Falcons Nest - March 15th
The temperature and competition are heating up this spring!
Boys Varsity Golf
Last Friday the boys golf team placed 4th in the North State High School Challenge at the Country Club of Salisbury. In a strong field of the best public and private schools in the state the Falcons held their own. Jack Halloran led the team with a 1-over par 72, followed by Jacob Graham (74), Max Martin (76), Andrew Hobbs (76) and William Huntley (78). On Wednesday the Falcons teed it up again in the Moore County Cup against Pinecrest, Union Pines and North Moore at Mid South Club. The Falcons finished second and had several golfers earn All County Honors (Max Martin 74, Nick Joyce 75, and Andrew Hobbs 76). The boys are all continuing to shape up their games to prepare for some big upcoming tournaments. Monday, they will take on NCHSAA 4A perennial powers Broughton, New Hanover and Pinecrest at the Donald Ross designed Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, NC. Wish them well in bringing home the trophy.
Last Friday the boys golf team placed 4th in the North State High School Challenge at the Country Club of Salisbury. In a strong field of the best public and private schools in the state the Falcons held their own. Jack Halloran led the team with a 1-over par 72, followed by Jacob Graham (74), Max Martin (76), Andrew Hobbs (76) and William Huntley (78). On Wednesday the Falcons teed it up again in the Moore County Cup against Pinecrest, Union Pines and North Moore at Mid South Club. The Falcons finished second and had several golfers earn All County Honors (Max Martin 74, Nick Joyce 75, and Andrew Hobbs 76). The boys are all continuing to shape up their games to prepare for some big upcoming tournaments. Monday, they will take on NCHSAA 4A perennial powers Broughton, New Hanover and Pinecrest at the Donald Ross designed Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, NC. Wish them well in bringing home the trophy.
Middle School Golf
O’Neal vs Burlington Christian Academy Final Score: 170-222, W
The O'Neal Middle School golf Navy Team showcased their talent and sportsmanship in a triumphant outing on Tuesday against Burlington Christian Academy. With a commanding final team score of 170-222, the Navy Team secured a decisive victory. Natalia Henderson led the charge with an impressive score of 36, supported closely by Olivia Afable with 41 and Charlotte Schroen with 43. Beyond their individual performances, the team demonstrated exceptional course etiquette and sportsmanship throughout the match, earning praise for their professionalism on the greens. The win highlights their skill on the course and commitment to integrity and teamwork.
O’Neal White and Navy Squad vs Sandhills Highlanders & St. John Paul II Final Score: 166-188-189-228, L
In an exciting match hosted by the O'Neal Middle School golf team, featuring both the White and Navy squads and visiting teams from St. John Paul II and The Sandhill Highlanders, competition was fierce. The Sandhill Highlanders emerged as the victors, posting an impressive team score of 166. Following closely behind were the White team with 188 and the Navy team with 189, showcasing their competitive spirit. St. John Paul II rounded out the scores with 228. Luke Valkovics shone with the lowest individual score of the day, carding an impressive 38. Despite the outcome, all teams exhibited skill and sportsmanship, making for an engaging and memorable event on the greens.
Varsity Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team got off to a difficult start having dropped their first two matches against Carmel Christian and Fayetteville Academy. Each by an 8-1 score. The good news is that despite facing two extremely good teams, the Falcons played some of their best tennis. In the end, the main goal for the team is to keep improving their level of play and reaching their potential by the end of the season. Hats off to Noah Bass for coming back from a 6-1 first set loss to winning the match in 3 sets against Carmel Christian.
Varsity Girls Soccer
O’Neal @ Fayetteville Academy Final Score: 5-2, L
What time did everyone wake up this past weekend? You don’t remember? Wait, you don’t know? Right... because time is an illusion as the government proves twice a year by making us literally time-travel as we change our clocks. Are we supposed to go about life like that's normal? Combine that with a prior week of exams, and it’s no wonder the Falcons were out of sorts at the very beginning of the season.
What time did everyone wake up this past weekend? You don’t remember? Wait, you don’t know? Right... because time is an illusion as the government proves twice a year by making us literally time-travel as we change our clocks. Are we supposed to go about life like that's normal? Combine that with a prior week of exams, and it’s no wonder the Falcons were out of sorts at the very beginning of the season.
The varsity girls soccer team played its first match of the season away at Fayetteville Academy on Monday. They went down 3-0 in the first half hour thanks to a relentless attack from a few skilled opponents. Hadassah Niswender was first on the goal-scorer list as she flicked a cross in from the penalty spot just before halftime. The defensive shakiness continued in the second half, but Charli Bunder pulled another back with a free kick from distance. The ladies knew they played below their ability and looked to bounce back the next day.
