Just as for every spring sport, the Women’s Lacrosse season is slowly coming to an end. On Tuesday, April 9, the Varsity Team played a game against Enloe High School and celebrated their four seniors for senior night.
The celebration took place during halftime where the team and the audience honored the four seniors Jill Mayes, Peyton Holt, Kayden Bauer, and Ashley Potts. They got to walk through a prepared lacrosse stick tunnel with their families while a speaker introduced them to the audience, talking about their future plans.
Every one of the girls has a different plan for their future and goes in different directions. As their last season at Leesville, all of them share a history and a lot of memories.
Jill Mayes
Jill Mayes is one of the players who has been a loyal member of Leesville’s Women’s Lacrosse Team. “I started playing lacrosse my sophomore year … because they needed more people to play and then I ended up playing and loving it,” said Mayes.
“I really like the team environment and it’s almost like a family, we are all really connected and you’ve made really tight bonds with people,” added Mayes, pointing out how special the team bond is and her love for the teammates and coaches.
Therefore, senior night was a very special event for Mayes which she will always remember. “There have been so many good moments throughout the last years and honestly senior night was one of my favorites, it was just so special and it will forever be in my head.”
Even though Mayes will miss her team at Leesville, she has already figured out her hopes and plans for the future. “I’m committed to playing [lacrosse] in college and I hope to become a lawyer,” said Mayes. “Next year I’ll definitely miss the coaches, the people, and I’ll honestly miss the flexibility because I feel like in college it is going to be a bit more rigid.”
Peyton Holt
Peyton Holt was also part of the senior night and has had a long sports history at Leesville.
“I started playing lacrosse in sixth grade and was on the Leesville JV Team my freshman year. Then I played Varsity Soccer my sophomore year and junior year and then Varsity Lacrosse this year,” said Holt.
Her favorite part of playing lacrosse on the LRHS team is also the people and connections she’s made along with the good atmosphere. “Everyone is just really nice and the coaches are really supportive and it is just a good atmosphere to be around,” said Holt.
“My favorite moment was probably when we played Gibbons last because I got Pride Player of the game.”. After every game a Pride Player of the Game gets chosen that had an outstanding performance and a big impact on the overall game.
Just like Mayes, Holt likes to think about senior night and emphasizes one special moment of it. “Senior night was really fun and we as the seniors all got to start and we played defense which was a fun moment,” said Holt.
Holt will stay in Raleigh and go to college. “I am planning to attend NC State to go to college,” said Holt.
Still, she will remember her time at LRHS and when asked what she will miss most, she said, “I will miss my friends and the coaches most next year.”
Kayden Bauer
Kayden Bauer, senior, was inspired by her friends to join the Leesville Women’s Lacrosse team which has been a good decision for her. “I started playing lacrosse because my two best friends played lacrosse, so I started my sophomore year at Leesville,” said Bauer.
What she loves most about playing Lacrosse — besides the sport itself — is the relationships and connections that she has made over the years. “The friendships are my favorite part about lacrosse, and playing is fun,” said Bauer.
Bauer especially enjoys playing games: “The games are usually fun and my favorite memories because you get to hang out with your friends and play lacrosse,” said Bauer.
When thinking about the future, she wants to continue doing what she loves and is interested in joining a lacrosse club next to attending college. “I want to go to college and probably play for a club team in college,” said Bauer.
Ashley Potts
Ashley Potts started playing lacrosse in early years and was motivated through her brother. “My brothers played when I was little and I thought it was a fun sport,” said Potts. “I started playing when I was in third grade.”
Potts has been a great member of the Leesville Women’s Lacrosse Team and has played for the school since her freshman year. “I love the Leesville community and hanging out with everyone. It was nice to meet everyone that is playing the same sport,” said Potts
Potts agrees with all the other seniors on the team that senior night was something special that she will remember: “Senior night was really fun and special.”
In the future, she hopes to keep playing lacrosse for a club and attend her dream college. “I’m going to App State to go to college and I might play club there,” said Potts.
Then she added: “I’ll miss playing on the team with everyone.”
All the seniors, whether staying in the area or not, will be missed by their LRHS teammates and coaches who followed them along their journey and made practices and games to memories the girls will never forget.
