By Hugo Abbot '21 and Robert Mish '21
COVID-19 dealt the final blow to the end of all spring sports. Players mourned as the practices, games and camaraderie they had been anticipating for months was taken from them. The hardest-hit are the seniors, those who had worked hard their entire high school athletic career to become star players and leaders.
Tennis standout Alaister Burke ’20 felt he missed out on what could have been an incredible season for the team. “I realized that my high school career, the goals I'd written down in eighth grade, the opportunity to go back to back, were over,” said Burke. After winning the state title last year, the tennis team was poised to go back to back this year, with Burke leading the team.
Given the current situation, Burke, who will play for the University of Richmond, has taken to reading more books and going on long runs in an effort to stay in shape.
The golf team felt the same sense of disappointment. Captain Chris Schroeder ’20 had been looking forward to this season for the entire year, and Northam’s announcement to cancel school was a big shock. “It took a few days to digest that it was all really over,” said Schroeder. “I thanked my teammates for a great four years and just tried to wrap my head around it.”
After a disappointing loss last year in the state semifinals, the lacrosse team was determined to come back stronger than ever. Generating lots of buzz early on, this year’s team was locked on securing the state title, and the extremely talented group of senior players were up for the challenge until Coronavirus put an end to these hopes. Denison University commit Cole McCoy ’20 said, “We owe a ring to everyone who has been a part of the STC lacrosse community, and we could have done it this year, but we will never get the chance,” he said.
Still, he remains optimistic. “Staying in shape and looking forward to college lacrosse is how I have tried to cope with the loss of my senior season,” he said.
Head Varsity Baseball Coach Tony Szymendera demonstrates a deep love for the sport, displayed by the vast amounts of baseball paraphernalia in his office and years of coaching and playing since high school. The Upper School head said his team is devastated. “We had a great group of returning players who won the Prep League and made it to the state finals last year,” he said. “They really wanted to take that next step and show they could win the whole thing. It would have been a terrific season of growth and achievement for a group led by seniors Ben Jones, Brian Bell and Rollins Thompson.”
Benjamin Jones ’20, second baseman for the St. Christopher’s Varsity Baseball team, also mentioned the missed potential saying, “We had a team of young kids with lots of talent that had been working hard throughout the winter season. We had a mutual goal of making it to where we did last year, but not come up short in that last game at Shepherd Stadium.” He added, “It’s just upsetting to know that we couldn't have done anything to prevent this all from happening.”
Indoor and outdoor track runner Ian Smith ’20 regrets taking his time at St. Christopher’s for granted. “My team is my second family, and not being able to be with them, compete with them, and have fun with them has definitely been disappointing,” he said. “I just wish the underclassmen and coaches luck and to enjoy however much time they have left at St. Chris, because you really don’t know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. I’d give anything to go back.”
