Lawrence High winter sports athletes, clockwise from front right, Olivia Lemus (girls basketball), Jackson Mallory (boys basketball), Tucker Wilson (wrestling) and Patrick Oblon (boys swimming)

When the calendar flipped past Thanksgiving, it was just another sign that the winter sports season was nearing at Lawrence High.

All of the teams will begin play within the next week. Here is a look at all of the Lions’ winter sports programs:

Boys basketball

Some of the usual faces that helped Lawrence High’s boys basketball team earn back-to-back trips to the Class 6A state tournament are gone but expectations remain high.

The Lions, who had a 22-3 record last season, only return one starter: senior guard Jackson Mallory. Then there’s several players who have varsity experience, including seniors Kobe Buffalomeat, Austin Miller and Braden Solko, and sophomore Noah Butler.

“We like our guys,” said coach Mike Lewis, who is one victory away from his 100th at the school. “They will take some time to gel and understand their roles, but we have very coachable kids who put the team before themselves and I know they are excited about getting better each week. We have good energy in our gym and our guys push each other to get better.”

The Lions will enter the season ranked 10th in the KBCA preseason coaches poll and they hope to receive a strong contribution from junior Anthony Selden.

“We have been at our best the last 3-4 seasons because we can lean on each other and not put all the weight on just a couple of players,” Lewis said.

The Lions will open against Topeka High at 7 p.m. Friday at LHS.

Girls basketball

Last season was a big step for Lawrence’s girls basketball program, finishing with its first winning record since 2008.

Now the Lions want to take an even bigger step.

The Lions, ranked No. 8 in the preseason coaches poll, return all five starters from last season: senior guards Skylar Drum and Olivia Lemus, junior wing E’lease Stafford, sophomore guard Hannah Stewart and sophomore center Chisom Ajekwu.

Plus, they’ll have several of their top bench players from last season, including Talima Harjo, Asia Goodwin, Leslie Ostronic and Sammy Williams, while hoping for strong play from emerging guards Tyrin Cosey and Tamo Thomas.

“Working hard to get better every day,” third-year coach Jeff Dickson said, “and adjust from being the hunter to being the hunted. How well we handle that will determine how far this group can go.”

Stafford, a first-team all-Sunflower League selection, tore a ligament in her knee at the end of last season but opened the season on the court with her teammates.

Lawrence will play host to Topeka at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Boys swimming

Lawrence’s boys swimming and diving team finished eighth at state last year — the school’s best finish since 2002.

The Lions, hoping to follow a similar path of success, will be led by Stephen Johnson, Alex Heckman, Patrick Oblon, Dylan Bierschbach, Noah Kucza, Brian Myers, and divers Anton Martinez and Patrick Steinbach.

“We have several top swimmers returning who will place high for LHS in (Sunflower) League and state,” 11th-year coach Kent McDonald said. “We also have a very large team, largest since I have been coaching. We should be able to develop some swimmers from this group who will make a positive impact on our team.”

Some of the swimmers that the Lions hope develop into strong swimmers includes Ross Lutzkanin and Chase Root.

The only negative to the start of the season is the large number of swimmers makes it difficult to practice.

“Managing the large team in a six-lane pool is an immediate issue,” McDonald said. “We have very few swimmers and divers who trained all year so we need to get them into shape and ready for the challenges of the season.”

The Lions will start the year in the Free State quadrangular at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Wrestling

One of the youngest wrestling lineups in the Sunflower League last year is a little bit older and whole lot more experienced.

After placing seventh at the league meet, the Lions return some of the their top wrestlers: Tucker Wilson, Santino Gee, Melle Dye and Kevin Nichols. Gee is ranked fourth at 170 pounds by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association and Wilson is sixth at 190.

Along with those returners, LHS coach Pat Naughton believes there’s plenty of talent from up-and-comers Stanley Holder, Alden Hunt, Tori Grammer and Jay Cheatham.

LHS opens in the Leavenworth Tournament at 9 a.m. Saturday.