Weekly Update 2008-09

 

The Week of December 8th – December 13th

 

Wrestling:  The War Eagle Wrestling team continues to deliver strong dual meet performances. Woodward Academy traveled to Alexander High School were they defeated South Forsyth 38-30 and Alexander HS 37-33. The War Eagles are now 11-4 in dual meet formats.  Later in the week the War Eagles competed in the annual South Metro Tournament at Henry County High School. Austin Gainey would be Woodward's high place winner with a 2nd place finish. Andy Khair, Scott Edleson, and Russell Schrader would place 4th. Gevork Agasarkisian would place 5th with Garrett Gainey and Nick Robertson finishing 6th overall.

 

Swimming:  The Girls and Boys Swim teams took on Paideia and Salem on Tuesday at the MLK Pool. The Girls would score a 149 to defeat both Paideia (110) and Salem (39). The Boys would score a 98 which would finish second to Paideia (118) but defeat Salem (79). Woodward Academy would win the combined score with 247 (Paideia 228, Salem 118).

 

Basketball:  The Girls and Boys Basketball teams played host to South Atlanta on Tuesday evening in a 4-AAA region match up. The Lady War Eagles would have little trouble with the Lady Hornets recording an 82-28 win. The Boys team would play hard against the #1 ranked Hornets but would fall 71-32.  Next the Girls and Boys teams traveled to Rutland to take on the Hurricanes in a Region 4-AAA match up. The Lady War Eagles would lose a heart breaker in overtime 57-56 and are now 3-2 in region play. The Boys team fell to 1-4 in region play with a 67-36 loss to the Hurricanes. Both team return to action on Dec. 19th at the Villa Rica Tournament.

Football:  The War Eagle Football team placed seven players on the 1st Team Region 4-AAA All-Region Football Team as football post-season awards were released this week.  Greg Patton (QB), Juwan Thompson (FB), Brian Hollan (OL), Henry Anderson (DE), Scott Edelson (DT), Will Arnold (OLB), and Josh Clark (S) each received 1st team honors. Delino Deshields (HB) and Davis Elliott (ILB) earned 2nd team honors and Patrick Coleman (OL), Scott D'Angelo (OL), Will Mericka (DL), Henry Carssow (DL), Ryan Dillard (DB), Will Madden (DB), and Jason Dunn (P) received Honorable Mention awards.

 

 

2008-2009 Weekly Update
August	January
September	February
October	March
November	April
December	May

 

The Week of August 18th – August 23rd

 

The Woodward Varsity Volleyball team started the season with wins over Decatur (25-22, 25-10) and Lovett (25-27, 25-19, 25-23).  Lovett (last year's A/AA state runner-up) proved to be a tough test for the War Eagles, with a tightly contested match.  Woodward was led defensively by Chanel Goldberg's 17 digs and Zoey Morton's 16 digs.  Offensively, Mariah Woodson led the attack with 21 kills.  The team continues play this week with home matches on 8/26 against Starr's Mill and Parkview.  Currently the team is ranked number one in the AAA GaSports.com preseason coaches' poll.

 

The Varsity Softball team finished the week 1-1 with a win against Berkmar and loss to Wesleyan.  The Lady War Eagles defeated Berkmar High School in 4 innings with a score of 12-1.  Woodward allowed only 7 hits and struck out 8 between the 2 pitchers, Dari Richardson and Lachlan Busby.  The Lady War Eagles lost to Wesleyan 8-1 on Thursday despite a great defensive effort.  Region play begins on Tuesday, August 26 vs. Jackson.

 

The Boys Cross Country team finished 5th overall and 3rd among A-AA-AAA schools at the JAG Invitational on Saturday. Special congratulations to Nathan Vassey for winning the race and to Andrew Lauer for his 6th place finish.  The Girls Cross Country team ran well at the Spalding Invitational on Saturday.  The course was unexpectedly difficult and tropical storm Fay made its presence known but the team ran well, placing 3rd in the AAA division and was lead by Freshman Weezie Chandler who came in 7th overall.  In the JV Race, Sophomore Kelsey Bilthouse had an impressive 6th place finish.

