By Lana Marie David
On Monday, November 9th, the Naugatuck Valley League (NVL) announced the cancellation of the divisional playoff games. St. Paul’s fall athletes met with the administration in the afternoon to be informed of the decision. Although the news was disheartening, many students recognized the need to promote the health and safety of not only the student athletes, but also others outside the athletic community. “All NVL tournaments and games have been cancelled out of an abundance of caution and concern for the health and safety of the NVL student athletes and the uncertainty of being able to successfully play out the NVL divisional tournaments to their completion. This was a difficult but unanimous decision for the league.” - NVL Press Release (11/09/20) As a student athlete at St. Paul’s, I understand the disappointment from the news, while also recognizing the importance of practicing COVID-19 guidelines to protect our communities. As students, we have to be mindful of the world around us, take a deep breath and move forward. A message to St. Paul’s... Parents - Your work behind-the-scenes has not gone unnoticed. Without you, there would be no possibility of an athletic season at all. We love you and your undying support! Faculty - Thank you for constantly supporting our student athletes through it all. Students - Thank you for not only representing St. Paul Catholic High School, but also for remaining strong in these difficult times. Lastly, I would like to recognize the following teams for their efforts this fall season:
By Elizabeth Speaker
On Friday November 6, the football and cheerleading teams celebrated their seniors. The senior athletes recognized for their efforts in football were: Erik Atkinson, Quentin Conner, Christian Decker, Jack DelDebbio, Erik Evjen, Ben Foligno, Dylan Kelly, Brycen Kennedy, Josh Konikowski, Connor Matthews, Ben Shea, Josh Silva, and Ben Speaker. Additionally, the senior athletes recognized for their efforts in cheerleading are Barbara Retartha and Madison Farrell. Due to the pandemic, football games looked different this year. The team members played against each other! A seven-on- seven game was held that Friday night, seniors against underclassmen. Before the start of the game, the seniors enjoyed a moment with their loved ones as they were escorted onto the field by their families. The game began, and onlookers sat on the edge of their seats as the linemen participated in 4 challenges. A tire flip contest was the first, and the seniors were the successors of this particular challenge. As the football athletes continued to their next challenge of the evening, the cheerleaders were split up into two groups on the sidelines, half were cheering for the seniors, and the other half cheering for the underclassmen! Following the tire flip competition, there was a medicine ball throw contest, in which the seniors also secured a win, and after a tug of war challenge won by the underclassmen, it came time for the final challenge. The linemen participated in a seven-on-seven game during halftime, which concluded in a win for the senior players! In addition to this exciting victory during halftime, the cheerleaders performed an impressive dance incorporating flips. Congratulations to the senior athletes of the football and cheerleading teams! Five SP Athletics Updates for the week of 11/09/20By Lana Marie David Athletic College CommitmentsCongratulations to the following students who have athletically committed to colleges and universities to further his or her academic career! Basketball Pasta FundraiserEvery year, our boys and girls basketball teams host a pasta dinner to fund the teams. This year, the fundraiser will be slightly different. A message from Coach C. Mone: “Things might be a little different this year, but we are still holding our annual St. Paul Girls and Boys Basketball Pasta Dinner Curbside! Prepackaged meals including pasta, salad and bread will be delivered right to your car at your pick up time! Single/Individual Meals - $12 Family Style (Feeds 4) - $40 Pick Up is on November 21st in the back parking lot of St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol from 5:00pm - 7:00pm. To order your dinners please see a St. Paul Girls or Boys Basketball player or you may also contact Coach C. Mone at [email protected] for more information and details! Thank you for your support and Go Falcons!” Cheer CompetitionOn November 5th, St. Paul’s Cheer team participated in a virtual game day competition fundraiser, in which half of the proceeds from the event were donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a leading children's hospital known for treating childhood cancers and pediatric diseases. In collaboration with the other schools involved, such as Bristol Central High School, Bristol Eastern High School, and New Fairfield High School, St. Paul Cheer has helped to raise over $1,000. Here is a transcript of a quick interview with Maddy Kurnik (Class of 2022) and Olivia Belfonti (Class of 2022): Q: Unlike