By: Lainey Font 

     As the winter ends, so do our winter sports here at Eisenhower. The girls sports offered during this time of the year include basketball, cheerleading, and the new girls wrestling team.  

     The girls’ basketball team is comprised of eight underclassmen and stand at a losing record. This year was a building year for them, as they gained a lot of experience from playing a tough schedule and don’t graduate any players going into next year. The Squire asked sophomore Clara Steinberg about the struggles the team had this year, and she shared, “It’s been a hard season having such a young team. We make some young team mistakes sometimes, but we have been learning from them and getting better as a team.”  

     Despite their struggles throughout the year, their playoff hopes are still alive. Last year the knights were seeded last at eighth in the playoff and are hopeful for a better spot this year. Generally, a team must be above .500 in record to make the playoff, but, taking strength of schedule into consideration, this team could sneak in. Steinberg also explained that the team is optimistic and plan to work hard and play as a team to make the playoffs. Remember to wish the team a good luck as they approach playoffs. 

     This year, the cheer team has thirteen members after not having a team last year. The team has one senior, four juniors, one sophomore, and seven freshmen. They cheer for the boys basketball team and occasionally the girls basketball team. They bring a lot of energy and have a ton of fun with it. The Squire asked junior Aliza Olsen about the best part of cheer, and she shared, “Making friendships, bringing school spirit to games and just being there to support the team is nice.”  

     In addition to supporting the team themselves, they also get the fans very excited and cheerful during the games. Olsen added, “I think it’s made a difference because we like to get fans excited for the game and we also like to have the crowd participate in different things, which I think helps keep the boys and fans motivated.” This year’s cheer squad does a great job and is looking forward to the seasons ahead of them. 

     This year, the wrestling team fields three girls on Eisenhower’s roster who are all freshmen. Girls wrestling is new this year to PIAA since it was added officially in May of 2023. It was a long process, but was finally added due to the increased interest in girls wrestling.  

     The Squire asked freshman Bryn Lindell about what it’s like being one of the first group of girls to wrestle here, and she shared, “There has been more girls before us at Eisenhower, but now girls wrestling is being recognized… this is the first year in Pennsylvania that girls will have their own sanctioned post-season tournament. Being one of the few older girls at the school, I feel as if the younger girls look up to us as an inspiration.” 

     Even though the girl wrestlers now have their own post season tournament, they still wrestle boys during the regular season. Lindell added, “Wrestling boys who are most of the time more experienced, I feel that us girls spend more time defending…wrestling girls will make it a more even match, where we will be able to take control of the match itself.” The team all together has an even record. As the regular season shifts into the post season, all wrestlers have been preparing for their individual success on the mat; be sure to wish them a good luck.   

     With final games approaching, the teams would love to see students making it out to a game while the season comes to an end. As the playoffs approach, be sure to look for locations and show out and support the teams here at Eisenhower. 

Photo Courtesy of Steve Younger