Buhach Colony’s Winter Sports Look to Succeed
By: Dylan Jennings
Writer
Sports have always been a tradition at Buhach Colony High School. This year is no different as Buhach Colony’s winter sports are starting up. This year’s basketball programs are having a fresh start with new coaches running the varsity programs, while the wrestling program looks to continue their hard-working ways to mold champions. There’s a lot to be excited about so let’s see what’s going on with these programs.
Men’s Basketball
Men’s basketball has a new look this year with former women’s varsity basketball coach Shane Gentry taking the reigns of the program. Gentry was the school’s first boys coach back in 2001 and then switched over to coach girls varsity. After bringing the
Writer
Sports have always been a tradition at Buhach Colony High School. This year is no different as Buhach Colony’s winter sports are starting up. This year’s basketball programs are having a fresh start with new coaches running the varsity programs, while the wrestling program looks to continue their hard-working ways to mold champions. There’s a lot to be excited about so let’s see what’s going on with these programs.
Men’s Basketball
Men’s basketball has a new look this year with former women’s varsity basketball coach Shane Gentry taking the reigns of the program. Gentry was the school’s first boys coach back in 2001 and then switched over to coach girls varsity. After bringing the
Coach Shane Gentry instructs his team during a timeout.
Photo by: Merced Sun-Star |
first two women’s basketball Central California Conference (CCC) titles back to the school, Gentry was then presented the opportunity to coach the boys again. “I feel like I never had the opportunity to finish what I started,” Gentry says about his reasoning for wanting to coach the boys again. The new coaching may be a fresh start for the program as apparent by their 11-4 start before entering league. Gentry expresses his thoughts on his team for the 2016-2017 season: “Our team is a very good team, but at times unpredictable and inconsistent. I believe the unpredictability is due to the lack of self-acceptance. Not every player, on a daily basis, puts the needs of the team before their own needs. It is my job to fix this.” Gentry has great plans for his team and feels that they are more than capable to the challenge of competing in this year's Central California Conference title race. Skyler Coffey
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(senior) is currently leading the team in scoring with 11.9 points per game, Dante Cloy (junior) is leading the team in rebounding with 6.2 rebounds per game, and Irik Dobbins (junior) and Andrew Morris (senior) are both leading the team in assists with 2.2 assists per game. One goal that Gentry has concerning his team is that he wants them to achieve their personal best. He wants them going out onto the court and achieving the satisfaction in knowing that they have done everything within their ability to be successful. This could be the first year that the men’s basketball team brings a CCC title back to the school.
Women’s Basketball
Not only does the men’s basketball team have a new look when it comes to coaching, but the women’s basketball team has a new coach in former men’s basketball JV coach Kevin Aguiar. When asked about what it was like to take over the job Aguiar responded, “At first I didn’t know what to expect. I know it’s hard making the transition from boys to girls and it definitely has been a challenge, but it’s been a challenge that I’ve been excited to take on.” It doesn’t come as a surprise to hear that Aguiar is excited. It sounds as though his team is full of great players. When asked who his top players were, Aguiar simply said that he would have to choose his seniors. Last year's women's varsity basketball team finished with a losing record in league and this year’s varsity team has seven returning seniors who are ready to play and want to prove |
Coach Kevin Aguiar brings his team together during a timeout.
Photo by: Merced Sun-Star |
that they have what it takes to win. Some of these seniors include 5’7 guard Jenny Zaragoza, 5’5 forward Krista Fregoso, and 5’5 guard Vanessa Lopez. This team will be playing with a chip on their shoulder as they enter league with a 7-7 record and look to bring another CCC title to Buhach.
Men’s and Women’s Wrestling
When it comes to men’s and women’s wrestling, coach Eric Osmer has the same expectations and goals. These expectations are not small as Osmer believes that he has the talent this year to go far. “I want my teams to repeat as CCC champs, have the most champions at the CCC meet, qualify the most at masters, qualify five guys to state, and have one girl be the state champion,” states Osmer. These expectations do not come easy as each and every day these athletes put in a lot of hard work in order to work towards these goals. However, he feels that this group is more than capable as he says, “This is a good, hard-working group who hasn’t reached their potential yet.” When it comes to wrestling, each athlete must make a weight class and sometimes this involves losing more than five pounds in a week. Osmer says that this isn’t an easy feat and that his wrestlers work so hard that sometimes they lose around five pounds in a day. The hard work has paid off as wrestling has started off the season 2-0. Osmer says that he wants to take each match one step at a time and worry about one school before they worry about the next. This group can go far and could bring a wrestling CCC title back to Buhach. Some of the top wrestlers to look out for this season are:
Year Player Weight Class
Junior Luis Carrillo 106
Junior Leem Kue 126
Senior William Schwertscharf 145
Senior Juan Rosales 160
Senior Victor Cruz 170
Senior Titus Sanchez 182
Senior Raymond Garcia 195
Senior Steven Inocencio 220
The winter sports teams are coming back with vengeance, perhaps they can finally transform and turn the tide from the underdog to the unstoppable.
Men’s and Women’s Wrestling
When it comes to men’s and women’s wrestling, coach Eric Osmer has the same expectations and goals. These expectations are not small as Osmer believes that he has the talent this year to go far. “I want my teams to repeat as CCC champs, have the most champions at the CCC meet, qualify the most at masters, qualify five guys to state, and have one girl be the state champion,” states Osmer. These expectations do not come easy as each and every day these athletes put in a lot of hard work in order to work towards these goals. However, he feels that this group is more than capable as he says, “This is a good, hard-working group who hasn’t reached their potential yet.” When it comes to wrestling, each athlete must make a weight class and sometimes this involves losing more than five pounds in a week. Osmer says that this isn’t an easy feat and that his wrestlers work so hard that sometimes they lose around five pounds in a day. The hard work has paid off as wrestling has started off the season 2-0. Osmer says that he wants to take each match one step at a time and worry about one school before they worry about the next. This group can go far and could bring a wrestling CCC title back to Buhach. Some of the top wrestlers to look out for this season are:
Year Player Weight Class
Junior Luis Carrillo 106
Junior Leem Kue 126
Senior William Schwertscharf 145
Senior Juan Rosales 160
Senior Victor Cruz 170
Senior Titus Sanchez 182
Senior Raymond Garcia 195
Senior Steven Inocencio 220
The winter sports teams are coming back with vengeance, perhaps they can finally transform and turn the tide from the underdog to the unstoppable.