Winter Sports Athletes
Every year, near the end of their season, each sport at Harrisonburg High School has their annual senior night. This night is meant to celebrate and cherish the accomplishments of each senior on a sports team throughout their years at HHS. This night, however, has been impacted by COVID-19. Winter sports were not able to hold their normal season, ultimately canceling their senior nights as well.
To commemorate their stories and accomplishments, the HHS Newsstreak has put together a collection of stories and Q&A’s for each individual winter sport athlete. While it doesn’t make up for senior night, the staff hopes that each winter sports athlete senior gets their story told.
Calayiah Stuart
Q: How long have you been playing basketball? What prompted you to start playing? Have you played any other sports in high school? A: I’ve been playing basketball since I was like seven years old. I got into the game because my sister played and my dad was a coach, so it made me want to give it a shot. I haven’t attempted to play any other sports other than basketball. Q: Describe your...
Nisha Farmer
Q: Who or what inspires you to work hard as a basketball player? A: Coach [Durmount Perry] and my dad. Q: Why did you decide to play? A: I decided to play because I love the competition of the sport, the fans and playing post. Q: How have your coach and your teammates influenced your years of wrestling? A: The coach and team influenced me and had my back throughout the years I ...
Esther Manson
Growing up, senior Esther Manson fantasized about playing basketball in high school. Although she took an untraditional path to her senior year, Manson persevered through adversity to have her season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be a basketball player, but I never thought I was good enough to play for a team. When I first got to high school,...
Nathan Henderson
Q: “What was your favorite moment from the swim team?” A: “I think my favorite moment from the swim team was all the quality time I spent with my teammates and the bonds that were created by the end of the season. The Christianburg meets were always my favorites because they were a long drive so we would have to get up really early and we’d end up getting home late so then we got to eat d...
Hayden Kirwan
Q: Favorite memory from track? A: I really enjoyed going to Liberty University because it’s usually really packed, and the races can get really crazy. Q: What has this sport taught you? A: It has taught me a great routine and a great way to stay in shape that hopefully, I can take to college with me. Q: How has this sport changed you as a person? A: I think trac...
Stella Alexiou
Growing up in the city of Harrisonburg, swimming was always an integral part of Stella Alexious’ childhood summers. Now a senior at Harrisonburg High School, Alexiou is facing the reality that her nostalgic memories of swimming are coming to an end with the announcement of the suspension of winter sports by Harrisonburg City Schools. “I am going to miss high school swimming so much, it has ...
Aaron Smucker
Q: Describe your favorite memory/moment in your sport. A: One of my favorite memories in the sport is probably going to the Liberty meets. Those were always very eventful and it is nice to see everyone compete. Q: What is the biggest takeaway that you have learned playing this sport? A: Making new friends, and not taking stuff for granted. This is the only time you'll be able to ever play ...
Elizabeth Healy
Friday afternoon and the only sounds you can hear coming from the gymnasium are thud, creek, and the scraping of velcro. Peeking your head in, you see gymnasts from across the county and athletes of all skill levels practicing together. A year ago this was senior Lizzy Healy’s life. Now, she doesn’t have a gym to practice in and her season is cancelled. Despite these setbacks, Healy appreciat...
Anttwone Washington
Q: What does wrestling mean to you? A: Wrestling to me [is] like the game of life; when you live you win, when you die you lose. Q: Describe your favorite memory from wrestling? A: My favorite moment is when we could take the whole team with us to states last year. It felt good to not be the only person from our team going to states. Q: What is your biggest take away from wrestling? A:...
Emma Lankford
Q: What is your favorite moment from swimming? A: I've actually been [swimming] since I was six years old. I have been in swim for quite a long time now and it's really hard to pick a favorite memory. In my time on the high school team, I think one of my favorite things that I remember is, when we went to the meet [that] we would go to every year in Christiansburg. One year, everyone had personal bests ...
Isabel Campillo
As both of her sisters went through their high school careers running year round, senior Isabel Campillo decided she wanted to pursue swimming during the winter instead. Although Campillo ended up running both cross country and track by her junior year, she considers swimming her main sport. Although Campillo started swimming when she was four years old on the summer league swim team, the Spotsw...
Korry Sochacki
Senior Korry Sochacki has done indoor track for the past one and a half years. Unfortunately, the pandemic has canceled all winter sports, but that hasn’t stopped Sochacki from reflecting on her experience as an indoor track athlete. Sochacki joined track as a sophomore after being convinced by her friends to try it out. “I decided to start track because I did track in eighth grade. I got hurt when I ...
