After a long day of school filled with rigorous AP and honors courses, students still find time to participate in sports and succeed. Students learn to manage their time efficiently so that they do their best both academically and athletically.

The 2016-2017 fall season included the following varsity sports for boys and girls: swimming and diving, golf, football, cheer, and volleyball. Director of Athletics/Physical Education, Lenny Paoletti, said that he does not think there is “another school in the state of Florida who is experiencing the success and growth that our teams are this fall.”

The fall sports had many students who worked to their maximum potential, which was obvious on the fields and courts; but among the many athletes, there were three who stood out in their respective sports: sophomore Kathleen Kelly (swimming), senior Andrew Csubak (cross country), and junior Lindsay Weaver (cheer).

J.B. Wolcott, head coach of the cross country team, said that Csubak’s growth this season began last winter.

“At that time, Andrew dedicated himself to improving his habits as an athlete, focusing on diet, rest, and recovery.  As a result, he got more out of his workouts and really grew as an athlete,” Wolcott continued. “Through the track season in the spring, he began to gain confidence as a lead runner.  This fall, his growth is more about leading by example in his role as a team captain, a role which he embraced with a humble and reserved demeanor.”

Csubak said that he observed himself develop even more this season: “I’ve grown mostly in experience. My times have improved, but I have learned more about being a leader and role model,” he said.

Wolcott described Csubak as always having been involved with running in some way. “He has only been part of the cross-country and track teams since his sophomore year. He is still developing his speed and strength, and it is likely that he will prove to be even faster this season in track, and beyond graduation in college,” Wolcott said. “We believe we have only scratched the surface of his potential here at SSES.”

The head cheer team coach Jeannine Elisha described Lindsay Weaver as someone who is “respected and liked by her teammates; she is dependable, trustworthy, fair, and disciplined.”

Weaver switched this season from being a flyer to a backspot and base because of her ability to “demonstrate any stunting position to a new cheerleader,” Elisha.  

The young cheerleader said, “My leadership skills have grown this year as I’ve taken on the role of being captain.” Elisha added that Weaver “has done an outstanding job leading the other nine girls.  She motivates them to try new skills and pushes them to be better.”

Weaver said that she couldn’t be more proud of how far the team has come this year. “We started off with a fairly new team, so it was awesome furthering all of our stunting and cheer skills,”she said. “This year I wanted to just have a great time and truly connect as a team. All of the girls are so amazing and it’s been great being able to get to know them better over this season.”

Taking a look at the swimming and diving team, head swim coach Jeff Logsdon described Kathleen Kelley as one who is “very happy and always encouraging other swimmers, especially our young fish.”

“I have seen her improve her stroke technique this season. She has really made big leaps in the mental part of swimming and is adopting a ‘can do’ attitude, removing the words ‘can’t,’ ‘won’t’ and ‘impossible’ from her swim vocabulary,” Logsdon said. “She is showing her potential as a future leader.”

Unfortunately, Kelley didn’t have such an easy start to her season: “I got injured very badly, (I was trying to pet my dog from my bed. I fell and landed on my neck, twisting a vertebrae). It’s incredible that I am even able to swim. I have been able to make a full recovery and am back and better than ever before,” she said.

Now that Kelley is back as the “vice” captain for the girls, she hopes to make it to Regionals in the 100 backstroke event.  

“I am proud of my teammates for always putting me in a great mood and making every swim season great and memorable,” Kelley said. “I would really like to swim until senior year, just making the most of it and hopefully make my children swim so they can love the sport just as much as I do.”  

Csubak said that he really doesn’t know what the future holds for him as far as running goes, but that he will continue training and see what happens. “My personal goal was to break 17:00 and I achieved that, running a 16:50.”

“Andrew’s breakout race was certainly his first win at a varsity invitational at Venice High School September 17, although his 16:50 time on a true 5k course at North Port the following week is arguably more impressive,” Wolcott said. “He has gone from being one of our strongest runners to being our clear frontrunner as we finish the regular season and prepare for the postseason. That said, his biggest contribution is his model of self-discipline and his quiet friendliness as a team captain.

Csubak said that he is most proud of how much the team has improved throughout the season. “Many of the runners have already met their season goals. We’re always messing around and having fun, but as a team we aspire to go to the State meet and finish in the top 10.”

This season, Andrew’s resilience stood out the most to Wolcott. “It seems like no matter what series of workouts we throw at him in any given week, he withstands them and he usually dominates those workouts and just gets stronger,” Wolcott said. “His speed may be impressive, but his strength is even more so.”

At Saint Stephen’s, students are able to pursue their passions not only in their academics, but in any branch of sports that they wish to explore to positively build onto their character in and outside of the classroom.