Last time we checked on the Casa Grande’s sports teams, the season was just beginning, the players were getting ready, and they began to catch their rhythm for the season. The season has been going on for more than a month now, so how have they done? 

Baseball

In Freshman Baseball, Casa Grande had begun their season with two wins and two loses in their first four games. As the season went on, they faced some losses but also achieved victories, with their biggest win being 23-1 against Petaluma Trojans and their biggest loss being 12-0 against Windsor Jaguars. The season ended May 2, unfortunately, with a loss against Vintage Crushers, ending the season with an overall of 11 wins and 11 losses.

With some losses and wins along the way, the Gaucho baseballers enjoyed the season, making great memories and earning great experience from every game they got to play. As it’s clear, the most important thing is to enjoy whenever one is out there in the field. “My favorite moment from the season was our first win against Ukiah, because that was the first of many to come wins in my high school career,” Caiden Franks answered, when asked what his favorite moment of the season was. He showed great excitement, expressing that this season will always be remembered by him, as this was his first season playing high school baseball.  

As Franks played more games, he also “improved the most on [his] pitching throughout the season, [he] worked with a pitching coach along with the team coaches,” to help him master his pitching skills. Improvement comes as part from learning and experiencing. Another Casa Grande baseball player, Liam Allen, shared that the team’s “chemistry [this season] was great. Everyone had each other’s backs, whether it was in the dugout, during practice, or in tough games,” showing how great the environment was for the team and how everyone had equal importance being on the team. 

It’s very well known that in some teams there can be egos, people who believe themselves the most important player(s), but as Allen explained, Casa Grande Baseball’s team is different because of “how unselfish everyone [is]. Guys [are] willing to move runners over, make the extra play, and do whatever [helps] us [to] win ball games.” Allen demonstrates that everyone puts the same amount of extreme effort in order to work better as a team, making these players humble and full of responsibility. 

Casa Grande student athletes, once again, demonstrates teamwork and responsibility with their day-to-day work.

Track and Field

Most sports at Casa Grande are a competition between two teams, but when you get far enough into Track and Field, you start competing with yourself. Within this season alone, we have had several competitors run and jump faster and higher than they ever have before. Beyond even that, the oldest record in the team’s history was broken by one of the most notorious runners in the senior class, Jack Dufour, who broke Casa’s old record in the 800 meters of “1:53.7” with a time of “1:53.2.”

Dufour commented about another record broken by Jackson Metzler who “ran a really impressive 100 meters dash. He broke the old school record by running . . . 10.9. The old record was 10.94.”  Dufour also commented on Grace Sheehan, who broke the previous school record in triple jump by jumping 35’ 5.5”; the previous record was 34’ 11” (Athletic.net).

When Dufour was asked about how the team did this year, he said they had done well and even had a great “amount of athletes progress to NCS. We have a lot of really dedicated athletes who are just happy to be out there.”  

“If you are interested in joining in track, definitely join, give it a shot… it’s really fun . . . We have a lot of things outside of running . . . I would definitely recommend it.” This was Dufour’s message for the future generation of track and field athletes, showing that track and field can be a very fun and exciting experience for anyone who would love to form part of a sport, and even if one might not end up sticking to it, having the experience and memories can be something good for another future occasion.

One of the most unique and important parts of track and field is a competitors’ personal record, the time, height or distance associated with their best work. As the season progressed, athletes began to improve more and more to the point where some were able to break records. However, as it’s obvious, track and field it’s not about just breaking records or trying to be better than everybody else; it’s about being better than oneself by working harder everyday, having discipline, and most importantly, having fun. 

This track and field season will be remembered as one of Casa’s greatest, given everything that was achieved by these outstanding athletes.

Badminton

As for Casa Grande’s badminton team, the players enjoyed a fabulous season on whichthey gave their best and most importantly had immense fun. “The team chemistry was nice, a lot of people are comfortable laughing and making jokes.” Aiden Schlientz said when asked about the environment and the chemistry of the team. Explaining how it felt to work with the other players and how great everyone seemed to be to each other.

Just like in baseball, track and field, and practically in any other sport, improvement and experience is gained throughout the season. “I improved my footwork and flick when hitting the most this year.” Schlientz said about the enhancements learned this season and how he managed to improve his skills by hitting most of the time. As the season went on Schlientz and his teammates made great accomplishments like when “[they] won [the] mixed doubles varsity match and won the meet for [the] team and Schlientz favorite moment of the season which was when he “[played] men’s doubles varsity with Kallen,” another badminton player.

With the fact that the season had ended already, Schlientz and his teammates made countless cherished memories and learned lessons that will help them improve to not just be a better player but also better team members than what they already are.

The Conclusion

The season of Casa Grande sports has practically already ended, every team for each sport has made outstanding achievements: breaking records, showing team work, improving as individuals and as players. Once again, Casa Grande students demonstrate their values and the effort they put when they are out there competing for the school. As the summer approaches, the Gauchos will have a rest from this season while they wait for the next, hoping that’s even better than what this season already was.

Let’s go Gauchos!