 

The Week of August 25th – August 30th

Cross Country:  The Boys Cross Country team finished 9th out of 22 teams (the top finishing AAA school) at the Bob Blastow Early Bird Invitational. Nathan Vassey won the race in a personal record of 15:40. Andrew Lauer, Beau Bittinger, Mathew Greer, and Henley Kibler rounded out the top 5 by all running season bests. Special congratulations to freshmen Chris Burnett and Will Leveille who broke 20:00 for the first time in their careers.

The Girls Cross Country team ran extremely well this past Saturday at the Early Bird Invitational.  Leading the Lady War Eagles was freshman Weezie Chandler who ran the 5k course in 19:56.1.  Also setting an all time personal record Saturday was junior Caitlin Culver.  The girls will next race at Westminster.

Softball:  The Lady War Eagles traveled to Jackson for their first region game of the season.  The Jackson Red Devils defeated the Lady War Eagles in 4 innings with a score of 9-1.  Earlier in the week Woodward traveled to Westminster to play the Wildcats.  After 4 perfect innings from Dari Richardson, the Lady War Eagles gave up 5 runs to Westminster.  Despite a great offensive effort from the team the Lady War Eagles fell to Westminster 5-2.

Football:  The Woodward Academy Football team traveled to The Lovett School on Friday to start the 2008 season. The War Eagles lost in a long, hard fought contest 32-21. Juwan Thompson led the War Eagles with three touchdowns and 117 yards on 16 carries.

Volleyball:  The Woodward Volleyball team had two home wins against last year's AAAA State Runner-up Starr's Mill and Parkview in straight sets.  Over the Labor Day weekend, the team traveled to Huntsville to take part in the Sherry Ammons Ironman Invitational, and had a chance to compete against top teams from Alabama and Tennessee.  The team relied on its depth as the team battled for 5th place after 8 hard fought matches.  The team finished with a 5-3 record with losses coming to Germantown, Bob Jones, and Pelham (the eventual tournament champions).  Top offensive performances came from Brianna Spruill (32 kills), Erin Keeney (31 kills), Mariah Woodson (65 kills), Zoey Morton (54 kills).  Gabi Smith led the way defensively with 42 digs.

 

The Week of September 1st – September 6th

 

Football:  The War Eagle football team were defeated by an old rival; the Westminster Wildcats by a score of 42-24 this week.  Woodward led at the half 17-14 but were riddled with several unfortunate miscues the first five minutes of the second half leading to a Westminster lead.  The War Eagles were led offensively by Juwan Thompson who had 18 rushes for 220 yards.  Defensively the War Eagles were led by DL Henry Carrsow and FS Josh Clark.

 

Volleyball:  The War Eagles faced some tough competition last week as they were beat by Wesleyan (19-25, 22-25) and Pope (15-25, 21-25).  The attack and defense never seemed to come together as the team hit a season low hitting percentage of .101.  The War Eagles look to bounce back next week in the Block Party Tournament at Lovett.  Also, congratulations to Mariah Woodson for being named to the prepvolleyball.com list of "Senior Aces."  This is a list of the top 100 seniors in the nation.  Mariah came in as the #76 "Senior Ace."

 

Softball:  The Lady War Eagle Softball team had just one game on the schedule as they played host to region foe Woodland.  Woodward Academy fell 9-1 in a game that was much closer than the score indicated.  Freshman Dari Richardson and Lachlan Busby continue to pitch well for the Lady War Eagles.

 

