Winter sports tryouts have come to a conclusion, and fall sports will now be placed in the rear view as a new bouquet of sports take the spotlight. The men’s and women’s basketball teams, swimming and diving, and wrestling teams will all be preparing to build off of solid seasons from the previous year. Coaching changes, new lineups, and season goals will all be highlighted in this year’s 2013-2014 Panther Creek winter sports preview.

Men’s Basketball

Last season, the Catamount men’s basketball team nearly upset the number one seed Jordan in the first round of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs. Having only lost one player from last year, the men’s basketball team is setting its sights on not just a SWAC title, but a state championship. The team returns four of five starters from one year ago: seniors Nubian Spann, Josh Maciejewski, and Gaqwez Hudson, along with sophomore Juan Munoz. Sixth man senior Darrian Saddler also returns.

Nubian Spann was named to the Tri-9 First Team All-Conference at the end of last season. Spann averaged 8.1 points per game during his junior season, the best among all returning players. Spann was also the team’s leading rebounder last season, one of the primary reasons he was named to the Tri-9 First Team All-Conference . Spann is considered a leader for the men’s basketball team this season, and will likely again be the team’s primary rebounder.

Senior guard Gaqwez Hudson is arguably the best pure shooter on the Catamounts. Hudson is looked to by coaches and teammates alike to close games with his almost-automatic free throw shooting. Senior forward Josh Maciejewski had never suited up in a Panther Creek basketball uniform before last season, but the three-point specialist helped the Catamounts to many victories last season. Maciejewski was one of Panther Creek’s top defensive presences a year ago, and will likely continue to be depended on when opponents have the basketball this season. Point guard Juan Munoz was a freshman-phenom last season at Panther Creek. Munoz led the team in assists and was named to the the Tri-9 Second Team All-Conference at the end of the season. With 7.7 points per game, Munoz is also the Catamounts’ second leading returning scorer. Munoz is expected to be one of the top players not only in the conference, but in the triangle area this season. Sixth man Darrian Saddler often got as many minutes in games as some of the starters a year ago, and nothing less will be expected of the senior this coming  season.

As for the lone starter lost from last season, he has been replaced by senior guard, Malachi Paige. Paige is a transfer from highly-acclaimed basketball school Hargrave Military Academy, where Paige made a name for himself in front of college scouts. “Hargrave was more of a structured environment, so it was different. Right now I’m just trying to get adjusted to my new teammates, and build relationships with them, and get comfortable with the offense and comfortable with playing here.” said Paige when asked about his transition to Panther Creek. According to Paige, his strengths are “passing, penetrating, and on-ball defense.” However, he would like to work on his tendency to over dribble. When asked about his goals, Paige responded, “My goals are to win player of the year in the conference, and as a team I think we should win the conference and make it to states.” Paige also said he plans to play basketball in college and one day hopes to make it to the NBA.

With the new transfer, Malachi Paige, and a plethora of returning talent, the Panther Creek men’s basketball team is poised to have one of the best seasons in school history. Panther Creek is one of the early favorites to contend for the SWAC title, mostly due to the fact that the team has more returning starters than any other team in the entire conference. The team will also have a chance to make a run at the state title this season.

Women’s Basketball

In 2012-13, the Panther Creek women’s basketball team finished the regular season with a winning record of 13-10 overall, and broke even in conference at 8-8. Much like the men’s basketball team, the women’s team returns many key players from last season. Unfortunately, Panther Creek does not return Allie Tuttle, who now plays collegiate basketball for Northwestern, in addition to their head coach, who has resigned from coaching.

Fortunately for the new coaches, the team does return senior point guard Erin Kane. “[It’s important] to be a leader for the younger [players], but it’s also nerve-racking because you feel pressure to be successful, but nobody is going to be perfect,” said Kane about what is expected from her as a senior. Kane also said that she thinks that despite only having five total returning players to the varsity team, their experience mixed with new talent will allow them to do well this season. Kane also explained how the team is going to react to having a new coach. “It’s going to be different. As far as workouts go, she works us hard but its still fun. It’s also cool, though, because she’s actually a girl coach and we’ve always had a guy coaching us.” Kane also stated without hesitation that Green Hope is the team that everyone wants to beat the most this season.

The loss of Allie Tuttle will be tough on the team, however a new pool of talent coming up from last year’s junior varsity team will give the team a lot of depth. The junior varsity team finished last season undefeated, which makes the future for the varsity team very promising. With the leadership of Erin Kane and the other four returning varsity players, the new women’s team could quite possibly improve upon last season’s 13-10 record and compete for a SWAC title.

Wrestling

The Panther Creek wrestling program has seen a lot of success over the years, and this year will be no different. After last year’s first place finish at the Bull Durham Holiday Classic as well as a third place finish in the Mark Adams Classic, Catamount Wrestling plans to continue the short legacy that past wrestlers have already created. Notable returners include Matt Powell (182), Rony Nasrallah (195), and Cameron Shaffer (170). Shaffer is ranked 10th in the state while Powell is ranked 6th. “We’re all really excited for this upcoming season, we’re hoping to prove the doubters wrong and make the students at Panther Creek proud,” said senior captain, Rony Nasrallah.The Catamounts lost to Cary 34-28 in the conference championship last year and are hoping to redeem themselves and recapture another conference championship. “We’d really like to come out of this conference strong and we don’t want anything less than a conference championship,” Nasrallah also noted. The PC wrestling season starts off on November 18th in Chapel Hill.

 Swimming and Diving

The SWAC, formerly the Tri-9, is more often than not, a four-team race between Panther Creek, Green Hope, Apex, and Cary; This will also be the case this season. Unfortunately for Panther Creek, Apex, and Cary, Green Hope returns nearly their entire undefeated state championship men’s team from a year ago, as well as olympic women’s swimmer Hannah Moore.

The good news for the swim team is that they return several state championship competitors from a year ago. Leif Reedstrom, Ryan Mathes, and Jamison Hauser all swam in the state championship last season for the men’s team. Sierra Tarrant, Julie Hue, and Carly Catella all swam in the state championship for the women’s team. Catella, who is committed to swim for the University of Pennsylvania, placed third in the 200-yard freestyle at the state championship last season.

One of the men’s swimmers for Panther Creek did what no other men’s swimmer in school history had ever done before: win a state championship. Jamison Hauser managed to win the 500-yard freestyle, the longest individual event in NCHSAA swimming, with flying colors, shattering his own school record in the process. “I want to continue working hard, continue practicing hard, and hopefully win another state championship,” said Hauser when asked how he wishes to build on his first state title.

The swim team is definitely primed to have a similar, if not better, season than last year. As for the dive team, Connor Callahan is one of the best divers in the SWAC. Connor will surely be competing for the men’s one meter dive conference championship.

Gymnastics and Winter Track

Although a winter sport, gymnastics did not compete last year. The gymnastics team returns to competition this season. Winter Track starts later than the other winter sports. Tryouts have not yet been held.