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ST. FRANCIS: SENIOR CAPTAIN LEADS THE WAY
Grace Gowdy does a little bit of everything for St. Francis.
Listed as a right-side hitter on the Lancers’ roster, Gowdy plays all six rotations for St. Francis and rarely comes out of a game. But her versatility extends off the court as well.
During a match against St. Ignatius on Oct. 17, a mid-set stoppage ensued when a foreign substance – possibly water or popcorn – spilled onto the court. In the midst of a minutes-long delay, Gowdy left her position on the other side of the court and sprinted to a storage closet, procuring a towel and then heading over to wipe the spillage off the floor.
The match resumed shortly thereafter, and St. Francis emerged with a 3-0 sweep.
St. Francis’ Grace Gowdy (14) blocks the ball with St. Francis’ Ella Fulton (2) against St. Ignatius at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
“It’s awesome,” Lancers coach Lake Merchen said. “Every year, you go into the season, you’re like, ‘Alright, who’s going to step up? Who’s going to be the one that we can put a little bit more responsibility on to do all those little things that kind of slip through the cracks?’ Make sure that the team is ready to go on time. Clean up whatever’s on the court.
“Not that that’s something we’d ever ask her to do. But I think that speaks to her character and the kind of kid that she is, where she’s like, ‘Hey, I’m not going to wait for anyone else to do this. You don’t have to ask me. I’m just going to go get it done.’”
For junior middle blocker Ella Fulton, Gowdy’s leadership has been essential in shepherding along a young group with only four seniors.
“She shows what a Lancer is and what the program is,” Fulton said. “We want to follow in her footsteps. She doesn’t even need to say stuff. Her actions show us what kind of a leader she is and what kind of player we want to be, what kind of teammate we want to be.”
– Christian Babcock
LIBERTY: SENIORS HOPING TO CAP OFF STELLAR SEASON
Liberty’s Kaiahe Monteilh (10) is pressured by a Freedom defender during a flag football game on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Liberty won 33-7. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Seniors on Liberty’s flag football team has had its sights on one goal this season: Winning a North Coast Section championship.
The ballyhooed senior class that is led by star quarterback Shyanne Smith has led Liberty (17-1, 7-0) on a magical season that has the Lions ranked 27th in the nation, according to Maxpreps.
“We want to win the (Bay Valley Athletic League) back-to-back,” Smith said. “But not only that, we want to take NCS …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
