Matthew Walter
Staff Writer
From the baseball fields to the pool, a sports team defines what a school is. Countless fans show up every week from fall to spring in hope of seeing their team win a game. There’s nothing better than the feeling that you get when you see your team win; the fact that they won makes you feel like you cheered them on to victory. A victorious team brings out the pride in a fan.
That being said, most schools have an up-to-date athletic wing, such as Parkway West, that displays awards and feats of teams and individual athletes accumulated over the years. But not Central, which has gone without an update in the main gym since 2009 and the trophy case outside of the gym since 2008. Although this takes a honest amount of work to complete, Central’s rich athletic history needs to be seen by all visitors and fans.
Central has had great athletes and sports teams since 2008, and their efforts should be publicly displayed.
Last season, girls tennis took second in state, led by Cincinnati recruit Hannah Wille, but few guests to the school or freshman would even know. Boys tennis has also compiled multiple top four finishes at state during the same time period.
Along with the tennis teams, boys swimming and diving has had a long run of success, compiling two straight third-place state finishes. Once again, no one would know this because there is nothing to show for athletes’ accomplishments.
Our school has also been producing great athletes for years. Zach Biggs, a three-sport star, led the Colts in swimming, basketball and volleyball during his time at Central and scored 1,000 points during his basketball career. Wide receiver Brandon Sheperd, who now plays football at Oklahoma State, helped carry the football team each year.
The school seems to care about making upgrades to the facilities but sometimes neglects other things that give the building its shine, like displaying its strong athletic history. Whether it’s students or staff, Central needs to fix the athletic side of the school to display school pride to all.