Jan 27, 2021
The Panther Tennis team is looking to make up for lost time on the court. The 2020 season was shut down prematurely due to COVID-19; the Panthers were only able to complete four matches before the season was cancelled.
“Our student-athletes, coaching staff, and parents were all disappointed when the season was cancelled last year,” commented Coach Broussard. “The program is excited that we are back on the courts.”
The Woodlawn Tennis program began practicing for the 2021 season in early January. For the third consecutive year, practices are being held at Southern Oaks Athletic Club. SOAC’s Director of Tennis, Luke Richardson, returns for his third year as Assistant Coach.
The Panthers will once again lean on Leah Medine to lead the program. Leah, now a senior, has been a part of the program since its rebirth in 2018. Leah advanced to the Regional Finals as a freshman, and was the Regional Champion as a sophomore. She was a State Quarterfinalist each of those years.
For the first time in her high school career, Leah is expected to play doubles with her twin sister, Halle. Halle has experience playing doubles; she and her partner, Elsa Pearce, were ranked second in the 2019 Regionals.
Senior Christian Jones also brings experience and enthusiasm to the program as she enters her third year of tennis.
Cameron Lindsay prepares for a point at the 2019 Regional Tournament.
Junior Cameron Lindsay will be the most experienced player on the boys’ side. Cameron qualified for the 2019 State Tournament as a freshman with his partner, Jacob Barnes.
Juniors Mason Watson, Jamarion Johnson, and Devin Trim all enter their third season with the Panthers. These three Panthers look to continue to improve their tennis abilities each match.
Woodlawn will also look for contributions from several newcomers. Sophomores Katelyn Fontenot and Julie Russell each participated in last year’s shortened season and look to continue to improve their game. Freshman Miriam Lindsay comes from a tennis family and brings experience to the team. Sophomore Maxwell Bayles has also shown flashes of promise at practice.
Matches for the Panthers will begin on February 8th versus Central High School. Matches will continue through April, with Regionals the week of April 19th and the State Tournament the week of April 25th. Since 2018, the Panthers have improved on the number of State Qualifiers each year. This year looks to be no different, as expectations continue to increase.
While matches are a big part of the tennis season, the Woodlawn Tennis Program has always focused on providing a fun atmosphere where the student-athletes have positive experiences while playing tennis.
The program also stresses academics. The program boasts a Fall Semester GPA of 3.85, and 100% of the student-athletes who participate in tennis also take Advanced Level courses at Woodlawn High. Students interested in participating in tennis are encouraged to see Coach Broussard or contact him via email.
Jan 6, 2021
Senior Harrison Breland-Triche has been named the 2020-2021 Student of the Year at Woodlawn High School. Harrison, who is a part of the Academically Gifted program and a School Ambassador, has distinguished himself as an academic scholar and leader at Woodlawn High. His high aptitude and intrinsic motivation helped him to achieve academically, and his innate leadership abilities and selflessness shaped his involvement in school and community activities.
His academic achievements include being named an AP Scholar for the 2019 and 2020 school years and achieving the rank of first in his cohort. Harrison was on the Principal’s List for honor roll every semester of high school and was named a district finalist for Student of the Year this year. He has scored at the highest level on all standardized assessments and maintained nearly perfect attendance, only missing a single day in his high school career. Harrison has continually challenged himself academically by taking Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, and Academically Gifted coursework, and he has achieved a current GPA of 4.57 from successfully earning straight As in these courses.
Harrison has exhibited academic strength in all core areas. He has served as Captain of the Woodlawn High Quiz Bowl team for the past three school years. However, Harrison has a passion for STEM with plans to possibly pursue a career in a science or math-related field. Early in his high school career, he played an integral role in the STEM program at Woodlawn High, serving as Build Captain for the FIRST Robotics Team as a sophomore and helping facilitate the Red Stick Rumble, one of the largest robotics competitions in the state.
His talents extend well-beyond the academic classroom to his involvement in athletics and the arts as well. As the Varsity Swim Team Captain, he has led his team to qualify for the state swim meet multiple seasons, where he has set personal and school records. His swim coach praises his natural ability, both in the water and with helping his teammates improve their techniques. This peer leadership can also be noted in his participation in the school’s marching and concert bands, where he serves as Trombone Section Leader and First Chair. In a normal year, Harrison would spend his Friday nights leading his peers in the football stands and on the field at half-time. Similar to the swim team, the marching band has received many accolades at festival, regional and state competitions.
