The start of December marks the start of winter sports at Allderdice with the boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, swimming, and wrestling teams gearing up. Although there are only 4 teams, the winter season surely promises to be another success for Dice sports altogether.
Boys Basketball
Boys Basketball always promises an energetic and successful season and this year is no different. Historically, they are one of the most successful teams in the school, racking up many City Championships, WPIAL wins, and state successes. They have won the City League the past 3 years, so the seniors are looking for a perfect 4/4 record with a City Championship this year. Their main goal, however, is to make it further in the post-season. Senior Forward Pavle Slepcev said, “Last season we lost in the first round which was unfortunate because we had too much talent that was lost. Our team goal is to make it further in states than we did last year.”
This year’s team is relatively older, with many returning players and 4 starting seniors. Key players include seniors Logan Golle and Major Rainey who are both 4-year Varsity members. Pavle Slepcev, Skye’Zir Reeves, and Azerick Jetter comprise the rest of the strong senior class, however, juniors including Jack Segall and Asher Schwartz are promising to step up big this year. If you are interested in attending home games for the boys’ team, look into buying their home season pass for $20, which has a high value given their busy home schedule. You are not going to want to miss their success this season!
Girls Basketball
Girls Basketball has also been training hard and is ready for a successful season! They began WPIAL play on December 2nd, among some highlights being a big win at home against Ambridge and Gateway HS. On January 5th, the team starts a competitive City League schedule against Brashear. The girls are projected to finish 2nd in the city, a feat in itself and an improvement from their rankings last year. Coach Ellen Guillard expressed that the team goal is to make it to the City League Championship once again. “We usually make it to the semifinals in City League play. Last year we made it to the championship and lost to Obama.”
However, with strong leaders and energetic underclassmen, the girls’ basketball is certainly a team to watch! On the team’s captains, senior Naomi Segel and Junior Jahnayah Lash, Guillard said “They are awesome leaders and great examples for the girls to follow after.” They are a young team with 11 freshmen starting their careers this season. Underclassmen to look out for include freshman Peyton Lynch, and sophomore Bailey White, who have both put up impressive numbers through the start of the season. Please come out and support this exciting hard-working team as they begin yet another promising season!
Swimming
The next team to look out for is the swim team! They are a co-ed group, captained by seniors Corin Winikoff, Aiden Suzensky, Casey Bloom, and junior Lily Schaefer. Although they are a younger and smaller team, they are optimistic about doing well, especially in the City League. Senior Casey Bloom said, “This year we are on the lower side for boys, however, both girls and boys will definitely do well because we have a good amount of club swimmers and new freshmen that will contribute a lot.” They are coached by the Allderdice favorite dynamic duo of Mrs. Scheuering and Mr. Scheuering, along with essential help from 3 volunteer coaches who mainly run practices.
The team has a long season, with the start on November 20th and City championships on Thursday, February 15th. States are expected to be in mid-March and on qualifying, Bloom said “some of our swimmers will definitely make it to states but we don’t know how many at the moment.” With a successful season ahead of them, the swim team is hoping to finish strong and win City Championships. Any Dice Swimming fan should look to go to Senior Night on January 23rd, which will be their last home meet.
Wrestling
Lastly, the wrestling team is gearing up to repeat a strong season and (hopefully) another City Championship. They have been hard at work since a preseason camp in August and with twice-a-week training through the entire fall. They are coached by Rudy Nesbitt, who has coached in the WPIAL for 30+ years and is starting his 5th year coaching at Allderdice. On his training, Nesbitt said, “I have really hard practices. We do a lot of repetition and solidify the basics to go from there. Once they get those, we start doing more and more advanced moves.”
Their hard work is surely paying off, as the wrestling team has already gotten off to a great start. Their top wrestlers are Zach Schmitt, Kaleb Wilkinson, and Marcus Wahila. Wahila is currently ranked 3rd in the region and 22nd in the state. Other wrestlers to watch include Jakari King, Henry Caruso, Jamel McCrea, and Elysiah Rosario, who just recently pinned her opponent in their meet against Central Catholic.
On their goals for the season, Coach Nesbitt said, “We would really like to repeat the City Championships. It’s going to be tough because we lost some great talent from last year, but the team is doing really well for being such a young team.” After City Championships, the focus turns towards Regionals in Altoona and then States in Hershey. Come out and support them on December 20th for Senior Night!
