The cardboard box containing my brand-new Chromebook is pressed into my sweaty palms, a reminder my first moments of high school were rapidly approaching. I adjusted my mask, and peered down at the sticky note on the box. My email address started with 25, my year of graduation. “2025?!” I thought, “that’s so far away!”
Four years later, I’m down one mask, two rows of teal braces, and the rubber guards on the bottom of my Chromebook. But these losses pale in comparison to the priceless memories made through CRLS sports.
As a member of the cross-country team, I cherish the sarcastic, silly, competitive energy I find at practice every day. In the process of writing an article on fall sports, I realized I was not alone in having mixed emotions about my last fall sports season. I interviewed other seniors, and we agreed on two key points. First, we wanted to relish every minute of our final seasons. Second, we could never have imagined the richness of the friendships we would come into during our time at CRLS.
Girls varsity soccer captain Isabelle Larabee ’25 explained, “Being a part of the soccer team has honestly been the number one highlight of my time at CRLS”. Larabee has been on the team for four years now. “I’m just really trying to enjoy these final moments before CRLS Seniors Reflect on Their Final Sports Season it’s all over.” Alejandro Rojas-Pratt, a player on the boys varsity soccer team concurred, “The best word would have to be bittersweet. You spend so much of your time with these people during the season they become your closest friends, whether you like it or not. It feels like it’s time to take our next steps, though, but at least now we know that we are not doing it alone, because these connections we have made are truly special.” No one I interviewed was ready to leave just yet. Despite sentimental feelings, the seniors remained focused on team success and expressed hope and anticipation for their final seasons. Stella Finley ’25, who is a member of the girls crew team, told the Register Forum, “We have just wrapped up our pre-season which went really well. It’s looking like we’ll continue to have a strong team going into the 2024- 2025 season.”
Aurora Hill ’25, a captain of the Modern Dance Company, told the Register Forum, “The Modern Dance Company is my sport, community, and home away from home.”
Gael Medina ’25, a member of the boys cross country team, shared the same sentiments, reflecting, “When I was a freshman, I thought the seniors were mostly sad about only having one more season left; I anticipated I’d feel the same. However, entering my senior year, I feel grateful, not only for the final year ahead but also for the ones already passed. My time competing for CRLS has almost run its course, pun intended, and I know when it does I’ll be satisfied with how far I’ve come.”
This article also appears in our September 2024 edition.
