From the court to the pool, athletes took their best to the state competition

Girls’ Basketball

The varsity girls’ basketball team placed fourth overall at the Kansas class 6A state tournament in Wichita, March 11-14.

The Lady Cougars advanced to semi-finals after a convincing 39-26 win against Manhattan High School on March 12 in front of many Northwest Students.

“We knew from the beginning of the season we were going to have a good chance to get back to state,” shooting guard Brenni Rose said. “We took it one game at a time and got there and played well. Fourth is not exactly how we wanted to go, but being one of the best girls’ basketball teams in the state is a good feeling.”

Students took a spirit bus to Wichita to support the girls’ basketball team in the state semi-finals. The Lady Cougars lost 37-27 against the undefeated Maize High School and lost a tough third place game to Washburn Rural 50-47 to finish fourth overall.

“Out of my four years playing for Northwest, this year we were the best,” senior Brooklyn Wagler said. “I have been to state three out of my four years at Northwest and this was my first winning a game at Koch arena. That was awesome.I was incredibly proud of them this year and the hard work that was put into our season. Sure it stinks that we didn’t end the season with a win, but that doesn’t change how I felt about our 20-5 season.”

Wrestling

The wrestling team faced challenging first round matches, placing 26th at the state tournament Feb. 27.

“We had a really tough time at state,” head wrestling coach Howard Newcomb said. “We had guys who didn’t get a good draw. Five of our guys had to wrestle the state champion first. That usually doesn’t bode well for your point totals. They wrestled tough and we didn’t have very many winnable matches. guys were better than us.”

However, the team enjoyed the experience of competing against the best in the state.

Team members said they enjoyed competing at the state competition.

“The experience was great,” junior Trevor Rine said. “It’s not like any of the other tournaments throughout the year and it is a much bigger challenge than any other tournament. The biggest moment was probably after I beat my first and he threw a little temper tantrum to himself.”

Swim and Dive
The medley relay team of seniors Daniel Wood, Sam Adams, Mark Hanneman and sophomore Brandon Harrell plus the team’s only varsity diver Nathan Henderson qualified for the Feb. 20-21 state tournament .

“I swam at state last year, but this was the first time I felt like I played a real part in earning our spot at state,” Adams said. “The race seemed to fly by, but one of the biggest moments was Mark Hanneman’s leg of the race because he dropped about a second off of his best time.”

The relay team placed 19th overall and Henderson placed 12th.

“I felt very proud and relieved I made it to state,” Henderson said. “I knew this was my only chance, so I was determined to make it.”

Bowling

The girls’ bowling team qualified for the state tournament along with sophomore Colton Kinsella, who competed as an individual for the boys’ team.

“To go to state again with my team during my senior year was an awesome way to end my bowling career,” senior bowler Abbie Munson said.

The girls finished ninth and Kinsella finished in the top 70.

“I think all of us were having a rough time that day,” freshman Alaina Burris said. ”We were nervous. We took ninth and, even though that was a rough finish, it was still an experience to be able to go to state as a team.”

(Pre-game rituals)

 State Superstitions

 Many different Northwest athletes have different ways to prepare for the season.

“I went down to the ground level and did a few sprints, then I just jumped around and tried my best to get focused.” — Trevor Rine, junior

“I just thought through all my dives.” — Nathan Henderson, senior

“Mrs. Brewer gave us all hugs and we did our Cougars thing, like we usually do before every meet.” — Alaina Burris, freshman

“We always pray right before we come up for starting lineups.” — Junior Brenni Rose