The Falcons Nest - A Weekly Sports Recap
The Lady Falcons swim team are state champions! Varsity girls basketball soars to the final four.
Senior Athlete Spotlight
The athletics department would like to extend congratulations to our senior student-athletes. The department is very proud of their accomplishments and the bright futures ahead of them. This week we honor Spencer Sullivan with a spotlight on his career as an O’Neal athlete.
Spencer Sullivan, Varsity Soccer
Accolades from head varsity soccer coach James Franklin: "Spencer is one of the most gifted and naturally talented student-athletes we have worked with. He has been one of the most prolific strikers on the soccer field our program has enjoyed. Spencer was a threat against any team he played and was a player none of our opponents would have enjoyed going up against."
Quick Facts about Spencer
Number of years at O’Neal: 14
Sports played at O’Neal: Varsity Soccer, Varsity Basketball
College or University he plans to or wants to attend: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, Wake Forest, Elon
or preferred course of study: Computer Science, biomedical engineering, business
Favorite quote: “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Best O’Neal Athletics memory: Winning conference championships in soccer and freshman year when we beat St. David’s 4-1 after losing to them earlier in the season 3-0.
News from Athletics
“A goal should scare you a little and excite you A LOT.” - Joe Vitale
Varsity Boys Basketball
The Falcons concluded their '18-'19 season on Tuesday evening at Westchester Country Day School with an 87-36 loss. The Falcons ran into a very hot shooting team and just could not match their offensive output. The Falcons were led by Patrick Reaves who scored 9 points. The season saw much improvement in many areas and the future is bright for O'Neal basketball. The 4 seniors leave the program in a better place today than it was when they started. They have poured in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears during their time competing on the hardwood. Coach Haarlow reflects, “We will continue to work towards improvement and strive to be better next year.”
Varsity Girls Basketball (Updated)
After enjoying an extended practice period to start the week after a bye in the first round of the conference tournament, the Lady Falcons returned to the court Thursday night. The semi-finals saw the #1 seeded Falcons take on the #5 seeded Carolina Friends Quakers. The Falcons started out the game quick, using a double team to stifle the Quakers leading scorer giving up just 4 points in the first quarter. As the game continued the Lady Falcons used hot shooting from sophomore Kayla Jenkins to stretch the floor and grow the lead to 51-34 by the end of the 3rd quarter. In the end, the Falcons high powered offense was too much for the Quakers, and the Lady Falcons came out with the 67-48 victory. Junio Kei- Kei Love led all scorers with 23 points on the evening. “It was good to get another quality win on our home court tonight. Carolina Friends has a terrific guard, and our kids stepped up to the challenge and forced someone else on their team to try and beat us,” shared Coach Brase. “We are excited to get this win and look forward to a great game tomorrow night as we host the championship game of the tournament at O’Neal. It is sure to be a great night to be a Falcon!
At the conclusion of the game, the Lady Falcons celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day (Feb 6th) with their fans in attendance. All female student-athletes and girls in attendance gathered at center court for a group picture.
The #1 seeded Falcons hosted the #2 seeded Trinity Academy Tigers Friday night in the Tri-TAC Tournament Championship game. The game featured two programs currently ranked in the top 10 in the 2A NCISAA State rankings.
Behind a blazing start from sophomore Kayla Jenkins, who totaled a game-high 19 points, the Falcons jumped ahead 6-0 in the opening minute of the contest causing Trinity to call their first time out. The defensive pressure continued to pick up as the Falcon full-court traps forced numerous Trinity turnovers leading to transition buckets for the Falcons. The Falcons ended the first quarter pulling ahead to a 23-6 score.
The second quarter saw the Falcons slow a bit, as Trinity found their footing. Despite the slower pace, the Falcons managed to grow their lead to 34-18 heading into the halftime locker room. From there they never looked back, using a 28-point 3rd quarter to put the game out of reach. In the end, the Falcons saw a 72-34 victory lead to celebrations at half court as the Lady Falcons claimed their second straight conference tournament championship and finished an undefeated season in conference play!
“It is almost surreal. These kids work so hard day in and day out, and to win a tournament championship on your home court—what could be sweeter?!” reflected Coach Brase. “They have invested in the process, and that starts by winning each day. We are going to enjoy this for the weekend, and Monday morning it is back to work to be our best at practice that afternoon.”
