The AHS Climbing Team, led by coaches Kim Hammond and Alex Reginelli, has returned for the 2017-2018 season, and continues to push high school climbers to new heights. As one of the only clubs at AHS that rewards a varsity letter, it has gained many new talented members.

“Every Tuesday from 4-6 pm, the Red Brick has been nice enough to loan us their climbing gym. Practice is great because everyone is super supportive of each other. Everyone pushes themselves while helping each other and getting stoked when someone else climbs something they have been working on. It’s a great environment.” Reginelli said.

Both Hammond and Reginelli, experienced climbers, are looking forward to teaching new climbers, hoping to turn them into the future of the AHS climbing team.

“We have a fantastic group of kids on the team this year, and practices are designed to just be fun. We also have the option for our highly dedicated climbers to try and meet the criteria for a varsity letter, which is new this year,” Hammond said. “These climbers will be attending the competitions and trying to qualify for states. Last year was our first year as a competitive team.”

The team has begun training for a year of competitions, hoping to qualify some students to compete in regional and state climbing.

“We have our first competition at CRMS in Carbondale, on November 11. We have some pretty strong climbers,” Reginelli said. “We made it to four competitions last year and had some students qualified for the regional competition as well the JV state finals, who competed there and were very successful.”

AHS sophomore, Jake Bozza, is considered a climbing prodigy by coaches Hammond and Reginelli, having qualified and competed in last year’s JV state final.

“My goal is to make it to states again this year and I think that the club is a great place to practice,” Bozza said. “It’s a supportive environment and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn.

Avid climber and sophomore at AHS, Lander Greenway is excited for a new year of challenging himself on the wall.

“I have been climbing since last year on EXED, with Reggie on the Desert Warriors trip. I like climbing because it’s a good way to calm yourself and get into the outdoors,” Greenway said. “I would definitely recommend the club to anyone who wants to join, it’s really fun and you can learn a lot.”