With an overall 46 percent win rate, the West Ranch Boys Basketball team solidified its standings in the Foothill League. With a game record of 7-5 in the league and 12-14 overall, the team has finalized its position as third in the league. Contrary to the standard 15 players, the Wildcats housed 12 athletes during the 24-25 season, with team captain seniors Ryder Sunquist and Brayden Showman.
Holding similar statistics and patterns as the 23-24 Winter season, the team has shown consistency and improvement, better individual plays and improved team synergy. With their final game ending as a close loss against Golden Valley on Feb. 5, West Ranch finished their season by tying for third with Golden Valley and Canyon High School. Though the season’s finale was not what the team hoped for, Head Coach Bryan Bartley viewed it positively: “With a team of seven seniors, four juniors and a freshman, they tried their hardest until the very end. I know the game ended in a close loss, but I know this season was a tough, yet rewarding one for all the boys.”
For West Ranch, the 24-25 season was one of the toughest yet. Apart from the difference in team size, introducing new players to the Varsity basketball team was difficult. While other schools in the Foothill League had 14-18 players on their Varsity Basketball team, West Ranch had the disadvantage of less variety in playing specialized positions. Instead, most athletes were tasked with playing two to three positions. With the addition of four Juniors, Alessandro Matera, Tucker Stangl, Connor Peterson and Sanad Alrabadi as well as Freshman Ricardo Young, the transition into Varsity Basketball was challenging.
Ricardo Young, Point Guard and the only Freshman on the team, shared his experience: “Even before high school, I played basketball in leagues and enjoyed the competitive aspect. Daily practices were never that bad, but since joining high school varsity, I saw a huge difference in the difficulty and effort needed to perform.”
Regardless of the challenges new players faced, their effort and dedication shined through their skill, with most wins being by a landslide and losses being by a few points. Though the team did not make it to playoffs, their league results were one to be proud of. With feelings of pride and accomplishment washing over the team, the 24-25 season is officially over. Team Captain Ryder Sunquist expressed his pride in his teammates, confessing, “I’m proud of these guys. Some of these guys have stayed with me for four years now, and we all gave our blood, sweat and tears, so I have no regrets knowing we gave it our all.” He added, “I hope this program stays strong in later years and continues to make an impact in other athletes’ lives like it did for me. Go Cats!”
