Powerlifting Nationals 2016 // Universal Studios

The day after competition, the team spent an entire day at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, home to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade, and Marvel Super Hero Island. The entire team took in the amazing sights and pulse-pounding rides that the park had to offer. For a three-hour stretch during the day, central Florida got drenched with rain, but it didn’t stop the team. With many of the attractions and waiting lines indoors, the rain did not slow anyone down. The team took in the Dragon Challenge rollercoaster three times, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man twice, and one of the big highlights was the spectacular Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The day was a great celebration to a hard-fought season.

Powerlifting Nationals 2016 // Competition

Last November, the powerlifting team held tryouts and began the long season of training and preparation. After three qualifying events, the road to the USAPL High School National Championships ended in Orlando, Florida on April 1. The team kicked practice into high gear in the final weeks of practice, and every ounce of that effort may have been necessary for what turned out to be the toughest Nationals ever for the Knights.

At 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the team left campus for a flight out of the Des Moines International Airport. They made a stop through Chicago O’Hare, and arrived in Orlando at 3:30 in the afternoon. Over the next day and a half, the team took in the pool, caught a movie, and for some, actively watched their weight.

On Friday, April 1st, after the athlete’s weights were finalized, the lifting began and the competition was stiff. A powerlifting meet consists of three individual events: the squat, benchpress, and deadlift. Each lifter has three attempts to record the biggest lift they can. They are then added together for a total weight to determine the winner in each weight class. The common strategy is to record an opening lift that is nearly guaranteed for the lifter and progress upward from there. The coaches know that athletes will miss lifts, it is a part of competition. How this team responded is what distinguishes them from other teams.

Read about how lifters competed 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!

Knowledge and Academic Bowls 2016

This year’s Woodward Academy Knowledge Bowl took place on March 11 in the Knight’s gymnasium. The decade long (est. 2006), dorm versus dorm, bracketed competition, tests the students academic prowess. At stakes this year was an all day trip to Kansas City for the entire dorm.

The morning rapid fire session consisted of 10 rounds of six questions that were used to seed the dorms for the afternoon. Once the bracket was created, the dorms battled each other with their minds. What makes Woodward Academy’s knowledge bowl unique is that many of the questions were offered by teachers and taken straight from their classes. In a close final round match, Delta Company beat out Pathfinder Hall to claim the championship.

The campus event took place on the heels of the West Central Activities Conference (WCAC) Academic Bowl. Woodward Academy brought a team of 5 to the event, this year held on Ogden.

Knights Basketball 2015-2016

Every season starts the same: teaching the offensive and defensive fundamentals that the coaches want to see, and then letting the players respond to the coaching. The goal is that by the middle part of the season, things start to register with the players and the team peaks at the end to make a run in the post season.

Head coach Dustin Sperling was really proud of this team. “They had a good work ethic, and that made the coaching effective every practice. At the beginning of the year, it wasn’t possible to play man [defense], zone is generally the safer route. But the last two weeks of the year, we were switching back and forth and everything was sinking in.”

Sperling was fortunate to have two returning players from last year’s State team, and he placed a lot of expectations on them. Delonquay Richardson and Marcus Riley were the pulse of the team. As co-captains, they had a lot already invested in the team and knew they would be called upon to led the other athletes. “I think I was the hardest on Marcus all season. He responded and would always fix it and be a leader on the team. Delonquay naturally has a strong work ethic, but he was perhaps the most selfless person on the team. He never concerned himself with points and other stats. He wanted to play defense, set screens, and get rebounds all game.” And that is exactly what he did, leading the conference in rebounds with 11.1 RPG. Other statistical highlights include Marcus’ 103 assists, 2nd in the conference. Sophomore Ammari Johnson led the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game.
   
The Knight’s season came to a close in the second round of the district playoffs. After an impressive win against Ogden in the first round, the Knights had to travel to Des Moines Christian’s home court, where they were defeated. Sperling’s lasting image of this team is not the wins and losses, but rather how they grew. “More than anything else, this team’s character grew just as much as their basketball  knowledge.”

Athlete of the First 20 Years

This month, Julious Walker returned home after an illustrious athletic career at Woodward Academy. Throughout his stay, he participated in football, track & field, but powerlifting was the sport he dominated. He did things that had never been done before at Woodward Academy, and honestly may never happen again. He was a member of two USAPL National Championship teams (2014-15), and became an individual National Champion when he destroyed the competition in 2015.

The unprecedented part of his powerlifting career came last fall when he became runner-up World Champion as a member of the U.S. National Team at the IPF Sub-Juniors World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. He has 5 American records, and 11 Woodward Academy school records to his credit, and this year was on track to earn more accolades. One of his last meets, he squatted a personal best 750 pounds in competition. To label him a world-class athlete sounds a little cliche, but as a 16 year old with these credits, it is certainly within reason that he could become just that. He was recently given an honor that no Woodward Academy athlete has ever received: Athlete of the First 20 Years. Congrats Julious, and good luck.

The Sixth Man on the Court

Woodward Academy's student body section is big and loud, and they certainly make an impact on the basketball court every game. With chants like K-N-I-G-H-T-S and D-Fence!, the cheering section is the sixth man on the floor, often propelling the Knights to better play and being a distraction for our opponents.

From a student's perspective, attending basketball games is an escape from the routine. It is time away from campus that offers a sense of normalcy. For most regular season games, a handful of students from each dorm get to attend, which often adds up to about 40-50 students. During this week's first round district playoff game, over 200 students and staff attended the game, outnumbering the other team's cheering section 20 to 1. And they made a significant impact on the outcome!

From a staff's perspective, it is fun to watch the students. They love to be loud and cheer for the players that they know, walk the halls of school with, and in some cases share a dorm with. Our student body makes their presence felt in the best way possible. Every season, we get letters from parents and members of the community of the opposing team, and every letter touches on our sportsmanship and school pride. Here is an example from a couple weeks ago from a parent from the opposing team:

As a parent and also an educator, I want to commend your players and your entire cheering section on their fantastic performance last night. 

Your student section was amazing. They were "loud and proud" and cheering for their team. They used positive cheers and never did I hear a negative comment or cheer. 

The young men on your team exhibited great sportsmanship and restraint, even when they may have felt a call was not a good call. My son commented when he got home that they exhibited the best sportsmanship of all the teams he has played this year. 

I just wanted to share a positive with you and your staff! Thank you for all you do to work with these young men!

As a basketball team and athletic program, we practice and compete to win. But this is an example of winning in life and that is what it means to be a Woodward Academy Knight.