Starting on Monday, November 16th, winter sports at La Salle began tryouts and practices for the season. Winter sports currently offered at La Salle include men’s basketball, women’s basketball, co-ed swimming, snowboarding, and skiing.

Following some great performances last year, all the winter sports are looking forward to this season to do even better. With the large freshman class this year, there is also hope for incoming freshman talent to lead to some new standout stars. Here’s an overview of what we can expect from this year’s winter sports:

Swimming

Last year, both men’s and women’s swimming had several athletes make it to the state, and together they broke a total of seven records. Notable swimmers to look out for this season are senior Keenan Robinson, who helped set 3 new records last year, and sophomore Sydney Nakagawa who broke 3 records as a freshman. Both teams have strong swimmers this year and expect to send multiple people to state again. Their first meet is on December 3 at North Clackamas Aquatic Park against Hillsboro.

Boys Basketball

Boys Basketball ended the 2014-2015 season with a 9-7 league record, but hope to do better and advance deep into the playoffs this year under the direction of their new head coach. Some notable players to look out for are juniors Jason Burns, Stew Robertson, Matthew Berger, and Ange Toku. They begin the season with a jamboree at Jesuit on December 2nd.

Girls Basketball

Last season, the girls basketball team took home the first place trophy at the 5A championships in Gill Coliseum, which was a particularly impressive feat considering that it was La Salle’s first year in 5A. Despite the loss of some senior talent, the team hopes to keep the momentum going with Aleah Goodman, Ally Jansen, and Taycee Wedin as a few of the standout players. Their first competition of the season is a jamboree on December 2nd at Oregon City.

Snowboarding

The snowboard team has done extremely well the last few years, and are in a strong position to continue their success this year. Both Parker Busch, who took home gold in last year’s boardercross and banked slalom events, and Kiana Christensen, who placed third overall, are returning this year and hope to perform as well as they did last year.

Ski Team

Last year, several athletes made it to the state competition and did extremely well, including Kate Christofferson, who placed third in State in the slalom, and Cole Whritenour, who placed tenth in slalom. This year the team is looking forward to having some freshman talent to build the team and hopefully strengthen their overall roster.

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Overall, La Salle’s winter sports teams look to be in great position as they head into the start of competition, and all Falcons are encouraged to attend games and support their fellow student athletes throughout the coming season. Stay tuned to the Falconer for full coverage of all of La Salle’s winter sports!