Winter sports season coming

By Michael Harthorne

The Ballard High School winter sports season is just around the corner, bringing with it five teams and dozens of student athletes hoping to succeed in a tough KingCo league.

Boys Swimming

The boys swim team lost almost half its athletes to graduation last year, but head coach Thor Tyson said coach Leo Jaeger spearheaded a recruiting effort that brought 20 new swimmers to the team.

"We are all very excited by the turnout and looking forward to a season that should see even more than the normal improvement in performance since many of our new participants look athletically gifted but do not have much competitive swimming or diving experience," Tyson said.

Jaeger said the team finished around .500 last year due to a talent-laden KingCo 4A, but was able to send two swimmers to state to compete in individual events, both of whom graduated.

This season, senior co-captain Josh Jaeger, who made it to state last season as part of the relay team, will be expected to lead the team, Tyson said.

Sophomore Alex Larson is the other Ballard swimmer with a great chance to make it to state, Tyson said.

Jaeger said this year's team has something that coaches can't always depend on teams having - work ethic.

"These kids know what hard work is and they've done very, very well," he said.

Wrestling

The wrestling team has two new co-head coaches this season in Luke Hagler and Domingo Gomez, and Hagler said it has a hardworking and dedicated core group of athletes.

Hagler said the team is fairly young and inexperienced, so it will be important to focus on basic techniques and learning the sport early on.

"Our goal for the entire team is to make each [wrestler] better by the end of the year," he said. "If as a team we make each individual better, then we will be successful."

Sophomore Taylor Anderson and junior Preston Parris should do well this season, Hagler said.

Girls Basketball

The girls' basketball team had a hugely successful season last year, finishing with a 24-3 record and coming in fourth in the state under head coach Karen Blair.

Derek Fulwiler, an associate head coach with the boys team last year, has replaced Blair and will be leading a team that is returning four key varsity players, including senior point guard Brianna Green in her fourth year on the varsity squad and junior forward Alexandria Lawrence in her third year on varsity.

"(Green) is going to be a critical factor of our success," Fulwiler said.

Right now the team's strength is defense and its play in the post, but the offense may take a while to get on track, Fulwiler said.

"I think 75 percent of our offense went out the door graduation night," he said.

Fulwiler said he is hoping for sophomore Theresa Moriarty to step into a scoring role this season.

Another sophomore, Elena DeWeese, has the opportunity to be one of the best post players in the league, he said.

Fulwiler said he is excited for the season because he doesn't see any individuals on the court when the team plays,

"It's an unselfish group that likes playing together," he said.

Gymnastics

Last year's gymnastics team had its best season ever, head coach Stephanie Gundel said.

The team finished third in KingCo with a 7-2 record and made it to districts as a team.

Despite having a young team with no seniors and only three juniors, Gundel said the team should be strong and is returning a lot of varsity players from last year, including sophomores Taylor Stern and Erica Redman who made it to state last season as freshmen.

Right now the team is working on getting its skills back after the off-season, then the athletes need to focus on putting those skills into routines, Gundel said.

In addition to Stern and Redman, Gundel said junior Emma Bowen, sophomore Molly Barnes, and freshmen Maureen Sturgeun and Maria Volk should have good years.

The main strength of the team this season will be its enthusiasm and energy, Gundel said.

Boys Basketball

The boys' basketball team finished 9-12 last year, missing the playoffs by a game or two. The team has never made the playoffs since joining KingCo.

"We're going to try to break that streak this year," head coach Billy Rodgers said.

Rodgers said he is hoping an experienced team - seven seniors and five juniors - with strong senior leadership can help Ballard overcome a tough schedule, including an opening-night game against Mercer Island.

The team, which is returning four starters from last season, has a lot of balance and depth, Rodgers said.

He said the team's guard play from seniors Nolan Kozu and Eric Taylor is excellent and the front court includes junior John Barnes, an All-KingCo selection and the team's leading scorer last season.

Michael Harthorne may be reached at 783.1244 or michaelh@robinsonnews.com