Bearcat teams have strong return players, coaches this fall

By Polly Keary, Editor
 
As students return to class this fall, some strong athletes and coaches are returning to fall's sports teams, coaches say. And that means that fans can look forward to a fun sports season, with lots of reason to hope for high scores and maybe even post-season success, as well.
"The girls' swim team has two return swimmers that placed at State in both their events-áthe last two years, Cathryn Armstrong and Lavinya Yap, who are swimmers to watch this season," said Jennifer Smith, coach of the relatively young swim team.
And there is some new talent that could also propel the team, as well, said Smith.
"We have some great new additions this season that will help MHS Swim continue to build and strengthen," she said. "We are looking forward to the season."
A great turnout has meant a promising football season, said Dick Abrams, MHS head football coach.
"We are very excited about the upcoming season," he said.-á"We have over 100 players out, which is up from past seasons."
It's not returning players as much as returning coaches that will stabilize the program this fall, he said.
"Our coaching staff returns for our third season which gives our program consistency," he said.
And a social summer experience that some of the players had will serve the team well this season, he added.
"During the summer, our 7-on-7 team went to Cleveland, Ohio, to participate in the National Championship Finals, representing the Seattle Seahawks,-áafter winning the regional competition," he noted. "The team took 11th place in the field of 32 teams, and played against some excellent competition."
Last year was a stellar year for the team, and a few of the players who made it shine have graduated, Adams also noted. But, he said, there are good young athletes coming onto the team, too.
"We seem to be in a rebuilding mode after losing some great players from our WESCO North League Championship team of last year," he said. "We have some great young players that seem to be ready to step up and fill the shoes of the departed seniors."
The season starts on Friday, Sept. 6, when the Jackson Timberwolves visit the Monroe High School Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m.
And the boys' tennis team also had a huge turnout, said coach Tim Langley.
This year the Monroe boys' tennis team will have the largest turnout it has had in over a decade. "There are several new 9th and 10th graders who have joined the team this season, and they are progressing rapidly as they learn this new life-long sport," he said, making a special point to welcome to the team foreign exchange student Saul Escudero.
(Girls' soccer coach Kathleen Potthast and volleyball coach Lisa Woodard could not be reached.)

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