M-A Bears Athletics are officially back this week as students return to campus, and athletes wrap-up preseason scrimmages. Here’s a preview of what is to come for a few of our fall sports.
Football: After finishing 5-6 in a relatively disappointing season last year,the football team is back and hungrier than ever to reclaim their throne. While this year’s team may not have the star power or level of individual talent as their predecessors, they make up for it with their level of teamwork, commitment, and heart.
Senior wide receiver Aaron Becker said , “The coaching staff took measures to help our team get together through various team bonding activities. I think that really set the tone for where our team needs to be this year in terms of our brotherhood.”
With a lot of new faces on the team, the players will need work on their chemistry this season more than ever. One of those new faces is junior quarterback Xander Eschelman, who recently transferred from Junipero Serra High School. Eschelman said, “I feel like it has been really easy to mesh with the team. I’ve had a lot of support from the entire coaching staff, and my teammates have made me feel really included.”
After allowing almost 24 points per game last season, the team has also been focusing a lot on improving their defense. Senior free safety James Gray said, “We have a lot of returning seniors on the defense so there’s a lot of leadership and experience. We know what the intensity feels like and we’ve been flying around in practice.”
The M-A football team will take on the Bellarmine Bells at San Jose City College this Friday at 7 pm in their first game of the season.
Girls Volleyball: Last year, the girls volleyball team experienced an up-and-down season, but they pushed through and made a great playoff run. As the new season comes around, the team faces uncertainty, with a lot of key seniors having graduated last year and a new head coach.
Senior Aria Sokol said, “I think we have a lot of young talent, but this season it will be more up to the players to have the drive and dedication to win.” The new coach, Denny Falls, has brought a different coaching philosophy to the team this year, believing in a more relaxed environment for his players.
Junior Ava Chansari said, “The current juniors and seniors were able to really see how the older players acted last year and I think we will all be responsible for keeping the serious tone this year.” Although the fate of their season is hard to predict, the players are undoubtedly excited to play the Sacred Heart Prep Gators this Thursday at 6:30 pm for their first game.
Girls Cross Country: Last fall, the girls cross country team experienced unprecedented success, as they won the Division 1 CCS Championships and made it all the way to States. The team now wants to make their accomplishments the new standard for the program, and they certainly have the talent to do so. Senior Annie Plfaum said, “Our goal is to get to states. We were there last year but it didn’t really go our way, so we’re all really determined to go back this season.”
The team consists mostly of seniors this year. “I think we have an incredibly strong group of seniors. We have all been here for a while now so we can build a strong team that can really build off of last year and help mentor some of the younger runners too,” said senior Tatum Olesen. The team has sky-high ambitions and expectations for themselves this year, and their ambitions are more than warranted. They will compete in the Lowell Invitational at Golden Gate Park on September 9. Do not be surprised if the team finds its way back to States in a few months.
