By Emily Vojtech 

The Grand Rapids-Greenway (GRG) 2024 captains are ready to continue to grow their competitive program. Seniors Barrie Bahr, Molly Pierce, Sophie Klinefelter and Amanda Scherping will be leading the GRG girls lacrosse team this season. All four players have been playing lacrosse for six or more seasons, bringing a lot of experience to their team. 

“It’s a huge honor to be a positive role model,” Klinefelter said. The captains shared that their teammates voted for them to be captains, and they are honored they were chosen. “It means the players trust me,” Bahr explained. “We want to be someone the players can look up to,” Scherping added. 

GRG is one of the newer programs in the MSHSL, but their program is quickly growing and developing. Their first season listed on Minnesota Lacrosse Hub is 2017. “As a captain, it’s important to be able to process what’s going on and explain it to the team,” Bahr shared. The captains all plan to help new players on their team learn the game. 

Last year, the Lightning ended their season 11-4, with a close final game against Centennial in the Section 7 Quarter Final game. This year, the four captains are hoping to have another fierce competition with Centennial in their season opener tonight, Friday, April 12, at Centennial High School. 

“We had many close games last year. We got to see how far our program has come,” Pierce stated. The Lightning had three one-goal games last season against Moorhead, Duluth, and Forest Lake. 

Some of the four seniors’ favorite memories include bus rides. The GRG Lightning have to travel farther than many other teams for away games. Some of their closest opponents in Duluth and Brainerd are over an hour away. “Bus rides are a good opportunity to bond,” Klinefelter said. “The Moorhead locker room is always fun too, dancing before our game,” Scherping recalled. “Big games against Duluth and Moorhead are fun,” Bahr shared. 

The GRG Lightning have formed a close bond as a team over the years. “A lot of play other sports together throughout the year,” Bahr said. “We have a very welcoming atmosphere. We always have new people joining our team,” Scherping said. Each of the captains had very positive things to say about their team atmosphere. “We have a grade A team atmosphere. I look forward to lacrosse every year,” Pierce stated. 

During the off-season, in addition to many of the players being involved in other sports, the team hosts open gyms to get ready for the lacrosse season. They also have a competition between varsity, JV and the U-14 team to see who can get the most lacrosse hours. 

On the field, Bahr and Pierce will be leading the Lightning attack, while Klinefelter and Scherping will be leading the defense. “We lost some leaders on defense. They took Sophie and I under their wing, so we’d like to do the same thing for the younger girls,” Scherping said. 

Theme song: Banjo music