Windsock

More Pictures from Thursday's Game

                  

                     Collision! Malia and Kara mixing it up

                  

                    J.J. Hostetter's throw-in

                  

                     Leah Jacobs

(Pictures courtesy of Sunday Club Productions)

EMHS Girls Soccer Dominate Grace

Under ominous storm clouds, EMHS girls varsity soccer ripped Grace Christian, 5-0, in the Blue Ridge Conference semi-finals Thursday afternoon in Park View.

The Flames, 11-0 in conference play, set the tone right from the opening kick-off. Just 30 seconds into the game, Junior Vaughn Strickler (left) just barely missed a shot left of the goal. Thus began the afternoon of domination. 

The Lady Flames were far more aggressive than Grace, winning most 50/50 chances and controlling the midfield. After several close chances, EMHS finally broke through with a goal at 13:26 with a crisp give-and-go between Strickler and 8th Grader Emily Myers, with Strickler tucking the ball in the left side of the goal.

While a Grace midfielder exhorted her teammates that "One goal doesn't matter," EMHS almost immediately added a second. Just thirty-four seconds later, Junior Becca Suter blasted a shot from outside the 18 through the outstretched hands of Grace's goalie. "I take a lot of shots from outside the 18," Suter said. "I try not to crowd the forwards too much."

Emily Myers (right)added her name to the scoring list when she ripped the left side-net at 18:39, while also giving the Flames a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 halftime lead (which incidentally, was Senior Manager Kendra Miller's prediction for the final score).

EMHS continued outplaying and outhustling Grace in the second half. A strange play happened in the 44th minute, as Senior J.J. Hostetter's corner cross was "stomached" in by a Grave defender for an "own goal."  J.J. also scored the last goal of the afternoon at 47:28 when she slipped a rebound shot past the right of the keeper.

Heroics remained, however, when Sophomore Caitlin Bucher replaced Senior Julia Johnson in goal. After a foul in the box, Bucher stopped a Grace penalty kick by diving to her left. "I know her because I've played with her before," Bucher said of the opposing player. "I just focused on the ball."  Coach Eberly added, "Last night [in practice], she had four or five saves like that."  Bucher  saved the shutout again a few minutes later when she stopped a Grace breakaway with another dive.

The Lady Flames next play Saturday afternoon against the winner of the other semi-final match between North Cross and VES. Suter said, "It should be another good game. I'm feeling confident for it!"  Coach Eberly feels like the team is on the right track, saying, "In the last month or so, we've played our best soccer. We're seeing each other well, and we have a great spirit right now."

Sounds like a must-see game on Saturday, and the state tournament beyond!

(All pictures courtesy of Sunday Club Productions)

Girls Soccer Blasts Chatham Hall

On a dreary, soggy Tuesday afternoon, EMHS girls varsity soccer ripped conference foe Chatham Hall 4-0, improving the team's record to 6-3 (6-0), while dropping Hall's to 5-2-1 (4-2-1).

Expecting a tough, physical battle, EMHS jumped out to a quick lead when freshman Leah Jacobs started the scoring with a goal at the four minute mark. Junior Becca Suter followed with her own at 18:00, sophomore Emma Beachy put the game out of reach at the 36:00 mark, and fellow sophomore Caitlin Bucher blasted a shot past Chatham's goalkeeper to finish the scoring at the 71 minute mark.  EMHS goalkeeper, senior Julia Johnson, was tested only three times.

The soccer team travels to Virginia Episcopal on Thursday.

                               

                                     Becca controlling the middle

                              

                                   Freshman Leah Moore on D

(Pictures courtesy of Chris Garcia!)

Zook Featured in DNR

Junior Aaron Zook and his track teammates have a double vision problem: they receive very little attention, both from EMHS itself and the local media. Part of EMHS's lack of attention is due to the size of the team, and part to the fact that the team hosts only one track meet a year. As to the DNR's lack of attention, with the preponderance of local public high schools (Spotswood, Harrisonburg, Turner Ashby, Lee, Fort, Broadway), it makes covering sports events here at the smaller EMHS difficult.

Today, however, that double vision has been corrected: Zook is a feature in the DNR's sports section. Mostly due to the fact that Zook came in second in the 1600 meters at the Turner Ashby Invitational back on April 12, the article also covers a wide range of topics, including quotes from Coach Lester Zook (also Aaron's father), former EMHS student Dan Nafziger, and a quick history of the Zook family tree of runners here at EMHS.

While much of Dustin Dopirak's article focused on the lack of opportunities for EMHS runners, Aaron remained positive about his experience here, saying, "I've got opportunities here. I was third in the state for cross country. I was third in the state, I was third in the conference. Then on Saturday at the TA meet, I went out and I could still run with these public school guys. I've thought about [leaving], but I really wouldn't be any place else than EMHS."

To see the rest of Dopirak's article, click the "feature" link above.

