The students of City High saw a two week break from school to have holiday time for Christmas and New Year’s. But while the time for classes paused, the sports continued for our student athletes.
On Friday December 19th, the night before winter break, the boys and girls basketball teams played West High at home in a double header. Unfortunately, the Little Hawks lost both games in dramatic fashion. The girls team would drop some in the rankings after a 60-51 loss and the boys fell short of a comeback in the second half, losing 53-51. Three days later on December 22nd, the boys team would play undefeated Xavier at home. Despite a gritty effort in a very close battle, the Little Hawks lost 59-58 in another near comeback after being down 17 at half.
“So far this season, we have shown a lot of determination,” senior guard Jack Rogers said. “We have had a lot of close losses in games we feel we should’ve won, but we can’t change the past. All we can do [going forward] is try our very best to make sure we get the most out of the tail end of our season.”
As for the girls side, they were able to bounce back off the loss to West High, getting a 49-41 victory over #7 Xavier. Then on Saturday, January 3rd, they would defeat Dallas Center-Grimes 42-39 in overtime. The Little Hawks have now taken down the #1 team in 4A and 3A. A big playmaker in the past two wins has been sophomore Eve Vitense, scoring 11 and 12 off the bench.
“Eve put in a ton of work in the summer before getting hurt in the fall,” head coach Lynsey Barnard said. “She adds a lot of competition and having her back is big, having another body and sharing the workload [helps the team].”
The girls team currently is ranked #11 in the state and hold a record of 8-2.
On January 3rd, the boys wrestling team hosted a duel against Liberty, where they won in convincing fashion 46-25. Raphael Etuma who was the preseason #1 ranked wrestler made his debut on the mat after returning from a torn finger ligament, where he won by major decision against his opponent.
“I’m glad to be back and competing on the mat again,” Senior Raphael Etuma said. “My goal is to not lose a match this season.”
The year of 2026 is now upon us as winter sports are in full swing, with many goals and aspirations being eyed by the Little Hawks to make this year in athletics a memorable one.
