Acalanes celebrates its fall season's seniors
By Trevor Krick, Savannah Martinez, and Violette Cline, Print Head Section Editor, Print News Editor, and Staff Writer
With balloons, treats, and cheers, Acalanes gives graduating athletes their moment in the spotlight on Senior Night. Before their final home games of the regular season, Acalanes sports celebrate their seniors. While traditions and practices vary by sport, each celebration honors the athletes’ contributions to their teams and marks the approaching end of their high school athletic careers.
Cross Country
On Oct. 29, the Cross Country team celebrated its seniors: Peyton Eagens, Sam Griscavage, Calder Krage Zillas, Graham Maroney, Natalie Pecci*, and Ollie Penn, led by senior captains Alexander “Xander” Hagen and Chloe Harvey. Each senior received a sign with their senior banner photo, cookie cakes, and other goodies. Seniors were able to reflect on their experiences and growth in the program.
“I was happy to be recognized because cross country's a tough sport, but when you look back on how far you've come, you realize how much fun you get to have, especially at the races,” Hagen said. “I was also thinking how fast the senior year season is going by, and how much I want to make state again like we did last year to make that a streak and finish the season off well.
Flag Football
On Oct. 21, flag football honored its seniors–Yali Avrahami, Mira Clark, Mallory DeCredico,, Eloise Greeson, and Amelia Riley–and senior captains–Stella Beuchotte, Ines Coyne, Avery DeMent and Santana Tamayo*–before their game against Campolindo. During the ceremony, seniors walked through balloon arches with their families while an announcer detailed their future plans and favorite memories from their seasons.
“I was pretty sad but mostly happy,” DeMent said. “I had no idea what [flag football] was coming into freshman year, and then sophomore year, I played it, and it became my favorite sport because of the community our coaches give us, and the rest of the players on the team, everyone's super kind and caring ... I was just like, ‘Oh man, it’s the last time.’”
Cheer and Football
On Nov. 6, the football team played their final regular season game of the 26-27 season against Benicia High School. This game doubled as football and cheer’s senior night. The event honored football players Jackson Boselli, Grant Condy, Luke Dafferner, AJ Del Santo, Daniel Dunne, Sidhartha Giridhar, Logan Houston, Oliver Macleod, Matthew Lee, Sam Phillips, Nolan Potts, Cash Ricker, Finn Rivera, Hayden Sawle, Camden Sinha, and Tyler Winkles.
They also commemorated senior cheer captains Ruby Byrne, Lily Campbell, Layla Epperson, Chloe Lloyd, Belle Robinson, and Audrey Tugade*–and graduating cheerleaders Aaliyah Coleman, Sarah Gundogdu, and Victoria Santos. The cheer seniors decorated boxes, reflected on their time with the team, and received tiaras, flowers, sashes, and gift baskets.
“Some of my favorite moments on the team were when I first got on the team freshman year with all of my friends, and we became super close with everybody else on the team,” Lloyd said.
The players found that the atmosphere of this game contributed to a meaningful senior night.
“It feels really good, and especially that night, in particular, a lot of people stayed the whole game, which we don't have as often, and it's just so fun having people hype you up,” Giridhar said.
Women’s Tennis
On Oct. 15, women’s tennis honored its graduating captains–Grace Colaco, Hetty Lofting, and Riley Zirkel–alongside their senior teammates–Lotta Griemens, Maddie Obertello*, Carissa Penn, Gemma Satterfield, and Alessa Smith–before playing College Park. During the ceremony, underclassmen spoke about each senior and their time together on the team. Continuing the “Player of the Match” tradition, the team named all of the seniors “Players of the Match” after the team won all their matches 9-0.
“Ending the season is sad since I’ve been with these girls for four years and we made so many memories, but it's rewarding because we’ve been playing for so long, and senior night is just special when your friends make signs for you and come in support, and it just shows how much they care about you,” Colaco said.
Men’s and Women’s Water Polo
The men's and women’s water polo teams played their final games of the regular season on Oct. 20 against Monte Vista and Las Lomas respectively. The teams commemorated their graduating seniors and captains: Fisher Bradford-Urban, Thomas Butler-Kurimai, Adelyn Horciza, Finley Graff, Will Miller*, and Isaac Topp*. They signed framed photos and ran through an arch to experience their final moments as a team together.
"I see it kind of like the cherry on top, kind of for all the work that we seniors put in over the years. I mean, all of us have been on this team,” Bradford-Urban said. “All four years here at Acalanes, and we've all seen this team grow over the years, so it's definitely reliving those memories.”
For many students on the teams, senior night marked the end of a chapter.
“My favorite memories with my team are winning the [Diablo Athletic League],” Graff said. “I’m gonna miss playing with my team and my coaches.”
Women’s Volleyball
On Oct. 22, women’s volleyball celebrated its seniors before facing Berean Christian, winning 3-1. Captains Ella Chong, Amelia Easley, and Sahar Noroozi along with fellow seniors Harper Fox, Meher Jeyakrishnan, Devyn Murphy, Sydney Scovic* and Lourdes Smith took the court for one last game, marking the end of their regular season. Coaches gave speeches as the seniors walked across the gym with their families.
“It honestly feels unreal that this is the last time I’ll ever get to play with these girls and be a part of this program,” Chong said. “After being in this program for all four years of high school and watching all my upperclassmen graduate, the fact that it’s finally my turn just hasn’t sunk in yet. Senior night is such a special moment for all of us seniors, as we all put our heart and soul into this program, and to be able to celebrate our hard work with all our families is so special.”
*Blueprint would like to acknowledge that Will Miller, Maddie Obertello, Natalie Pecci, Sydney Scovic, Isaac Topp, and Audrey Tugade are members of Blueprint. Blueprint would also like to acknowledge that Santana Tamayo’s brother, Cruz Tamayo, is part of Blueprint staff.
