Student athletes touch on importance of state walks

Tyler Yakimisky, Co-Editor-In-Chief

  Senior Trevor Neumaier, Senior Isabel Alviar, Junior Mikayla Edquiban, and the entire boys cross country team are just the latest MHS athletes and teams to make it to state in their respective sports.

Doing so warrants their participation in the seasonal ‘state walk’ that takes place in the hallways of the school just after each athletic season comes to a close.

“[The state walks] are a good motivation factor for those that are looking to improve and even excel in their sport,” said Neumaier, who was a member of the boys varsity golf team as a junior and senior and finished 44th at the state meet in his last year as a Mustang.

Starting in the pool hallway, the athletes walk with the drumline and the flags through the A-wing and around the B-wing. As they proceed, students line the hallways to cheer them on while the drumline plays a congratulatory beat. The noise can be heard way before the line reaches the next designated area.

As this tradition continues to take place year in and year out, the opportunity to participate in it offers up some motivation for the athletes that were in it.

“I think the state walks serve to value and recognize the hard work of our student athletes, particularly those that really excel while also maintaining their grades at school,” Lauren Lynch, the girls JV tennis coach, stated in an email.

Two girls from the varsity tennis team, Edquiban and Alviar, advanced to state in doubles, playing deep into the tournament but ultimately coming up short of a state title.

“I was thrilled to hear they went to state but definitely not surprised. Their record from the season was strong, and we knew they had a very good chance in the sectionals tournament,’ Lynch stated in the same email.

While Alviar walked away from her third state tournament empty-handed, she also walked away with her head held high.

“As it ended, I didn’t really get that upset,” Alviar said. “I just thought of it as a sense of closure since it was my last one.”

Despite how students perform at state, the impact of the state walks will resonate with these athletes for years to come.

“It’s a pretty cool thing for them to do because they get to celebrate their accomplishments in front of the school and then look back in ten, fifteen years and say that this is what they did and had the state walk at the school,” Neumaier said.

Even though some students may not appreciate the significance of these walks, others believe these walks should be continued.

Lynch stated, “I think it would be awesome to continue the walks because I think it helps to build recognition for the sports and also makes players feel like their hard work and accomplishments are being recognized.”