Good old Point Park. 

It is my fourth and final year at this fine establishment, but most importantly, it is my fourth and final year of writing for my beloved sports section.

I was going to make this column super sentimental and take the theme of “the last firsts,” but that is way too cliche and not really me.

So instead, let me introduce you to the sports section of The Globe.

This section is all about what runs the athletic world of the university. We talk track and field, volleyball, current sports trends, e-sports, basketball, soccer, and literally everything in between. Our goal is to make this the go-to hub for all things Point Park University athletics.

Now that you have an idea of what we hope to do for you, the reader, let’s get into the fun stuff.

Anna Shields. For those that do not know this Point Park celebrity, Shields was the epitome of what an all-star athlete should be. She beat record after record (most of which she set in the first place) on the track for both track and field and cross country, and was one of the nicest people off of it. 

For the past three years of my time here, this sports section was 70 percent Shields, 30 percent ‘other.’ Not having her around is going to be a huge change to the section this year, but it might not be as different as I am imagining. 

Senior men’s cross country captain Xavier Stephens has a spotlight on him this year and sophomore women’s cross country standout Alyssa Campbell has proven herself even with Shields around, so I am super excited to see what she does outside of the shadow.

Volleyball is already off to a great start, going 3-1 in their first four matches, all of which were part of the University of Michigan-Dearborn Early Bird Classic this past weekend. Our new Editor-in-Chief, Dara Collins, wrote more about what happened and what to expect in her article this week.

Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams are very optimistic for this season (there are articles on both of these sports too!) and are hopeful that they will be able to bring home some rings to Point Park.

The women did this both in 2015 and 2017, and despite winning the River States Conference (RSC) last season, they were eliminated in the RSC Semifinals during the playoffs last season. 

This season, they are back with a vengeance, and with a brand new head coach. Bethanie Moreschi was hired as the interim head coach for this season after seven-year head coach Maggie Kuhn took a new coaching job with the PSAC’s Seton Hill University. 

Typically, this column will be used to highlight a specific thing or person related to Point Park sports. I like to go in-depth on one subject or introduce things to the Point Park community that otherwise go unnoticed when it comes to our athletic department.

This column was a weird one for me, but I think it’s a nice introduction to all we do in the sports section. So, welcome to sports.