Category Archives: Sports

Sports

Gymnastics girls spring into new season

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With a new coach this year, it does not look like the girls gymnastic team will have trouble springing into a new season.

“We have new coaches this year so we are going about prepping differently. We have practice after school and there we practice the events we will compete in,” senior Erin Kilke said.

The past few years the team has been very successful and new coach, Callie Jedrzejek, hopes to continue the tradition.

“I am hoping to improve on the girls skills, create a hard working environment for the girls, create team bonding and of course, have a winning season,”  Jedrzejek said.

This year, the team’s goal for the season is to achieve a score over 130.00 for one meet.

“We want to make it to states this year,” senior Jennifer Rinaldi said.

The team’s biggest rivals include: the Solon Comets, the Cuyahoga Falls Black Tigers and the Hudson Explorers with the Twinsburg Tiger’s trailing behind.

“Our biggest rivals would have to be Falls or Hudson, but I think we are going to beat them this year,” senior Emily Hudia said.

There are a few girls to watch out for this season: Sara Kasper is a level nine gymnast, who will be putting up some big scores this season. She is especially great on the floor and vault.

Hannah Schneider is a senior gymnast and her first time on the high school team. She is a level ten gymnast and will be contributing great scores on the bars and beams.

Jennifer Rinaldi is an all around wonderful gymnast who will be the lead scorer this season.

The girls have a tough gymnastic conference and have to be prepared if they want to win.

Rinaldi said, “We’re expecting this year to be pretty successful. We have a strong returning team and a couple of new girls who will definately be great assets. I’m looking forward to the season.”

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Sports

Boys wrestling prepares for victory

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Dating all the way back to 776 BC at Olympia’s first Olympic Games, wrestling has not only been a recreational sport, but also a form of hand to hand combat.

Dan Gable, who had a collegiate career of 181-1 once said, “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.”

Wrestling is a lifelong commitment for some people. Junior State Qualifier Kyle Jenkins says he has been wrestling for 12 years, ever since he was five years old.

We asked Jenkins, with the sport being so difficult, why do students continue to wrestle? He replied, “Everyone seems to have a lot of fun together. Wrestling makes people closer than anyone can imagine.”

Wrestling is a sport still growing in popularity. Since 2003, the number of student wrestling in high school has increased by 40,000.

How can such a popular sport still by growing. According to Jenkins, “The sport has great interest because it takes a lot of hard work and brings a great reward. It helps you grow as a person and is a great way to make new friends and have fun.”

Wrestling is arguably one of the toughest sports, Sophomore Joey Andrassy said, “Wrestling is a tough sport, its a grind.” He continued to say, “The season is long and having to cut weight during Christmas break is hard.”

When wrestlers cut weight, they attempt to lose as much fat as possible to obtain a higher strength-to-mass ratio. Theoretically, that should give an advantage against wrestlers at the same weight. Some wrestlers go to extreme lengths to cut weight, such as not eating for days on end and drinking only a microscopic amount of water. Then, after one weighs in, one eats a large quantity of food and liquid in a small time, only to starve it off the next day. No other athlete in any other sport can say they go through that trouble just to participate at the next match.

Jenkins said, “Last year overall wasn’t too bad of a season. It was a young team and a down year, this year should be a lot different.”

When asking Andrassy what he looks forward to this season he said, “I’m looking forward to wrestling down in Columbus (for states) at the end of the season, I want to win that state title.”

After the new year if one is looking for a way to support these hard workers, the James G. Tyree Invitational will be held in the gym of the high school on January 3.