As November begins, the fall sports at PV come to a close. All the teams showed outstanding effort throughout the season and represented PV in the best way possible.

Volleyball finished their season with a dominant conference record of 8-1, which placed them second in the MAC. The girls powered their way into the regional finals before falling to Linn Mar (25-13, 25-6, 25-18). The team did very well despite losing nine seniors. “This year we were a very young team only having three seniors,” said Taryn Bloomfield, senior. “The team next year is going to be a very strong team because they have around four out of the five returning starters. They know what they are doing, they just need to stay focused.” Bloomfield said she saw a big change in the team as the season progressed, saying, “at the beginning of the season we were timid being a whole new team. We grew stronger and more confident as the season went on. We played as a team and we learned how important each person on the team is, win or lose.” The team finished the season with an overall record of 19-13.

The boy’s cross country team had a phenomenal end to the season, finishing second at the state meet with 102 points, just two points away from the state champion Dowling Catholic. At the meet, Nick Yanek finished in ninth place, Konnor Sommer finished 15, Parker Huhn finished 22,  Gavin Smith finished 26, Mark Conway finished 30, Anthony Pena finished 39, and Ben Gorman finished 59.

The girl’s cross country team had a great finish to the season as well, finishing in tenth place at the state meet with 237 points. At the meet, Maddy Minard finished 20, Abby Riley finished 25, Mallory Lafever finished 51, Caroline Christopherson finished 69, Addie Swanson finished 72, Laura Brown finished 81, and Chloe Greig finished 85.  

Football came back from a rocky start and showed what they were capable of, dominating the last two games 45-14 over Dubuque Senior and 52-7 over Dubuque Hempstead. The team finished with a conference record of 3-2, ranking third in the district, and an overall record of 4-5.

Swimming capped their season this past weekend in Marshalltown, finishing 13th with 85 points. Some notable finishes include the medley relay of Aviana Zahara, Emily Goodman, Perapa Chotiprasidhi, and Lauren Groenenboom finishing in fourth place, Aviana Zahara came in fourth in the 100 backstroke, and Emily Goodman took eighth in the 100 breaststroke. Claire Park defended her state title on Friday as well, finishing with 495.85 points. There were a lot of changes from beginning to end, but Emily Goodman, a junior on the team, said they worked through them. “As the season progressed, adjustments were made regarding the events individuals would swim. This was an ongoing process and we had to settle into the changes and give our best effort,” Goodman said. “Throughout the season we worked hard and made the adjustments we needed.” Overall Goodman said, “there were ups and downs, but each team member worked hard and gave their best effort.”

Golf finished strong, placing sixth at the district meet with 317 points. Senior, Michael Showers, qualified for the state meet in Polk City, placing 41st with 169 points.

Congratulations to all the fall sports and to everybody who competed to show the dominance of Pleasant Valley. We can’t wait to see the accomplishments you’ll achieve next year and good luck to all the winter sports.