O’Neal @ Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill Final Score: 3-1 , W
Just as we’ve all adjusted to the time change and are back in the routine of classes, the Falcons took the loss as a wake-up call and dominated their match against Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill. They controlled possession for the entire game and took 36 shots. Three of those found the back of the net, two from Bunder on shots from outside the box, and one from Niswender after a long run down the left side. Trinity scored on a penalty kick, but with only 11 seconds left on the clock, it was a mere consolation.
Just as we’ve all adjusted to the time change and are back in the routine of classes, the Falcons took the loss as a wake-up call and dominated their match against Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill. They controlled possession for the entire game and took 36 shots. Three of those found the back of the net, two from Bunder on shots from outside the box, and one from Niswender after a long run down the left side. Trinity scored on a penalty kick, but with only 11 seconds left on the clock, it was a mere consolation.
O’Neal travels to Trinity Academy of Raleigh on Friday 3/15 to face one of last year’s top-ranked teams. The Falcon’s home opener will be on Tuesday 3/19 at 4pm. I have it on good authority that we will not be required to change our clocks again between now and then, so 4pm will still be 4pm. We’ll see you then!
Middle School Girls Soccer
O’Neal vs Village Christian Final Score: 2-1, W
The Middle School Girls Soccer team had their first two games of the season this week. On Monday, they got the season off to a great start against Village Christian. Using high pressure on Village’s defensive line, the Falcons saw success early on. A handful of tight passes inside Village’s 18-yard box led to a fantastic strike and the Falcons’ first goal of the season. Shortly after, a beautiful through ball allowed O’Neal to capitalize on a breakaway and go up 2-0. A collective defensive effort prevented Village from creating any dangerous opportunities, and O’Neal put the game away with another goal in the second half.
The Middle School Girls Soccer team had their first two games of the season this week. On Monday, they got the season off to a great start against Village Christian. Using high pressure on Village’s defensive line, the Falcons saw success early on. A handful of tight passes inside Village’s 18-yard box led to a fantastic strike and the Falcons’ first goal of the season. Shortly after, a beautiful through ball allowed O’Neal to capitalize on a breakaway and go up 2-0. A collective defensive effort prevented Village from creating any dangerous opportunities, and O’Neal put the game away with another goal in the second half.
O’Neal vs Northwood Temple Final Score 2-1, W
On Thursday, O’Neal won against Northwood Temple in their first away game. The Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half and then withstood a late charge from Northwood Temple to hold on for the 2-1 victory. Over these first two games, the girls have embraced a team first attitude, being willing to play a variety of positions as we identify our team’s strengths. We are very proud of the tremendous energy and effort each of the ladies brought throughout both games!
Varsity Baseball
RUNS | HITS | RBIs | BB | SO | ||
T | O’Neal | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
T | North Moore HS | 13 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 2 |
Varsity Baseball scrimmaged NMHS away on Wednesday and couldn’t quite find a rhythm giving up 11 runs in the first two innings. The scrimmage solidified a better practice plan and approach to compete for an opportunity to hold a podium place in the SAC.
Jackson Mullis came through with his first Varsity hit in two starts, with a solid line drive to right. Two more hits came from Ricky Mullis and Jacob Bates. Defensive mishaps got the best of the Falcons along with leaving eight runners on base to close out the evening with a loss. The resilience is strong in the Falcons Nest preparing for conference games next week.
Middle School Baseball
RUNS | HITS | RBIs | BB | SO | ||
W | O’Neal | 12 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 4 |
L | Village Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
O’Neal Falcons easily dispatched Village Christian Academy on Monday, 12-0.
With stingy defense, the Falcons kept Village Christian on their heels by making play after play. Led by Parker Maxwell’s phenomenal pitching performance, the Falcons shut down Village’s offense through six innings. Maxwell threw the entirety of the game while striking out six. He had a total of 84 pitches, 56 for strikes, challenging each hitter to secure the win.
Christian Baker paved the way for the Falcons offensive run with four RBI’s, to include a double, and single. Taylor, Harrell, Bullock, Taveras, Kuester, and West each collected a single. Cole, coming into the game as a pinch hitter, also delivered a key single driving in two runs.
The offense was disciplined at the plate and totaled nine walks. Maxwell walked three times and Taylor twice. On the basepath, Taylor stole three bases and Kuester two. Taveras, Fusonie, Harrell, and West also secured a stolen base.
RUNS | HITS | RBIs | BB | SO | ||
W | O’Neal | 15 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 1 |
L | Northwood Temple | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
O’Neal Falcons continue their scoring spree against Northwood Temple Academy on Thursday, 15-0.
