If newcomers weren’t supposed to make an impact on Varsity sports at Manhattan High, someone forgot to tell this year’s freshmen.

Six freshmen filled roster spots on Varsity fall sports in 2015, among them members of the volleyball, girls golf and cross country teams. And they made a rather large impact.

Brooklyn Cink played as an outside hitter on the volleyball team, and while she did not start every game, she made an appearance in each contest. She said fitting in with the five seniors didn’t take much time.

“At the beginning it was hard,” Cink said. “But the girls were really welcoming to me, so I fit in very well. By the end, we bonded very well.”

The transition from middle school to high school came with challenges and surprises for many of the freshmen. For Cink, the challenges arrived in the form of the tougher competition.

“It was very different. Better girls, older girls,” she said. “It was more intimidating as well. The play of the game is faster, and [there are] better teams.”

Madeline Purdom, who ran on the girls side of the State-champion cross country team, echoed Cink’s sentiments.

“There was more competition,” she said. “You were closer to your teammates.”

However, neither Anthony nor Eisenhower middle schools offer golf as a sport. So for golfers Elise Jackson and Camy McAtee, opportunities to improve before hitting the high school stage came as summer tournaments.

“All those tournaments I did in the summer, they were with girls older than me,” McAtee said. “I kind of got used to playing up, and I got a little more experience.”

Without any juniors on seniors on the Varsity golf squad that finished in fourth place at the State meet, Jackson explained that the team shared the pressure of performing well.

“It wasn’t that bad because we’re all young so we all just kind of felt the same amount of pressure,” Jackson said. “I don’t think it’s any different.”

Isabelle Williams also ran on the cross country team, but her only year of experience in middle school came in her eighth grade year. She said the behind-the-scenes preparation for meets was the biggest difference between the two levels.

“The biggest difference was probably the workouts that we did,” she said. “They were a lot harder.”

Clara Mayfield, who also ran with Purdom and Williams on the cross country team, said the lessons she learned from head coach Susan Melgares proved valuable.

“She showed me what a team can be like and how great team experiences really can be,” she said. “I’ve never really experienced that before.”