Spring Sports

 

By Robby Stevenson and Jakob Bischoff

 

Student athletes have been trying their hardest this Spring. Whether it be baseball and softball or track and swimming everyone is giving it their all. The seasons aren’t over yet and every team still has a chance to make a name for themselves.

Baseball has a record of 10-8 overall and is 4-3 in league. Carlos Pena is leading the team in batting average with a very respectable .347. Manny Martinez has received five wins on the mound. JV baseball is 3 and 5. Catlin Mcmains is their main pitcher. Niko Bursiaga is playing catcher and doing very well at hitting. The team is made up of primarily freshmen, but all are hardworking and determined to win.

The softball team continues to work hard, they are currently 1-15. The leading hitters, Callie Vincent and Pria Bun have accomplished the same goal; they are both home run hitters. J.V. softball is 3-4 in league, which is giving the program some hope for the future.

Swimming is second in league and they have two valley qualifiers. Mason Smith and Lauren Little have both qualified for Valley that will be held on May 12. Mason is going to Valley to compete in two events:  the 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle, while Lauren is going for 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.

 

We Are Limitless!

By Jocelyn Sanchez and Charlotte Lira

 

This year, Woodlake FFA took 25 FFA students to the 89th Annual State Leadership Conference. The conference is a four day leadership convention with over 7 thousand FFA members in attendance from all across California. Here the FFA members come together to better their leadership skills and build great memories and friendships that last forever throughout their chapters. The Monday night concert was hosted by country star, Brent Young. Young did an outstanding performance for the 7,000 members that attended the conference. At this event our National officers held workshops that expanded comfort zones, and the various workshops consisted from welding to learning how to swing dance. The students also got the opportunity to explore the Fresno State campus.
Woodlake High School State award recipients were recognized on stage for their great accomplishments. Pia Martinez went on stage to represent Woodlake FFA  for receiving Gold National Chapter, Mrs.Pena went on stage as a San Joaquin Regional Star Counselor. There were also competition teams: Ag Computers received first high in state, with having the top four individuals representing Woodlake. Also Ag Marketing received third high at the Fresno field day competition. We also had two students in the State FFA Band, Jimi Ledesma and Rogelio Chavez. Crystal Sandoval also represented Woodlake FFA in the state choir. Gary Spivey participated in the state talent with is outstanding yo-yo tricks. California FFA was able to give  members limitless opportunities within the four days!

 

NBA Playoffs

By: Adin Ross and John Poo
The NBA Playoffs are officially here, and you should be very excited! This year’s Western Conference consists of the Warriors, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Jazz, Rockets, Thunder, Spurs, and the Grizzlies. The Eastern Conference consists of the Celtics, Bulls, Wizards, Hawks, Raptors, Bucks, Cavs, and the Pacers. All of these teams have worked very hard to get where they are right now, they put their blood, sweat, and tears into every game. It takes an enormous amount of dedication and shows how dedicated these players really want it. Some series to watch out for, The 8th seed Bulls are currently ahead of the 1st seed Celtics. Chicago with a 2-0 lead, definitely has a major cushion, the 8th seed has never been up 2-0 except one time, in 1993, the 8th seed, Lakers, were ahead of the 1st seed Suns by 2-0. But with playoffs you never know because the Suns ended up coming back from the 2-0 deficit and winning the series. Another important series is the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook, one of the most athletic, destructive, aggressive point guards of all time is going against James Harden, one of the most sharpshooting, relentless, explosive guards of all time. They are currently racing for MVP and we will have to see who really deserves it on June 26, the awards ceremony. The NBA Playoffs is one of the most unpredictable experience because so many times, teams have come back from large leads. Last year, the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. That was by far the biggest upset of all time, and it just shows that if you work hard for something, put your heart in, strive for your team to win, then great results will show.

NBA All-Star Weekend

By Jakob Bischoff

This years Oscars were full of drama, happiness, and lots of records. They were hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, who hosts a late night talk show, who in many people’s opinion did an amazing job. It was held in Dolby Theatre in Hollywood California. It was watched by over two-hundred  million people. The big winners of the night were Moonlight and La La Land.

Moonlight, a movie about a young man growing up in a rough neighborhood, won two awards including best picture, which is considered one of the if not the most important award. The movie La La Land, which is about a jazz musician who falls in love with an actress won six awards. These included best actress (Emma Stone), best directing, and best music. Zootopia, a Disney movie, won best animated movie.

