Cross Country
Varsity Cross Country (Mens and Womens)
The Varsity Crusaders Cross Country Teams started the season with the largest varsity cross country team in GCS history, 28 athletes which included six seniors. Currently, our teams have been working really hard and competing well in our new conference, R.A.A.C. Both our Men’s and Women’s cross country teams are currently ranked second in the NCISAA State 2A. Seniors, Abigail McNeill and Lillian Schmitt are leading the Lady Crusaders this season. Senior Alex Larsen and Grant Jacques, Freshman, are leading the Varsity Men’s team.
Both teams are preparing for two challenging courses: Conference Championships at WakeMed and the State Championships at Hagan- Stone. The teams have raced against tough competition at the Wilmington Beach Blast, The Jungle Run Experience and Hagan-Stone Classic, which include 3A and 4A schools. These races have pushed our athletes to become faster. Everyone is continuing to set personal records and some have set all time career records. It has been an amazing season and we look forward to our final month competing.
MS Cross Country (Boys and Girls)
The Middle School Cross Country team kicked off the season with many participating in our summer workout program. The runners have done a great job competing at the Liberty Kickoff Race and continuing to perform well in our new conference. The runners are working hard getting ready for our Conference Championship meet at WakeMed Park.
Golf
Varsity Womens
Our season has been going well, we went from 4 players last year to 10 this year so it’s great to see the program has this much interest. Our current top 3 players are all first year competitive golfers. We are being led by 7th grader Jaylin Ferencz who has our lowest average to par at 21.13 followed by 11th grader McKenzie Matthews who’s average to par is 22.23 and 8th grader Joslin Ferencz at 22.40.
Coach Fields went on about the program saying, “I encouraged by what I am seeing in our team, they are putting the work in to better themselves. In fact, at our match Tuesday our team score was 157 which beat our previous low score from the past 2 years by 6 strokes. We look forward to seeing this program continue to grow and become more competitive in the future with the great team we have!”
Soccer
Varsity: Overall (7-10) Conference (5-3) State Ranking: UR
The Crusaders started off the season slow after replacing many key pieces on last year’s State Championship Team. However, this young team has been growing each and every week and currently finds themselves and went into their most recent matchup with Union Pines holding a five game win streak. With two conference games remaining in the season the boys still have a chance to take second place in the RAAC this season. The boys are getting stronger by the day and are peaking at the right time… right as states come into sight. Team Leaders include: Landen Shockey – shots and goals, Luke Garris – steals, Chris Gomez leads – assists, and Griffin Matthews – saves.
MS: Overall 6-6-2 Conference 4-4-2
The young MS team has faced some tough competition in their new RAAC Conference and has also faced a tough non-Conference schedule as well. Despite their youth they still hold a .500 record with two games to play leading into the Conference Tournament which begins play on October 10th. Leading the way for the Crusaders are Jordan Wilson with 9 goals this season and Tripp Martin is right behind him with 7. The net has been shared by Eli Spivey and Stephen Leathers this season who have improved each and every week. The boys will have the #3 Seed heading into this week’s tournament.
Volleyball
Varsity: Overall (16-5) Conference (9-1) State Ranking: #9
The Lady crusaders have had an awesome start to their season. Their current record is 16-5 and 9-1 in conference play. As a new contender in the conference, they are making quite an impact as the #1 seed. Kaleigh Wilson leads the team in kills and blocks. McKensie Boyte leads the team in assists. Emma-Grace Dubuc leads the team in digs. The girls have sealed the regular season Conference Championship and Head into the tournament as the #1 overall seed. Way to go ladies!
JV: Overall (10-2), Conference (7-1)
The JV team is hot on the heels of the Varsity team as they themselves only have one loss in Conference play and boast the #1 seed heading into the tournament this week. This JV team is composed of mainly underclassmen and despite taking on teams with players much older than them these girls show up and show out. Be sure to catch them in action this Monday at Home as they take on Friendship Christian in the first game of the JV tournament.
MS Green: Overall (9-5) Conference (6-4)
The middle school volleyball green team has proven to be a contender in the new 2A conference. The girls continue to grow in their skills as a player and bond with each other on and off the court. Currently their record is 9-5 and they look forward to making a run as the number three seed in the RAAC conference tournament.
MS Gold: Overall (3-8)
Middle school B team (gold team) has worked very hard this season. While the team is developmental the girls overall have improved tremendously. Our record currently this year is 2-7. Emma James and Brianna Maness lead in serves. Leighton Jacques, Delaney Harmon, and Brooklyn Hall have had multiple digs and saves on the court. They are growing together as a team every practice and game.