Fall Sports Recap

The 2016 fall sports seasons saw some great talent on the field and some outstanding individual performances. Both the football and cross country teams kicked off practice in August. The football team attended a fundamentals camp at Grandview College, while the cross country team started racking up the miles. Both squads were led by veteran coaching staffs. Lorenzo White has coached the football team since 2010, and this was his fourth season as head coach. Jason Anderson has led 4 teams to state as the coach of the cross country team, most recently last year along with his assistant coach, Aric Rush.

The football team changed their approach this season, emphasizing a STATS program. The coaching staff pushed Speed, Technique, Attitude, Temp, and Standard. That eventually transitioned to E+R=O, the Event (football) plus Reaction equals Outcome. At the end of the season, the team became more of a family and fought hard every Friday night. This team had a whole lot of talent and with the system in place, White saw that one of the biggest improvements was "the relationships they made with each other and the coaches." That attitude was felt across campus and generated a huge amount of school pride among the entire student body. At the end of the season, two Knights earned All-District honors because of their work on the field. Shabaka Thurman earned first team recognition, while Mike Solo earned second team honors.

This year's cross country squad was one of the youngest in recent memory, but they grew over the course of the season. Coach Rush saw "a lot of competition [during practice] to be the fastest on the team. Each runner truly found out where their strengths were to ultimately run their fastest race." In many ways, the team got smart in how they ran each race, and this effort paid off on the course. The highlight of the team's season was when they won the Carroll Kuemper Invitational in September.

The true standout of this year's team was Jakob Estermann. The senior runner was the fastest Knight all season and pushed the rest of the team to keep up with him. "I can't say enough about Jakob's work ethic. He came to practice wanting to win and often would not let anyone finish in front of him without a fight," said Coach Rush. That season long work ethic paid off at the District meet when he finished 10th and qualified for the Iowa High School State Cross Country Meet, annually held in Fort Dodge. At the meet, he ran 17:50 and finished in the top half of all runners. Jakob became only the 30th runner in school history to run at the state meet. 

Fall Sports Posters // Football and Cross Country 2016

The fall sports posters for the 2016 season are out and can be picked up on campus. Both sports have begun competition and are getting a good early start to their seasons. Both posters showcase the team, with captains and key athletes playing a predominant role in the images. As always, the 2016 schedule is on there as well. If you have an opportunity to cheer on the Knights for some Friday, gridiron action, or on a golf course near you, I highly encourage you to do so. In the meantime, follow our Facebook page to get updates throughout the season.

State Cross Country // Video

At Woodward Academy, cross country is a team sport. Since 2006, the Knights have qualified for the Iowa High School State Meet three times ('06, '07, '12) and the runners from this year's team were looking to add to that legacy. Head Coach Jason Anderson has led each of those teams to State and knew this team had the potential to be very special early in the season. "This team never quit. They came to practice every day and wanted to work. They never gave up and they kept their eyes on the goal." That goal was to make it to State.

Like all sports at Woodward Academy, most of this year's runners were new to cross country, and they would need to be coached. Anderson and his assistant coach, Aric Rush, have worked together since 2012 and they have a similar philosophy when it comes to cross country. They are both positively idealistic, and this leadership is reflected in the team. It has to be. Cross country is hard work. Coach Rush was joking when he said "our sport is other sport's punishment," but he is kind of right.

Both coaches stressed that the most difficult aspect of cross country is building the mental determination in the runners. Rush commented that "cross country is always a good idea to most students… until it gets hard. Top runners overcome that and motivated runners excel." That was the kind of team the Knights had this year. Desmond Edwards was the top runner for the team much of the season, but he was surrounded by a lot of inspired runners. Even on easy days, practice often turned competitive because the runners wanted to log quicker times or beat their teammates. That level of grit was an instinct in this team and perhaps the most determining factor to their success.

All season, the Knights competed against top schools, many of which were larger than Woodward Academy and who had an established cross country program. Although they did not win meets, the Knights used the competition to increase their 3.1 mile times and they peaked at the right time. When it came to districts, the hard work paid off. Desmond Edwards and Ricky Gabbard finished 6th and 14th, qualifying themselves for State individually. But it was the second wave of runners who made the difference and pushed the team to State. Each position, and each runner counts. Many cross country teams undervalue the 6th and 7th runners on the team, but for the Knights, they are who made the difference. After edging out a couple runners at the end, the Knights placed 3rd at Districts after beating Des Moines Christian by 2 points.