La La Land was ironically the biggest winner and loser of the ceremony. During the announcement of best picture the envelopes that hold the winners got mixed up. This caused the host to say that La La Land had won best picture, when in reality moonlight had won. All of the actors and directors from La La Land came to the stage with big smiles on their faces thinking that they had just won one of the most important categories. This all changed quickly when the host, Jimmy Kimmel, start telling the cast members that there had been a mistake. This all ended with a member of La La Land’s cast stepping up and announcing that Moonlight was the real winner of best picture. In the end the members of La La Land all congratulated the members of Moonlight and everything seemed relatively normal again. Many people on twitter called this whole ordeal a publicity act.

All in all this year’s Oscars were extremely entertaining. Whether it was because of the entertaining host or the fact that the drama made it a bit more exciting to watch,  most people are saying that this year’s oscars were a huge success.

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Hee-Haw Game Time

By Alyssa Baker

For those who are unfamiliar, Donkey Basketball is an annual FFA basketball game that takes place every year. The amazing AG teachers, run a presale of tickets before the day of the game, and the top sellers get to ride donkeys. On Thursday, February 23, 2017, Woodlake FFA vs Exeter FFA had their annual donkey basketball game, taking the win at 8 to 7. The game was intense and fun. The whole night was filled with laughter and cheers as Woodlake took home the win! The game was almost sold out of tickets, and everyone enjoyed the game. Congratulations to our riders on the amazing game!

During halftime of the game, our FFA Sweetheart was crowned by last years queen, Kiara Benavides! Congratulations to Reanna Munoz for winning the crown for FFA Sweetheart last Thursday night. Good Job to the other competitors; Callie Vincent, Pia Martinez, and Edith Guijon.

Super Bowl 51

By: Dylan Mills

 

Super Bowl 51 was a banger! This game was played by the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. This year’s game was action packed and included the first ever overtime in Super Bowl history. In the first quarter, the game started off very slow  with each team scoring a whopping zero points. The second quarter, on the other hand, was very interesting. The Falcons put up 21 points on the board, leaving the Patriots down 21-3. Going into halftime, the Patriots were down by 18 points.

 

Lady Gaga takes over the stage and gives a spectacular halftime show.

 

The Patriots dug themselves into a huge hole. In the start of the third quarter, the patriots score a quick field goal, and then another later in the quarter. The fourth quarter is where it all happened. Tom Brady and the patriots are down by 19. They get two touchdowns and two, two point conversions tying the game. The Falcons score 0 once again giving the Patriots a chance to come back in the first ever Super Bowl overtime! The Patriots are praying that they win the overtime coin toss. They manage to win it and drive down the field for a come back. This is an unforgettable Super Bowl and is one of the most intense games in NFL history.

    

 

Rallied Up for Wrestling

This past winter rally was a success! This 2017 rally was to recognize Winter Sports: both girls and boys basketball, soccer, and wrestling. Speaking of wrestling…during the successful rally, students watched a match between Mr. Gibson, a prior UFC fighter, and Will Theis, a high school wrestler. After the match, both the fighters were interviewed about the intense match.

Will Theis Interview:

How was your feeling before the match?

Will: I felt a lot of butterflies in my stomach knowing that I’m going to wrestle against a previous UFC fighter and not knowing the outcome.

During the match did your feelings change?

Will: I was constantly thinking, I’m going to beat this guy.

How did you feel after the big win?

Will: I surprisingly didn’t feel anything but had pride that I beat a UFC fighter.

Awesome, congratulations on the win!

Mr. Gibson Interview:

How did you feel before the big match?

Gibson: I was confident, I thought I would put Will away pretty easy.

During the match, what were your thoughts and feelings?

Gibson: Things were going smooth in the beginning but the next thing I knew I was spinning in the air, and soon after, Will pinned me.

After the loss how did you feel?

Gibson: I felt like my pride was hurt and I was pretty embarrassed.

Well I’m sorry for the loss Mr. Gibson, but you’ll get him next time!

 

So, turns out, the Woodlake Tigers are much stronger than what they seem! Our 2017 rally was a success and turned out to be very entertaining! Good luck to the rest of the winter sports season and let the new spring sports have a blast and work hard!

