artwork by Andrew Villescas
Spring sports at TJ have ended this year and Spartans finished strong.
As the 2015-16 school year ends, so do all the spring sports here at Thomas Jefferson High School. The Spartans have shown their true colors this season, and wrapped it up with some strong moves in their last few competitions. TJ athletes have achieved some amazing feats this season, and plan to continue the streak in many seasons to follow.
Spartan athletes have made some huge improvements this year. TJ’s baseball team had an outstanding record of fourteen wins and only six losses, and the team perfected their skills as the season came to a close. “Throughout the season, we have played really well in every aspect. Our pitching has been spot on and our offense has been one of the best in the past couple of years,” explained junior Patrick McDuffie. Despite setbacks from the unpredictable Colorado weather this season, TJ baseball advanced to the playoffs but unfortunately did not make it to the state competition but they hope to make it to state next year and bring home a trophy.
Girls tennis also made a huge leap forward this year; they had a larger team and were able to connect on the courts. “This season we have done very well with having good sportsmanship and making accurate calls. The team has played well due to more girls playing this year and practicing our strokes more,” explained junior Rachel Sadler. The Lady Spartans took third place in several games at regionals and finished strong with a record of ten and one. They are pushing to continue their successful streak next year as well and hopefully make it to state.
Boys swimming, lacrosse, and track and field also accomplished impressive feats. Boys swimming is planning on sending several swimmers to state this season, and they scored well in many events. “We have had a great season this year. Everyone on the team swam exceptionally well and everyone gave 100% at every meet and never backed down even when the odds were stacked against us. I’m so proud of everyone and look forward to next season,” said junior Erik Stolz. Boys lacrosse had a record of eleven wins and four losses this year, and the players improved rapidly towards the end of the season. “Seeing a team come so far that fast made every single drop of sweat worth it. Going from a two to twelve season to an eleven to four is something incredible and every single win was hard fought,” junior Evan Domagala described. Lacrosse plans to continue improving and play even better next season. Track and field sent their 4×100 relay to state, and senior Brooklyn York is currently ranked third in the state. The coach really pushed the team to do their best this year and strive towards winning awards at state and potentially going to nationals.
Girls golf also showed their true colors this year with an increase in the number of girls on the team. “The team has continually shown improvement throughout the year. Each girl has been able to lower their scoring average in all phases of the game: driving, chipping, and putting,” explained golf coach Mark Smith. Golf improved in many areas of the game and saw a greater number of girls who enjoy playing rather than just coming out to be part of a team. Girls soccer had kind of a rough season this year but the team is now working on building together and creating constructive leadership in order to excel next year. The team certainly did better this year than they did last year and they hope to continue improving in the years to follow. Girls soccer has struggled a lot with the weather and games being cancelled as well, which definitely did not help the team this year. But the players hope to greatly improve for next year. “Individually, we’re all great players but we need to grow as a whole to become more like a team,” explained junior soccer player Karen Alvarez.
Overall, this spring season has been a success. Despite the challenges several teams faced with the snowy weather and games being cancelled, our strong Spartans pulled through and experienced a victorious end to an amazing year and they hope for many more successful seasons to come.
