This year, OIHS not only had volleyball, girls soccer, boys soccer, and football teams, but also a cheerleading squad and a newly founded cross country team. Our fall sports season lip sync contest consisted of the volleyball, football, and both soccer teams. The sports lip syncs have a very different feel than the spirit week ones. For example, the personalities of the people on the teams and the overall energy of the teams are brilliantly represented in each dance. The boys soccer members all wore Hawaiian shirts and crazy socks, the girls soccer players dressed as rappers, and both the volleyball and the football teams incorporated their game play into the lip syncs.
The combined Orcas/Lopez football team had a great fall with a 6-4 season. Senior Pasha Bullock said of this fall sports season, “best sports year I have ever had.” Helping bring Viking cheer to the football games for the second year in a row was the OIHS cheerleading squad. This year the Orcas volleyball team was headed by Rebekah Hardee and Janna Carter, with Hank Date as the assistant coach. They had a good season and four of their players will be graduating.
Fall sports crowd, sans football / Photographer: Matia Schwartz
New to the fall sports program this year was the cross country team, coached by the Hohmans. Junior Stephen Hohman Jr. says, “All in all, I’d say that the season was very productive because everybody on the team ended up running considerably faster at the end of the year. Additionally, a foundation has been set so that we may achieve success in the years to come … This bodes well for the future of the Orcas Island running program.” This is a great way to continue to run in high school for those who enjoyed the Funhouse Running Club. Additionally, it may become possible to do both soccer and cross country next year.
Both the girls and boys soccer teams had amazing seasons. The boys had one of the best seasons in program history at 11-5, very nearly qualifying them for state. The team had eight seniors, many of whom played for all four years. When asked about his experience on the team, senior Zach Waage said, “It’s been a truly incredible experience, many of my teammates have become my close friends and brothers. I’ve never been a part of anything else like this.” The girls soccer team had a substantially better year than last year, with measurable and incredible growth. Senior Jo Gudgell said of the girl’s soccer season, “The Lady Vikings soccer season has been a season of growth, persistence, and endless love. It was the first time that I’ve been a part of a team where I’ve seen significant improvement with each consecutive game. This year’s team was the most united the soccer team has been in my last four years playing; which is saying a lot. The sense of family, commitment, determination, and fire made it an utterly unforgettable season.”
Graduating seniors of the 2015 fall sports season: Volleyball: Emily Nichols, Lilly Miller, Anneke Ivans, and Lily Ater. Boys Soccer: Zach Waage, Wylie Kau, Stephan Bodenhamer, Enzo Thixton, Anthony Kaskurs Gwydion Marreth. Girls Soccer: Jo Gudgell. Football: Pasha Bullock, Kyle Masters, Harrison Goodrich, Mackey Cardinall, Conor Dye, Vinny Kramer, and TJ Hobi. Thank you, and your families. You will be missed.