Winter Sports Preview

Winter sports are heating up at Hastings High School. The Boys and Girls Basketball, Wrestling, and Swimming/Diving are preparing for the beginning of their seasons.
The boys basketball team has been spending the first week of their season building skills and trying to figure out how to replace the two starters that graduated last year, Vinny Schmidt and Zane Bender.
“We’ll be a little bit more of a puzzle. We have some very big unknowns, which we haven’t had in the past couple of years,” Head Boys Basketball Coach Lance Creech said.
While the team might have some unknowns when it comes to their lineup, Creech is confident in the ability of players to step into big positions.
“I think we’re probably as deep as we’ve ever been. We have some opportunities give players breaks, but we can also teach through the bench, meaning if you’re not doing your job you’re going to sit and we have other options,” Creech said.
The girls swimming team is working on the transition from summer/club competition to the school season.
“It’s kind of hard being back into it, but we have a lot of new girls coming in and the environment is really good. I’m excited,” sophomore swimmer Kate Delaney said.
The boys side of the swimming/diving team is also trying to find their footing.
“It’s going to be hard. They lost a lot of good seniors, but there’s also Grant and Evan Johnson and a lot of freshmen boys that are going to help the team. It’s really nice that we have the co-op because if we didn’t have it, we’d struggle,” Delaney said.
There are several returners back for the Girls Basketball team, but they are experimenting with how the team will shape out and get back into basketball mode.
“Trying to get into basketball shape is a little different for the girls coming off of different sports. Even with a lot of people back, you’re trying to mesh into new spots because we have ten lettermen back, but the players we’re missing were doing things,” Head Girls Basketball Coach Greg Mays said.
They’re taking a different approach to the speed of the game this year so they can use their assets.
“We’re going to go deep into the bench. One thing we’re trying to do is to play faster and keep the game in full-court mode more often,” Mays said.
Wrestling is coming off of a successful 2016-2017 season that produced six state qualifiers. This season, all six qualifiers are back. This has allowed the team to work harder toward being a top team in Class B both physically and mentally.
“The team’s goal this season is to think at a high level because we have a lot of talent in the room, but young talent,” senior wrestler Connor Laux said.
Laux added that the team is working hard and working together to make the most out of their season.
“We are not taking any practices off and we are keeping one another accountable for their actions in the practice room,” Laux said.

Players to Watch:

Wrestling:
Bryce Brown
Mason Brumbaugh
Joe Keele
Blayne Kile
Connor Laux
Dylan Miller
Damen Pape
Joel Smith
Luke Wilke

Boys Basketball:
Mike Boeve
J.T. Cafferty
Christian Creech
Connor Creech
Jackson Hoops
Keeshaun Hunt
Dawson Jacobus
Lukaas Simonson
Seth Simonson
Alex Swoboda
Quentin Synek

Girls Basketball:
Tatiem Bender
Emma Mays
Julia Reimer

Swimming/Diving:
Morgan Baker
Diana Brailita
Jay Ceperley
Kate Delaney
Chelsey Espinosa
Evan Johnson
Grant Johnson
Meghan Theis