By: Lainey Font 

     As fall sports come to an end, winter sports are now in full swing. Basketball and wrestling athletes have been preparing for a successful season.  

     In their first game of the season, the girls basketball team took a win at Johnsonburg. The girls are coming off a 12-11 season that ended in the first round of playoffs against Kennedy Catholic. Head coach DJ Steinberg is going into his second year of coaching the girls varsity team with gained experience from last year, and he has high hopes to be competitive in region play. 

     The Squire interviewed sophomore Laney Belcher about the tough region schedule, and she shared, “To prepare for our tough schedule, we will need every girl to attend practices and be ready to put in hard work… We also need everyone to be fully focused and learn the plays so we can run an effective offense and defense.” The team is also aware of the struggle of losing five seniors due to graduation. Belcher added that having a young team of only sophomores and freshmen could affect them at times when they play more experienced competition. Regardless, this team is ready for a great season ahead of them. 

     The boys basketball team is coming off a successful 12-9 season that came to an end in the third-place consolation game of the District 10 playoffs against Cambridge Springs. The team brings back lots of experience with many returning varsity players. However, they do face challenges, losing three seniors from last year. The Squire interviewed senior Kyler Black to ask about those losses, and he shared, “The losses of Kael Hunt, Wyatt Lookenhouse, and Logan Fincher hurt, but we’ve been able to fill those gaps with freshman Austin Hanson, sophomore Gavin Lindemuth, and junior Casey Seymour all coming in and starting for us.” 

     Last year, the team came third in region standings, and hope to climb higher. Black added, “Winning the region has always been the goal and we all believe it’s possible this year which has led to everyone buying in on practices pushing each other.” The team has been hard at work, constantly learning to get better. This year’s team holds a lot of talent and could be competitive for a region or district title. They look forward to a successful season in front of them. 

     The wrestling team enters the season with sixteen total athletes, including six freshman, three sophomores, two juniors, and five seniors. This year, there are three girls on the team. Last year’s wrestling team ended with multiple districts qualifiers and three regional qualifiers. The team is bringing back two region qualifiers in senior Tucker Lindell and junior Griffin Williams.  

     However, due to graduation, the team lost three wrestlers that the team could find trouble replacing. The Squire interviewed Williams about the team’s biggest challenge this year and he shared, “I feel our team needs to score bonus points not having a heavyweight all year. Then another challenge will be really getting the freshmen worn in and battle ready. It’s a jump to high school and you need to work for what you want.” Williams also shared that he feels it is important to focus on staying healthy and strong if they want to win the region. The Eisenhower wrestling team has big goals ahead of them. 

     This year, make sure to stay tuned for the upcoming games and matches that are posted on the bulletin board at the end of the G hallway by Mrs. Joncas’s room, or the new IKE Sports bulletin board by the cafeteria. You can also find student section themes on the Pig Pen page on Instagram. Don’t forget to wish these teams good luck in their seasons.