Getting to Know Wrestling

Getting to Know Wrestling

By Fabian Coleman

Do you know what a suplex, dusty finish, or flipping turtle is? Probably not, the sport of wrestling is not that well known to people. The sports that are talked about are football, basketball, baseball, and volleyball but never wrestling. And no, I am not talking about WWE with John Cena; Woodlawn’s very own wrestling team puts in a lot of hard work and deserves recognition for their dedication.

Wrestling is a physically demanding sport. Before practice can even begin, the team must go through a month long conditioning period from September 4th – October 1st. Conditioning normally requires the team to run laps around the tennis courts, perform pushups, sit-ups, and then finish with sprints. This helps to prepare the team for two, six minute long matches. These matches are nonstop; there is only a ten second break before continuing to the second match, making our conditioning incredibly important. After conditioning, the real practice begins. It usually starts at 2:45 p.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m.; during that time the team does numerous exercises to get ready for the upcoming tournaments. Practice consists of warm-ups, technique work, sparing, and cool down. The whole practice is very competitive but fun because the central idea of sparing is to help each other increase the skills of the team.

In order to join the team, it does not matter what grade you are in as long as you get a physical and do what Coach Lewis tells you to do. This takes some serious work and grit because at that point you are a student athlete and need to stay on top of your grades. I hope after reading this article it motivates you to go out and join, or at least watch, the Woodlawn Wrestling Team.

A New Current

A New Current

By Sierra Johnson

Many Woodlawn students have wondered about the new sports team that, seemingly, arrived out of nowhere. This year’s first Swim Team will be coached by Ms. Macaluso. Her passion for swimming arose in early childhood; she started competitive swimming at the age of 4 and continued until she was 19. Her desire is to provide an extracurricular activity for students to get together and have an unforgettable time. A few swim team details include:

  • Practice is at Crawfish Aquatics every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
    • Any and every skill level is accepted
    • There’s no limit on how many people can join
    • Uniforms
    • Worn during swim meets
      • Boys: form fitting trousers
      • (solid black with purple stripe down the side)
      • Girls: form fitting one piece
      • (multiple shades of purple)

Competitions will be held on Saturdays and Sundays; two teams will race against the clock for the fastest time, side by side in the same pool. Teams will compete based off speed; hence fast teams will be paired with fast teams and slower teams with slower teams. No tryouts are held this year, so please feel free to join!

Lady Panthers Down Devils in Season Opener

Lady Panthers Down Devils in Season Opener

By Jyron Anderson

Woodlawn Panthers hosted their season opener versus the Plaquemine Green Devils in what was a satisfying showing for the lady panthers. Lady Panthers jump to a 9-1 lead early in the first match. But that quickly changes to 13- 10 due to errors by our team. After a short 15-15 tie, the panthers regain a 20-15 lead and go on to a 25-20 victory. The second match starts out much like the first as Woodlawn takes an 8-1 lead early but the this time the devils fail to match the panthers’ intensity as we cruise to an easy 25-3 victory. The third and final match ended in another 25-20 victory for the panthers. Woodlawn’s team leaders include: Jodi Edo (9 kills, 5 blocks, and 1 ace), Hannah Luker (7 kills), and Myah Johnson (3 kills, 14 assists). This win sparked a (1-0) start to the season, a solid morale booster needed for long season. Needless to say, we had this one in the bag.

It’s Only the Beginning

It’s Only the Beginning

By Lilliam Khemmanyvong

The football team kicked off their season with their first win (although unofficial) on August 28 against Southern Lab in the Jamboree. The game ended in a close score of 10-6 with Javin Myers scoring the Panther’s first touchdown. Before the game, I got to have a talk with Outside Linebacker Jyron Anderson, who caught an interception on the 40 yard line and ran the ball 37 yards. “Before every game we usually go and take an hour nap, and one of my pregame traditions is that I usually wear some type of funny sweatpants and a hat, like ninja turtles or something.”

After watching the game and asking what he thought the team could or needed to improve on, his response was, “We need to work on our offense because it’s important that we score points, and we usually find ourselves in situations where we can’t get through, and it’s an ongoing problem that we need to fix.” The game continued with Woodlawn scoring the second touchdown and Southern Lab scoring the next. A game as close as it was, we can only hope the football team will have a successful year. Good luck Panthers!

Introduction to the Newspaper Staff

Introduction to the Newspaper Staff

Hello, Woodlawn Panthers! We are at the Panther Post would like to take a moment to introduce ourselves. The staff includes: Rebeca Aguilar-Amaya, Jyron Anderson, Fabian Coleman, Sarah Hayden, Sierra Johnson, Lillian Khemmanyvong, Mya Kremin, Alexis Martin, and Elizabeth Roquemore. It has been many years since Woodlawn has had a newspaper, and we are very excited to be a part of bringing back this great tradition. We strive to bring the student body information focused on Woodlawn: sports, clubs, student life, creative works, etc. In other words, the events that matter to you! We look forward to a great year, and we hope you enjoy your paper!