Winter Sports

Wrestling conference

By Taylor Medeiros

The Rockie Wrestlers made their way to the NLC tournament and made themselves known. Out of 14 weight classes the Rockies took six to the finals and had three of them winning it. Placing second in the conference behind Northridge isn’t something to be ashamed of. Plymouth is known for their blue collar attitude in sports, and that’s what the wrestlers showed this past weekend. Senior Gavin Banks, the two time conference champ at the 145 weight class, explained how it felt Saturday to be there and to win it,

He said, “It was pretty exciting but expected. I knew nobody else there was near my level of wrestling so I just took it easy most of the day and giving some of the kids hope.”

Coach Bob Read, Hall of Fame head coach, has done amazing things with this program and still continues to do so. He spends hours and hours of the day looking for new ways to help out his wrestlers, and help them grow as people, not just as athletes. He was pleased with the results that were shown over the weekend.

Coach Read said, “We wrestled really well. It was a team effort!”

The undefeated wrestler with high expectations is only a sophomore. Running through everybody like they were children, Graham Calhoun did not give up one point to any of his opponents Saturday. Winning both years he has gone to conference so far, it does not look like he has any intention of slowing his pace down.

Calhoun said, “I just go out and have fun. Ever since I first started the sport, my dad always encouraged me to dominate my opponent to set the tone of who I was going to be. All of this is nice, but God is the real reason I’m able to do what I love and I am grateful for that everyday.

Swim, swam, swum

Alissa Knapp

The swimmers competed at a swim meet at Culver Academy on December 2nd 2017. All the swimmers brought their competitive spirits to the the pool. The girls team placed third with 68 points, while the boys team placed fourth with a score of 56 points. The Diving team for the guys got 2nd. The girls diving team got third overall.

Junior Paige Young participated in two events, the medley relay and the 200 breaststroke relay.

Freshman Ava LoMargo was in the medley relay and 400 free relay.

LoMargo said, “I was not at all nervous because I have been swimming for so long.”

The swimmers had mixed emotions about the invite. Swimmers who were nervous were that way because of the different relays.

Freshman Victoria Vancza said, “As soon as I got in the pool I just swam.”

One swimmer was especially fond of his performance at the invite. Junior Daniel Stauffer said, “I’ve had a lot of improvements happy with swims and looking forward to the rest of the season.”

There next meet will be at Wawasee High School which would be their first meet of the season to earn ribbons on December 14th, 2017 at 5:30.

Dribble, Shoot, Score

Jesus Jimenez Garcia

The boys basketball team has started off hot, with a record of 5 win and 1 loss so far this year. Their only loss of the season is against South Bend Adams with a score of 63-53. Wins have come against John Glenn, New Prairie, Triton, Winamac, and Peru. Leading the Pilgrims in terms of scoring are Junior Clay Hilliard and Senior Garrett Tharp.

Tharp said “Our record so far is 5-1 and I am very happy about that. I would say this is a great team accomplishment.”

Tharp has a total of 63 points over 6 games and averaging 10.5 points per game. Not only does Tharp help on the offensive side of the game but also on the defensive side leads the team in rebounds with 34 averaging 5.7 rebounds per game.

There are many teams that the Pilgrims have circled on their calendar. Tharp said “Warsaw, because I hate them”. While Hilliard said “I am looking forward to starting our conference season! First game @Northwood”

Hilliard also said “Starting strong as a team at 5-1, and getting a nice victory over Peru our last game”.

This is Hilliard’s highlight of the season. The game against Peru was a very intense game with the Pilgrims winning by a score of 48-40.

The fans were very much involved in the game helping support the Pilgrims. The theme of the game was jersey night and the students showed out with all kinds of jerseys from basketball,football,baseball, and much more.

Hilliard then said “I say that our season has been very successful so far. Our loss showed us what we need to work on before conference season, and I see a very successful future ahead of us”.

Hilliard has been a huge part of the Pilgrims success leading the team with a total of 96 points averaging 16 points per game. The Pilgrims still have a very long season to go with their next game being on December 19th against South Bend Riley at home at 6:15 p.m.

Rockies Tame the Tigers

Taylor Medeiros

Home is where people are comfortable. Home is where people can be themselves. Home is where people have support. Home is where the Rockies wrestled their first duel and defeated Warsaw under the lights. There were crazy matches in so many weight classes that had the fans on their feet.

Starting off the wins was senior Gavin Banks who walked out there and got a 16 second pin. It took him longer to shake his opponent’s hand than it did to wrestle him. “I’m looking forward to seeing Brayton [#2 ranked wrestler in the nation] at state.”

In the next match, sophomore Graham Calhoun dominated his opponent with 3 takedowns and a pin in the first period.

