With fall sports coming to a close, winter sports are preparing for their upcoming seasons.
Boys Basketball
Under new head coach Phil Wilson, the boys basketball season will begin on Dec. 8 with a game against Princeton High School at University High School. Prior to the first game, tryouts began on Nov. 13 in the Field House and, after tryouts concluded, practices were held during the school week at varying times. Wilson believes that the team will do well as the boys want to “work hard and strive for more.”
“This season will be challenging but I think our boys will be up for the challenge,” said Wilson. “Come ready to work hard!”
Girls Basketball
Tryouts for the girls basketball team began on Nov. 6 and practices are held Monday-Saturday for about two and a half hours each day in the Field House or the Jack Stephens Gym. The first game of the season will be against Spring Mills on Dec. 8 at Trinity High School.
“I believe we have the opportunity to have a good season,” said coach Chris Murray. “We really committed ourselves to having a tremendous off-season, and we have a great group of girls returning that seem hungry to compete and win.”
Swimming
The swim team began practices on Oct. 23, and will still accept any PHS student with a good academic standing. There are no tryouts; all students who can swim an unassisted 25 yards, the length of the pool, may join the team. All other skills necessary to compete will be taught during the season. According to coach Emily Martin, the sport provides great cardiovascular and strength training with little stress on the joints, making it an off-season training option for students in fall and spring sports. Practices are held at the Parkersburg YMCA, following a consistent weekly schedule: Mondays are 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Fridays 5:30 a.m.-7:30 a.m. The first swim meet of the season, in which the Big Reds placed first overall in both the boys and girls teams, was the Autumn Classic on Nov 11 in Scott Depot.
“I think this is going to be an outstanding season for the Big Red swim team,” said Martin. “We have a lot of talent on both (boys and girls) teams that has been really growing and developing over the last couple years, plus several new additions to the team that bring a lot of experience and talent with them. We graduated a lot of seniors last year, so I think a lot of teams around the state may be ready to count us out. But our swimmers are working hard every day and I think we will prove a lot of people wrong with what we can do as a team.”
Wrestling
Practices for the wrestling team have started, occurring daily after school in the Field House from 3:30 p.m.-5:30 pm. Placements in the team are open to all students who wish to participate. The first match and official start of the season will be on Dec. 6 in Ripley.
“I think we’ll do really well this year,” said wrestling coach Matthew Littleton. “We’re returning some pretty good kids and some really good freshmen. We’ve got a roster size of 35, and practices have been going well. I think the season will go better than expected.”
