By Brighton McConnell
It is almost time for spring sports to start up at Brevard High School.
Out of the four sports beginning in this month, softball season starts earliest this month, with the first game on February 22. After finishing last season with just five wins, the softball team is looking to bounce back and get a winning record. Sophomore Mackenzie McNiel, who played second base last year, said that even though the season was fun, she didn’t believe that the team played to its full potential. “I loved the team we had last year,” she said, “and I feel like this year we’ll do even better.”
With the start of softball season, baseball season is not far behind, with the first home game against Rosman on February 27. After finishing last year just above a .500 winning percentage, Varsity Coach Brooks Owenby hopes for the team to have a better season this year. “Last season we finished with a record of 11-10 which was a winning record but one that we are not satisfied with. But overall, it was a successful year and something to use as a foundation to grow on,” he said. Owenby also said that his hopes for the team this year are for the team to be a contender in the conference championship, and to make a run in the state playoffs.
Another sport beginning in February is women’s soccer. Coached by Eric Wahus and Chelsea Shew, the girls are looking to have another winning season this year. Sophomore Aly Pagano expressed how excited she was for the season to start, and how she hopes that the team with have another good season together. Pagano, who played as one of the center defenders last year, hopes to pick up right where the team left off last year. “We only lost one senior from last year, so we should have the same group of girls this year,” she said. Pagano also commented that she hoped that the team this year could make a deeper playoff run, after losing in the second-round last season. The season starts for the girls at the Jamboree Tournament in Asheville on February 23, and the first home game is on February 28, against North Buncombe.
Last to kick off their season in the upcoming months is the outdoor track and field team. After having a successful indoor track year, the team is hoping to add on some new members. Besides new athletes, the team is also welcoming an additional assistant coach, Vic Foster, who is a former BHS track runner. Foster is looking to help boost recruiting for the team, and work with sprinters on the short distance running. “We are looking forward to the challenge of rebuilding our shorter distance and field events programs,” said Assistant Coach Jackie Witherspoon. “Although BHS has had some really great middle distance and distance runners recently, we have really missed the fun of watching our sprinters run fast! [And] we hope to see that happen more this spring.” The outdoor track and field team has their first meet on March 5, at North Buncombe.
With all the many spring sports beginning soon, students will have a variety of games to go support our BHS teams for the next few months.