Notre Dame de Sion Fall Sports Preview

By Brad Ziegler

School has started at Notre Dame de Sion but the school’s fall sports teams have already been practicing for a couple of weeks getting ready for the start of their fall schedule.

Cross Country

The cross country team is coming off a fourth place finish at the Missouri Class 3 State Championship meet last season. The 2024 squad was led by freshman Kelly Frank who finished second at the state meet, and sophomores Evelyn Cramer, who finished 28th, and Daniella Johnson who finished 40th. Those three runners are joined by four other returning 2024 team members and eight new runners this season.

Sion Coach Reynold Middleton says that he is “really looking forward to this season. I don’t necessarily have any predictions; I just want us to compete to the best of our ability and try to make it back to the state meet.”

The team’s first 2025 meet was August 30 at the Tim Nixon Invitational in Liberty.

Volleyball

Coach Taylor Kangethe’s volleyball team also had a great season in 2024, winning their district championship and advancing to the Missouri Class 4 State Tournament before falling to Platte County. The 2025 team has more than 30 team members, nearly half of whom are freshmen, and Coach Kangethe is looking to senior Addison McNeive and junior Maddie Westmeyer, both of whom earned All District honors last year, to provide leadership to this year’s team. She is also expecting sophomore setter Molly Rome to make an impact after moving into the starting lineup midway through the season last year.

Expectations are high after last season’s success, but Coach Kangethe is confident her young squad can handle them.

“We know we have some big shoes to fill after graduating several starters who played a huge role in our run to state in 2024,” she said. “The expectations in our gym remain the same, however: stay grounded, focus on the fundamentals, and continue the hard working, team-first culture we’ve built over the past few seasons.”

The team defeated Summit Christian Academy 3 – 0 in their season opener on September 2.

Softball

The Storm softball team finished 4-10 in 2024 but closed out the season with a 4-4 record after starting off 0-6. Coach Alison Perez Gomez’s 2025 team is heavily laden with juniors and seniors and will be looking to build on last season’s late momentum with their 2025 season.

They lost to St. Pius X 1 – 16 at an away game on August 30.

Golf

The Sion golf team will be led by Senior Ainsley Switzer, Sion’s top finisher at the 2024 Class 4 State Championship tournament. Coach Courtney Mahon took the 2025 team to their season opener on August 29 at Hoots Hollow in Pleasant Hill.

Tennis

The Storm tennis team finished 6-4 in 2024 and has a large roster this season, including six new freshmen, that is looking to add to that success. Coach Meghan Flanigan’s team began their 2025 season with an August 28 win against Barstow (8 – 1) followed by September 2 win against Park Hill South (8 – 1).

Field Hockey

Notre Dame de Sion also competes in field hockey, classified as an “emerging sport” by the Missouri State High School Activities Association due to the small number of schools that field a team in the sport.

Under the leadership of coach Gwyn Savage, Sion competes against Pembroke Hill, St. Teresa’s and several schools in the St. Louis area. They traveled to St. Louis this past weekend to compete in the Gateway Classic Tournament.