2023 fall sports: Four storylines to watch in Franklin County this season
As the fall sports season gets going again, there’s plenty of questions surrounding Franklin County teams. Who can make a run at a district title? Who has to replace All-Star level talent?
There are plenty of teams and athletes that should be set for strong seasons. The question becomes, can they reach those expectations?
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Here’s a look at four intriguing storylines involving the area’s strongest programs.
Haley Noblit leads the way for Greencastle-Antrim
The Greencastle-Antrim girls’ soccer team has seen plenty of success in recent years, and it reached a peak in 2022 with its run to the district title game and state semifinals.
The Blue Devils were led by a trio of all-stars, but now only one remains.
Haley Noblit, Mia Libby and Rylee Henson were the catalysts of this team last year, but with Libby and Henson graduating, only Noblit remains. She brings a lot to the table, but all this means that the rest of the team is going to have to step up.
“We’re going to have to put a little more effort into our overall games this season,” Abigail Wolfe said. “But we’re really excited to start.”
Players like Wolfe, Maddie Koons and Shaina Overcash were key pieces to last years squad, but in terms of production, there’s certainly more responsibility this time around.
“There’s definitely more pressure because they’re gone, and they were such key players,” Overcash said. “But I feel like we’re pretty solid as is, so I think we’ll be okay.”
Could a run in districts and states still be in the cards?
“We’re still hungry for it,” Overcash said.
Chambersburg’s shot at redemption
Chambersburg boys’ soccer had a really strong 2022 campaign, but the ending left a sour taste.
A 2OT loss to Central Dauphin in the district semifinals followed by an early exit in its first state game leaves Chambersburg wanting more.
The Trojans went 0-3 against the Rams last year. “Hopefully we can turn that around this time,” Drew Cover said.
One thing that hurt them last year was an injury to top goal scorer Michael Cespedes late in the season. That just adds more fuel to the fire this time around.
“I'm 100 percent,” Cespedes said. Ready to go.”
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Greencastle’s pressure with perfection
The Blue Devil volleyball squad went undefeated in the regular season in 2022. They return some key players, but a mark like that is hard to replicate, and they know it.
“It’s definitely a lot of pressure,” Lily Kauffman said. “But it’s something we’re going to work through and not put too much pressure on each game.”
Kauffman and Abby Eagler were first-team team Colonial honorees a season ago, so they’re not starting from scratch.
But even with last year’s regular-season mark, losses to Northern Lebanon in districts and Hollidaysburg in states still leaves the remaining group motivated.
Replacing a champion
Camryn Kiser made history for Chambersburg cross country last year, claiming a state title in her senior season. Her performance throughout the season helped propel the team to new heights, so it’s step up time.
“We may be down Camryn Kiser this year, but I think we’ll still be strong and do our very best,” Lexi Boyd said.
Boyd, a senior, feels a little bit of pressure, because it’s her that’s the closest in directly replacing her.
“[There’s pressure] maybe for me, following in her footsteps,” Boyd said. “But as a team, we just have to do our best.”
There’s talented underclassmen on the Trojan squad, and it’ll take a full team effort to replace the efforts of a state champion.
This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: 2023 fall sports: Storylines to watch in Franklin County this season
