Winter Previews
Boys Basketball
Coach: Hunter Thomas
Captains: Seniors Timothy Fisher and Dillon Thomas
Last year’s finish: 12-10
Key Athletes: Dillon Thomas, Timothy Fisher
Key Athletes lost: Brett Buisson
Coach Quote: I feel that we could compete for the conference championship this year. We have a good core of returning players and a very good group of JV players moving up. We should be able to compete with anyone this year. We are bigger, stronger, and more skilled then we have been in the past few years. – Coach Thomas
Player Quote: “This season is going to be a special one and I am really looking forward to spending the season with such a great group of guys.” – Dillon Thomas
Girls Basketball
Coach: Jim Bettis
Last year’s finish: 10-10
Captains: Seniors Maggie Blackmon and Sara Puglisi
Key Athletes: Maggie Blackmon, Sara Puglisi, Eliza Himmel, Jesse Nash, Audrie Corral, Gabby Swan, and Suzanne Bunce
Key Athletes lost: Megan Sherman and Lexi Barshinger
Coach Quote: “I am looking forward to this year. The girls have done a tremendous job in the off season, working out in the weight room, extra conditioning, and working hard at open gym sessions. I look forward to building on the success from last year’s team, and trying to advance in the playoffs.” – Coach Bettis
Player Quote: “We return a lot of players and have been playing together for several years now. Our experience and teamwork is an advantage and I think we have a good chance to win a conference championship which would be fun – if we take care of business. The whole team has been working really hard in the off season and we love the game so we’re excited to get back out there with Coach Bettis and put all of our hard work into action.” – Sara Puglisi
Gymnastics
Coach: Tracy Layne
Last year’s finish: 3-5, sixth in conference, and sent Erika Reiter on vault and Logan Gutzmer on beam and floor to the regional meet
Captains: Junior Erika Reiter and Sophomore Lady Corral
Key Athletes: Erika Reiter, Logan Gutzmer, Lady Corral, and Sheridan Little
Key Athletes lost: Rita Dogbo and Emma Alli
Coach Quote: “We are looking forward to another hard-working and dedicated team… and we are looking to add some new and talented young ladies. Gymnastics is hard on the body but we have tough girls. We are excited about this season!” – Coach Layne
Player Quote: “Gymnastics is always a fun time. I’m excited this year to hopefully meet some new people and have a great season with the other girls on the team.” – Sarah Ingersoll
Indoor Track and Field
Coach: WC Winston
Captains: Indoor track does not have captains
Last year’s finish:
Girls: 4th in Conference 11
Boys: 8th in Conference 11
Key Athletes:
Girls: Britton Wilson, Rebekah Greene, Saja Alexander, and Emily Whitty
Boys: Matt Chilton, Ronan Higgins, Reid Weston, and Camden Rosenfelder
Key Athletes lost: Maddie Philhower and Stephen Tivenan
Coach Quote: “I’m excited about the season on both the boys’ and girls’ teams… if we can establish some depth and score some points in some of the middle distance and distance races we should have a solid season. On the boys’ side we are still pretty young on the sprints and field event side. Our strength will be in the middle distance and distance group. The key on both sides is staying healthy. [I’m excited about] seeing a lot of high character individuals forming a solid bond and team. I hope that come day one of practice that the freshmen don’t get lost looking [for] our ‘indoor track’” – Coach Winston
Player Quote: “I’m super excited for the upcoming season. I’m excited to meet new teammates and really come together as a team.” – Rebekah Greene
Dance Team
Coach: Alyssa Paulette
Last year’s finish: 2nd in both Jazz and Pom categories at the RVA Dance Team Invitational
Captains: Logan Brocklehurst and Logan Rae Dooms
Key Athletes: “We have a variety of dancers who are all strong in different ways, ranging from technical skills to performance and showman ship.” – Coach Paulette
Key Athletes lost: Madison Ernestes, Morgan Thiel, Sara Moncure, Savannah Beatley, and Morgan Motley
Coach Quote: “The team had a bond like glue last season, and everyone worked together as a cohesive unit. Now we have a new team and must work on rebuilding the bond. I’m excited to see that all come together when they take the floor during the first basketball game of the season!” – Coach Paulette
Player Quote: “I’m excited for the progression of the season for dance team because we will be preforming more, for example, in basketball games and the rest of the pep rallies as well as our competition in March.” – Charlotte Zerbst
Wrestling:
Coach: Bob Harris
Last year’s finish: 12-4; 3rd in Conference
Captains: Seniors Carson Tinsley, Tyler Hunt, and Mitchell Wein
Key Athletes: Carson Tinsley, Tyler Hunt, Mitchell Wein, and Garrett Chandler
Key Athletes lost: Trey Turnage, Cainan Brooks, and Nico Rivera
Coach Quote: “We will have a strong team this year and should have a shot at the conference championship, especially if we can fill some holes in the upper weights.” – Coach Harris
Player Quote: “I’m excited for all the tournaments and matches we have to prepare us to win back the conference championship.” – Junior Noah Smith
Why isn’t Godwin Swimming in the Winter Sports Review? First year as a Varsity sport, these athletes work hard early every morning, let’s give them some credit, it’s very exciting that it has come so far!!!
Hi Ms. Bartley,
Thank you so much for expressing your concerns. As a school newspaper we are always looking for ways to improve, and we rely on our readers to help us remain objective and continue to report the news accurately. We did not include Eagles’ swimming in this article because we did a separate story on Eagles’ swimming becoming a varsity in our most recent print issue. These previews are, typically, written to provide an overview of what each sport season will look like, and we decided that due to swimming just becoming a varsity, we needed to focus on it more than just an outline. As an Eagle swimmer, myself, I truly appreciate your concerns, and understand that our print issues do not always make it home. We are working hard to redesign our online newspaper, and in doing so, we plan to jump all print articles onto the online. The swimming becoming a varsity article should be up soon, but the process has been tedious.
Thank you again for expressing your concerns,
Emma Ford, Online Editor-in-chief
Thank you Emma for your response, we look forward to seeing the story as you have done a wonderful job w/ your articles and so excited to have Godwin Swimming as a varsity sport this year and that you as well are a team member!