Best of 2021: Sports

Olympics

The 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan was postponed last year due to Covid being such a global threat. This year’s games began on July 23 and finished on Aug. 8. One of the biggest stories from the games was U.S. Gymnast Simone Biles opting out of the All-Around Gymnastic competition after struggling with mental health issues. The Olympics implemented five new Olympic events: 3 vs 3 Basketball, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Surfing, and Karate. The United States finished in first place with 39 gold medals, followed by China with 38, and Japan with 27.

NFL

This year the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV. After Tom Brady left the New England Patriots in 2020, he immediately won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9, and took control of the game, going into halftime 21-6. Tom Brady was named the Super Bowl MVP, making it his fourth Super Bowl MVP in his 21-year-career. He finished the game completing 21 passes, with 201 total yards, and three touchdowns. The Super Bowl was also one of the first events of 2021 that allowed a large number of fans in the stadium. The Super Bowl held 22,000 fans, with 7,500 of those being health care workers, invited to honor health care workers during the pandemic. Super Bowl LV was also the first time in history a team played in their own stadium for the Super Bowl. Hosted by Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida, the Buccaneers had a clear home-field advantage, with most of the stadium being full of Buccaneer fanatics.

MLB

This year the Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series in six games of a seven-game series against the Houston Astros. The Braves came a very long way from where they stood in the middle of July, when star Outfielder, Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Acuña won the 2018 National League (NL) Rookie of the Year award, as well as being named to the 2019 NL, and winning a Silver Slugger Award. The Braves outscored the Astros 28-22 throughout the series, and seemingly dominated with their pitching staff. Jorge Soler was named the 2021 World Series MVP, with his fantastic performance in the series.

NBA

The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games of a seven-game series. Giannis Antetokounmpo was the unanimous NBA Finals MVP and was dominant throughout the series. Antetokounmpo posted 50 points and 14 rebounds in his astounding playoff performance. The closest game was the Bucks’ 123-119 win over the Suns in Game 5. After being down 2-0, the Bucks won four straight games to win the NBA championship, over the Western Conference Champion, Phoenix Suns.

NHL

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens in five games of a seven-game series to win the Stanley Cup. The Canadiens only win came from an overtime win in game four winning 3-2. The closest loss they had was in the final game losing 1-0, but the Lightning dominated the first three games having the closest of those to being a 3-1 victory. Andrei Vasilevskiy was named the Stanley Cup MVP for his dominant performance in the finals. Vasilevskiy only allowed eight goals in the series and completed the series with a 1-0 shutout to win the Stanley Cup.

Best of 2021: CHS News – all images courtesy of the Ship’s Log

Smart Lunch
Unlike last year where students only had 15 minutes to eat their lunch, they now have 41 minutes to eat wherever they choose in the building, including the cafeteria, B224 computer lab, library, classrooms, or Senior Court, weather permitting. “Smart Lunch” is the new 41-minute lunch period that CHS has implemented in all students’ schedules. Smart Lunch, held during sixth period, gives students the opportunity to not only eat lunch but also get extra help in the classroom, study in the library, attend a club meeting or hang out with friends in the gym during their lunch period. Students can also attend teachers’ “office hours.” Days of the week are allotted to each subject area for students to go during lunch for anything they missed in class, to make up a test, or for extra help.

Homecoming

In order to limit large-indoor, mask-less gatherings, the 2021 Homecoming Dance was held outdoors in the senior court. Originally scheduled for Saturday, October 16, the dance was rescheduled to Saturday, October 23 due to rainy weather. The courtyard was decorated with strings of lights around the trees, lanterns, a tent for dancing, a photo booth, and a red carpet leading to the check-in table. Having organized the homecoming dance for the last twenty-six years, Ms. Forbes knew the switch to the outdoor setting would make the prep-work, and the dance itself, a little different.

Lili Myers

After winning the school, regional, and state levels of the Poetry Out Loud competitions, senior Lili Myers competed at the National semi-final level, winning honorable mention. Out of the 18 national semi-final contestants, Lili was one of eight students to move on to a third round. At that point in the competition, three students moved on to the national level, with Lili earning the single honorable mention achievement. Competing against 10 other regional champions, Lili was named the NJ State Finalist – the one student from the entire state to move onto nationals. As the State Champion at the 2021 New Jersey Poetry Out Loud (NJ POL) State Finals competition, Lili continued to compete against students from all over the East Coast, attempting to earn the national POL title as well as different scholarship opportunities.