The Week of September 8th – September 13th

Volleyball:  The Lady War Eagles started off the week with area wins over Maynard Jackson (25-5, 25-4) and Mary Persons (25-7, 25-14).  The team collectively hit .469, and played hard throughout the night.  Over the weekend, the team competed in the Lovett Block Party, and finished with a 5-2 record for the tournament.  They opened up against a tough Milton (Ranked #5 in AAAAA) team that out-scrapped the War Eagles with a 26-24, 23-25, 10-15 victory.  The team never really was able to do much offensively as they finished with a season low .056 hitting percentage.  In the first match of pool play the team faced Westminster (top ranked team in A/AA).  The team played much better in a 28-30, 23-25 loss.  Defensively the team picked up their play with Gabi Smith leading the way with 9 digs.  Offensively the team was led by Mariah Woodson (11 kills) and Brianna Spruill (8 kills).  As well as the team played, this loss unfortunately took any hopes away of winning the tournament.  The next two pool play matches were against Lovett (won 28-26, 27-25 - ranked 3rd in A/AA) and Athens Academy (won 25-21, 25-19).  The Lady War Eagles continued their strong play in these matches, and finished out pool play strong.  In the Silver playoffs, the Lady War Eagles defeated Columbus (25-22, 25-18 - ranked 3rd in AAA), Marist (19-25, 25-19, 15-13 - ranked 1st in AAAA), and Sandy Creek (25-18, 25-19 - ranked 2nd in AAAA) to win the Silver bracket.  Although the team was disappointed with their tournament finish (9th out of 32 teams), they were very pleased with how they played.  Statistical leaders for the weekend include: Brianna Spruill (24 kills), Gabi Smith (38 digs), Lauren Hatcher (121 assists), Mariah Woodson (68 kills, .393 hitting %), Zoey Morton (52 kills, 17 digs).

Football:  The War Eagles picked up their first win of the season with a 35-6 victory over region foe Eagle's Landing. Will Madden scored three touchdowns and Juwan Thompson added two more for the War Eagles. Woodward is now 1-2 on the year and 1-0 in region play.  Also, Juwan Thompson was voted as the Under Armour High School Athlete of the Week. The junior running back for the War Eagle Football team has rushed for 100+ yards in all three Woodward's first three games including 220 yards against Westminster. Juwan will be featured on Atlanta Falcons.com along with being on the Falcons Face to Face Saturday television show.

Cross Country:  The Varsity Boys Cross Country team defeated Westminster and McIntosh at The Westminster School. Nathan Vassey was the race's overall winner. Vassey, Andrew Lauer, Beau Bittinger, Henley Kibler, and Nick Widener led the team to its victory.  The Girls team also ran well at Westminster.  The team, which came in second overall, was lead by Jennifer Rubel who won the Girls Varsity race and Weezie Chandler who came in 2nd.  On Saturday, the boys team ran in the Championship Race at the Carrollton Invitational. The team finished 15th overall and 4th among AAA schools. Nathan Vassey finished 7th overall, and Andrew Lauer, Beau Bittinger, Henley Kibler, and Nick Widener rounded out the team's top five.

Softball:  The Lady War Eagles had a busy week with three games on the schedule including 2 region games.  Woodward started off traveling to Mary Person were they lost 8-4.  A trip to Holy Innocents would result in a close 1-run loss, 7-6.  Woodward finished up the week hosting Rutland, another talented region team.  The Lady War Eagles would fall to the Hurricanes 9-2.

 

The Week of September 15th – September 20th

Softball:  The Lady War Eagles fell to the Pace Academy Lady Knights 3-4 on Monday.  Woodward managed 5 hits including Erin Owens with a double, and both Avana Story and Hilary Phillips going 2 for 3.  The remaining 3 regular season games are Spalding on Sept. 23, Southside Sept. 25, and Eagles Landing Sept. 30.

Volleyball:  The Lady War Eagles played against Chattahoochee (#3 in AAAAA) and Blessed Trinity (#4 in A/AA) on Thursday at Blessed Trinity.  The team opened up against Chattahoochee, and it appeared that the team was still a bit fatigued from the long weekend at the Block Party losing the match 24-26 and 21-25.  Offensive leaders for the match were Mariah Woodson (8 kills) and Zoey Morton (10 kills).  Defensively Erin Keeney and Molly Miller both had 2 blocks a piece.  Against Blessed Trinity, the team survived with a three set victory (17-25, 25-22, 26-24).  Offensive leaders in this match were Briana Spruill (7 kills), Mariah Woodson (8 kills), and Zoey Morton (8 kills).  Defensive leaders were Briana Spruill (3 blocks) and Mariah Woodson (4 blocks).

Competition Cheerleading:  Congratulations to the Woodward Academy Competition Cheerleading team as they captured first place at Oconee County on Saturday. The squad's next competition will be at Luella High School on Saturday, September 27th at 10:00 AM.

