The pinnacle of Catoctin’s winter season

Richelle Zheng
CHS Class of 2025

(4/2024) Even if mother nature can’t make up her mind, winter sports slowly approached their end as spring sports began to take their places on the field. However, Catoctin’s girls varsity basketball and the indoor track teams continued their journey into off-season competitions.

The Lady Cougars basketball team continues to demonstrate their prowess in off-season competitions. The Lady Cougars finished off their regular season with an astounding win against Walkersville High School, 50-34, and ending with a seasonal record of 19-3. With the closure of the regular season, they kicked off their off-season competitions at the CMC Championship on February 24. The Cougars faced Middletown High School at North Hagerstown, which was where the semi quarter finals were.

The first quarter of the game began with the Cougars leading 11-7. The girls maintained their lead over into the second quarter of the game as well with 15-8. The team's rock-solid defense stood their ground into the second half of the game only letting the Middletown Knights score 12 points, further increasing the gap to a double-digit lead 26-15. The strong defense allowed the team to take the win 43-27, with senior Grace Williams leading the team with 16 points and five rebounds. Additionally, junior Taylor Smith contributed 12 points and four assists along with sophomore Brooke Williams scoring ten points, six rebounds, and five steals.

On March 1, the Lady Cougars headed into the playoffs against Boonsboro High School. The Lady Cougars had a slower start to the game and tied with the Boonsboro Warriors 8-8. Then, the girls stepped up their game in the second quarter and made easy points with some turnovers, taking a lead against the Warriors, 26-14. This great lead allowed the girls to start off strong into the second half of the game where they increased the gap, 36-18. The Lady Cougars continued to stay ahead of the Warriors all throughout the third and fourth quarters of the game, ending with a 46-35 victory. Top contributions made in this game were: Kelsey Troxell who made a double-double with 11 rebounds and scored 16 points; Brooke Williams who chipped in with 15 points, eight rebounds, six steals, and five blocks; and lastly Smith who bagged nine points and five assists.

At the MPSSAA West II Regional Championship game against South Carroll High School on March 6, the girls continued to be undefeated. They won the 1A Regional Championship, 48-38! The number three seed South Carroll High School came into the game strong by scoring 18 points during the first quarter, taking the lead 18-14 against the Lady Cougars. However, the Lady Cougars, the number one seed, quickly turned the game around by only allowing the South Carroll Cavaliers to score five points as they struggled against the Cougars' intense defense. The Cavaliers made headway at halftime 23-19. The Lady Cougars are always up for a good fight, solidifying their defense and taking the lead 34-27. The girls maintained their lead into the fourth quarter, resulting in their victory. This hard fought match was led by Smith who racked up 16 points, four assists, and four steals. Additionally, Brooke Williams contributed 12 points. Grace Williams chipped in with nine rebounds and Troxell aided in the team’s win with eight points and eight rebounds. The victory from this close match moved the Lady Cougars onto the next level– the State Quarter Finals.

On March 9, the second seed Lady Cougars competed against the seventh seed Surrattsville High School Hornets in the State Quarter final. Starting the game off strong, the Cougars came out with their feared defense creating a 16-4 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Cougars preserved their lead with 16-0 as well as into halftime, with a 32-4 lead against the Hornets. The girls made their way to victory by easily scoring points, totalling up to 48-8 in the third quarter. The Cougars effortlessly secured a victory with the final score totaling 55-18. Rebakah Zentz and Harley Fitzpatrick, making up the solid defensive wall, held the lead scorer from Surrattsville to only two points during the entire game. Brooke Williams contributed to the win by scoring 14 points, and making five steals and for assists. Furthermore, senior Peyton Davis and Kylie Perhach also pitched in, with Davis adding five points and Perhach making five steals.

The Lady Cougars moved into the MPSSAA State Semifinal game on March 13.Their opponent was Southern Garrett High School. Even with the teams’ star point guard, Taylor Smith, out for the season due to an injury, the girls continue to show their strength. The Lady Cougars started off the first quarter with a strong 9-2 lead. By the end of the first quarter Southern Garrett began to gain momentum, closing in on the gap against the Cougars, 15-14. The tension in the game began to build up as both teams fought for the lead in the second quarter. Southern Garrett taking a one-point lead into halftime. The Cougars clapped back during the third quarter, and held Southern Garrett to seven points and took the lead by the end of the quarter, 37-36. Still, Southern Garrett managed to defeat the Lady Cougars in the fourth quarter, where the Cougars originally had a one point lead with under a minute left in the game. In that minute, Southern Garrett stole the ball with ten seconds left in the game, scoring a layup and taking the win. This tough match ended 55-52 in a Southern Garret victory. Leading the team was Brooke Williams with 18 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Grace Williams chimed in with 12 points, and Troxell with nine points and six rebounds. Zentz and Sam Orndorff both made four assists as well. The conclusion of this season marks the second time that Caotctin’s girls basketball has made it to states in only three years!

Indoor track and field were also able to advance into off-season competitions: the New Balance Nationals and the Adidas Track Nationals. First, the New Balance Nationals, was held at Boston, Massachusetts from March 7 - March 10. Furious Trammel ran in the 400-meters championship preliminary and placed 11th, with a time of 48.85 seconds. Shaymus Stull, Dennis Lease, Gabriel Riling, Deacon McIlvaine, and Trammel, from the boys track team, all qualified for the Adidas Track Nationals. The Adidas Track Nationals was held at Virginia Beach Sports Center, Virginia from March 15-17. Stull competed in the 55-meter dash elite prelims and placed 74th, with a time of 6.80 seconds. Stull also ran in the 60-meter dash, finishing with a new personal record of 7.32 seconds. Trammel ran in the 400-meters championship finals with an incredible time of 48.55 second. His performance placed him in second and marked his new personal record in the event! In the 800-meters elite finals, Lease placed 74th out of 101 runners with a time of 2:07.29 minutes. Riling competed in the 1600-meters elite finals and ran a time of 4:34.25 minutes, putting him in 25th. From the girls team, Olivia Baker, Aniston Casne, and Keira Taylor were all invited to the event. Baker ran in the 800-meter elite finals. Baker finished her event with a time of 2:31.87 minutes. Casne and Taylor ran in the 1600-meters elite finals with Casne finishing at 5:41.58 minutes marking her new personal record and Taylor finishing at 6:00.69 minutes. Both teams worked hard and represented Catoctin well!

There will be some exciting new developments from Catoctins spring sports teams, as they are all training diligently in preparation for regular season competitions. Catoctin tennis, outdoor track, baseball, softball, lacrosse, and unified track teams are all preparing to show their Cougar pride throughout the season.