The fall semester at The Storm King School is off to a great start and our Cougar teams have hit the ground running. Over the past several weeks, all seven Varsity and JV teams have played their season openers and settled into league play, and our coaches have been working with our returning athletes and many new talents to bring everyone up to speed.
Girls Cross Country has been training hard on the trails in Black Rock Forest and around campus since the start of school. The team also ran several scrimmages in early September before competing at the Oakwood Invitational in their first league meet. Their efforts paid off with Storm King coming in 2nd place out of 5 schools. Senior runner Marisa C. ’24 was the Cougars’ top runner, placing 2nd overall with a time of 22:53.4. Sophomore Elizabeth U. ’26 finished at 10th overall and a time of 29:25.6.
The following week, the Cougars hosted 10 schools at the annual Storm King Invitational that took the runners through challenging trails in Black Rock Forest and across the SKS campus. The girls team placed 2nd overall with Marisa finishing 2nd at a time of 22:09.5 and Elizabeth placing 6th at 25:54.3.
The boys cross country team had a reason to celebrate with their 4th place standing out of 8 schools at the Oakwood Invitational. The Cougar pack was led by senior Joshua C. ’24, who finished 8th overall with a time of 20:35.2. Liam M. ’27 was Storm King’s second runner who placed 24th overall at a time of 21:46.6.
At the Storm King Invitational, the boys team also finished in 2nd place along with the girls team. Joshua and Liam finished in the top 10 out of 76 runners. Josh was the 3rd runner to cross the finish line at 19:45.0 with Liam not far behind, placing 6th overall at 21:02.8. “It was a stronger finish than their last competition for both the boys and the girls, and many runners ran minutes faster,” commented Coach Finn-Atkins after the meet.
To kick off fall action on a high note, the boys varsity soccer team enjoyed a resounding win at their season opener hosting Marvelwood, ending with a 9-0 score. “We played a beautiful, clean game. We passed the ball exceedingly well and looked like a team in mid-season form already. It was a really great day all around,” commented Coach Bennett.
Goals:
Mohanad A. ’24 (3), Luciano C. ’26 (2), Arturo S. ’24 (1), Tolik T. ’25 (2), and Joao Pedro F. ’25 (1)
The Cougars had a week to practice before their next league match at Oakwood and their skill level showed on the pitch. “It was magnificent,” commented Coach Bennett. “We played yet another beautiful game against the Lions, winning 6-0. It was great day for SKS Boys Varsity Soccer.”
Goals:
Luciano (2), Mohanad (2), Tolik (1), and Arturo (1)
The boys JV soccer team is also off to a great start the fall. After several scrimmages to start the season, Coach Hammell is very proud of their level of play. At their first match played at Woodhall, the Cougars commanded the pitch and brought home a solid 5-0 win. In their next match hosting Wooster, the team ended on the downside of a 3-2 score, but it was “a match well-played.” The team’s goals are to improve their skills and communication on the field this year.
After disappointing early results in non-league competition, the girls varsity soccer team enjoyed a win at their league opener versus Marvelwood. Excellent teamwork led by the team’s returning players rallied the Cougars to a 6-3 victory over the Pterodactyls. The team had hoped to keep the winning momentum going at a rescheduled game at Wooster, but the Cougars ultimately fell to the Generals, 1-8, in a tough match. The loss only served to strengthen the team’s resolve when they came against EF Academy the following week. “We played a very strong game wherein, despite the absence of several key players due to injury, our team performed superbly,” commented Coach Fulton, who was very proud of his team’s performance. “Ines Maria V. ’28 commanded the field, tallying 8 goals in our 9-2 victory against EF Academy. The final goal was scored by Mariah K. ’26 off of an excellent corner kick.”
The girls varsity volleyball team began their season with some new talent on the roster. According to Coach Cervantes, “our new team members have been playing consistently well along with our returning players to give the team significant depth this year.” With scrimmages and two well-played but unsuccessful games starting off their season, the Cougars came out roaring when they traveled to Oakwood to face the Lions for their next league match. Showing excellent teamwork on the court, the Cougars took the first two games 25-20 and 25-13. After a setback in the final minutes of Game 3, the team rallied to win the 4th game, 25-20, for a winning score of 3-1.
The following week, the Cougars traveled to EF Academy set on keeping up the winning momentum. After a valiant effort against a strong EF team, the Cougars finished on the downside of a 0-3 score. Despite the setback, the team rallied when they hosted Wooster the following day, winning the first game by a comfortable margin. Falling in the second game, the team regrouped to capture the next two games to beat the Generals 3-1. “The players really came together as a team and built up a lot of confidence,” commented Coach Cervantes. “There were outstanding performances by seniors Isabella S. ’24 and Maddie D. ’24.” Coach Cervantes is very proud of the team’s progress overall: “They are growing in their positions and their abilities each and every practice and game. With this level of growth, I see us going really far this season.”
Girls JV Volleyball
According to Coach Cunningham, the focus of the girls JV volleyball team this year is teambuilding and gaining valuable experience on the court. Like their Varsity counterparts, the JV squad started their competitive season with scrimmages and a loss to Harvey allowing them important time on the court.
In their next league game against the Oakwood Lions, the Cougars turned the tables to achieve “a dramatic win in a 3-game set” according to Coach Cunningham. “Ahane S. ’26 had a record high number of serving aces to help secure the winning score of 2-1,” she continued.