For the first time in the history of the REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE, a student at Woodlawn High School was awarded Best in Show, the competition’s top recognition. Junior Naya Smith was selected as Best in Show for her piece titled My Past Life. In addition to a $500 cash prize, Naya and Woodlawn High School received a trophy to display at Woodlawn High School.
“I just decided to do this piece because I wanted to do something that represented me,” said Naya about her award-winning work.
Every April, Baton Rouge Gallery opens its doors for its annual REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE Juried High School Exhibition. This year’s exhibition shines a light on over 70 works of original art produced by students from East Baton Rouge public and private high school students. This year’s works were selected from a pool of over 150 works by students from across EBR.
The exhibition is made possible by the support of Cordell & Ava Haymon. The goal of the exhibition is to share the talents of area students with the Baton Rouge community while encouraging the students to continue pursuing their artistic talents outside the classroom.
The exhibition also draws attention to the importance of arts education, celebrating both its positive effects on the youth of our community and the efforts of the educators that challenge their students on a daily basis.
Baton Rouge Gallery started the REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE Juried High School Exhibition in the early 1990s. The idea was to give students a “real life” experience so that they knew what it was like to be a professional artist outside of the school. Each year, the works that are chosen are juried by three professional artists.
The following students from Woodlawn High School had artwork included in this year’s exhibit.
Angel Caine, (2 pieces), Xiangjun Cui, Brianna Cutforth (2 pieces), Christopher Delcid, Rachel Ezell (2 pieces), Isaiah John, Destiny Leger, Joann Mayeux (3 pieces), Thomas Sauce, Naya Smith (3 pieces), and Kerrin Whitley (2 pieces).
Some information for this article was taken from the Baton Rouge Gallery website, which can be viewed by clicking here.
Woodlawn High School’s Theater 3 Class will present a virtual production of the play Help Desk. Help Desk was written by Don Zolidis. The hilarious comedy details the problems that arise when you call the help desk. Although you’re looking for a solution when you call the help desk, your problems may just be beginning!
Katelynn Johnson performs her part in Help Desk.
Tickets to the play can be purchased beginning Monday, May 3rd for $8 through the Woodlawn High website. Those who purchase the production online will receive a link to the play via email and will be able to watch the play from the comfort of their own home. While students and parents are encouraged to use their credit or debit cards and purchase the link online, students may stop by the theater to pay in cash if they would like. Students paying with cash must provide an email address when purchasing so that they can receive the link.
The Theater students have worked very hard over the last two months. The production features a collaboration between virtual and in person students in the class and was filmed using Zoom.
“I am extremely proud of the hard work that the students have put in to make this production happen during such a challenging year,” said Ms. Leonard-Brubaker. “Performing with someone who isn’t in the same room with you is difficult for even the most seasoned performer, and these kids really pushed themselves to overcome that challenge and produce a really funny show.”
The cast of Help Desk features Jasmine Gray, Joshua Robins, Braeden Hodges, Yezeed Manna, Jason Delcid, Jianna Ross, Alyric Alexander, and Katlynn Johnson.
Woodlawn’s Tennis Program has achieved many firsts over the past four years. The Panthers Tennis Program has traditionally been small, often not having the necessary number of student-athletes to fill a full team.
After a five-year span without tennis, the program was resurrected in 2018 and has quickly risen to heights never seen at Woodlawn High. The Medine twins, Halle and Leah, were a large part of the rebirth of the program.
“Going into high school, neither of us really expected to play high school tennis. We didn’t think there was a team because we didn’t hear anything about it,” reminisced Leah. “Coach Broussard brought it up to me one day because he heard from Coach Baronich that I played tennis. I was playing volleyball and lifting weights with Coach Baronich.”
The 2018 season saw Leah, as a freshman, reach the Regional Finals in the Girls’ Singles and advance to the State Quarterfinals. She topped her freshman campaign the next year, as she became the first Panther to win a Regional Championship. She went on to the State Quarterfinals again as a sophomore.
The 2020 season also saw a first for Woodlawn tennis. Spring sports were forced to end their seasons early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was difficult to imagine life going back to normal–student-athletes uniting to improve their skills, stands filled with cheering crowds, the unpredictability of the season ahead. The Panthers’ tennis team competed in only four matches before the season was abruptly cancelled.
Dylan and Brady qualified for the State Tournament by winning two matches at Regionals.
Though the 2020 season was cut short, the team has been raring to return to the court. Once restrictions eased, tennis players began practicing for the 2021 season in early January at Southern Oaks Athletic Club with Coaches Brent Broussard and Lucas Richardson. The enthusiasm to return is apparent looking at the impressive 2021 accomplishments.
The tennis program saw many improvements during the 2021 regular season. Even when the Panthers did not come out on top, the scores were much more competitive than in recent seasons. The hard work was then evident at the 2021 Regional Tournament.
For the first time in recent history, three doubles teams came away with victories at the Regional level.
The first team, senior Christian Jones and freshman Miriam Lindsay, finished their Regional run with a 1-1 record. Though they did not qualify for the State Tournament, it was quite an accomplishment to win their first round match!
Woodlawn’s second court boys’ doubles team were perhaps the biggest surprise of the tournament. Coming into the tournament, Dylan Aucoin and Brady Bertrand had played only one match together. However, their athleticism and enthusiasm were apparent, as they advanced to the Regional Quarterfinals. Their two wins were enough to qualify them for the Division II State Tournament.
