By: Easton Fitzgerald 

     Along with the holiday season rolling in, girls’ winter sports are getting started with their games, matches, and activities. Girls’ basketball has already played their first few games, girls wrestling has blown the whistle of their first matches, and girls’ winter cheerleading supporting the first few boys’ basketball games. The Squire is back once again this holiday season to keep students informed about varsity girls sports.  

      Varsity girls’ basketball played the Corry Beavers for their season opener. Unfortunately, they lost 56-50, with several minor injuries and a couple of girls fouling out. Following this game, the girls scored themselves a win against Girard, with the final score coming to 40-29. This game gave the girls a bit more hope coming off the harsh loss against Corry. Head coach DJ Steinberg has been working hard at keeping the team consistent and competitive.  

     The Squire spoke with freshman player, Kira Walker, regarding what the team has been doing each day at practice to get better this season. She explained, “Our practices usually start off by lifting or form shooting, then we continue to condition and work on our offensive and defensive plays. Occasionally, we have optional shooting for a half an hour after our practice is over.” 

     The Squire also asked Walker what the biggest challenge their team will face this year is. She noted, “This season, I think some challenges will be the number of players we have. We have significantly less players than most of the other teams we play against.”  

     In the world of girls wrestling, the team is considerably smaller compared to the boys team. Notably, this is the first year that the girls get to have their own team, combining with the rest of Warren County. Eisenhower holds five girls’ wrestlers, Bryn Lindell, Leah Morrison, Nakita Nelson and Abby Darr, as well as Kendall Moore who unfortunately tore her ACL and is unable to wrestle this season. 

     The Squire asked junior wrestler, Bryn Lindell, who is her biggest supporter this year and what they have done to support her. She answered, “My biggest supporters are by far my parents. They are always there to support me. My mom is there to support me, while my dad really helps me with skills and techniques to help me improve. I would also mention coach Baldensperger, who is my head coach. All three of these people continue to believe in me and dedicate their time to support me.” 

     Lastly, girls’ winter cheerleading is in two sections, with a competitive cheerleading squad and a basketball cheerleading squad. Eisenhower has not had a competitive team in over a decade, so we hope the girls can show up this season. Starting the season, they’ve had one competition so far. In that competition, they placed third overall, and they left feeling pleased with how they performed. The basketball cheerleading team has only had a few practices, with just two per week. They have been working hard to support the boys’ team. 

     The Squire asked sophomore, Katie Upton, how she handles pressure in high stakes moments while cheering. She explained, “If the pressure is during a game and for a cheer, I just do it. The coach, Ms. Chapman, says that it’s okay if you mess it up because no one is really watching. She also says that it’s important to just have fun.”  

     This year, make sure to stay tuned for the upcoming games and matches. Keep up with all our team schedules by going to www.wcsdpa.org/page/athletics and support your Lady Knights. 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!