CTE revelations come from Hernandez autopsy

Riley Brennan

Co-Editor In Chief

Aaron Hernandez, convicted murder, and former NFL tight end, who committed suicide April, has been found to have suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), following recent examinations by scientists at Boston University.

 The examination of his brain found that the damage inflicted by CTE was similar to the damage found in a person in there 60’s, while Hernandez was only 27. The Hernandez-family attorney made the announcements that the scientists involved had declared Hernandez was “the most severe case” they’d seen in someone so young.

 As an increasing number of players are diagnosed with CTE, the NFL continues to face backlash, facing accusations of hiding the truth of the dangers of the sport from the players, fans and public alike. Mr. Hernandez’s estate has filed a lawsuit against the league on the grounds that the NFL, as well as his former team the Patriots, knew about the correlation between inflicted head trauma and brain disease, but choose not to supply enough protection or information. The lawsuit filed seeks to compensate Hernandez’s daughter for the loss of her father.

 Hernandez had just been acquitted for the 2012 murder of two men, making his shocking suicide only days later, all the more confusing. However, suicide is not uncommon among those who have CTE, which further calls Hernandez’s behavior and actions into question. Multiple former NFL players who were diagnosed with CTE have committed suicide, making this a fairly familiar public relations issue for the league. This is not the only controversy the NFL has had to shoulder in the past few weeks, as outraged and supportive fans alike, loudly express their opinions toward the support, and lack thereof, from the league during the National Anthem at football games across the country on Sunday, Sept. 24.

Elliott the Goat: Rookie Kicker Saves the Day!

Frank Spadavecchia, Devin Bock and Isaac Zucker

Staff Writers

The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants on a last second 61-yard field goal kicked by rookie Jake Elliott. Elliott, who missed a 31-yard field goal the week before, had  missed a less challenging 52-yard field goal earlier that day. Despite this, he remained calm and was able to hit the game winning kick from 9 yards farther.

 With thousands of anxious fans waiting to see if the rookie would miss yet another field goal and send the Eagles season into a downward spiral, Elliott was able to put all emotions aside and simply win the game. According to CSNPhilly.com, he received some help from a rather large and respected figure in the Eagles’ locker room. Seconds before Elliott went out to attempt the game winning kick that would possibly give the Eagles a 2-0 start in their division, 6-foot-4, 328 pound Left Tackle Jason Peters said, “Hey. No more misses bro.” This struck fear into Elliott, who didn’t want to know what would happen if he missed. Some more motivation was given by Quarterback Carson Wentz, who said he’d write a game check to Elliott if he made the field goal.

 Since the game, Elliott has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, interviewed by Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, and talked about by everyone in the Philadelphia area. Carson Wentz followed through with his promise, but instead they chose to send the money to a charity of Elliott’s choice. After a busy and exciting week, Elliott and the Eagles took on the Chargers in Los Angeles, barely securing another tight victory 26-24 to go 3-1 on the season.

New Hope-Solebury Field Hockey pulls out a triumphant shutout season so far

Sydney Garvin and Rachel Saxton

Staff Writers

The New Hope-Solebury Girls Field Hockey Team, whose starting lineup consists of only three seniors and the rest underclassmen, have proven their small but mighty mentality with nine shutout wins.

  Under the coaching of Gwen Smith, the Lions team has a total of 76 goals throughout their nine game season so far. With a roster of four seniors, eight sophomores, and 11 freshmen, the girls went into the season uncertainly.

“With losing the people we did last year, it was obvious that the team dynamic would be different. But honestly, the freshman and sophomores have exceeded expectations,” senior captain Claudia Koeppen stated.

It is always intimidating as a freshman starting preseason, but the Field Hockey team makes sure that no one feels less than others.

“It’s a lot of fun because you don’t feel any different from everyone else. The older girls don’t treat you any differently and are very supportive. I also think that no matter what grade you’re in you are a part of the team,” stated freshman Erin Firth, who earned a starting spot on defense.

The Lions team was voted game of the week against Christopher Dock, who has been the team’s Bicentennial Athletic League rivalry for years by Philafieldhockey, whose website is used to promote collegiate, high school, middle school, youth, and club field hockey in the greater Philadelphia area. The two teams shared the BAL title in 2014 and Dock surpassed NHS during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The girls were ready to reclaim their title this year. With an 8-0 win, the Lions conquered their mission and received their well-deserved headline.

