Spring Season Standouts: Riverbend High School Spring Sports Recap

Tennis

The girls had a phenomenal season, maintaining an undefeated streak of 12-0 and becoming district champions. "The girls have had an incredible season!" coach Brian Ratzlaff said. Senior and team co-captain Maya Jani showed off her talent as she continued her four-year streak of being undefeated in singles play and graduated as valedictorian. Jani said, "My favorite aspect is the friendship and community I have found with the team."

The boys continued their previous success, with a 17-1 record and the district title for the second straight year. Coach Curtis Harris said, "Seeing all our players' maturity, growth, and improvement was impressive." 

Track and Field 

These athletes performed optimally at each meet, achieving countless school records, spanning the mile to the triple jump. Coach Anedra Logan said, "If I could rename the season, I would call it record breaker!" Junior Sophie Lee has been on the team for three years and tried a new event this year: the 400. Lee said, "I found my event this season. Through that, I qualified for states, and I'm excited to keep improving."

Soccer

The girls' team was strong this year as they became district champions, scoring an impressive 47 goals while only allowing six goals behind their own keeper. Coach Pete Cinalli said, "Our success is built on how hard our team plays and how amazingly they work together and care about each other." One notable player, senior, team-captain, and goalie, Molly Schnellenberger has played soccer for 12 years but has "always a goalkeeper at heart." She went on to talk about her favorite aspect of the team: the players. Schnellenberger said, "…the real strength of this team is our players' personalities: everyone is determined, accepting, kind, and hilarious!" Cinalli said, "They just fought so hard no matter what. The result was incredible success on the field!"

The boys persevered through a tough season, ending with a record of 6-7-2. Coach Michael Recore chose not to view it as a letdown season, as he said, "Success is not measured necessarily with wins, rather by realizing your potential as an individual and as a group." He discussed the team's improvements concerning sportsmanship, revealing that they received half as many red and yellow cards as the previous season. Junior Alvin Garcia said, "Our greatest accomplishment this season was the fact that we never gave up."

Lacrosse

The girls fought hard this season, ending with a record of 7-6 and the opportunity to compete in the regional playoffs. Coach Paige Hennessy says, "I was super impressed with how well the team played together." Five girls made it onto the all-district team, including senior Ava Doherty. Doherty said, "This lacrosse season has been marked by growth and collective effort, culminating in our team reaching the regional semifinals."

The boys' team faced many injuries and illnesses but continued pushing through. Coach David Belling said, "The highlights were they did not give up, and the next guy stepped in to play hard." Four players were selected for the all-district team. Belling highlighted one player in particular, senior David Chicas-Hernandez, who stepped up to play goalie, even though he had never played lacrosse before. Chicas-Hernandez went on to receive the Eastman Scholarship. As Belling said, "The scholarship is for $1,000 for one senior each year who shows heart, teamwork, dedication, and coachability, and also performs off the field in school and in life." Chicas-Hernandez, said, "Winning the Eastman scholarship felt pretty surreal to me."

Baseball

This baseball season was one for the books, as the team had 14 wins, earned the regional title, and advanced to the state semifinals. This is the first regional title in school history, and Coach James Labrusciano commented that the athletes stepped up to fill big shoes: "This has contributed tremendously to our 14 wins and our number one seed in regions again this year."

Softball

These girls took a big step, as they placed six girls on the all-district team. Coach Brianna Worley was impressed with this group of girls. Worley said, "I am proud of this team for fighting through adversity this season and continuing to strive to be better every day."