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Jayden Calloway, all-conference football player for Currituck County High School. Stephanie Harlow photo

Merritt Woodson, volleyball all-conference player for Currituck County High School. Stephanie Harlow photo

Raymond Venham, all-conference soccer player for Currituck County High School. Stephanie Harlow photo

Marley Renner, all-conference tennis player for Currituck County High School. Stephanie Harlow photo

Ryan Venkirk, all-conference soccer player for Currituck County High School. Stephanie Harlow photo

Whitney Shilling, volleyball all-conference player for Currituck County High School. Stephanie Harlow photo

Currituck County High School had quite the season for athletics. With state playoffs, opportunities to grow and a lot of practice, the all-conference players from the fall sat down to share their thoughts on how the season went.

“As a team, we had to learn a lot because we lost quite a few players last year,” Whitney Shilling shared. Shilling is a senior at Currituck that spent her volleyball season with some new faces. She said this season proved to be a big learning opportunity for her and her team.

Shilling, Merritt Woodson and Ambree Powers all made the all-conference volleyball team. Powers said their match against Grassfield was the toughest of the season, described as a “long, tiring game.” “But we really came together that game,” Powers said.

Another team that seemed to come together this past season was the football team. With a trip to the second round of the state playoffs, this team shared a lot together.

Jayden Calloway spent the first part of his senior year on the field with teammates he considers family. “We have been together since we were little boys,” Calloway said. He added that their “brotherhood” was the major quality that led them to states. Calloway, Trent Walker and KJ Harvey made the all-conference team.

As for the tennis team, the two all-conference girls agreed their biggest strength this past season was their confidence to push through. Lilly Nekervis, a junior at Currituck, said her team was able to have a solid mindset during each of their matches, “even the ones we knew we were going to lose,” she added. Nekervis and Marley Renner were both named all-conference players.

Hailee Reinke, along with Ashley Reinke and Jasmine Gorney, recapped their cross country season. “Overall, we did really, it was the second year we went to states,” Hailee said. She added that her team developed a stronger bond this year, which helped them persevere. “We set ourselves us for a better advantage with our confidence; that was really valuable,” Hailee said.

The Currituck County soccer team also made it to the second round of the state playoffs this year. Two all-conference players from the team, Raymond Venham and Ryan Venkirk, said they have been playing together since they were around six years old.

“We had a lot of hard opponents this year,” Venkirk said. “We played one of the top teams in Virginia.” Their stamina carried the team through victory after victory and kept their team strong.

After all was said and done and the season came to a close, the student athletes reflected on their year so far and had a few take-aways.

“I think it’s important to have a good attitude during a match; you always have to keep your head up,” Renner said. Ashley Reinke added, “it’s very important to know you won’t be the best. You have to work to try to be better.”

In terms of what younger athletes can learn from their older peers, Woodson said, “it’s really important for younger athletes to watch people who are older than them and better than them and cross train to learn other things.”

As one last piece of advice, Nekervis said, “You have to remember the wins and the losses and take something away from every game. You can’t get better by hitting balls over and over again.”

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