panorama September 21, 2012
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Naples Cross Country Team gets off to a fast start From the Naples High School Cross Country Team
The Naples High School mascot cheers during the halftime performance of the first Naples home game of the season Sept. 15. Naples won by 39 points. (Photos by MC2 Joshua Nistas)
Naples football opens strong against Hohenfels Right: Naples High School Defensive End David Arreguin tackles Hohenfels High School quarterback David Vidovic during the first Naples home game of the season. The Naples Wildcats beat the Hohenfels Tigers 45-6 in their first Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) Division II football game. Below: Hohenfels High School quarterback David Vidovic gets tackled by players from Naples High School's defensive line Sept. 15 during the first Naples home game of the season. The Naples Wildcats made fans at home cheer by defeating Hohenfels 45-6.
The Naples High School Cross Country team carried home the Division II championship in 2011, and Coach Chip Noonan believes a repeat is within reach. The 2012 Naples Wildcats demonstrated their strength this year with an impressive first race against Sigonella Saturday, Sept. 15. The girls’ team is led by senior captain Destiny Mora. She is surrounded by well-trained, experienced runners such as juniors Amber Sheline and Isabella Lucy. The team is strengthened by the addition of middle school star turned freshman Isabela Melendez and teammates Caroline Bracken, Jessica Polu- Naples freshman Jacob Gray. (Photo by howich, and Millie Frank Spatt) Chaston. Destiny led the girls’ team with an impressive time of 21:56. She was closely followed by Amber Sheline (22:16) and Caroline Bracken (22:23). The depth of the girls’ team is breathtaking. The average mile pace of the Naples team’s seven scoring finishers was 7:19. Though the boys’ team lost the front power of John Fain to graduation last year, the team is brimming with young talent. This year’s boys look to be led by freshman Jacob Gray and closely followed by sophomore Brett Baldwin. New additions, such as Luca Melendez and senior Sam Chaston, are looking to help strengthen the pack. The boys also displayed their depth. Freshman Jacob Gray edged out Sigonella newcomer Abel Ararso with a time of 18:34. After that, Wildcats came charging to the finish line, with Brett Baldwin (19:03), Sam Chaston (19:06), Luca Melendez (19:38), and Marshall Saunders (19:49) all finishing in under 20 minutes. The boys’ team mile average was a mere 6:18. In years past, times like these would be great at the end of the season. The fact that this much speed and depth are on display so early in the season bodes well for the future. Naples cross country next faces off against American Overseas School of Rome and Sigonella Saturday at Carney Park.
Girls’ volleyball team overtakes Sigonella By Isabel Krause
fter travelling by bus for many hours, the Sigonella Lady Jaguars arrived in Naples for last weekend’s opening volleyball games. Friday night the Lady Wildcats started out strong, winning their first set of games 25-14, 25-17, 25-22. Cocaptains Victoria Krause, a junior, and Isabel Krause, a senior, set the example with 9 kills each. Junior right-side hitter Amilia Espiet and sophomore outside hitter Laneisha Jeans were close behind, each
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racking up 3 hard-hit, perfectly placed kills. The crowd cheered on as freshman setter Courtney Fukumitsu served ball after ball, leading the number of serves with 6 aces. Senior I. Krause and Sophomore Aundrea Hall closely monitored the net, blocking every ball that attempted to cross their paths with arms of steel. Saturday also brought success for the Lady Wildcats, who won their games 25-12, 25-17 and 25-16. V. Krause and Hall led the way with 10 and 5 kills respectively. Freshman Gabi Arce, Sophomore Alexis Cutler and Junior Libero Carina Cusumano each completed several wonderful passes, enabling Fukumitsu to perfectly place the ball for some earth-shattering kills. This weekend, American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) comes to Naples to challenge the Lady Wildcats’ 2-0 record. AOSR swept Vicenza last week at home to also earn a 2-0 record. The games are scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. This weekend is sure to be some great competition. Come support your Lady Wildcats!