By Stephen Henderson
The first day of winter sports tryouts last Monday at Patrick County High School saw indoor track runners and wrestlers warming up running laps in shorts and shirt sleeves while both Cougar basketball teams sweated in the gyms due to the unusual continuation of warm weather. That changed Thursday as teams bundled up in hoodies and long sweats as they ran on the track.
Winter finally arrived this past weekend, and the four Patrick County High School winter sports teams are gearing up for their upcoming seasons after a week of tryouts.
Girls’ and boys’ basketball, girls’ and boys’ indoor track and wrestling have all named their teams and are looking forward to their first competitions.
Let’s take a look at this winter’s teams.
Lady Cougar basketball
This year the Lady Cougar basketball team will be under the leadership of a new coach, Mike Hedrick. Hedrick comes to the Lady Cougars with a variety of experience. Most recently, he was the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at the University of Charleston and Francis Marion University. Prior to that, he coached at the high school level as well as AAU basketball.
“I took this job because I value being around great people, and that’s exactly what I have found at Patrick County. I have great support from Principal Trey Cox and Athletic Director Terry Harris and thank them for the opportunity they have given me,” Hedrick said. “I feel that I am exactly where I need to be, love the community, love my team and coaches, and am excited to get started,” he said.
According to Hedrick, the Lady Cougars consist of 12 players—three seniors, three juniors and six sophomores.
“As a coaching staff, our number #1 priority is to establish our culture, and we believe that doing so will lead to success on and off the court,” Hedrick said. “We want to be the standard that everyone else compares themselves too. It will take time, but we are working every day to get better, get in the best shape of our life, and learn how to play the game the right way,” he said.
Hedrick has made a mantra for this year’s team: “Fun to watch…tough to play.”
“I hope those who watch us will agree,” he said.
The Lady Cougars scrimmaged last Saturday and will travel Monday, November 21, to take on Galax.
Their first game is November 28, at Franklin County; their first home contest is Friday, December 2, against Halifax County.
Coach Hedrick is assisted by Justin Adams and Terry Martin. Donny Rakes is head JV coach and Ryan Pendleton is the middle school coach.
Cougar basketball
Andrew Terry returns as head coach for the PCHS Cougar basketball team. Twelve members make up this year’s squad: four seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.
Eight players with varsity experience are returning to the varsity squad, including five who started at some point during the season last year.
“The biggest impact players will be at the point guard position,” Terry said. “Frankie LaComa (sophomore) and DeAndre Reynolds (freshman) will be really important as to how we operate on offense and how efficiently we are able to score in the half court as well as pressuring other teams,” Terry said.
Seth Scott is returning as the leading scorer and rebounder from last season.
“We are looking for him to have another big season,” Terry said. “He finished the last eight games of the season averaging a double-double,” he added.
The Cougars will also be returning four seniors—all with much varsity experience and who have been playing together for a long time. They are Matt Amos, Zach Strole, RJ Hagwood, and Christian Taylor. “These are the main post players on the team and guys that we expect a lot out of this season—especially for a leadership role,” Terry said.
According to Terry, the first week of practice has gone well. “The guys look eager to get to work and have really come out of the gates working hard,” he said.
“Our guys have gotten bigger, taller, and stronger, and you can really see it during the first few days of workouts,” he said. “I have been impressed by how quickly they have responded to things we are doing and how quickly the guys from fall sports are picking up where we left off this summer.”
Terry said that the team has several goals in mind this season. “Obviously, we are looking to win more games. I strongly believe we that we will be able to get to the .500 win mark or higher this season,” he said.
The Cougars scrimmaged at East Montgomery last Saturday. They will host a scrimmage with Galax Monday, November 21, at 5 p.m. Their first game of the season is Tuesday, November 29, at home against Gretna.
“We are really excited to get this season started,” Terry said. “We have a lot of returning experience and talent along with size and speed to match up well with anyone we face this season. I believe by mid-season, we should be a really difficult team to play as guys develop and begin to become comfortable playing with one another,” he concluded.
