Say goodbye to the indoors and welcome the sunshine. The weather is getting warmer, and spring sports have begun! Around the school, teams are shaking off the dust and settling in for the long haul of a new season. Here’s a look at how every sport at Thomas Worthington is doing this spring.
Athletes are making their return to the field after the long winter. You may have seen nets spread out across the practice fields and helmets dotting the turf. Lacrosse is back in full swing, and both teams are looking for big things this season. Marley Walker, a senior on the girls lacrosse team, has been on the team for her entire high school career. “I’m looking forward to our Florida spring break trip with the team and just spending time with everyone and getting even closer especially because there’s so many new faces,” Walker explains as she looks forward to the rest of the season. Her favorite memory throughout her time on the team was “beating Kilbourne during the tournament [last year] on their field after they beat us on our field in the regular season,” she says.
Chloe King, a junior on the team, is excited for this season. She says that “ The team is looking very good, we actually just had our first game last Friday against Coffman and we won 12-5.” King explains that “this was a really important first game for us because Coffman was the last game we played last year, they had beat us and ended our season. So we are so very pumped and excited we had beaten them this year for our first game.” King has been a big asset on the team with 68 goals, but she hopes to hit 100 sometime this season. She hopes to help some of the younger players gain more confidence over the season and she hopes to step into a leadership role. For the game schedule, visit https://sites.google.com/view/twhsglax/season-information/schedules?authuser=0.
On the boys side, the guys are looking towards another good season. Last year was a strong season for the Cards, and this year is set to be just as exciting. Although a large senior class graduated last year, there is still plenty of depth for a good season. But a successful season can have many different definitions, and Senior Josh Kociba knows that this season will be a good one. “I am really looking forward to becoming closer with my teammates,” he says, “I am also looking forward to my senior night.” The biggest thing for Kociba isn’t the winning but the times that he has with the team. He talked about his favorite memory as “traveling to Kentucky with the team.” A fun team environment could decide this season, and the boys hope to see you at a game. For game times, visit https://www.twhsboyslax.com/schedule.
Another sport back on the field is the lady cards softball team. The Cards have been working hard to condition in the off season to prepare for the season ahead. Maddy Johnson, a junior on the team, says, “my favorite memory was [the] team dinners.” This season Johnson is excited to go on the team trip to Florida.
Katie Niven, another junior, has been working hard with the team in the off season in hitting league and conditioning. She is also looking forward to the spring break trip to Florida, “ I am excited to spend the week getting to play in some warmer weather and getting closer as a team” says Niven. “We won both games of a double header against Westerville South last season and that was a really fun moment. In the second game it was a comeback win in extra innings. Everyone on the team contributed to the win which just made it even better.” She is really excited to see how the off season efforts pay off during the season! With 6 returning starters and a great class of seniors, as a team they are working hard to be competitive in their conference and to be prepared for the postseason tournament!! To see when you can catch a game, visit https://arbiterlive.com/School/Calendar/23361.
The Thomas Worthington ballpark is alive again with the baseball team entering another season. With another season comes another season to build. The last few years have been a little rough but following some early success this season, things might be looking up. This year’s 17 seniors are hoping to lead the team to new heights. There are big things planned for this year, senior Oscar Lesicko says “This season the team is looking forward to our spring break trip to gulf shores Alabama,” and adds, “and to hopefully winning the occ.” They are also hoping to use some of the victories from last year as motivation again. “My favorite memory was beating Kilbourne last season in the tournament and ending their season,” Oscar says. This season should be a good one, make sure to make it out to a game this spring. For schedule, visit www.maxpreps.com/oh/worthington/thomas-worthington-cardinals/baseball/schedule/.
This year is exciting for the volleyball team. With Junior Finn Rubin’s recent commitment to play in college, the energy in the gym is electrified. There are big expectations for the next two seasons, and captains J.T Mcguire and Finn Rubin are leading the charge. Rubin states “I think we have a lot of work to do but considering we’re such a young team, things aren’t looking too bad.” The team has only one senior this year, so leadership roles and starting positions will be taken up mostly by juniors and sophomores. But Junior J.T Mcguire says that “everyone has shown signs that they wanna put in the work to compete with top teams in the state.”
As far as the specific goals “it’s clear to Coach Lawless that [they] want to win the regional final to make it to the final 4” and the guys are going to do everything in their power to succeed. While there are still some cracks that need evened out before the playoffs, there is all the time in the world and the team doesn’t feel rushed. Rubin says that the team is working on some better play calling, but Mcguire added “The team is looking good and well rounded.”To see dates and times of games, visit https://www.maxpreps.com/oh/worthington/thomas-worthington-cardinals/volleyball/boys/schedule/.
Things are heating up on the courts as the boys tennis team is ready for another great season. After a surprise break out year with the help of last year’s senior class, the team hopes to build upon that momentum. This year’s roster looks strong once again, which includes senior Cameron Stengle. “We lost a lot of good seniors,” he says, “it will make things a bit harder.” The team is always one of the smaller programs so losing that amount of seniors will always hurt them “But we also have two really good new coaches” which the team hopes will rally the team together. Above all else, Stengal says that “it’d be really nice to have a positive record this year.” He adds, “We have a really tough schedule but if we really try I think we can do it.” Make sure to come out to a match this spring and support the boys. Visit https://ohiotenniszone.com/btennis_tr.php?schoolID=42283 for schedule updates.
You may have heard a lot about our track and field team, but for many, the whole team seems like a bit of a mystery. Freshman, Sally Boyden-Elzey, just began her time on the track and field team and did indoor in the winter. She is looking forward to spending time with her friends on the team and seeing the improvement as she works during the season. Boyden-Elzey wasn’t on the team last season, but during indoor track her favorite memory was “ walking around the Akron college indoor facility with my friend and seeing all the different events and things like that,” or when she finished her first race and how good that felt. She says that “it’s never too late to start” and even if you have doubts about joining track that it’s worth it.
On the field side, Trevor Pencek has a lot to say about the season. “We’re looking good,” he says, “very young and definitely have a lot to improve on but that’s any year, but overall we’re looking good and ready to compete.” As expected, everyone has their own goals. For Trevor, he says “I am looking forward to getting better and enjoying my last season on the team.” The throwers have had some decent success over the last few years, but Trevor just hopes that “everyone does the best they possibly can.” He added he doesn’t know too much about the boys track team, but he knows that everyone expects the best. For all meet times and other info, go to https://www.athletic.net/team/7642/track-and-field-outdoor/2024.
