The 2016-2017 basketball season is starting off with a bang!

Boys:

The Kadets are off to a 1-3 start but have yet to play a home game. With only two seniors on varsity, Mark Fredricks and AJ Murphy, the team looks to these leadership figures to help guide them through the season. Ryan Self described the season so far as “going a lot better than expected.” Last Friday we faced off against Pueblo West, the defending state champions. Players described it as “a close game until the fourth quarter when they pulled away.” On December 6th, the Kadets took their first win of the season over Mitchell High School: 72-50. Some important faces to keep an eye on this season include: leading scorer Kristian Hooker averaging 12.3 points per game; leading in rebounds and steals, AJ Murphy with 7 rebounds per game and 3 steals, proving to be quite the defensive player; leading in assists, Luke Louthan, only a Sophomore, averaging 5 assists per game; and last but not least, Troyer Morse as the leading blocker with 1 block per game. Senior Mark Fredricks has high hopes for the year: “Our hopes this year is to make playoffs and set our program up for the future.” As a young team there is much to look forward to not only this year but in the years to follow. With upcoming games this week against Denver School of Science and Technology and The Classical Academy (TCA), we hope to develop and maintain a winning streak. On one final note, Mark Fredricks leaves us with the motto of the 2016-2017 Boys Basketball Team, “We some dawgs, we ain’t no puppies!”

Girls:

The lady Kadets, off to a 1-2 start, are looking forward to a very promising season. Defeating Canon City by twenty points gave the team a confident boost heading into their season. The girl’s team also have 2 seniors, Katelin Gallegos and Brooke Sulski. They are captains and both have been on varsity for their entire high school career. However, the main varsity squad is comprised of all returners. Last year, the Lady Kadets had an impressive record of 13-9 and made it to the first round of playoffs. Katlyn Blacksten, a returning varsity player, believes they can go farther this year. “We have improved already and I’m hoping we can make it all the way to the finals! We definitely have the skill set to be state champions, and with time, we will glue together. For now, it’s all about coming together as a team, but the most important thing is to have fun!”