As the 2023 fall sports season comes to an end, saints athletes experienced many successes, as well as disappointments. We chose to highlight the stories of 3 different athletes. Meet Luke, Taylor, and Lauren:
Luke Pascal ‘24:
Boys varsity football WR and Safety
Luke Pascal is a senior who has made a big name for himself on the St Stephen’s lacrosse team, but during the fall season, he spent his time on the football field. As the son of former St. Stephen’s football player Michael Pascal ‘85, Luke’s love for football was always present in his life. “I’ve always had an interest in the sport since I was little, my dad played when he was in high school.” Luke said, “An interest was instilled in me at a young age and I just kinda followed it, but my parents didn’t want me to play like when I was really little cause of the whole contact, concussions, head injuries, and everything like that. 7th grade was when they told me like ‘Yeah you can start playing,’ so that’s how it kinda just happened.” Luke has been playing football since 7th grade, when he decided to join the middle school football team at SSSAS. Since then, he has earned several accolades, including First-Team All-Conference and Second-Team All-State last year, as well as being a team captain for the past two seasons. This September, Luke was also selected as an Alexandria Sportsman’s Club Athlete of the Month honoree. When asked about his favorite thing about playing football for St Stephen’s, he responded, “I mean, it’s easy to say the games and stuff like that, but my favorite part would just be spending time with my teammates. I really enjoy the people I play with, and we’ve formed sort of a brotherhood. So being able to spend a couple of hours with those guys every day is probably my favorite part.” Luke’s goals for his final year at SSSAS are to continue to succeed as a team and to achieve individual honors, before he begins his collegiate lacrosse career at Yale University in the fall of 2024.
“I’ve always had an interest in the sport since I was little, my dad played when he was in high school. An interest was instilled in me in a young age and I just kinda followed it, but my parents didn’t want me to play like when I was really little cause of the whole contact, concussions, head injuries and everything like that. 7th grade was when they told me like ‘yeah you can start playing’ so that’s how it kinda just happened
Taylor Storr ‘25
Girls Varsity Volleyball Libero
Before her volleyball days, Taylor Storr was a competitive swimmer and had been doing the sport since she was 8 years old. As a freshman in high school, Taylor wanted to try out something different and ended up choosing volleyball. Since then, Taylor hasn’t looked back, deciding to devote herself to the sport fully and now calls the court her home. As a libero, Taylor is the leader of the back row and the defense, which often does not get as much shine as the front-row hitters. Even under these circumstances, Taylor enjoys her role on the court. “I really get a rush for like diving for the balls and going after everything, and running all over the place- I feel like I’m teleporting,” Taylor says, “ It’s just really fun to pick up everything that nobody thinks you can get up.” Taylor has been proving her excellence and leadership on the court, including taking place as one of this year’s varsity team captains. In this year’s annual junior vs. senior boys volleyball game, Taylor took the role of head coach for the junior boy’s team, and ultimately led them to victory. As Taylor continues to advance in her volleyball career, she has some big goals for herself. “I just wanna keep seeing progress in myself, I always wanna feel like I’m getting better than I was the day before. I feel like that’s very important. I feel like that would be my main goal, knowing that I’m progressing as time goes on. I don’t wanna be in the same place that I was before.” Taylor is hopeful that her perseverance and commitment will help her succeed, and eventually lead her to the goal of playing collegiate volleyball.
Lauren Scott ’24:
Cross Country
Lauren Scott is a senior who has been a standout member of the Saints Cross Country team since her freshman year. Over her four years, Lauren has seen consistent success, notably in her sophomore year she cracked the SSSAS top 20 all-time, making her one of the best to ever run in school history. At this year’s Seminary Hill Cup tournament, Lauren placed 3rd overall. Cross Country has a reputation unlike any other sport. With running over 3 miles of rough terrain, up and down steep hills, and through weather conditions that could be extreme heat, humidity, or even rain, cross country prides itself on being one of the most brutal sports an athlete can take on, if not, THE most brutal sport. Even with that being said, Lauren chooses to take on the challenge, she said, “I do like to run, I enjoy running, I feel free when I run.” Lauren’s favorite part of being on the SSSAS cross-country team is the supportive environment on the team. Lauren said, “Cross country is like a painful sport, and just knowing that you have teammates that are going through the same race you are and just knowing that they’re there to support you when you have a hard race.” For her final year on the team, Lauren hopes to just have fun with the sport and keep things low-pressure, so she can enjoy doing what she loves.
