As our fall teams wrapped up another fantastic season, Storm King’s winter teams began training before Thanksgiving, starting them off strong in regular league play. The boys varsity basketball team has the most time on the court to date, finishing their early season with a 7-1 record, overcoming rivals including EF International, Hoosac, and the Gunnery School. Their only loss came at Connecticut’s Kingswood Oxford School during the final round of the annual Paul “Frosty” Francis Invitational Tournament– a traditional New England Prep event. Storm King reached the final round by overcoming Greens Farms Academy in the semifinal, 59-47, a win that places the Cougars near the top of current NEPSAC Class C standings.
Coach Lewis is very pleased with his team’s performance so far: “We are captained this year by PG (a point guard and post-grad) Rashad Ramserran. The team is characterized by balanced scoring, a strong defensive Identity, and unselfish team play. In addition to a great early-season record, we also won the Storm King Tip-off Tournament here on the Mountain for the first time by beating Rocky Hill School (71-58) and Redemption Christian Academy (78-58), both in a convincing fashion.” The boys’ next game will take place after the Winter Break when Storm King faces the McDuffie School on Saturday, January 11, 2020.
The girls varsity basketball team also got off to a great start this season, despite several game cancellations. With only two games played to date, the girls stand at 1-1 in their early season. Coaches Barbosa, Hauser, and McMahon are optimistic about the remainder of the season. “This year, the girls basketball team is characterized by a mix of strong and experienced leadership by seniors Sam McCullough, Naunet Leonhardes-Barboza, Linyin Wang, Jasmine Yuan Tian, and Rory Tobin as well as a group of talented new players such as freshman Elena Centeno and sophomore AC Van,” explained Coach Hauser. “After a challenging first game loss against what is probably the best team in our league–Darrow School–Storm King succeeded in firmly defeating Oakwood 33-14 on December 11 at our home season opener.” The girls will continue their regular season play when they face Poughkeepsie Day School on Wednesday, January 8, 2020.
Coach Tim Gillett started Storm King’s rising wrestling team off this season with a brisk hike up Storm King Mountain on the first day of practice. In the days following, the young team members, several who were wrestling for the first time, worked tirelessly toward their first competitions beginning with a scoreless match versus the Hackley School in Tarrytown, NY on December 4. Coach Gillett reported that freshman Warren Stone and eighth-grader Max Miller picked up individual wins, and the remaining wrestlers gained valuable experience. Next, SKS faced off against four opponents at Horace Mann School in Bronx, NY, including Baruch, Trinity School, Mahopac, and Horace Mann. Warren had two pins and eighth-grader Elijah Graziosi won an exciting decision in overtime with the team leaving the bout with zero wins and four losses. The setback didn’t hinder the boys, who represented Storm King well at Marvelwood’s annual Skiff Mountain Scuttle on December 14. Congratulations to our wrestlers who placed at the tournament: Warren Stone– 4th; Tony Wu–3rd; Luke Ciunga–3rd; Elijah Graziosi– 2nd; Sean Ryan–1st; Eljus Prifti– 1st.