Chieftain Thanksgiving 2019 | Page 8

CHIEFTAIN Sports Winter Sports Stepping to Center Stage The BASKETBALL team looks to bring in young talent to support return- ing players like Senior Jon Brantley and Junior Mikkos Stewart. When asked about how the team looks to improve from last year, Coach Palmer said, “We got more talent this year and if we can come together, we’ll do great things.” Brantley, a four-year Varsity player who has committed to Lafayette, is looking forward to his last year at Rice. “As a Senior, there’s nothing more important than winning,” he said. “That’s my main focus, along with at- tempting to lead this team.” -Joey Farrar Senior Captain Charlie Nelson likes where the WRESTLING team is: “We are the most underrated team at Rice, looking forward to showing our capa- bilities. Everyone’s ready to work.” This year, the team will be under the direction of an esteemed new coach, Scott Kolesky, the former Head Coach at Chippewa Valley High School, where he was the 2018-19 Michigan High School Coach of the Year. “The team is looking forward to the upcoming season with great enthusiasm and excitement,” said Coach Kolesky. “We have a great mix of talented upper and underclassmen.” -Luke Washe Year-in and year-out, HOCKEY is one of the best programs at Brother Rice. The team is always solid, and this year B ROTHE R R IC E H I G H S C H O O L C H I E F TA I N Senior Jon Brantley leads the Basketball team’s hopes for a big season on the hardwood will be the same. Seniors like Nick Marone, D.J. Dixon, Alex Andoni, and Ryan Murphy will get help from newcomers Ryan Marone and Matthew Herb. “We have a lot of Seniors,” said Dixon, a Captain. “There is going to be great leadership throughout the season. This team has a lot of talent, and I think we can make a run.” -Charlie Simpson The SKI team also has big aspirations this year, due to a nice mix of veteran and young talent. Returning are Sophomores Reagan Dietz, Nick Moisides, and Michael New and Senior Brian Meso. “Our expectation for this season is to win the State Championship, especially after last season,” Junior Nick Gaggos said, referring to the team’s 7th place fi nish in 2018-19. -Ryan Marderosian In 2018-19, the SWIMMING team fi n- ished 11th at States, their lowest fi nish in years. This year the squad is training hard to return to championship level. The team won four straight State titles, from 2014-17. “Well, this year we’re going to have to understand to make a bigger commit- ment and making swimming their fi rst priority,” said Coach Venos. The team will be led by Senior Mi- chael Roberge, Sophomore Ryker Rush, Junior Elijah Venos, and Senior Spencer Geyman. -Kris Narayan At Halftime ... Your Band of Brothers Scoreboard 66.0 65.5 P AGE 8 60.0 33.5 27.0 18.0 N O V E M B E R 2019