Terry is assisted by Lucas Terry; Tony Mosley is the JV coach and Tyler Snow is the middle school coach.
Cougar indoor track
A large turnout of athletes greeted Coach Danel Slaydon last week with the onset of the Cougar indoor track season. Thirteen girls and 23 boys appeared at the practice track. They included four seniors, 10 juniors, 10 sophomores, four freshmen, seven eighth graders and a seventh grader.
Several outstanding returning track stars will be on this year’s team. Savannah Moorefield returns to help lead the team after scoring First Team All-State Honors in the relay and individual events.
Macie Rogers, Montana Moorefield, and Armonte Carter are also returning off the previous track seasons after earning First Team All-State Honors in the 4x800m and 4x400m relay events.
First Team All-State thrower Lexy Carico is bringing her throwing talents to the indoor track this year. “We are looking forward to seeing her improve her talent in the shot put ring,” Coach Slaydon said.
After the first week of practice, Slaydon is excited. “We have an experienced group of veterans to help guide a lot of new young runners to a successful season,” he said. “The team has a lot of enthusiasm and they are willing to put in the work to be successful. We are looking forward to seeing how far we can progress this season,” he added.
Slaydon has some unique goals for the season to help develop the team and sport into something the teammates will love.
Goals for the season:
1. Keep getting better. (Keep the ball rolling!)
2. Enjoy the process of getting better. (Practice is the highlight of your day!)
3. Relay-oriented season. (Working hard as a group to do something special!)
4. Boys’ and girls’ relay teams qualify for states.
5. Boy and girl individuals qualify for states.
6. Perform at our best when it counts the most.
The first event of the season is Tuesday, November 29, at JDL Fasttrack in Winston-Salem, N.C.
There are no home track meets.
Slaydon sees this season as another team-building effort for all of those involved. “The girls are coming off a great indoor and outdoor track season and look to continue their success this coming season with First Team All-State Honors in the 4x800m and 4x400m Relays, as well as individual performances,” he said.
“The boys are looking to establish their relay teams as one of the best teams in the state and earn First Team All-State Honors,” he added.
Slaydon is assisted by RJ Scott—sprint and jump coach; Winfred Hill—throws coach; Johnny Miller—strength coach; and Kali Slaydon—long distance coach.
Cougar wrestling
Coach David Morrison is looking forward to this year’s Cougar wrestling season. He has a “solid core of returning wrestlers and some tough young newcomers. I am excited out our team’s potential,” Morrison said.
This year’s team is composed of eight seniors, seven juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen.
Returning wrestlers include Jeremiah Anderson, Jeremy Gunter, Hunter Kenyon, James Lane, Brian Lange, Colt Martin, AJ Robertson, Ethan Rorrer and Tyler Stanley.
“We want to improve our dual meet record and send more wrestlers to the state tournament,” Morrison said.
The first week of practice has gone well, according to Morrison. “We are ahead of our normal first week of practice—I think the guys are excited to get back onto the mat and get the season off to a great start,” he said.
Morrison said that they still have some openings and would love for a few more wrestlers to come out for the team.
The Cougars start the season Saturday, December 3, with a tournament at Rockingham County High School. They host a quad match the next week, Wednesday, December 7, at 5 p.m. with Bassett, Magna Vista and Franklin County.
Stephen Henderson is Morrison’s assistant coach, and Chad Lange is the middle school coach.
“We want to thank our parents and supporters for all of their efforts during the off season,” Morrison said. “Without your help, we wouldn’t be able to provide the quality of program that we have been working to build,” he added.
“We would like to encourage all seventh and eighth grade boys to sign up for our middle school team and all kids grades K-6 to come out to our elementary wrestling program which starts on Thursday, November 17, at 6 p.m. and will be held every Monday and Thursday thereafter, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the PCHS wrestling room at the rear of the school.”
