As most of the winter sports at Lewis Cass come to a close, some premier athletes made it farther than the rest. This includes two wrestlers, junior, Eli Grist and sophomore, Brinxton Jones, and one freshman diver, Maleigh Deeter. Their seasons may have ended short of a championship, but the experience gave them something even more valuable heading into next year.

     Eli Grist finished with an impressive record of 36-6, and Brinxton Jones finished with a record of 31-10. Eli and Brinxton were both asked who or what at Lewis Cass has helped them in their successes in wrestling. Eli said, “Practicing hard during practice,” and Brinxton replied, “My coaches and practicing hard.” Eli was also asked how he hopes to become a strong senior leader for the underclassmen to improve, and Grist responded, “I will make sure I lead as an example for the younger kids and help them when they need it.” 

     After every season ends, coaches look at who is moving up from junior varsity to varsity and any new freshmen who could make an impact. Head Coach Nate Burrous said, “We had several good JV wrestlers this year who have a chance to step into the lineup next season. Cameron Fowler-Hall, a junior, had a great season and has a chance to be varsity next year. King Underwood also filled in on the varsity this season and had an impressive 12-4 JV record.” Coach Burrous said he hopes the team can qualify for team state and place well. Burrous also said that he would like to have at least four semi-state qualifiers and a state qualifier next year.

     Next up is the regional qualifier and freshman diver, Maleigh Deeter. Being only a freshman and making it the furthest on your team is impressive, and Deeter knew she had a good chance to do so. When asked if she thought she would make it to regionals her freshman year, Deeter said, “I put in a lot of work in the off-season, so I knew I had a good chance.” When Deeter was asked about where she wants to be, in terms of success in the next three years, she replied, “I want to continue improving my difficulty, consistency, and overall scores. My goal is to qualify for regionals and state each year and place higher as I gain more experience.”

     Girls head swim coach, Mandy Hall, was asked what she expects from Maleigh and the rest of the girls swim team next year, and she said, “I think the girls swim and dive team will have another successful year. The only senior who swam at sectional finals was Kennedy McLaughlin, so I feel like we will be able to train an underclassman to train for the events she swam to help keep us right where we were.” Hall also said she thinks Maleigh will have another amazing year next season. Hall replied, “She (Maleigh) got to experience diving regionals and now has a new set of goals for herself. Maleigh is already planning her offseason training so that she can compete at the higher level to help her move on past regionals.” Coach Hall was also asked about the greatest challenge and accomplishment of the season. Hall said the greatest challenge was the weather. “The snow and frigid temperatures caused a lot of canceled practices. When the weather hit, we were in a training time where we needed to hit specific practice yards. Fortunately, many of our swimmers were able to find pools at the local YMCAs and swim their own workouts.” There were challenges, but there were also many accomplishments, Coach Hall said, “I think our team accomplishments this year include our second-place finish at conference with multiple podium finishes and two individual conference championship swims from Mia Hall, a fifth-place finish at sectionals competing against 5A schools, and Maleigh Deeter advancing to diving regionals.”

     As two of the winter sports seasons ended at Lewis Cass’s, Eli Grist (36–6), Brinxton Jones (31–10), and freshman diver Maleigh Deeter stood out with strong performances and postseason success. The wrestlers credited hard work in practice and coaching for their success, while Coach Burrous looks ahead to team state goals next year. Deeter advanced to regionals in her first season and aims to continue improving. Even with weather challenges, the girls’ swim and dive team earned a second-place conference finish and celebrated multiple individual accomplishments, building momentum for next season. There are still two winter sports being played at Lewis Cass: the boys swim team and the boys basketball teams. Make sure to support these Kings as they prepare for their own postseason tournaments.