The high school earned three sectional title banners over the course of the fall sports season from its football, volleyball and boys cross country teams.

While three teams came away with honors, 22 student-athletes received recognition from the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference.

Nine football players were announced as all-stars on Nov. 29, with 13 more Saranac Lake athletes earning all-star selections for their hard work in their respective sports.

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Mia Sanford, senior, second-team volleyball all-star. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Volleyball

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The Red Storm volleyball team arguably had their best season under head coach Mike Navarra. After starting the season out by winning 12 straight games, the team capped off its season with their fourth straight sectional title led by their three all-CVAC selections.

Anica Null led the Red Storm as a first-team all-star while Mia Sanford and Tailor Whitson were both named to the CVAC second-team.

Null not only nabbed a first-team selection as a sophomore, but was also named to the Class C All-State Fourth Team. Her well-rounded game showed, with her leading her team in servings aces with 62. She was also second on the team in points and kills and third in digs.

Anica Null, sophomore, first-team volleyball all-star, Class C all-state fourth team. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Saranac Lake’s two other all-star selections, Sanford and Whitson, were both captains this past season. The pair joined the varsity team in 2019 as sophomores and helped guide the program to two sectional championships over that time.

Sanford was dominant in front of the net. She finished the season with a triumphant 127 kills, which was enough to break the school’s record for kills in a season. Danielle Gonyea previously held the record with 123 kills in 2018. Sanford also led the team in sets played and blocks.

For Whitson, she finished second on the team in digs with 122 and sets played with 59. She also finished in the top three in kills and serving aces, while finishing fourth in assists.

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Soccer

Sydney Mariano, senior, NSL Division I second-team. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

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Both the Saranac Lake boys and girls soccer teams had seasons to forget.

After the two teams were moved from Class C to Class B, the competition became more difficult, but three seniors did all they could for their teams.

On the boys’ side, Bailey Bartholomew earned CVAC first-team honors, while Gabe Wilson was named to the second team. On the girl’s team, Sydney Mariano was a second-team pick.

Bartholomew and Wilson were the only two seniors on the team. They were also the team’s driving force on the offensive side.

Gabe Wilson, senior, NSL Division I second-team. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Both Bartholomew and Wilson are three-sport athletes that brought leadership to the team, and a well-rounded game.

Mariano’s name wasn’t necessarily in the stat sheet, but she always made her presence known on the soccer field.

Playing at the midfield position, she was a dominant defensive player.

In a game against the eventual Class C state champions, AuSable Valley on Sept. 17, Mariano helped limit AuSable Valley to just one goal in the second half after the Red Storm allowed four goals in the previous half.

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Bailey Bartholomew, senior, NSL Division I first-team. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Cross Country

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The Saranac Lake cross country teams have been dominant in recent years and the boy’s team proved that they are still the best in their section after coming away with the sectional banner this season.

The girl’s team did not win the sectional title, but the team finished in second place at sectionals and took third at the CVAC Championships. The two teams combined earned seven all-star selections.

On the boy’s team, Sam Ash, Aiden Hesseltine and Jake Kollmer were all named to the first team. Megan Wilson and Addison Ash led the way for the girls team with first-team picks, while Zoe Carpenter and Phoebe Peer were named honorable mentions.

If there was one word to describe Sam Ash, it would be “fast.”

Ash, a junior, claimed both the CVAC and Class C individual titles. He also took third place at the Class C cross country state championships.

Along with Ash, Aiden Hesseltine and Jake Kollmer played key roles in the team’s success. After falling to the Peru Nighthawks three times in the season, both Hesseltine and Kollmer stepped up their game by moving up multiple spots in the sectional meet to later beat the undefeated Nighthawks.

At states, Hesseltine finished in 59th place with a time of 18 minutes and 26.1 seconds. Kollmer finished in 65th place in 18:34.

Wilson led the way for the girl’s team as one of just two seniors on the entire Red Storm cross country team. At the sectional meet, Wilson had a sub 20 minute time to earn fifth place in the Class C category, which earned her a spot to compete at the state meet.

In her last race as a member of the Red Storm, she finished in 64th place overall at states with a time of 21:50.10.

Freshmen Addison Ash and Carpenter also competed at states. Ash and Carpenter qualified after earning 7th and 12th place, respectively.

Peer, a sophomore, was one of the team’s most consistent runners. She finished toward the top in most of her races. At sectionals, Peer took 14th place and was less than a second away from qualifying for the state meet.

Aiden Hesseltine, junior, first-team cross country. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Addison Ash, freshman, first-team cross country. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Zoe Carpenter, freshman, honorable mention. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Sam Ash, junior, first-team cross country. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Megan Wilson, senior, first-team cross country. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Jake Kollmer, freshman, first-team cross country. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Phoebe Peer, sophomore, honorable mention cross country. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)