NYHS’ two fall sports, volleyball and cross country, were cut short this year, leaving NYHS sports life on hold until the November basketball season.
Cross-country ended early this year because the three Jewish fall holidays—Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot—occurred on weekdays, disrupting the schedule and making meeting the required practices and competition commitments impossible.
NYHS athletic director Gentry Lewis said that despite knowing about the shortened season, he preferred to allow runners to participate in at least two meets rather than none. “I’d prefer to run in some type of tournament,” he said.
The volleyball team did not make it to its first game after withdrawing from the SeaTac League. Volleyball coach Michelle Pearce left NYHS in early September, due to what head of school Rabbi Yehuda Gabay said were personal reasons.
When Pearce left, the girls did not have practice for about two weeks and lost their preparation time before games. Gabriella Blevins, a new science teacher at NYHS, took over for Pearce. The team planned to continue with practices, hoping to attend a volleyball tournament and Shabbaton hosted by Atlanta Jewish Academy in December. However, NYHS was not invited to Atlanta.
“We were trying to rotate new schools into the tournament,” event planner Justin Katz said.
Although the cross-country season was shortened, the team still ran in two meets. The team attended the Pope John Paul II Eagle Invitational on September 18 in Lacey, WA, and ran at Seward Park on September 24 with Summit Classical Christian School.
Lewis sees the cross-country season as a success. The team consisted of seven runners, including five freshmen. The one senior, Eli Khaimov, was able to finish the season and complete his high school running career.
New members, including freshman Eva Robicsek, enjoyed their first sports season at NYHS.
“It gave me a great introduction to high school,” Robicsek said. “I loved working hard on cross country. It made me feel so accomplished.”
According to Lewis, the coaching changes were not something the school could have predicted, so they could not have prepared. “I never knew it [volleyball] was going to be cut short like that,” said Lewis.
Blevins has already accepted the position as head volleyball coach next year.“I believe next season will be much better,” Blevins said. “I think we will come to a really good team; we just haven’t had the chance to do that yet.”
