By Seth Herrold
This year has been nothing short of special for the girls athletic programs at Trenton High School. The Lady Bulldogs softball, tennis and golf teams all had tremendous years and, with eight wins and counting, the volleyball team has enjoyed one of it’s most successful seasons in school history.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
The success of girls athletics at Trenton isn’t anything that just began this year, but this season may be the high point of what could be described as the ‘Golden Age’ of girls athletics. That may be a bold statement, but trying to find a time period when Trenton was having this much widespread success across the board in girls athletics would be quite the challenge. For one, the softball and volleyball programs are very young, so their history doesn’t go back very far. That only leaves track, tennis, golf and basketball for girls sports and to find a time period where Trenton was this successful would mean finding a time when all four of those programs were winning district championships at the same time. Today, Trenton has four girls programs consistently winning district championships and another on the cusp. Though the school’s only girls’ state championship came in 1997 when the Lady Bulldogs’ girls golf team won it all in a time when there was only one class level for all girls golf teams in the state, Trenton has scored state plaques and individual state titles a-plenty in the past four seasons.
Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, Trenton’s girls took off on a run that has seen the Lady Bulldogs pile up nine district championships in four years and the fourth year isn’t over yet. The Lady Bulldogs should be a contender, at least, for the district crowns in basketball this winter, and track and field in the spring. Just winning one of those would put the Lady Bulldogs in double digits for district championships in a four-year span. That is almost unheard of and it would be hard to find another school in the state at any class level that has had that kind of success in the past four years.
Trenton won the softball and golf district titles in 2009-2010 and both of those teams went on to place at state: the golf team taking fourth and the softball team finishing second. The following year, Trenton won district titles in track and softball and the track team produced two individual state championship relay teams. Last year, Trenton won three girls district titles taking the team crown in track and field, tennis and golf. Track and field again produced an individual state championship relay team.
This year, the tradition continued. Trenton captured the softball and tennis district titles and won sectional championships in both of those sports as well as golf. What was really impressive was Trenton placed all three of those teams in the elite eight. And here is a stat for you: only one other school in the entire state, all class levels included, put their tennis, softball and golf team in the elite eight. That school was St. Joseph’s Academy, an all-girl private school in St. Louis that competes in the highest class level in all sports. To be one of only two teams in the entire state to reach the elite eight in all of those sports is truly an amazing accomplishment.
There have been some great athletes who helped these teams at Trenton to reach those achievements. This year’s senior girls, who were freshmen when this whole run began in 2009-2010, have obviously been a huge part of the run. True, there were great athletes before them and younger girls have helped along the way, but it is safe to say this is one of the most athletic classes in school history. Three seniors led the golf team to a state tournament berth. Trenton had five senior starters on the softball team and all five were named all-district selections this week. All-region and all-state awards are sure to follow for some of those girls. The tennis team’s varsity, which ran to the quarterfinals, had five of six spots occupied by a senior and two of them are going to state to play in the doubles tournament. The basketball and track teams will lean on that class a lot as well. This year’s senior girls certainly have had an abundance of success in their careers that few can say they matched.
The only problem with this class is that in May they will graduate, producing several college athletes, I am sure. Trenton, no doubt, will be in full rebuild mode in girls sports across the board next year. The horizon is bright, however. Trenton had successful JV seasons in their four sports this fall as well. The middle school softball and volleyball teams were incredibly successful. Sure, it will take time for the underclassmen to adjust to the high school varsity level and there are bound to be growing pains. Another wave of success like Trenton has had over the past four years, however, isn’t far off.