As the winter sports seasons draw nearer, the boy’s basketball team is looking exceptional thus far. The team is bringing back four out of the five starters, as the big man Kyle Kolesar graduated. Zach McGonigal was the sixth man last year, but the starting role is nothing new for him. This is because he had been playing a lot of minutes in previous seasons.
The team will follow after the three seniors Isaac Tiracorda, Zach Mcgonigal, and Noah Emigh, who have been around for the past seven and a half years. Following behind them are juniors Owen Koleno, Joel Evans, and Lukas Colton. Sophomores Dylan Mcgonigal and Easton Emigh will also get some big minutes this year. Lastly, freshmen Max Gibson, Conner Danko, and a 10th-grade rookie Coby Kephart will look to play some minutes for the experienced West Branch team. Their roster is currently around 16 players, up a decent amount from last season. Anyone else who wants to play should get in contact with head coach Danny Clark.
The boys’ season was underway on November 4th with the 9th annual WB shootout, in which 14 teams attended. Those teams consisted of West Branch, Harmony, Clearfield, St. Marys, St, Josephs, Hollidaysburg, Tyrone, Philipsburg, Moshannon Valley, Bald Eagle, Huntingdon, Southern Huntingdon, Ridgway, and DCC. Each team had a total of three games throughout the day.
At 8:00 am, the Warriors started out by taking on the Clearfield Bison where the Warriors earned a hard-fought win. After, they didn’t play again until 4:00 pm, ensuring that players could attend the district championship volleyball game that was at noon the same day. At 4:00, the Warriors played St. Marys where they took yet another win. Then at 6:00, WB played their final game of the day where they took a tough loss to Hollidaysburg.
Coming off of ICC and District 6 Championship appearances, along with a trip to the Sweet 16, head coach Danny Clark had something to say about the goals for the season. “We are hoping to take the next step and improve from last season’s district/state playoff run. We have 90% of our scoring back but lost our 1 senior Kyle, who is tough to replace. There are some high expectations, but we need to take it day by day and focus on what we can control and enjoy the journey.”
The Warriors’ season will kick off on December 6th, when they take on the Penns Valley Rams at Penns Valley. They will then have their home opener on December 8th against the Harmony Owls.