Finally, senior twins Halle and Leah Medine finished the Regional Tournament with a 4-0 record. After receiving the #1 seed in the tournament, the girls were given a first round bye. The Medine’s dispatched the competition rather easily, not losing a single set in the entire tournament. In the finals, the girls started slow against ED White. After falling behind 3-2, the Medine’s won ten of the final eleven games for the 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Winning the Regional Championship once again set some firsts for Woodlawn High School. Leah became the first two-time Regional Champion. The girls were also the first Regional Doubles Champions in school history. Finally, Halle joined her sister as the only two Regional Champions from Woodlawn High School.
Bertrand and Aucoin and the Medines qualified for the State Tournament thanks to their finishes at the Regional Tournament. The four state-qualifiers matches the number of qualifiers from 2018 and 2019 combined.
Halle and Leah entered the Division II State Tournament as one of the four seeded teams. The girls had three relatively easy wins on day one of the State Tournament, only dropping two games in their three matches.
Day two brought a familiar opponent, as the Medine’s faced their Regional Semifinal opponent from ED White. With a large crowd on hand, nerves and the “bright lights” got the best of the Medine’s during he first set, as they fell 7-5. However, Halle and Leah fought back to win the second and third sets 6-1, 6-4 to move to the Division II State Finals.
Seniors Leah, Christian, and Halle pose for a picture at the 2021 Regional Tournament.
“The competition was definitely harder at State, and it was my first time there,” said Halle. “I was very nervous in a lot of our matches, especially the semifinal match. That was something we had to work through.”
The 6-2, 6-0 win over Neville’s first court in the finals brought Woodlawn High its first State Championship in tennis.
Going through the process of rebuilding the program, followed by the year that was 2020, closing out their high school career as State Champions was extremely significant to Halle and Leah.
“I don’t know if it has completely hit us yet, but it is super-awesome,” Halle explained. “Just knowing that we can take this championship away from our entire high school career and our entire tennis career.”
Even with all of the wins and championships for the Panthers this season, they perhaps have an even more impressive stat. Despite the major focus on winning, the team was able to achieve an overall GPA of 3.9. Eighteen members of the 2021 tennis team also took advanced level courses this year, with several earning future college credit.
As the three senior girls prepare for life after high school, they leave behind a flourishing team of nineteen that has grown from nine their freshman year in 2018. The team will look to continue to improve as practices at Southern Oaks will begin in August of 2021 instead of January of 2022.
Freshman John Cador represented Woodlawn High School at the 2021 LHSAA Bowling State Championship Tournament on Tuesday, April 27th. Cador was the Panthers’ leading bowler this season with an average of 191.
Cador represented Woodlawn High with class. He averaged 192 at the State Tournament, which was held at All Star Lanes.
Cador was also named to the First Team All-District team. Junior Chaz Degree and sophomore Brendan Parenti were each named to the 2021 Second Team All-District team. Degree finished the season with a 136 average. Parenti finished the season with a 111 average. The Panthers finished the season with a 7-5 overall record.
Like in all sports, experience in tennis is often the difference between a win and a loss. The mental aspect of the game of tennis is often overlooked as most players do not think much about what they are doing on the court. In big matches, nerves often creep in and overshadow any strategy that players worked on before the match.
Halle Medine experienced these nerves at this week’s Division II, Region 3 Tournament. Luckily, she leaned on her twin sister, Leah, for support when the stakes got high.
Leah has felt Regional pressure before. She was the Division II, Region 3 Girls Singles Runner-Up her freshman year and won the title of Regional Champion her sophomore year. Both years, Leah finished as a State Quarterfinalist.
“Leah has more experience in big matches than Halle,” said Head Coach Brent Broussard. “Halle had some nerves early in a few of the matches, but she was able to settle down as the matches went on. Leah having that experience certainly helped settle Halle.”
The Medines were given the number one seed by the coaches at the tournament seeding meeting which was held before the tournament. This ensured that they would not have to face another seeded team on the first day of the tournament and also gave them a first round bye.
After a slow start in their first match, the twins finished strong, moving to the quarterfinals of the tournament with a 6-2, 6-0 victory. The victory also booked their ticket to the State Tournament. Their second match of the day ended with the exact same score to send them to the Semifinals.
Day two of the tournament started with Halle and Leah facing the fourth seeded team in the tournament. The girls moved onto the finals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
In the finals, nerves slowed the path to victory, but could not stop it. After a shaky start, the Medines were down 3-2 in the first set. Halle and Leah won ten of the next eleven games to claim the championship with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Sophomores Dylan Aucoin and Brady Bertrand qualified for the 2021 Divison II State Tennis Tournament.
In the boys doubles draw, the second court team consisting of Dylan Aucoin and Brady Bertrand qualified for the State Tournament by advancing to the Quarterfinals of Regionals with two wins. The boys rolled through their first round match with a 6-0, 6-0.
The second round match, with a trip to the State Tournament on the line, was much more difficult. The Panthers dropped the first set 4-6, before storming back to win the second set 6-1. The third set tiebreaker came down to the wire, with Dylan and Brady coming away with the 10-8 win.
Other top performers from Woodlawn’s Tennis program were Christian Jones and Miriam Lindsay, who finished the tournament with a 1-1 record and fell just short of qualifying for the State Tournament, and Maxwell Bayles, who played an exciting two hour match before bowing out by the score 7-6 (4), 7-5.
