CELEBRATING WINTERS CLASS OF 2022 Senior athletes bring the competition this year

By Aaron Geerts Express staff writer

Winters High School is more than a bastion of academics. The rough, rowdy and resilient Winters Warriors are also dedicated and fierce athletes other schools should know to fear by now. The Class of 2022 has no shortage of such athletes, and they made the most out of the first full year of competition since the pandemic.

What sets WHS apart from many schools is the number of three-sport athletes. WHS Athletic Director Daniel Ward said the year before the pandemic hit, WHS had 55 three-sport athletes out of a student population of 450 while Davis Senior High School only had one out of a student population of about 3,000.

Unfortunately, the number of three-sport Warriors has decreased since for one reason or another. While Ward hopes those numbers increase next year, he doesn’t let it soften the praises he sings for the 2022 senior athletes.

“I’m proud of the seniors because they had to deal with more than any other senior class. Most of them missed half their sophomore year or whole junior year of sports. So, to come back and compete and play and finish seasons is special,” said Ward. “For a lot of kids I think a year off of sports was good because our numbers athletically were as high this year as they ever have been because a ton of kids wanted to come out and play sports again.”

With so many Warriors out to play, it made for a very special year with many senior athletes distinguishing themselves through the crucible of competition.

Football

Although the record for the 2021-22 season wasn’t necessarily ideal, the senior athletes were strong on the field. So strong, in fact, that three are going on to play at the collegiate level.

“Matt Moore is going to George Fox University, Memo Valadez is going to Feather River College and Emmet Edmon is going to go play at Yuba College,” said Ward, who is the varsity head football coach. “It’s really cool, I can’t remember a year where we had three people continuing on to the next level. That’s kind of like a proud papa moment where you want to see your kids go on and play for as long as they can, and to see three people in a year is super exciting.”

Even though seniors Connor Ray and Grayson Roberts were injured, their presence was sorely missed in the lineup. Ray was serving as a team lead- er when he was injured in week three of the season.

“Part of the reason we struggled this season is some of our best players were hurt. So, Conner Ray was having an amazing season and was our best defensive player,” said Ward.

Roberts came out strong on the field this season, until an injury took him out of the competition.

“Another big one, too, was Grayson Roberts. He — more than just football — would have been another three-sport athlete.”

At the 112th annual Powder Puff flag football game, the senior team fell short of dominating the juniors by five points. Shelby Boykin was in as quarterback and fought hard to get the ball up the field against the juniors quick defense. Jozlyn Rooney and Rylie Schroeder lead the team offensively, while Boykin and Jewelee’ah Garcia were valuable players for the defense team, breaking up critical plays. These four players were extremely consistent in making good plays but it was Ieva Zielmele, a foreign exchange student experiencing Powder Puff for the first time, who made the most memorable play of the night with a 90-yard run on an interception.

Swim

The senior water Warriors also made a splash in the competition this year Although there were only three, they made their head coach Devin Tice proud.

“Ensley Barbosa made a lot of improvement from the start of the season. She was always responsible about telling me what practices she could make and swam events in the meets when asked. David Rivas got very close to qualifying for the divisional meet. He was always bubbly and joy- ous at practices and meets and definitely one of the most social and talkative on the team,” Tice said.

Tice gave high praise for team captain Diego Valencia

“Diego Valencia was a standout senior swimmer because he made it to the top 16 masters meet and placed in his individual events. That was fourth in the 50 freestyle and got third in the 100 butterfly,” Tice said. “Diego was a team captain and was high spirited at practice and fun to coach.”

Cheer

The WHS cheer squad jumped into competitive cheer this year under the leadership of senior cheer captains Jasmine Jimenez, Aislynn Trojanowski and Brooklyn Mariani

Jimenez cheered for WHS for three years. Her dedication and hard work is what allowed her to be selected as one of this season’s captains.

“Jasmine is an all around stellar cheerleader. In dance and sideline cheers she stands out because of her energy, enthusiasm and technique. When stunting, Jasmine’s strength and stamina are key. All season long she has pushed herself and her stunt team to achieve advanced level stunts,” said coach Sterling Davis. Jimenez was also been selected to go to Hawaii for the UCA Spirit Parade this year.

“Aislynn always gives it her all as cheer captain. She has been a great leader so far this year and I’m excited to see what she brings the rest of her senior year,” said assistant coach Rachel Calvert. Mariani cheered all four years during her educational career at WHS.

“Brooklyn is a skilled and fearless flyer who is a selfless athlete and knows the meaning of teamwork. Even though she is our most experienced flyer, she is always willing to choose what’s best for the team before placing herself in the spotlight. Brooklyn’s dedication to cheer is what has made her one of our top athletes,” said Davis.

Jimenez, Trojanowski and Mariani used their combined years of cheerleading to provide the senior powder puff squad with the skills and technique they needed to nail their halftime show. This year’s senior powder puff cheer squad included

Atanacio Garcia, Easton Rivera, Joe Aguiar, Jayden McNeal, Kaden Tuttle and Logan Spears

Soccer

The seniors on the women’s varsity soccer team were also integral to success. For head coach Kim Olivas, watching them grow into better players over four years was as satisfying as any win.

“Joanna Cuevas Sandoval — or ‘Jojo’ as we call her — was a two-year captain and all-league defensive player. She’ll be joining the soccer program at Solano Community College next year while she decides what her next step is. Then Karina Echeverria was a captain and an all-league player. It’s been a joy seeing Karina go from a shy freshman struggling with confidence into a strong force on the field. She’ll be attending CSU Sacramento next year,” said Olivas.

“Jewelee’ah Garcia struggled with a nagging knee injury all four years. Her positive outlook, coachability and sheer willpower made her a big asset to the team. She’s going to Grand Canyon University in Arizona next year.”

Basketball

With new head coaches taking the reins for both varsity teams, the Warriors