Track and Field

EMHS showed an impressive performance at the track meet last Tuesday.  Although the team lost by 2 points, this is due to lack of participation in some key events, including all of the throwing events (Javelin, Shot-put, etc.).  EMHS dominated in the distance events, but was beaten out in the shorter distance events.  A somewhat notable exception was the 4x400 relay, which the EMHS team won by a fair margin.  Not bad for a bunch of Mennonite distance runners!  Still, the impression was that they weren't really racing each other, but just trying to top themselves, which made it very relaxed.  Overall, a solid meet.

Boys results

3200m Relay

1st-Team A          9:00

2nd-Team B         10:13.4

100m

1st-Blosser, L.      24.3

1600m

1st-Zook, A.         4:49

2nd-Shenk B.        5:22

4th-Bender, J.      5:51

6th-Yoder, A.        5:59

7th-Eshleman, T.   6:07

800m

1st-Akerson, N.      2:21

2nd-Souder, J.       2:35

3rd-Yoder, A.         2:42

1600m Relay

1st-EMHS               3:59.3

Girls Results

100m

4th-Rimer, S.         16.9

200m

4th-Rimer, S.         36.1

3200m

2nd-Hampton, R.    21:23

1600m

2nd-Hostetter, B.    6:02.8

800m

4th-Clymer, V.         3:34.6

5th-Pusey, J.           3:57.6

Unisex Results

400m

2nd-Hostetter, B.     58.5

6th-Oberholtzer         105.5

- Joe Phillips

Blitzkrieg Player Tops 1000!

Mitchell Leap, and the basketball team in general, have had a very rewarding season.  Indeed, Leap enjoyed the honor of topping one thousand points in his career at EMHS, becoming the first player to do so since Nathan Hartzler.  Neither is it hyperbole to describe him as a blitzkrieg; Mitchell and his speedy, offensive tactics (and point guard role) have made a fine contribution to EMHS's Varsity Basketball heritage, with a 14.3 scoring average per game over three years.  It was in his last season that he really shone, however.  Starting the season with 490 points, he and Travis Nyce were the strongly defensive team's main offensive scorers, and the 522 points Mitchell scored stand as a testament to their efficiency.  Mitchell is the ninth player to score 1000 at EMHS, with a total of 1012. 

Varsity Boys Basketball had an interesting time in general this winter.  Dillion Brunk was persuaded to join after seven games, adding manpower and talent that allowed an upsurge in game wins, including a powerful home triumph over Fishburne Military school (placed second in the conference), 85-57.  Mitchell commented that this was a really well played game, "One of the games of our lives."  In general, EMHS varsity performed quite well, finishing with a 12-13 record, a number that belies several dramatic victories. 

The team seems to have had a good season.  Coach Bechler noted that the team shifted very much towards a generally defensive strategy, leaving the offense mainly in the hands of Mitchell and Travis.  Mitchell commented as well that there were more offensive players last year, but that there was plenty of great defense this time around.  The team played very well together, with a great deal of cooperation and helping each other out, and a sense of unity seems to have pervaded the season.  With five seniors leaving next year, new personnel will need to be found.  No doubt it will be, and new heroes will take to the court!

- David Jost

Preview to Track and Field

EMHS’s track and field team consists of eighteen students headed by Coach Lester Zook.  Twelve high school students, six junior high, five women, and thirteen men, all practice and attend meets together.  Every day for the past month they’ve been practicing from 3:40-5:00, getting ready for their track meets which start in just over a week. 

Track teams typically have three broad categories which they compete under; sprinters, jumpers, or distance runners.  EMHS is primarily dominated by distance runners, partially because people who ran cross country in the fall come out for track, and also because EMHS doesn’t have a football team, and, “Football teams are what produce sprinters,” said Coach Zook.

Lester Zook has been involved in track and field for about thirty years, running throughout high school, and then for Messiah college.  For the last twenty years he’s been the head cross country coach at EMU, so when EMHS’s previous track and field coach stepped down a couple years ago, Mr. Zook thought the job would be a good use of his time. 

EMHS has some good competitors on its team, including Lucas Blosser who finished 3rd in the state championship in hurdles last year, and Matt Layman, who’s working on a sub-5 minute mile. 

There are a various reasons kids enjoy the track team, whether it’s because they have the goal of beating their personal record on an event, or because they like the social aspect of it.  Lucas Blosser says it’s partially because, “Most of my friends are distance runners.” 

It seems, “A lot of people tend not to do track because they’ve only known running as a punishment, because in other sports, coaches make them run if they’re bad,” said Brook Hostetter who runs the mile for the Varsity team, “they look at running as a bad thing.”  She says that once you actually run because you decide to, “It’s really fun, and makes you feel good about yourself."

- Eric Broderson

Tennis Preview

Tuesday, March 11, the EMHS boys’ and girls’ tennis teams started their seasons with a bang; girls against Turner Ashby High School, 7-2 EMHS, and the boys in their first match against Fishburne Academy, score 9-0 EMHS.

