On Sunday, January 21, Blue Gator athletes gathered together to congratulate the fall sports on their great seasons. Football, cheerleading, cross country, swimming, volleyball and the dance team are the Blue Gator teams that represent Ascension’s athletic department in the fall. The banquet is a great way to show off athletes’ talents to friends and family. All coaches give out a “Coaches Award” and a “Most Valuable Player” award. These awards are a great way to show others what the coach gets to see during practices and off the field. They may represent how hard the player works in practice or how the player acts when no one else is watching.

Senior volleyball player Gabbi Tremblay said, “I’ve never really particularly enjoyed award banquets because I don’t like walking on stage in front of everyone but I love to see all the awards and accomplishments people have achieved. Since this was my last award banquet, it was really bittersweet because we got to be together as a team one last time and made me super proud of all my girls and all that we have accomplished.” She couldn’t have said it any better. The banquet is another way for teams to be together with their seniors one last time. This year, in all fall sports, there were a few seniors on each team. This made the banquet bittersweet for everyone, especially the coaches.

This year was the first year that there wasn’t dinner served at the ceremony, which made it shorter than usual. It seems that everyone enjoyed this length more. Junior Hannah Mattke said, “I really enjoyed the banquet this year because of how much shorter it was. I had a lot of homework.” Most of the athletes have homework and things to make up due to missed school days for their teams. Yes, this banquet can sometimes be boring, but watching Ascension sports be honored for all of their accomplishments really makes it worth it.