Jazen Walker
Q: Can you describe your favorite memory/moment in your sport? A: “My favorite moment [is] last year in the semifinals against Spotswood [highschool], when I had the game winning bucket. It was crazy, hearing the crowd roaring and all my teammates running and jumping on me.” Q: What is your biggest takeaway that you have learned playing basketball? A: “Don’t take anything for granted ...
Aidan Perkins
Q: Describe your favorite memory, or moment in your sport. A: I would say the district meet from this year [was my favorite moment. We ran [the] four by two, we came in second place. Leading the packs, being up front. And, having everybody cheer for you. We were all satisfied with our placement afterwards. Q: What part of competing was your favorite? A: The rush. The rush of running, competing, and seeing ev...
Blake Metcalf
Q: Who or what inspires you to work hard as a wrestler? A: My mom inspired me because it kept me out of trouble and kept me working in school. Q: Why did you decide to play? A: My brother was always picking on me, and I decided that I wasn't going to have it any more. Q: How have your coach and your teammates influenced your years of wrestling? A: They tried their best to help me o...
Jesse Lichti
Jesse Lichti has been playing basketball for as long as he can remember. He's overcome challenges and grown on the court and off of it. Lichti has played basketball for the Harrisonburg High school team for all of his four years there, and before that he played for his middle school team. “I’ve been playing basketball for pretty much my whole life. but I started playing with the school [team] in the se...
Conor Wells
Q: Describe your favorite memory/moment in the sport. A: "I think my favorite memory so far was seeing David run his way to nationals, but also, watching him and the 4x8 [relay] team last year was electric." Q: What is your biggest takeaway that you have learned playing this sport? A: "I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is perspective, just realizing how many kids enjoy this sport a...
Mia Constantin
After swimming on the local club team, The Virginia Gators, for a majority of her life, senior Mia Constantin decided to continue her swimming career in high school. “I [have] been swimming since I was 7 years old. My eighth grade year was transitional for me in my sport. It was an interesting transition on to the high school team because I was considered an underdog,” Constantin said. After tr...
Xander Collazo
Q: What sport do you play and why? A: I did wrestling all four years of high school mainly because I didn’t make [the] JV basketball [team] my freshman year and I had… wrestling [experience] before. Q: Describe your favorite moment/memory in your sport. A: My favorite moment happened to be last year watching the 120 weight class state finals. They had gone into overtime. It was insane. They ...
Ashley Acosta-Iscoa
In spite of winter sports getting cancelled, Senior Ashley Iscoa is still dreaming of her senior night, walking down with a parent and her poster. Although she grew up playing soccer and volleyball, Iscoa didn’t expect to grow a passion for indoor track. “My first thought when I found out the season was cancelled was just ‘Wow. I seriously don’t get to have my last year of indoor track.�...
Jonas Miller
Last year, senior Jonas Miller had the unique role of being the team manager for the indoor track team. As team manager, Miller helped people with their events while doing the chores that other teammates didn’t have time to do. While the job wasn’t challenging for Miller, one aspect of it stuck out during that time: communication, something he learned quickly from his first days on the track tea...
David Beck
When fall sports were cancelled because of COVID-19, athletes looked to their upcoming winter season with hope. They would finally be able to get back to the sports they left behind; however, winter sports were cancelled as a result of spikes in COVID cases. Due to this reality, athletes such as senior David Beck had an abrupt end to their season without knowing it. Beck has ran since middle scho...
Dorothy Yates
Q: How long have you been doing gymnastics and why did you decide to start? A: I’ve been doing gymnastics ever since I was three or four years old. I started because my mom [saw] me doing somersaults and flipping over on the couch, and she was like, “I just need to put her in gymnastics.” Q: How have you grown since you first joined the team? A: I’ve definitely grown as a leader because I’m now o...
Nathan Brown
Q: What was your favorite memory from the swim team? A: My favorite memory from the swim team would have to be regionals last year because I swam pretty well for my event and we just had a lot of fun with the team that day. After the meet was over, [my team along with a couple other teams] chilled in the locker room and listened to music and had a good time together. Q: Who had the greatest im...
Lare Jalal
For senior Lare Jalal, gymnastics was always with her. While growing up in New Jersey and Kurdistan, she was very intrigued by the sport. When she moved to Virginia, she stopped doing gymnastics because finding a training facility was difficult at the time. When her friend senior Chloe Nichols encouraged her to join the HHS gymnastics team during their sophomore year, Jalal took the opportunity and ...
Holly Bill
Q: Describe your favorite memory or moment in swimming. A: I would say my favorite memory in swimming is last year, at regionals, I got my best time in the 200 freestyle. I tried really hard to break off my time compared to previous years. It was just a really rewarding moment because I finally out touched the other girl and it was a very happy moment for me because I finally felt like all of ...
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