As senior Kasynda Eubanks steps up to the plate, leaving the sport of softball behind is the last thing on her mind.

However, with the school year wrapping up, it will soon be time to say goodbye to the senior athletes as they compete in their last ever sports season at Chanute High School.

“I’m going to miss all the fun moments in the dugout where we got to cheer for each other and make close bonds,” Eubanks said.

It is a sentiment shared by many of the senior athletes as they say goodbye to playing high school sports.

Finishing their careers leaves most of them with a melancholy feeling. After devoting so much time into the sport whether it be at a game, a meet, or just at daily practice, the seniors are realizing it may be difficult to move on.

“I have ran competitively for four years, and have grown to love the sport and everything it has to offer me,” senior Mackenzie Tabares, who ran cross country and track throughout high school, said.

Even for those who can continue participating in their sports, making memories with teammates is what they will miss most.

“It’s going to be a lot different once this golf season is over,” senior Kobe Chance said. “I’m so used to playing with all my friends, and once this season is over, and we all go off to college, it will be harder to find times to play together.”

For the few that are playing at college, their school sports continue on; however, there will still be changes.

Even seniors who are continuing their athletic careers acknowledge that the experience that awaits them will be decidedly different from the one they are leaving behind.

“I’m going to college to play football (at Ottawa University),” senior Matt Hernandez said. “It’s going to be weird to have to say goodbye to all my friends here and form new bonds with my new teammates and coaches next year.”

Senior Madisyn Thompson, who is playing softball at Allen County Community College next fall, had an additional reason it will be a big change.

“I think it will be a lot different playing at the college level because everyone else there will be so good,” Thompson said. “The consistency of the good players will be a lot different. ”

So as the final season comes to an end, seniors are reminded to make the most of the time they are left with.