Senior Trystan VanDerAa was in a dogfight with the 170 pounder from Warsaw and in the third period, he hit a body lock and stuck the kid on his back for the pin.

VanDerAa said, “I knew I was only up by a point with just under a minute left so I was trying not to force anything drastic, but then he tried to headlock me and it was game over from there I swung him on his back and pinned him.”

Sophomore Kendall Himes took a little time to get going, but when he did, he racked up 6 points in roughly 20 seconds at the end of the match.

The night was stuffed stuffed with wild matches, but it’s the one that people overlooked that was the match of the night. Freshman Tyler Richey weighing in only his second time for a Varsity match was the one to watch.

He said, “It felt amazing coming in as a freshman as a varsity wrestler, getting a win for my team and seeing how excited everyone was.”

Pressure was light as the Rockies secured the win earlier in the duel, but Richey wasn’t just going to be happy with that. He was down early in the match then the momentum switched sides. You could feel the energy in the gym start to rise. People began getting into the match, cheering his name. Parents were shushing their kids so they could help coach when they were not even sure what he should do. Richey ends up getting a takedown in the final seconds to send the match into overtime. This is where home field advantage come into play. With everybody standing and chanting, he shoots in and gets himself into a scramble. The intensity was unreal. He popped his head out and the ref signaled two. The gym was silent for half a second, then the roof exploded. Every Rockie Wrestler jumped up and fist pumped at least once after that win.

Swimming Wonderland

By Jesus Jimenez

Both girls and boys swim teams dove into season with the girls having five meets and the boys having three. Both the boys and the girls teams will look towards their seniors for guidance into this upcoming season.

Senior Leah Smith said, “This will be my third and final year on the PHS Swim and Dive team. I'm looking forward to getting new personal best times, making new friends and having fun.”

The girls team has already had five meets this year. Starting the season with a 0-5 record the Lady Pilgrims have faced against Rochester,Bremen, New Prairie, Goshen, and Northridge. Highlights so far from the season are Senior Leah Smith has had 8, first place showings in events like 50 free, 100 free, and 400 free. Freshman Ava LoMargo placed 3 first place showings against New Prairie in the 200 free, 500 free, and 400 free relay.

Smith also said, “I'm going to do my best to help lead the team and keep people motivated to do their best. Swim has a long season, so it's important to stay positive and strive to get new personal bests.”

They boys swimming team has had three meets this year. They’ve faced New Prairie, Goshen, and Northridge. While all three of those being losses there have been many highlights for the boys. Junior Alex Vancza placed first in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly against New Prairie. Also Junior Justin Moser won the diving events against New Prairie and Goshen.

Senior Kirkland Hettich said, “I plan on working hard and cheering on the team. I hope I can help anyone who is having trouble with strokes so they can get faster.”

Both girls and boys teams have plans for some holiday activities.

On behalf of the girls Smith said, “We typically have team bonding where we have a gift exchange and we make Christmas cookies.”

While on the boys side Junior Daniel Stauffer said, “We may have a team meal after one of the practices. During practice we will probably have team bonding activities like fun relays and races.”

Both teams travel to CMA/CGA on Saturday December 1st at 9:00 a.m

Ball Away the Holiday

By Alexa Orozco

It’s that time of season at The Rock to hear the sounds of the blaring buzzer, pep band, and basketball sneakers squeaking on the court.

Lady Pilgrims

The Lady Pilgrims won their first home game against the Triton Trojans and earned another victory for the season with a 3-pointer packed game. Between senior Cortni Cook scoring a 3-pointer, junior Halle Reichard scoring another, and without even blinking, sophomore Claire Tanner sneaking yet another 3-points for the team. The night ended with a win for the Lady Pilgrims with the final score of 56-29 and put their overall record for the season at 3-3-0 after their loss against Valparaiso. After beating Logansport by 47-41 the overall record for the Lady Pilgrims is 4-3-0.

The Junior Varsity Lady Pilgrims started off their first matchup with 2-pointers from freshman Lindsay Janus and sophomore Mary Kate Flynn. The night also saw multiple 3-pointers from sophomores Erin Renneker and Olive Stanton. Sophomore Alaina Clady repeatedly stole from the Trojans and blocked many of their shots. The JV Pilgrims ended their night with a score of 52-12 and an overall record of 6-0-0 in their season with the following win in Valparaiso and Logansport.

Off the court, the Lady Pilgrims got into the holiday spirit and went caroling Saturday, November 25 in downtown Plymouth at the Christmas Tree lighting.

Varsity player Cassidy Holiday said “I'm always excited for the holidays because it allows me to have a break from school and basketball and SLEEP.”

Catch the Lady Pilgrims in action at home on Wednesday, December 6 against Chesterton Senior High School at 6:15 p.m.

