Move over fall sports, winter sports are in full swing. The chilly winter doesn’t stop Madison High School sports from dominating. The first winter sport began this Sunday. Let’s dive in and learn more about our winter teams. 

The Madison Swim team is making a splash in their new pool. The YMCA has recently built a new pool, and this will be the first time MHS swimmers will be swimming there. Head Coach Leib says: “We are excited to be able to practice and have home meets in the brand new swimming facility at the Y.” The key leaders of the team are Lily Barisonek and Artha Abeysinghe, as they dominate in the relays. The captains this year are Lily Barisonek, AllisonLee, Artha Abeysinghe & Sterling Hart. These captains are very excited to be swimming in a new pool and are ready to have a good season. They opened up yesterday against Chatham, and although both the girls and boys lost, this loss will not set them back. Some individual swimmers won their race! 

After winning the Independence Conference two years ago, last year the girls basketball team moved up to the highly competitive Liberty division. Having an amazing record last year of 10-5 the girls can’t wait to shoot their way through this season, taking on rivals such as Hanover Park and Morris Catholic. Seniors Kayla Davis and Vivian Summerlin are the captains and leaders of the basketball team. As it is Coach DiTuro’s third year coaching at Madison High School, she has grown and accomplished many things. Even though the ballers are young, Coach DiTuro states: “I am so excited about this team. We have athleticism, heart and hustle, not to mention a very high basketball IQ. We have great senior leadership, and a group of juniors who are hungry and tenacious. Add some very talented sophomores and freshmen into that mix and you’ve got a very dangerous combination. I am really looking forward to working with this squad.” The Dodgers are hungry to win and can’t wait to play their first game on December 20th against Morristown Beard. 

As Troy Bolton from Highschool musical once said, “Get your head in the game.” The boys basketball team fully has their head in the game. The boys shut down everyone in their division last season, by once again winning their division for the third time in a row. Head Coach, Joe Reel is excited to see what his team will look like this year. “Although we are losing 9 seniors, we have some very talented individuals back this season.  For us to be successful, we have to do three things: 1. Rebound the ball, 2. Win the turnover battle, 3. Defend at a high level. If we do those three things, we will have a chance to win a lot of games.” Let’s hope the boys can do these three things to become successful. Their first game will be on December 17th against Morris Catholic. The boys have plenty of time to get ready for their game and Coach Reel can’t wait to push them. 

Now let’s skate our way to the 2021 Halvorsen Cup Champs, the Boys Ice Hockey Team! The boys had a crazy year last year as they played during Covid. Even though they got shut down for some time, they still managed to end up on top. The hockey team continues to grow more every year. They lost six seniors last year, but they have eight talented seniors coming back to crush it on the ice. The team has gone up a division, which means it will be more challenging. However, these boys are ready to work hard and prove that they love a challenge. Coach Cecala stated: ¨We were moved back up to the Mennen Division so there will be a significant challenge with a number of players with very limited varsity experience. We have a strong core of top 6 forwards led by Cormac McNamara and our defense is led by Liam O’Hearen and John Rusen. We are turning over the crease to Luke Chayut who only has 4 games of varsity experience in his freshman year, but I think he will be our biggest surprise as he is ready to take the next step in his development.¨ The hockey team may have had some changes, but the Coaches are excited to create an amazing team. The boys had their first game against Morristown on Sunday the 28th. Even though it was an upsetting loss, the boys are fully ready to bounce back and get a win against Randolph this Saturday. 

The Girl Ice Hockey team is continually growing as more freshmen sign up. This is the girls’ third year having a program. This will be the first time that the ice hockey team will have two divisions, Varsity and JV. Coach Bailey is so excited to have a big team this year he said, “In only our third year as a program we have grown to over 35 girls. We have some talented freshmen coming in that should help us be competitive this year.” Seniors Maya Tahl and Rachel Bear are both head captains. The team may not always get ice time, but they sure hit the gym. Coach Bailey is excited and is looking forward to having an amazing season! 

Now let’s roll and hope to get a Strike! Bowling has already started this year. The team is composed of all new members, but unfortunately they have had two losses thus far. However, Head Coach Diamante is excited to get this program rolling. Track has also begun, their first match will be in the middle of December. According to Coach Monaco, “We are looking forward to having a season where everyone works hard and has success.” 

Winter Sports are excited to kick off their season! You can head to the Madison High School page for tickets and to see all of the schedules. The student section better be packed and loud. Roll Dodgers!