Sep 28, 2016
Elizabeth Roquemore ‘18
Woodlawn High School is finally bringing back tennis! Ms. Bailey, one of the Woodlawn English teachers, is going to be coaching the new team. Because Ms. Bailey played tennis herself, she decided to organize a team and would love to share the sport with interested students. Tennis, which was once a mainstay in the athletic program, is back again at Woodlawn, and Ms. Bailey is excited to guide and teach young Woodlawn students.
Tennis was created in 1879 and has a lot to do with hand eye coordination and being alert. Tennis can be easy to pick up on and a lot of fun, all while hitting the ball back and forth behind the net. It is a great exercise and another way to get out the house. To be on the team students must have a 2.5 G.P.A. and a real drive to play and work hard. Students must bring their own rackets and practice clothes, along with a positive attitude.
Ms. Bailey is excited and cannot wait to meet her team and start coaching. The new coach has set several team goals: having fun, working hard, creating a positive environment, and learning about tennis! All students are welcome to join, even if they do not know how to play. Tennis is very easy to learn and a lot of fun once you learn the sport. Come out and join the team to have fun with tennis. You could even meet new friends. The signup sheet is on the door of room 408, so hurry and come join the team!
Sep 26, 2016
Never has there been a more appropriate name for a race than the Battlefield Cross Country festival held at the state historic site in Port Hudson, Louisiana. Along with fierce competition from 20 other schools in the region, many runners find the course itself to be the most formidable enemy of the day.
The course is packed with short, steep hills with rocks and tree roots in high abundance. At the bottom of those hills are small creeks and gullies full of the previous night’s rain. More so than any other course the Panther cross country team faces in a season, the Battlefield is the most unpredictable.
It was clear from the beginning that Saturday’s race was going to be an adventure. The first 40 meters of the race are the flattest, but also the wettest as that stretch was much more like running through a marsh than an open field.
The Woodlawn Panthers cross country team hasn’t had a dry meet yet this season, so looking at the mud hole in front of them at the start line was no big deal, just another run in the park. As the Civil War re-en-actor fired his musket to start the race, the Panthers fired off the line and were some of the first to cross the battlefield and make it to the tree line where the hills begin.
On the final 800 meters of the course it was the duo of Melissa Grant and Alexis Martin that were the first two Panthers out of the woods and onto the finishing flat. Grant pulled slightly ahead in the last 150 meters, and sprinted in the last 100 meters to shut down an attack by two other competitors. Alexis Martin finished second for the Panthers and helped lead the team to a tenth place overall finish, two places better than their finish in 2015. Freshman Aimee Martin set a PR for the second week in a row. Team Captain Shelby Sanchez, Ashton Howard and Lillian Khemmanyvong all had great runs in helping the team climb the finishing results.
Khidhr Al-Mustafa crossed the line 27th overall in a field of nearly 250 entrants and helped the boy’s team finish 12th overall, which was a great improvement over 2015’s 16th place finish. Al-Mustafa devoured the course in 18:36 and was followed closely by Brandon Williams (19:57) who was able to outrun seven runners in the final 100 meters of the race.
Rounding out the top five for Woodlawn were Darmar Galvan, Saulomon John and Coby Sanchez, who appeared in his first varsity competition of the year. Marshall Bayles looked great in his comeback from an ankle injury as he finished sixth for the Panthers and was followed closely by Julian Scott, who set a personal record on the day.
In the JV Race, Sophomores Alexis Aucoin and Rayan Kaadan both set PR’s on a very tough course.
The Panther cross country team will be in action this Saturday at Highland Road Park for the St. Joseph’s Invitational. Girls varsity will begin at 9:30 am. followed by boys varsity at 10:00 am and the JV race at 10:30 am.
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.
