Mikal McCoy wrestles his opponent to the ground (Photo: Alvaro Flores-Villegas, Patterson Press)

By Mikal McCoy,

Patterson’s wrestling team last school year (2015-2016) was successful. There were wrestlers who placed in Baltimore City Championship, including Amari Latimer, who was Maryland’s State champion in 2016. This school year, the team has had a more difficult start.

Wrestling is a winter sport; the season starts in the month of October. At Patterson High school,  at the beginning of  wrestling season, the team was having trouble with recruiting under the pressure of the wrestling program being shut down by Baltimore City officials.

Four wrestlers, including Ryan Carter, Kemar McBean, and Mikal McCoy, returned back to the team to continue their wrestling experience. The team needed a total of 12 players in order to be eligible to be a team in Baltimore City. “We didn’t have any wrestlers”, said Ryan Carter, captain of the wrestling team.  Due to the lack of participation, the team was in danger of being shut down and not funded by Baltimore City. Fortunately, after the winter break, a total of 8 new members were recruited on the team.

After the close call of reviving Patterson’s wrestling team, practice began immediately, every day,  Monday-Friday. “Going to practice has helped me become better because I have learned more defense and offence; I feel more prepared”, said wrestler Brandan Chamber. Coach Norman, who is the head coach of the team, creates workouts that are focused around cardio to improve wrestlers’ endurance.

On December 14, 2016, Patterson’s wrestling team had a home game against Fredrick Douglass High School. The match ended in a draw (30-30). During the match new wrestlers got the opportunity to practice their moves. On January 12, 2017, the wrestling team had another home game against Mervo High School. Since October, Patterson’s wrestling team hasn’t had many matches. “Incomplete matches don’t help us know where we are as wrestlers”, Ryan Carter explained.

Now that Patterson has a full team, the rest of the season should be much more successful.

Patterson High School wrestling team (Photo: Patterson Press)

By Anthony McNeill,

Coach Oliver may be better known as a basketball coach, but this year he is also coaching cross-country. To find out more about this unique sport, I sat down with Coach Oliver and asked him a series of questions.

During my interview with Coach Oliver he told me that his cross-country track team is doing pretty good and that he is proud of them. According to Coach Oliver, his players do a lot of weight lifting, running, etc. to stay in shape for the competitions. I asked Coach Oliver if that type of conditioning takes a toll on players and Coach Oliver said yes but that’s what kind of sport it is. They do a lot of running and working on leg strength, cardio, etc.

I asked Coach Oliver how his team competes against opponents. “They always compete good”, he responded. “They are very competitive, athletic, and well rounded”. I also asked Coach Oliver what makes track different from other sports. He explained, “What makes track different is that it’s constant running and building stamina.” He added, “You’re running for distance, not start and stop”.

We talked about strategy against other opponents and Coach Oliver told me he tells his athletes “start at a slow pace, then after the first mile speed it up. It’s just good pacing”. Later in my interview with the coach, I asked him if he had a “clutch athlete” and he told me yes but he also said he is not giving a name. He said you’ll just have to see for yourselves.

Douglass Varsity vs Patterson Volleyball ( Photo by Justist Rice)

By Justist Rice,

The Patterson Clippers had an amazing game against Douglass on September 16th at home. They showed their big hearts and used their skill and strength to carry them to victory. The Lady Clippers went undefeated; they won every round. The scores: first round 25 to 16, second round 25 to 11, third round 25 to 12.

Varsity coach Mr. Murray was super exited. He was so proud of his team. He knew that his team was going to take this victory and use it as fuel for the next big game. This was by far the best game of their season. Let’s hope the lady Clippers can keep up the good work.

Douglass Varsity against Patterson Lady Clippers.
(Photo by Justist Rice)

By Justist Rice,

The Patterson Lady Clippers volleyball team (both JV and Varsity) lost to its host, Digital Harbor, in the first game of the season. Although they did not win, the Clippers played a wonderful game. They put forward all their effort and that’s all that matters. The final score for JV was 25 to 14; for Varsity, 25 to 20.

”Our number one thing we have to work on is serving; good serving wins games”, said the JV coach, Ms. Heggins. The server for the JV team, Erica Purvey, had this to say: ”Next game is going to be different. It was our first game and we were a little rusty but next game we will be ready”.

The Varsity coach, Mr. Murry, had a positive outlook. ”We played a good game. Everybody did their very best. All we can do is stay hopeful and get ready for our next game”, he declared.

The all star player for varsity was Tatyana Matthews, who made an amazing hit on her knees. The captain of the girls varsity team, Memi Desta, pointed out how much the team has already improved since the previous season. ”Our team from last year to this year really progressed and we are only going to get better”, she insisted. The good sportsmanship that the Lady Clippers have has made them true winners even though they lost this game.