Track & Field Season Recap 2017 // Video

The 2017 track & field season will forever be seen as one of the best in school history. No other group of athletes have embraced the team aspect of a very individual sport quite like this year's squad. Since the first year of the track & field program in 2007, Woodward Academy has a long tradition of excellence in the sport with a couple state champions ('07 and '14) and team district championships ('11 and '14). Neither of those things happened this season, but this year's team rewrote the school record book in more ways than one. 

"Overall, this was a really fun group to coach. What makes this team different than past years to me is their attention to detail in perfecting what they did. Whether it was a handoff, a hurdle, warming up for a race, or how they come out of the blocks, this team was very specific with how they trained and prepared for events," said Head Coach Shaun Mohon. This team adopted the theme of "meet the standard," and the team really pushed themselves and their coaching staff to embrace it every day. "This group ran with the theme and you could see it throughout their workouts, meets, and in day to day life as track athletes."

By mid-April, the hard work in practice was starting to show dividends in meets. The team got their first win of four, which tied a school record, at Central Decatur on April 11. They followed that meet up a week later with their second win at Van Meter. The winning pushed this team even harder in practice and they rallied around each other. They knew their end goal was to compete with the best in the state. 

State Track & Field Meet 2016 // Video

The 2016 track & field season came to a close May 19-21 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines at the Iowa High School State Track & Field Meet. It was an end cap to a remarkable season where the Knights won 4 team titles, numerous individual events, and broke 2 school records.

Head Coach Shaun Mohon pushed the phrase "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" all season. He reflected that this year's team, from a pure talent standpoint, was not where previous WA teams had been. "We did not have the top end speed that we have had in the past. The reason this team was so successful was due to hard work, practicing well, and the work of all the coaches."

Read more about how the season progressed and the state meet after the break.

Track & Field Poster 2016

The track and field season is officially underway for the Knights and this is the first look at the team. The poster is a composite image of all of the athletes (captains up top), with Drake Stadium, home of the Iowa High School State Track & Field Meet, serving as the background. Iowa has had a fairly mild spring, which has allowed the team to spend more time on the track and less time in the gymnasium. Head Coach Shaun Mohon is feeling good about the season so far and feels as though it can be a special year for the Knights. "Right now, they are about 2 weeks ahead of where we were last year."

More indoor meets were added to this season's early schedule. The team has already competed at the Wartburg Indoor meet in Waverly, Iowa and at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, in addition to the Iowa State meet that the team has traditionally run at. These meets are always good tests for the team as they often compete against larger schools on non-traditional ovals. Now that the season is underway, the coaches are prepping the team to peak mid-May, just in time for Districts and the State Meet, which is scheduled for May 19-21. Go Knights!

State Track & Field Meet 2015

The Woodward Academy Knights qualified for the Iowa High School State Track & Field Meet in 5 events this season and performed well throughout the 3 day event (May 21-23). Terrence Lewis became only the second Woodward Academy runner in the school's history to qualify in 4 separate events (the most allowed) when he qualified in the 100m, 200m, 4x100 and 4x200 events.

On the first day of competition, Terrence and Rashawn Porter just missed the finals in the 100 meter dash with Terrence finishing 9th in the state. He went onto win his heat in the 200m and qualified for the finals after running the race in 22.27 seconds and setting a new school record. On Day 2, the 4x200  relay team set a new personal record when they ran 1:32.9, finishing 14th in the state. In the discus, Ankoma Riddick threw 137 feet in the only field event that the Knights qualified for this year. The highlight of the second day came when the 4x100 relay team looked really impressive by easily winning their heat, running a season best time of 44.05 seconds.

The finals of many events took place on Saturday and it was where Woodward Academy scored some team points. Terrence finished 6th in the state in the 200 meter dash and the 4x100 team ran a crazy fast 43.8 second race and finished 3rd in the state. The state track and field meet is where coaches want their athletes to perform their best, and this season the Knights who ran at Drake Stadium did just that. Several races set new personal records and even a school record was broken. You can see images of the state meet on our Knight Pics website by clicking here.

Track Poster 2015 // Practice Video

Here is the official poster of the 2015 Woodward Academy track & field team. The Knights have started the season strong and have some high aspirations as they move into the second half. They are certain to have some athletes competing at the Drake Relays next week and then they will prepare for districts after that in order to have a good showing at the state meet, held May 21-23 at Drake Stadium.

This year's team has shown a special ability to unite as a team. They push each other in practice and that is evidenced in the practice video below. Earlier this week, the team got worked as they ran hills on the bomb shelter. It is just one example of what their practices are like.

A Historic Day for Woodward Academy Athletics

This past Saturday (February 28) was the most historic athletic weekend in Woodward Academy history where 3 separate events were taking place across the United States and where Woodward Academy students were performing at the highest level. In Des Moines, the Knights basketball team was playing in a Substate final to qualify for the State tournament for the first time in school history. The Knights of Iron powerlifting team was competing in Nebraska in a meet as they continue to prepare for the USAPL High School National Championships, and a WA alum was long jumping in Boston, MA at the USATF Indoor National Championships.

