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For The Love Of Hockey Caitlin Rogers Many believe that hockey is a sport just for guys, primarily because of the rough nature of the game. However Mitchell sophomore, Miranda Miller, loves everything about lacing up her skates and taking the ice. Although Mitchell High School dropped their hockey team this year, Miller still plans to represent the school on Coronado’s hockey team.
She admits that playing for Coronado this upcoming season will be “kind of hard since it’s not my school.” Although she adds that having other fellow Marauders join her on the team will help.
Coming off of last season, in which she was the only girl on the Mitchell team, Miller encourages girls to join sports that are known historically as being primarily populated by guys.
“It was different,” she explained about playing with a team full of guys. “The guys just act different with a girl out there. But it was fun. I don’t think they liked me very much at first, but after the first practice they kind of accepted me.”
Although she credits her brothers for inspiring her to play seven years ago, many female hockey players credit women such as Cammi Granato, who was recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, for motivating them to play.
Though the sight of long hair or a ponytail cascading out of helmet continues to surprise many, the number of females playing hockey have rose steadily. For example, in 1992-93 about 10,000 girls and women took the ice compared to 2006-07 when number rose to 57,500 according to USA Hockey.
Miller admits that many are shocked when they hear she plays hockey because “they don’t think girls can play rough sports.” Despite minor bumps and bruises, she has only suffered from one concussion, which took place last season against Lewis Palmer. By playing with guys, she feels added pressure to play harder to keep up, resulting from the difference in size and strength. Even though she’s not planning on a future in hockey, Miller enjoyed her time playing for Mitchell, despite being only girl on the team. As her story proves, girls can play any sport they love; it’s just a matter of determination.
Marauders on the Mats Gabby Allard, Lora Elliott, Caitlin Rogers Spandex uniforms may
The wrestling team was highly successful last season, “…last year was one of our best years in school history,” said Mitchell High School wrestler and senior, Curt Barr. This past season, their percentage of total wins was nearly three times that of their losses. Also included in their successes for the year was sending five wrestlers to state – a record for Mitchell High School. At the state competition, former captain and graduated senior Daryl Jackson took third.
With last year’s graduation, the team lost four of its seniors and captai
This year, they plan to work harder than ever, “[We’re going to] bust our butts, [and] work harder than ever before. [We’ll also] try and have a little fun this year, too,” said Mezler. They plan do to this by working more on conditioning and preparing themselves mentally and physically for their time on the mats.
Also, with the amount of young wrestlers on the team, senior wrestlers have an added responsibility to help their teammates succeed, “…It’s going to be our seniors’ job to prep them [the younger wrestlers] for the next three or four years,” says Barr.
It’s clear that the wrestling team experienced a phenomenal season last year, and with their rigorous practice schedule – lasting daily from 3:30 to 6:30 in the evening – and plans for this season, they are likely to succeed again this year. It’s up to us to wait and see, and pay attention to these spandex-clad individuals who wear their uniform with a strong sense of Mitchell pride.
Shooting For the Stars Gabby Allard This year’s Lady Marauders are looking forward to another season of success. With the return of team captains Brianna Johnson, voted second best player in 5A by area coaches last year, Cassandra Fernandez, and Carlee Grove, the team is anticip
As a whole, the team looks forward to completing another winning season, competing for the championship, and hopefully getting past the first round in the playoffs. Coach Earls believes that with determination and hard work, these goals will surely be met: “We get better as a team each and every week, and our game improves every time we play.”
Since the team’s former point-guard, Skylar Johnson, graduated last year, they will have to find a new primary ball-handler. With only two seniors left on the team, and a large number of new sophomores, this might be difficult. However, the girls are not concerned. Even Coach Earls remains optimistic: “It will be interesting to see which kids will step up to the challenge, and what our young kids will bring to the team.”
In spite of their optimism, there are some areas that the Lady Marauders will need to focus on this year. One specific area that may need work is team unity. “The team chemistry got messed up last year,” Claudia Margiotta points out, “I think we need to work on that.” As the team looks forward to a new season, building cohesion among the girls will be a priority.
Another area the girls will need to focus on is their shooting. Although their scoring was good last year, it could still use some improvement. “Our scoring will definitely be better this season,” says Justine Aston, in regard to this issue, “We work on our shooting every practice, and we’ve already improved.” Whether it’s making more baskets, or taking more shots, the Lady Marauders will definitely do what they can to enhance their game.
Their defense, on the other hand, is already close to flawless. “It’s Marauder defense! Nobody can handle it!” says team captain Cassandra Fernandez.
As they work toward accomplishing their goals, the Lady Marauders aim to make this season their best one yet.
B-Ball is Back Lora Elliot It takes much more than height to be a male Mitchell Marauder basketball player. It takes talent, passion, and a love for the game, as well. This is something in large abundance on the Mitchell Marauder Boys’ Basketball team, who plan on another winning season this year, starting with their first g Last year’s players are now veterans of a successful season wherein the team earned third place in the Metro 5A league, and made it to the second round of the State 5A Playoffs. “In the last five years, we are the only [Colorado] Springs 5A team to make it to the second round of the State Playoffs,” says varsity Coach Al Blanc. The team also finished amazingly with 15 wins and only 9 losses the entire season, and managed to stay consistent throughout the entire season. The team lost a few of its best players from last year, including graduated seniors George Pollard and Angelo Borrello. “They … [were] like our rocks. They were our best players last year,” said varsity player and Mitchell junior, Zach Sims. However, boys’ basketball won’t let a few new players stop them. “It is always hard to replace good player[s] as we had last year, but these players this year have the ability to be just as good or better [as last year’s team],” remarked Blanc. For them, this year is all about moving forward, and matching talent for talent. Sims says, “We’re trying to mix different talents people have, and mix them together to make our game complete. Make our team complete.” There’s hope for the future, as well. The freshman C-squad team is apparently looking good. “They’ll be tough, and it’ll be interesting to see how they do this year,” said Sims about the new freshman team. Boys’ basketball will be interesting to watch this upcoming season, seeing if they can live up to the bar they set last year. It’s time to start watching the clock and counting those two-point shots, because boys’ basketball is going somewhere.
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not be everyone’s idea of high fashion, but it certainly works well for Mitchell High School’s Wrestling team, who seek nothing short of victory at their first meet on December 5, 2008 at Mount Vista High School.
ns, Isaac Hooper, Trevis Ryle, Daryl Jackson, and Mike Hernandez.
ating good results.
ame at Doherty on