Winter Sports Updates

Boys Basketball:
Still ranked no. 1 in New York State with a perfect 15-0 record, the Jamesville DeWitt Varsity Boys Basketball are hoping to defend their State championship title. "I think we're going to win it all," says sophomore phenom Dajuan Colemen. Led by senior point guard Lamar Kearse, the Red Rams have scored more than 90 points three times this season. Highlights thus far include an exhilarating 46-41 win over neighborhood rival Christian Brothers Academy on Jan. 15, and the Juggler Classic Tournament on Jan. 16-17 in Utica where the Rams took home the championship trophy. Junior Brandon Franklin says that without question the team will dominate.

Boys and Girls Indoor Track:
Although the J-DHS Boys and Girls Indoor Track teams are not competing in league meets this year, the teams have finished well in the invitationals they have gone to this winter. On Jan. 23 both teams placed first at the CNYITA meet.

Seniors Max Smith, Bumkuth Jiak, Tyler Peterson and juniors Danny Driscoll and Austin Davis lead a solid distance team this season. Junior Austin Davis believes that with the return of Smith and new addition Driscoll, the team can repeat as sectional champs.

Top performances this season include a first place finish by the boy's 4x400 team, consisting of seniors Eric Semmel, David Salbert, Smith and junior Ira Griffen at the CNYITA. On the girls' side, senior distance runner Eileen Cody and senior sprinter Marae Tearney have led this season's team. In the teams second place tie at the George Constantino Memorial Invitational junior Paige Morrow posted a season best on Jan. 13 placing fourth in an extremely competitive 1,000-meter race.

Boys Volleyball:
Despite their overall record 1- 6, sophomore Jimmy Quartier believes that the J-DHS Boys Varsity Volleyball Team is going to do really well. "Just a bump in the road," says Quartier about their start. Junior Chris Beaulieu is also optimistic about the rest of the season despite their start and injury of key player, seniors, Devan Ramachandran. Ramachandran has been out since their game against Living Word Academy on Jan. 11 with a sprained ankle. "Once Devan gets back, we will take JD volleyball to a level it's never been before," says Beaulieu. Since interviewing the team, Ramachandran has returned to play.

Ice Hockey:
The combined Christian Brothers Academy and J-DHS hockey team is currently 9-6-3. The Bro-ams are currently second in the Division 2 West. Highlights so far this season include tying with state-ranked no. 2 Skaneateles on Jan. 20. Junior Dave Distefano says that the team will do really well at the end of the season in sectionals. Captain Nick Firman, junior, says that the team has great chemistry which helps enhance their overall performance.

Boys Swimming:
The CBA/J-DHS Varsity Boys Swimming team is currently ranked no.2 in the Onondaga league behind the Mexico Tigers, the only team they have lost to this season. Led by juniors Eric Jorgensen and Ryan Byrnes, and senior Russell Farchione the Bro-ams are looking to claim a sectional title this season. Junior Matt Kopp believes that the team will put up a great fight once they get to the sectional meet.

Girl's Varsity Basketball:
The Jamesville- DeWitt High School winter sports teams are in the middle of their seasons. The J-DHS Girls' Basketball team has started their season out with a record of 9-1 in their league and 10-2 out of league as of Jan 27. "We have been playing really good together," says sophomore Abby Smith.

The team's only loss was to Fayetteville-Manlius High School at a home tournament on Dec 5. Smith says that the team played very well and only lost by four points. Other struggles for the team have been against East-Syracuse Minoa and Cortland, even though they still won in the end. "We didn't play as a team against E-SM, " says Smith. Smith also says that the team will struggle with rivalry Christian Brothers Academy who they play on Feb 13.

Although the team is more than half way through their season, they have yet to reach their goals. "We still can be a lot better on offense, but when we play together as a team, we are really good, says Smith." "We'll win sectionals because we have five strong starting seniors, and a bench to back them up," Smith says.

Boys Varsity Wrestling
The J-D/CBA Varsity Boys' Wrestling team has also had a successful start to their season. The team has a record of 8-8 as of Jan 27. "Our biggest struggles were Chittenango and Onondaga," says senior Abraheem Khatib.
"We are just trying to win as many matches," says senior Nate McDaniels. McDaniels says that at least half of the team is new to wrestling. We hope to start a team so it can continue on to next year and many years to come, says McDaniels.

"The team has gotten closer, and understands strengths and weaknesses," says McDaniels. "The team has progressed throughout the season," says Khatib. "Everyone is learning their techniques and getting better."
"We didn't think that we would do as well this season," says McDaniels, because there are a lot of people on the team new to wrestling. There is a lot of hard work and skill on the team, says McDaniels.

Girls Varsity Volleyball:
The Varsity Girl's Volleyball Team has a record of 0-10 in league, and are 2-12 overall. Coach Jim Tuck says that they are still moving forward. Our record does not reflect what we do, says coach Tuck. "We are achieving our goals in small steps," Coach Tuck also says.

Coach Tuck says that it has been a tough season for the team because "The players have the tools and abilities, but they haven't been jelling together." When the team loses their focus, they can lack confidence. When they lack confidence, they don't play as well, he says.

One thing that Coach Tuck says the team needs to improve on is playing well as a team. The team has taken a long time to play as a team, says Coach Tuck. "We are still learning to trust and play as a unit," says Coach Tuck.