The seconds ticked away. As SM North quarterback Kyle Goodburn was wrapped up by NW defensive end Justin Walston, he threw the ball up in a desperation play. Junior linebacker Tyler Gilliam picked it off and ran it back until he was tackled. The game was over.

This was the last game for the seniors, including linebacker/running back John Hauk. For Hauk, it was bittersweet. Bitter because it was his last game, and sweet because it was a win and everyone did well. Hauk had rushed for 222 yards, had two touchdowns and had seven tackles.

“I didn’t want [the season] to end like that,” Hauk said, of the disappointing loss to SM East.

Hauk had to play running back all year because senior Trey Jacobson was injured. Last year, Hauk usually played linebacker and his offensive position was fullback, so he wasn’t used to carrying the workload for the offense.
“It was a lot different [than tailback],” Hauk said. “It was a lot of fun though.”

Hauk plans to attend Fort Scott University to play football. He plans to continue as a linebacker at the next level.

A.J. Spencer’s triple-double

The gymnasium was tense. As Northwest fans waited in anticipation for their basketball team to run back onto the court, junior forward A.J. Spencer took some last-minute lay-ups before game time. This was Spencer’s third year on varsity basketball, and he was hoping for another successful year.

To start the season off on the right foot, the Cougars needed to get past rival SM North. They did just that with the help of a triple-double from Spencer.

“It was the first game of the year, and I had the jitters,” Spencer said. “It was a good way to start off the year.”

Spencer had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists en route to a 75-48 victory against the rival Indians.

“I didn’t know I had [a triple-double] until I checked the box score. It felt good,” Spencer said.

The victory helped the team start the season strong on their way to a 13-7 record.

In the middle of Feb., the gym was filled to the brim with fans hoping to see a victory on senior night. Led by senior Nino Williams, the Leavenworth Pioneers were nearing the end of their season, and one of their last obstacles was the Cougars. With one of the biggest crowds of the year, the main auditorium boomed as the game began.

The game was predicted to be an even match-up. The Pioneers were considered the better team on paper, but the Cougars had the crowd and momentum of senior night. Out of the gate, Northwest began a relentless attack on the basket. The Cougars shut down every offensive weapon Leavenworth threw at them, going into the locker room leading by double digits.

As the second half progressed, Williams began to get into foul trouble and grew more frustrated with each tick of the clock. When junior A.J. Spencer threw down a rim-rattling dunk over a Leavenworth defender, the game was all but over. The Cougars won with a score of 59-42, and the fans left pleased on senior night

Boys’ soccer against Olathe South in the state quarterfinals

Going into the state quarterfinals, the Cougars knew they were in for a battle against Olathe South.

“They beat us twice earlier in the year. I mean, we knew they were pretty good, but we were on a roll. We had really pulled together as a team,” senior Sam McCrillis said.

The Falcons were the only team that had defeated the Cougars twice already in the season. The first loss came during the Olathe East Invitational, and the second came late in part the regular season. The Falcons were also the reigning state champions.

The game was played at ODAC but seemed like a home game for the Cougars. The NW faithful came out in huge numbers to show support.

“It was a tough game. I think the most exciting part of the actual game was the final whistle. Everybody went crazy, and we had a ton of fans there to help,” senior Jon Kankam said.

The Cougar defense held strong at the end of the game against numerous Falcon attacks. But, after all the mayhem, the Cougars came out on top, winning 2-1.

“I definitely want to compete at the post-collegiate level, you know, like Worlds (World Championships). If the Olympics are an option, then I would definitely want to try-out.”

At a competition April 9, Brand winds up to throw the discus.

There are very few high school athletes in the entire country who utter the words “compete” and “Olympics” in the same sentence. One of those few athletes happens to be a NW student.

Erica Brand, a three-sport varsity athlete, was a state champion last year in the discus and placed second in the shot put. She was named to the 2007 and 2009 All-metro track and field teams and was a state finalist in 2007 and 2008.

Brand’s award recognition does not stop at the state or regional levels. She is also a two-time AAU Junior Olympic champion in the discus, and she has placed second and first at the USATF Junior Olympics in the discus. Last year she travelled to Bressanone, Italy to represent the USA at the IAAF World Youth Championships, where she placed 14th.

Brand said her passion for the sport started the summer before sixth grade.