The specifics to each event are absolutely amazing and you can read more about each one after the break. If you just want the details, Cal Lane (WA alum) finished in the top 10 in the long jump event, the powerlifting team won the competition and Julius Walker continued to break his own American Record by squatting 625 pounds in this meet, and the basketball team made a historic comeback to qualify for the state tournament.

Cal Lane: WA's First Professional Athlete

Over the past couple years, we have been able to follow the professional track & field career of former Knight Cal Lane. He was the cover story of Volume 28 of the Knightly Knews that you can download here. Cal graduated from Woodward Academy in October 2007 and returned to his high school where he won 6 individual state titles and was inducted into his high school's athletic hall of fame. Until recently, he trained primarily on his own and competed in long jump events across the country with a little backing from Woodward Academy and the Lifetime Commitment Fund.

In 2013, he competed at Iowa State University and won the long jump contest at their indoor winter event. He also won at an event held at Arkansas University (you can see the video here) and has competed in several other meets, including those held at The University of Kansas and the 2014 USATF Indoor National Championships in New Mexico.

On December 19, Cal jumped at the University of Indiana and hit a huge jump: 26 feet, 4 inches. He won the meet and is currently ranked #1 in the world. It qualified him for the USA Indoor National Meet in Boston that is being held February 28-March 1. It also ensures that he can jump in any meet that he desires for the next year. We also just found out that Cal is now signing with an agent and will field contract offers that will help pay for clothing, travel expenses, and cash. One of those contracts was from Nike. Cal has decided that over the next few months, he will compete in Europe at events that will pay him between $500-$5,000 in prize money per meet. We are very proud to say that Cal is a Knight and is our first professional athlete.

STATE CHAMPION // Darius Scott-Crayton // Video

The highlight from last weekend's state track meet was Darius Scott-Crayton becoming Woodward Academy's second ever State Champion, this year in the 110 Hurdles. As a returner and state qualifier from a year ago (long jump, shuttle hurdle, 110 hurdles), Darius was determined to make his senior track and field campaign one to remember. His primary focus was in his best event: the 110 hurdles.

Throughout the season, Darius battled with the defending state champion from CMB, Baxter High School. During the preliminary heat on Friday at the State Meet, Darius qualified for the finals with the second fastest time. On Saturday, he owned the competition and took home a State Championship in the event. He said he was the calmest he had felt all year before a race. The Des Moines Register caught Darius right after the race and you can see the interview and the end of his race in the embedded below. Darius also race in the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relay for the Knights.

Track Poster 2014

Pictured is the official poster of the 2014 Woodward Academy track and field team. The Knights have been off to a ridiculously good year thus far. To date, the team has won 5 of their 9 meets they have competed in and recently qualified runners for the Drake Relays. It was the first time since 2007 that WA runners have competed. You can read more about how they did at Drake here.

The team is looking to continue their momentum as they move into the final stretch of the season that includes the WCAC conference meet, Districts, and finally the state meet. The Knights hope to take another district title on May 15 where they have won 2 of the last 3. The end of the season will take place at Drake Stadium, May 22-24, during the state meet.

Drake Relays

Woodward Academy athletes competed in the high school portion of the Drake Relays this past weekend, for the first time since 2007. The annual event held at Drake Stadium brings elite collegiate and professional talent to central Iowa in one of the preeminent track events in the country. This year, Darius Scott-Crayton competed in both the 110 hurdles along with the 4x100 relay. Darius is a returner and state qualifier from last year and is leading the charge this year as well for the Knights. Darius was joined by Kaelin King, Rashaun McGee, and Victor Fuller in the 4x100 relay. Together, they ran their fastest time of the year at 44.77.

Woodward Academy had more invested in the Drake Relays than just these two events. Four former students also qualified for the relays as well, now at their home schools. Josh Sparks ran the 110 hurdles, Warren Krieg in the 4x100 relay, Yarrell Fisher in the shuttle hurdle relay, and Anfernee Frazier in the 4x100 relay. Later this year, all of the athletes hope to compete again at Drake Stadium as it is home to the Iowa high school state meet, this year held May 22-24.

Track Season Begins

The high school track season has been underway with practices since February. In typical Iowa fashion, the past month has been a combination of cold and snow, making practice very difficult. The team has done a lot of conditioning indoors and has ventured to the track as much as possible during the few 50 degree days. But last week marked the beginning of the meet season with an event at Iowa State University's indoor facility. The open meet hosts school from all classes and is a great way to get all athletes ready to compete. The Knights competed in a dozen events to kick start their season. You can view some pictures from the event by going to our Knight Pics website by clicking here.

Track and field is one of Woodward Academy's more accomplished sports. They are defending District Champions and last year qualified for the State Meet in 7 events. This year, State will once again be held at Drake Stadium, May 22-24.

