Warriors teams ready for State

By: Josie Speltz

This weekend the Waterloo Warriors are ready to  play as  the Midwest High School Hockey League will be having its state championships in Ames at the ISU Ice Arena.

Only the top eight teams in the league make it to State, and the Warriors, having locked in as the 5th-ranked team, qualify to play the 4th-ranked team, the Omaha Jr Lancers on Friday in the first round of State.

The junior varsity Warriors have also secured a place in the JV playoffs after being seeded as the 8th team in rankings. On March 6, they will be playing the Des Moines Oak Leaves, who are ranked first in the league.

The varsity and junior varsity Warriors played two games this last weekend, which helped them in the rankings. Varsity played the Ames Little Cyclones on Friday and won with a final score of 9-4. While the JV Warriors played the Ames JV team and brought home a win with a final score of 3-2. For the Saturday game, the Warriors took on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and defeated them with an end score of 7-0.

For the JV Warriors, this game was the deciding factor for being a part of the state tournament this year. They won with the score of 3-1, which allotted them as the 8th-ranked team in the league.

Between both teams Cedar Falls High School is represented by eight players. On varsity are Cole Murphy, Lake Powell and Nolin Bartlett, and on junior varsity are Skylar Starbeck, Tyler Starbeck, Drew Terrones, Dalton Shock and Jerad Lee.

Murphy said he is ready for State. “I’m excited about being with the team and the intensity of each game. The games are unlike anything else. Everyone is more intense and trying their hardest in an effort to win State. We were the fifth seed, so each game is going to be the hardest to play for the fifth seed, but I think that we can win three in a row in order to win State.”

In regards to the JV team making State, senior Skylar Starbeck said, “We are really excited to be represented at State. We have improved a lot this year, and I am very proud of my team.”