The Storm King Cougars are roaring ahead this October whether they are practicing or competing on the court, pitch, or trail. It’s been a great month, with Boys Varsity Soccer enjoying a winning record and runners on the boys and girls cross country teams consistently placing in the Top 20.

After their 1st place win at the Darrow Invitational, the Storm King harriers traveled down the Mountain to race on the grounds of their historic rival NYMA this month. Three SKS runners finished in the Top 20 including Joshua C. ’24 who placed 2nd with a time of 19.24.6 followed by Liam M. ’27 who finished 4th at 19.31.0 and Eric W. ’27 who crossed the finish line in 11th place at 20.31.2.

On their trip to the Woodstock Day Invitation the following week, the Cougars ran a tough race, with a top runner dropping out due to injury and one runner, Liam, finishing 2nd overall with a time of 19:23.3, placing Storm King in 5th place. After more than a week of practice on the Black Rock Forest trails, the Cougars were determined to place high when they faced Marvelwood and 1o other schools at their next meet. Unfortunately, it was another tough run for Storm King where the Cougars placed 6th overall with Liam finishing 10th at 21:09.6 followed by Joshua finishing 15th at 21.23.6.

Season Record:  1 W – 5 L

The girls cross country team also traveled to NYMA, bringing home their first 1st place win of the season with four Cougars finishing in the Top 10. Senior Marisa C. ’24 had a great day crossing the finish line first overall at a time of 20.39.0 followed by 3rd place runner Elizabeth U. ’26 at 24.32.6, Eva G. ’26   in 6th place at 28.34.6, Leni R. ’26 in 8th place at 29.08.3, and Christine S. ’25  in 10th place at 33.11.2.

The winning momentum stayed with the girls team at the Woodstock Day Invitational where the Cougars captured another win, placing 1st overall. Marisa once again finished 1st overall with a time of 20:41.8, followed by Elizabeth at 25:14.0 in 3rd place, and Eva G. taking 5th place at 26.14.2. At their meet at Marvelwood the following week, the SKS Cougars succeeded in placing 4th overall with Marisa placing 1st once again; passing the lead runner from Wooster in the last half-mile to maintain the lead to the finish at a time of 22:16.2. The next Storm King runner to place was Elizabeth finishing 15th at 26:48.9.

Season Record: 2 W – 4 L

October has been a strong month so far for Boys Varsity Soccer. After a short-lived setback versus Harvey earlier in the month, the Cougars hit the pitch running when they hosted the Oakwood Lions in their next match. Baring rainy weather and a muddy field, the Cougars were down 1-0 at the half, but succeed in rallying in the second half to come out on top over the Lions, 5-0. “Simply, it was a job well done,” commented Coach Bennett after the game.

On the road to Darrow the following week, the Cougars commanded the field bring home another win, 3-2, over the Ducks. Coach Bennett reported, “It was a solid, hard-fought game.  The boys faced the most adversity so far this season and handled it almost professionally. Junior Sagan N. ’25 scored our first goal which set the tone for the rest of the match, followed by sophomore Luciano C. ’26 who scored twice for the win.”

The rest of October went quickly with three consecutive home games. The first against EF Academy resulted in a 3-2 win for Storm King, with Joao Pedro F. ’25 scoring two goals unassisted and one goal by Luciano assisted by Lucas B. ’25. Their winning momentum was unstoppable when NYMA traveled up the Mountain for the Cougar’s next match. With 2 goals each by Diego V. ’25, Isaiah D. ’24, and Tolik T. ’25, and one goal by Sagan, the Cougars cruised to a final score of 7-0 against the Knights.

For their next game hosting Darrow, home advantage stayed with the Cougars for a comfortable win over the Ducks. Two goals by Mohanad A. ’25 and 1 goal each by Arturo S. ’24, Tolik, and Joao clinched the match at 5-0, in what was “quite possible our best game as a team so far this season,” according to Coach Bennett.