Football:  The War Eagle Football team was idle this week and will return to action on September 26th against South Atlanta.  The game will be played at Lakewood Stadium with a 5:30 PM kickoff.  Woodward is coming off a strong performance against Eagles Landing.  Woodward won that game 35-6 to start the region schedule off 1-0.

Cross Country:  Both the Boys and Girls Cross Country teams were idle this week.  Woodward’s next race will be at Blessed Trinity on Wednesday, September 24th. 

 

The Week of September 22nd – September 27th

Football:  The Varsity football team won on Friday by a score of 37-15 over region opponent South Atlanta at Lakewood stadium.  This now puts Woodward at the top of region 4-AAA with a 2-0 record.  The War Eagles were led by fullback Juwan Thompson who rushed for 162 yards, and halfback Delino Deshields who had 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns.  Also scoring on Friday was QB Greg Patton with 2 touchdowns and running back Marcus Polk with another.  Defensively, the War Eagles were led by DE Henry Anderson and linebackers Will Arnold and Jordan Plank.

Cross Country:  The Boys Cross Country team defeated Blessed Trinity this week by placing its top 10 runners in the top 18 overall. Nathan Vassey, Beau Bittinger, and Henley Kibler finished 1-3 to lead the team to victory. The team next runs at McIntosh Nature Preserve in the Asics/Alexander Invitational.  The Girls Cross Country team ran well at Blessed Trinity.  The team was led by Haley Smith who won the race in her first appearance of the season.  Other scoring runners were Jennifer Rubel, Weezie Chandler, Emily Poole, and Joanna Parkman.  The Varsity Girls scored 18 points only 3 shy of a perfect score.  Also running her best race of the season was Caroline White who placed 2nd in the JV race and was the 6th fastest runner for Woodward on the day.

Competition Cheerleading:  Woodward Academy's Competition Cheerleading team competed at Luella High School over the weekend. The Lady War Eagles would capture 2nd place overall. The Lady War Eagles next competition is scheduled for October 11th at Peachtree Ridge.

Volleyball:  The War Eagles improved their area record to 4-0 with wins over Woodland (25-9, 25-22) and Jackson (25-7, 25-11).  Woodland's team was coached by Gerri Wright, a former Woodward volleyball alumnus.  Her team gave the War Eagles a bit of a scare as the team edged out Woodland 25-22 in the second set.  Leaders for these area matches were Alexis Phillips (7 kills), Briana Spruill (7 kills, 7 aces), Zoey Morton (18 kills), Gabi Smith (4 aces), and Kelsey Eastman (6 aces).  On Thursday the Varsity, JV, and 9th grade team traveled to Marist for a match up at all three levels.  The under card of the Marist and Woodward match up ended in a draw as the 9th grade team beat Marist in 2 sets, while the JV lost in three sets.  After these matches the varsity team lost to Marist in 5 tough sets (25-17, 12-25, 25-20, 21-25, 13-15).  The team was led by Gabi Smith's great passing and defense, and Lauren Hatcher distributed the ball well with 43 assists.  Although it was a disappointing loss, it should be a match that helps the team in the playoffs when all matches are best 3 out of 5.

Softball:  The Lady War Eagle Softball split a pair of games this week.  Woodward fell to Spalding High School 12-0 but rebound later in the week to defeat Maynard Jackson 12-2.  Woodward has just one game remaining on the regular season schedule as they play host to Eagle’s Landing on Tuesday, September 30.

 

The Week of September 29th – October 4th

 

Cross Country:  The Girls Cross Country team had their best race of the season on Saturday.  The team was led by Haley Smith who placed 11th overall in the Varsity Girls race in a time of 19:33 followed up closely by Weezie Chandler and Jennifer Rubel.  Running very strongly in the JV race was Wight Murphy who lowered her own personal record by nearly two and a half minutes.  Overall 70% of the Girls team ran an all time personal best time on Saturday.  Running with a freshmen and sophomore dominated lineup because of the SAT, the Boys Cross Country team finished 19th at the Asics/Alexander Invitational. The youthful line-up turned in 13 personal best times. Special congratulations to Desi Johnson, Tommy Ellis, Cary Brown, and Michael Levy for breaking the 20:00 barrier.