 

 

Springin’ Into the Season

By: Julian Duran

      Winter, in all its essence, was a beautiful season with its fires, snow, and hot cocoa, but something new is right around the corner; Spring. Spring brings blooming flowers, the buzz of the bees, and the freshest air around. It also brings with it the Spring sports season. With Baseball, Softball, Swimming, Track, Golf and Tennis going on, it’s quite rare to find a student not involved. Athletes all come together to perfect that throw, hit the ball just right, or obtain the horrific swimmer’s tan. At Woodlake High, Spring sports have begun with games already coming their way. The swim team started swimming in January, and the team has accumulated over 20 eager swimmers in the pool. Baseball and softball both show a variety of skill levels between experts and beginners. Baseball has already taken a tough loss; however, the boys say they plan on working hard and showing their tiger stripes in the near future. Tennis has not had any matches as of today, but they have about 5 boys out there who are ready to make that backhand look perfecto! Track is always one of Woodlake’s strong suits, and although they have just begun the season, many are excited to see them bring home the gold!  Golf has its first match on Thursday, March 2nd, so best of luck to the traveling golfers. The season has only started, and yet one can already see the future outcomes based on the athletes’ high spirits and love for the sport.

Winter Sports Recap

Jordan Price & Misty Stevenson

 

 

Over Winter Break, some students slept all day and watched Netflix, others were doing homework, meanwhile our Tiger athletes were showing off their Tiger Pride as they competed in tournaments. First, the Boy’s Varsity Soccer team played two games. In these two games they went 1-1-0 beating Crauthers and tying Parlier. Sadly, the Boy’s JV took the L in both of their games. They came close with a score of 1-0 versus Parlier, and 2-0 versus Crauthers; however, we wish them luck on their upcoming games.  Even though the boys lost and won some, the Girl’s Varsity soccer team lost 4-0 against Exeter. The Girl’s JV team also was taken down by a score of 1-0, but came back and tied Parlier 0-0. Overall we didn’t win too many, but we are coming back strong and racing to take the league title and show our Tiger Pride once again!

During the course of Winter Break, both girls and boys Basketball teams had games. The boys varsity team went 1-3 in the Frank Ainley classic, which was hosted by Woodlake over winter break. They now have an overall record of 4-17 with a league record of 0-4. The boys JV team is 0-2 with a league record of 1-3. The frosh team is 1-0.

The boys basketball program is off to a rough start, but our hopes are still high. Let’s support our Tigers as they play again in the upcoming weeks.

On the other hand, girls basketball season had a slightly better start than the others. They are 5-11 overall and 0-3 in league. They went 3-1 throughout their tournament and had a great time playing. The JV girls basketball  team is 0-1 overall.ling tea

The wrestling team may be small but they are mighty! The have a league record of 3-1 and will strive to take the league championship.

The team’s may have had a rocky start, but the season is just starting! Woodlake Tiger’s are ready for a challenge so let’s go hard!

Havin a Ball’

By Julian Duran 

One of Woodlake High’s strongest aspects has always been their athletics. This fall sports season, Woodlake High showed flying colors through their girls tennis and volleyball teams. After losing league by a couple of hard fought battles with a record of 7-3, Tiger volleyball team redeemed themselves by advancing further into playoffs than most expected. The girls lost in quarterfinals to Yosemite High School, but managed to  capture a victory over Sunnyside High School with a score of 3-1, in the first round. When watching the Lady Tigers play, it was inspiring to see them leave it all on the court. Girls tennis team also did exceptionally well during this season. After many of the girls advanced through playoffs, Katie Pfaff, a junior, progressed even further by qualifying for valley finals. After a long season, Katie finished second in the valley and brought home many victories.

Jocelyn Sanchez

Q: What is your most memorable moment from the 2016 season?

A: “When Genesis Gonzalez and I dropped a sno cone on an elderly lady while attempting to cheer.”

Q: What characteristic of your team would you say is the strongest?

A: “The bond between all of us girls. Throughout the season we have had some falling outs, but after it all, we have formed a sort of sisterhood. It really helped our skillforce on the court.”

Katie Pfaff

Q: How did your love for tennis surface?

A: “I’ve loved tennis ever since I was really little when my parents would take my brother and me out to the courts and play with us. I haven’t stopped playing or loving the game ever since!”

Q: What is your most memorable moment from the 2016 season?

A: “The entire season has been full of amazing memories but one of my favorites has to be showing up to practice on a rainy day when there were only five of us left, and Judson tells us all to get in his minivan for a ‘team meeting’, so we sat in there and laughed until the rain passed.”

Q: Describe your experience of making it all the way to valley. How did you feel afterwards?

A: “Making it to Valley was an amazing feeling! I didn’t expect to qualify, so I played without fear in my qualifying match, and it worked! I was so overwhelmed when I made it. I was overjoyed and I could tell Judson was as well, because nobody from Woodlake has made it to valley for tennis in several years. When I went to valley, I got an unfortunate draw in the bracket, so I played the defending champion and was beat easily, but it was an amazing experience. I cannot wait until next year! I was very happy and proud to represent Woodlake at such an impressive level of tennis.”