“I actually started throwing because one of my neighbor’s parents were former throwers, so when they wanted to get their daughter started into throwing, they just kind of invited me along,” Brand said.

The neighbor turned out to be SM South thrower Alix Richards, who is the same age as Brand, and took a close second to Brand at the Kansas State Championships last spring.

Yet, surprisingly, Brand has managed to keep a reasonably low profile, most likely because she possesses a sense of quiet humility that great athletes seldom have.

Brand admires her toss at a practice.

“She holds all of the NW records in the discus and shot-put, and she is likely to break the Kansas state record this year in the discus. But you wouldn’t know it if you talked to her,” senior thrower Kent Hollingsworth said of Brand.

“Erica is a quiet leader. She leads with her actions, not with her words,” said NW throwing coach Jessica Barger.

Few high-school athletes that have signed letters of intent to Division 1 level schools such as Duke, where Brand is headed next fall, can discuss their own successes in such a low-key manner.

“I am very excited to go to Duke and compete for them. It was kind of weird, the recruiting process I had with them [Duke], though. They had contacted me a long time ago, but then their coach left and he took all of his recruiting stuff. So that left the new coach kind of in the dark as far as recruiting goes. I didn’t hear back from him again until last year,” Brand said.

The new Duke coach, B.J. Linnenbrink, is from Lee’s Summit, which may have helped him establish a connection to the KC metro area. Before his successful two-year stint throwing at Florida State, Linnenbrink dominated at the junior college level, earning two NJCAA All-America honors at Johnson County Community College.

“Erica has long levers and a great height advantage on most other throwers in the country. That, coupled with her athletic ability, will make her a fantastic thrower at the collegiate level,” Linnenbrink said.

“Erica has the ability to come in as freshman and make an immediate impact in the ACC in the discus and shot put and be an NCAA national qualifier in the discus. She will also learn how to throw the 20lb indoor weight and the hammer.”

Brand has similar intentions.

“I would like to make it to the NCAA Championships, maybe not freshman year, but I think I definitely have a chance of making it to the championships,” Brand said.

At the SM South relays, the first real meet for the Cougar varsity athletes, Brand threw 149 feet and 7.5 inches in the discus, winning both discus and shot put. Her first throw currently puts her at no. 4 nationally for the discus, according to Kansasrunners.com. She out-threw the second place competitor, her old friend Richards, by nearly twenty feet, and she out-threw the farthest boy’s throw of 148 feet. Last year, she won the Kansas State championship with a throw of 151 feet, so her first meet success should be a good indicator that she can repeat as state champion.

“I think I can win state this year. I won it last year, so I should have a pretty good shot at the championship again,” Brand said.

Throwing is but one of Brand’s athletic interests. She was a two-year letterman on the volleyball team and a three-year letter earner for the girls’ basketball team. She was also named to the 2009 Sunflower League Honorable Mention team for basketball.

But Brand is more than an athlete though. She carries her competitive nature with her wherever she goes, whether it be the classroom or the court. On any given day, she wakes up with weights first hour. Then during third hour, she can be found sitting at the piano singing with the acappella choir. And then she goes to one of her four AP classes. And then she goes to practice for three hours.

“One of Erica’s best qualities is that she is so coachable. Erica is a perfectionist, in school, volleyball and track and field. When I give her constructive criticism, she takes it and works her butt off to fix it,” Barger said.

As an athlete, she has proven that she can more than hold her own, whether it be at a high school meet or a world championship. As a student, and as a leader, she has pushed herself to succeed. And if her career stays on the same trajectory it is on now, it would be smart to have cable in 2016. There could be a Cougar at the Olympic Games.

Meseke took a leave of absence on Nov. 6 because of a recurring heart problem. He was placed on a waiting list at St. Luke’s Hospital for four months until a heart that fit his needs became available.

“Doctors had told me that my blood type was A positive,” Meseke wrote, “But when they got inside, they found it to be striped—Blue/White (Hayden) and Orange/Black (NW).”

A journal on Meseke’s progress can be found here . Family members provide updates on Meseke’s progress, and website visitors can leave notes in the guest book.

“I want to thank all of you for the thoughts and prayers,” Meseke wrote. “They all warmed my new heart back to room temperature.”