 

Football:  The War Eagle Football team played their first home game of the season on Friday picking up a 34-7 win over Spalding High School. RB Delino Deshields rushed for two touchdowns and QB Greg Patton rushed for one and threw for another as Woodward Academy improved to 3-0 in Region 4-AAA.

 

Volleyball:  The Varsity Volleyball team played host to two of the top teams in the state on Thursday evening. The Lady War Eagles played #2 ranked Wesleyan in a close 3 set match losing 2-1. Woodward then played #3 ranked Columbus falling two games to none. The Lady War Eagles are now 21-11 overall.

 

Softball:  The Varsity Softball team picked up their 2nd straight win on Tuesday as they defeated region foe Eagle's Landing 14-10.  The win puts the Lady War Eagles in the Region 4-AAA tournament which will start on October 6th at Jackson, GA.

 

The Week of October 6th – October 11th

Football:  The War Eagle Football team had little trouble this week as they defeated Maynard Jackson High School 56-6. Delino Deshields scored a pair of touchdowns and Elliott Davis returned an interception for a touchdown as Woodward improved to 4-2 overall and a perfect 4-0 in region play.  Next Woodward will play host to Rutland as Woodward Academy celebrates Homecoming.

Volleyball:  The Woodward Academy Volleyball team played their final home match of the regular season on Tuesday. The Lady War Eagles celebrated Senior Night by defeating Whitewater 2-0 and McIntosh 2-1 to improve to 23-11 overall on the season.  Seniors Alexis Phillips, Lauren Hatcher, Gabi Smith, Mariah Woodson, Chanel Goldberg and Erin Keeney hope to the lead Woodward Academy to another State Championship.

Woodward also traveled to Tampa, FL over the weekend for the Tampa Prep Tournament featuring some of the top teams in the Southeast.  Woodward would finish the weekend with a 3-2 overall record defeating Northlake Christian, LA, Spanish River, FL, and Lakeland, FL.

Cross Country:  Nathan Vassey finished 16th overall in the Great American Cross Country Festival's Race of Champions in Birmingham, AL. His time of 16:38 made him the top sophomore in the race. Competing against teams from throughout the southeast, the boys team finished 15th in the Invitational race. Andrew Lauer and Mathew Greer ran excellent races to pace the boys to their finish.

Softball:  The Woodward Academy Softball team was eliminated from the Region 4-AAA Tournament this week. In game one, the Lady War Eagles played one of the most exciting, well played games of the year against Mary Persons before losing 4-3 in the international tie-breaker. Woodward would then fall to Spalding in the loser’s bracket 2-0 to end their season.

 

The Week of October 13th – October 18th

 

Volleyball:  The Lady War Eagles ended their regular season with a huge win over Westminster.  Westminster entered the contest with a record of 33-1, with their only loss to an out of state team.  The War Eagles jumped ahead in the first set, and cruised to a 25-14 victory.  Sets two and three were hard fought battles that went Woodward's way with scores of 25-23 and 31-29.  Mariah Woodson (17 kills), Zoey Morton (13 kills), Chanel Goldberg (5 aces), and Gabi Smith (16 digs) led the way for this huge victory.

 

Over the weekend the Lady War Eagles won the Area 4-AAA tournament by beating Mary Person (twice) and Eagles Landing.  Lauren Hatcher, Zoey Morton, Gabi Smith, Briana Spruill, and Mariah Woodson were named to the all-area 1st team.  In addition Gabi Smith was named the Area 4-AAA Player of the Year. 

 

Cheerleading:  The Competition Cheerleaders competed at Loganville High School this weekend placing third overall.  The next competition for Woodward Academy will be the region invitational were the top four teams will qualify for the State Competition.

 

Football:  Woodward Academy celebrated Homecoming in grand fashion on Friday as the War Eagles defeated Rutland 52-18. The win guarantees Woodward a spot in the AAA State Playoffs. Delino Deshields helped lead the offense with three touchdowns on the evening as Woodward Academy moved to 5-0 in Region 4-AAA.

