Covid-19 has affected all aspects of students’ lives at Branson, especially sports. 

Seniors were the hardest hit. Whether they will be continuing in college or it would have been their last time playing their sport competitively, the spring season’s cancellation has devastated their last year as a Bull. 

Luke George, one of six seniors of the undefeated boys lacrosse team described his feelings towards the suspension. 

“I’ve been playing varsity since freshman year, and I’ve been looking forward to my senior year the whole time at Branson,” he said. “The relationships I created throughout my time have meant the world to me and not being able to finish the season with them is devastating. I’m gonna miss stepping on the field representing Branson.” 

Boys lacrosse was coming off a solid win 14-7 versus The Bay School and were hoping to continue the streak against Acalanes.

The girls lacrosse team was 1-1, excluding scrimmages. Alexandra Lenzo, a senior on the girls lacrosse team, had looked forward to playing her senior season. 

“I have played varsity since my freshman year at Branson,” Lenzo said. I was really looking forward to playing and bonding with my teammates. Now due to the pandemic of coronavirus, our senior season has abruptly come to an end, and sadly, I will never be able to play on this Branson lacrosse team again.”  

Meghan O’Keefe, her lacrosse teammate, shared similar bittersweet emotions regarding their season.

“Losing my senior lacrosse and mountain biking season is a bummer,” she said. “I’ve worked for several years to become the best team captain I can be, so it’s sad not to be able to utilize that experience to help the underclassmen love the sports as much as I do.” 

Their next game would have been against Petaluma on March 12, and they had yet to play an MCAL game.

The baseball team was 1-1 with a 7-1 win over San Domenico and a 4-0 loss against San Rafael. 

“The loss the season really hurts because not only was this going to be my last year, it was going to be my best year,” said Leo Jacoby, a senior captain on the baseball team. “Even though I’ve had great times playing as a younger student, I missed my chance to showcase my full potential as a player. Outside of performance, I’m going to miss playing sports every day with some of my best friends. That’s a unique experience I feel robbed of.” 

The other captain of the team, and Middlebury College commit Andrew Ashley summed it up briefly and bluntly, saying, “It really sucked to only play two games, but it was obviously better than none”. 

Their next game would have been against San Marin on March 13.

So far in 2020, the golf team was undefeated in MCAL after beating Novato, and placed 11th in the De La Salle tournament, one behind Sacred Heart Prep and one ahead of Monte Vista.

Blaze Maier offered a different perspective as it was his first year playing Branson golf. 

“Although my Branson golf career lasted just a week, I was able to see the camaraderie and excitement this team brought to the table, and it’s extremely disappointing that as a senior, I won’t be able to experience this fully,” he said. “The squad was looking real sharp this year with a 2-0 start and we were real contenders for that MCAL banner. Coach Ian Albrecht and coach Pops were definitely going to take us all the way this season.”

When asked about how the cancellation of spring sports affected seniors Veronica Bosque, the assistant athletic director said, “it’s just so sad, and I think even a little more compounded especially for this class that had to begin this school year after enduring a tragedy of Kwentyn’s death over the summer, and losing a classmate that meant so much to so many. Then we had the fall that was interrupted with fires and power shut offs … it’s incredibly depressing… I haven’t been able to deliver more difficult news… it’s so sad.”

Feeling robbed seems to be consistent through both the administration and the students, but for the seniors there are some steps that are being taken to help try to make their last year memorable.

Bosque mentioned what the administration is working on ways to celebrate senior athletes.

“I’m putting together a senior spotlight social media campaign. I’m getting photos of all the senior athletes in their team uniform that will then be collated and blasted out across all of our social media platforms,” she said. “As a league, all of the AD’s along with the comishaner wrote a collective thank you letter that will be printed and go live on the IG on May 15th.”