The winter sports season is officially underway at NHS with students participating in a variety of sports with seasons running from mid November through mid March.

“A high standard was set last year with our winter sports. My hope is that returning athletes stepping up as leaders can help our winter sports compete at the best level they can and hopefully our teams all have seasons they can be proud of,” Activities Director Mike Elkin said.

There is a strong group of upperclassmen leaders across all of the winter sports at NHS. Every team had an upperclassman who was willing to share information about last season’s results, goals for this season and what they look forward to this season in their respective sport.

Boys’ Hockey

Boys’ hockey is coming off of a 20-7-0 season according to their official website. They were sectional runner-ups and had their best season since they got second at state in 2019. The team, coached by Jeff Lindemann, is excited to hit the ice in their 2022-’23 season.

“I hope we win some games and have a great year and get closer as a team,” captain Luke Sutton, Hortonville senior, said. They will play their first game on Nov. 22 at the Champions Center against Arrowhead.

Boys’ hockey is a part of the NHM co-op. The team is composed of kids from Neenah, Hortonville, Menasha and Shiocton. They all meet after school at their home barn, the Champions Center. This provides a unique environment for the team.

 The Rockets hope to battle their way back to another sectional final and hopefully make a state appearance.

Girls’ Hockey

Girls’ hockey, or the Fox Cities Stars, had an extremely successful season last year, going 19-3-1. They made it to state, where they lost in the first round. This year, they are hoping to work off their success from last year. 

“Our goal this year is to pick up right where we left off and have unmatched effort and speed on the ice,” Neenah junior Lily Schmear said. She is excited to hit the ice and skate with her team again.

The stars are also known as the Xaiver co-op. They are a joint team, with players from 12 different schools. This allows players to meet people from all over the state.

According to the WIAA website, the stars won state back to back in 2019 and 2020, so they also hope to match their success from the past.

They also experienced some changes in the organization, with Blake Hackbarth stepping up as head coach for his first season. Their first game is on Nov. 25 against the Northern Edge, but their first home game is at the Champions Center on Dec. 2.

Wrestling

The boys’ wrestling team begins a new season returning two individual state qualifiers from a year ago in Nick Novak and Jacob Herm (sophomore), according to the team’s official website. Head coach Kyle Klueskens and the team will compete at meets all around the state, while hosting four meets at NHS (see graphic for dates). 

The team will be without eight seniors who played major roles in last year’s lineup, but still possess the talent to compete in the FVA and beyond. This year’s team hopes to bury Kaukauna en route to an FVA championship and team state.

“This team is like a giant family and that’s why it’s important that we all help each other improve on the small details that are critical in earning a trip to Madison for team state,” captain Jayden Sheppard, senior, said.

An FVA Championship and trip to team state will be an uphill battle for the team this year as they will have to make it through the powerhouse Kaukauna Ghosts. A motivated group of upperclassmen, however, is preaching the idea of pinning the recent success of Kaukauna and dethroning the Ghosts as FVA Champions.

Boys’ Basketball

After the boys’ basketball team won their fourth state championship and first since 1978 finishing the year with a 29-1 record the expectations are still high for the upcoming season, says senior point guard Elliot Swanson. 

“As a team the goal is to win another conference championship and win another state title,” Swanson said. 

The team knows that they have work ahead of them in the always competitive FVA conference. Neenah will lose five seniors who all played significant minutes last season so this year’s Rockets will have a whole new look. Winning back to back state championships would be like striking it rich in the lottery, and the Rockets are feeling lucky this year!

Swanson also notes that people should come watch the basketball team this year because they are going to be exciting to watch as they will be scoring points and playing a fast paced game. The team hopes to have the Ron Einerson Fieldhouse roaring Tuesday and Friday nights once again this year beginning Nov. 29 at home against Stevens Point.

Girls’ Basketball

The girls’ basketball team is coming into the season with high hopes after only losing two seniors and returning key players from the previous year. The Rockets finished the 2021-’22 season with a 22-6 overall record and made it to the sectional finals before losing to Appleton East. 

“As a team our goals are to improve defensively and to win state,” captain Ava Kok, senior, said. 

Junior Allie Ziebell looks to improve on her historic season where she scored 30 points per game and broke the school scoring record. Ziebell had a great offseason, which is proven by being ranked fifth in the country in the 2024 class on ESPN.

The girls come into the season as the number one ranked team in the state according to Wisconsin Sports Network, which is the premier source for high school sports in Wisconsin. Kok also explains that the team will have a target on their back all season, which will motivate them to play at their highest level each game. 

The girls first home game is on Dec. 2 against Appleton East at 7 p.m. in the Ron Einerson Fieldhouse and students should be encouraged to go watch them play because of their high level of play and the tremendous amounts of energy they plan to bring to every game.

Boys’ Swim

The boys’ swim team begins their season on Dec. 3 at the Oshkosh West Invite, per the team’s website. The team features many new faces this season. The team looks to replicate the success of last year’s team, which featured 16 seniors; conference championships for JV and varsity, a sectional championship and a team state appearance are all goals set by this team’s upperclassmen. 

The team will need to live in the pool over the next few months to fill the void of last year’s seniors, but a talented underclassmen group headlined by sophomore Drew Gaerthofner and returning upperclassmen led by senior Nick Boyer have the team in position to do so. Head coach Carrie Raeth once again possesses a team that can compete for an FVA Championship, and postseason success with a possible trip to the state meet.

“We lost a lot of seniors, but my favorite part of this team has always been the work ethic. I have no doubt that our upperclassmen will step up and help lead us to where we want to be as a team,” senior David Murphy said.

In her 17th year of coaching, head coach Carrie Raeth is likely going to see some growing pains with this team while trying to replace last year’s seniors. The devoted upperclassmen, however, will see their offseason training come to fruition and lead the underclassmen to contribute to what they hope is a season capped off with an FVA Championship, a WIAA Sectional Championship, and qualification for the WIAA State Meet.

Boys’ Dive

The boys’ diving team this year consists of five divers, three of which will dive for the varsity team at each meet. Coached by Chris Hansman, the team will travel and compete with swimmers at dual meets, but they will also attend various dive-only meets. According to the team’s website, their first meet will be the Oshkosh West Invite on Dec. 2.

The team loses a state qualifying senior from a year ago, but returns senior Ryan Foucault, who also qualified for state. While the team has a void to fill, they have much to look forward to with a new season.

“A new season means new opportunities. We have to replace a senior, but there is excitement among us, and we look forward to the challenges the season brings,” senior Ryan Foucault said.

Foucault is excited to lead a group of young divers. He acknowledges the season will be a learning process, but he thinks that by the end of the year, the team will possess three varsity divers who will yield positive results toward a varsity conference championship, and a few divers who will contribute to the JV conference championship the team hopes to earn.

NHS winter sports are now in full swing. Each team has its own unique and individualized goals, but the hope for students is that every team competing makes a deep run in the postseason. There are plenty of opportunities this winter for students to get out and support NHS teams.