Last year. Senior year. This is it. The last chance for the class of 2019 athletes to leave their mark on the school. Every year has been leading up to this one. Seniors are striving to improve and take a leadership position.

Softball player Alexis Helton has been playing for Bryant since her freshman year, after playing for other teams since she was four.

“Next year is going to be really different, because we’re losing a lot of the seniors that we have this year, but I’m really hopeful for our team,” Helton said. “I believe in them a lot and I believe in myself.”

Helton’s  main concern is revitalizing their hard work this year to meet the same goals her senior year. Helton plans to begin training for the State Finals over the summer in preparation for next season.

“I know winning is a big deal, and we want to win State,” Helton said. “But being together is more important, because if we’re not together, we’re not going to win anything.”

First-year current junior captain Grace Ouellette was selected by her teammates to lead the cheer team next year.

“I think we are going to be a lot better than we have in past years, because we’ve bonded more,” Ouellette said. “We’re a lot closer, and we’re going to meet a lot of the expectations that we’ve had for the past three years.”

Alongside Ouellette, juniors Caivon Crosby and Ashlyn Thompson were also selected to be co-cheer captains.

“I feel like all of us have really great leadership skills,” Ouellette said. “Everyone needs to be determined to meet the same goal, which is to win State next year.”

According to Ouellette, cheer is a team sport, rather than an individual sport, which requires working together with other people.

“I think I’ve done a great job by being friends with everyone and making sure that everyone feels included,” Ouellette said. “You’re not [cheering] for yourself, you’re [cheering] for other people.”

Wide Receiver Grant Botti has been playing football since the first grade. Botti looks forward to training for next year.

“I think we need to get more involved in special teams,” Botti said. “We’re going to start doing more special team [practices] for 15 minutes every day, and I think that’s really going to help us improve.”

According to Botti, a lot of the sophomores are going to have to step up and take the role of the current seniors, because all of the current defensive backs are seniors.

“We haven’t lost [at the Salt Bowl] to Benton [in several years]. We don’t want to be the first to lose,” Botti said. “The Salt Bowl is our biggest sports event of the year. There are over 30,000 people, so you want to make sure that you win the most important game.”

The Hornet football team has never made it to the finals of the state tournament, their highest achievement making it to semi-finals for the past two years, but Botti is hopeful that they will make it to the final round his senior year.

“I can remember being little and looking up to the football players and thinking they were so big, but I’m here now,” Botti said. “It’s crazy to think that we could be the best football team that Bryant has ever had.”