Catoctin’s athletes are making history!

Richelle Zheng
CHS Class of 2025

(2/2025) From crazy winter storms to games getting postponed, this winter season has been hectic! Although we enjoy the two-hour delays, this winter season has also been great for Catoctin’s It’s Academic, unified bocce, indoor track and field, and girl’s basketball teams, as they have brought home numerous wins already!

It’s Academic

The Frederick County Academic Tournament had its opening night on January 10. During the first few rounds of the tournament, Catoctin’s Buzzer Team hung even with Middletown High School and Tuscarora High School’s teams until the last round. The final score for the match was Catoctin with 21 points, Middletown with eight points, and Tuscarora with three points. This puts Catoctin in second place in the county, two points behind Walkersville High School.

On January 13, Catoctin’s It’s Academic team took on Tuscarora High School and Oakdale High School. The match started off a bit rocky, with Catoctin down by five points. However, Sam Smith turned the game around in the fourth round, allowing the team to win against Tuscarora and Oakdale’s academic teams with a final score of 20-6-15.

Catoctin came home with yet another victory on January 17 against Governor Thomas Johnson High School and Urbana High School. The team won with a score of 16, and the final score was 5-16-9. This win moves Catoctin up as the sole possessor of the first-place spot in the county!

Unified Bocce

On January 8, Catoctin’s unified bocce team challenged the Linganore High School Lancers with two teams: four groups of four players on each end of the court. Each team played a total of three games.

On the first court, players Josh Ramos, Josh Deyton, Falyn Zimmerman, and Chad Zimmerman were stationed at one end of the court. Grouped on the other end of court one were players CJ Endlich, Tyler McCallion, Lucas Phelan, and Jonas Clausen. This makes up team one, who started the game off strong by rolling a skillful casino. The Cougars held off the Lancers with their incredible defense, resulting in the first game ending with the Cougars with four points and the Lancers with three. Then, as the team continued to roll strategically, they also claimed the second game, 5-1. The third game was a quick one as the Cougars remained on their toes, rolling another casino, and took the win 7-0! Team one showed exceptional skill with their high rollers consisting of: Chad Zimmerman with four points, Josh Ramos with three points, Josh Deyton with three points, Falyn Zimmerman with two points, Jonas Clausen with two points, Tyler McCallion with two points, and CJ Endlich with one point.

On the second court, stationed on one end, were Jayden Myers, James Grossnickle, Lucas Bradley, and Shay Johnson. Meanwhile, Ashton Merritt, Maria Perella, Darrin Frey, and Vinny Perella were stationed on the other end of the court. The team started off with a rough start to their first game, resulting in a loss. Still, the team did not let this loss tear up their entire game as they came together to make a new strategic plan for the second game. During the second round, Bradley, Myers, Johnson, and Grossnickle rolled three casinos, holding the Lancers to only one point! For the third game, the Cougars left the Lancers with one point once again! The final scores were 10-1 for the second game and 6-1 for the third. This team’s determination paved the way for their success! The high rollers for this team were Jayden Myers with three points, James Grossnickle with three points, Lucas Bradley with three points, Shay Johnson with three points, Maria Perella with two points, and Jayden Worthington with two points.

Indoor Track and Field

The boy's indoor track and field team attended the Warrior Invitational on January 11, held at Hagerstown Community College. Highlights from this meet included senior Shaymus Stull, who ran a lifetime personal record in the men’s varsity 55-meter dash category with a time of 6.91 seconds! Junior Mason Ferrel also hit a new personal record in the 300-meter varsity event with a time of 39.61 seconds. Freshman Noah Riling continues to move up the charts as he improves and hits new personal records in the half-mile run and mile run. Furthermore, he is becoming one of the fastest freshmen in Catoctin history! Over on the field, senior Deacon Mcllvaine placed first in the shot put event by throwing an incredible distance of 14.03 meters!

On the girl’s team, freshman Cora Durschmidt’s pole vaulting skills are truly unbelievable! On December 20, at the Hagerstown Community College Dwight Scott Invitational, she competed in the pole vault event. She vaulted 7’6", taking the spot in Catoctin High School’s pole vault record as the high record holder! Recently, on January 18, Durschmidt outdid herself at the Frederick County Championship Meet by vaulting a new personal record of 8’2"! Breaking Catoctin’s record high once again and placing the bar even higher in Catoctin’s history books! Catoctin High School is ecstatic to see what else these amazing freshmen and their talents hold!

Lady Cougars Basketball

The Lady Cougars had a hard-fought match with private school Jackson Reed on December 27. The Cougars started off the game with a strong defense, allowing them to take the lead 9-3 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Jackson Reed increased the game's intensity by putting great pressure on the Cougars. Jackson Reed gave themselves a slight lead 20-18 at halftime. The Cougars fought hard in the third quarter to put them back in the lead 27-26. Lastly, the lead was inconsistent in the final quarter, with both teams going head to head. But senior Kayden Glotfelty scored six free throws in the last few moments of the game, allowing the Cougars to pull through with a win 50-43! Jackson Reed definitely put up a fight during this game, but the Cougars' determination and rock-solid defense allowed them to win. Highlights from this game included Glotfelty, who led the team with 22 points, and junior Kelsey Troxell, who scored 13 points and nine rebounds. Additionally, junior Brooke Williams chimed in with ten points.

The Lady Cougars had an incredible win on January 10 against Boonsboro High School 57-27! In the first quarter of the game, two of the starters made two fouls early in the game, which sent them to the bench. Still, the girls were able to come back from their foul troubles with Glotfelty’s help from shooting many great shots, putting the Cougars in the lead 20-9 at the end of the first quarter. The Cougars' offense continued to be on fire in the second quarter, making great plays and fast breaks and scoring 19 points. Moreover, Glotfelty continued making buckets, putting the Cougars further in the lead at halftime 39-18. The Cougars played shut-down defense in the third and fourth quarters and came out with even more energy than the first half, limiting the Boonsboro Warriors to only six points in the third quarter and three in the fourth quarter, securing the win! Leading the team was Glotfelty, with a career-high 27 points. 10-12 were shot, and 7-9 were shot from the three-point arch! Additionally, Troxell chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds, and Williams with seven rebounds and five assists. Freshman Olivia Hoyt and sophomore Maddie Myers came into clutch with five rebounds each. The Lady Cougars continue to make Catoctin proud each season!