By Max Calhoun
Ruthie Peckinpaugh went to every open gym and practice she possibly could have gone to. She had one goal at the start of the season: make the varsity cheer team.
For freshmen athletes, varsity is the main goal, but for these freshmen it’s just the start. These three freshmen at Delta High School are among those who have impacted their team’s success dramatically.
This year the varsity cheer squad brought home a state title in class 3A cheer.
Freshman cheerleader Peckinpaugh may not be the oldest or have the most experience but her lively personality didn’t go unnoticed.
“I’m very loud and I have a very big personality if you couldn’t tell,” she said.
She had to put in extra work and effort being a freshman.
“I went to every single open gym. I put in work outside of practice like tumbling workouts, and also I had to work on my stunts while making good relationships with the upperclassmen,” Peckinpaugh said. “It was really hard to do that all at once.”
Peckinpaugh likes to think she has a good maturity level for her age, while also having a strong work ethic.
She said that led to her making a spot on varsity more than her actual abilities.
The cheer team also had done something the school has never done before.
“Winning conference for the first time in school history was really one of the highlights of the season,” Peckinpaugh said. “We were very excited and it was also really surprising because we were going up against some bigger schools.”
Her first season was a success but next year will be a bit more of a challenge. Peckinpaugh will need to step into more of a leadership role.
“I want to make new relationships with younger classmen while being a big role model and having a bigger leadership role,” Peckinpaugh said.
Another freshman playing varsity this fall was Luke Atkinson, who played No. 3 singles for the boys’ tennis team.
In Atkinson’s first season he tallied up 18 wins and eight losses.
Atkinson has been playing tennis since fourth grade. His experience definitely gave him an advantage this season as he fought to beat out upperclassmen for the varsity spot.
“I had beat some upperclassmen that I really thought I wasn’t going to beat and I had to learn how to work harder at practice to be above them,” Atkinson said.
This season was a learning season for Atkinson. He thinks it definitely made him a better player even if it didn’t always go his way.
“I lost matches I should have won and lost to players I shouldn’t have,” Atkinson said. “I won’t make those same mistakes next year.”
Atkinson is always challenging himself to be better. He said seniors Owen Cupp and Kody Vest were really motivating and always helping him to improve whether it was tips or just playing with Atkinson.
His best memory from this past season was winning the Kokomo Invitational. Atkinson’s last match decided the whole tournament. He moved up to No. 2 singles and beat an experienced opponent from West Lafayette who seemingly outmatched him with the matches being 6-2 and 6-4.
“Honestly I thought I was gonna get blown out, but I somehow stayed in it and won for the team,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson hopes over the next three years he can keep playing a big role in the team’s long lasting success.
Another freshman who has made an impact on her team is Paislee Terry, who was one of many freshmen to play a key role in a very young volleyball team.
Terry has played Munciana club volleyball in Yorktown for about four years. Her Munciana team even won a national championship in 2022.
“Playing Munciana has definitely helped me because I’ve played higher level people which is pretty similar to high school level.” Terry said.
She said she loves the competition as she thinks it makes her a better player. “The competition and playing at a higher level in front of more people is a really good feeling,” Terry said. Her first varsity game she was very nervous but after Terry hit a couple balls it was just any old regular game.
She was mostly nervous about how people would react if she messed up being a freshman, Although Terry was nervous her first couple of games, senior Addie Phillippe helped her overcome those obstacles.
“If I was having a rough practice or game she would always say that it’s okay and we all make mistakes and help fix what i’m doing wrong,” Terry said.
All three of these players have one thing in common, they all strive to be the best player they can be, but when it comes to varsity it is well known that freshmen are going to make mistakes.
How these freshmen handle these mistakes will be a key to success in their future sports careers.
