By: Naomi Etienne

Senior night has been a tradition for Mt. Hebron senior athletes for generations. With fall sports soon coming to an end, seniors involved in Mt. Hebron athletics are finally getting their nights of recognition.

Senior night is a ceremony held before a sports game in which each of the seniors on their respective teams is celebrated, walking out onto the field or court, arm in arm with their families. They are then presented with flowers, and their coaches will say a few short words about the role they have played on the team.

Boys varsity soccer was first to have their senior night this year, holding their ceremony on Oct. 5. Girls varsity soccer was next, celebrating their seniors on Oct. 12. Shortly after were both volleyball and field hockey on Oct. 17, boys and girls cross country on Oct. 18, and finally football on Friday, Oct. 27.

Senior nights are notorious for being emotional for everyone involved.

“It was super emotional. It was nice to have all my friends and family there and also my teammates and coaches. You could definitely feel all the emotions that night,” said Mt. Hebron senior and girls varsity soccer player Delaney Benson. Sharing the same emotions, Mt. Hebron varsity football senior Jack Martini agrees.

“I’m feeling very emotional. It’s a hard realization that there’s only so many Friday nights left,” said Martini. “It’s also a hard realization that I’m never going to play the sport I love again,” he continued.

Mt. Hebron senior Jillian Shoultz shared how senior night affected her and her fellow varsity volleyball teammates, “Four of us [Ava Bradley, Caroline Zheng and Emerson Rose] have been on varsity since freshman year, so it being our fourth and final senior night felt unreal.”

These emotional nights provide a night of reflection and sentiment for sports athletes and their years spent playing the sport together.

“Coming out of senior night I was proud to be a member of this team seeing how far we have come this year, and how far the program has come in my four years being a part of it,” said Shoultz.

Senior nights continue to be another way that Mt. Hebron comes together to celebrate their seniors, specifically their athletes, and all their accomplishments. As Mt. Hebron fall sports wrap up, senior athletes are now looking forward to their senior nights in the upcoming Winter and Spring sports.