By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
For the past five years, the Rehoboth Christian Lynxes have dominated their way to the state basketball tournament, consistently advancing past the first round. This year proved no different, as the team rose to the challenge and faced last year’s champions, the Texico Wolverines, in the March 14 Nusenda Credit Union 2A State Championship. Entering the tournament as the sixth seed, the Lynxes fought their way to the grand finale.
Before the championship tip-off, the Sun caught up with head coach Kevin Zwiers to discuss the season and the program’s sustained success. Zwiers has coached with Rehoboth Christian for 22 years and he said that the relationships he builds with his players remain his favorite part of the job.
“The best part is coaching them and helping teach and mentor them to become fathers and husbands,” he said.
Interestingly, he noted that this mentorship also represents the most challenging aspect of his role.
Despite their momentum, the Lynx ultimately fell to the Wolverines in the final game with a score of 58-46. Reflecting on the loss days later, senior Trayjen West expressed pride in the hard work he and his teammates invested in the season.
“Putting in a tremendous amount of work during the season and the off-season, I don’t think there was anyone on the team who didn’t think we wouldn’t make a far run,” he said.
Fellow senior Kodah Chapman echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the grueling preparation leading up to the title game. Although Zwiers pushed the team through difficult drills during practice, Chapman believes those challenges ultimately strengthened the bond between teammates.
“I feel like I had a deep connection with everyone on the team,” he said.
Chapman said his favorite part about playing basketball over the years was winning.
“I would say my favorite part about basketball has always been winning. Basketball is a sport where you can be very, very competitive and have a fun time,” he said. “You put your heart and soul into it, and even if you don’t win it’s still fun.”
West also looked back on the bittersweet moment of standing on the podium to accept the runner-up trophy.
“Even though we didn’t win, holding up that second place trophy was still a really good feeling because I had that Rehoboth community behind me. It was such a good experience,” he said.
This final season marked the end of a long journey for West, who played on the varsity squad all four years of high school. He originally followed his three older brothers onto the court, all of whom found success at Rehoboth. While he initially hadn’t planned to play college ball, the excitement of the state tournament has him reconsidering his future in the sport.