“We felt really good after the scrimmage. [There were] a lot of good things,” said coaches Jennifer Young and Christie Osbourne. We “definitely need some practice but overall it went well,” agreed sophomore captain Katy Bergey. The EMHS girl’s tennis team graduated 6 out of 13 of its players last year after a very successful season, but both coaches and players feel confident of another good year to come.

“One of our goals is team bonding,” said Bergey, including a close relationship with coaches. Even though she just finished playing a winter basketball season with Young and Osbourne Bergey says that she “really loves it,” and states, “I’m really close to my coaches so I think that it’s great to be around them all the time."

"Fishburne is probably the weakest team that we play," said boys' coach Luke Schrock-Hurst, "we won all 9 matches. I think that we will be every bit as good as we were last year,” he continued. Unlike the girls, EMHS guys tennis only graduated two seniors last year, and don’t have as much ground to cover in terms of recovery.

"The EMHS tennis program is growing," said Schrock-Hurst, "We have JV coaches Steven Stauffer and  Nate Derstine for the first time this year who also happen to be alums and the number 2 and 3 on EMU’s tennis team." The JV team is unusually large this year with 12 teammates. “We decided not to cut anyone,” explained Schrock-Hurst.

EMHS girls lost a heartbreaker to Harrisonburg yesterday, 5-4, while the guys walloped Spotswood, 9-0.

Girls Roster                                               Guys Roster
Sr. Amy Leap*                                         Sr. Eric Broderson
Jr. Linda Lim                                             Sr. Lucas Schorock-Hurst
Jr. Bethany Gingrich                                  Jr. Vincent Morra
So. Katy Bergey*                                        Jr. Junsung Choi
So. Kate Miller                                            Fr. Christophe Langouet
So. Wonsun Seo                                          Fr. Nathaniel Morra
So. Bora Jung
Fr. Olivia Deputy

- Kara Lofton

Baseball Season Preview

At EMHS, baseball has never seen much of the spotlight, but this year, things just might be about to change.  As 2nd year Coach Jason Stulmiller put it, "If everything goes as planned, we could make it all the way to the championship game."  Stulmiller would know: he played catcher for EMU two years before coming to EMHS.  This season brings many new players to the Flames, including Connor Wolfe, Isaac Driver, and Jae White.

Said senior pitcher Stefan Baughman, "Right now our biggest challenge is just staying healthy... staying healthy and keeping our guys academically legible."  That may indeed be a problem.  Both JV Soccer and Basketball have had players benched due to poor grades.  But Baughman is quick to add, "We've got a bunch of talent.  Our team could really play well this year."

Whatever happens, count on it being a bonding experience for both players and coaches.  8th Grade Outfielder Isaac Driver told me "It's been pretty hilarious.  (My teammates) are really funny."

- Mikey Cranston

Soccer Preview

The snow is melting, the sun is out, and spring is in the air.  This means different things to different people, and to some, it means girls soccer season.  The Varsity girls team has been practicing for some time now, and has already played a couple scrimmages and one game.  According to Coach Sherman Eberly, "It's a young team, but they have experience."  There are only 3 seniors on the roster, and most of the players are sophomores.  "We have a lot of sophomores on the team."  agreed senior keeper Julia Johnson (pictured left).  Despite this, all the players have soccer experience.  "All of them have experience playing at the club level or the school level," said Eberly.

The coaches this year are Eberly and Jim Lofton.  Eberly has coached college mens soccer for 9 years and high school boys for 4 years, but has never coached girls.  "They are not as intense as other coaches," said midfielder Jessica Hostetter, "they let us take the initiative."  According to Eberly, he and Lofton are not designating either one "Head Coach," instead co-coaching the team.

There are a few issues this early in the season.  "We are struggling a bit with team dynamics," said Hostetter.  Still, there is a lot of potential on the field, and expectations are fairly high.  "I am cautiously optimistic," said Eberly, and that seems to be the general consensus.  "It's a new year, and we are pretty hopeful," said Johnson.  It will be an exciting season, and well worth paying attention to.  (Angelina pictured above)

NAME                                            YEAR           POSITION

Lucy Baker                                     10               Fwd

Emma Beachy                                 10               Mid/Def

Hannah Bell                                    12               Mid

Caitlin Bucher                                 10               Keeper

Haley Chico                                    10               Mid/Def

Sarah Grace Fitzimmons                  11              Def

Meg Hertzler                                   8                Mid/Def

Jessica Hostetter                            12               Mid

Malia Hostetter                               10               Def

Leah Jacobs                                     9               Fwd/Mid

Julia Johnson                                   12             Keeper

Kara Lofton                                      10             Mid/Def

Leah Moore                                      9               Def

Emily Myers                                      8               Mid

Kristen Myers                                   11              Def

Angelina Pardini                                9                Fwd/Mid

Ranita Shenk                                    10               Mid

Kaitlin Stauffer                                 10               Fwd

Vaughn Strickler                                11               Fwd

Kierra Stutzman                                10               Mid/Def

Rebecca Suter                                   11               Fwd/Mid

Manager:               Kendra Miller

Coaches:               Sherman Eberly and Jim Lofton

- Joe Phillips