Raising his helmet into the air toward the end of the game, senior Aaron Ramsey stands along the sidelines with the team during the varsity game against Blue Valley West. Photo by Anna Glennon.
The amount of time and energy put into this year’s fall sports has been greatly recognized considering that most of the Timberwolf sports were able to make it further than ever before in Southwest history. The teams also set new records and are expecting to improve their success in upcoming seasons. Now that all the fall sports have ended, here is a recap of the fall season and what next year has to offer.
Girls golf season up to par
Results: 7th at State and 3rd at EKL, 2nd at Regionals
The varsity girls golf team has improved their performance since recent years and qualified for state for a third time in Southwest history. The team has already made new plans for next year and what should be cultivated to improve from where they stand now. With this new accomplishment, comes new expectations of what lies ahead for next year’s season.
Head varsity girls golf coach Courtney Weber explains what errors must be corrected in order to make it toward a top 5 spot at State.
“The girls need to all continue to improve their mental game,” Weber said. “It is the hardest aspect of the game of golf, and to keep the focus that they need for 5 hours is not an easy chore.”
Every season has had great moments according to junior Sabrina Castle, but this one has seemed to have more significance than others.
“We definitely made some memories, especially since we are such a close group,” Castle said. “Our team has made huge improvements from last year, and we definitely got better, and I hope to continue that trend.”
Football loses starters
Season record: 5-4The Southwest varsity football team has been represented by the same starters since their sophomore year. Now that most of them are to graduate this year, new players will be given the opportunity to lead the team and bring Southwest to victory. Head varsity football coach
Bill Loweexpects new players to help the team and keep the program going.“We will have to get some good leadership, and a lot of young players will have to step up to replace a great group of seniors,” Lowe said. “We will miss the seniors very much.”The seniors all have made memories together this year as a wolfpack, and varsity linebacker
Hunter Ashley has enjoyed his time at Southwest as well as his dedication to the football team.“I will remember all the fun times I got to experience with my teammates and being able to play in front of all the fans,” Ashley said. “Most importantly, I’m going to be able to remember the brotherhood and the bond of the team we have had the last three years.”
Cross Country plans ahead
Results: Boys got 2nd at Regionals and won three meets, girls won one meet, qualified two girls and the entire boys team for State.
With the success of this year, giving the entire boys team a chance at State and having two girls qualify as well, has already raised the bar of expectations head coach Richard Wilson has for the whole team next year.
“We want to keep improving every season, and we want to come in to the next season even more fit than this year,” Wilson said. “We want to continue to find runners who want to improve and compete at a high level.”
Wilson was impressed with those who really worked hard during this season and were able to make new records for themselves, as well as setting new goals for the team.
“The runners really focused on improving each week,” Wilson said. “You can tell that they took our training seriously, as we had a large number of personal records in the last meet.”
The team had risen from 42 to 60 runners this year and all of them were able to run their best times ever this season. Places were able to be held on the team from the really good runners, all the way down to the casual runners.
With anticipation for next year’s season, runners are eager to drastically improve their personal record for next year with intense training and the mood swings that go along with it.
“We really need to keep working on being positive,” junior Holly Harmon said. “Sometimes we complain about track or hill workouts, and when this happens, it affects everyone’s mood.”
The team as a whole now has a goal to bring the entire boys team back to state next year and more girls also. The team will now work on countless hours of conditioning and bettering personal records for the next season to come.
Volleyball makes Sub-State
Season record: 24-17
Results: Second round (final) of Sub-State (lost)
The amount of fans who came to support the volleyball teams this year has improved drastically compared to recent years. With the team making it further than they had the last two years, the varsity volleyball team was able to attend the last round of Sub-State vs. St. James. Now that the season has come to an end, senior Alyssa Phelps has enjoyed being able to be apart of the team and wishes them luck for the years to come.
“The next few years are going to have really good leadership, since most of the girls have been playing varsity since they were freshman and have gained a lot of experience throughout the years,” Phelps said. “Everyone this year played with so much heart, and you really can’t ask for more than that.”
Since the expectations and experience for next year will increase due to the success of the 2012 season, head varsity coach Scott Dowis anticipates a good show for those who supporters.
“This team has come together so well this year with very positive strides as a program,” Dowis said. “The senior leadership will become even better, and they will show just how much work ethic and enjoyment they have for the team, on and off the court.”
Soccer makes it farther than ever
Season record: 9-7-2
Results: Made it to regional championship game losing to Kansas City Harmon
There is no doubt that the boys soccer team has made it farther than ever before in Southwest history. This year the boys were able to make it Regionals after a solid win in the playoffs for the first time, and though the team fell to Kansas City Harmon, there has been more success in the amount of wins compared to other seasons. Head varsity coach Jason Pendleton has high expectations to keep this new tradition for years to come.
“While we always want to advance to the state championship, our season was a success because we finished with our first winning season (9-7-2) and were far more competitive in the EKL this season than our first two years,” Pendleton said. “We need to improve our overall strength and speed to continue to be competitive with the top teams in the state.”
Athletes have been very ecstatic with the new improvements they were able to make this year as a team and also wants to keep this new tradition in progress. Varsity soccer player junior David Hu is eager to make his last high school season as a senior a win overall next year and begin even more traditions with major improvements mentally and physically.
“We improved dramatically since last year and we also got some big wins against blue valley west and high,” Hu said. “Getting stronger and faster during the offseason and making sure we put in the same amount of effort for each game is just what will need to be improved if we want another successful season.”
Girls’ Tennis grows stronger
Season record: 3-5
Results: 3rd place at Regionals
The year for the girls tennis team has strengthened the relationship between the players immensely. Junior Deavyn Carey enjoys how well the season ended this year and the bond that the girls were able to share.
“We have grown a lot as a team and have made a name for ourselves, Carey said. “The girls this year have made an effort to create a good support system and truly bond as a team.”
The team as a whole was able to grow closer and make it farther than previous years, such as senior Anna Hickock and senior Taylor Westroom took first at regionals while also qualifying them for state and the team of senior Kelsi Kirwin and senior Melisa Capan. With most of the team being seniors this year, a big responsibility is being set for the underclassmen players for leadership. Head varsity coach Kristin Niehus would like new players to come try-out for the 2013 season.
“I would love it if more students came out for tennis, Niehus said. “It is great having a smaller team so players get more individual attention, but we have beautiful courts and would love to have more girls participate in tennis.”
Niehus also has been very content with how this season went and how well the girls were able to work together as a team.
“The girls improved a lot this year with their tennis game and also did a great job working together,” Niehus said.“Tennis is sometimes thought of as an individual sport but I think our girls made it a great team atmosphere this year.”
