Sean Johnson, Senior
This past fall sports season at Palisades was one to remember. From a record-breaking athlete on the Cross Country team to another dominant year from the Girl’s Soccer team, the fall sports season at PHS was chock-full of exciting moments. Of the eight fall sports teams (Boys/Girls Cross Country, Boys/Girls Soccer, Cheerleading, Field Hockey, Football, and Girls Tennis), six of them competed in district, league, and/or state playoffs.
Photo Courtesy of: @palisadesboys_xc (Instagram)
Let’s start with the most successful sports team this fall, the Boys Cross Country team. With an overall record of 19 wins and 5 losses, the Boys Cross Country had one of their best seasons in years. After the team placed second in Districts and freshman Thomas Smigo won the District XI Individual Boys XC Championship, the Pirates moved onto the PIAA state playoffs at Hershey. At the State playoffs, the team placed 16th out of 19 while Smigo placed 7th. Along with winning the District Championship, Smigo also broke some records in his first season. First off, Smigo placed 1st in the Boys XC Colonial League Championship meet with a record time of 16:21. This made him the first Palisades male runner to win Leagues since 1991.
Photo Courtesy of: Christmascitystudio.com
The Girls Soccer team also had plenty of success this past fall. With a final record of 9-9-1, the girls had a terrific season. Even though some injuries hurt the team early on in the season, team captains Trinity Williams (junior), Cassie Mitsch (senior), and Emma Flinchbaugh (senior) kept the girls together, and they ended up making it to both the Colonial League and District XI playoffs. Goalkeeper Trinity Williams had 146 saves and 7 shutouts on the season, while forward Cassie Mitsch had 3 goals and 2 assists on the season. Congratulations to the Girls Soccer team on another amazing season.
Photo Courtesy of: @palisadesboyssoccer (Instagram)
Even though the Boys Soccer team did not have as great of a season as the girls did, they still finished with a solid record of 7-11 overall and 4-7 in the Colonial League. The boys had a young team this year (six freshmen in the starting lineup) due to the loss of many seniors from the class of 2019, but they show great promise for next year.
Next up is the group that everyone loves to see at the football games and the annual pep-rallies: the Cheerleading team. Our Palisades Cheerleading squad performed at the annual Colonial League Championship Cheer Competition, and, despite not placing in the top three, the girls did a fantastic job.
Photo Courtesy of: @palistudentsectionnn (Instagram)
Congratulations to the Girls Field Hockey team on a great season. The girls finished with an impressive overall record of 10-8, and they made it to the first round of the district and league playoffs. This team will definitely miss their six graduating senior girls next year.
Photo Courtesy of: @palipirates (Instagram)
Now to the sport that brings the whole community together every Friday night in the fall: football. Despite the Pirates finishing with a record of 3-7 overall and 2-5 in Conference, under new head coach Rami Musa, our Pirates fought hard every game and had a lot of highlights throughout the season. The most notable highlight being the win over their rival, Saucon Valley, in overtime in the last game of the season to win the bicentennial trophy. Not to mention, running back Mason Smeland capped off his junior season with almost 900 rushing yards.
Last but certainly not least is the Girls Tennis team. Our Lady Pirates finished their season with a record of 2-13 and did pretty well in the Colonial League tournament at first team doubles and third team singles.
Also, congratulations to the Marching Band on competing at the Cavalcade of Bands Grand Championship at Hershey (State championship)!
Great job to every student who competed in a fall sport, especially all the seniors for finishing their final fall sports season at Palisades strong. You will all be missed, and we look forward to seeing underclassmen take on your roles on each team next year. Now onto winter sports!
Source: mchilton@palisadessd.org & Mr. Heffernan’s weekly e-mail updates
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