Harrison has a more reserved demeanor, but his desire to openly serve his school and community is clear through his involvement as a Gifted School Ambassador, member of National Honor Society, and organizer of an American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life team. As a Gifted School Ambassador, he represents the school at recruitment events, gives school tours, and advocates for the Academically Gifted Program. Through NHS, he has played a major role in the school’s recycling campaign project, volunteered at pet adoption events, and assisted with the Louisiana Special Olympics competition. By organizing his own Relay for Life Team, year after year, Harrison has been able to organize and facilitate events that have raised thousands of dollars to support cancer research for the American Cancer Society. Harrison believes giving back to others has played an important role in shaping him into the person he is today.
Dec 18, 2020
The Woodlawn High Boys Swim Team placed higher than it has every placed at the LHSAA Division II State Swim Meet.
The Panthers swam in the 4×50 Free Relay, the 4×100 Free Relay, and the 4×50 Medley Relay. All three finishes were records for Woodlawn High swimmers. Head Coach Ashley Heyer commented on the season.
“We are proud to have done so well with such a small team that includes only two year round swimmers and a two sport athlete.”
Senior Harrison Breland-Triche led the Panthers in and out of the pool.
The Panthers were led both in the pool and in the classroom by Senior Captain Harrison Breland-Triche.
“Harrison capped off 4 successful years being named to the LSHAA Division II All-Academic team and the CCSL All-Academic team,” noted Heyer. “Harrison was also a finalist for East Baton Rouge Parish Student of the Year. The team’s first semester GPA was 4.45, with every student taking at least one AP class.”
Harrison, along with Juniors Mason Watson and Isaiah John and Freshman Zack Lemoine, posted a time of 1:48.14 in the 4×50 Free Relay. The time was good enough for a fifth place finish at the State Swim Meet.
The Panthers placed 9th in the 4×100 Free Relay with a time of 4:12.47. Harrison, Isaiah, and Zack teamed up with Sophomore Peyton Rodgers for the race. Finally, Woodlawn placed 15th in the 4×50 Medley Relay. Isaiah, Mason, Peyton, and Zack finished the race in 2:16.96, despite Zack learning the breast stroke one week before the State Meet!
Harrison also qualified for state in the 200 Free and the 100 Backstroke, placing in the top 15 in each event at the Capital City Swim League Championship.
Woodlawn’s boys team placed 11th at both the CCSL Championships and the District II State Swim Meet.
Heyer wanted to say thanks to our Panther parents, who she said made all of the difference in making this season a success.
“We would like to thank all of our parents, especially Cathleen and Leonard Breland-Triche, for all of their support for the team over the past four. We also want to thank Bobby Watson and K-Watt Electric for donating the awesome towels for the state meet. These kept the boys warm enough to stay safe outside during the meet.”
Coach Heyer is already looking forward to the 2021 season.
“Next season, we will be practicing again at Crawfish Aquatics and are working on an evening practice time for students who want to be two sport athletes. We welcome any new swimmers as we rebuild the girls’ team with returning junior Kelis Kent and grow our boys’ team with all but one athlete returning. You do not have to know competitive swimming to join the WHS team! As long as you can swim, we will teach you the strokes and push you to success.”
Dec 15, 2020
The Woodlawn High School ICare Club used their meeting time during Club Days discussing how they could help the local community. They decided to sponsor a Food Drive.
With the help of their ICare sponsors, Mrs. Singletary and Mrs. Tietje, members of the club discovered that the Baton Rogue Food Bank was in desperate need of food items. Several devastating hurricanes and COVID-19 had taken their toll on the Food Bank’s supplies.
Students in the club promoted the Food Drive on their own, creating digital art, posters for the campus, and by spreading the word. They also decided to sponsor a competition between first hour classes, promising free dress and donuts as rewards!
After two weeks of collecting goods, our Panthers had donated over 2,000 non-perishable goods to donate to the Baton Rouge community during the holidays.
Mrs. Singletary expressed how pleased she and Mrs. Tietje were with the results of the drive.
“We are so proud of the ICare students for how hard they worked, and of Panther Nation for giving to those in need this holiday season. 2020 has not been the best year, but hopefully our Panthers can bring some joy this holiday season.”
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.”
