January often marks the middle of the winter sports season. These sports include programs such as Boys/Girls Basketball, Boys/Girls Swimming, Wrestling, Academic team, Forensics, and Indoor Track and Field.
Boys Basketball has had somewhat of a slow start to the season, to say the least. At the time of writing this article the team has a record of one win and 17 losses. Their one win was a nail biter against Hidden Valley High School with a final score of 49-47.
Captain and senior Luke Eversole spoke on the state of the team.
“It’s not going the way we wanted it to, but I love the guys I get to play with and wouldn’t ask for a more fun team,” Eversole said.
Girls Basketball is doing quite well on the other hand. With a record of eight and nine the Lady Cats are on track for a productive season. Their best games are by far their wins over Rockbridge rivals, Parry McCluer High School. These bitter rivals faced off twice this season and Rockbridge ended up sweeping the two game series.
Senior Captain Emma Clark emphasized the improvement of the team.
“I am really proud of how hard all the girls have worked! We have improved so much this season and we are all so close making it easy to communicate on the court and knowing where we are all located on that court,” Clark said.
Boys and Girls Swimming are both off to quite the performance. The boys team has come in first multiple times this season powered by the performances of junior Keagan Black and senior Spencer Pfaff. When asked about this season, Pfaff had a great outlook on the past, present, and future.
“Everyone has been swimming great and achieving best times. I hope we can carry this through districts, regions, and states,” Pfaff said.
Girls swimming has also been doing quite well with sophomore Camille Fuentes having this to say about the season.
“Everyone’s been making so much progress this year, it’ll be sad to see the seniors go but it’s been such a fun season and team that I always look forward to competing with and practicing with,” Fuentes said.
Pivoting from the pool to the mat, the Wrestling team has been on an absolute tear recently. Leading the charge for the boys is junior Hudson Ryan, senior Kellan Dorey, and senior Aiden Williams.
Williams is optimistic about the future of the team,“Overall the team has been doing well, working hard, and it’s been paying off. We’re hoping to win the district title and do the best we can moving forward,” Williams stated.
Speaking of achievements, the Academic A Team has been on a roll. With their latest meet, they won 280-145 against Spotswood, and also beat Harrisonburg 345-115. Beating those teams secured them an undefeated record and placing first in the valley district.
Senior Lydia Kendall praised the new members and what they have done.
“I think the academic team season has been going really well. I’m really proud of how the new members are stepping up and I think that we have a good chance of making it back to states this year, ” Kendall said.
Forensics also competes in the winter. They have had four meets this year. Sophomore Liam Stillwell leads the team as he continues to place top three in every meet.
“I have loved focusing more on the smaller aspects of my speech, and making sure that every element flows into a rhythm that connects the entire room. Hopefully, we can make a triumphant return to the states this year,” Stillwell said.
Hurdling over onto indoor track, the team looks to improve everyday. With each indoor meet, players strive to beat and set new PR’s for themselves. Their last meet was at Heritage High School, sophomore Finbar Looney had a new PR in shot put. Freshman Ariana Mitchell placed fifth for high jump.
Junior Celia Jones talks about the team.
“This team is small but we’ve all grown really well with each other and I’ve loved seeing the improvement I’ve made along with the rest of the team,” Jones said.
Overall the ‘Cats have had an array of performances so far this season and only time will tell how the winter season will end.
