Friday the 13th of this month marked the 20th anniversary for Plainfield South’s Senior night – a tradition well respected by students and community members around the district. For coaches it is seen as a commemoration for those who stuck through the difficult seasons, hardships, and obstacles over the years.
The all-team senior night features senior athletes and band members who are escorted by parents or guardians as they walk down South’s football track. Students get to choose who they are escorted by, and each name is announced as they walk in front of the stadium.
According to Athletic Director Chet Lines, senior night has been going on ever since he arrived at South in the 2003-2004 school year.
“[Senior night] is a thank you from the school to not only the kids but the parents as well,” Lines said.
Parents often travel to away games, drive their kids to morning and afternoon practices, and display dedication to their children.
“One of my biggest pushes since I’ve become athletic director [is] I want our kids, our parents, and our community to be proud of what we have,” Lines said.
Lines stated that the athletic department invites all fall sports to come down for senior night, along with many individual sports, celebrating their seniors in different ways.
Head coach Tom Perrin has a senior night tennis match for his girls filled with boxes of pizza, customized courts, and individual posters for each of the senior girls. At the end of the game, Perrin then says his heartfelt goodbyes to the girls while handing them bouquets of flowers.
Boys Cross Country did their senior night at the regional meet as they took a minute to honor all seniors and their years of commitment to the team. Along with the meet, they also have a banquet where coaches take turns giving speeches to all departing seniors, noting their importance to the team. They also reiterate the fact that no matter what time they ran or points they scored, they were all valuable parts of the team.
Girls swimming commemorates their seniors by having a pink-filled celebration. Underclassmen swimmers decorate pink paddles writing messages to the departing seniors. Also, all the seniors have a group dive in their pink shirts.

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Siah Hernandez