The Falcons kicked off their NCISAA 2A State Tournament last week. After receiving a first-round bye, the Falcons hosted Friendship Christian Thursday night in the 2nd round. The week layoff from games didn’t impact the Falcons as they raced out of the locker room to take a commanding 20-3 lead after the first quarter. The Falcons used high-pressure defense to snag 27 steals and force 44 turnovers by Friendship Christian throughout the game. “Tonight we had arguably one of our best defensive games this season. Every player who stepped on the court tonight brought energy and intensity! If we can defend like we did tonight, it is going to be a fun final stretch of games,” explained Coach Brase. The Falcons were led by junior Kei-Kei Love’s 19 points in the 58-21 victory over Friendship Christian. With the win, the Falcons move to 23-3,12-0 overall and earned a berth in the NCISAA 2A Quarterfinals on Saturday.
In their final game at home this season, the Falcons put on a show for all in attendance. The high-pressure defense continued from Thursday night and saw the Falcons create turnovers and transition opportunities early stifling the Trinity School attack. The Falcons entered the halftime locker room with a 34-10 lead and never looked back.
“We had a quite the balanced attack this afternoon with 4 of the 8 players dressed scoring in double figures and every team member in uniform scoring. We’ve been battling injuries for the last week, and thus continue to preach the idea of ‘next man up’ philosophy. The girls have truly bought in and are celebrating each other’s successes,” shared Coach Brase.
The quarterfinal win was special in more ways than one. With the win, the Falcons close out the season undefeated on their home court (as the State Semifinal and Championship are hosted at a neutral site). “In sports, no matter what level, protecting one’s home court is always big. Being undefeated at home is just another impressive achievement for this group!” Coach Brase shares, “but what speaks volumes about them is that they were more excited to celebrate each other during the game today, as everyone had highlight moments. These kids care about each other so much, and this chemistry is allowing them to achieve special things!”
The win moves the #2 seeded Falcons to 24-3, 12-0 on the season as they advance to next week’s NCISAA 2A Semifinal game against the #6 seeded Gaston Day School. When asked about the match-up Coach Brase shared, “this is going to be a fun game. For me, personally, facing my alma mater in the State Semifinals is both special and a bit surreal. Last time Gaston Day School made it this far in the State Tournament, I was a player on the team. Now, I’ll be on the sideline across from them coaching against them. For me this is what I love about sports, being able to have these memories and experiences with teams that become families. It will be fun leading up, as I’m sure I’ll know many faces in the crowd from my time at GDS, but once the ball is tipped, it’s just another game of basketball and you better believe we will be there and ready to roll!”
The Falcons will tip off at 6:30 PM against Gaston Day School at Cary Academy in the NCISAA 2A Semifinals. The winner will advance to the NCISAA 2A State Championship Game Saturday, February 23rd at 4:00 PM against the winner of #1 Davidson Day School vs. #4 Wayne Country Day School. The championship game will be played at North Raleigh Christian School.
Varsity Swimming
The O’Neal girls swim team won the State Championships. Head Coach Jennifer Schmitz reflects, "This was a true team effort! Due to our small team, the girls who competed knew that everyone would have to put in significant efforts for their team to have a chance at winning the meet." Top finishers for O’Neal are as follows:
1st place relay team of 7th grader Alexis Coates, junior Natalie Williams, senior Hannah Burns, and senior Lauren Millard with a time of 1:56.26.
Hannah Burns1st place 200 free in a time of 1:57.65, 2nd place in the 100 free with a time of 52.68 also breaking her own school record!
1st place relay team of 7th grader Alexis Coates, junior Natalie Williams, senior Hannah Burns, and senior Lauren Millard with a time of 1:56.26.
Hannah Burns1st place 200 free in a time of 1:57.65, 2nd place in the 100 free with a time of 52.68 also breaking her own school record!
Natalie Williams 3rd place in the 200 IM in a time of 2:26.77, 4th place in the 100 in a time of 1:14.60
Lauren Millard 4th place in the 50 Free in a time of 27.68, 4th in the 500 free with a time of 6:18.21
Sierra Huffman '19 7th place in the 100 with a time of 1:17.93
Alexis Coates 10th place in the 100 free with a time of 1:03.06
Kaleigh O’Leary '22 9th place in the 100 free with a time of 1:02.66, 7th in the 100 back with a time of 1:09.79
Crushing the field by over 4 seconds was the relay team of Hannah Burns '19, Kaleigh O’Leary '22, Natalie Williams '20, and Lauren Millard '19 with the winning time of 1:49.20. Junior Hayley Sager went from a seed of 22nd to placing 10th in the 100 backstrokes in a time of 1:15.00.
The relay team of Kaleigh O'Leary, Sierra Huffman, Hayley Sager, and Alexis Coates moved from 11th seed the 6th place and dropped over 20 seconds!
These amazing races solidified the team's victory! Congrats ladies!
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