Seniors Connor Tyrrell and Philip Blum running together. Blum finished second in the state XC championship and Tyrell finished third. Photo by Simon Transue.
Men’s, Women’s XC show out at states
By Fiona Fehrman
This year at the state championship cross county (XC) meet the Riverside men’s team finished fifth overall and had two runners podium.
Seniors Philip Blum and Connor Tyrrell finished second and third, respectively.
“I hit my goal of getting a place higher than last year, and I got a PR (personal record),” said Tyrrell.
Last year at states, Tyrrell finished fourth and Blum twenty-fifth.
This year’s men’s team featured lots of experienced seniors which was a big reason that the team was so successful over the season.
“Coming into the season we had a lot of seniors so we knew this season would be good,” said Tyrrell.
Tyrrell is committed to run in college at UNC Charlotte. Blum intends to run in college and will make a decision later in the school year.
Blum and Tyrrell, who both hold school records, said podiuming together at states solidifies a historic career at Riverside.
“It was a last hurrah,” said Blum.
“I was a little worried, but seeing our names together was really cool,” said Tyrrell.
The women’s team qualified for states, too, and finished 20th despite losing its top runner to injury.
Senior Elizabeth Healy, who owns multiple school records in cross country and track, injured her hamstring, which caused her to miss the championship meet.
The women’s team had three freshman runners at States: Frankie Sheppard Olen, Baylis Healy, and Anastasia Willis.
“I think we had a great season even though we didn’t perform well at States,” said Olen. “Regionals was great.”
Racing without the team’s fastest runner and adjusting to high school competition made the season especially challenging.
“In the past two years they haven’t performed well at States, so I thought this year would be different,” she said.
“I feel like a lot of people were burnt out at the end,” said Baylis Healy.
The team’s strong bond helped it finish strong.
“That’s the best part of the team, it’s what I look forward to everyday in practice,” said Olen.
“The bond was definitely really strong, all the girls knew each other really well and looked forward to seeing each other.”
Women’s Tennis enjoys best season In years
By Isabelle Abadie
The Riverside Women’s tennis team has had its most exceptional season since 2015.
The Pirates finished 10-6 overall and 5-5 in Conference.
Senior Calista Robinson and her sister, sophomore Zoe Robinson, qualified for Regionals as a doubles entry.
Calista credited her success that led her to playing in regionals to having the opportunity to play with her sisters.
“I qualified with doubles and in previous years I had a different doubles partner,” she said. “This year my doubles partner was my sister and I think we work really well together.”
At regionals on October 21, Robinson and her sister got the fifth seed and won their first round match against Pinecrest 6-2, 6-2.
Their next match was against third-seeded Panther Creek. Unfortunately Robinson and her sister lost the first set 6-2, won the second set in a tie-breaker with a score 6-7, but ultimately fell 6-4 in the final set.
The team will lose three seniors, but five juniors will return next year.
Volleyball bands together during uncertain season
By Elodie Page
They volleyball team’s season was upended in September when DPS opened a Title IX investigation in early September.
Head coach Michael Hodge and assistant coach JaLisa Sessoms stepped down on September 13, leaving the team without a coach and pausing the season indefinitely.
Three parents, determined to help their kids finish out the season, volunteered themselves to be interim coaches: Lori Khan, Jennifer Gilette, and Maria Lewek.
Once they stepped in, the first challenge they faced was scheduling. Due to the pause mid-season the team missed two games and were able to make one of them up after the athletic director Robert Duncan worked with the school district, game officials and opponents to get it rescheduled.
Khan said coaching two teams at the same time was difficult, but worth it.
“[It’s] okay with me if I have to spend more time in the gym, coming from my practices or games to these practices and games,” she said. “We just wanted to make sure that the girls had an opportunity to finish [their season].”
These events and scheduling changes happened a week at a time, which left the athletes with their own issues.
Senior Kris’Ani Hunt said the biggest challenge was the inconsistency.
“We didn’t know what we’re doing the next week,” she said.
“We kept thinking our season was going to be canceled after every game,” says sophomore Grace Hochstetler. “We didn’t know if we were going to have practice. We didn’t know who is going to show up to practice, if the coaches are going to be there or if Duncan is going to be there. It was very unpredictable.”
The team took the scheduling challenges as an opportunity to make the most of every practice and game, not knowing if they were going to have another one.
