PART 1: Spring Sports Q&A – Ellwood City

This is part one of a two part series featuring area seniors in spring sports. [READ PART 2]

The start of spring sports is upon us, so we took the opportunity catch up with the athletes of those teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries and to offer some perspective on the season ahead and their plans for the future.

James Meehan

Grade? 12th

How many years have you been in Baseball?  I started when I was in kindergarten

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Baseball? I feel my biggest strength in baseball is hitting

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of baseball is getting to be on the same team as my friends.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? Well, we started a little late because we were getting a new coach but we have been practicing every day in order to get ready for our first game.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? The only big change is that we have to wear masks. We are also more cautious when being around one another.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? I think one of the only differences is that we are going to have to wear masks in the dugout.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Riverside and Hopewell

What is one skill you have learned from Baseball that you will utilize in your future and how? One skill would be being able to work well with other people I think that’s a great skill to have.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I plan on going to college for exercise science. I would like to play baseball after high school as well if I get the chance.

Ryan Gibbons

Grade? 12

How many years have you been in Baseball? 15 years

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Baseball? I think my biggest strength is my pitching ability.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part is getting to play baseball with all my friends.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? We have been practicing 2-3 hours every day.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? There isn’t a big difference in our practices.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? Some games this season may be changed or cancelled due to COVID.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Riverside and Hopewell

What is one skill you have learned from Baseball that you will utilize in your future and how? Teamwork is a very important skill I have learned in baseball. I will be able to use this throughout the rest of my life.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I am attending Westminster to study engineering and play baseball.

Russell (RJ) Murray

Grade: 12

How many years have you been in Baseball? I have been playing baseball since I was 6.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Baseball? I would say willingness to learn. I have had many coaches throughout my life and I always find great reward in what they teach me.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of baseball is my team. We have a lot of great guys and being able to go and compete next to them is a great privilege

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? We are in a unique situation, adjusting to a new coaching staff and getting a late start to the season. But we are an experienced senior-heavy team and that really helps when it comes to getting all of the younger players on board

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? Obviously wearing masks is different, but we get used to it especially being outdoors most of the time. It is not as much of a problem as one might think

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? It will be interesting because of the season being canceled last year. There are a lot of hungry baseball players out there, and we don’t know what kind of talent other schools might have

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I would say Riverside, the history of the Ellwood-Riverside rivalry runs deep

What is one skill you have learned from Baseball that you will utilize in your future and how? I would say being involved in a team sport has taught me focus and be accountability. These are qualities that I can take with me wherever I go.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I plan on attending Penn State University to major in Mechanical Engineering. I am sure I will continue to play sports as long as I can

Madi Hervatine

Grade? 12th

How many years have you been in Track? 6 years; 2 junior high and 4 varsity

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Track? My biggest strength is my mindset because running is a very mental sport. You have to be determined and have a strong mindset to get through your race.

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of track is meeting all the new people and cheering on my teammates at meets. Track meets are so fun and throughout the six years I have done track I have made so many great new friends. Most of the athletes are very nice and not cocky. Also, I love to cheer on my team and my friends during their events.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? Me and the other distance runners have been doing workouts to improve speed mostly. We have been doing a lot of track work/sprints on the track, but sometimes we work on endurance too.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? We have to wear masks before practice and follow social distancing guidelines.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? I think we will have less meets especially bigger meets like invitationals. I also think invitationals and WPIALS will have more restrictions and ways you have to qualify to get in. This way less people are at the meet because we have to practice social distancing even at meets.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I think the Mohawk girls’ team is our biggest rivalry this season because they had a very good cross country team and they all run track too.

What is one skill you have learned from Track that you will utilize in your future and how? One skill I learned from track especially from running distance with Coach Nocera would be that some things are really tough, but you have to stay determined and keep pushing through it. It can feel like something is impossible however you are stronger than you think and you can do it you just have to work hard.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I am attending Slippery Rock University to major in Psychology. I plan to run cross country and indoor and outdoor track there.

Nolan Curran

Grade? 12

How many years have you been in Track? 3 (including last season which we missed)

What do you feel is your biggest strength in Track? I believe my biggest strength is my endurance. While I may not be exceptionally fast, I can keep my pace and still give a good kick at the end of a race.

What is your favorite part of it? Honestly, it is the community. I have been so blessed to have so many great coaches and friends who encourage me every step of the way. Track is definitely an individual sport, but without their support I would never be able to make it through.

How have you and your group been getting ready for the new season? A bunch of us who also run cross country ran consistently throughout the winter which I believe has really helped us to be conditioned for this season.

How has Coronavirus changed the way your group trains or practices? Coronavirus has not changed our practices too much. The only real difference is that we wear masks when in groups and have our temperatures checked when we enter the track.

How do you think this season will be different because of Coronavirus? The biggest effect that Coronavirus will have on this track season is how many teams or individuals get to qualify for states. This definitely puts pressure on all us to go above and beyond.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? I see Shenango and Riverside being our biggest opposition locally. They have some amazing runners and it is amazing to have that kind of competition.

What is one skill you have learned from Track that you will utilize in your future and how? Track, well running in general, is such a mental sport that it teaches you to get inside your own head and really control yourself. Being able to do that mentally is incredible especially with the rigors of college looming in my future.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I have received an ROTC scholarship to attend Waynesburg University to study nursing. While there, I plan on running cross country and track.