As the 2021-2022 fall sports season wraps up, so do many student athletes’ careers. For athletes who do not plan on furthering their athletic journey, this may have been their last chance to play the sport they love, and all of their teammates are trying to make it the most memorable. 

No matter what sport you play, you are part of a team, even in a more individual sport like swim. Athletes learn to always have each other’s backs and support each other through their triumphs and failures. OHS swim has had no problem working as a team and showing all of their athletes love throughout the whole season. 

“This swim team has left me with four years of the most amazing memories and relationships. I think the team has made me a stronger person,” said Kamryn Gutierrez, senior.

Not only has Gutierrez become a stronger person through being on the OHS swim team, she has also grown as a person. 

“I would tell my freshman self about all of the amazing people I would meet and become close friends with. I would tell her that one day I would be the captain of the swim team and that I would have the best time ever being on this team,” Gutierrez said. 

Although having fun is a crucial part of any sport, so is the outcome, and OHS swim has had no setbacks when it comes to performance. Sending most of their athletes to state and breaking numerous records over the season. 

“Our team broke many of the school records, and we had 13 people make it to state this year, with everyone making it back to day two,” Gutierrez said. 

Another sport that excelled this year was badminton, winning the district championship in both singles and doubles. 

“My biggest takeaway from this season was that we never gave up in close games and played hard by keeping our confidence up even if we were struggling, we still pushed through to get the win,” said Araeya Cosay, junior. 

Although playing a competitive sport can be tiring, Cosay and her team had no issues getting through the tougher matches. 

“You should always have confidence in yourself and believe you can do anything you put your mind to so that I’m confident while playing in a tough game to continue pushing myself to do better,” Cosay said. 

OHS girls volleyball is a perfect example of excelling under pressure as they went undefeated all regular season, and up until the championship game. 

“Having an undefeated season has been pretty special and it hasn’t really been done before, so it has been pretty cool to be a part of,” said Maya Kitna, senior. 

Although OHS girls volleyball did not win the state title, they still had an unbelievable season that will always resonate in the players hearts. 

“Always work hard and keep pushing yourself if you want to be successful. Always stay positive/happy and never let anyone or anything take that away from you,” Kitna said. 

Although the sport itself is important, so are academics and student athletes tend to have to learn to manage their time very quickly as their respective sport takes up most of their time outside of school. The OHS girls golf team has seemed to perfect that as almost all of their players are in honors or higher level classes. 

“Not to give up, balancing school and sports is hard but it’s worth it,” said Vanessa Avilla, senior. 

Not only are academics important, but also the social aspect of being on a team. 

“Forming relationships with the players is just as important as playing the game,” Avilla said. 

Along with girls golf, OHS boys golf has also seemed to adapt quite well to the art of time management with their academics and sports, getting better and better everyday. 

“Don’t quit, it’s worth it,” said Morgan Beynon, senior. 

With Beynon being a senior, he has learned truly how fast high school goes by, as well as high school sports. 

“Don’t wish it away, because it will be gone fast,” Beynon said. 

OHS football has also had a terrific season, playing against hard competition and coming in clutch when they need to. 

“We went against some top teams in the state and I think that really set us right for the rest of the season,” said Cody Menefee, junior. 

Not only do you have to be selfless while playing a team sport, but you also have to prioritize your goals, making it very difficult to win games, but Menefee and his team seem to be adapting to their new coaching staff and teammates quite well, as they all know to train to the best of their abilities, and there will be a positive outcome. 

“Continue to work hard,” Menefee said. “The amount of work you put in that people don’t see really benefits you more than you think.”