previous years, this competition was done virtually. What was different about the competition itself? A: “It was relatively the same; however, there were some differences. The atmosphere was definitely changed a lot considering the COVID guidelines–there were no in person judges, meaning that the judging process took a little longer than usual, and they could not critique it based on expressions. There was a limited amount of people in the crowd to interact with us. In cheer competitions, there is the potential for extra points to be awarded based on crowd participation or interaction, whether that be responding to a “call back” cheer, or even just making noise to cheer the cheerleaders on. - Maddy Kurnik (Junior/Class of 2022 Fall Captains Pinning CeremonyOn October 23rd, the fall captains received their captain’s pin. The pinning ceremony, a St Paul tradition, was a brief recognition of the selected fall captains for the 2020-2021 school year. As captains, students are expected to act as leaders in the student body and to be a positive influence in their community. Boys Soccer Team Returns From QuarantineOn October 26th, members of the boys soccer team were sent into a two-week quarantine, as the school learned the team had been exposed to a positive case of COVID-19. During the two week quarantine period, the boys utilized St. Paul’s remote-learning method. A quick reflection from Jordan Conroy (Class of 2023): “Primarily, quarantine was uneventful. A lot of home chores were completed; however, when we weren’t cleaning, we were exercising, be it running, biking, or lifting weights. Quarantine mainly felt different because we had to wear our school uniforms, but quarantine wasn’t too difficult. It was a good time to reflect and better ourselves. To be honest, I love soccer with all my being. That being said, I recognize the need to quarantine. A lesson my St. Paul teachers and teammates have taught me that the world is much larger than us, and while I love to play soccer, protecting my school is more important.” Fortunately, none of the students from St. Paul tested positive for COVID-19, and earlier this week, on November 9th, the boys soccer team returned from being quarantined. Given the circumstances, the administration of St. Paul Catholic High School made a wise decision while handling the situation to ensure the safety of the entirety of the student body. By Sammi Bray
Besides, of course, the Class of 2021, the cross country team was the first thing I belonged to at St. Paul. Running has always been a huge part of my life. My mom ran for the first few months of her pregnancy with me, bundled me up as a baby to join her in a stroller, and I even received my first college acceptance letter, as well as the news of the first female vice president in the same run. When I visited St. Paul in middle school, I shadowed a fellow runner. Spoiler alert: she became one of my very best friends. From that moment on, the St. Paul cross country team became my second family. Running is not easy, nor am I an amazing runner. I’ll never be able to run marathons at the speed of Molly Seidel (a member of the US Olympics team) or 5ks like some of my teammates, but regardless, I give it my all. And by all, I really mean blood, sweat, and tears. I think that’s a testament of how much the team loves this sport. I’ve watched my teammates cross the line with scraped knees, missing shoes, even broken fingers, finishing their races barely breathing, ready to do it all again the next week. I’ve also experienced the extreme kindness of the running community. Everyone congratulating each other, even cheering for the kids wearing a different color jersey. The team has been incredibly supportive in all aspects of my life, from helping me study for tests, polishing up my college resume, and being a shoulder to cry on. My coaches are people I truly admire and look up to. In-season or not, both have been incredibly supportive and always listen to me and my teammates when we need someone to talk to. They’ve taught me discipline and the importance of continued hard work on the path to success. Being captain these past few months has been a great honor. It is without saying that the ending to the fall sports season is not the one that any of us wanted. On Monday, November 9th, all Naugatuck Valley League sport competitions were cancelled for the rest of the season due to an uptick in cases. After nearly four years with St. Paul and four seasons with the team, this abrupt ending is extra hard. I’ll miss seeing my teammates and coaches together, six days a week. I’ll even miss waking up at 6am to run hills on Saturday mornings. The team will be a big part of who I am for the rest of my life and I’m very grateful for every moment we’ve spent together these past four years. As we move on from the season, I hope that we can try and remember that we were lucky to have been able to run at all, that tomorrow is a better day. Run hard, run fast, and run smart. |
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