 

Cross Country:  The Girls Cross Country team ran their best team race of the season during the week at Athens Academy.  The top 5 finishers for the Lady War Eagles were Weezie Chandler, (2nd overall), followed by Jennifer Rubel, Joanna Parkman, Emily Poole, and Elle Behr.  The Girls placed 1st out of 12 teams defeating state ranked Oconee County by a score of 29-58.  The JV girls, led by Karen Wilmer, scored a perfect 15 to win as well.  Also competing at Athens Academy, the Boys team finished 2nd out of 12 teams. Nathan Vassey won the overall race while Andrew Lauer finished 4th overall.  Both teams will run in the Last Chance Invitational before beginning preparations for the Region Championships on October 30th.

 

The Week of October 20th – October 25th

 

Football:  The War Eagle Football team took another step towards a shot at the Region 4-AAA title on Friday as they defeated Mary Person 28-9. Woodward was lead by Juwan Thompson's 203 yards rushing and a stingy defense. Woodward Academy is now 6-0 in Region 4-AAA and will take on Jackson (6-0) on October 31st for the region title.

 

Volleyball:  The Varsity Volleyball went through their Sectional Tournament with a perfect record as they advanced to the State AAA Final Four. Woodward defeated West Lauren 3-0 and Lafayette 3-0 in their first two rounds. Woodward then faced Columbus, one of the top teams in the state, in the Sectional final. Woodward would jump out to an early lead and never looked back, winning the best of five match 3-0. The Lady War Eagles will play Oconee County in the AAA State Semi-Finals on Thursday, October 30th at 5:00 PM at Marist.

 

Cross Country:  The Girls Cross Country team ran placed 6th out of 17 teams in the AAAAA varsity race at the Last Chance Invitational in Carrollton on Saturday. Woodward Academy was led by freshmen Weezie Chandler and Haley Smith who came in 4th and 8th overall against teams from the AAAAA classification. Also running in the AAAAA Race the Boys Cross Country team finished 10th at Carrollton. Nathan Vassey finished 2nd overall, and Mathew Greer established a new personal record to finish 2nd for the team. Both teams compete in the Region Meet on Thursday at Nash Farm Battlefield.

 

The Week of October 27th – November 1st

 

Volleyball:  Woodward Academy's Varsity Volleyball team captured yet another State Championship on Saturday at Marietta High School. The Lady War Eagles defeated St.Pius (25-10, 25-17, 25-19) to take home the AAA State title. This is Woodward Academy's sixth volleyball state championship in the last eight years.  Woodward Academy won Volleyball State Championships in AAAA for five straight years from 2001 to 2005 to go along with this year’s AAA title.

 

Cross Country:  The Girls Cross Country team won the Region 4-AAA Championship in impressive fashion this week. The varsity squad of Weezie Chandler, Haley Smith, Jennifer Rubel, Emily Poole, Joanna Parkman, Caroline White, and Kelsey Bilthouse dominated the field with 25 points (15 being a perfect score), defeating 2nd place Eagles landing by over 30 points.  The Boys Cross Country team finished 2nd in the 4-AAA Region Championships at Nash Farm Battlefield. Nathan Vassey won his 2nd Region Championship in a course record 16:16, and Andrew Lauer finished 4th to earn first team, all-region honors. Mathew Greer in 11th, Julian Knight in 13th, and Beau Bittinger in 14th completed the team's top five. Both teams will now compete in the State Championship Saturday, Nov. 8th at Carrollton.

 

Cheerleading:  Woodward Academy's Competition Cheerleading team captured 2nd place at the Region Championships over the weekend. The Lady War Eagles will now advance to the State Sectional competition on Friday, Nov. 7th in Columbus, GA.

 

Football:  The War Eagle Football team lost a heart breaker to Jackson High School this week, 14-7. With the score tied at 7-7, Jackson scored on a fake punt with two minutes remaining to take the lead and capture the region title. Woodward Academy is now 6-1 in the region and will play Woodland next week for home field in the first round of the playoffs.

