6sports JV men’s basketball team finishes 11-11
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he men’s junior varsity basketball team finished its season with a 11-11 overall record. The team exceeded preseason expectations after losing two freshman to the varsity squad, team members said. “We’ve had a successful season; we had a few losses back to back, but we’ve been taking practice more seriously,” freshman Zach Bell said. “Overall, we did well. I watched the JV basketball games last year, and I think we all improved. Some freshmen stepped up and put up some points.” The team’s last game of the season was at Tuscola for the first round of conference tournament. The Falcons lost, 72-60.
JV women finish their season 14-3
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he women’s junior varsity basketball team ended with a record of 14-3 (10-3 in conference) and clinched a second place spot in the Appalachian Athletic Conference behind Tuscola. “We were always saying in practice, ‘No doubts’ because we were very confident in our team,” freshman Kalen Orr said. “The team played very well together, which was key in our domination game against North. (Sophomore) Natalie Rice had a lot of rebounds and points. (Freshman) Katie Laughter hustled and stole the ball a lot. I’m very proud of this team.” The team played its final game of the season against Franklin, winning 53-46.
Men’s, women’s swim teams sweep local meets, place at state Camen Royse Asst. Sports Editor
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s senior Michael Reesor stepped onto the block for the final leg of the men’s 200-yard medley relay, the remainder of the state qualifiers watched in anticipation. The teams were competing in the consolation finals at the state meet. Senior Shane Courtney, swimming butterfly, came into the wall and Reesor dived into the water. West was milliseconds behind, hovering in the middle of the rankings. As Reesor picked up speed, he passed one team after another until finally he was leading. His personal best of 22.83 in the 50-yard freestyle secured a win in the heat, giving the relay team, including senior Niall Courtney and sophomore Dylon Johnson, ninth place. “With us moving up to the 3A conference, I was expecting a lot fewer people to make it to state,” senior Shane Courtney said. “The competition increased a lot, but we had a lot of swimmers make it to state that weren’t expected to, which I was very impressed with.” Despite a lack of seniors, the women’s team enjoyed success at the state level as well. The women’s team placed third at the conference meet and qualified four swimmers and three divers for the state meet. At state, the women’s team received a cumulative ranking of 14th. The women’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Bethany Grayson, freshman Jillian Heywood and juniors Katie King and Krista Van Giesen placed 15th. Junior Alexie Mina placed fourth in springboard div-
ing and received a medal. During the county meet on Jan. 16, both the men’s and women’s teams defeated East Henderson and Hendersonville to become Henderson County champions. Shane Courtney said the team has a lot to look forward to in future years. “The underclassmen were very determined to improve, and a bunch of them made it to regionals,” Shane Courtney said. “Next year, if we have the swimmers we have now, I think we’ll have a very good state team next year and the year after that.” Sophomore Bethany Grayson also has optimism for the future of the swim teams. “We had a lot of fast underclassmen, and there were several promising freshmen,” Grayson said. “It was our underclassmen that’s holding the varsity team together. Last year we had a lot of seniors and a lot more upperclassmen leadership. This year there were a lot of people who had quit swimming. We had a smaller team than we had last year, so we didn’t have to make cuts. Having a smaller team can benefit our practice time, but in meets it cost us points.” Van Giesen, a captain, was named the Times-News Edward Jones Player of the Week on Jan. 12. “I was really surprised when I was told that I had won. Usually the player (of the week) is a basketball player, not a swimmer,” she said. “Swimming is a very tough sport that involves hard work and dedication, and it was nice to be recognized as a successful swimmer.” The men’s team placed first in the Appalachian Athletic Conference meet, and the women finished third.
Making a Splash
At the Henderson County championships on Jan. 16, junior Alexie Mina (top) competes in the 200 yard individual medley. At the same meet, sophomore Bradley Haley swims the 200-yard individual medley. The Falcons swept the meet, winning the top spot in the county.
Men’s basketball team headed to 3A playoffs Kevin Robinson Asst. Sports Editor
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JV wrestling gains valuable experience
Photo by Ralph Raesemann
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articipating in junior varsity tournaments across Western North Carolina, the JV wrestlers have gained experience for the future. They competed at Fred T. Foard, R.S. Central and Enka during the season. “I feel like our wrestlers did pretty well individually. We had a lot of people place at the JV tournaments we went to,” sophomore Tyler Bice said. “I think we’ve gained a lot of skills that will serve us well when we move up to varsity. We’ll see a lot of success because of the experience we gained.”
Photos used with permission of Lifetouch
JV Briefs
wingspan • february 19, 2010
Keeping Posession Searching for a teammate to pass the ball to at East Henderson on Feb. 11, junior Kevin Thomas tries to get around an Eagle defender. The Falcons fell to East, 37-47.
he score was 35-35 as senior Keenan Young toed the free throw line to take the shot that would clinch the Falcon’s victory over county rival East Henderson last month. The Falcons had been down by 19 points earlier in the game. Young had two shots, but only needed one to lift the Falcons over the Eagles. “I was a little nervous, but I knew I could make one,” Young said. “Coach told me all I had to do was make the first and then miss the second on purpose so that we could run out the rest of the clock, and that’s what I did.” The men’s basketball team ended up winning the Jan. 15 game, improving their conference record. The Falcons are 9-13, 5-7 in conference, in the inaugural season of the Appalachian Athletic Conference. However, according to junior Jordan Bell, the team has not quite met its preseason expectations. “We had a lot of confidence coming into this season. I thought we would have a better record, but 9-13 doesn’t show how good we really are,” Bell said. “We beat a lot of good teams, like Brevard and Hendersonville.” The team’s second win came against county rival Hendersonville, who were ranked third in the state in the 1A classification. The Falcons, coming off a loss to T.C. Roberson, took a 20-point victory over the Bearcats. It was one of Hendersonville’s only losses this season. Head Coach Rob Bliss was pleased with the team’s improvement and is optimistic about their postseason chances. “This team was very experienced, and I think that will play well for us as we go into the playoffs,” Bliss said. The Falcons will face either Enka or North Buncombe in the first round of the playoffs Monday after losing to Tuscola in the first round of the conference tournament earlier this week. “The loss to Tuscola was tough; we had beat them once and lost to them once, so we knew we were going to have to play our best to beat them,” senior Weston Landreth said. Record: “Things didn’t work out, but we can still work to get better for playoffs.”
9-13
numbers
15-6
men’s record in West’s first basketball season in 1961
1991
year of West’s women’s basketball state title
1,782
record for most points scored in a career, held by Joey Bryson
24
average points scored by Bryson per game
6’1”
average height of the current men’s team