The Lions also proceeded to win the PhilaFH team of the week out of over one hundred teams in the high school and collegiate level.

“You’ve got to take every day, day by day and every game, game by game. That’s why you compete. Any team on any given day can beat you. That’s how I see it and that’s how I prepare my team,” said Coach Gwen Smith according to the PhilaFH article.

The Lady Lions have seen everyone in their league once and are excited to play them in round two in order to hang their BAL Championship banner in the school gym.

Boys’ Lacrosse celebrate Senior Night

Sam Lombardi, Lear Asplundh, Jack McKenna
Staff Writers

The Boys Lacrosse team faced off against Valley Forge Military Academy for the second time this season on May 1st for senior night. The senior players included Nolan Curran and Matt Firth on attack, Ryan Stephens on midfield and taking faceoffs, and  Matt Kilgariff, Sam Lombardi, and Mikey Summerson on defense.
  The ceremony during half-time commemorated each of the seniors and detailed where they planned on going after high school. Nolan Curran and Sam Lombardi will both be attending the Smeal School of Business at Penn State University, Matt Firth will be attending the University of Maryland, Ryan Stephens will be attending Kutztown University, Mikey Summerson will be attending Liberty University, and Matt Kilgariff will be attending Johns Hopkins University.
  The last meeting between New Hope and Valley Forge resulted in a 13-9 win for the Lions. The senior night game mirrored it almost exactly, resulting in a 13-10 win for New Hope. New Hope took an early lead as they tore through Valley Forge’s defense. The team was not able to throw anything at New Hope that they had not already prepared for The second half of the game became more competitive as the teams came within one point of each other; however, a penalty for an illegal hit took Valley Forge’s strongest shooter out of the game during the last quarter, which allowed New Hope to turn over the ball and score three more goals and widen the gap.
  With a fairly even record this year, the lacrosse team is looking to finish out the year strong by winning their upcoming games against George School, Springfield, Neshaminy, and Church Farm.

Track and Field start off strong and perform well at the 2017 BAL meet

Joshua House
Staff Writer

The New Hope Track and Field started the year off strong. The team participated in the Haverford Invitational on April 1. This meet, held at Haverford High School, featured many strong performances from the New Hope Team.
  In Field Events, Matt Jopling in Triple Jump posted a jump of 33’½”. Amelia Wurster got a distance of 14’11” in Long Jump to earn ninth place. In Javelin, Nico Marino was able to throw for 111’, and in High jump, Max Chuma got over the height of 5’8”in with sister Maryna Chuma reaching 4’8”.
  In relays the New Hope boys 4x800 team took second place with the use of new American flag arm sleeves on all members right arms. The girls 4x400 ran a solid time of 4:26.85, and their 4x100 ran 55.11 for fourteenth  place.
  In individual events Kate Hunt got ninth place with a time of 28.14 in her 200m race; Ryan Smith clocked a 12.64 in his 100m race. In the 400m Andrew Purdy ran a 53.73 and freshman Christian Kruse ran a 55.37. Eric Cammarata clocked a 5:25 in his mile and Eric Wanat got a personal best in the 800m with a 2:49. Finally, to end the day Sam Czupich clocked in an 11:35 in his 3200m race for thirty-third place.
  Overall, it was a great start for the beginning of the season for the track and field team with their new spring track coaches: Scott Kunkel and Erin Moss.
  On May 10 and 11 at Holy Ghost Preparatory School, New Hope Solebury participated at BAL’s ( Bicentennial Athletic Leagues) track meet and it was one of the top performances in recent memory for the team. First off for the girls team there were pr’s and strong performances all around. In field events Maryna Chuma took 1st in high jump with a personal best of 5’2’’. In long jump Amelia Wurster secured 2nd with a jump of 15’5’’ and 3rd in triple jump with a 31’10’’. Samantha Renson beat out almost 20 girls for a clutch 3rd place medal for Javelin 95’10’’. In the mile, Julia Mycek nabbed first place with a time of 5:29 and a season best. Savannah Herring took 2nd place in the 400m with a 1:01.46. In relays the girls took third in the 4x100, second in the 4x400, and third in the 4x800. The girls had a great meet finishing 3rd out of 9 overall and have many strong runners ready for the upcoming districts meet.
  On the boys side there were some clutch performances and some last minute qualifying for districts. In the field events Max Chuma took 5th in high jump with a height of 5’8’’ and Nico Marino took 7th out of 28 in Javelin with a throw of 131’6’’. Freshman Grant Harm jumped an impressive 16’ 5’’ in long jump. In running events Ryan Smith ran a strong 100m with a 12.26 and Andrew Purdy got a 53.81 in his 400m good for 8th out of 30. Matt Peshek finally beat Greg House’s 1600 pr with a 4:29.76 good enough for first place out of 46 runners and bragging rights with Greg. Joshua House came out of nowhere in the last 100m of the 800 to nab a 3rd place medal out of 48 runners getting a time of 2:06.27. In relays the New Hope boys finally qualified for the district in the 4x400 getting a 3:39, the boys 4x100 got a 46.36 good enough for third place, and the boys 4x800 took 3rd place with a nice time of 8:27.80. The guys are ready to compete for districts having over 15 runners sent to it.
 

