High school student-athletes dedicate a lot of time and effort to their lives working at the sports they love. Come senior year, it is rewarding to take a look back at all of the memories and hear about what they have accomplished.

As the seniors’ high-school careers start to wind down, it is important to recognize them for their achievements and contributions to the athletics program. At State High, the athletic teams reward the senior class’ hard work on a special night of the season to acknowledge the inspiring journeys they have been on.

During the winter season, State High sports just recently wrapped up their senior nights. The seniors felt a mix of emotions, varying from the sadness of playing in one of their final home games to the excitement of getting a meaningful win before the playoffs. Despite the emotional night, multiple State High teams fought hard for the seniors and were able to come out on top.

The Girl’s Swimming and Diving team graduated many seniors: Jade Castro, Kate Doucette, Lydia Geiger, Maggie Hayes, Maggie Huggins, Ally Koehle, Lauren Prenatt, and Meredith Sulman. On senior night, the team had a home meet against Cumberland Valley. Cumberland Valley has always had a talented swimming and diving team, but State College battled hard and won the meet against a competitive opponent.

Jade Castro, a senior, who is committed to Auburn University, experienced some emotion during the evening. “When we all sat down for our slideshow, everyone started crying because most of us are committed to swimming in college and are going vastly different places. It all kind of hits you in one second,” Castro said.

Castro had a memorable final year in her high school career and strongly enjoyed the moments she had with her team. “This year we were all super, super close and I love how there is no jealousy on the team and everyone is just happy to see other people succeed,” she explained.

The Boy’s Basketball team graduated a total of eight seniors: Lake Black, Dylan Davis, Finn Furmanek, Kevin McKenna, Jack Morris, Ryan Perks, Braeden Shrewsberry, and Jahmir Urie. With four out of the five starters on the team being seniors, the older group is the main core to their success. On senior night, the boys played Carlisle. They had a solid 34-19 first-half performance and kept a steady pace the rest of the game, winning 65-40.

A senior, Jack Morris, loved the atmosphere senior night brought into the gym. “There is something different about senior night, especially when you are a senior. No one wants their senior night to be spoiled by a loss, so for me, I would say that the energy and excitement everyone had is what makes it special,” Morris stated.

He also added how it felt to be a senior and how quickly his high school career went by. “Senior night felt surreal because I have watched seniors go through it for the previous 3 years, and now that I am the one walking through, it just reminds me how time flies,” Morris said.

For the girl’s basketball team’s senior night they played against Chambersburg. The Lady Little Lions were not threatened and led the way from start to finish. The State College girls won swiftly, with a final score of 65-39.

While the boy’s basketball team graduated many seniors, the girl’s basketball team graduated only one, Madison Fry. Fry was the senior leader of the team and found it to be difficult at times. “Being the only senior on the team brought some pressure. There aren’t other people that I can relate to during this season,” she said.

Despite this challenge, Fry still had a blast the whole season, especially on her senior night. “I really appreciated what the team did and it made me feel really happy that people were recognizing me,” she said. The girl’s basketball team’s senior night had the pep band join in on the fun, and fans created special handheld pictures of Fry to cheer her on as well.

Senior night is a great way to express gratitude for senior contributions. It is a tradition that student-athletes look forward to each year. While the evening can be emotional, it is also a gratifying opportunity to reflect on the athlete’s high school career.