by Portia White
Orcas High School senior
The Vikings fall sports season came to a close last week as the soccer, volleyball and cross country team finished up their last games of the year. Orcas will now be moving onto winter sports, which means it is basketball season.
On May 3, the soccer team traveled to Coupeville to face the Wolves for their first and final time. Orcas went into last week undefeated with the goal of keeping it that way going into the match, and they did. With four goals by August Groeninger, two by Jefferson Freeman, and one each for Tommy Anderson-Cleveland, William Garcia, Tomas Holmes and Ethan Moss, the Vikings defeated the Wolves 10-1.
Holding onto the energy, Orcas finished off the regular season with a 8-0 record after they faced Grace Academy May 5 on the road. With a hat trick and three goals by Groeninger and a goal each by Garcia, Pedro Banderas and Douglas Ha, the Vikings defeated Grace with a final score of 6-1.
Orcas went into the championship match on May 7 with the first-place seed, hopeful to continue their undefeated streak. With Providence Classical Christian focusing on defense to keep Orcas from shooting, the Vikings had to switch up their game plan. The game was tied with no one on the board going into the half. The second half of the game, Orcas started making many shots on goal, but Providence’s keeper was quick on his feet blocking all of them until Banderas scored what would be the winning goal for the Vikings. The final score of the match was 1-0, with Orcas taking the League Champion title.
Volleyball finished up their last week of the season on the road. On May 5, the team took a trip to Concrete where the Lions and Vikings rallied through yet another 3-2 score, where Orcas came out victorious. Orcas took set number one, starting off strong, with the winning point being scored with a hard hit by Bethany Carter that was unable to be returned by the Lions. Like Carter’s hit, after being sent a great set by Tayla Malo, senior Lindsey Simpson sent the ball flying over the net that Concrete couldn’t get under, scoring Orcas the winning point of the day.
To finish up their season, Orcas volleyball traveled to Coupeville on May 8, where the Vikings took the lead in the first part of set number one. The Wolves quickly picked up speed as the set went on, giving set one to Coupeville. Orcas took Coupeville’s mistakes to their advantage as they went into set number two. After a timeout called by Coupeville near the end of the second set, Simpson sent her serve right over the top of the net, unable to be stopped by the Wolves, giving her an ace. This created some much-needed energy on the court, but not enough to take the set. Orcas rallied through the third set as well but were unable to stop Coupeville, finishing the afternoon 0-3.
Viking volleyball finished this season with a 3-7 record.
Even with a very short season, the Vikings have shown great improvement, according to coach Mike Kulper.
The OIHS Cross Country team visited Mt. Vernon Christian on Friday, April 30 for a league meet involving the host school and Coupeville. The top OIHS finisher was Ryan Derr in 8th place in a time of 21:29:63 over the 5K course while Finn Ontjes was the next finisher in 10th place in a time of 21:52:31. All of the OIHS runners did well over the flat, mostly grass course, with best times for this shortened season. On May 6, the OIHS Cross Country team competed in the league championship meet against Coupeville and Mt. Vernon Christian at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island. Will Stephens was 7th in a time of 21:42 for the 5K course, while Ryan Derr was 9th in 21:46 and Justin Derr was 10th in 21:54. Nisha Woolworth finished 5th among the girls in a time of 26:36, while Izie Janecek was 7th in 27:47.
Orcas finished up their season strong with many new runners this year.
This week marks the start of the basketball season. Spectators will not be allowed, but games will be streamed for everyone to view. The first game is on May 15 at Concrete.
