Dec 15, 2020
Different sport. Unfortunately, same story.
The Panther basketball team, like too many other programs on Woodlawn’s campus and around the state of Louisiana, have already been affected by COVID-19.
After a season opening 73-49 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas, the Panthers got the phone call that their season would be paused for two weeks. Because of the timing of the shut-down, Woodlawn has not been able to see their complete team on the practice court together.
“The football players were able to return to us the weekend before we played our first game,” said second year Head Coach Brad Voight.
“We received the call the day after our game, and we have not been able to practice as a collective team!”
The Panthers return a solid core from their team that finished the 2019-2020 season with a 24-11 record. Senior Guards Bryan Sledge, Ja’Viya Williams, and Jackson Howard are all returning to lead Coach Voight’s squad.
The return of football players to the basketball court gave the Panthers a significant boost, as returning Sophomore Rickie Collins was named to the first team All-District team last season. Coach Voight is also excited to see if some of the other two-sport athletes can be contributors this season.
“This should be a fun and exciting team to watch. Although we are in a different type of year with the pandemic, we still have players that have taken steps to become better players and more coachable athletes. Our depth should be better, but we will find that out for sure once we get an opportunity to put everything together on the practice floor.
When the Panthers return, they will hit the court at a full sprint, with an extremely busy schedule. Woodlawn will play four games between December 17th and December 22nd, before taking a short break for the Christmas holidays.
Woodlawn High will then face Tara in the first round of the EBR Parish Tournament on December 26th at 11 am at Scotlandville High. The Panthers were named the eighth seed in the parish tournament despite only having one game played.
Once the EBR Parish Tournament concludes, the Panthers are looking forward to District 5-5A play, which will begin on January 22nd with a game at Dutchtown High.
Coach Voight pointed out that each game the Panthers get to play this season is a blessing, because of the constant possibility of the program being shut down. He also spoke about the two goals that the program set for this season.
“The first goal is making the playoffs. You cannot win a state championship if you are not invited to state tournament! Second, we set the goal back in October to have a team GPA of a 3.0 this year. We feel that this is an attainable goal that our program can reach.”
Dec 14, 2020
A year removed from a final regular season record of 15-5-1 and a semifinal berth, the Panther soccer team is looking to return to its perineal playoff contender status. The Panthers suffered through a 5-13-1 record during the 2019-2020 season, but look to bounce back during the 2020-2021 season.
Head Coach Orlando Cervantes may be new to high school soccer in Louisiana, but he is not new to the sport of soccer. Coach Cervantes is an experienced coach who has worked with youth, college and professional soccer players throughout his career. Throughout his career, he has coached multiple NCAA and NAIA All-Americans, MLS players, Women’s Professional Soccer players and United States National Team players.
“Because this is my first time coaching in Louisiana high school soccer, I am excited to get the season started and I am looking forward to all of our district games. This is a tremendous group of kids that are hard-working and willing to learn. We had a late start to the season so are behind all other schools. I feel this team is beginning to come together and will continue to as the season progresses.”
A solid core group of returning players leads the way for Woodlawn this year. Seniors Rui-James Pereira and Hamza Saad will team up with Sophomores Cody Stevens, Wilson Ventura Lopez, and Aiden Skillman to provide experience to the Panthers.
Mix that experience with Freshmen newcomers Nelson Reyes, Oscar Paloblanco, Santiago Garcia and Junior transfer Joao De Sousa Oliveira, and the Panthers plan to be a force to reckon with in 2020-2021.
Along with expected success in the varsity program, Coach Cervantes understands the importance of growing the JV program to build for the future.
“We would like to increase the number of athletes participating in soccer and create a strong JV program.”
Student-athletes interested in joining the soccer program can reach out to Coach Cervantes at [email protected].
Dec 14, 2020
Coach Tim Spruill is an optimistic guy. He likes to see the bright side of things, his glass is always half full, and good things happen to him because of his positivity.
However, going into his second year as the Head Coach of the Panther Cross Country team, he knew that the year would be difficult. That did not mean that he didn’t find positives to take away from the season.
Junior Carson Sprunk consistently led the Panthers in times this season.
“Because of restrictions due to COVID-19, we were forced to go to a bunch of meets we normally would not have considered. Instead of being a negative, it was a total win for the team. We got to compete against different schools than normal and got to see a lot of different courses instead of the same course over and over again. Next year, even if all the restrictions are lifted, we will probably do most of these meets again. If nothing else, they were fun and we were competitive. That is what it is all about!”
Spruill considered this season a complete success, despite missing the State Meet.
“We had a full schedule and despite losing members due to 2020 being weird, we competed just as hard and performed and placed consistently higher than the year before. Growth under such circumstances makes me wonder how much we could have achieved in a more normal year. This counts as a win for us!”
The Panthers were led by two student-athletes who will return in 2021. Junior Carson Sprunk was consistently the fastest boy runner for the Panthers. When Carson wasn’t busy hitting the running trails, he was busy maintaining his 4.1 GPA.