Dec. 4 vs SM North
75-48 (W)
Dec. 5 at Washington
62-59 (L)
Dec. 11 at SM South
38-35 (W)
Dec. 18 vs Lawrence
46-42 (W)
Dec. 19 vs Rockhurst
52-50 (L)
Jan. 5 at SM East
62-44 (W)
Jan. 12 vs. Free State
61-49 (W)
Jan. 15 vs. SM South
57-55 (W)
Saints Classic- at STA
Jan. 21 vs. Northeast
58-40 (W)
Jan. 22 vs. STA
58-39 (W)
Jan. 23 vs. Bishop Miege
58-54 (L)
Feb. 2 vs. SM West
41-37 (L)
Feb. 5 at Olathe East
69-62 (L) (2OT)
Feb. 6 at SM West
60-33 (W)
Feb. 9 vs. Olathe North
76-45 (W)
Feb. 12 vs. SM East
45-43 (L)
Feb. 16 at Olathe NW
57-45 (W)
Feb. 19 vs. Leavenworth
59-42 (W)

Feb. 23 at Olathe South
44-43 (W)
Feb. 26 at SM North
54-46 (W)
Sub-state Tournament at SMNW
March 4 vs. Lawrence
63-53 (W)
March 6 vs. Leavenworth
54-52 (L)

Senior Steve Carver goes up for a dunk during the second half of the last game of the season. This was his final high school basketball game.

The NW fans sat in disbelief. Leavenworth had run down the game clock to less than 10 seconds when senior Kyle Wiggins began to cross-over his dribble, slowly working closer to the basket. Suddenly, he pulled up and swished a two-point basket. Coach Mike Rose had called a timeout with 1.7 seconds left but, at that point, everyone in the gym already knew the outcome of the game. The clock would run out. The game would be over.

“Give the kid credit. He came down and knocked down a shot when he needed to, and it was a big one,” Rose said following the 54-52 loss to Leavenworth in the substate championship game.

Band members and the entire parents section stood in amazement. The only person sitting was Ben Meseke, looking out on the court with the same expression he had when the Cougars were eliminated last season by Wichita Heights in the state tournament.

Northwest attempted a last-second shot, as senior Steve Carver redirected the full-court pass to junior Trey Fruehling who heaved up a desperation three as the buzzer sounded.

It was a different Leavenworth team than two weeks before when Northwest controlled almost the entire game and beat the Pioneers 69-52 in one of their better performances of the season. Northwest also beat the Pioneers in last year’s substate championship game, which sent the Cougars to Emporia. But last Saturday, roles were reversed.

“They definitely came to play this time,” Carver said following the game. “They definitely had revenge on their mind tonight, not just because of the last game, but because of last year. I think they came out strong and wanted it just a little more than we did.”

Coach Rose also gave the Pioneers credit.

“They definitely played a heck of a basketball game compared to a couple of weeks ago. Their energy level was tremendous. They were knocking down a lot of shots,” Rose said.

The most glaring statistic of the night for the Cougars was their free-throw shooting.

“I thought our kids played well, and you hate to look at one little thing, but 8-18 from the free-throw line is going to be tough in a game like this,” Rose said.

The boys’ basketball team finished the season with a 15-7 record, not quite as impressive as last year’s state semifinal team, but it was exceptional compared to some of the Cougars’ past seasons.

“Looking back on it, I’ve really enjoyed the memories I’ve made with these kids,” Rose said. “You talk about those three seniors: Brady, who just accepted his role on this team and was there battling every day in practice; Nick, who’s going to play baseball at CMSU; and Steve, going to Holy Cross. I now get to be able to say that I coached those kids for a year in high school. They’re not just great athletes, they’re great kids, and they’re great students in the classroom as well.”

This season was a roller coaster of wins and losses. After drubbing their rival SM North to open the season, the Cougars went on to lose to Washington High School the following night.

There were other head-scratching losses to mediocre opponents SM West and SM East at home — the first losses at home over the past four seasons.

On the other hand, Northwest played some of the best teams in the metro to the final buzzer. They went on the road to Olathe South and pulled out a 44-43 victory over the Falcons. They took the nationally ranked Bishop Miege to the final seconds of the Saints Classic Tournament, and they battled the Olathe East Hawks through two overtimes.

“You know I’ll take time to sit back and reflect, and there’s a lot of good memories — beating Olathe South at their place and the Olathe East double overtime game and a lot of things that go on at practice that a lot of people don’t see. Just building that camaraderie with those kids is really what it’s all about,” Rose said.

