Girls Basketball:

After the week’s previous successes, the Wenatchee High School girls basketball team fell in a frustrating pair of losses against Chiawana and Moses Lake.

“Our biggest thing was definitely that we did not shut down their main player. We put [senior] Ali Sealby to guard her, but by the end of the second quarter she had five fouls that took her out of the game, and even by the end of the first quarter she’d scored 17 points against us,” senior Amira Chandler said of the Moses Lake loss, 72-34.

In their time of need, the team again relied on freshman Alli Halberg, the leading point scorer in both games.

In their game against Chiawana on Dec. 12, the Panthers managed to stay even with their opponents by the first half of the game, but in the final half of the game allowed Chiawana to pull ahead and win 60-43.

“There were so many mental and physical errors that we were all making as a team,” junior Makenna Faulkner said.

The team now sits at the bottom of the league standings, with a league record of 0-1 and an overall record of 2-3. Hoping to capitalize on their next game against Eisenhower on Dec. 19, Faulkner says the team expects to move up in the league with some wins.

“Usually home games are easier because the team’s more comfortable, and in the past we’ve beat Eisenhower, so we’re working for a win,” Faulkner said.

-Kiana Wilson, Opinion Editor

Bowling:

Wenatchee bowlers smashed Ellensburg 1591-1115 on Dec. 16. High scorers were freshman Nicole Archer with a 160 and sophomore Noel Menzel with a 182.

On Dec. 13, the Wenatchee bowlers competed at the Tower Classic tournament, hosted by Wilson in Tacoma and placed second out of 14 teams with a pin total of 3420, right behind Wilson’s 3545 pins.

Wenatchee took home two medals, from senior Bethany Symonds, who had a 210, a 223, and a 234 and finished in second place in individual scoring, and junior Courtney Archer, who had a 225 game and finished in eighth place overall.

On Dec. 11, the Panthers toppled Davis 2043-1737, improving their record to 4-2. High scorers were junior Jaylah Young with a 200, Symonds with a 189, junior Brianna Saylor with a 186, and Courtney Archer with a 183.

The bowling team smashed the school record in their league match against Eisenhower on Dec. 9, winning 2380-1730. The previous school record was 2270, according to Coach Jay Young.

“We set all kinds of records,” Young said. “It was amazing.”

Symonds broke the school individual and two-game series records by one pin with a 279. Other high scorers were Courtney Archer, with a 216, junior Brianna Saylor, with a 200, junior Jaylah Young, with a 200, and sophomore Delaney Yant, with 186.

“At first I didn’t realize I’d broken the record, so [when I found out] I was really excited,” Symonds said. “That was one of my goals.”

Symonds is now working towards her next goal, which is to break the school high average record, which is currently 197.

“I would like to be averaging over 200 by the end of the season,” Symonds said.

The bowlers are now preparing for their rematch today against Eastmont at Eastmont Lanes, who they lost to in their previous matchup on Nov. 19.

“Today is critical,” Jay Young said.

-Evie Hyde, Sports Editor

Wrestling:

The Wenatchee High School wrestling team continues to have a successful season, winning two competitions this week and finishing fourth at the Olympic High Dual Tournament in Silverdale on Dec. 13.

“It is a big tournament that is a bit different than an individual tournament where each weight class has a different champion,” Coach Ed Valdez said. “This tournament is wrestled team against teams, and the teams advance when they win.”

The Panthers started the day with a loss to Curtis High 54-21 but bounced back with wins over W.F. West with a score of 35-31 and Central Kitsap with a score of 56-27. They ended with a loss to Kelso 49-30. Overall, the team finished in fourth place. Senior Drake Lewis and senior Ian Valente finished with a score of 3-1.

Dec. 12 the team had another victory with a win over Gig Harbor, 67-18.

On Dec. 11 the team wrestled a league dual against West Valley and completed the day with a final score of 66-17. Falls were recorded by Lewis, Valente, senior Logan Tidd, senior Eli Barnett, senior Kole Davis, and senior Armando Juarez.

The next competition will be held at WHS against Moses Lake on Dec. 16. Varsity begins at 7 p.m. On Dec. 20 the team travels to Pasco to compete at the 32 Best of the West tournament.

-Jordan Gonzalez, Staff Reporter

Boys Swim:

The Wenatchee High School boys swim and dive team took on Eastmont and Cashmere on Dec. 11 in East Wenatchee. The boys took home an overwhelming victory, winning by 36 points with a score of 111-75.

“It was great to get off on the right foot and get a victory,” Coach James Elwyn said. “We were first and second in both of the 200 relays [200-yard medley relay and 200 freestyle relay], which is a great show of our strength.”

The Panthers were led by freshman Charlie Cutter, who had the fastest 500 freestyle time even though he is a junior varsity swimmer. He swam the race with a final time of 5 minutes, 28.68 seconds.

“Finishing up with that varsity heat gave me confidence for next year when I can earn points and support the team,” Cutter said.

Another standout swimmer was senior captain Justin Pringle, who finished first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:07.47.

“You either hate it or you love it,” Pringle said about the backstroke. “It just clicks with me, and I love swimming it.”

Though the team is already outstanding in their accomplishments, Elwyn believes that this is only a fraction of the real power that this swim team could have.

“Our team is very young and should only get better. We have lots of ninth-graders and guys new to swimming, and I have high hopes for this team,” Elwyn said.

-Jessica Wierzbicki, Staff Reporter