This week, The Mirror is taking a glance at the teams.

We’ve asked coaches to assess where their teams are as they head into the 2015 portion of the schedule.

Here’s a look at those teams, with Tonganoxie and McLouth girls teams set to be profiled next week.

THS WRESTLING

Chieftain wrestlers finished out 2014 strong, placing second in the team standings at the home meet Dec. 20 at the Randy Starcher Memorial Invitational.

THS had six wrestlers reach the finals. All of them won their championship matches.

THS also placed eighth out of 25 teams at the Eudora Tournament of Champions and sixth out of 11 squads at the Wamego Invitational, which was the team’s season-opening competition.

The Chieftains have a 1-1 dual record, as they defeated Ottawa and lost to Santa Fe Trail in a home triangular Dec. 18. Tonganoxie generally is open in three upper weight classes, meaning THS doesn’t have a wrestler of those sizes on the roster.

What’s been good

THS first-year head coach Ross Starcher said this year’s team lacks experience overall, but they are open to instruction.

“They come in and they work hard every day,” Starcher said. “That’s their plus. We’re young and they’re willing to learn.

“They’re very coachable. They’re not set in their ways.”

Starcher said the team also has made major strides from week 1 to week 3.

What needs work

The wrestling team needs experience, but with every practice and competition comes more mat time.

“There’s not much we can do other than wrestle,” Starcher said. “It takes mat time to get better.”

Moving forward

The team will have its annual lock-in later this week as a way to strengthen teammates’ bonds, it’s hoped. Starcher plans to keep practice light, maybe even play some basketball, as the team works to maintain its weight heading into 2015.

The team won’t be back on the mats until Jan. 8 when it hosts Spring Hill.

Starcher said wrestlers must avoid a midseason slump.

“It’s a long season,” he said. “The next couple weeks. It will drag.”

He continued to emphasize that wrestlers must be performing their best when regionals and state roll around.

“As long as we keep improving we should be all right,” he said.

THS BOYS BASKETBALL

A relatively young THS boys basketball team opened the season with a rout of Baldwin, but hasn’t won since.

THS is 1-3 heading into 2015 after losses to Ottawa, Bonner Springs and state-ranked Basehor-Linwood. The Bobcats are No. 4 in Class 4A-I.

What’s been good

THS coach Shawn Phillips said many of his players are fresh faces to the varsity level.

He said the early experience has given players a better idea of what it takes to compete at the varsity level and has helped them learn their roles on the squad.

He hopes that experience will help THS get off on the right foot in 2015 when THS plays Piper next Tuesday.

What needs work

The Chieftains have been turnover-prone at times in the first few games, a trend Phillips hopes will subside.

“We’ll play well and then there’s a few minutes’ stretch when we don’t take care of the ball,” Phillips said. “It’s a double-digit lead (for the opponent) in a minute or two.”

Cutting down those mistakes also can allow the team to set up its defense in the half court.

Moving forward

Taking care of the basketball will be Tonganoxie’s No. 1 priority down the stretch, Phillips said.

He also said the team must find a secondary ball handler to complement Brady Swedo, who has provided some sparks offensively for the Chieftains.

Phillips noted that team’s three losses have been against quality foes, including state-ranked BLHS.

He said it’s hoped that his squad can learn from those quality teams as THS plays out the rest of its schedule.

MHS BOYS BASKETBALL

The McLouth High boys basketball team was an overtime loss from starting the season 3-0. In the final week before winter break, MHS dropped two more games and stands at 2-3 entering the new year.

Jason Graf’s team had players out that final week of school because of illness. Graf hopes the team can get back on track in the new year.

“When you take three of your upper echelon players putting them out with a bug, it really hurts,” Graf said. “We didn’t play like ourselves because we were sick.”

What’s been good

When the team was healthy and playing well, the Bulldogs were scoring and getting up and down the floor, Graf said.

What needs work

The team has been successful on the offensive end, but the defense needs to get better for the Bulldogs to have a successful 2015 portion of the schedule, Graf said.

“We’ve just got to keep improving,” Graf said.

Moving forward

McLouth has finished at .500 during various seasons, but MHS hasn’t finished with a winning record in boys basketball in 24 years. Graf said ending that drought, making the McLouth Invitational finals and advancing to state for the first time in school history all continue to be goals for this year’s team. Graf said those continue to be goals.

Guard Nic Bair was one of the top scorers averaging about 30 points per game before becoming one of the players to come down with illness.

Graf is looking for others to contribute more as well as he tries to find just the right rotation off the bench.

“We still can obtain those goals,” Graf said. “We’ve got to get back to having self-discipline.”