Pilgrims

The Pilgrims started their season at John Glenn on Wednesday November 22 and earned a win with 46-35. On Saturday, the Varsity Pilgrims hosted their first home game against New Prairie and dominated the Cougars with 50-34. The JV Pilgrims won their game against the Cougars with 52-35. The Varsity and JV Pilgrims begin their season with a 3-0-0 overall record with their win against the Triton Trojans.

Head Coach Bales said, “My goal for the team every year is to improve each and every day and to compete to the best of our ability.”

The Pilgrims will be hosting today, December 5, versus Winamac Community High School starting at 6:15 p.m.

Early Bird Gets The Worm

By Taylor Medeiros

Waking up, walking out the door into the dark and onto the bus, the Rockie Wrestlers are beginning their season. With unsettled nerves and adrenaline pumping through their veins, the wrestlers go into the Early Bird tournament at Culver Military Academy, with one goal. Being undefeated last year at the tournament, gave the wrestlers another purpose to go in and win it all over again. However, that was not the case. Falling just one dual short of the goal they ended up with a record of 4-1 losing to a tough CMA team. Last year at sectionals, it was a nailbiter in the end. Leading up to the last match, CMA was ahead by 2.5 points in the team score. Having all the pressure on him, Sam Stayton walked out on the mat and got the pin. The crowd went crazy. Everybody was cheering and screaming whether it was for or against us. That one match made the Plymouth Rockies sectional champions.

Coming into the 2017/2018 season, expectations are high for one specific wrestler and his name is Graham Calhoun. Placing 7th in the 138lb weight class as a freshman, he has much more that he wants to accomplish. Wrestling since he was four years old, he always looks to get better everyday, so he can stand on top of the podium in February.

Being the only four year Varsity Wrestler on the team, senior Zane Devault has gone to Semi-State the past three years. However he is not satisfied with that. He has one more year to break away and make it happen.

DeVault said, “I have wrestled since I was a little kid, so it’s a part of my lifestyle.”

The Rockies have many more matches to prove who they really are, and they will do just that as they walk into a Super Dual they host. Five matches for each wrestler means five matches of battling it out with other schools.

Returning varsity wrestlers are Zane Devault, Gavin Banks, Graham Calhoun, Sam Stayton, Nate LaFree.

Winter sports preview

Alexa Orozco

The team rolls out their wrestling mats and the sound of dribbled basketballs echos in the varsity gym. The wrestling, swim, gymnastics, winter cheer, and basketball seasons have started.

Wrestling started their season with their first practice on October 30th. Their first match will be at Culver Military Academy on Saturday, November 18 starting at 9:00 a.m.

Senior Gavin Banks, said he is looking forward to “Winning.”

Girls swim had their first practice on October 23rd and will have their first meet at Rochester on Tuesday, November 18 starting at 5:30 p.m.

Sophomore, Ava Goodrich said, “I really like to swim and I beat my personal best last year.”

Boys swim had their first practice on November 6th and will have their first meet tomorrow, November 14, at Rochester Community High starting at 5:30 p.m.

Boys basketball had their first practice on November 6 and began the season with their annual Red/White scrimmage game last Friday, November 10th. The preview gave Pilgrim fans a chance to catch a sneak peek as to what is to be expected in their first game on Wednesday, November 22 at John Glenn starting at 6:00 p.m.

Coach Bales said, “I am always excited to see how our team comes together - who is going to step up into new roles? Who is going to lead us? Which younger players will step up and give us some quality minutes. Just overall excited to see how our team's chemistry evolves as we begin practice.”

Girls basketball started their season with their first practice on October 16 and had their first game against South Bend Washington on October 31. The Lady Pilgrims were defeated by the Panthers, but then earned their first victory in their match against New Prairie on November 2 where the Lady Pilgrims took the scored 42-20. The Lady Pilgrims first home game will be Thursday, November 16, against Triton at the varsity gym starting at 6:00 p.m.

Sophomore, Erin Renneker said “I’m looking forward to bonding with my teammates, having fun, playing the game, and getting to know my new coach.”

Winter sideline cheer started their season with their first practice on October 30 and will begin their season cheering on the Varsity Lady Pilgrims at home versus Triton on November 16. Next, the cheerleaders will cheer on the Pilgrims at John Glenn on November 22.

Sophomore, Lakeland Strain said she is looking forward to “Making new friendships with girls on the team and getting more complicated stunts down.”

Gymnastics will have their first practice on Monday, November 20 and have their first meet at East Central on Wednesday December 27 at 12:00 p.m.

PHS students, parents, and teachers can come support the winter athletes at the annual Winter “Meet the Teams” and Picture Night on today, November 13 at 6:00 P.M. at the PHS auditorium.