Sep 26, 2016
One year ago, Coby Sanchez found himself being passed by dozens of runners only one mile into a three-mile race at the Battlefield Cross Country Festival in Port Hudson. The harder he pushed, the greater the pain. Eventually Sanchez had to stop and be carried off the course on the back of a motorized cart. The diagnosis was a fractured leg. Only three weeks in to his freshman year, in his first varsity race, his season was over.
At the time of his injury, Sanchez was consistently one of the top three finishers in Panthers practices, and the times he posted in JV races had him posting the third fastest time on the team. But, the season continued and Sanchez’s times were surpassed by his teammates.
Coach Wallace reflected on the situation, saying, “It was unfortunate. He looked so good in practice during the summer and in the first two JV meets, that had great expectations for what he could accomplish and how he could help the team. Then, it all just went away.” Coach Wallace quickly added, “But, Coby is a motivated kid, so we knew it would just be a matter of time before he was at the front of the pack again.”
It’s now a year later and Sanchez is healthy.
Saturday, Sanchez made his return to Varsity action on the same course he was unable to complete a year ago, the Battlefield Cross Country Festival in Port Hudson. The course was wet and full of hills. But on this day, the only thing that mattered for Sanchez was the joy of being able to be on the start line with his teammates and the elation of finishing what he started 363 days ago.
Sanchez finished the race as the fifth Panther to cross the line with a time of 21:33 on the three mile course. More important than the time was that he finished the race. Sanchez helped propel the squad to a 12th place overall finish, four places better than Woodlawn’s finish at the same meet in 2015. With Sanchez back in the lineup, and the consistent effort he and his teammates put in each week in practice and on the race course, this is sure to be just the beginning of a new chapter in the Woodlawn Cross Country Anthology.
Sanchez and the Panther cross country team will be in action again Saturday at Highland Road Park for the St. Josephs Invitational. Varsity girls begin at 8:00 am, followed by boys varsity at 8:45 am.
Sep 19, 2016
A wet race course usually equals a slow race. But don’t tell that to the 2016 Panther Cross Country team.
Saturday, at a very soggy Highland Road Park, the boys and girls competed in the LSU Invitational Cross Country meet. It was a huge day for Woodlawn as Senior Khidhr Al-Mustafa finished 10th overall and improved his three mile best this season to 17:50 on his way to a 5K finish of 18:20. It was an impressive run for Al-Mustafa as he mounted a major assault on the field climbing his way from 18th after the first mile to tenth at the finish.
Khidhr Al-Mustafa on the podium after the LSU Invitational.
Al-Mustafa kept this week’s success in perspective when he said, “I feel good about the result, but my expectation is to be better each week than I was the week before.” If he continues to improve each week, Coach Wallace believes that he will be the school record holder by season’s end.
Brandon Williams was the second Woodlawn runner across the line as he cracked the top 40, finishing 39th, and was the second Panther this season to run three miles under 20 minutes with a time of 19:36.
Senior Darmar Galvan was the third Panther across the line with a three mile time of 20:23.
Darmar commented that, “I feel like I did well this meet, a lot better than last week. We have improved a lot as a team this season and I believe will we see even more improvement in the future.”
Joshua Stephens, a junior, continues to look great and was able to push himself to a Personal best for the second week in a row.
To complete this task on a wet course is typically unheard of, thus proving what Coach Wallace says in practice, “There is no such thing as weather. There is no hot or cold. There is no rain or humidity. There is only hard work.” Joshua and his Panther teammates have stepped up to every challenge in their path so far and show no signs of slowing down now.
The Lady Panthers had some fun of their own as they tore up the turf with two team members finishing in the top 50. Junior Melissa Grant set a new personal record and was the first Panther to cross the line in a time of 25:18, followed three seconds later by training partner and school record holder Alexis Martin.
When asked about her PR run, Grant quickly brought up her junior teammate, saying, “I feel that I accomplished a goal just by keeping up with Alexis. And I know that I, and the team, will do a lot better as we keep getting better with every practice.”
Coach Wallace explained, “It is great to have two runners that can train and race together and it has been a joy to watch Lexie and Melissa encourage and motivate each other every day in practice. With these two out front and the determined youngsters we have chasing them, this is gonna be a fun season to watch.”
