“I think we have a young team, so a lot of younger kids are going up against people who are older with more experience,” Kjelshus said. 

Kjelshus said the loss to Bethel Park was the toughest defeat. 

“We thought we would beat them, so we definitely underestimated them. It was really disappointing,” Kjelshus said.  The football team is off to a 2-6 start this year, and the Highlanders have not had much playoff success in recent seasons. The players have become accustomed to hearing criticism, but they have learned to block out the negativity.

“It’s definitely teaching us to be resilient. The one thing I always say to my running backs is remember this but also understand that we don’t live in this moment,” Reilsono said. 

Kjelshsus said it’s easy to ignore the criticism, as the team encourages each other despite the losses. 

“The team has many close-knit friendships, so it’s easy to uplift each other,” Kjelshus said.

Reilsono said the team has bonded through the hardships. 

“It’s friendships. It’s family,” he said. “If you’re going through a rough time, who better to be there than your family?”

The Highlanders cited the win against Norwin as one season highlight. 

“When we beat Norwin, it felt amazing. When we went into the locker room during the half, we were down 10-0, but not a single person in the locker room didn’t think we could come back. We knew what we had to do and we did exactly that,” Kjelshus said. 

Looking forward, Kjelshus thinks the seasons to come will be successful. 

“I think the future looks good, because we have a lot of younger kids with a lot of talent. They just haven’t had a lot of varsity experience,” he said. 

Although the girls are having fun, they are still focusing on getting better and trying to win. 

“We are working our hardest and have had close games. We have been building the connection through the season by inspiring and motivating each other,” Johnston said. 

There have been close losses to Mt. Lebanon and Peters Township, and successes in games such as the one against Canon-McMillan.

“The Canon-Mac game was very fun, since it was one of our first games and we got to have the satisfaction of winning for the first time of the season,” Barrett said. 

Because Barrett is a freshman, she will have more chances for a winning season. 

“I think there is going to be a good team next year even though we are losing our seniors. Beginning a new team is hard at first, but I am excited to see what the future teams will be like,” Barrett said.

But for Johnston, this is her last high school season.

“I’m really upset about the season, but we are still having fun because every game is really close. I also know I can get a better season through basketball, though,” Johnston said, referring to her second sport. 

Junior Bobby Kosslow agreed.

“Last year we lost about nine starters, so a lot of the varsity team is inexperienced in varsity play time,” he said.

One of the most difficult games they have had was against Peters Township, a team that has 16 seniors and that has won almost every game this season. 

The Highlanders’ best game was their victory over Brashear. Avi Guatam scored in the first half while Thomas scored in overtime. 

“Before we went to overtime, I was a bit worried. The coach talked to Cole and when he got the winning goal, we were all very excited,” Kosslow said. 

As a junior, Koslow said he is looking forward to the underclassmen improving with time.

“We have hope for next year, since one of our biggest classes right now are sophomores. Once they have more experience on varsity, I’m sure we’ll do well,” Kosslow said. 

But Thomas, who is a senior, will not be around for that. 

“It definitely has been disappointing to not have a good last year, but the last two years were very good, so I try not to look at the negatives. It’s not about the record or the score anymore. It’s more about trying to keep your pride,” he said.

For now, the players are still making great memories and are trying to make the best out of this season.

“The bus ride is always good for team bonding because we get to talk and laugh,” Thomas said.

Junior Sara Luxemburger said the team has had some difficult matches, especially against Fox Chapel and Oakland Catholic.

“All of them were challenging and close,” Luxemberger said. “We tried our best to keep up the whole time.”

However, the next day in practice was when they would work on turning things around. 

“When we lose, we practice even harder the next day and work on what we need to do in order to improve our skills,” Luxemburger said. 

Despite the annual tough games against top programs, the girls work together and get along well.

“We all work together as a team and have each others’ backs through every match,” Luxemburger said. “We have strong bonds and love playing the sport with each other, and we just have a great time playing as a team.”

Penrod agreed.

“My favorite part of tennis is the team,” Penrod said. “It creates a great environment and it is full of positivity and laughter.”

Seiler said she can’t wait until the team’s efforts and hard work finally show. Personally, her motivation always comes from the team.

“It’s pretty much my teammates. I feel like they keep me motivated and keep me happy,” Seiler said. 

Senior Megan Leary, who is in her fourth and final season for Baldwin, agreed that the team bonds are important. Leary said the team trusts each other more than they ever have in her four years of playing.

“Our team is very close and I think that definitely helps with how we play,” Leary said. “We’re playing smarter.”

Baldwin’s section includes some tough opponents.

“We’re not a bad team. We just can’t compete with the teams we play against,” Leary said.

She said the close loss to Bethel Park was the toughest for the team so far. The Highlanders are looking forward to playing them again. 

As a senior, Leary is in a leadership role, which has changed her perspective of the game. 

“I know the outcome isn’t going to be how we want it to be,” Leary said of this season. “Just playing with my teammates for the last time is kind of what motivates me to keep going.”

Despite this struggling final season at Baldwin, Leary still loves the game and will continue playing soccer after she graduates in college.

Senior runner Bobby Konesky agreed, referring particularly to the loss of graduate Zach Wyse as a possible reason for the slow start.

Tough losses are another reason for the struggle this season.

“Chartiers Valley was a close meet, and we only lost to Peters by one point,” Konesky said.

Fowler cited some losses that she felt should have been victories.

“We lost to some teams we’ve beaten in the past and that has led to a loss of motivation. It’s been harder for some people to get back to what they have to do to win,” she said.

Konesky said one motivating factor for him this year is the friendly rivalry he has with senior Dom Ditoro

“I compete a lot with Dom Ditoro. My rivalry with him motivates me to run faster and better,” he said.

Both Konesky and Fowler said that pressure in the form of academics was affecting them.

Konesky, looking to run in college, said he feels a great deal of pressure with universities looking at him. Fowler said that a lot of her pressure has come in the form of balancing school and cross country. 

She said she hopes that next season the teams can gain more runners.

“I hope that we gain a lot more people next year, so that we can get back to our better records,” she said.

He said he considers golf to be more of a fun activity this year. With all the new players on the team, the Highlanders really couldn’t find a way to be at the top of their game.

“Team success in golf was never really a thought to me,” Trimbur said. “I just wanted to find a way to keep busy and have fun.”

Junior Nolan Malloy said Baldwin had a couple of crucial losses this year that caused them to fall behind the pack.

“We had a loss on our home course against Thomas-Jefferson that really put us behind,” Malloy said. “The loss kind of threw us off our game and it caused us to slowly fall down the ranks of section.”

The team feels in the next couple of years, they should be back on track as they have freshmen who should really help out in the future when they reach their full potential.

“I see a lot of potential in the newcomers and really hope they continue to get better and prove something about Baldwin golf,” Trimbur said

Malloy agreed and hopes that the golf team can overcome this season and get back to their form from recent years.

“I think we can be really good next year,” Malloy said. “We are building something really special again and we are all prepared to get Baldwin back on track in golf.”