Winter sports preview: Manchester Central/West

    MANCHESTER, NH – Though many teams from Manchester’s Central and West High School have been forced to consolidate due to lack of participation over the last few years, those who do participate continue to compete at a high level while representing the Queen City. The following is a glimpse at a few teams taking to the ice and other indoor and outdoor competition surfaces this winter:


    Boys Ice Hockey (Manchester Central-West-Memorial)

    Owen Kelley, shown taking a shot two years ago, is now a captain for the Central-West-Memorial ice hockey team. Photo/Ryan O’Connor

    Head Coach:

    Jeremy Baker (1st season)

    Last Season:

    • 4-14

    Top Returning Players:

    • Joey Velez (Captain)
    • Lukas Tafe (Asst. Captain)
    • Owen  Kelley (Asst. Captain)
    • Mack Tripp (Asst. Captain)

    Promising Newcomers:

    • Brian Baumgartner
    • Josh LeBlanc
    • Andrue McLaughlin

    Expectations for this Season:

    “If we can stay around .500, that’s a move in the right direction,” said Baker.

    Biggest Challenge:

    “Like every team that gets used to losing, (the biggest challenge) is changing the expectations,” said Baker.

    Greatest Strength:

    “I think our biggest strength is our leadership group,” said Baker. “They have already been keeping things positive and going in the right direction.”

    Next 3 Games:

    • Wednesday, Dec. 14, 7:10 p.m. – Away at Nashua South-Pelham
    • Saturday, Dec. 17, 6:20 p.m. – Home vs. Bishop Brady-Merrimack Valley-Concord Christian Academy
    • Wednesday, Dec. 21, 6:30 p.m. – Home vs. Salem

    Alpine Skiing (Central-West)

    Coaches:

    • Ryan Burgess (Head Coach – 17th season)
    • John Rist (Volunteer Assistant Coach – 10th season)

    Last Season:

    • 10th at the NHIAA Championship Meet

    Top Returning Skiers:

    “We have some promising returning skiers on the Central girls team, (including) sophomore Madelyn Diers, who brings a lot of racing experience to our team and who I have watched mature over the past year,” said Burgess. “I am hoping to see Madelyn develop into a mature, experienced, leader on our team. We also have a junior, Emily Leclerc who is already that great leader and is a very strong three sport athlete.   am really looking forward to watching Emily bash a lot of gates this season … … Naomi Taylor (from Nashua Academy) is a returning senior and has experience racing now for three year.
    “On the Central boys side, we have our returning senior, Ben Colby, who has been working very hard through these past years developing his technique and has plenty of experience bashing gates,” said Burgess. “I am really hoping that this is the season that Ben finds his rhythm. We also have returning Junior Owen Kiak, who is a technical wizard; and Sophomores Noah Turner and Thomas Martineau who are returning to build off their first years racing in gates.”

    Promising Newcomers:

    “We are always open and welcome new racers to our programs,” said Burgess.
    • Liam Murphy (Senior, Central)
    • Nathan Arzilli (Senior, Central)
    • Limdu Ayushma (Senior, West)
    • Derrick Dixon (Senior, West)
    • Adam Rowell (Sophomore, Central)
    • Brady Merrow (Sophomore, Central)
    • Makayla Desilets (Sophomore, Central)
    • Jeremy Swann-Thayer (Sophomore, Nashua Academy)

    Expectations for this Season:

    “This year, I am hoping our team can stay healthy. It has been very hard the past few seasons to compete competitively with the Covid-19 protocols. Trying to keep the team healthy was more of the primary concern. We are looking forward to this season where the focus can be back on the skiing,” said Burgess.

    “Overall, I am hoping for a safe season for all these teams and racers. I hope that these racers can build confidence in themselves and their ability to the point that they really challenge themselves. As a team, I hope that we can show support for each other and build some healthy competitive team bonds. Every year, I hope that we can continue to grow as individuals and a team. This year is no different.”

