LAKE HUNTINGTON – It was a cold night last Wednesday night in Sullivan West but the warmth from the community was palpable as they celebrated their Fall athletes at this year’s sports awards ceremony. The Bulldogs’ auditorium was packed with family, friends, teachers and students showing their support for their Fall athletes. Athletes and coaches from soccer, volleyball, cheerleading, cross country and football were all present with speeches from each of the coaches. The auditorium was buzzing with the pride and appreciation for every one of the students who worked so hard to make Sullivan West athletics the sports powerhouse that it is. The ceremony included celebrations of each fall sports team but also highlighted the specific contributions of notable individual players. Overall, this was a year of new beginnings and a year of growth for many of the teams in Sullivan West, but it was also a year to be celebrated with multiple athletes and teams going to sectionals championships and beyond. 

Athletic Director, Kurt Buddenhagan had this to say about the Fall teams, “Our numbers for all teams were really good this year with all of them being relatively competitive this year. I was impressed that all of our teams this year were Scholar Teams (75% of the team has a 90 gpa or better) and we had 3 different teams qualify for sectionals and sent 3 runners to the Cross-Country State Championships. I’m really proud of all of our coaches and athletes, and I think these are what sets Sullivan West apart from many of the teams in this area.”

The Varsity Girls Soccer Coach, Megan Brockner, echoed Athletic Director Buddenhagan when she said, “Overall this was a great season, the girls worked so hard every practice and game. We made it all the way to the semifinals and our team hasn’t gotten that far in years so it’s awesome to see the progress.”

Varsity Football Coach, Ron Bauer, also had high praise for his team commenting, “It was a good season, and we played really hard. We lost a lot of good players last year, but the young guys really stepped up for us this year. Our line improved a lot this year and it was really due to them we got as far as we did and most of them will be back so that’s good news.”