As the final spectators left the gym, stragglers remained, crying over what they had just seen.Others cheered on each player as they entered the gymnasium.

The players were comforted by family and friends as they came together one last time as teammates.

“You know just how close we were, especially off the court,” Carver said. “I love every one of these guys, and I definitely wouldn’t trade anything for them,” Carver said.

Alex Revis

The boys’ basketball team had been on a three-year home winning streak until SM West beat them on Feb. 2. The Cougar fans were very disappointing in this game. Although the score was close throughout the game, the Cougar Crazies cheered loudly only once when senior Steve Carver heaved the ball from the opposite free throw line just after time expired in the third quarter. And that was on a play that didn’t even count.

The upperclassmen were involved in the game, but this may have more to do to with the fact that they sit in the front. The underclassmen simply. did not have any interest in the game. I wish that they would have made some noise and acted like they were at a home basketball game rather than in a movie theater or a friend’s house. Those who want to sit and gossip should sit in the section next to the students and gossip. Don’t take up the space in the limited NW standing section.

I sat across from the fan section at the SM West game and was not pleased by the lack of support from students in the top 10 rows. Just a little bit of involvement is all I’m asking from the underclassmen.

I’m pretty sure half of the them couldn’t have said how the game actually went because all they cared about was chit-chatting and not cheering on their basketball team.

Even though the Cougars lost another game to SM East on Feb. 13, the crowd was very loud at times. But the students have to be a part of the entire game to propel the Cougars to victory.

Fri. Feb 26, at SMN 7 p.m.

Mon. March 1 – Fri. March 5, Sub-state Tournament at SMNW

Wed. March 10 – Sat. March 13, State Basketball Tournament in Emporia

Girls’ Basketball:

Mon. March 1 – Fri. March 5, Sub-state Week at SMNW

Wed. March 10 – Sat. March 13, State Basketball Tournament in Emporia

Wrestling:

Fri. Feb. 26, 6A State Championships, Kansas Colisseum-Wichita, 8 a.m.

Sat. Feb. 27, 6A State Tournament, Kansas Colisseum-Wichita, 9 a.m.

Bowling:

Sat. Feb. 27, Regional Tournament at Olathe Mission Bowl, 9 a.m.

Katie Biggers led the way with 20 points, draining 3 three pointers from behind the arch, keeping the Cougars in the game throughout the third and fourth quarters of play.

Senior standout, Mikayla Carter seemed unstoppable for the Ravens, handling the ball in key situations and leading the statistics book in nearly every category.

Although the loss leaves the Cougars with a 4-13 record, the ladies can look forward to their game against Leavenworth tomorrow night at 7 pm in the Northwest Gymnasium. It’s the senior’s last home game so come out and support!

Girls’ Basketball:
Fri. Feb. 12, vs. SME 5:15 p.m.
Tues. Feb. 16, at Olathe Northwest 5:30 p.m.
Thurs. Feb. 18, vs. Leavenworth 7 p.m.
Tues. Feb. 23, at Olathe South 5:30 p.m.
Thurs. Feb. 25, at SMN 7 p.m.
Mon. March 1 – Fri. March 5, Sub-state Week at SM Northwest
Wed. March 10 – Sat. March 13, State Basketball Week in Emporia

Boys’ Swim and Dive:
Fri Feb. 19, Kansas State Prelims
2:30 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 20, Kansas State Finals 12:30 p.m.

Wrestling:
Sat. Feb. 13, Sunflower League Tournament at SMNW 9 a.m.
Sat. Feb. 20, 6A Regionals, 9 a.m.
Fri. Feb. 26, 6A State Championships, Kansas Colisseum-Wichita, 8 a.m.
Sat. Feb. 27, 6A State Championships, Kansas Colisseum-Wichita, 9 a.m.

Bowling:

Wed. Feb. 17, SMNW Tri at Park Lanes, 3:30 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 20, Varsity Sunflower League Tournament at Olathe East Lanes, 9:30 a.m.
Sat. Feb. 27, Regionals at Olathe Mission Bowl, 9 a.m.

USA Today NCAA Basketball Poll
1. Kansas (29) 22-1
2. Kentucky (1) 22-1
3. Syracuse (1) 23-1
4. West Virginia 19-3
5. Villanova 20-2
6. Purdue 19-3
7. Duke 19-4
8. Georgetown 17-5
9. Kansas State 19-4
10. Michigan State 19-5
14. Texas 19-4