Mt. Sophia Ideas

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -Martin L King Jr

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.”

— Phillips Brooks

Grizzlies,

You all showed incredible effort and determination in our first
meet against a very improved Appoquinimink team!  Although we lost the
boys meet 104-40 and the girls meet 88-82, we did extremely well for the
size of our teams and experience level.  Great sportsmanship and maturity
were exhibited by both our teams in difficult losses tonight.  It was a
great blessing to find our swimmers praying together before the meet when
we walked up to talk to the team.
Ethan Edge broke two team records.  He broke the 200 IM record by
34 seconds by swimming an amazing 2:47.  He also broke the 100 Backstroke
team record by 17 seconds.  Matt O’Sullivan broke the 500 Freestyle team
record by 69 seconds.  Daniel Schea swam two personal bests by dropping
time in the 200 Freestyle and the 100 Backstroke.  Chip Moore sped up a
lot in the 50 freestyle by dropping 12 seconds off his time trials.
Timmy O’Sullivan dropped an amazing 23 seconds off his time trials in the
50 freestyle and 27 seconds off in the 100 freestyle.  Joshua Schea swam
a personal best in the 100 freestyle by dropping about 5 seconds.  Sam
Calhoun has become a good backstroker by dropping 13 seconds off his time
trial’s time.  Tommy MacEwen lead off the 200 Freestyle relay with a
blazing time of 26.83.  2nd place finishes against a tough Appo boys team
were accomplished by Tommy MacEwen, Ethan Edge, Joshua Schea, Timmy
O’Sullivan, and Chip Moore.  Great job boys!
A special thank you goes out to Lindsee Edge, Kourtney Edge, and
Morgan Hughes for their willingness to run some very long races spaced
closely together (several combinations never before attempted) in an
effort to give us a chance at a team victory against a much larger team.
The girls did extremely well to bring the meet to within 6 points.
Lindsee Edge made a state consideration time in the 50 freestyle even
after just running a great 200 IM time and taking first place in it.  In
the 200 Freestyle relay, Lindsee anchored the relay with the fastest
recorded 50 yard split time of 27.72.   Kourtney Edge easily broke the
team record in the 100 Butterfly in an amazing time of 1:07.96, which was
also a state championship qualifying time.  Hannah Braatz had a great
meet by breaking the team record in the 200 Freestyle and earning a
qualifying time in the 100 Breaststroke in an extremely fast time of
1:19.00.  Emily Hunter had two personal best times in the 100 Freestyle
and 100 Backstroke.  Stacie Martin swam two personal best times by
dropping time in both the 100 Breaststroke and 13 seconds in the 200
Freestyle.  We have two great additions in Haley Hughes and Kaysa
Lammers.  Haley swam well in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle.  Kaysa
swam a very fast 29 second 50 freestyle and 1:19 100 Butterfly.  Abbey
Close and Stacie Martin helped keep the meet close near the end where we
were thin in the backstroke and breaststroke.  Hannah Braatz and Emily
Hunter each earned 4 first place finishes.  Other girls to earn first
place finishes were Kourtney Edge, Lindsee Edge, Kaysa Lammers, and
Jillian Feeley.  Great swimming, girls!
Thanks to our managers Hannah Thorpe, Megan O’Sullivan, Rachael
Metzing, and Kyle Friedline for helping run the meet so smoothly.
Scoring the meet, timing splits, collecting attendance forms, making
changes on line-up cards, setting up lane counters, and handing out water
to opposing team coaches, officials, scorers, timers, and lifeguard were
some of their duties.
Thanks to our team photographer – Tom Braatz and to our volunteer
timers:  Mr. MacEwen, Mrs. Edge, and Mrs. Close.  Thanks to all the Mount
Sophia families and friends who came out to our first meet and who came
to Burger King afterwards!

Coach Hunters

Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired-you quit when the gorilla is tired.”- Robert Strauss

Good thing to think about on a tough homeschooling day.

We have to stop sometime. This is Noah Taylor’s poem.

Bitter Work

Noah Taylor

Bitter work and hopelessness

Plague the waking hours

Of the man that has been stripped

Of all his former power.

Who is this man?

What is his place?

Why must he live and beg?

We are all self-proclaimed

Judges and Critics without diplomas to our names

He may beg, but dies he lie?

Does not one ear hear his cry?

Does not his affliction turn our heads

When we know the sidewalk is his bed?

What happend to the Benefit

of the Doubt when it counts?

He’s no one’s own, all alone,

In the company of himself.

“Get a job, Vagabond!”

“My money you will not gain,”

Says the man who has too much

To the one who lies in pain.

Dejected, disdained, forlorn, rejected.

Laden with sadness and dappled with depression.

What will you do

When the chance comes around?

Will you be the one

By which the Savior is found?

He will be pleased

The Savior, that is

If you help the man

Who is broken and needy

He said once,

Along time hence

Everything you’ve done

Unto the least of these

You have done unto me.

In this next-to-last installment, Stacie reminds us of the summer.

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Stacie Martin

The whispering wind tousles my hair

My lungs fill with a breath of salt-filled air

Tumbling waves thunder in my ears

Shimmering sand swallows my toes

The sun warms me with radiant heat

The twinkling water tickles my feet

I toss to the heavens the foaming liquid

And cast away my copious cares with it