

Varsity Baseball Takes On Districts

By Aly Doty

On May 16, the FHN Varsity Baseball team will be competing in Districts, and the team and coaches feel like they’re prepared to do well and possibly take first place. Districts is where schools within the Gateway Athletic Conference (GAC) compete in order to move on to the next step, sectionals. The GAC consists of teams in the area.

“Our goal is to win districts, and I feel like we have a really good shot at winning this year,” assistant coach Mike Freedline said. “I hope we can keep improving and go as far as we can in state because that’s the ultimate goal.”

Last year, FHN finished sixth in districts. The coaches and team believe this was because the team lacked chemistry. This year, the players think they will do much better because they play well together as a team and are all working towards the same goal: come out on top in districts.

“We have started this season off right,” junior Jacob Kalusniak said. “We are heading in the right direction and I expect great things to come from this season. We have the talent to make it all the way this year so my goal is to play like I know we can and go from there.”

The GAC baseball tournament is May 11-16 at Troy. Last year, the team finished 3rd in the tournament, and this year they hope they’ll improve to a higher ranking by working together and playing with as much effort as they have. The team feels they will do better than they did last year in this tournament because of the different skills they have aquired.

“I expect us just to really compete with everything that we have,” junior Charlie Brauch said.

The Ultimate Volleyball Defense

By Sasha Kaganov

With a record this season of 15-3, the Varsity volleyball team is getting ready to head towards districts. This season, the team impressed many with their wins and skills. The Varsity boys volleyball team have defeated most teams in their district like FZE, FZW, St. Dominic, FHC and FZS. Most players are feeling confident to face them in Districts because of the amount of wins they had this season. Districts will begin on Friday, May 15.

“I’m very excited for districts because our team is doing really good this year,” junior Jacob Drum said. “I’m feeling very confident in our ability to come out in Districts in first place.”

Junior David Hood believes that it’s possible for the team to get first, but believes the mentality is the issue over the physical game and overcoming that issue can result in going to state.

“I think the biggest thing we need to improve on is psychological factors,” Hood said. “We are as good of a team as any of the schools that we have played so I think we have a really good chance.”

Hood’s skills and dedication have helped the team in many ways. He hopes to come back next year, guide the team in even more victories and lead the team to become undefeated next season. Not only does Hood want to continue to play next season, but also in college on the University of Illinois Volleyball club team.

“I definitely believe that David had a lot of potential because he’s a hard worker on the court,” varsity coach Ryan VonFeldt said. “He definitely has what it takes to make it if he wants to play after high school.”

Serving On and Off the Court

By Sasha Kaganov

As of press time, the Varsity tennis team is competing in districts and hope to continue to state. The players will face schools around the District. Number one leading player, Senior Matt Dunn, is hoping to make it all the way to the end by winning state. Because the team came in first place overall in GAC’s, they are hoping for an even stronger future the next few weeks in Districts and State.

“I feel really good going into Districts and I feel my team will go really far because we work hard at practice everyday,” senior Matt Dunn said.

The teams success comes from from their work at practice each day. Junior Nathan Sermeshien find its necessary to help the incoming freshmen and sophomores improve on their tennis skills. He helps them before, during and after practice.

“I feel that it’s really necessary to help out the freshmen because when all the eighteen JV and Varsity juniors graduate, the team is going to lose a good majority of the team,” Nathan said. “So that’s why we need to start helping them get better, so they can carry on after we are gone.

“The last few years, the juniors and seniors have been carrying the school’s name proudly. Because the juniors and seniors will be leaving soon, Nathan has high hopes for the underclassmen and believes that with extra training and dedication, they  will continue to carry the school’s name and its many victories.

“I think that it’s great that he is helping the freshmen become better players,” Varsity coach Kate Kleiber said. “It’s nice to see that they all want to help each other so they can become better players.”