Winter Sports Preview

Wrestling:

Garfield’s Wrestling team has been doing pre-season practices since the beginning of the year and, according to team leader Mia Carlson, Garfield wrestlers are fired up for the super exciting season ahead of them.

Carlson started wrestling during her freshman year at Garfield and loves the sport. ”My favorite part about wrestling is the matches. When you get on the mat, you’re just really focused on what’s happening, you become really involved in what you’re doing, and it’s just a really great experience, especially if you win.” Carlson said.

Wrestling has meets after school most Thursdays where students can watch Garfield’s wrestlers take down the competition.

“It would be great to see more people coming out and supporting the team,” Carlson said. Carlson says that the wrestlers at Garfield are very dedicated and enthusiastic about helping the team. ”Garfield’s wrestling team has a really great community, it’s very close and we’re all very passionate about the sport.” Carlson said.

Bowling:

Garfield’s “Bowl-dogs” are excited to be bowling for the sport’s first year at Garfield. The coach, Ms. Lynch, who once considered becoming a professional bowler, plans to take the bowling team to State this year.

One member or the team, Cecilia Dunbar, says the girls on the bowling team are very supportive and while she has never bowled in school before, she is excited to learn more about the game.

“We have practice twice a week and pretty much what that is, is just going to the bowling alley, and playing 1 or 2 frames and working on just techniques and finding what works best for us,” said Dunbar.

As the sport has not been at Garfield in past years, bowling is a unique experience because everyone starts out around the same level. “There’s no intimidation of like ‘Oh, they’ve been here longer, they probably know more than me,’ so it’s a lot more relaxed cause it’s like everyone is doing it for the first time,” Dunbar said.

Basketball:

The girls’ Basketball team this year is motivated and full of Garfield spirit. Dalayah Daniels, a team captain this year is extremely passionate about basketball and has ambitious plans to make the team the best it can be.

“My goals for this season are to win State and hopefully get to Nationals,” said Daniels
Daniels is confident in her team’s abilities and excited to go into the season. “I know we have a very talented group of girls and we are very capable of reaching every goal we put our minds to,” said Daniels.
Garfield’s basketball team has had a big impact on Daniels herself and she wants to share that with all of the players.

“Basketball makes me feel like I can do anything and it’s also an outlet from the real world. I have been able to grow in every aspect of my life through this game. Basketball has turned me into a leader on and off the court, something that the classroom cannot always teach.”

Boys swim team:

This year the Garfield boys Swim and Dive team is ready to dominate the competition. Senior captain Remy Freeman is excited about the opportunity in front of him and the other captains.

“Of course we want to swim fast and have fun, but we also want to make swim team more friendly to [newbies],” said Freeman.

Building an inclusive community is particularly important to Freeman, who has been on the swim team for his entire high school career. “Being able to meet new people of all different ages and making that connection between upper and underclassmen that rarely is able to happen in class is the best part,” said Freeman.

If you want to support the team, Freeman has a few ideas.
“While we’d love to see everybody to come out to meets, even just saying good luck to swimmers before they leave is a great boost.”

Gymnastics:

As the Garfield gymnastics team goes into its 3rd year since it’s return, they’re ready to compete with the best in the state. Margot Morris, senior captain and founder of the team, is ready to make this year the best one yet.

“My goal is to make sure that the whole team feels welcomed and like a family,” said Morris.

One thing Margot thinks contributes to this is how easy Garfield gymnastics is to get into.

“We’ve have a huge range of people from those unable to do a cartwheel all the way through doing a double backflip,” said Morris “That wide range of talent makes it a lot more fun because everyone is so supportive no matter where you are.”

Morris is betting her team’s strong community bond will lead to success in meets, which are Friday nights, so make sure to come out and support!