“We really changed our mindset,” Hochstetler says,
“We used the phrase ‘We get to’ – we get to play, we get to be here and everybody is just enjoying playing the game. Wall decided to go for it and see what happens.”
The team finished the season with an overall record of 5-14, which is 3 more losses compared to last year, but the Pirates’ spot in the conference standings (fifth) remained the same.
“I’m the most proud of their resilience and their ability to maintain a positive spirit and energy with each other and with us on and off the court,” Khan said.
Duncan said the strong Riverside community made it possible to finish the volleyball season.
“Our parent group has done a huge job stepping up and making sure they’re available to be supportive and helping the ladies who’ve come on to help the team,” he said. “I think it’s really important to have that community, it’s what I feel like Riverside has grown to be and what it’s about.”
against Ashley High School. Photo by Bryan Vo.
Historic soccer season ends at Wakefield
By Levi Brown
Riverside’s best men’s soccer season in recent history ended with a 4-2 loss in overtime to Wakefield in the third round of the state playoffs.
The game was a cold, wet slog. Both teams struggled to work through the rain puddles and mud, and the once pristizne white Riverside jerseys were a dark, grayish brown by game’s end. Most balls not kicked in the air getting stopped way short of their intended target, which led to lots of frustrating moments.
Head coach Alex Ramirez said the weather forced his team to improvise.
“Any strategies, or any ideas I had before the game went out the window,” Ramirez said.
Wakefield kicked off the scoring early at about the 20-minute mark with a short and sudden drive into Riverside’s territory. Riverside senior forward Gustavo Lagos scored with a minute left in the first half to neutralize the game heading into halftime.
A fantastic second-half save by sophomore goalkeeper William Crutchfield kept the game tied at one.
Two Riverside shots on goal got past the Wakefield keeper, but the mud stopped the ball inches in front of the goal line.
Instead of ending as a 3-1 Riverside upset, the Pirates and Wolverines remained tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. And while the weather kept the game a low-scoring affair during regulation, it was a completely different story in overtime.
Only a couple minutes in, the Wolverines chipped one in to give them a 2-1 advantage. Minutes later, Riverside tied it back up with a goal from senior forward Amir El-Tanany.
Wakefield took the lead back barely a minute later, then added another goal with a minute and a half left effectively iced the Pirates’ season.
“[The game was] a coin flip,” Ramirez said. “
Dumb luck kept us from taking another high-seeded team down.”
Despite the loss, the men’s varsity soccer team had its most successful season in recent history. The Pirates were one win away from capturing its first conference title in 18 years, made the state playoffs for the first time in two seasons, and went as team as any team in school history.
Senior captain John Feller said the postseason run was a team effort.
“Everybody played an insane role,” Feller said.
Field Hockey excited for future
By Tula Winton
The Pirates finished, 2-11, but their record doesn’t tell the whole story.
Despite facing a tough 10-0 loss to East Chapel Hill early in the season, the team showed significant improvement in their rematch, narrowing that gap to just 3-0.
The team continued to show this pattern of growth throughout the season, closing in on the goal differential in their second games against four out of the five teams that had beaten them in the first matches.
Senior captain Abby Cho recognized the team’s improvement and said the 5-1 loss to Carrboro was one of their best games of the season.
“Even though we did lose on paper, we actually won,” said Cho, who scored the final goal of the match in the last few minutes.
The team will lose five seniors next season, but Cho is not discouraged. She has faith in the juniors and expects the team to keep imroving.
“We have so many leaders that are confident,” she said.
Football beats Northern, looks ahead to 2025
By Conrad Hamel
Riverside’s football team finished 4-6 for the second year in a row, but players believe better times are ahead.
The Pirates beat Northwood, Graham, East Chapel Hill and Northern, but fell to conference rivals Jordan, Hillside and Chapel Hill.
“I don’t think that we had a weak spot on the field as much,” said Cole Schweiz, one of twelve seniors on this year’s team. “I think it’s just a maturity thing, but this is expected from a young team.”
Schweiz mentioned that this is mostly due to the amount of new sophomore players on varsity.
Plenty of young talent, including running back Jamarion Ross, linebacker Jayshawn Wiley and 11 sophomores on the varsity roster, will return in 2025. The JV team had its strongest season in recent memory, going 5-2.
“I expect big things,” said Schweiz. “It’s a talented group of young men. I wish I could be here for it and I am ready to see them succeed.”
