by Maleny Mireles
The rainy May weather failed to doom the roaring Cougars in the 2019 spring seasons. The Cougars took advantage of every ray of sunshine and outshone their opponents.
Surpassing Coach Schellinger’s 100th career win, the Cougars hold a strong 20-4 baseball season record. The boys remain undefeated in the Southern Division of the NIC Conference and were ranked fourth overall.
“Compared to last year, I think we had a better goal for the season and we had all the pieces last year, but we put them together this year with more energy and confidence,” said the Cougars’ senior pitcher Hunter Robinson.
Along with the boys, despite a few cancellations, the girls advanced to a 16-7 softball season record. Their recognition was spread across several news stations after disrupting Penn’s 49 consecutive conference win streak, beating them 2-0.
“Despite getting the win we wanted against Penn, we still had our good and bad games. We struggled with stooping to our opponents’ level, but we’ve been doing well,” said the Cougars’ senior first baseman Amanda Trojanowski.
Switching the bats for rackets, girls’ tennis improved with a 12-7 season record. The girls found their motivation in playing for their coach, Joel Hostetler, who had been recovering from an open heart surgery. The girls found it a reason to work harder.
“We switched our lineup a few times, but we learned to work in the spots we were placed in,” said senior player Anna Holvoet.
The swinging doesn’t stop after the bats and rackets. Boys’ golf continued to improve match by match with a season record of 4-8.
“My golf season has been going pretty good and the team isn’t as good as it has been in the past, but it has been the most entertaining year I’ve had,” said the Cougars’ senior golfer Mason Taylor.
Dropping all equipment and picking up their feet, New Prairie track and field participants continued in their dedication for the sport. Boys’ varsity track finished in fifth place at the NIC Boys’ Track Championships and girls’ varsity finished eighth.
“Every year being on the track team and having to push myself at practice motivates me to try harder in all aspects of life,” said senior runner Sarah Fronk. “If you want to do track then take it seriously and you will see many improvements in yourself physically and mentally.”
Overall, the New Prairie Cougars never fail to represent passion, dedication, and sportsmanship in their competitions.
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