West Brunswick High School

2

South Brunswick

4

Apr 17 / Varsity Women's Soccer
West Brunswick High School

8

North Brunswick

6

Apr 17 / Varsity Baseball
West Brunswick High School

7

West Bladen

0

Apr 15 / Varsity Women’s Soccer
West Brunswick High School

2

South Brunswick

4

Apr 15 / Varsity Women’s Soccer
West Brunswick High School

3

Hoggard

7

Apr 14 / Varsity Baseball
West Brunswick High School

0

Hoggard

2

Apr 14 / Varsity Softball

Crossing The Bridge

The mental mindset of playing Wilmington schools takes a tremendous tole on the varsity boys basketball team.

Jaylynn Barron, Fundraising and Community Outreach Manager

Dec 11, 2025

The whole team hyping up Senior Jonathan Daniels after he scored the game tying layup in the fourth quarter.

As soon as you cross the bridge heading to Wilmington, your heart drops, adrenaline is rushing; the fear of losing another ball game to New Hanover County schools will automatically decrease your confidence. However, this year our basketball teams have a whole new mindset.

Why It Matters: For years even hearing the words “We play Hoggard, Topsail, Laney, or Ashley tonight” immediately sky rockets players’ anxiety. This year, we are not going to let a higher population of students scare us. We’re coming ready to win. Our players are taking the approach that maybe those schools should be scared of us.

“You have to hate losing more than you enjoy winning,” said head varsity basketball coach Jesse Edwards.
Before Edwards started as the coach, rumors were lured saying: “Good luck when you cross the bridge going to New Hanover schools, ” said Edwards. “Just because you’re bigger in population doesn’t mean you can’t compete, the mindset change has to shift.”

Shots From The Three Point Line: It’s discouraging to hear such negativity come from peers or other coaches, even other schools. Nobody wants to or deliberately tries to lose. It’s all a mindset.

Looking Back to Move Forward: A peek back at last season’s stats.
12/10/24 Laney 52 West 35
12/13/24 Hoggard 57 West 42
1/7/25 Ashley 47 West 42
1/9/25 Topsail 50 West 55

Jump Shots: New season means new goals. Accountability, teamwork, dedication, and a few new players taking up leadership positions is what is allowing this team to really take steps forward. Even when facing these teams over the bridge.

“One of the first things I noticed was the guys just wanted to get out of the gym at the end of practice,” said Edwards.”They wanted to come in to win, they just did not know how to win. I’m not teaching them how to shoot the ball but using what they already know to help win ball games at a higher level.”
“It’s about accountability,”said senior point guard Jonathan Daniels. “turning that mindset of not only looking at yourself but looking at your team and not wanting to let them down.”

# Varsity #Basketball #Winning

Donate to The West Wind

$500

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of West Brunswick High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributors

Jaylynn Barron, Fundraising and Community Outreach Manager

Jaylynn Barron is a 16-year old junior currently in her third semester of Journalism. Barron was born in Supply, North Carolina and raised in Varnumtown. Barron is currently a varsity cheerleader. She is the Vice President of Civic Outreach and Engagement for Juniorettes, an active member of key club and in National Honor Society. Her favorite things include spending time outdoors, going to country concerts, hanging out with friends and cheering at sports games. “My proudest moment was getting inducted into the National Honor Society,” said Barron. Barron’s dreams are to attend college at North Carolina State University and possibly become a teacher or a hunting guide and travel to different states. Her love for helping others and the outdoors has inspired her to chase these dreams. “I would really love to get to travel the world and get to go on some once in a lifetime hunting trips,” said Barron. “However my heart still has a passion to help others and be in the classroom.” Photography was what interested her to become a part of the West Wind. Barron’s interests have not parted far from last year. Her love for photography has grown, and she enjoys taking pictures at sports events and wildlife. “Being behind the lens gives me a whole different perspective,” said Barron. “To me photography is a form of expression to show how you view the world.” Her hopes for this year are to dive deeper into personal stories and grow her personal photography account.

Matthew Argo, Sports Manager

Seventeen-year-old Matthew Argo has lived in Calabash his entire life. Baseball has been a big part of his life since he was four years old. Now in his senior season, Argo admits that his passion for baseball has faded since travel ball ended. Even so, the friendships he has built over the years make him continue playing. “My friends all being on the team is a main reason I still enjoy playing,” Argo said. “We are like a family and do everything together, on and off the field.” Argo worked at Dunkin’ Donuts over the summer, saving money for his future. His dream school is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With a 4.3 GPA, Argo has kept his options wide open. He spends his free time playing video games like MLB The Show, 2K and Rocket League. Growing up playing and watching most sports is the main reason why he plays these games now. When it comes to long-term goals, Argo is still undecided. He is waiting for something to spark his interest, whether it’s with sports or anything educational. However, mixing the two is his main response when someone asks what he wants to do for his future. “I have not put too much thought into my future, but being a teacher has always been an idea,” Argo said. “Something like being a math teacher and coaching any sport for the school would be cool.” This year is Argo’s third semester taking journalism, and he is excited for the two semesters this year. Inspired by his sisters, who took journalism before him, Argo quickly found himself enjoying it. A UNC summer trip with the class made his decision certain to return for his senior year. Now, he looks forward to leading the sports section of the West Wind Weekly videos. Argo is excited to teach new members all the things that help them succeed in this wonderful class.