The urgency is real.
Christ School football and soccer players hit the practice field Thursday morning with the knowledge that they have days, not weeks to prepare for their respective season openers.
First-year coach Chad Walker and the Greenies just added an August 20 varsity football game at Corbin (Ky.).
And soccer, led by Head Coach Jonny Wangrin and Associate Head Coach Guy Campbell ’00 have even less time to get ready – a home game with the Asheville Trailblazers is on tap for Monday.
“Coach Campbell’s 12 years of experience and the backing of the school to do Early Sports the way we do are so valuable in a situation like this, and the boys have done a good job of staying in touch this summer,” Coach Wangrin said.
“We had a great day today. The chemistry from last year has carried over. For our boarding students, this is their home away from home and the new guys are settling in well. Coach Campbell and I expect this to be the hardest working team in the state and therefore we believe we can compete with anyone in the state. We think we're going to have about 32 guys by the end of the week who are dedicated and we're thrilled about that.”
Varsity soccer will not any seniors on the roster but does feature a number of returnees from last year’s NCISAA 4-A state playoff team. Reeves Cates ’24, Carter Compton ’24, Truett Compton ’25, Ethan Rose ’24, and Ben Yang ’24 were together this summer with the Asheville City Soccer Club’s Academy program, which was also coached by Coach Wangrin and Coach Campbell.
Prior to their final wind sprints on Thursday, Coach Walker quizzed his players on Christ School trivia, including the Four Pillars and names of academic buildings. The Greenies have plenty back in the cupboard from last year's NCISAA Division II state-championship team. Lineman Eli Brasher '22 verbally committed to Furman University this summer. He was an all-state selection in 2021 as were running back Bryce Sain '22, defensive lineman Brady Ioannidis '22, and defensive back Cayden Jones '24.
A.J. Simpkins '22 has passed for nearly 4,000 combined yards his past two seasons and defensive back/wide receiver Zack Myers '24 entered the month of August with 11 Division I scholarship offers.
Schedules for Greenie athletic teams can be accessed all year long by Christ School families in OnCampus and for everyone through the athletics website and MaxPreps.
