Winter Sports Update
As February approaches, and winter sports seasons come to an end, some players sat down with the Clipper to reflect on how their seasons have been so far this year.
Varsity girls basketball player, junior Jaycee Schumann, expressed that her season has been going well so far, accumulating a couple of wins along the way. Freshman Anna Becker said, “We definitely feel we can beat these teams in the second part of the season.”
Schumann and Becker both express that their favorite part of the season has been hanging out with the team and team dinners.
Schumann’s goals for the season are, “To do better than I did last season and to keep improving,” while Becker’s goal is, “To make it to state and have a winning record.”
They both want to grasp the win at sub-state and finish the season on a positive note!
Varsity boys basketball player, senior Gavin Wilhelm, thinks that – considering some of the injures the team has faced – the season has gone well and they’ve played well.
Wilhelm’s favorite part of basketball has been, “Being able to be on the court with my best friends doing something I love in front of a crowd.”
Senior Ty Henry’s favorite part, “Is getting to play basketball with teammates and friends.”
Wilhelm wants to make it to state because he knows the team has potential, as long as they work together to win each game. Henry expects to win more games and his goals are to compete for a Centennial League title while making it to state.
Wilhelm states, “I like to show up early to a game and get shots up before the JV game to ensure my show is the way I want it to be before playing,” while Henry describes his way of preparing as first getting, “Mentally prepared for a game, then I stretch, and then we warm up as a team.”
Varsity girls wrestler Senior Reagan Carter on girls wrestling believes that the season is going well. She expresses that there are many girls willing to put in hard work.
“I love getting to grow in my technique, but getting to bond and grow as a team is my favorite part,” Carter stated.
Senior Rylee Murray expressed, “One of my favorite parts about this season would have to be getting out new coach, Coach Val. She has been a huge benefit to the team and I love learning from someone that wrestled through college. I also loved getting to know the girls on the team, and being able to do a sport with my sister has been super fun!”
Carter’s goals for the season are to finish strong and to grow as a wrestler, so she can wrestle Varsity. While preparing for a match she said she warms up, gets her headgear on, and focuses on what she wants to accomplish during her match. Murray’s goals were to try her hardest and just get better.
Murray also stated, “To prepare for a match I usually sleep before and remind myself, ‘I can do all things through Christ, and then go out and kick butt!”
Murray thinks more girls should step out of their comfort zone and give this fun sport a shot!
Varsity boys wrestler, Senior Justin Kruse for boys wrestling explains that the season is going well.
Kruse states “my favorite part of the season is definitely regionals and state because you get to be in a big arena at state and its win or your season is over and it’s just a great atmosphere to wrestle in.”
Junior Jaxson Thomas believes, “My favorite part of the season is state week because you finally get in to truly test yourself and all the work you’ve put into being better.”
Kruse and Thomas both have big goals. Kruse would like to qualify for state and place in the top six, winning league, while Thomas would like to get on the podium at state. Kruse is expecting to go to state for the third time and is hoping to get on the podium this year and compete for a League championship while Thomas is hoping to finish on a strong note by preparing and hoping to get a spot on the podium at state in February.
Kruse explains how he prepares for a match and states, “I normally just go out there and see what happens and try not to overthink too much because that’s normally when I make mistakes.”
Thomas prepares by, “Usually just stretch and bounce around staying warm, thinking through my match and really try and zero in on the win.”
Kruse says “As a senior, it’s sad knowing this will be my last year wrestling ever but I’m excited to look back and watch some of the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors compete in the coming years.”
Varsity boys swimmer Senior Ebb Nelson on the boy’s swim team expresses that the season has gone well and that they have been swimming hard and winning meets.
Nelson’s favorite part of the season is, “Definitely all of it. Meets are just a good environment because it’s the
most positive interaction with other teams.”
Freshman Peyton Holmes states that his favorite part of the season so far was at their third meet at Hummer Sports Park.
Nelsons’ goal for the season is, “To PR in all of my races and just step up to be a team leader. I wanted to show the younger guy’s how things work and to help them develop into great swimmers.”
Nelson hopes to win at city if not league and expresses that it is going to be a challenge but that they have a shot at it.
Holmes’s goals are, “To get all the strokes figured out and swim in a lot of different events.”
They both have their ways of preparing for a match. Nelson prepares for a match by listening to music at different paces and stretching a lot to allow all of his muscles to warm up as much as possible, while Holmes stretches and does the warmups with the team. Holmes would like to get a PR in the free and possibly go to state as his goals for the season.
Nelson expresses, “I think with our seniors leaving this year, there needs to be more of a push to join. The team has a great atmosphere and I have enjoyed it since freshman year.”
Varsity girls’ bowler, Senior Makenzie Millard on the girl’s bowling team says that the season went very well and that the team bonded great!
Millard said, “I think my favorite part of the season was definitely spending time with the girls and always being in such a great mood and having a great time on and off the lanes.”
Sophomore Cheyenne Turkin says, “My favorite part of the season so far has to be the van/bus rides to out-of-town meets.”
Millard says, “I expected to finish undefeated but we came up a little short at state, we had a great season which has rubbed off on this season.”
Turkin is hoping to finish the season with a state championship trophy and she set a goal for herself which was, “To pick up my spares and have clean games. Also having a good attitude going into a hard practice.”
JV Boys Bowler Senior Cooper Holloway on the boys bowling teams says that the season started really well.
Holloway expresses, “My favorite part of the season is throwing a 651 series through three games and taking second place during that tournament.”
He is expecting to finish the season better than he stated and his goal is to take first in at least one tournament before the season is over.
