No cap recap: state championship edition

With winter sports wrapping up, sports editors Joe Goodman ’20 and Owen Aanestad ’22 recap the latest in state championship news and look forward to the boys basketball state tournament.

Joe Goodman and Owen Aanestad

What a winter sports season it has been for West High athletics.

The boys wrestling team produced three individual state champions in Will Hoeft ’20, Hunter Garvin ’22 and Graham Gambrall ’21 in addition to senior Salima Omari’s heavyweight state championship in the inaugural girls wrestling season. The boys swim team capped an undefeated regular season with a team championship in Iowa City and the girls basketball team upset West Des Moines Valley in their substate semifinal with a team full of first-year players.

The boys basketball team plays Ankeny on Wednesday, March 11 in the substate quarterfinal, poised to make a run at the state title with one of the most balanced and defensive-minded teams in recent history.

To outsiders, this success may come as a surprise, but this year’s senior class has managed to uphold the tradition of excellence in West High athletics despite the skeptics and critics. Listen to the podcast below for insights on the success of West High athletics and the hard work that has kept the Trojans on the podium.