On October 31, the Knights represented Woodward Academy at the Iowa High School State Cross Country meet, annually held in Fort Dodge. You can see highlights from the meet in the video above. 

Fall Sports Posters 2015 // Football and Cross Country

The fall sports posters for the 2015 season are out and can be picked up on campus. With a couple games and meets into the season, the Knights are getting into their stride this season. The football team got their first win in week 2 against a tough SE Warren team. The cross country team has been improving their times all year and can boast that two runners are consistently in the 18's with several more close. Both teams are looking to have a great end to the season. If you have a chance to get to a game or meet, cheer on the Knights. In the meantime, get updates on our Facebook page.

Cross Country Poster 2014

Here is the official poster of the 2014 Woodward Academy Knights cross country team. Like most of the other sports posters on campus, this one is a composite image, meaning that each athlete was photographed separately and later pieced together in Photoshop to create the final poster.

Each image was taken while competing at their first meet on Iowa State University's course. If you're ever on campus, pick up a poster and cheer on the Knights this fall sports season.

Fall Sports Begin

The Iowa high school fall sports season is upon us and the Knights are now in full swing competing in cross country and football. This week marks the beginning of official competition with the XC team running at the Iowa State University course on Thursday and the football team hosting Earlham tonight.

If you're hoping to check out a cross country meet or attend a football game this season, here are the schedules. You can also listen to every football game online at www.pressboxradio.com.

Cross Country 2014:
8/28 @ ISU Course
9/4 @ WCV
9/9 @ Winterset
9/11 @ Marshalltown
9/20 @ Carroll
9/25 @ Roland Story
9/30 @ Denison
10/2 @ Perry
10/6 @ North Polk
10/7 @ South Central Calhoun
10/16 @ WCAC Meet, Panora

Football 2014:
8/29 vs. Earlham
9/5 @ SE Webster
9/12 @ South Central Calhoun
9/19 vs. St. Edmond, Fort Dodge
9/26 vs. Manson NW Webster
10/3 @ Ogden
10/10 @ South Hamilton
10/24 @ Panorama

XC Poster 2013 // Making of Video

The Woodward Academy cross country team starts their regular season this week in Ames at the Gilbert high school meet that is held on Iowa State University's campus. We thought it would be a good time to showcase the team with this season's official poster. With the season motto being "Train Insane or Remain the Same," we took to the back woods on Woodward Academy's campus to get the team dirty. We recently did a post about the cross country team's unique practices and dedication to team building. You can read that post here if you missed it. But this poster is a great reflection of how the team really practices at times. They really do train insanely. If you're interested in learning more about the poster, check out the short video after the break to see how the team prepped for the poster.

Cross Country Practice

In many ways, cross country is an individual sport. Athletes run 3.1 miles and based on their time are individually placed. At the events, there is a team component to it, but it is accumulated based on the individual accomplishments of each runner. So does cross country have the same team mentality as other sports? The WA coaches would certainly argue that "team" is one of the largest factors to their success. They have every right to this notion, having qualified for the state meet in 3 of the past 6 years, and who are currently the defending conference champions.

The coaches believe that building a team mentality in cross country helps the team to motivate each other when running becomes mentally difficult. Most runners get sore at the start of the season, and the weather gets cold as they move into October. There are often many struggles in between, but the team carries each other all season. Pictured is some team building at Woodward Academy. After a weeks worth of hard work, the team enjoyed their Friday afternoon using this homemade slip and slide. At first glance, it doesn't look like a cross country practice at all but it sure looks like fun. All of the coaches even got involved in the action. That's building a team. Go Knights!

Fall Sports Recap // Part 2 // Wall of Fame

Over the past 6 years, Woodward Academy has participated and excelled in high school athletics.  To commemorate these accomplishments, an athletic wall of fame has continued to grow along the ceiling of the primary education building. State and National champions line the hallway in all sports and only decorated teams and individuals who have received honors are mounted. This fall, four additional prints have been added between the football and cross country state qualifying teams. After the break, see the additions.

