As the cold weather and winter approaches, the George Mason fall sports season comes to an end. Many teams have already wrapped up their seasons, a few teams are continuing on to Regional and State Championships.

With pep rallies and Homecoming involved, the Mason fall sports season is arguably the most school-spirited season out of the three. With fall sports coming to an end, students reflect emotionally on the season.

Dana Sembera, junior, said, “I’m very sad the season is ending, Volleyball is my favorite sport.”

Fall sports including cross country, volleyball, football, competition cheer, sideline cheer, golf, and field hockey started practices and games in the month of August, before the school year started. Many of the seasons now ended almost four months later, during the first week of November.

Some sports such as volleyball and cross country are entering qualified district quarter finals and states past when most sports end their season.

The following are the scheduled games for the Fall Sports these coming weeks.

Cross country – Saturday, November 11 – State Final Championships

Volleyball – Tuesday, November 6 – Regional Championship

You’re seated on the cold bleachers at a George Mason home game. The cheerleaders are exclaiming words of encouragement, parents and students are rooting for their friends and loved ones, and the home team is winning 7 to 0. Suddenly, music starts playing and you find yourself singing  “8-6-7-5-3-0-9!!!” with gusto and in repetition. You have the Pep Band to thank for this sudden outburst of energy and enthusiasm.

The pep band players are the unsung cheerleaders of football games. At every home game, you can count on the pep band to be there a half hour prior to the start of the game and play throughout the first half. No matter the weather, they are always there, often playing through the biting cold.

“We’re the life of the game, really,” stated Honora Overby, a senior who has been playing in the pep band since eighth grade. Her favorite part is “the sense of community,” to which Jessica Kemp, also a senior, adds that “it connects the grades.”

Senior Nathan Frost’s favorite part is “playing instruments that aren’t my own,” also commenting on how the “support and good noise” coming from the pep band has a positive impact on the game and general experience.

Jackie Cornejo concurs, “I definitely think (the players) enjoy it.”

“I enjoy the fact that I get to come out here and play very loudly and very blatantly on the drums,” states John Glover, whose favorite song to play, along with Frost’s, is “Jai Ho,” whereas Waters favors playing “Louie, Louie”.

Indeed, most can agree that the two most beloved crowd favorites are “Jai Ho” and “Jenny.”

“It gives the band a chance to play pop tunes and jazz tunes that they wouldn’t normally play and it’s a bonding experience. A lot of the time we’re out braving the cold, supporting the team, supporting the school,” remarks Mary Jo West, music teacher and pep band coordinator, on the pep band experience.

Though “carrying percussion instruments down the field” and playing in the cold (though, senior Emma Washa says her clarinet “warms her heart”) may not be their favorite memories, most seniors will miss the pep band experience, supporting classmates and bonding with friends.

Cheers! The George Mason Scholastic team, otherwise known as “The Quiz Bowl Team,” is undefeated with a 3-0 score winning against Clark County, William Monroe and Manassas Park.

George Mason’s Quiz Bowl team has achieved many victories such as winning the National Academic Quiz Tournament/High School National Championship Tournament (NAQT HSNCT) in Atlanta in 2011 and has also reigned as the Virginia High School Group A State Champions for three consecutive years.

“My biggest regret from sophomore year is waiting until junior year to join Quiz Bowl,” shared eleventh grade student Elinore McLain.

Many students have simply heard of George Mason’s Scholastic Bowl team; however, similar to McLain’s experience, have not gotten involved.

“I think our team will do well this year, even though we did graduate some outstanding seniors from last year,” Jamie Scharff, coach of the Scholastic Bowl Team, optimistically commented on the loss of team members.

George Mason students and staff offer the Scholastic Bowl team well wishes as they travel to defend their undefeated score in their upcoming meets against Rappahannock High School November 5.

Are cheerleaders and other athletes considered equal? Many do not know there is more to the George Mason cheer squad than getting the crowd excited and cheering on the football team during a game. The squad also competes.

The Mason competition cheerleaders recently traveled to battle against other cheer squads at invitational competitions at Warren County High School and River Heads High School.

OCTOBERFEST INVITATIONAL– "How much pain can you fit into the least amount of time?" laughed a rhetorical Nathan Frost. The George Mason Cross Country Team attempted to answer this very question as they raced against the odds.

Holding its own as a single-A team, the cross country team competed against schools several times its size. In fact, out of the 80 schools at the Octoberfest Invitational, George Mason ranked as number 15.

"Running against bigger schools isn't really a problem as much as it is a challenge," David Drawbaugh, junior, expressed thoughtfully. "They help you run faster."

To give perspective, the Octoberfest Invitational is a 3.1 mile unregulated dash which included running in the heat, up hills, and even through water. This didn't trouble the runners though.

"It wasn't all that bad," said Jesse Shaffer, senior, after running consecutive six-minute miles.

Two competitions ago, the cross country team endured the Oatlands Invitational. There, extreme heat caused five runners to drop out due to heat exhaustion. Now a taboo subject among runners, Oatlands has helped prepare the team for the worst and make Octoberfest a success.

"They'll be ready for the bigger meets such as regionals and states because they're used to the challenge," stated Coach Harvey, her hands planted on her hips.

The cross country team will be running at the Glory Days Invite at the Bull Run Regional Park on October 13. For more information visit www.masonathletics.org

In addition to the numerous school spirit events and preparation for winter holidays, many Mustangs have an extra reason to feel excited this October.  Playoff baseball has come to Washington.  Despite being one of the worst teams in professional sports just a few years ago, the Nationals dominated this year, capturing the best record in baseball.

Most students can probably remember the excitement of baseball returning to the nation’s capital in 2005 but being in the playoffs is almost literally a whole different ballgame.

“Oh there’s no question it’s different,” said English teacher Peter Laub who is taking time away from school Wednesday to attend the game, “I’ve gotten in some conversations about the team recently with people who I didn’t even know followed baseball.  That’s something that wouldn’t happen if the team performed poorly.”

When asked if his “Natitude” was ignited (a reference to the team’s slogan for 2012), Laub responded with a laugh.

Despite baseball’s unpredictability, the team has displayed they certainly have what it takes to win it all.  Visitors to George Mason should expect to see more red and white curly W’s in the George Mason hallways over the coming weeks depending on the team’s performance.

The Nationals split their first two games in St. Louis but finish the last three games of the series at home starting Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. on TBS.