Jackson Booth, Owen West, and Sam Taylor combined for the second consecutive no-hit no run contest for the Falcons. Despite a series of walks, the pitching rotation delivered an outstanding performance. Every out recorded in the three-inning event was a strikeout.
On the offensive, after receiving a series of walks, the Falcons held their own at the plate. They had quality at bats and scored ten runs in the first inning and five in the second. Jaxson Graves and Christian Baker connected triples, both Graves and Baker had two RBI’s. Taylor, Baker, and Harrell scored three runs each.
The Falcons play Fayetteville Christian School Monday March 18 and Cape Fear Christian Academy on Thursday March 24. Both games are away games.
Track & Field
After a weather delay on March 9th rescheduled the Falcons first track meet, they traveled to Durham Thursday, March 14th to compete in their first track meet of the season... and boy were they ready.
Competing against 4 other schools including St. Davis, Trinity School of Durham, Fayetteville Christian, and Rocky Mount Academy the Falcons held their ground. Every Falcon that stepped onto the start line saw each race to the end, giving every competitor their best efforts. We had a tremendous show of our middle school athletes as they competed in every relay at the meet in addition to some individual events... Some athletes had up to 3 different events! The coaching staff could not be prouder of the heart each middle school athlete had going into their events- most of these Falcons were competing in their first track meet or running a race they never competed in.
Competing against 4 other schools including St. Davis, Trinity School of Durham, Fayetteville Christian, and Rocky Mount Academy the Falcons held their ground. Every Falcon that stepped onto the start line saw each race to the end, giving every competitor their best efforts. We had a tremendous show of our middle school athletes as they competed in every relay at the meet in addition to some individual events... Some athletes had up to 3 different events! The coaching staff could not be prouder of the heart each middle school athlete had going into their events- most of these Falcons were competing in their first track meet or running a race they never competed in.
Our upper school athletes set a great example for their younger teammates by showing them how Falcons compete and conduct themselves at track meets. Coming off the first track meet, the Falcons set a whopping 8 lifetime PRs in different events, ranging from Elizabeth Shank with > 2 minutes PR in the 3200-meter run, Gunnar Adams (800m), Aidan Blackwell (300m hurdles), Brennan Hodges(200m) and Reily Lefler in Discus. The Falcons were also trying out and excelling at new events and enjoying the beautiful 80-degree weather while cheering their teammates to victory. Ending the meet, four Falcons ran or threw State Qualifying marks- Gavin Rabon (Discus), Ashton Coon (100m,200m), Honor Hicks (110m hurdles, 300m hurdles), and Grace Simpson(800,1600, 3200). Altogether the Falcons showed up to compete as a team and were all smiles and tired legs loading the bus to travel home.
Photos by Wendy Hodges
Photos by Wendy Hodges
Events Next Week 3/16 - 3/23:
DAY | DATE | OPPONENT | SPORT | H/A | EVENT TIME |
SAT | 3/16/2024 | Pinecrest Relays (9-12 graders) | Track and Field | AWAY | 8:00 AM |
MON | 3/18/2024 | Azalea HS Invitational Cape Fear CC | BGOLF | AWAY | 12:00 PM |
MON | 3/18/2024 | Fayetteville Christian School | MSBASE | AWAY | 3:30 PM |
MON | 3/18/2024 | Ravenscroft | BTN | AWAY | 4:00 PM |
TUE | 3/19/2024 | Durham Academy | BTN | AWAY | 4:15 PM |
TUE | 3/19/2024 | Village Christian Academy | BASE | HOME | 3:30 PM |
TUE | 3/19/2024 | Village Christian Academy | GSOC | HOME | 4:00 PM |
THU | 3/21/2024 | Cape Fear Chistian Academy (Non Conference) | MSBASE | AWAY | 4:00 PM |
THU | 3/21/2024 | Durham County Stadium | Track and Field | AWAY | 3:00 PM |
THU | 3/21/2024 | Durham County Stadium | Track and Field | AWAY | 3:00 PM |
THU | 3/21/2024 | Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill | MSGOLF | HOME | 3:30 PM |
THU | 3/21/2024 | Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill | SGOLF | HOME | 3:30 PM |
FRI | 3/22/2024 | Fayetteville Christian | MSGSOC | AWAY | 3:30 PM |
FRI | 3/22/2024 | Fayetteville Christian School | BASE | HOME | 3:30 PM |
FRI | 3/22/2024 | Fayetteville Christian School | GSOC | AWAY | 5:30 PM |
SAT | 3/23/2024 | VIKINGS Relays | Track and Field | AWAY | 8:00 AM |
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