Panthers Launch Winter Athletics Season, Basketball Opens Strong at Home
December 14, 2023
The Panthers have been preparing for their winter season openings, with alpine skiing, basketball, and indoor track athletes practicing and conditioning in advance of their first contests. Basketball was the first to compete with home games for both the boys and girls varsity and JV teams. On Tuesday, the JV and Varsity girls faced Williamstown and walked away with their first W’s – the varsity team handily taking down Williamstown 60-35. The boys followed last night with another set of wins vs. rivals Oxbow. Tonight, the girls travel to Northfield. Home games resume next Wednesday. All games and meets are listed on TA’s calendar.
In indoor track, coach Charlie Buttrey is hopeful that the DII Panthers (indoor track is the only sport at TA that competes in DII) will repeat their successes of last season when the girls finished 2nd at States and the boys took 3rd. “We punch above our weight!” he says. The team is a mix of returning athletes and newcomers, “an eager and enthusiastic group who will improve as the season progresses.” Uly Junker Boyce ’25 (long jump) and Ava Hayden ’25 (3000 meters) both qualified for the New England indoor championships last year, and Buttrey expects that the Panthers will have several more athletes make the trip this year.
Our alpine skiers are thinking snow! TA’s team, led by head coach Amy Huyffer and assistant coach Paul Dixon, had a great season last year. “Last year we had one of the strongest Alpine teams in recent school history,” coach Dixon says, “The men’s team qualified for the State Championship at Burke, and on the ladies’ side, Maya Dixon qualified as an independent.” With 20 skiers on the roster this year (14 returning, six newcomers), the Panthers are looking forward to another year of growth. “We are excited to welcome back so many strong skiers from last year and building on the progress we’ve made,” says Dixon. With the VPA expanding the number of teams that can qualify for the State Championship, he believes it’s well within our reach to bring both teams to the event. Most importantly, though, Dixon is looking forward to the season and having a ton of fun with TA’s skiers. “We have a great group again this year.”