Starting anything from scratch is difficult.
That's what Capital City had to do for each one of its sports teams when the high school opened in 2019.
Most Cavaliers teams struggled out of the gate, which would be expected for anyone in those circumstances when starting with rosters made up of just underclassmen.
Now, Capital City has seniors for the first time this school year, which means its athletic programs have some much-needed experience. That's led Cavaliers teams to improvement across the board this fall.
That's meant a fall full of firsts. Capital City softball had a program-high 24 wins this season which culminated in a Central Missouri Activities Conference title after a win earlier this month against Helias. The Lady Cavaliers have 44 wins in the past two seasons after going 7-17 in their inaugural year.
The season ended in disappointing fashion with a 3-0 loss to Rolla as the top seed in the district championship game, but coach Brett Skinner earned CMAC coach of the year honors and the team returns Lydia Coulson and Camryn Sharp to build off the foundation left by the senior class.
The girls tennis program also took a big step forward this fall. It got the school its first district title, winning Class 2 District 2 this fall to cap a 15-6 season. That's a dramatic improvement from an 8-7 season in 2020 and five times the number of wins the inaugural 2019 team had in a 3-9 season.
Sarah Wilde also qualified for the state tournament for a second straight season and should spearhead the team for the next couple of seasons.
The football program ended the regular season with a 1-8 record, the same as last season, with a 28-6 loss Friday at Kirksville, but the Cavaliers got their first CMAC win this season with a 46-6 victory against Sedalia Smith-Cotton.
First-year coach Joe Collier also had the Cavaliers put up a much better fight against Helias, the winner of the first two CMAC titles, with a 51-6 scoreline in 2020 turning into a 31-0 loss in 2021. The 2021 season still showed a lot of room for improvement for the Cavaliers, but small or incremental improvement isn't meaningless.
On the soccer pitch, the boys team has a program record of 12 wins with three games to go in the regular season. Last season, the Cavaliers lost to crosstown rivals Jefferson City and Helias by a combined score of 11-2 in two regular-season meetings before the Jays won 6-0 in postseason play. This year, Capital City beat both of them.
A 3-1 win Aug. 31 against the Jays and a 2-0 win Sept. 13 against the Crusaders gave the Cavaliers local bragging rights. This year's 12-5 record is way ahead of the 8-10 and 6-17-1 marks of the past two campaigns. As the second seed in Class 3 District 4, the team is primed for its first postseason win in program history as well.
The girls golf team also sent a second state qualifier to join Taylor Hovis. Hovis finished 51st in her second straight appearance at the Class 3 championship while freshman Jaycie Lowery finished 22nd in her state debut.
After an 0-22-2 season in 2019, the volleyball team went 13-15-4 in 2021, nearly tripling its total from 5-21-2 last season. The Lady Cavaliers also got their first-ever postseason win with a three-set sweep of Smith-Cotton in the opening round of district play under coach Kelsey Vogler.
In cross country, the Cavaliers had just Keion Grieve as a qualifier in 2020, but he earned all-state honors with a 19th place finish. This season, Ben Lear is having a breakout season on the boys side. Kimber Noble, Sarah Kirby, and Esther Abbott are leading the girls team.
There is the potential for Grieve to have some teammates join him at the state championships in November at Columbia.
Overall, the Cavaliers have taken steps forward in just about every sport this fall. If the school's first senior class is any indication, Capital City should only become more competitive with the rest of the area within the next couple of years.