SPORTS 4
According to head coach Mandy Windhand, "boys swim and dive hopes to have its best season and strongest showing this year." The boys put in the work to make this happen during their summer practices. Swim's largest full team meet is GACs Oct. 23 and 28-29. Varsity's goal for their season is to go for their 4th consecutive title at GACs. "We concentrate on every single person having a successful season. We celebrate each other's successes. We hope to have our best season and strongest showing this year than ever before. The boys are dedicated to putting the work in to make that happen," Windhand said. Backed with a talented cast, the band is confident in its training and its upcoming performance. The band named its performance after the artist Kusama, the inspiration for the show. Free of the COVID-19 restrictions, the band is seeking to perform stronger than ever. "It's more than a show," senior Peter Huelsing said, "it's about communicating her art style and story to the audience." To create a unique experience, the band maintains a similar technique of footwork and choreography, but chooses a varying theme and different additions to create an overall new feel each season. After waking up since early June at 7 a.m. to go to summer running, the Cross Country team traveled to Memphis for the Memphis Twilight meet, Sept. 4. Top runners include juniors Graham Black and Abby Meyer. Black ran an average of 40 miles a week plus workouted over summer. He hopes to get under 16:30 during a race. Meyer ran an average of 17-36 miles a week. "Last year I was dealing with injuries and other issues so I don't have a personal record. I'm just going to see how fast I can go," Meyer said Sept. 11, the Forest Park meet will be one to watch, since the course has been re-done and claims to be "extra fast," according to Coach Ryan Taylor. As the Girls Tennis season continues, the team will face some of its most significant threats. Following 2020's GAC South Championship, the Vikings are eager as ever to keep winning. "Our most important game will be against Timberland," senior Cassie Lanham said. "They are one of our biggest competitors." The team is confident that they'll hold their own against the Wolves Sept. 16, even though they'll be at Timberland. "We've spent the last couple weeks finding out what different players' strengths and weaknesses are," senior Olivia Pinzke said. Girls volleyball prepared for its in early June with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday hour and a half practices "We worked on skills, conditioning, and playing three times a week. It was a great way to get back on the court, work hard, and meet new people that are my teammates," freshman Avery Helmes said. Big games to watch out for are against the team's rivals: St. Dominic, Timberland, and Howell Central Varsity plays Howell Central Sept. 14. at home and Oct. 5 at Howll Central. The girls then play Timberland Sept. 28 away. Players to watch this season include senior Isabelle Ehrlich, Helms, and sophomore Avery Guisinger. Friday, Aug. 27, varsity boys soccer traveled to Quincy, IL, for the Quincy Notre Dame tournament, where the team took second. Over the summer, the boys practiced each weeday from at 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the stadium and the Amnex field. Varsity competed in two summer-league games against Liberty and Marquette. "I am super excited because it's my first year playing soccer for Howell and to make things even better, it's my senior season," senior Zach Dischbein said. Howell's biggest rival is Howell Central with two meet ups: Sept. 14 at home and away Oct. 5. Pressure began to build for the Girls Golf team with the Sept. 2 Troy Invitational, at the Woods Fort Golf Course. The team placed third out of all 15 teams. "My senior class is made of the best leaders this program could have," Coach Jason Ruth said, "All of them are golfers to watch out for." With the new addition of juniors and sophomores, tensions are higher than ever as members compete each week for their varsity spot. "The growth within our junior and sophomore classes over the last year is very noticeable," Ruth said. "I'm excited to see what our golfers will do to claim a varsity spot." Varsity girls softball started open fields and weights in the middle of June, every Tuesday and Thursday. "I would say our biggest rivals would have to be Central or West. These two teams are always giving us some of our most challenging games of the season," junior Madison Illingworth said. Varsity plays Howell Central Sept. 7. at Maryville University. Then, at home Oct. 2, varsity plays Ft. Zumwalt West. Varsity football defeated its rivals, Ft. Zumwalt North, Sept. 3, 42-13. The game had a large turnout of around 7,000 fans. "The turnout was insane," senior Cole Walters said. "It's like nothing I've ever experienced, and it was awesome to get that win for all the fans." Senior Max Wilson suffered an ACL injury during the game against Hickman, Aug. 7, which took him out of the season. Sept. 3 was his first game as a defensive assistant coach. "It's hard to watch the guys play when I can't help," Wilson said. "Its definitely given me a new perspective about worrying when it involves stuff you can't control. I've learned to lead from the sidelines instead of on the field." Varsity's next game will be at Granite City, Sept. 10. "We're going to blow everybody out this season," senior Damon Williams said. "We've got a lot of potential and the sky is the limit." The team won't face DeSmet, CBC, or Kirkwood in districts. "Even if we don't have a clear shot to victory, I believe through practice and hard work, we're going to get that ring and take it all home," senior Nick Yost said.
SPORTS PREVIEW
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent feluctus orci vitae molestie. Vivamus placerat felis at neque vestibulum commodo. Vestibulum aliquet leo Keeping the ball in motion, freshman Thomas Thoman (4) stays in stride. "I Like being in the moment of the game," Thoman said. JV lost their home opener against Oakville to a nail biter 2-1. Photo by: Owen Sikorski Sprinting ahead for a secure spot in the race, cross country runs the time trial Aug. 28. The time trial was a race between the team to see who will be first seven finishers for varsity and top JV. "I tried my best and ended up doing way better than I thought. I was happy with my place as top JV," junior Ethan Milam said. Photo by: Ryan Barr, used with permission Sophomore Kylie Hayden bumps up high for her fellow teammates in order to secure their lead. "My favorite part of the whole game was how my part played into our team win," Hayden said. Photo by: Ally Meyer Diving at the tri-meet between Central and North, senior Jordan Switzer does a flip, Aug. 31. The meet ended up get- ting canceled due to rain and the next meet is Sept. 14 at Pattonville. Photo by: Ada Pipkins Cheering after a touchdown, sophomore Jude James runs to the sidelines, Sept. 3. Howell won 42-13 against Ft. Zumwalt North. "Jude had a great game. He never seemed to be intimidated being a sophomore playing varsity," senior Booker Simmons said. "It was the biggest crowd he'd played for and he was pure excitement." Photo by: Ada Pipkins
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept. 10
Varsity Football @Granite City, 7 p.m.
Sept. 10
Varsity Tennis @Howell Central, 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 10
Varsity Softball vs Hazelwood West, 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 14
Varsity Golf @Ft. Zumwalt West, 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 14
Varsity Volleyball @Howell Central, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 14
Varsity Soccer @Howell Cental, 7:15 p.m.
Sept. 14
Varsity Softball vs Eureka High School, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 16
Varsity Soccer @Rockwood Summit, 7:00 p.m.
Sept. 16
Varsity Softball @Timberland, 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 17
Varsity Football vs Ft. Zumwalt West, 7 p.m.
Sept. 17
Varsity Soccer @Saint Dominic, 5 p.m.
Sept. 18
Varsity Soccer @Rockwood Summit, 12 p.m.
Sept. 20
Varsity Softball vs Webster Groves, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 21
Varsity Soccer vs Holt High School, 6 p.m.
Sept. 22
Varsity Football @Rock Bridge, 7 p.m.
Sept. 21
Varsity Softball @Ft. Zumwalt West, 4:15 p.m.
Spotlight Francis Howell High School fhhstoday.com Vol. 51, Issue 1 Sept. 2021
Bea Schneider & Tyler Rauser, writers
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