The Pirates had an overall successful winter sports season. Boys Basketball ended up winning the Frontier League in their last year in the league. Girls basketball finished with a record of 3-17 but look to improve for next year with their young roster. Wrestling had five members of the team qualify for state. Both boys and girl’s powerlifting won state and took home many medals. Bowling ended up placing top three in regionals and went to state. Swim had broken many school records and also qualified for state. 

Boys Basketball

Piper Boys Basketball surpassed expectations this year with a 14-8 record and went undefeated in the league with a league championship. Senior Jaron Briggs says the team’s attitude was straightforward and good all season.

“Most kids would be nervous,” Briggs said. “There were a lot of freshmen playing up. As a team you have to pick each other up and once you get out there, all the jitters go away and everyone gets focused on the main key and goal.”

The Pirates won their sub-state first-round matchup against the Lansing Lions but lost in the sub-state championship game 89-52 to Highland Park High School.

“My favorite moment would be just being around my teammates and having the hard times and the good times like when we would fight and then we would get back together and makeup,” said freshman Phillip Moore. 

Girls Basketball

The Lady Pirates had a difficult season but learned a lot from their losses. Freshman Abbie Roth talks about overcoming the difficulties of having a young team.

“I think our coach [Shane Stout] really pushed us to focus on the positives, we were a really young team this year,” Roth said. “Just knowing that we will go into this game and we will get better by playing tough competition really helped us have a fixed mindset.”

Although the Lady Pirate’s season did not go as expected, the team remained positive going into each game.

“We tried to find a way to bounce back after losses,” said senior Marissa Covington. “We would make it up by going out to eat or something. As a young team, the Lady Pirates look to continue to improve and become a better team for the future.”

Powerlifting

This year, both the men and women powerlifting teams became state champions. This was the first time in school history that both the men and women teams won state at the same time for powerlifting. For senior Kaia Cordill, it was all about practice.

“Just working really hard at practice so I can look forward to going to the next meet and getting that PR,” Cordill said.

The Pirates totaled 23 gold medals, 19 silver medals, and 24 bronze medals. For freshman Malia Martin, the season was very successful winning the squat and clean category.

“My most successful meet, I’d probably say state since I took first in everything and also North Kansas City because I took first in pretty much everything as well,” Martin said.

Bowling

The Pirates Bowling team finished with a superb season. The Pirates finished in the top three in the Lansing 5-1A Regionals and ended up going to state. The team was excited to compete for state.

“The whole time we were all just really excited,” said senior Mason Miller. “Most of them haven’t been to state before so it was a new experience for them. Being there to take charge and show them how to get it done was pretty fun.”

They ended up finishing 10th at the state tournament with a score of 2949. The most memorable meet of the season for Landon Dissmeyer was the WYCO meet.

“The most memorable one was probably our WYCO meet,” Dissmeyer said. “We all scored above our averages and we ended up winning it all and the girls won it all as well.”

Swim

The Pirates Swim team had a very successful swim season, breaking many school records and placing 18th at state out of all 5A-1A schools. This year’s swim team made sure everyone stayed positive.

“Our attitude was very uplifting and very positive,” said senior Jake Huisman. “We were always trying to have each other’s back before we dove into the water for our next race.”

For senior Seth Briggs, state was his main focus throughout the season. Jake Huisman, Austin White, Seth Briggs and Ian Hein all set school records at the state meet. The Pirates Swim team rewrote the school record books this swim season. 

“We had so many people gone all the time and COVID was a really hard thing during it all,” Briggs said. “I kind of just focused on state and just kept pushing myself.”