“You had more people cheering you on,” senior pole vaulter Emily Brigham said. “I like the atmosphere of having a big team.”

Brigham won her first state pole vaulting title and broke the state meet record with a vault of 12-1.

“I work at pole vault year round so it meant a lot to finally get a state championship,” Brigham said.

Along with her state championship, Brigham also took home a second place medal in long jump. Sophomore Holly Webb medaled with fifth place in 100-meter high hurdles. The 4×800 girls team medaled sixth place and the 4×400 girls team medaled fourth place. Senior Maddie Estell placed sixth for triple jump and fourth place for high jump. The girls team placed seventh overall.

For the boys team, sophomore Kurt Lovenstein placed eighth in the 800-meters. The 4×800 meter relay team medaled in sixth place. Senior Connor Hays medaled seventh place for pole vault and junior Henry Midyett medaled eighth place for javelin.

“We had some diamonds in the rough,” boys head coach Chris Dunback said. “There were boys who outperformed expectations.”

Though the state tournament ended early for senior Keenan Ford and his 4×400 team, he found positives in the loss.

“The experience of state is better than the competition,” Ford said. “It’s a great bonding experience for the track team as a whole.”

“Honestly, we didn’t have our best game,” junior forward Michaela Remijio said. “I think we were all a little nervous just because the state tournament is such a big deal, and we had never played the teams we were scheduled to play before, so we didn’t know what to expect. There’s really no excuse for [the loss], but it’s kind of just how it happened.”

Junior forward Abby Sieperda scored the first goal of the game, but after Bishop Carroll’s last-second tiebreaker, Sieperda was disappointed her efforts did not lead to a third-place trophy.

“It sucked knowing that I really tried to help my team the best I could by scoring that goal,” Sieperda said. “It’s not a good feeling, but we worked hard as a team and that’s all that really mattered.”

The team placed fourth at state and won the league, so senior center midfielder Kayla Hamner was proud of the girls’ 15-4-1 season.

“It was a successful season, even though it didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” Hamner said. “We achieved our goal of making it back to state.”

Although the season did not end on a high note, Hamner still thought positively about her last season.

“Just being able to play with joy with my teammates [sticks out the most this season],” Hamner said. “It feels so good to smile on the field at each other and know that you have the same intentions and love for the sport as they do.”

“It felt really good [to qualify my first meet because] I did not think it was possible [since it was] my first meet and I had no idea where I was [time-wise],” McLeod said. “It was a pretty great experience.”

The team placed third at the Kaw Valley League meet, and, along with McLeod qualifying in two individual events, the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay also qualified for state. McLeod made it to finals at state in the 100 backstroke and placed 15th on Saturday, May 18.

“There was a lot of adrenaline [at the state finals],” McLeod said. “[Adrenaline] gets your blood pumping and nerves working. It really made me ready to race.”

Junior Regan Jones felt impressed with how much the team accomplished.

“[I will always remember] how much we improved from the first meet to the last meet,” Jones said. “At the beginning of the season we got last almost every meet, then towards the end we started getting first and second.”

To junior Krista Riccitello-Brewer, effort meant more than placing.

“Swimming is not really about trying to get first place, it is just you trying to improve [your times],” Riccitello-Brewer said.

According to McLeod, the team encouraged each other by cheering loudly.

“We are all so supportive of one another,” McLeod said. “My teammates cheer so [loudly] that you can hear it through the water. They’re there to comfort me and it is really great.”

“I tried hard not to think about getting to the championship, although that was very hard,” Ford said. “We all just kept telling ourselves to focus on one game at a time.”

The players’ dreams of becoming state champions became more realistic after they defeated Goddard High School 5-2 in the semifinal game.

Senior shortstop Kelli Spring said the atmosphere after winning the semifinal game was positive.

“After we won the semifinals everyone was so happy,” Spring said. “The parents were into the game just as much as us and they were supportive. It was such a great experience.”

An hour later, the team faced Bishop Carroll High School in the championship game. Carroll scored two runs in the first inning and ended up winning, 5-0. The second-place finish was the highest in the softball program’s history and capped a 19-5-1 season which included a league title.

“We were definitely the underdog but we competed and came up just short of being the first Mill Valley team to bring home the title,” Spring said. “It feels great knowing that we made history and that our team will be remembered.”

When looking back on the season, senior third baseman Taylor Brunson said successs at the state level ended her senior year well.

“Finishing second at state my senior year was amazing. In all my four years we had never won a first round game, so to get second was a huge accomplishment,” Brunson said. “It feels good to know this is the best Mill Valley softball has ever done and I’m glad that I could be a part of it.”

“It was great to see a principal say goodbye in that manner,” senior Brenna Iskra said. “It was exposed and just really true.”

Along with Waldeck, seniors, including StuCo leaders Lisa Galvan and Stephen McEnery, along with valedictorians Hanna Torline, Nathan Stacy and Maddie Estelle, and social studies teacher Jeff Wieland made speeches. They celebrated the achievements of the class, but also revisited memories of their years together.

“I thought all the speeches were great,” Iskra said. “The student speakers all testified to who our class really was and Wieland definitely gave us advice that we can use for the future.”

Iskra said overall she enjoyed the ceremony because of the energy the crowds brought by cheering, ringing cowbells and blowing air horns as the students accepted their diplomas.

“Sitting with everyone and enjoying the excitement around me [was my favorite part],” Iskra said. “I don’t think the whole concept of never coming back hit me.”

“[My favorite part of regionals] was when I beat [a player named] Wirtz from Bishop Miege. He took third in state last year so that gave me a lot of confidence for state,” Trujillo-Segura said.

At state on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11, Trujillo-Segura placed third, higher than any tennis player in school history.

“[Tennis] is a sport that brings a lot of satisfaction in the moment in which you win,” Trujillo-Segura said. “You always want to get better.”

Though they lost their second regional match, the junior doubles team of Eric Howes and Joe Vincent advanced to state after beating the St. Thomas Aquinas High School’s doubles team, finishing 4th in the regional competition. Regionals proved to be a great way for Vincent and Howes to dominate their competition.

“We played the best at regionals that we had played all season,” Vincent said. “We just went in with the right mind set and had been practicing a lot the days before.”

Howes said the pair strengthened its friendship during their regionals experience.

“My favorite part of regionals was the bonding between Joe and I,” Howes said. “[Doubles is fun] because there is always someone to pick you up when you’re getting down.”

Howes and Vincent enjoyed finishing out their season strong at state. The players were individually introduced and a large crowd attended, which made the experience exciting.

“[I wish] our whole team could make it and go to state,” Howes said. “[At state] all the season’s hard work paid off.”

Some results and game days for upcoming competitions are as follows:

Baseball will play Maize South High School in Wichita on Thursday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m.

Softball will play Andover Central High School in Wichita on Thursday, May 23 at 5:00 p.m.

Girls soccer will play Valley Center High School in McPherson on Friday, May 24 at 5:00 p.m.

Track and field qualified 39 athletes and will compete in Wichita on Friday, May 24 and Saturday, May 25.

Boys tennis sent senior Rafael Segura Trujillo to state who placed third at the competition on Saturday, May 11.

Boys golf placed ninth at their state meet in Lawrence on Monday, May 20.

Girls swimming sent freshman Sherry McLeod to finals at state in the 100 back in Topeka on Saturday, May 18.

Follow game results at http://www.kshsaa.org/