The Lady Panthers did not qualify for a team place as only three runners competed, but the girls are extremely excited about the upcoming meet at Port Hudson State Historic site. The girl’s varsity team will feature a full squad thanks to the emergence of sophomore Kelli Oubre, who will make her first varsity appearance, and the return of senior captain Shelby Sanchez, who has been out with an injury.
Sep 13, 2016
Cross country is a team sport that requires individual excellence. Most meets allow 10-12 runners from each school. The team score is based on the finishing position of the first 5 runners from each school; each runners finishing place becomes their score. Finish first, get 1 point. Finish 200th, get 200 points. The team with the lowest score wins.
Saturday, at Highland Road Park, the Panther cross country team, due to injuries to promising sophomores Marshall Bayles and Coby Sanchez, only entered 5 runners in the varsity race. Each runner’s score would count in the team score. It was a challenge that these young men were happy to accept. Khidhr Al-Mustafa improved his time by 1:40 over last week as he finished in 18:16. Saulomon John improved his time by 40 seconds. Joshua Stephens continues to impress as he crossed the line in a new Personal Record time of 22:49. Brandon Williams and Darmar Galvan finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, for the Panthers.
Missing 3 weeks of practice is always hard on a team, but after two weeks of racing and putting in hard work during the week at practice, Khidhr Al-Mustafa has huge expectations and confidence in this year’s team.
When asked what he thought this squad was capable of, his answer was simple, “Top 10, Top 10, Top 10.”
Comments from Coach Wallace echoed that as he explained, “We’ve got talent, we just need to make sure we show up to practice with the right attitude each day and we will turn a lot of heads at the state meet in November”.
Another bright spot for the Panthers was the performance of senior Marshall Bayles in the open race. Bayles has looked great in practice the past two weeks and continues to improve his times and endurance in practice. Bayles, along with brother Mason Bayles and Coby Sanchez, will begin their Varsity season this Saturday at the LSU invitational.
The Lady Panthers also had a great day and were led by sisters Alexis and Aimee Martin. Older sister Alexis was the first Lady Panther to cross the line as she improved her time from last week by 45 seconds. Martin is just happy to be back in competitive racing after a long summer and trying first few weeks of the school year.
Alexis puts the early season into perspective as she says, “The season may have started rough and I may not have set any PR’s yet, but, as Coach Wallace says, ‘this car has no brakes’. So I’m going to continue to as work as hard as I can to achieve my goal of being the first Lady Panther ever to go under 20 minutes.”.
Younger sister Aimee, in her first ever varsity run, was the second Lady Panther to cross the line. The freshman has looked great in the first two weeks of the season and had a great summer of practice. Coach Wallace believes that she is a great addition to the team and should be prepared to carry her load on the varsity squad this year and for the remainder of her time at Woodlawn.
In the open race, senior Shelby Sanchez and sophomore Kelli Oubre looked very impressive as they work to race their way back into shape in preparation of rejoining the varsity squad next Saturday. Alexis Aucoin and Rayan Kaadan gave standout performances bettering last week’s times by over 2 minutes.
The boys and girls varsity squads will be back in action at the LSU Invitational on Saturday, September 17 at Highland Road Park. Girls varsity will run at 8:40 am, followed by boys, who will run at 9:15 am.
Sep 8, 2016
Missing three weeks of practice is never easy on a team. It certainly hasn’t been easy on the Panther Cross Country team, who was only able to get in one week of solid training before the first meet. But it was a great week of training and the team is off to a great start.
This past Saturday the boys and girls teams competed at the St. Michael’s Bayou Boogie cross country meet at Highland Road Park. The boys team was led over the 3-mile course by senior Khidhr Al-Mustafa in a time of 19:57, followed 20 seconds later by fellow senior Brandon Williams.
Senior Darmar Galvan (21:42) and junior Saulomon John (22:10) were followed closely by sophomore Marshall Bayles and junior Joshua Stephens. The varsity squad finished behind the host team, but ahead of district rival Plaquemine and cross town rival Broadmoor.
Alexis Martin and Melissa Grant push toward the finish line at Highland Road Park on September 3, 2016.
