Woodland Park Lady Hoopsters On Rebound
~ by Trevor Phipps ~
Head Coach Craig Macari took over the role as skipper of the Lady Panthers hoopsters this season, and the girls are responding well to the new leadership change.
So far the team hasn’t seen any league play, but they have been relatively competitive when playing teams out of their league.
The week before they went on their Christmas vacation, the Lady Panthers played four games away in a short period. At first, the outings looked rough, but improvements could be seen towards the end of this streak of games. The ladies started the week off with a tough loss on the road against Pueblo Central.
Then, the ladies headed out west to participate in the Alpine Bank Black Canyon Classic Tournament. During their first match on Dec. 19, the girls struggled and lost to Montrose by a substantial 57-31 score.
The girls then started showing signs of improvement when they challenged Palisade during their second match of the tournament. The girls played well and kept the score close but they still failed to win and lost by a small margin, 40-37. During the last game of their Black Canyon Classic Tournament, the Lady Panthers showed up with a vengeance and defeated Roaring Fork 41-35.
During the first part of their season, a few Lady Panthers have put up some impressive statistics. On the offense side of the ball, Sarah Iskra continues to lead the team with points by averaging 12.6 per game. Sage Drummond and Jada Boddy have also looked well offensively as they have racked about five points per game so far this season.
On the other side of the ball, Boddy has averaged over five rebounds per match and has picked up about two steals each game. Dacotah Simonis has also looked good this season on defense by averaging two steals per game and three defensive rebounds per match thus far in the season.
This Saturday, the Lady Panthers quickly come off of their Christmas vacation and play their first league game against Sierra High School at home. The Sierra Stallions are 4-3 this year and are always a hard team for WP to overcome.
The girls then have a week to practice before they take on their second league challenger next Saturday when they play the 4-2 Mitchell Marauders. The 2-5 WP Lady Panthers have some work to do if they want to be competitive when playing league games in the year 2020.
Woodland Park High School Boys’ Basketball Ready For League Play
Unlike the girls, the Panther boys’ basketball club hasn’t really played much lately.
The boys (just like the girls) played Pueblo County but they played at home while the ladies were on the road. And again just like the girls, the gentlemen Panthers failed to come up with a win.
But instead of playing in tournaments around Christmas, the boys got to spend their time practicing for their league games that come up in early 2020.
The boys follow a similar schedule as they begin their new year of play against Sierra High School, but they have to play the Stallions on the road. Luckily, the male Stallion team, is not looking as impressive as their female counterparts as they are currently struggling from a rather poor 0-7 record. Hopefully, this should be an easy one for the Panthers to win so that they get momentum going into league play in 2020.
Then next week, the Panthers play two more league matches. On January 7, the boys take on the 4-2 Discovery Canyon Thunder on the Road. Next, they play the 2-4 Widefield Gladiators on their home courts.
Woodland Park Hockey Gets Off To An Icy Start
The Panthers so far have been ice cold this season and that statement isn’t referring to the weather.
The team has had a rough start and currently sits with an overall record of 0-5 and a league record of 0-3 which has them sitting in last place in their league.
On December 20, before their Christmas vacation, the boys lost to Resurrection Christian 9-1. Then on Dec. 21 the boys lost again to Crested Butte by a 4-1 score.
The boys get back on the ice this Friday as they play an away game against the 2-5 Coronado Cougars. The Panthers then challenge the 2-1 Glenwood Springs Demons during a home game at the World Arena this Saturday.
Woodland Park High School Wrestling Team Facing Big Tournaments
Last year, the boys squared off well on the mats as they had some wrestlers that ranked at the state level. This year, the boys are back on the mats looking for another chance at state titles.
The Panther wrestlers started their season in late 2019, but continue challenging opponents during the first part of 2020. The boys started their season playing a match on the road against Elizabeth. The Panthers then played matches against Pueblo East and Canon City both on the road. The boys ended 2019 by playing in a tournament at UNC in Greeley on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21.
The wrestling team then start 2020 by grappling in another out-of-area tournament this weekend before continuing to play local high schools next week. On Jan. 8, the boys face off against Widefield before having another short stint off the mats.
The Panther wrestlers compete from now until late February. And then on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15, the boys compete in their regional tournament, and those that qualify will challenge opponents in the state finals on Feb. 20-22.
Woodland Park High School Girls’ Swim Team Faces Big Challenges
The town’s first ever girls’ swim team had its inaugural season in 2018-2019 and now they are back for their second year. The Lady Panthers now have experience behind their backs as they challenge other schools in the water.
During December of 2019, the girls started their season with four tournaments, two on the road and two at home. On Dec. 4, they played away at the Salida Invitational Tournament.
Then, the girls continued swimming Dec. 7, at the local Woodland Aquatic Center when they challenged Platte Canyon. The Lady Panthers continued their 2019-2020 season when they faced off against Englewood at home on Dec. 14 and then Sierra on the road on Dec. 18.
The girls continue their matches into the year 2020 when they swim in a total of five competitions. On Jan. 11 they challenge several opponents at home in the Woodland Park Invitational Tournament. Then on Jan. 16 they go back on the road to go up against Pueblo East.
