Soccer 

Last night, the Varsity Boys’ Soccer team defeated local rivals Out of Door Academy 4-1 in the District Finals. After a crushing defeat on penalties last year to ODA, the Falcons finally got their revenge thanks to goals by Leo Martin, Ewen Cloutier, and Kieran Cloutier.

Senior and captain Kieran Cloutier was fired up after the win, especially because of the opponent. 

“We fought together to reach one common goal, which was the complete domination of ODA,” Cloutier said. 

This was the first district title victory since 2023. The win meant a lot to the older players, but it was also a really great first experience of tournament play for the younger players. 

Freshman and goal scorer Leo Martin was very excited about playing in the District Championship.  

“It was a magical moment, and I loved being with the team,” Martin said. 

The Falcons now move on to the Regional Quarterfinals with a record of 10-3-2. They currently sit second in the state in Class 1A with a great shot to win the state.

Weightlifting 

This past weekend, the Varsity Girls’ Weightlifting team competed at Hoagland Arena in the Weightlifting District Championship. For the fourth year in a row, the team won the competition and secured the Traditional and Olympic titles for the district. 

The girls’ determination, hard work, and dedication were on display for the whole meet and ensured their big victory. 

The team had many highlights from this past weekend, including many PRs (personal records), one in particular from sophomore Dana Barber. 

“Getting a PR in snatch,” was a highlight, said Barber. “The support from my teammates,” also stood out to Barber. 

The team scored high on the whole, with special attributions to Makaila Hertzler, who won traditional for her weight class, and Dana Barber, Emily Dowd, and Leah Kyrsiak, who won both traditional and Olympic categories for their weight classes.

Head Coach Erik Schulz was very proud of the effort that the girls put into not just last Saturday, but the whole season as well. 

“The team did a great job of listening to what we were saying and following the program this year,” said Schulz. “After losing 5 to 6 of our top lifters last year, we knew it would be tough to win again… but everyone did an awesome job of staying the course and lifting heavy.”

Schulz also commented on how, when he needed girls to step up and move up weight classes for the meets [in order to secure more points], everyone was able to commit. 

“Girls like Leah and Dana did a good job of committing to going up a weight class,” said Schulz. “That helped us to get first-place finishes there.” 

Schulz also said that the dynamic that the team has created this year has been one of the strongest yet. 

“This team I also thought did a good job all year of supporting each other,” said Schulz. “Staying as a unit and working really hard and seeing the hard work pay off,” was very rewarding. 

This coming Saturday, the team will travel to compete in Fort Myers for Regionals, where they will face some of the best competitors in the state. 

The regionals meet will be smaller this year, according to Schulz, meaning that it may be easier for the girls to secure a runner-up regionals title. 

“I think we have a shot with the way that the team is performing right now,” said Schulz.