All winter sports prepare for good season
By Alex Ryan, Reporter

Wrestling
  The wrestling team is in the midst of a strong season. Head coach Anders Blomgren is currently coaching the youngest team he has worked with in his career, with seven freshman starting this season. Last year, the team placed in both league and districts. Blomgren is hopeful that, building off this success, the new team will send several members to the state competition.
  “We have a lot of potential, that’s for sure,” Blomgren said.
  So far this season, the team has competed in 3 matches — all victories.. Over the course of the season, the team will wrestle in a total of six matches and six tournaments. They will also be hosting one of their own tournaments, welcoming 15 other teams to the island on Dec. 29.
  “[The tournament] is a big event for our team and our community,” Blomgren said,
  Community members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Girls Basketball
  Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams have started the season strong with five wins, and zero losses. Their first game, against Bremerton on Wednesday, Nov. 28, ended in an overtime win with a score of 39-35.
  Senior Ava Butler predicts massive improvements due to the new practice style.
  “We are doing a lot of game-like situations where it will help us be more prepared,” Butler said.
  Butler predicts there a good future for the team, especially with the large turnout from the freshman class.
  “I’m excited to see what [the freshmen] will do for us,” Butler said.

Boys Basketball
  The boys basketball team expects a good season as well, and the Varsity team has begun the season with a decisive 47-32 win over overlake. Since then, the team has racked up three wins and narrowly lost one game to Toledo. They have 15 games left in the season.
  “I expect for us to work hard and get as good as we can get,” head coach Andy Sears said.
  Even though five prominent seniors graduated last year, Sears has no doubt that the younger players will be able to fill their spots, despite the challenges.
  “We’ve had some guys who’ve had to step into some [big] roles,” Sears said.
  Sears also noted the improvement and leadership of the seniors, and can easily see the team thriving and setting higher standards for the season, especially with the leadership from captains Finbarr Anderson and Edgar Hernandez-Torres.

Cheerleading
  The cheer team is strongly motivated by the newest team members, despite being comprised of only 18 members.
  “I expect us to really grow as a team this year,” co-captain senior Lauren Henley said.
  Several team members have shown a great deal of improvement already, including sophomore Emma Barker.
  “[She] really shows a lot of skill in her cheering, dancing, and stunting,” Henley said. “She is one of our strongest bases.”
  As a unit, the team has grown to push each other to succeed, both at practice and that games at which they perform. The team will also be participating in a cheer competition later in the season.
  “We have a lot of new girls joining us this season,” Henley said. “I think it’s going to give us a lot of motivation to improve on our stunting and performances.”