Season Record: 7 W – 1 L

The boys JV soccer team added two wins to their record this month. After a loss at home to Wooster in late September, the Cougars had a chance at redemption when they traveled to face the Generals once again in early October. “The teams played a very tough game, but both sides displayed amazing performances,” commented Coach Hammell following the Cougar’s 5-1 win. “Congratulations to Ren T. ‘26, who scored four goals on the day.” Facing Wooster again the following week, the Cougars continued their winning ways, bringing home a second win with a resounding score of 7-2 over the Generals. Unfortunately, in their next match at Woodhall, the Cougars fought hard but ultimately fell 2-4 to the Phoenix in a tough game.

Season Record: 3 W – 2 L

Following their stunning win at EF Academy, the girls varsity soccer team hoped to keep the momentum going when they traveled to Holy Child for their first October match. “Our girls played hard to the end in a match against a very tough team despite several injuries and intense opposition throughout,” commented Coach Fulton after the Cougar’s disappointing loss, 0-11. However, the tides turned for the Cougars when they hosted the Oakwood Lions the following week. “The team played extremely well in wet and rainy conditions, managing to rally for a tie score, 2-2, despite missing a few starting players. Both goals were scored by Ines R. ’28 for SKS,” reported Coach Fulton.

Storm King were confident on their home field when they hosted Sacred Heart Greenwich after 10 days of practice, but the Cougars were no match for the strong Sacred Hearth team, ending on the downside of the 0-4 score. However, the Cougars were unphased when they traveled to Oakwood to face the Lions two days later, playing an excellent game against the Lions with Ines, Juliana D. ’27, and Amber L. ’25 scoring 1 goal each for a 3-1 win.

Season Record: 3 W – 5L – 1 T

October has been a busy month for the girls varsity volleyball team, who added five games to their record.  In their first game versus Marvelwood, the Cougars outplayed the Pterodactyls in the best of 4 sets on to finish the day with a winning score of 3-1. “It was a great home match against Marvelwood, with many of our younger players seeing good varsity competition,” said Coach Cervantes.

In their next game against Faith Christian Academy, the Cougars continued with excellent teamwork and play on the court, but ultimately fell to their rivals 0-3 after a strong effort. “The Cougars played hard to the end in a match against a very tough team despite several injuries and intense opposition throughout,” commented Coach Cervantes after the game.

In their third October game against Harvey, the Cougars hit the court roaring and determined to win. With excellent serving and play, SKS was up 2-0 going into the 3rd set.  “Their passion was evident and they fought really hard to keep Harvey from the win,” commented Coach Cervantes. “The team played their best volleyball of the season with powerful hitting at the net, blocks and tough serving,” continued Coach Cunningham. “Although the team dropped the next 3 games to come out on the bottom of a 2-3 score, we were very proud of their efforts and communication.”

Later in the month, the Cougars added two more games to their roster, hosting Oakwood for a win (3-1) in 4 sets over the Lions and a loss to the Wooster Generals, 1-3. “Isabella S. ’24 served in the 3rd set for 13 points in a row,” explained Coach Cervantes. “The team really showed resilience to the last point in the fourth set and rallied after a slow start. Imani P. ’26 displayed some outstanding play on the outside.”

Season Record:  5 W – 6 L

GIRLS JV VOLLEYBALL

According to Coach Cunningham, the girls JV volleyball squad is continuing to have an excellent season as they improve their skills and gain experience on the court. The JV Cougars added two more games to their record so far this month, falling 1-2 on the road against the Harvey School Cavaliers and again to the Oakwood Lions, 1-2, on their home court. “We are proud of the team’s overall growth this season. We are also thrilled that all of our players have now been able to successfully serve and experience court time during competition,” commented Coach Cunningham. Next up, the JV Cougars traveled to Wooster where they fell 0-2 to the Generals. “While it wasn’t the outcome we wanted, the team played well together and 8th grader Dayana C. ’28 clocked 8 serving aces,” said Coach Cunningham.

Season Record: 1 W – 5 L