Spring sports on the homestretch

Gina Lin
CHS Class of 2024

(6/2023) Catoctin’s athletic program has performed very well this season in various sports especially, baseball and softball, lacrosse, and track. The success of Catoctin’s sports teams counter some of the bittersweetness experienced from the senior class’s departure.

Cougars softball is heading to state championships this year. Playoffs began on May 8th with both Catoctin softball and baseball earning top seeds. The contentious CMC championship took place on May 15th at Hood College against Urbana High School. Urbana won the CMC’s with a score of 2-1.

The region quarter finals began on May 11th, the Cougars advanced to region semifinals on a bye. The Cougars blew away the opponent in the region semifinals on May 15th. Catoctin won 16-0 against Clear Spring High School. The Cougars faced Williamsport High School (whom they fell to last year) in the region finals on May 17th and pulled away with a 3-0 victory. State quarterfinals took place on May 19th, the Cougars played Allegany High School. The Cougars gave their best and prevailed 1-0 against Allegany. Smith led the team by striking out 19 of the 22 batters with her signature riseballs. The state semifinals competition will be held on May 23rd at the Bachman Sports Complex against Mardela High School from Wicomico County.

Catoctin’s star softball players, sophomore Taylor Smith, and junior Meghan Gray, were featured on The Final Score podcast. Many of Smith’s and Gray’s achievements were highlighted. For example, Taylor Smith increased her strikeouts from 200 to 300 in just a month. They also discussed their teams performance during regular season games. Gray acknowledged that the team wasn’t to their fullest capabilities during regular season games, given that many players were injured including Gray herself. This affected Smith’s pitching, as the two would practice pitching and catching. But, freshman Kassidy Kreitz stepped up to assume Gray’s role and performed well. But, Gray noted that the team is in good shape heading into state competitions.

Smith commented, "Having someone behind the plate and having a hitter to count on is reassuring," Smith commented about Gray. Gray reciprocated positive comments of her teammate by describing Smith as, "always putting in 110% when she's at work, there's never an off day for her." Smith, also a star basketball player, described her struggles to balance multiple sports. "Sometimes there is softball practice right after basketball." The players seemed pretty confident about the team this year as they learned their previous mistakes. The loss to Williamsport last year dring state quarterfinals was unexpected. Gray said, " [We need to] focus on one game at a time."

Smith likes the pressure being put on her because the success of the game is determined by her pitching. "I’ll make sure that I can pitch to the best of my ability." But, Gray highlighted that they can only prevail in states if they have a strong team. She gave credit to unsung players like Carli Mazaleski, for hitting second, and Kassidy Kreitz. Gray exclaimed, "That girl hits the ball so hard." Additionally, Madison Ohler is center fielder and leads the outfield which is relatively weak. The softball team sure is poised to take on competition at states.

The baseball team did pretty well this season also. On May 9th, the Cougars headed to the Central Maryland Conference championship against Urbana High School, the top seed in the 4A region.The game ended on an unprecedented note, as the Cougars and Hawks were crowned as co-champions. The game was called off due to darkness at the beginning of the eighth inning. By that time, seven innings were played in two and a half hours. During the duration of the game, each team took turns making advances but ultimately ended in a tie 3-3. The teams don’t play against each other during the regular season; they were waiting to see how it would unfold.

The Cougars automatically qualified for the region semifinals, on a bye from region quarterfinals. Catoctin dominated the field during the region semifinals on May 13th against Williamsport High School with a win of 6-0. The Cougars fell short of qualifying for states. The region finals were held on May 16th against Clear Spring High School. Clear Spring advanced to states with a 3-0 victory against the Cougars– it’s almost like deja vu from last year's regional finals. The Cougars performed well overall and met their coaches expectations, considering the relative youth of the team.

Cougars boys lacrosse has noticed some significant improvement since the previous season. The team was ranked second in the Gambrill division with four wins and one loss; and nine wins and three losses overall. Some exceptional players include senior Jameson Doll, juniors Vince Reaver and Charles Dougherty. Doll has a total of 37 goals and 20 assists this season, as of May 11th. The team qualified for the Central Maryland Conference Gambrill Division championship, on May 4th, against Smithsburg High School. Smithsburg made headway in the first half, leading by five.

The Cougars pulled themselves together and earned a few points in the second half. In the end the team couldn’t squeeze past Smithsburg. But, Cat lax (the informal nickname for the team) did make progress in 1A regional competitions. The Cougars beat the Brunswick High Railroaders in the regional semifinals and advanced to finals. The regional finals took place on May 15th against Smithsburg High Leopards. The Cougars weren't able to push past the Leopards and in the end the latter won 10-9.

The track team continues to make headlines across the nations and stun spectators with the incredible speed and agility of their runners. Junior Furious Trammel was named Athlete of the Week by the Frederick News- Post after his performance at the Frederick County Championships. Trammel set a new record in the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.75, the previous record was held by another Catoctin runner with 48.86. Brody Buffington also broke records in both the 100 meter and 200 meter dash at championships. The 1A West Region Championships were held on May 18-19 at Boonsboro High. Buffington and Trammel took first and second respectively in the preliminaries. In the 200 meter dash, Buffington placed first and Asher Clingerman ran a personal best of 22.62 which earned him second. The Cougars also conquered the 4 x 200 relay with a time of 1:31.31 minutes. The team consisted of Dennis Lease, Shaymus Stull, Asher Clingerman, and Brody Buffington. The finals took place the following day. The Cougars were narrowly defeated by Mountain Ridge High for first place, as Catoctin was only 10 points shy.

Catoctin High School sure has had an eventful sports year. The community has much to be proud of, from girls’ basketball to unified bocce. The end of the regular spring season serves as an appropriate conclusion to this school year; and is a great reflection of the Cougars capabilities.