2022 fall sports kick off to a great start

By Emily Harrington, Reporter

The 2022 fall sports season at Vashon Island High School is off to a great start, with six different sports in progress. This year’s teams are excited to be playing again, and look forward to upcoming competitions.

Cross Country:

The cross country team is enjoying the start of the season and has already had a few meets. This year, the team’s numbers are made up of a mix of returners and newcomers.
“I’d say the team works really well together. Every year, even though there’s a new group of people, there seems to be a really good dynamic,” junior Madeline Yarkin said.
This year the team hopes to be able to send some runners to the state meet.

Soccer:

Even though the girls soccer team lost many key players who graduated last spring, they are still enjoying the season and this year’s team.
“I think the team is really fun this year,” varsity co-captain Leah Gross said. “We work really well together, and a lot of us have been playing with each other for a long time.”
The team has been focusing a lot on their playing skills, and hope to make it as far in their league as they can.

Football:

The football team is excited to be playing this year, and has already had an impressive start to the season.
“I think the season is going really well so far,” senior Oskar Weiss said. “There have definitely been a lot of physical obstacles and just mentally because our head coach died and that was really tough on the team. But I think that it’s something that just made our team a lot closer than we were last year, because now it seems like we’re playing for a cause instead, and we have a lot more of a purpose.”

Cheer:

This year’s cheer team is a small but tight group, instructed by Melody Thomas, the new head coach this season.
“I like [the coach’s] energy, and how she’s very outgoing,” senior Maria Guerrero-Rivas said. “Right now the team is mostly freshmen—last year there was more diversity across the grades. I like that the team is small, but it would also be nice to have more people so that we could do more things.”

Tennis:

The boys tennis team is having a fun season so far and is looking forward to upcoming matches. This year’s team has a lot of new players and a mix of people from different grades.
“[The team] has definitely changed, but we work very well together,” senior Nick Zuckerman said. “It’s very flexible who plays in which position, and a lot of our skills are very balanced.”

Volleyball:

The volleyball team is also enjoying the season, as well as getting to know each other.
“Last year there were a lot of seniors on the team,” junior Scarlett Papenfuss said. “Since they all graduated, and we have a lot of new people, the team feels very different. I think that we’re closer, because we’re a lot closer in age.”

This season’s teams are filled with many new and returning athletes who are excited to be playing again. Each team would love to get support from the community as they represent Vashon each week.