Cheer

Last month, the Woodland Park cheer team made it to regionals, taking first place in the Tri-Peak league. The cheer team has had an impressive season so far taking second at Boo Bash, their first showcase of the year. Woodland Park also took first in the 3A all-girls tournament claiming the title of division champions. The cheer team is on a promising path this year with two first place finishes and one second place out of the three events they’ve gone to.

Hockey

As the temperature starts to drop, the Woodland Park hockey team dives into their winter season. Despite a rough season last year, with a new batch of freshmen the team is full of potential to carry them through the season.

“Our Freshman class is promising with some talented kids that have a great work ethic,” coach Travis Seabolt said.

Although the team is waiting to start practicing on the Meadowood skating rink, with higher temperatures the outdoor rink has so far remained dry. They plan to start flooding the rink with hopes of getting the team skating on the ice in the outside rink by Christmas.

Many returning players are stepping up into leadership positions to help guide the team and mentor new players. Sterling Gum will be taking on a leadership position as the team’s captain. Kianoa Nazzise, as well as senior Aidan Graham are also taking on bigger roles in the team as assistant captains.

The city of Woodland Park works with the youth association and high school, supporting the hockey team.

“Without their support our programs wouldn’t be possible,“ Seabolt said.

The Panthers look forward to the upcoming winter season, as they start off with their first game against Rampart.

Swim

The girls swim team is out in the pool with their first couple of practices started. The swimmers are working hard preparing themselves for the winter season. The team looks forward to growing stronger and improving on their times. With a large number of returning swimmers, the team has many athletes now in their senior year.

“I count on the seniors for leadership,” coach Rusty Bernstein said. “I want them to set the example for the younger swimmers. Our biggest strength is our upperclassmen talent.”

The large percent of experienced swimmers helps the team keep up scores despite its smaller size. With only 14 athletes, the coach said he’d like to focus on growing the team to something closer to 25 athletes.

The Panthers have only one diver, senior Kinsleigh Lehmkuhl.

Bernstein has been coaching swim for over 40 years and is focusing on the swimmers improving throughout the season, as well as making sure everyone enjoys being a part of the swim team.