The month of February is here, and with it comes the end of the winter sports season at Placer High School. Five sports are ending, some of which fared well during their season and some of which struggled.

One team that is having an up and down season due to injuries is the boys’ varsity basketball team. They are currently 4^th place in the PVL, battling tough teams such as Center and Foothill, who are new to the league this year. The Hillmen are having injury problems, as star player senior Darren Centi, has missed most of the season due to a broken collar bone. As soon as Centi returned, senior Koal Swisley banged up his knee.

Although Swisley is injured, the Hillmen are starting to come together, and play well as a team. Senior Josh Turney is leading the team with nearly 15 points per game, and is coming off a monster game where he scored 40 points, 1 point off the school record, and hit a school record 11 three pointers. Varsity coach Mark Lee added that Darren Centi is the team’s inspirational leader. Lee has enjoyed coaching this team and says the future for this team looks bright, as nine players on varsity are underclassmen.

“This is a fine group of young men, who work hard and play together”, stated Lee. “It’s been a lot of fun coaching them”.

The JV and freshman boys’ basketball teams are having great seasons. Both teams are currently in 2^nd in the PVL, and both have a great chance to take the league title. The JV boys are led by scorer Andrew Dahlin, Rebounder Dylan Dirusio, and Mike McNamara, all sophomores. The big team of freshman are led by Logan Frew, Logan Strange, and Jordan Tucker.

The Girls’ varsity basketball team is having a fine season, as they are improving every game. The team is led by senior captains Maryilyn Johnson, and Amy Clark. The girls’ team if matching up well against their PVL competition, and Tony Camillucci, the girls’ head coach says their main goal is to make the playoffs.

“Our goal is to make the playoffs”, Camillucci stated. “This year I think we can.”

Camillucci stated every game the team is competitive with everybody. He says this is one of the best teams he has coached.

“This is one of the best years I have had,” stated Camillucci. “By coaching great kids it makes coaching rewarding.”

            The JV and freshman girls’ teams are also having good seasons. The JV girls are currently in 3^rd place in the PVL, and are led by sophomore Kellyn McDonald, Freshman Elena Daniel, and Freshman Maddie Graham. The freshman girls are also having a good season. The girls are led by Ellie Feis, and Maya Thomas. The team is very tall as they have three girls over 5’10.

Another team having a great season is the Boys’ and Girls’ Ski team. Up on the slopes the small team of 13 is making coach Toby Covich very excited. Covich added the season is going by fast and furious, and the team is doing as he expected. The team is currently in 4^th place out of seven schools in their league, and Covich stated they will probably finish in that spot.

The team will be led by Seniors Evan Swayze and Karly Kenworthy when they head up to compete in their state championship meet in Northstar on March 6^th and 7^th.

Both Swayze and Kenworthy are the number one boy and girl in their league, and have a good chance of winning the State meet. Covich thinks they could be one of the top three teams in the state.

“If things go great we could be one of the top three teams in the state,” Covich stated.

There has not been much fresh snow falling this season, and the snow has mostly turned to ice. Covich says racing on ice is difficult, so they prefer the soft powdery snow to race in. Covich is proud of the team and is very excited to see how they do at State.

“They have trained and worked hard all season,” stated Covich. “The team has come a long ways.”

While the Ski team is racing, the Snowboard team is also shredding down the slopes. The snowboard team is having a decent season, as they are currently 3^rd place in their league. The boys’ team is led by junior Colton Davenport, senior Peter Porata, and sophomore Jacob Peek. They are all having outstanding seasons and all three will participate in the State meet.

On the girls’ side senior Emma Obray leads the team. Obray will be headed to the state meet, along with sophomore Ruth Braica. On the girls team there are only 7 girls, and on the boys varsity team, only 10. Colton Davenport has high hopes for the state meet.

“I’m hoping Placer boys will get at least second at the state meet,” stated Davenport.

The varsity wrestling team is also having a good season. The wrestlers are led by seniors Joe Thornton, Steven Cox, and Andrew Naleway, and all three of these boys have a good chance to make it to the state meet. They may have had their biggest blow of the season when they lost a league meet for the first time in four years to Lincoln, which left  Placer a 2^nd place finish in the PVL. The team’s biggest accomplishment of the season was winning the Lawrence Miller Tournament, and they are hoping to get more wins in the post season.