 

The Week of November 3rd – November 8th

 

Football:  The War Eagle Football team put an exclamation point on the end of the regular season with a 41-0 victory over Woodland High School. Juwan Thompson had 123 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns and the defense scored two touchdowns as Woodward Academy (7-3) recorded their first shutout of the season. With the win Woodward Academy secured home field advantage for the first round of the state AAA playoffs.  Woodward finishes as the second place team in Region 4-AAA with a record of 7-1 and will now play Washington County in the playoffs.

 

Volleyball:  The Woodward Academy Volleyball team has followed up there AAA State Championship by dominating the postseason awards. Gabi Smith was named the AAA State Player of the Year and Coach Tad Sahara was named the AAA State Coach of the Year. Gabi and Mariah Woodson were also named to the All-State team as well as the All-Star Game.

 

Cheerleading:  Woodward Academy's Competition Cheerleading team finished in the top 8 in the State Sectional last Friday qualifying them for the State Finals on Saturday. Competing against 16 of the state's best teams, Woodward would finish 8th overall. Congratulations to the Lady War Eagles on an exceptional season!

 

Cross Country:  The Girls Cross Country team ended their season on a high note Saturday by placing 3rd in the AAA State Championship Meet.  The team of Weezie Chandler, Haley Smith, Jennifer Rubel, Joanna Parkman, Emily Poole, Ellie Behr, and Caroline White ran a strong team race beating teams with individual stars with their overall depth.  The girls went from being unranked in the state just five weeks ago to a region championship and a podium spot at the state championship.  This was the result of hard work and dedication by everyone on the team, not just those who ran.  Congratulations on a fine end to a great season. The Boys Cross Country Team finished 9th in the AAA State Championship at Carrollton. Nathan Vassey finished as State Runner-Up with a course best time of 15:53. Andrew Lauer was the team's second finisher with a course best time of 16:55. Mathew Greer, Beau Bittinger, Julian Knight, Chris Burnett, and Henley Kibler, the team's remaining runners, also ran course best times. Congratulations to all of these athletes for their success this season.

 

The Week of November 10th – November 15th

 

Football:  The War Eagle Football team advanced to the second round of the AAA State Playoffs with a 21-7 win over Washington County on Friday. Woodward Academy recorded 229 yards rushing and used to a physical defense to beat the #8 ranked Golden Hawks. Woodward will now play Carver-Columbus in Columbus on Friday, November 21st at 7:30 PM.  Woodward last advanced to the 2nd round in 2003.

 

Swimming:  The Varsity Boys and Girls Swimming team opened up their regular season schedule this week.  Both teams competed in the Wildcat Invitation at the Steve Lundquist Aquatic Center.  The Boys team qualified seven swimmers for the state meet in their first meet.  Jay Turner, Sid Akkineni, Hunter Wyatt, Ivan Duralde, Stephen Waller, Grant Moody and Nyle Rado all qualified for the state meet in February as the Boys squad finished 2nd overall.  The Girls team also would finish 2nd overall.  Both teams were competing against an 18 team field.

 

Winter Preview

Wrestling:  The Woodward Academy Wrestling team only graduated two seniors from last season region championship team. That being said, Tommy Carney (2X Champ) and Doug Taylor (2X placer) will be hard to replace. The War Eagles look to seniors Austin Gainey (2X Area Champ), Russell Schrader, and Scott Edelson to lead this year's senior class. Also playing a big part in Woodward's success this year will be a talented group of sophomores to include: Andy Khair, Garrett Gainey, Dean Burns, and Nick Robertson. Balance will be a huge part in whether or not Woodward can crack the top 10 again, this time in AAA where the field is extremely tough. The early schedule does not favor the War Eagles, but if they can survive the storm, they may make some noise come January and February.

