Former Lakeland High School standouts Kaylene Thomas and Kendall Lewis have enjoyed their freshman seasons.

After spending time at Lakeland as field hockey teammates, both Thomas and Lewis are now in college together doing the same. Last spring, both signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Randolph-Macon College and are now getting prepared for their sophomore campaigns.

Both former Lady Cavs were a part of a huge freshman class and were able to work their way through to earn time on the field. With their contributions last season, they helped RMC field hockey almost double its win total from the season before.

Thomas played in 15 games and started in 11 of them. She was quickly able to come in and earn significant time among her freshmen teammates and even upperclassmen. There was certainly an adjustment that had to be made at the next level, and Thomas felt like she did a good job of that.

“I loved my freshman year,” Thomas said. “The freshman class was large, so it was pretty easy for us to grow together. The college game is quicker, so there was definitely an adjustment to be made, but I was able to use my head to out-think my opponents.”

Thomas mentioned how each game she was able to see her opponents’ intensity, and she was able to go beyond it to compete. With her position being a defender, at the college level, she had to make sure she was being creative and using as many ways as possible for elimination tactics. She also wanted to focus more on offense as well.

Lewis was able to start a handful of games for Randolph-Macon as well. However, a knee injury cut her season short. It was challenging time for her, because as a competitor, she didn’t like sitting out and watching games from the side. Compounding her frustration, it took a while for doctors to figure out what was actually wrong. She is currently rehabbing now and excited for what’s to come.

“I am on the road to recovery, and I am very excited about the season coming up,” Lewis said. “It is going to be different this time around, because last season I had a full summer to train for the season. This time around, I’m going to be working my way back to getting on the field and hopefully running soon.”

Both Thomas and Lewis were excited about the opportunity to keep playing with one another when they signed. Nothing changed after the first season they had together.

“It is awesome having Kendall out there with me,” Thomas said. “We had that on-field chemistry developed before we even got to RMC. It helped when we were both on the field.”

“Kaylene is an amazing player, and I love playing with her on the field,” Lewis said. “These next four years will be exciting.”

The season will get under way Aug. 31, and Thomas and Lewis are excited about what they can achieve their sophomore seasons.