Track Athlete Cal Lane - Update

In the last edition of the Knightly Knews, we ran a story about former Woodward Academy student, Cal Lane, and his pursuit of a professional track career. At that time, we reported that Cal was training on his own and through the help of Woodward Academy's Lifetime Commitment program, was able to travel to Iowa State University to compete in their indoor winter event, that he won. You can read that story by clicking here to download the latest Knightly Knews.

Since that time, Cal has traveled to Arkansas University and won that long jump event as well. A video of him jumping is posted below. He jumped 25' 0" (7.62 meters) and accomplished his first goal of qualifying for the USATF Indoor National Championship, which is being held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 21-23. Later this month he will be competing at the University of Kansas to continue to prepare for the Nationals meet. We'll keep you updated as more information is available.

State Track & Field Meet // Video

Hot off their District victory, the Knights participated in the Iowa State Track and Field Championships this past weekend, May 16-18, and set a new bar of excellence for the springtime sport. Held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, the co-ed meet is one of the largest in the country and an awesome experience for both spectators and athletes. The Knights qualified for the State Meet in 7 events (shuttle hurdle, long jump, 400 m, 4x200, 100 m dash, 110 high hurdles, shot put) and competed against other 1A schools all three days.

Early on Thursday, the long jump competition got underway and the Knights had two athletes competing. Team leader Darius Scott-Crayton and recently crowned two-time powerlifting National Champion Dedrrick Johnson both qualified for the event and after the first round, moved onto the finals. Jumping 20'10.5", Dedrrick finished in 4th place with Darius finishing 6th, both scoring points for the team. This marked the first time that two WA athletes have scored points at the State Meet in the same event.

After the jump, check out more about meet along with a video from the meet.

Track Districts Champions

For the second time in three seasons, the Woodward Academy Knights have been crowned track and field district champions. With a total of 128 points (which was a new meet record!), the Knights beat out rivals Madrid and Woodward-Granger to take the title. The entire team performed ridiculously well and earned a ton of medals, with three events earning first place finishes (shuttle hurdles, long jump, and 400 m).

The district meets across the state are also State Meet qualifying events. In Class 1A, the first place finishes in each event automatically qualifies for State, along with the top 12 times from across the state. With several second and third place finishes, the Knights waited until Friday to find out that they qualified in 7 events. Here is the list of events who qualified: shuttle hurdles, long jump, 400m, 4x200, 110 high hurdles, 100m, and shot put. The State meet is held later this week, Thursday through Saturday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

WCAC Track & Field Results

On Tuesday, the Knights participated in the West Central Activities Conference Track & Field meet in Guthrie Center. They finished 2nd as a team and were conference champions in two events. Messiah Couthen won the 200 M dash and was a part of the 4x100 team along with Stephon Haskins, Cordarro Pearson, and Tevin Nickens that won at the conference meet. The team will run at districts next week with the State Meet at Drake Stadium the week after. Pictured is the official track poster for the season that shows many of the athletes in action throughout the season.

Track Season Update with a Win and Records

The weather does not feel like spring out this year, but track season is in full swing at WA. The season is nearly half over at this point, and the Knights have hit their grove as they begin to run down the final stretch of the season. Last week marked the high point thus far on the season where the Knights won the Oskaloosa meet with an impressive 59 points. According to the coach, "nearly every athlete set a personal record at the event," which contributed directly to their victory. The team has also grown over the course of the season after refining their practice routine and work ethic. One attempt to rejuvenate the runners in practice was to force them to work together. On a snow covered afternoon, the team worked up a snowy hill, grappling with every step. As it turned out, the team loved it and it helped create this year's motto of "Separate Ourselves," which is exactly what the Knights are beginning to do. Check out after the break more of what the coach had to say about the team along with some other notable accomplishments from the season.

Update from the Blue Oval: State Track

The 2012 Iowa High School Track and Field Meet was held May 17-19 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.  A week before, the Woodward Academy team qualified in 4 events: 100 M, 4x100, 4x200, and the Long Jump.  The Iowa High School State Meet combines both girls and boys events, making it one of the largest in the nation.  Drake Stadium, dubbed "The Blue Oval" is a top notch facility and has also been host to NCAA Championships and is a top contender for the U.S. Olympic Trials.  

Read more after the jump.

Track Districts 2012

The Districts track meet was held this past Thursday, May 10 in Story City.  It is the final track meet of the season for many runners and is also the event where runners qualify for the State Meet held at Drake Stadium later this month, May 17-19.  The Knights track team performed well and finished 6th as a team in the district.  They also qualified for the State Meet in 4 events.  The participants in the events and more pics are after the break.  We will report more on track at the State Meet next week.

Track Preview - 2012 Poster

The unseasonably warm weather once again brings the track and field season into full bloom.  Pictured is the 2012 Woodward Academy Track and Field poster, highlighting the athletes for this year.  The Knights hope to match the previous two successful seasons and the weather has allowed for a good start in preparations this year.  Last season was a remarkable year for the Knights as they won the District Championship for the first time and qualified for the state meet in 9 different events.

The poster is a composite of individual images combined into one.  The runners in front holding the batons represent the team captains.  To view other campus sports posters, go to our Knight Pics website by clicking here.