The Lady Panthers were paced by Junior Carolina Alvarado. Not to be outdone by Carson, Carolina carries a 4.4 GPA and is a returning All-District player for the Lady Panther Soccer team.
“Carson and Carolina are the epitome of student-athletes. They come to compete day in and day out, and do not let their grades fall at all in the process,” said Spruill. “Both of them will be in contention to break the school records next year, as they were within a minute this year.”
Coach Spruill and the Panthers are already looking forward to next season.
“We have already started conditioning for next season. Many of our veteran athletes are doing other sports at the moment, but at the same time we have a number of rookies who are getting their feet muddy for the first time. Despite the pandemic, we are looking to increase the size and speed of the team for next year. The team is preparing to break school and personal records in the first meet of the next season.”
“Our main goal for the coming season and all future seasons is to get back to the state meet. Class 4A does not require you to qualify for the state meet, however Class 5A requires qualification. We have not been to state since the school reclassified to 5A. But our growth and conditioning plan moves us closer to making it every week.”
As would be expected, Coach Spruill puts his positive spin on even the most grueling of sports.
“Cross country runners are a strange group of people. They consistently come out and dedicate themselves to the most miserable, painful, terrible sport our school has to offer. When they get good at it, somehow they enjoy it. Their strength of character sets a standard we should all strive for. Three miles at a time, they show us how to be the best we can be. I am proud to coach this team and hope I get the privilege to continue coaching them for many years to come.”
Dec 14, 2020
Carolina Alvarado returns as an All-District perfomer.
The Lady Panther Soccer team reached heights over the past two seasons that have not been seen in the program for many years. However, the Lady Panther knew that success would be difficult to duplicate after the losses the program has seen going into the 2020-2021 season. With half of their season behind them, the Lady Panthers are looking to find their stride in the second half of the season.
Gone from the past two seasons are Head Coach Chris Hampton. Scarlet Martinez, the two-time Division II, District IV MVP, has graduated. Five other All-District players are no longer with the Lady Panthers.
New Head Coach Luis Mendoza brings a wealth of coaching experience to the program. Coach Mendoza will look to Senior Goalkeeper Julyana Espinal to step up and replace graduating All-District Goalkeeper Tionna Hodges. Returning Juniors Seema Kawji and Carolina Alvarado were both All-District players last season. The three returning players will try to lead the Lady Panthers through their difficult schedule in the second half of the season.
Coach Mendoza will also look for three Sophomores to make significant improvements to their game in order to contribute to the Lady Panthers season. Emma Carter, Layla Shelton, and Marie Sierra will have to grow up quickly on the pitch this season.
All-District Goalkeeper Tionna Hodges is being replaced by Julyana Espinal.
The Lady Panthers have three home games left. Woodlawn is scheduled to host Brusly (December 18, 2020), De La Salle (January 11, 2021), and Livonia (January 25, 2021). The Lady Panthers will travel for both of their District matchups. They will travel to Plaquemine on January 19 for a rematch of their season opening match, in which the Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Green Devils by the score of 8-0.
The Lady Panthers will travel to Liberty on January 21. That match is set for a 3:30 pm kickoff and will likely determine the District Champion.
Dec 10, 2020
With the powerlifting season starting this month, the Panther Powerlifters are in full swing with pre-season workouts. Coach Baronich, who is beginning his 37th year as a head powerlifting coach, is looking for his experienced lifters to set the tone for the multitude of young lifters who are expected to contribute.
Seniors Tim Bennett and Aaron Gooden, along with Juniors Matthew Sant and Mason Watson, will look to lead the boys team, which finished 7th in last year’s East Regional. Senior Christian Jones and Junior Isabella Schamber are the leading returning lifters for the girls team that finished 5th in the East Regional last year. Five lifters qualified for the LHSPLA State Meet last season before the season was shut down due to COVID-19.
Coach Baronich will depend heavily on a group of Sophomores to supplement the returning boy lifters. Devyn Jones, Keenan Griffin, Jaden Sylvester, and Willie Nunnery are four lifters that are expected to contribute to the Panthers this season.
On the girls side, Junior India Morgan will join Sophomores Victoria Alder, Lauren Earl, Marie Sierra, Kara Love, and Celine Thomas as newcomers that will help lead the Lady Panthers.
Coach Baronich says that he has high expectations for both teams.
“Expectations for the boys team is high. We are returning a lot of experience with a lot of young talent. For the girls, we are still a very young team experience-wise because of the early graduation of three regional team members this year. Christian Jones is the lone senior of the group, looking to improve on our Regional finish from last year.”
The Panthers will begin their season on the road at the Joey Chutz Invitational at Denham Springs High on January 23rd. The Panthers will also attend the St. Amant Invitational on February 6th, and will host a boys and girls Tri Meet on January 30th and February 11th, respectively.
The Panthers will return to Denham Springs for the LHSPLA Girls and Boys East Regional on February 26th and 27th, and those lifters who qualify for the State Meet will participate at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on March 19th and 20th.
Athletes who would like to join this year’s Powerlifting team can contact Coach Baronich in the gym before December 18th for information.