 

Swimming/Diving:  The 07-08 season for the Woodward Varsity Girls’ Swim team brought with it a plethora of noteworthy accomplishments and record-breaking showdowns.   A 7-2 record and an impressive 6th place finish at the state meet signified one of the strongest seasons in a long time.  The team bid a sad farewell to a very strong group of senior girls, but the loss was made easier with the promise of new talent coming up through the ranks in the Middle School.  Additionally, returning swimmers Olivia Boggs, Chelsea Korski, Julie Chambers, Sami Sater, and Christina Sabol, who swam in the state meet last year, are back and ready for repeat performances and the goal of bettering recent and long-held records.  Each year has improved on the strengths of previous year, so the goals and expectations are big for the 08-09 season!  The Boys Swim team returns several key swimmers from last years team that finished 15th at the State Meet.  Seniors Stephen Waller and Grant Moody, junior Ivan Duralde and Josh Roche and Sophomore Ernest Cain will be counted on to lead a large group of young but talented swimmers.

 

Basketball: The Woodward Girls Basketball team will look for their 18th consecutive trip to the State Tournament as they return several starters and key players.  Seniors Elan Brown, Janae Davis, Ashley Pritchett and Olivia Watkins will lead the Lady War Eagles.  Elan Brown averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds a game while Ashley Pritchett averaged 7 points and 4 assists per game, both are four year starters.  Sophomore Kristi Ware, who started as a freshman, averaged 8 points per game and looks to be a key contributor in 2008-09.  The Woodward Boys Basketball Team is very excited as it looks to gain a fresh start in a new region 4AAA and a new Head Coach in Anthony Thomas.  After losing six seniors to graduation including three starters, the War Eagles will count on talented underclassmen to fill the gaps. A large part of the team’s success will depend on their ability to buy into a new system and create enough chemistry to become a consistent factor in region and state play. Team Chemistry begins with competitive play and attention to details which are principles the War Eagles will implement throughout the upcoming season.

 

The Week of December 1st – December 6th

 

Swimming:  The Lady Eagles' Swim Team travelled up to North Georgia and came home overwhelming victors against the Dalton Catamounts last Friday evening improving their record to 3-0.  Woodward captured first in every event except for the 100 backstroke and 200 medley relay.  A number of personal records and individual swims were achieved and several more state qualifiers were added to the list.  Sydney Currenti captured first in both the 500 free and 100 fly and is getting closer and closer to her state cuts.  Olivia Boggs also took first in her two events: the 100 breast and 200 IM, shaving drastic time in the 200 IM and once again shattering another school record.  Haley Smith posted two state qualifying times in the both the 200 IM and 100 breast, and Lee Behr achieved her long awaited state cut in the 50 free while taking first at the same time.  Chelsea Korski rounded out the firsts for the evening in the two events, which she has already qualified in, the 100 free and 200 free and also achieved season best times in both.  Recognition must be given to Christina Sabol and Elizabeth Dupre for their bittersweet season bests which bring them within tenths of a second from qualifying for state as well.

 

Basketball:  The War Eagles split a pair of contests over the weekend losing 53-39 to Spalding High before rebounding for a 53-43 victory over Maynard Jackson High School.  John Brogdon and Justin Hollimon led Woodward Academy in Friday's defeat with 9 pts each. Brogdon, a senior also led the way with 8 rebounds. Seniors led the way in Saturday's victory over Maynard Jackson as well as Manny Major and John Brodgon led the way with 10 pts each. Brogdon shared rebounding honors with Damon Waller with 8 rebounds.  The Girls Basketball team also split two contests losing to Spalding 57-50 and defeating Maynard Jackson 44-34.  The Lady War Eagles are 4-2 overall.  Statistical leaders for the Girls team include Elan Brown with 13.5 ppg and 10.8 rebounds per game, Kristi Ware with 12.8 ppg and 2.9 steals per game, Janae Davis 7.0 ppg and 6.7 rebounds per game and Ashley Pritchett with 6.5 ppg and 3.8 assist per game.

Wrestling:  The War Eagle Wrestling team traveled to South Carolina to compete in the Southside Duals as well as the two-day Southern Slam Tourney.  Woodward Academy would go undefeated at the Southside Duals defeating Blue Ridge (68-6), Daniel (76-6), Crescent (48-20) and Liberty (51-12).  At the 2-day Southern Slam in Greenville, SC Woodward would place 8th overall with Andy Khair the top place winner finishing 4th.  Garrett Gainey, Russell Schrader, Austin Gainey, and Scott Edelson placed 5th and Kevin Cosper placed 7th.

 

Page last updated: 12/15/08