Honoring the class of 2024

Richelle Zheng
CHS Class of 2025

(8/2024) Catoctin High School is beyond proud of their hardworking and passionate students from the class of 2024 who graduated on May 21st at Mount St. Mary’s. It was a bittersweet ceremony as the seniors flipped to a new chapter of their lives. Among all of the incredible 2024 graduates, athletes, Meghan Gray, Emma Magers, and Furious Trammel all demonstrated their dedication inside the classroom and outside on the field.

First, we have Meghan Gray, who grew up playing softball since the age of six and led the Catoctin softball team as the varsity starting catcher for all four years of high school. Not only does she play softball, she has also experimented with other sports such as field hockey, which she played as a sophomore, and indoor track her senior year. Gray’s athleticism led her to be a varsity starter in all of these sports she has played throughout her high school years. Moreover, Gray takes time outside of school to play for the EC Bullets-Cornett, a travel softball team. Gray’s excellence is not limited to just sports as she also shines in her academics and other associated activities. She was part of four honors societies, including the National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and the Spanish Honor Society. On top of that, she involved herself in many other clubs, such as the class clubs throughout all of her years in high school, and in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), from her sophomore to senior year. Furthermore, Gray challenged herself throughout her high school career by taking dual enrollment classes through Frederick Community College (FCC), which has earned her numerous college credits in math, English, history, public communications, and business.

Besides allocating time outside of school for sports, Gray also worked at Food Lion, and served her community by coaching younger girls in softball. As Gray juggled all of these activities she managed to place in the top five percent of her class with a GPA of 4.7. Of course, Gray’s efforts were recognized. She received numerous awards throughout her high school career such as the Physical Education Award, 2024 Blue Lodge Scholarship Award, as well as a Catoctin Colorfest Scholarship. Additionally, she received an athletic scholarship from the University of Maryland and a scholarship from the Thurmont High School Alumni Association.

Gray plans on continuing on her softball journey at the University of Maryland-College Park. In addition to softball, she wants to keep working hard in the classroom during her undergraduate years at UMD as a kinesiology major, in order to pursue her goal of becoming an occupational therapist. All of these accomplishments made by Gray did not happen without any support. Gray thanks her parents for continuously pushing her to be her best. She also credits three teachers who have made a lasting impact on her: Angelique Merkson, Tyler Ausherman, and Steve Cree. Gray described Mrs. Merkson as "...the teacher I could go to if I ever needed help with my English work or navigating a situation with my friends." She is also grateful for Mr. Ausherman as he, "...pushed me to be the best student I could be during senior year when I wanted to stop putting in effort." She also mentions that "He held me accountable and never gave up on my learning." Lastly, she recognizes Mr. Cree, who is a favorite among many students at Catoctin High School. "Mr. Cree is the teacher that anyone can go to with truly anything. He helps students including myself through their best and worst times." Gray has provided some advice she would like to give incoming high school students. She suggests that they should make sure to stay on top of their work and to manage their time wisely. She also advises students to always ask for help when they need it. Finally, Gray hopes to have made an impact on Catoctin and to never be forgotten. She hopes that she can be a role model to her lower classmen. Gray also commented "I hope that one day I can be used as a positive example on how to act at school and be respectful."

Emma Magers is another student who has served as a role model for many students at Catoctin, especially those on the soccer team. Magers was born to be a soccer player and started playing at the age of three. She has played soccer all four years of high school and was the captain of the team during her senior year. In addition to soccer, Magers also participated in track and field since her freshman year. Other than sports, Magers was heavily involved in her community. She was part of Future Farmers of America (FFA) throughout high school and an officer in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) for two years. Moreover, she gave back to her community by frequently volunteering and working at Springfield Manor. With her volunteering, she received the Senator Van Hollen Public Service Award for obtaining over 500 community service hours! Magers was able to leave her high school career with a 4.5 GPA while balancing all of her various extracurriculars and school.

Although Magers has not decided if she wants to continue her journey in sports, she plans to major in early education at Salisbury University to chase after her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher. However, Magers did not come this far without help as she credits her parents for always supporting her and pushing her to do her best. In addition, Magers has offered some advice for the incoming freshman which is "To do your best and be yourself." Magers also added, "I hope to have left a legacy in the child development program," of which she put an abundance of time into as she strives toward her future career of being a teacher.

Lastly, Furious Trammel who was a well-known track and field star has inspired many of the underclassmen with his athletic achievements. He has run track for three years and plans to continue to show off his talents at Hagerstown Community College (HCC). Not only was Trammel the captain for the track team, he was also a part of Catoctin’s Student Voices and served his community by working at Goodwill and volunteering. The Human Relations Committee of Frederick Country rewarded him for his involvement in the community and he also received the MLK Jr. Award as well. With that, his goals for the future are to graduate college, travel, and qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Las Vegas.

Although it was extremely difficult to choose who to dedicate this article to, the 2024 graduates are definitely an inspiration to the underclassmen at Catoctin High School, including myself. It has been a pleasure to work alongside them as they are now off to do even greater and better things.

Track athletes compete at nationals

With the weather getting warmer and students heading off to vacation, two dedicated athletes, Gavin Scheetz and Furious Trammel, continued their training in order to prepare for the New Balance Outdoor Nationals and Adidas Outdoor Nationals.

The New Balance Outdoor Nationals was a four day event that took place from June 13 to June 16. The event was held at the University of Pennsylvania. Trammel competed in the 400-meters championship finals. He ran a time of 47.62 seconds and placed eleventh out of the 89 runners who participated in this event. Gavin Scheetz, a rising senior, represented Catoctin in two events at the Adidas Outdoor Nationals, which took place at North Carolina A&T State University from June 14 to June 16. Scheetz demonstrated his talent for running as he ran in the 110-meter hurdles, national elite preliminary finals event. He competed against 65 other runners from all over the country, and finished with a time of 16.02 seconds. In addition, Scheetz ran the 400-meter hurdles, national elite finals event, against 71 other athletes. He was able to set a new personal record for himself in this event with a time of 1:00.34 minutes!