With winter comes snow, warm fires, the holidays, and…. LHS winter sports! Whether it is basketball, ice hockey, indoor track, or wrestling there is plenty to cheer for. Fans have had a pretty good look at all the winter sports teams since the season has started, but here’s an inside look.
Basketball
There has been a lot of talk about the basketball teams this year. Many people are wondering if the teams can bounce back from somewhat disappointing seasons last year.
Coach Kraft thinks the boys will take “positive steps” from last year. He says that the team has worked hard to get ready for the season. “We have a good style of play with the personnel…. We’ve also worked on conditioning.”
Kraft says because of this conditioning, one of the team’s strengths will be its athleticism. He is also confident in the team’s ability to shoot, but one of the major weaknesses he says is size, with many of the players at or under 6 feet. “This will affect us on the boards.”
As for the girls, new coach Kathryn Linehan plans to lead the Lancers to a strong season. Linehan played for the Lancers until she graduated in 2002. As a student, she led the girls to a state championship game in 2000, but lost by only four points to Dunbar.
Coach Linehan says she expects the team to have a successful season. “The team is very determined and plays with a lot of heart.” She says the team has “great senior leadership.” They have a number of good shooters and rebound the ball well. Although the team has a lot of strengths, Linehan admits that having a new coach can be a large obstacle. “The team is learning a new system, but they are doing very well with it.”
One of the top opponents this year is South Hagerstown as long as a lot of other teams in the conference. Despite the fierce competition, Linehan says, “I have a lot of confidence in this team.”
Ice Hockey
With the ice hockey team starting their season early, they are 1-2 as of December 11 and look to improve that record. What many people don’t know is that the hockey team is actually a co-op team with TJ. Because of the low number of players coming out for the team, the two schools had to merge. Assistant coach Mrs. Ericsson said there are fewer teams than last year throughout the county: Linganore/TJ, Urbana, Walkersville, Middletown, Oakdale, and Frederick.
Although the interest in the team is disappointing, there were some advantages that came with the merger. One of the top players at his position in the league and possibly the county came from TJ: senior goalie Devin Shields. He has been a big addition for the team. Along with Shields the team also has some impressive scorers. Freshman defenseman/forward Madison Airey says the team’s two top scorers are senior Josh Airey and junior Colin Maggi who both go to LHS. “We are young. We’re learning to form as a team.”
Indoor Track
Coming off a fantastic season last year when the team won counties, regionals, and finished fourth in the state, the boys indoor track team has a lot to live up to. The team also lost two of their top runners in Pat Duboyce and Jeff Cook. Duboyce accepted a scholarship to UMBC and Cook went on to Hagerstown Community College.
Junior long distance runner Riley Mack expects the team to have a slight drop off from last year, but the team should still be able to perform. “Last year the team was more even in sprint and distance. This year we’re better at distance.”
He speaks the truth with good middle and long distance runners in Mack, senior Dan Beck, and freshman Micah Hewitson. Hewitson is one of the top freshmen in the entire state and a lot is expected of him. The team also has strong sprinters in junior Adam Beisser and senior Jeffrey Lewis.
The girls’ team looks to have a strong season as well. They finished in the top 10 at their first meet of the season with the top performances from junior Bailey Tregoning finishing second in the 1600 meter and senior McKenna Henyon finishing sixth in the 55 meter hurdles.
Wrestling
With the wrestling team coming off of a less than impressive year last season, they are looking to improve this year. The team tied with TJ for seventh place in last year’s county championships. The Maryland Wrestling Association ranks Linganore sixth in the county behind powerhouses like Urbana and Middletown.
Despite the pre-season rankings the Lancers have 10 wrestlers returning and are looking to surprise everybody with a strong season.
