Hawklet soccer, cross country, football, and swim and dive are all immersed in their respective postseasons. Each team is led by seniors who have spent four years as Hawklet athletes. With their fall seasons winding down, seniors are playing their respective sports at Rockhurst for the final time.
Swimmer Micah Moncrieffe says it’s “bittersweet” to think about his athletic career coming to a close.
“It’s a lot of work that I have put into it, and I’m going to kind of miss the whole team,” he said. “It also is a lot physically, so I’m kind of glad to have that off my shoulders.”
Those whose seasons have completely wrapped can reflect on what they’re walking away from the experiences with.
“I definitely feel like I’ve accomplished a lot. I definitely feel like this program has had a massive impact on me,” Caleb McNamara said.
He attributes his discipline and accountability to his four dedicated years of cross country.
“Running is the one thing that you can’t cheat. Whatever you put out there, you get back right away,” McNamara said.
Tanner Hollenbeck gives Rockhurst soccer the same credit as he gets ready to continue his career at Furman University.
“Nowhere else have I got practice every day, which is awesome,” Hollenbeck said. “That will help me for college, just playing against top level players.”
Pierce Fisher has a similar experience with Rockhurst football.
“For football, we have to get a certain amount of lifts in and there’s accountability during the off season, so I would say that one thing that it definitely helped me with is work ethic and accountability,” he said.
Something else school sport has left these athletes with are memories. Hollenbeck recounts the end of his sophomore season.
“That was some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing with those guys–those seniors, those juniors,” Hollenbeck said. “That state ride home on the bus, just listening to music, and partying after the national championship win, beating Park Hill South with six or seven seconds left.”
Athletics has a way of bringing people together—whether a singular team or a broader population.
“Rockhurst has a great community that supports all of the athletics, so you always want to give back to them,” Fisher said.
For each of these student-athletes, their biggest takeaways don’t come from any specific thing on the field, pool or course.
“If it wasn’t for cross country, I don’t think I would have made the friends or the connections I have at Rockhurst,” McNamara said. “I feel like now that the season’s done, I can really look back on the program with pride.”
“It’s shown me an example of how you can take a bunch of high school boys who have never known each other and just make them into one team to work together for one common goal,” said Moncrieffe.
“The brotherhood of being in practice every day,” Hollenbeck said. “We’ve all grown up together, and I feel like Rockhurst really just connects us all.”
