Riverbend High School: Fall Sports Recap
As the 2023 Riverbend fall sports season comes to a close, this year has certainly been one for the history books!
Each team has had a remarkable season, as RHS saw many broken records, goals, touchdowns, and district, regional, and even state titles. The season was spectacular, with many teams qualifying for regionals and states!
With the fall sports preseason beginning as early as June and the championship season extending as late as November, these athletes are highly committed to their sport and dedicated to maintaining adequate grades in school. Just by looking at all the accomplishments from each sport this season, it is abundantly clear how hard these athletes work.
After placing 2nd in the state for the past two years, there were high expectations for the boys' cross-country team coming into the season. They finished 1st in the region and 3rd at the state meet with four runners earning "All-Region" recognition and one earning "All-State" accolades. Freshman Ethan Hacking said, "My favorite part about cross country is being able to run competitively with other people who also love running." Hacking earned one of the seven spots on the state line-- a huge accomplishment as a freshman.
The girls' cross-country team had an ambitious goal from the start of the season. As the girls' team captain and regionally qualifying runner, Sofia Visioni, said, "The ultimate goal for the girls this season was to make it to states, which means placing in the top three at regionals. We surpassed our goal by winning the regional title." This is the first time the girls' team has made it to states in years, and because of that, it was a huge accomplishment. The girls' team ran hard at the state meet, earning an outstanding 6th place on the podium. They also tallied their fair share of accolades with four "All-Region" runners.
This is the first year in school history that both the girls' and boys' RHS cross country teams have made it to states in the same year. Though this was the goal from the onset of the season, the coaches' motto of not focusing on the athletes' individual times, but concentrating on always being the hardest working team on the course, really showed during races, helping both teams make it to states.
This year, the RHS golf team finished their season with an incredible performance, placing 4th in the regional golf tournament and sending junior Matthew Bell on to the state tournament.
The varsity field hockey team placed first in the region, garnering accolades as well: five players were named All-District, three All-Region, and junior Leah Maliszewski was named the "Goalie of the Year."
The RHS football team finished the season ranking 11th in the Virginia 5A Division. Additionally, they had five players named to the All-Region football team.
Lastly, but surely not least, the volleyball team had a remarkable season. They made it through the regular season undefeated. Then, they kept up the hard work, becoming district champions and advancing to the state semi-finals.
The work that every one of these athletes put in was abundantly clear this fall season, as each of Riverbend's fall sports teams had outstanding seasons!
