With temperatures dropping and Friday Night Lights concluding, the 2022-2023 season for Winter Sports is officially beginning. Wrestling, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Swim and Dive, and Indoor Track gave The GH Falcon a glimpse into what to expect for this upcoming season.

Wrestling

This year, wrestling has brought in a lot of new athletes. Jackson Ealy (’23) provided insight on this year’s team. “We have a lot of new coaches this year and more freshmen as well… helping in the room with assisting us (wrestlers) and training potential,” he said. The team has pre-season practices twice a week, and Ealy said, “We have a lot of new kids this year so it’s a lot of showing basic moves, more JV moves including a lot of conditioning as well.” Ealy won Regionals last year, and is hoping to win States this year. The team will face off against Chapel Hill, Louisburg, and Northwood in their first Tri-meet of the season on November 18.

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball is right around the corner, and Grayson Cuffe (’23) told us what the team is going to look like this year. The team has been participating in pre-season workouts since the beginning of the school year. Cuffe said, “they’re two times a week and we do conditioning, drills and work on our offense and defense.” Compared to last season, Cuffe said that a lot is changing. “We’ll have a completely new starting line-up…Lot smaller than it was last year, but we have a lot more shooters, with more threes being taken,¨ Cuffe said. He’s excited for the team to play rival Conference schools around the area this season, saying, “We definitely have a good group of guys getting together.” The first home game is against Athens Drive on November 29.

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball has their season starting as well, and Liesl Tran (’24) explained some key differences for this Winter 2022 season. “Our biggest change would probably be our new Head Coach… she was in the WNBA and she’s very hard on us,” Tran said. She said their new coach, Chasity Melvin, is helping to better the team. They have been working out since summer, and Tran stated, “Our workouts usually consist of a lot of running… a lot… with working on drills as well.” Tran anticipates the practice time leading to improvement for the Falcons this year. The first home game is against Leesville on December 1.

Swim and Dive

The Swim and Dive team is anticipating another successful season. Practices start next week and a meet is not far off. Swimmer Hope Valent (’25) is ready to start this winter. ¨I’m pretty excited to cheer on my friends and make new bonds with people at meets.¨ Tryouts were held for any non-year round swimmers on October 31st at Triangle Aquatic Center (TAC). The team enters this year with a new coach, Matthew Mosher. “Our new coach (Coach Mosher) is definitely a change to the team this year… You can tell he’s passionate about making our team closer and faster,” Valent stated. The first meet of the season will be at TAC on November 22 against Cardinal Gibbons, Fuquay-Varina, and Apex.

Indoor Track & Field

As the Cross-Country season comes to an end, Indoor Track is beginning. The first official practice was held on October 31. Pre-season runs and weight training have already begun, and Coach Ross said, ¨We’ve been running and lifting weights on Wednesdays this past month and are working to get the weight room more this season than last year.¨ Ross wants her runners to implement strong goals, and support one another to reach those goals. A 3200-only meet will be held on November 19 and the first official indoor meet will be December 2 versus various schools in the county.