    Biggest Challenge:

    “I just started coaching the West program the last three seasons, as their numbers have dropped,” said Burgess. “I am hoping we can build that program back to a level where they can compete as a team very soon”

    Greatest Strength:

    “The major strength I see in this year’s teams is that all these races are open to the challenge of trying to grow,” said Burgess.

    Girls Basketball (West)

    Head Coach:

    Ashley Berube (1st season)

    • Recently graduated after playing D-I college basketball for Central Connecticut State University

    Last Season:

    • 4-14

    Top Returning Players:

    • Nyanakuak Piok (Senior captain, experienced and skilled)
    • Adrianna Perron
    • Chloe Murphy

    Promising Newcomers:

    • Lindsey St. Pierre (Freshman, strong work ethic)

    Expectations for this Season:

    “I have very high expectations for this season,” said Berube. “I have a great group of girls with a lot of talent. Expect us to improve every game.”

    Biggest Challenge:

    “The team’s biggest challenge would have to be the fact that it is a brand new team with a brand new coaching staff,” said Berube. “We are trying to get used to each other and players are trying to learn new teammate’s style of play.”

    Greatest Strength:

    “The team’s biggest strength would have to be our size inside and our ability to play inside-out,” said Berube.

    Next 3 Games:

    • Tuesday, Dec. 13, 5 p.m. – Away at Derryfield
    • Friday, Dec. 16, 6:30 p.m. – Away at ConVal
    • Tuesday, Dec. 20, 6:30 p.m. – Home vs. Lebanon

    Spirit (West)

    Coaches:

    • Sharon Glennon (11th season)
    • Katie Glennon

    Top Returning Cheerleaders:

    • Paige Cronier (Senior Captain)
    • Juanita Lopez-Gutierrez
    • Ushika Thapa
    • Jasmine Gagnon

    Promising Newcomers:

    • Felicity Russo
    • Okiyanack Neptune
    • Deepasha Giri
    • Marianna Gabert
    • Denaya Martin-Bennett.

    Expectations for this Season:

    “COVID hit our program hard and this season we hope to start rebuilding the program,” said Sharon Glennon. “Our biggest obstacle is getting gym time for our practices.”

    Wrestling (Central)

    Head Coach:

    • Jarod Mills (4th season)

    Managers:

    • Eman Khawaja
    • Sasha Slivinskaya
    • Bozena Hrynyk

    Top Returning Grapplers:

    • Khari Whitehead
    • Demetrio Cortez
    • Ian Maguire
    • Jayden Lesko
    • Alan DeLeon-Barrios

    Promising Newcomers:

    • Triston Benner (Freshman)
    • Liam King (Freshman)
    • Michael Lafond (Freshman)
    • Desmond Hossfeld (Freshman)
    • Zena George (Freshman)
    • Marisa Krause-Cote (Freshman)
    • Isabella Bachhuber (Freshman)
    • James Blaidell (Freshman)
    • Amaya Burley (Freshman)
    • Micah Huffman (Senior)

    Expectations for this Season:

    “We are currently in the midst of a re-building process that started last year, essentially from the ground up,” said Mills. “In 2021 we graduated a lot of talented and experienced starters. In 2022 our team was made up of entirely new wrestlers so this year we have a mix of first and second year wrestlers. I expect us to continue to improve as the season progresses and my goal is to qualify as many wrestlers for the Meet of Champions as possible. In order to do that wrestlers will need to place in the top six at the Division 1 Tournament in February. As an added bonus this year, the NHIAA will be running the first ever sanctioned Girls State Championship Tournament.  Women’s wrestling is currently the fastest growing sport in the United States at the high school and college level.  Central wrestling has had a history of female wrestlers and is proud to continue this tradition. We currently have 5 female wrestlers signed up for this years team and we are very excited about the prospect of crowning some of New Hampshire’s first girls state champions!”

    Biggest Challenge:

    “Lack of experience,” said Mills. “Most of our team is new to the sport so it is difficult to balance training for the intense physical demands of the sport when athletes have so many basic positions and skills to learn.”

    Greatest Strength:

    “Our numbers are growing and we have lots of new wrestlers who are eager to learn and pick things up quickly,” said Mills. “Positive attitudes.”