Lady Lions Prepare for Softball Senior Night

Amanda Horak & Liz Donahue

Staff Writers

Senior night is scheduled to be on May 8, where the girls will play a home game against Lower Moreland. The team consists of 7 seniors, along with Bella Devito as team manager. So far this season, Natalie Borys has pitched numerous strikes, allowing the Lady Lions to have an advantage over other teams. Sam Renson has hit 3 inside the park homeruns. Shaelyn Parker has a batting average of .429 after successfully bunting for base hits. Cameron Wallace has worked behind the base as catcher, blocking balls to help defend during games.

 Currently, the team is 6-4, falling to Dock, Bristol, Faith Christian, and Calvary Christian, while winning against Lower Moreland, Delaware County Christian, Morrisville, The Christian Academy, Philmont Christian, and Plumstead Christian. The team still has three more weeks until they play their final conference game on May 16.

 During the team’s senior night, everyone from the team and most of everyone’s parents show up to see the seniors the team will be sending off this year. Just before the game is about to begin, each team lines up along the foul lines on each side. The senior’s parents will also be invited out onto the field where Coach Marchok will call each of the senior’s names to give them a handshake and a flower, which is bought by their teammates. After each senior has been called, the game begins. After the game is finished, the entire team gathers around behind the dugout to enjoy great food and listen to speeches, which are created by their teammates. The rest of the team wanted to say thank you to all of the seniors on the team and it is going to be extremely hard without them next year. Come out and support the seniors on May 8th!

Boys Varsity Tennis wins Districts

Adrian Roji, Charlie Stadler, Neftali Jimenez-Castro, Matt Cabelus

Staff Writers

The NHS Boys Varsity tennis team is in the middle of another successful season in the BAL conference. With its only conference loss to Lower Moreland, they will be the number two seed heading into the district tournament. If they manage to win the district tournament, the team will head to the state tournament at Hershey later in May. This feat is completely possible for the guys because they lost a heart breaker to Lower Moreland where they should have won the deciding match, as the third doubles court lead 6-2 and 4-2.  

 Individually, two Lions, Adrian Roji, and Caleb Burrows, have had plenty of success. Caleb Burrows placed second in the BAL and District tournaments. Adrian Roji won both the BAL and District tournaments for the third time in his high school career--sophomore year is the only year he did not win. He will head to the state tournament in Hershey for a third time. Both players have not lost a match all season, with Adrian playing first singles and Caleb playing second singles.  

Senior Day was May 1, with the match starting at 3 p.m. The Lions beat Jenkintown six matches to one. The last conference match was Wednesday, May 3, away at Christopher Dock, resulting in yet another win.

On Thursday, May 4, the Lions played the district final against Lower Moreland, with the winner heading to the state tournament in Hershey, PA. For the first time in school history, New Hope won the district title in a nail biting match up. With a final scoreboard of 3-2, meaning three matches won for New Hope and 2 for Lower Moreland, the Lions advanced to play in the state tournament. Adrian Roji won at first singles 6-0 and 6-0, Clay Asplundh and Oliver Colvin won at second doubles 6-1 and 7-5, and Caleb Burrows won the deciding match 2-6, 6-3, and 6-4 at second singles to clinch the win. Emotions ran high.

The most successful season in New Hope tennis history continues as the Lions will hope to make a splash in Hershey. Wish them luck.