By Jackson Wolff, Matt Curtis, and Julian Thomas
In addition to requiring hard work, dedication, and commitment, high school sports provide student-athletes with great opportunities to build friendships and create memories they'll never forget. Great Valley is proud to have so many amazing athletes in every sport in the class of 2020.
Senior athletes shared with us some of their favorite memories and experiences from their years playing sports in Great Valley:
Connor Ryan, Baseball: "My favorite memories are winning the final game of my junior year, the last practice of my senior year, my first varsity start, and just being around the team every day on the field, in the locker room, and on the bus rides."
Josh Behler, Baseball, Golf: "My best memory of golf was the Chest-mont championship this year. We worked well as a team through the season, and our hard work paid off with a 5th place finish."
Veronica Yonce, Soccer, Track: My favorite experiences were "definitely winning and playing well in playoff games in our own stadium. Night games, especially playoff night games, were the best."
Danny McQueston, Baseball and Soccer: "Playing on the freshmen (baseball) team was an amazing experience because we were one win away from going undefeated, and I'll never forget the great times I had at Sunday baseball practices."
Jake Ridall, Baseball, Basketball, Football: Jake, looking back on his time as a fan and supporter, said, "I loved leading the Goon Squad during the girls' basketball playoff run."
Chris Angelov, Baseball: "My best memory is striking out 14 kids in 6 innings in my first game freshman year."
Katie Olafson, Softball: "Our coach used to buy us all Rita's on the way home from away games after a win. Those were definitely my favorite memories".
Dean Siutis, Baseball, Basketball, Football: "One of my favorite memories was when Justin Harrison struck out Eric Grintz, who now plays at UNC, on a curveball and I threw out a kid at second base to make it a double play against Downingtown West. Also going twelve innings with them was fun. Another one of my favorite memories was getting an offensive rebound and putting it back up to put us ahead five against Kennett."
James Thompson, Football: "My favorite experience was playing on Senior Night as a sophomore."
Tessa Liberato, Basketball, Field Hockey, Lacrosse: Tessa's favorite memory was "going to Temple to play in the basketball district championship game."
Julian Thomas, Basketball: "My favorite memories were winning the Tip-Off-Tournament my senior year and signing kids' autographs on Senior/GVBL Night."
Nick Foehl, Tennis: "My favorite experiences were watching the hazing video with the team every year and practicing in the snow."
Graham Muscella, Football: "My favorite memory was beating Rustin in my sophomore year."
Abby Kennedy, Volleyball: "Volleyball senior night was always my favorite night because we got to decorate the gym and surprise the seniors with cutouts of them playing. We made speeches for them, tee-shirts, and overall, it was just a really fun night and a great way to show how much we appreciated them."
Dominic Caniglia, Lacrosse: Looking back on his entire time playing lacrosse at Great Valley, Dom's favorite part was "being a part of the team itself. Getting to know all the guys and fighting for the same thing."
Finn Bassill, Soccer: "My favorite memory was playing on the 9th-grade soccer' Dream Team' with Coach Oz."
Chloe Elliot, Track: "My favorite memory is the late-night bus ride back from the Yale meet."
Lindsay Gal, Volleyball: "My favorite experience was beating Bishop Shanahan on their senior night."
Mark Sabatini, Lacrosse: Mark most enjoyed "playing in night games."
Carly Stello, Lacrosse, Field Hockey: "When I think back on playing lacrosse and field hockey through high school there are lots of moments I enjoyed, but I have to say my favorite memory is walking down to the field for field hockey practice every day and getting to see all my teammates and Ms. Haley. She would always listen to everything we had to say and was always there for us, so I will miss that the most. Every practice was filled with laughter, even the practices where we ran a bunch. She was my field hockey mom."
Bella Buonanno, Field Hockey: "My favorite memory was having pasta dinner with the field hockey team because it was fun to hang out and talk to everyone outside of practice."
Casey Capetola, Wrestling: "My favorite memories were qualifying for regionals as an individual and competing at district duals as a team in my junior year."
Some of these athletes will be continuing to play their sport in college, and others will not. Either way, we look forward to seeing each and every one of these students work toward success in their future endeavors. On behalf of the Great Valley Surveyor staff, we thank all the athletes in the class of 2020 for giving us exciting content for our sports pages over the past four years. Continue to work hard and create new memories in the years to come.