During Women’s History Month, it is important to honor the women that are integral to the fabric of Enloe. As a major part of Enloe’s sports, the athletes of all of the Women’s Sports teams train tirelessly each season as groups and as individuals. This month, we want to showcase the female athletes on these teams whose hard work and talent strengthen all their respective teams, as well as our school.

Swim/Dive: Sarah Lynerd

Sarah Lynerd is a senior and one of the captains of Enloe’s Swim team. She has been swimming for six years, and all four years of her time at Enloe. This season, she swam the 50yd. Freestyle and 100yd. Butterfly. While in previous seasons she balanced swimming for two teams, she is grateful to have been able to focus on the Enloe team her senior year.  Describing her experience as captain this year, Lynerd says, “Although I feel that Ava Sharon, the other co-captain, and I put a lot of effort into leading the team, we could have not and as good of a season without the other seniors who also contributed to leading.”

“The women of the swim team especially are all very supportive and happy for each other’s accomplishments, and bring a sense of community, I think women are often underestimated because, especially in a sport where it’s pretty much based on strength, it’s been said that guys will be faster than girls,” Lynerd says. “But on the Enloe team, girls put in the work, both physically and organizing the team, and are just as capable.”

Tennis: Daniella Biblin

Daniella Biblin is a sophomore and is currently in her second season on the Enloe Women’s Tennis team. She has played tennis and has been involved in the sport for 11 years. “Being on the team has been such a great opportunity to meet new people and I’ve definitely learned so much from my teammates and coach,” says Biblin. “As one of the captains for our last season, it’s been really rewarding to see us motivate each other both on and off the court.” When asked about her favorite memory, she reflected on last year’s season, when one of the team members got first place at conference: “Being able to see how much hard work had paid off for someone on our team was really unforgettable, and it was a really great experience for all of us to come out and support her throughout the conference.” As a captain during her sophomore year, Biblin has a bright future ahead of her in the sport and on the court. 

Softball: Ruth Rick

Ruth Rick, a junior, is in her second season of playing for the Enloe Women’s Softball team. Impressively, she has been named one of the softball captains this year, as well as playing shortstop on the field. Rick describes the culture of the team: “While I’ve never been on a co-ed team, I definitely think that having an all-girls team does make the environment a bit more comfortable. Working on a play, that support makes you more willing to go out of your comfort zone.” She also recalls a victory earlier this season as one of her favorite memories with the team: “Our first win against Sanderson was one of the first challenging in-conference games we had. It was a close game, a full 7 innings and we only won by one or two runs. It was a really big win for us.”

Cross Country: Harriet Rex

Harriet Rex has been on the cross country team all four years of her high school career. Rex was named team captain this past year. Reflecting on her career, she mentions how important the team atmosphere was to her experience: “Being on this team has taught me the importance of showing up for your teammates and keeping a positive attitude.” As a leader on and off the course, Rex’s positive spirit and leadership will have an impact for years to come. 

Soccer: Ashton Charles

Ashton Charles has been part of the Enloe Women’s Soccer team for all three years of her Enloe career thus far. While her best moments are definitely yet to come, her favorite memory thus far was during the preseason of her sophomore year: “My favorite memory is of hell week my sophomore year. The last day we did an obstacle course/race that ended with us sprinting up the hill to get our prize: rubber duckies. The whole week was tough but it brought us closer as a team and prepared us for the challenges that were to come.” Charles and the women’s soccer team have had a great start to the season and are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since Charles has been on the team. 

Volleyball: Pallavi Mylar

Pallavi Mylar has been a member of the Enloe volleyball program all four years of her Enloe career. She was part of some of the most successful volleyball teams in recent memory with this year’s team going 11-8. One of the best moments from this year was the team beating Broughton for the first time in 11 years. Mylar’s favorite memory from her career was the celebration after and eating cupcakes with the team. With the success Mylar and the group have had over the past years, they have set a great standard for the future of the program. 

Lacrosse: Emma Cuthrell

New to the team and the sport itself, Emma Cuthrell has worked hard on learning the ins and outs of lacrosse. Working closely with the coach and veterans on the team, Cuthrell has enjoyed so much of the process: “I’ve gotten to learn a new sport and play with other encouraging female athletes.” The team is supportive and uplifting towards everyone on and off the field. As they are only halfway through the season, Cuthrell is excited to see where the season goes and how the team progresses.

