EHS Girls Basketball (6-2):
Making the Sweet 16 for only the second time in school history and ranking within the Top 10 multiple weeks in a row, EHS Girls Basketball set a high standard for themselves last year, an expectation they seem to be following so far with a 6-2 record. With the Nike Central Valley Tournament in the books where they went 3-1, other major games for The Raptors included the Fruita Monument Tournament (2-1) and upcoming conference games. When it comes to players making a substantial impact on this strong start to the season, Senior Brooklyn Bickerstaff (SG), Junior Amaia Jones (PG/SG) and Senior Shyann Farbes (PG/SG) are the main returners to the team. Junior Glorielle Mukeba (F/C), Freshmen DaNivea Hughes (SF) and Freshmen Kaydence Waymire (G) may be less experienced than some of the returners, but are still key players to watch this season. Even with this positive past and positive start to the current season, Head Coach Robby Gabrielli is taking everything one day at a time. “We are very talented but we are inexperienced,” said Gabrielli. “We are just trying to improve every day to see how far that can take us.”
EHS Boys Basketball (4-0):
As last season was filled with injury after injury, less experienced players on the EHS Boys Basketball Team were forced into more significant roles in many games. With the goal of being the best team in Colorado this year and making a deep run in the state playoffs, Head Coach Jarris Krapcha is hopeful that the valuable experience that the younger players gained last season will help EHS Boys Basketball meet their ambitious goals. Junior LaDavian King (G), Junior Lucas Kalimba (G) and Junior Garrett Barger (C) are not only the main returners to the team, but are also key players to watch this season. All three of these returners are expected to have an impact on the team’s major games this season against Mountain Vista, Rock Canyon, Smoky Hill and Cherry Creek.
EHS Unified Basketball:
As they are not so much a performance-based team, EHS Unified Basketball Team’s main priority is to ensure that every player is having fun. Unified Basketball Coach Meghan Rietveld has the goal of making sure every player scores a basket each game and that every player has the opportunity to participate in a sports environment. No matter what level a player is competing at, there is so much to learn from sports and Rietveld sees Unified Basketball as a place for participants to learn about how to navigate life. “Participating in team sports is an amazing opportunity that can teach our students important life skills,” said Rietveld. “You learn skills like how to work together with other people, show empathy for others, to help other people and to show how you can appropriately compete while not bringing in negative emotions.” For those interested in working with students to help them be active participants during both practices and games, registration is posted for partners to sign up.
EHS Girls Wrestling:
With 15 Freshmen on the team last year, EHS Girls Wrestling was more inexperienced than others, but still managed to place 15th in Team Standings and had one individual medalist at the Regional Competition. This season, with some growth and a strong off-season under their belt, Head Coach Horacio Vialpando believes that the team has the potential to greatly improve from their performance from last season. While every meet matters, The Raptor’s out-of-state tournaments to Grand Island, Nebraska in December and Rio Rancho, New Mexico in January will be some of the more bigger competitions of the year. On top of that, EHS will be hosting a tri meet with Pueblo Central and Douglas County near the end of December. Big returners this year include Chasey Karabell (who was one match away from placing top-6 last season), Gianna Falise, Diora Moore, Emma Roberts and transfer Nyla Barmore, who all qualified for State last year.
