Winter sports previews: Manchester Central

MANCHESTER, NH – The winter sports season is officially underway for Manchester Central High School athletes and coaches as Little Green teams prepare to improve on last year’s successes and develop young athletes into varsity standouts. Here’s a glance at several Central teams:

Swimming

Head coach: Steve VanDerBeken

Key returners:

– Abby Gowern (Captain) – Six-time NHIAA Division-I state champion

– Noah Eckman (Captain)

– Natalia Ashton

– Brandon Tobin (already qhit qualifying times for state meet)

– Faris Kruscica.

Upcoming meet:

Manchester’s city high schools, including Central have their second meet at Goffstown’s Allard Center on Tuesday, Dec. 17 against Goffstown, Bow, Merrimack and Bishop Brady.

Wrestling

Head coach:

– Jarod Mills (6th season)

Last season:

– No state placers

Top returners:

– Demetrio Cortez (Senior)

– Mike Lafond (Junior)

– Zena George (Junior)

– Isabella Bachhuber (Junior)

– Desmond Hossfeld (Junior)

– Gannon Williford (Sophomore)

Promising newcomers:

– Drake Jaimes (Freshman)

– Hyro Melikian (Freshman)

– AJ Dionne (Freshman)

– Christian Cruz (Freshman(

– Zach Heli (Sophomore)

– Angel Lopez-Meza (Sophomore)

– Ivan Lerma-Rivas (Sophomore)

– John Allen (Sophomore)

– Rafdy Castillo (Sophomore)

– Jaysuel Mercado-Badillo (Junior)

– Chris Compas (Junior)

– Soal Panyanouvong (Senior)

Potential challenges:

“We are still in rebuilding mode, but we have the potential to score more points at the state meet than in the past few years. Numbers are growing, but most of them have limited experience. Fortunately the newcomers are athletic and are picking things up quickly.” – Mills

Expectations:

If we can stay healthy, we will keep getting better as the season progresses. We will be in a better position to win dual meets this year and hopefully have a bigger impact at the state meet.  We have the potential for several wrestlers to place well in Division-I and move on to the Meet of Champions and possibly New Englands.

“The wrestling season is long.  As I always tell my wrestlers, ‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint,’ so especially for athletes new to the sport the end of the season should look a lot different than the beginning and it is the end product that matters. We will work hard everyday to get a little bit better and eliminate our mistakes. If we can do that we will have kids winning matches and finish on the podium in February. – Mills

Girls basketball (co-op with Manchester West)

Head coach:

– Michael Wenners (33rd season at Central, last 22 as varsity girls head coach)

Last season:

– 4-14 (didn’t make playoffs)

Top returners:

– Tianna Mann

– Chloe Murphy

– Leyla Mohamed

– Adrianna Perron

– Marley Oates

Potential challenges:

“This is the second year of the Central-West co-op. Last year, it was approved less than two weeks before the start of the season, and it was a very rushed marriage between the two programs. The start of this year has been much smoother. The returning kids from both schools are aware of the expectations and have been great with the younger players, and there are a lot of younger players.” – Wenners

Expectations:

“Our goal is to get better everyday. Everyone has been working real hard for the first two weeks and we are seeing individual and team improvement already. However, the real test will be the dog days of the season in January and February when the newness of the season has worn off. Then, the teams who embrace the grind will start to pull away from the pack. If we are still getting better every day during those times we may be competing to sneak into the playoffs and surprise a team or two.” – Wenners

Boys basketball

Head coach:

– Sudi Lett (seventh season)

Last season:

– 7-11 regular season

– 15th-seed in D-I playoffs (lost to Bedford in opening round)

Top returners:

– Mateo Williams (standout defensive player)

Promising newcomers:

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Potential challenges:

“This years Central boys varsity team will be relying on (its) youth. After graduating eight seniors from last year’s team, this year’s Central team will start three sophomores.” – Lett

Expectations:

“We look forward to a fun year and look to improve on last season’s playoff appearance. “

Alpine skiing

Head coach:

– Ryan Burgess

Last season:

“Last year’s alpine ski teams both had respectable results at the state championship race. The girl’s team finished in the middle third of the pack. Madelynn Diers led the way for the girl’s with an outstanding performance at states and she qualified for the Race of Champions. The boy’s team also put in a solid performance and showed a lot of improvement.” – Burgess

Top returners:

– Madelyn Diers

– Noah Turner

– Brady Merrow

– Thomas Martineau

“This year, I have a larger group of seniors returning, so it is even more exciting … (and) will be filled with many bittersweet moments for me as their coach … This year, we have a great returning group who have gained valuable race experience. I am looking forward to this season, I am always excited to see how the seniors will take on their new role as leaders on the team.”  – Burgess

“John Rist, our own ironman, will be returning again this year to help out. John has been a longtime supporter of our program, he works tirelessly behind the scenes in any capacity necessary, his contributions are greatly appreciated. The entire team is extremely grateful for his help.” – Burgess

Promising newcomers:

– Eleanor Chrtian

– Chance Rippett Kirkhart

– Sheryl Gutierrez

“This year we have some great underclassmen returning and some new faces to welcome to the team … and we look forward to seeing continued improvement from the rest of our underclassmen Alannah Leclerc, Quinn Turner, Dylan Cutting, Neo Eckman, Declan Manning and  Jonah Therrien.” – Burgess

Potential challenges:

“Transportation may be a challenge this year. We may need help from parents to get our racers to and from the races this year.  The bus driver shortage is having a big impact on the bus schedules again this year.” – Burgess

Note: All Central head coaches have been contacted for this preview. The teams of those who responded are featured here.