LHS squads on display at fall sports showcase

Lawrence High School junior varsity and varsity soccer players scrimmage during the Lawrence High School fall sports jamboree Wednesday night at LHS.

Lawrence High’s fall sports jamboree gave the school a chance to showcase all of its teams to fans for the upcoming season on Wednesday.

Yet it was probably the athletes who benefited the most, as they had a chance to scrimmage in front of a crowd and learn a lot about their teams.

For varsity volleyball players, who have only had two practices since tryouts ended, they were thrilled to get a chance to play in a competitive atmosphere against the junior-varsity team.

“I love it because it helps us get a great feel for how the season is going to be,” senior outside hitter Keeli Billings said. “It helps us get a first game sort of feel going before we actually have a real game, so it’s really nice.”

There were plenty of nerves and butterflies from the varsity players, as they even dropped a set to the JV squad, but they also learned what combinations of players are working better than others, and how their teammates operate outside of a practice setting.

“Yes that was so fun even though we did lose that game,” senior middle blocker Cienna Sorell said. “It’s definitely good because it lets us know what we need to work on.”

At the same time as the volleyball scrimmages, varsity boys soccer players faced off against the JV team in their final test before their season-opener against Manhattan on Friday.

“It helps a lot because we loosen up,” senior attacker Alex Mwithiga said. “We get to know how we play together. It’s like kind of a scrimmage but it helps a lot because we get to see how each and every player plays in front of a crowd.”

Though a lightning delay pushed all the night events back about 40 minutes, it didn’t stop any of the enthusiasm on the field.

The varsity football players scrimmaged against themselves, and provided a couple of highlight plays.

“To me, I get the butterflies just like I do before a game,” senior wide receiver and defensive back Zak McAlister said. “I get the rush going and all that, so it’s just like a normal game for me.

“We have more people, more of a student section, and with the band, it’s more like a game. We play under the lights. So it’s more like a game atmosphere for us.”

In between the first and second half of the football game was a run for a few laps around the track for the boys and girls cross country teams.

Do cross country runners enjoy the run?

“I do,” senior cross country runner Leah Gabler said, who ran in a banana costume. “It only happens once a year and it’s usually the only time that the school supports the cross country team because they don’t come to the meets, so it’s fun.”

Besides avoiding some of the midday heat they’ve been fighting against, cross country runners were just happy to get started.

“It’s a nice way to start the season off,” senior Keegan Matheis said, “and work on pushing yourself and getting speed in.”