The girls team was led by juniors Alexis Martin and first time racer Melissa Grant. The Lady Panthers put in solid efforts and covered the first mile of the course with the leaders before sliding to the middle of the pack late in the race.
Coach Wallace commented on the performance with both teams, “The plan for today’s races was to treat it like any other workout. Let’s just get out there and get a feel for the course and the race conditions”. He went on to say that, “We have missed a lot of workouts due to things beyond our control, but with school re-starting and the team getting back into a normal workout routine, we are going to improve quickly and will be very strong 12 weeks from now at the state championship meet. This team is like a car with no brakes, we are only going faster and faster”.
The cross country team will be in action Saturday, September 10 at the Episcopal Round Table Run at Highland Road Park. The girls varsity will run at 8:30 am, followed by the boys varsity at 9:15
Aug 23, 2016
The 2016 Panther cross country is roaring to run.
Last year’s squad saw many highlights and records broken. The girls’ team set its best overall team score at the state meet. The boys came in with their second best team time in school history. But that was last year.
Senior Captain Shelby Sanchez will be a key member of this year’s team.
This year’s girl’s squad will be led by senior Captain Shelby Sanchez and school 3 mile record holder Alexis Martin. The girls are ready to put in the work to again improve the team’s time and score at the state meet. Alexis, who set the school record with a run of 21:24, has been working hard this summer by training on the hills of Highland Road Park and in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Alexis is in her 3rd year of competitive running, has set a goal of being the first Lady Panther to go under 20 minutes in the 3 mile race. Luckily, she has the teammates to help her accomplish that goal. Shelby finished last season with the team’s second best time, 22:45. Junior Melissa Grant is a new member of the team this year but has proven herself to be a talented runner and tough competitor. Having Shelby and Melissa on her heals at practice every day will be just the motivation Alexis will need to go under the 20 minute mark.
The return of Presley White from basic training with the U.S. Military will have her in great shape to begin her senior season. Presley is a talented runner, hurdler and all-around athlete. Senior Makenzey Heughan, who was sidelined most of last season due to medical issues, has had a great summer of workouts and looks to be returning to top form. Two other first year runners, sophomore Alexis Aucoin and freshman Aimee Martin, also had great summer workouts. Along with senior Lillian Khemmanyvong and junior Ashton Howard, the girls look to be a major part of the success of the Lady Panther squad this season.
The 2016 Boys squad has set high expectations on itself and comes full of confidence in their ability and a desire to put in the hard work that they know will help them to finish as one of the top 10 teams in the state. The squad is led by senior Khidhr Al-Mustafa. Khidhr has a personal record of 16:52 over a 3 mile course that is only 8 seconds behind the school record that was set in 2005. Khidhr had a great outdoor track season, qualifying for the regional meet in the 1600 and 4×400 meter relay. He has also spent his summer running in a summer track league, where he qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics in both the 2000 meter Steeplechase and 4X800 meter relay.
Senior Brandon Williams was also a part of the WHS 4×400 meter relay team at the regional meet. In his first season running cross country, Brandon posted a personal record of 18:26. After another year on the track and a great summer of work, “The Blur” is ready to get back to work and challenge Khidhr for the school record.
Alexis Martin looks to lead the Lady Panthers this year.
Two returning sophomores, Marshall Bayles and Coby Sanchez, are prepared to push those seniors every day in practice and in meets. Marshall is coming off an excellent freshman season where he improved his time from a 27:07 to 20:38. He has set a personal goal of going below 19 minutes in 2016. Coby suffered a leg fracture in the third week of the season but looks to be back in top form this year. In his 1st race of the 2015 season he posted a run of 20:13. Coby has plans of going sub 18 this season and in setting a new school record in the pole vault.
A great addition to the team this year is junior Saulomon John, who was not eligible in 2015 due to transfer rules. The good news: he’s eligible now! Saulomon posted a mark of 19:38 in a measured practice run last year and has a goal set of going under 18 minutes this season. He promises to be a key piece to the team’s success, along with seniors Darmar Galvan and Logan Fontenot, junior Joshua Stevens and sophomore JC Jett.
The boys and girls will see their first action of the season on Saturday, September 3rd, at 8 AM at Highland Road Park as we will participate in the St. Michaels Bayou Boogie Cross Country Meet.
