With Winter sports’ practices starting last week, the Eagle Examiner will take a look at Varsity Boys Basketball, Varsity Girls Basketball, and Varsity Swimming and their expectations this season.

Varsity Boys Basketball:

The Varsity Boys’ Basketball team has high expectations as they enter the 2015-2016 season, returning 4 of 5 starters from a Conference Championship season last year, including leading scorers Elijah McCadden and AJ Mitchell. After going 10-0 in conference last season, and defeating Oakwood in the CIC Conference Tournament, the boys are expected to do nothing less. The Eagles will be able to use all 11 players and not skip a beat with one of the best benches in the Conference. Not only will they be one of the most skilled teams in the conference, but they will be one of the most experienced as well, returning 7 players from last year, and having a total of 6 seniors on the team. While they have 11 solid players, they will rely on Sophomore Elijah McCadden and Junior AJ Mitchell, to carry this team to another successful season. When asked on what his expectations were for the team this season, Senior Kyle Holland responded, “I expect the same as last year and hopefully we will make a run in states.”

Varsity Girls Basketball:

The Varsity Girls Basketball team is up against it this season. After finishing with an above .500 record last season, things looked to be heading in the right direction. But after graduating 2 starters and losing Casey Jones to a foot injury, the Lady Eagles are not where they thought they would be. Despite this, they still return 3 starters, including their second leading scorer in Katie Gutshall, and one of the top Point Guards in the conference, Julia High. While they have lost a lot, they still expect to contend with powerhouses Oakwood and Halifax for the conference championship. “No matter who is playing, as long as we run our plays right and give it 100%, we can contend with anybody” said Senior Allison Barnes, when asked how losing several key players will affect their season.

Varsity Swimming:

This year’s Varsity swim team has a large amount of young middle school talent and a solid group of experienced high school swimmers. New Coach Brian Winham brings knowledge of swimming and also great leadership for the team. With only one senior swimmer, the team hopes to recruit more swimmers before the first meet to ensure solid relay teams. The first meet is on November 20 at The Epiphany School in New Bern and the Rocky Mount Academy team is sure to do great.