Return to “Normal”

Ever since the 2021-2022 school year has begun, students have been required to come back into school full time. But unlike in past years, students are still required to wear their masks when inside the school building. This school year also allowed students to attend sporting events for as many people as possible, with it also being mask optional (outside only). This caused many students to show up to sporting events to support their sports teams; bigger student sections were a result of this.

Social Emotional Learning with Mrs. Taite

Cinnaminson School District welcomed a new counselor this school year. Mrs. Taite, a Social Emotional Learning counselor, has entered the school with many goals. She has spent her time traveling from classroom to classroom, teaching students to “Choose Love.” “Choose Love” is a social and emotional learning curriculum created to spread positivity and love throughout schools after the devastating Sandy Hook shooting. Mrs. Taite introduced “Mindful Minute” to students along with other methods to reduce anxiety and quickly and quietly destress. Not only has she introduced herself to the students, but to the CHS staff as well. The staff took part in SEL learning, participating in a virtual introduction before students met with Mrs. Taite. By teaching both students and staff to be mindful of themselves and others, Mrs. Taite hopes to create a positive learning environment for all.

Best of 2021: CHS Sports

Boys Cross Country
The 2021 boys cross country team was among the most successful teams in Cinnaminson history. Their impressive accomplishments include a 16-0 regular-season finish, Patriot Division championship title, a second-place finish at the Burlington County Open, and most notably a 15th-place finish in the state. The boys’ team became the fastest team in school history at Holmdel Park. The boys had three Group 2 All-State team selections: Alex Boyko, Tyler Schill, and Matt McCarron. These three also were selected as part of the All-Burlington County team. The Pirates also had a staggering six runners selected for All-Division First Team: Alex Boyko, Tyler Schill, Matt McCarron, Patrick Storti, Ryan Coceano, and Dean Clark. Fellow sophomore, Josiah Saint-Elien was selected to the Second Team. The boys were ranked fourth in South Jersey at the end of the year poll, which is the highest rank the Pirates have ever had.

Girls Cross Country
The 2021 girls cross country team were the Patriot Division champions and finished as the 12th best team in Group 2, as well as the third-best in their section. The team was led by junior Stephanie Renouf, who put together a memorable season of her own. Renouf’s season was highlighted with automatic individual qualification to the Meet of Champions (finishing 9th in her group), and became the third-fastest Cinnaminson runner in history at Holmdel Park with a time of 19:46, along with the 53rd fastest in the state at the Meet of Champs. Senior Grace Coller had quite the season as well. She and Renouf went 1-2 at the divisional meet. Coller had an 11th place finish at the sectional meet, and a 9th place finish at the Burlington County Open. A young team for the Pirates with two sophomores and two freshmen rounded out the varsity squad.

Boys Soccer
The 2021 boys soccer team was among the best in the state. With a 19-2 record on the season, they won their division and completely dominated over half their games. The boys won the South Jersey Coaches Cup Championship, which is a huge accomplishment for the Pirates as they have not won the tournament since 1979. They made it all the way to the semifinal of their section, Group 2, before losing to Delran 1-0. The boys had five Patriot Division First Team selections: Sean Kennedy, Gavin Welsh, Colin Kenville, Nathan Weick, and Josh Pereira. They also had three selections for the second team: Will Frasso, Aidan Quinn-Wright, and Ryan Adams. The boys are led by their star goalie, senior Sean Kennedy who had 113 total saves on the season, and 231 total in his high school career.

Girls Soccer
The 2021 girls soccer team finished with a 15-5 record and were the runner-up in their section Group 2 South Jersey (lost to Haddonfield in the final). The Pirates also finished second in the Liberty division one game behind Rancocas Valley. After losing two straight games in the middle of the season, the Pirates persevered and had a strong finish to the season. The Pirates had three selections to the All-Division first team: Emma Fuegel, Katie Ambos, and Carly Yeager. The team also had one selection for the second team: Veronica Campbell. Senior Emma Fuegel led the Pirates with 26 goals and nine assists during the season.

Baseball
The 2021 boys baseball team finished with a 12-8 record, ending their season in the quarterfinals of the Group 2 tournament against West Deptford 7-3. The Pirates season was highlighted when they came back in the first round of the tournament against Cedar Creek. The Pirates were trailing 4-0 late in the game but managed to come back and win 5-4, to advance to the quarterfinals. This comeback was led by Sean Kennedy who had one run and two RBIs. Kennedy led the Pirates with the most hits and runs this season. The Pirates were also led by their senior pitcher, Andrew Proctor, who had a team-best of 36 strikeouts on the season.