NEDERLAND - Every year, toward the end of October, a school community starts the bittersweet moments of beginning to honor their seniors.

This week at Nederland Middle-Senior High School, the Fall sports of girls’ volleyball, cross country, mountain biking, and boys’ soccer recognized the seniors and their families. 

Nederland High School’s Mountain Biking coach Alison Powers spoke about the four seniors on her team.

Each year, Powers addresses the athletes with warmth and care. She always has a heartwarming story about each one. This year was no exception.

The seniors on the Nederland’s Mountain Biking Team are Halle Peiffer, Sam Harkness, Enzo Shows, and Gary Koziel. 

The seniors on the Nederland Cross Country Team were honored by coaches Gavin Coombs and Kathy Butler. Coombs and Butler were recently voted Cross Country Coaches of the Year in the Foothills League.

In a sport that requires an enormous amount of stamina and grit, the coaches thanked the seniors for their years of commitment and leadership.

The four seniors on the team this year are Eliza Brundege, Abby Hess, Ben Weber, and Tyler Goodnow. 

The girls’ high school volleyball coach at Nederland, Nicole Zotti, thanked the seniors and their families for the four years of teamwork, commitment, and playing great volleyball together.

The seniors on the volleyball team are Trinity Prahl, Sierra Tomlinson, Roo Mannion, Reya Levy, and manager Jace Thurston.

The volleyball program’s motto is “GRIT: growth, resilience, integrity, and teamwork.” Zotti saw this in the seniors as they became team leaders. 

“The team this year has been such a pleasure to work with," Zotti said. "It is such a privilege, as a coach, to watch your players work hard and rise to their potential. I have coached these seniors for four years; I will miss them so much. I know that each and every one of them will go on to do great things.”

The Nederland boys’ soccer team also recognized the seniors and their families at the last home game of the season. Coach Luis Gonzales spoke to seniors Indio Koonz, Orion Schimberg, Drew Hertzfeld, Leo Filippello, Liam Robertson, and Mason Ivey.

These young men have been going to school and playing sports together most of their lives, with Schimberg joining the others in high school.

Coach Gonzales complimented them on their strengths, urging them to remember where they came from and the values they have learned. He encouraged them always to believe in themselves no matter where life takes them, and never to stop learning. 

After losing over 10 players to graduation and students moving this soccer team still had an amazing year. They finished third in their league. Four players earned league honors, they are seniors Orion Schimberg and Mason Ivey, sophomore Julian Ralph, and freshman Dylan Ralph.

For the seventh time Coach Gonzales was voted Boys' Soccer Coach of the Year by the other coaches in the Foothills League.

As the Fall sports wrap up, congratulations to all the players, coaches, and the NMSHS community for your commitment and passion. Go Panthers!