Fall Sports Recap // Part 1 // Video

The fall sports season at WA has been incredibly awesome! Both cross country and football competed in the post-season with cross country winning the conference title and qualifying for the State Meet as a team and the football team winning their final regular season game to qualify for the Class A State playoffs. You can view images from both seasons at our Knight Pics website by clicking here. But sometimes photos are just not enough.  After the break, watch videos from both seasons. Go Knights!

State Bound // Fall Sports

In what has been a remarkable fall sports season at Woodward Academy, both fall sports teams (football and cross country) are extending their season after qualifying for their respective state events. The cross country team has had their best season to date after recently winning their conference title and being ranked 10th in the state.  After inclement weather postponed the district state qualifying meet, the Knights ran yesterday and finished second as a team and have qualified for the State Meet that will be run this Saturday in Fort Dodge.  This marks the third time that a WA team has qualified for State with the last time being in 2007.

After a win this past Friday against Martensdale St. Marys, the WA football team is playing their first round state playoff game this Wednesday at Griswold.  After a shaky start to the season, the Knights finished 4-3 in the District, which qualified them for the playoffs.  This marks the first time that a WA football team has played in the tournament.

WCAC Coach of the Year

Congratulations to head cross country coach Jason Anderson on his being honored as the WCAC Cross Country Coach of the Year. This honor continues a season of accolades for the XC team that has included being ranked in the top 10 in the state in Class 1A, earning a record number of 2nd place finishes in very difficult races, and just last week winning the West Central Activities Conference meet both as a team and where Juanito Hernandez was crowned individual champion. The 2012 season continues later this week at the State qualifying meet in Ottumwa. Learn more about Coach Anderson and the cross country program after the break.

WCAC Conference Champs!

On Thursday, the WA Knights were crowned the West Central Activities Conference cross country team champions. Juanito Hernandez, a team captain and top runner, led a team where 5 runners placed in the top 20. Running a 17:30, he earned 1st place to become the individual conference champion and beat the second place runner by 36 seconds. This conference victory continued a very successful team season that has seen the Knights be ranked 10th in Class 1A in the state. You can read more on that here.  See more stats from the conference championship after the break.

XC Team Ranked in State

This week, Woodward Academy's cross country team rose to be ranked 10th in Class 1A in the state as a team. Being ridiculously consistent this year, the Knights are led by team captains Juanito Hernandez and Tim Audet and to date have scored six 2nd place finishes in their meets this year. That number includes this past Monday's second place team finish behind the 2nd ranked team in 2A, North Polk. Head Coach Jason Anderson was instilled a strong team mentality in the runners and the captains have not let the coach down.

Later this month, the team will compete in the Conference meet and hopes to participate at some level in the State Meet. To see more images from the North Polk Cross Country meet, visit our Knight Pics website by clicking here.

Cross Country Poster 2012

This fall, the Knights have been running like crazy prepping for the season and competing in meets across central Iowa.  We reported on their first meet in a previous blog post and you can read it here.  Pictured is the official 2012 WA Cross Country poster, but what in the world are they carrying?  Head Coach Jason Anderson saw this log as a team building opportunity.  Resurrecting a strategy that he started more than a decade ago, the team has to work together to lift the half ton post and lift over their head.  Read more about the origins of the log after the break.

WA XC 1st Place in First Meet

The Woodward Academy cross country team got off to a great start this season by winning as a team in their first meet.  Running in Ames on Iowa State University's campus, the Knights were the winner in the Class B team competition behind the strength of their top five runners who all finished in the top 10.  Beyond the initial 5 runners, all of the Knights placed in the meet, offering a positive start to the season.  The Knights have 9 more meets this season leading up to the Conference meet in October.

Fall Sports Begin

This week marks the beginning of high school fall sports across the state of Iowa.  For boys, football and cross country are now in full swing, including at Woodward Academy with two-a-day practices this week.  Two of our six varsity sports take place in the fall and we're in the midst of the transition period where summer is sadly ending and football friday nights begin.  Much more will be talked about both cross country and football here on the blog including each teams sports poster and schedule.  If you're able, find some time to attend a football game or cheer the cross country team on a course near you.