How come the boys varsity basketball team gets a pep rally specifically centered around them? Why doesn’t the wrestling team get their own unique pep rally entrance, or the hockey team? How come swimming wins second in states but gets no recognition?
The boys varsity basketball team is the staple of mediocrity at RHS, as they have not had a winning record since the 2013-14 season. So why do they deserve all of the attention?
When the season opened for the boys varsity basketball team, the athletic department gave out free T-shirts to help promote the basketball team. The first 100 students who purchased a ticket at lunch got a free T-shirt. In what way did the program deserve those shirts? They went 5-18 last season, and are already 1-11, as of January 13, while some students do not even know we have a RHS hockey team, the hockey team is currently 5-3-2.
“I think it’s unfair that we’re not represented as a school sport because one way or another we have a team,” junior defender Finn Harty, who has played hockey at RHS for three years, said. “We play against other high schools and it’s not fair for the kids that primarily play hockey to not get representation in the school.”
The hockey team is composed of students from Magruder HS and RHS, as well as nine other schools. In total there are 11 schools on one team for a roster of 23 players. By itself, RHS has nine players, not enough for a team but certainly enough for a little recognition.
“Our basketball team isn’t really that great. While the wrestling team won divisions last year, […] just like they hype up the basketball team, they need to hype up the wrestling team that actually wins stuff,” junior Harold Paintsil said.
Last season, the boys swim team placed second in the MPSSAA states championship, who got recognition on the morning announcements last year with Principal Billie-Jean Bensen. The team was led by alumni Griffin Alaniz (“15), junior Tony Guardado, junior Joshua Grammer and sophomore Nathan Watts. Combined, they all scored 40 points in the men’s 200-yard medley relay competition.
However, I feel that no matter how good the teams may be, some sports can boring events to watch. Swim meets are time consuming and wrestling matches are dull. But even though the basketball games are short and supposedly more engaging, why would fans be entertained watching a lackluster performance.
“No one wants to sit through a multiple hour, morning, weekend swim meet,” senior Peter Verity, who was not on the team last year when they went to states, said. “Even if we lose every game, sports like basketball will be more exciting to watch than a swim or dive meet.”
The girls varsity basketball team is currently 6-4 after going on a four-game winning streak. Their streak was ended with their first loss to the Quince Orchard HS Cougars 66-21. Their record alone is already enough reason for students to attend the girls games rather than the boys. Sophomore Emily Huynh is third in points scored this season, as well as first in shooting three pointers.
“I feel like the girls team doesn’t get enough recognition just because we are girls and were not like as athletic as the guys, cause they can do things like dunk and jump really high, but they’re not good,” Huynh said. “It’s the whole thing about sexism and how the guys are bigger but not necessarily better.”
There is no doubt that the girls basketball team is better than the boys, over the course of the season the lead scorer for the girls is senior Jaylah James she averages 12.7 points per game. While the boys leading scorer is sophomore Andrew Pace he averages 7.6 points per game. This shows that not only are the girls superior in their record, they are also superior in their scoring. In the last three games the girls are 2-1, while the boys are 0-3. My suggestion is do not go to the boys basketball games, go to the girls games, because they actually win.