Now that fall sports are ending, the focus is shifting towards our winter sports. Woodgrove High School offers a variety of winter sports including wrestling, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, track, and winter cheer. Woodgrove has shifted from 5A to 4A for competition class due to a dip in enrollment and size adjustments of surrounding schools. This means we will have a whole new lineup of schools to face in our athletic competitions.
A popular sport at Woodgrove is Winter Track. Senior Cj Carter’s advice for any future athletes going into this sport is to, “Give it a shot. If you do not do well, keep trying. You can only get better.” He was very optimistic about how this season will turn out based on the varsity line up this year. Coach Kelly Pollard supported that statement by adding, “The seniors from last year that we lost laid the foundation for our athletes this year.” She advises athletes to continue to train their cardio and to pick up weight training. The Track team’s first home meet is on Wednesday January 10, 2024, so be sure to show up and support our track team.
Another one of Woodgrove’s athletic staples is Boys Basketball. Senior Collin Fuller is very optimistic on how this season will go. He advises new athletes joining the team to, “Shoot to be varsity, don’t stop at just being on JV; you need to be mentally tough to succeed.” Coach Konstantine Papastergiou recommends players to lift weights and prepare themselves mentally for the season. He says basketball is a great sport not only for athleticism, but it also provides team building skills. “Just like the painting on the gym wall says, stay wild, for anything you do, not just sports,” Coach Papastergiou added.
One more of Woodgrove’s great sports is wrestling. Many of last year’s varsity wrestlers have moved on from high school, and we have lost several of the team’s heavyweight classes. Regardless, Coach Sigler seemed confident in our current lineup stating, “I think we will pull through.” Sophomore Sawyer Jones’ advice on how future wrestlers should prepare was to, “Just never stop working hard; the harder you work the better you will be.” The team will be set up into three groups for practice this year: Varsity A, Varsity B, as well as a JV group for more in depth practices.
Even though last year’s talented seniors have left, through the advice from experienced coaches, and the talent of our current athletes, Woodgrove is destined to have a great winter season.