Cheer: Chelcee Williams

Chelcee Williams has been on the cheer team for four years and serves as a mentor to underclassmen on varsity. The cheer team works hard for two full seasons, summer through winter, to support our Football and Basketball teams. Throughout that time, they engage in multiple team-building opportunities. Williams speaks highly about a team beach trip they took. “My favorite memory [this season] would be when we played red rover on our team bonding beach trip,” Williams says. Williams continues on to say, “The whole trip was really fun and we just had a really good time.” Williams emphasized that a strong team takes hard work outside of practice and that is the part that is most rewarding.

Basketball: Whitney Hall

For the past four years at Enloe, Senior Whitney Hall has been the anchor of the women’s basketball team. A varsity co-captain since her freshman year, through lead warmups and team support, from on-the-court prowess to leading initiatives off of it, Whitney’s dedication to the team will live on long after she graduates. “My favorite memory was celebrating our small achievements and seeing our team persevere,” Whitney recalls. “I loved hanging out before games with the team and going on outings.” As well as thriving in the community aspect of the team, the sport had a huge impact on Whitney emotionally: “Enloe basketball taught me the importance of commitment, dedication, and community. Some moments on the team were the most difficult during my time at Enloe, but I always knew my teammates had my back. I will definitely miss it.” Whitney is an excellent example of a dedicated athlete, and her time as a basketball player will not be forgotten. 

Wrestling: Karuna Das

Karuna Das was one of the few women on a Wake County wrestling team when she joined her freshman year. As the amount has grown over the years, Das has faced a pretty unique experience. “With my team, I never felt uncomfortable. I always felt like my teammates were my brothers.” Das goes on to add, “Boys on other teams are weirder about it.” Throughout the years, there have been more and more girls finding their way onto the mat. “This year we had the first girls-sanctioned regionals and state so that was exciting.” Although Das is leaving as everything starts to pick up for girls wrestling, she is happy to have been a part of it all and is excited to come back and see the progress at Enloe and other Wake County schools. In an individual sport, even more individual as one of the only girls, Das has and will always look out for and support those around her. 

Gymnastics: Kylie Oliver

Kylie Oliver has been in the sport of gymnastics since she was two years old, and she is a junior and second-year member of the Enloe Women’s Gymnastics Team. “I enjoy it because it helps you build a lot of life skills in ways that you wouldn’t expect,” says Oliver. The Wake County gymnastics program differs from most other sports programs in that it allows for several schools to train together. “[The community] is very supportive.” As 2022 conference champions, Oliver has successfully helped to build the team from the ground up over the past two years. As a gymnastics coach herself, Oliver understands both the individual and communal strength that the sport requires and is sure to deliver in her senior year season along with the rest of the team.

Golf: Varsha Upadhyayulla

Varsha Upadhyayulla, a senior, has been playing golf since she was little and is grateful for the opportunity to play on the Enloe Varsity Golf team and the outlet it’s given her. She says,“It’s a nice way for me to pursue my passions in golf and gives me a place to challenge myself, push myself to be better, and I love that about the team.” Upadhyayulla says her favorite moments with the team are hanging out after the matches, eating pizza, and talking about what happened in the match. When asked if she would like to shout out other female golfers, Upadhyayulla said, “I’d say Kayla, but the entire golf team is amazing too. I also think because golf is such a male-dominated sport and they’ve pushed themselves to go against the status quo, any woman in golf is inspirational to me.”

Track: Kayla Matthews

Women’s track has quietly become one of the most exciting sports at Enloe. Leading the charge in the success of the squad is Kayla Matthews. Though just a sophomore, Kayla has been running for over 5 years and has no trouble dominating upperclassmen from other schools in her races. A state qualifier in the triple jump and regional in multiple running events, Kayla has an extremely bright future ahead of her. “My favorite part is getting to be out there running with my brother, Gabe, and Merkenzee. The teamwork really pushes me,” says Matthews. She looks forward to continuing her success this outdoor season, and in the years to come.

With so many accomplished women at Enloe, it is very important to show them support within their sports. As a student body, it is our responsibility to honor Enloe women in sports just as we’ve honored the ones that came before. They have been leaders, trailblazers, and amazing athletes that deserve recognition from their peers. Some of these sports are mid-season, and games still need excited fans to help cheer these amazing women on. You can find when and where these games take place on the respective Instagram pages for each team or on the MaxPreps website.