Falcon Athletics For t
Wor th
Country
Day
Athletic
Wrap-up
Falcons Continue to Soar
When the temperature rises to extreme highs, it usually means preseason is starting for the Falcons’ new school year. While the athletes train all year in various sports, preseason marks the official start of the season. This year was no different; temperatures rose right when it was time to start. Before our students knew it, preseason was over, and the teams set off for battle. Once again, the Falcons made us proud with their commitment to excellence in performance and sportsmanship.
Fall
2014
Inside this Issue Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Field Hockey. . . . . . . . . . . 4 Cross Country. . . . . . . . . . 4 Boys’ Volleyball. . . . . . . . . 5 Girls’ Volleyball. . . . . . . . . 5 Cheerleading. . . . . . . . . . . 6 FWCD Welcomes New Coaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2014 Fall Postseason Athletic Awards . . . . . . . . 7 Winter Coaches . . . . . . . . 8
Get your Falcon in Action and Support the Falcon Club
On National Signing Day, November 12, Turner MacLean ’15 was recognized for signing his National Letter of Intent to play golf at Texas Christian University. The entire Upper School, along with his family, were able to celebrate this significant occasion. Head of Upper School and former golf coach Bill Arnold ’86 commended Turner for his incredible dedication to the sport of golf and his strong academic standards. What Arnold loves most about Turner’s game is the way he plays a hole backwards, showing an impressive understanding of a very difficult game. FWCD wishes Turner all the best and looks forward to following him as a Horned Frog.
Athletic event photos are available to view and download on the Falcon Club Photo Archive page. Existing photo archive members can access the photos by logging in to fwcd.org and selecting the Falcon Club Photo Archive link under the Group tab. Photo archive membership is required to view and download photos. To purchase, visit fwcd.org/ falconclub. Questions? Contact Lisa Parker, athletic administrative assistant, at lisa.parker@fwcd.org. 1
Football
By Connall McCormack ’15 For the 51st time, the Falcons of Fort Worth Country Day took the gridiron in pursuit of a championship. When time expired in a 40-14 victory over rival Trinity Valley School at Homecoming 2013, work began to prepare for the 2014 season. The FWCD community has the opportunity to see a dedicated group of players work their hardest each Friday night in the fall. But what the community at-large doesn’t see are the hours upon hours of preparation that take place long before the sun rises on those first day of two-a-days. Players that don’t participate in winter or spring sports spend their afternoons in the weight room, getting stronger and faster in anticipation of summer workouts. Two weeks of spring football in May give the players the opportunity to get reacquainted with the coaches, begin forming team chemistry, and measure progress in the weight room in order to set goals in the summer. When the final bell dismissed the Upper School from the 2013-14 school year, the Falcon football team was ready to work. It is difficult to understate the physical and mental toughness forged in the crucible of Coach Victor Arguijo’s summer workout program. Each sprint up the hill, each sled relay and each rep in the weight room contributed greatly to each player reaching his full potential. Despite the demanding nature of the workouts, the seniors all the way down to the freshmen achieved the requirement of 20 lifting days, and many went above and beyond that benchmark. Coach Arguijo’s program ensured that when two-a-days arrived, each player that had done his part was ready to compete. Although the 12 days of practice prior to the beginning of school seem to be an eternity, two weeks is a remarkably short amount of time to prepare for a demanding season. Therefore, the team hit the ground running on the 2
The Falcons celebrate another year with the Battle trophy. first day of practice and maintained its enthusiasm through each day of drill work, scrimmaging and conditioning. When the time came to take on CarterRiverside and Southwest Christian in a three-way scrimmage, the Falcons were more than ready to tackle someone in a different colored jersey. Scrimmages don’t appear in the winloss column, but their impact on a season cannot be understated. On one of the hottest days of the year, FWCD took the field at Southwest Christian with major questions heading into a season that seemed to be feeling the loss of the previous year’s talented seniors. However, when the buses pulled back into Country Day, the Falcons knew they could compete with anyone. The varsity and JV players all received valuable reps in live action, and both levels found success on both sides of the ball. Official scores were not kept, but the team felt that it had won the scrimmage and gained excellent preparation for the season’s first game against Lake Worth. In recent seasons, FWCD has not competed against local UIL public schools, so the contest against the Lake Worth Bullfrogs (a 4A opponent) offered an opportunity to measure
up against Fort Worth’s much larger schools. The Falcons went down 10-0 early in the first quarter after the undersized, shifty Bullfrogs put up two quick scores. However, the Falcons answered with 14 in the second quarter to take a halftime lead. After the break, the Bullfrogs struck again, tacking on two touchdowns (but two missed extra points) to head into the final period with a 22-14 lead, but things were far from over. The Falcons’ superior conditioning took over in the final quarter, and two more scores, the second of which was set up by a Graham Pergande ’15 interception, sealed the game in favor of FWCD. The 27-22 victory signified much more than a 1-0 start to the season: It proved to the team that perseverance, resilience and willingness to fill new roles (Brad Chilcoat ’17 scored three touchdowns while replacing injured Brandon Evans ’16 at running back) will always produce good results. The following week, the Falcons hosted the St. Andrew’s Crusaders. The home opener coincided with the debut of running back Brandon Evans ’16, who made his presence felt in his first action of the year. Evans rushed for 233 yards on just 10 carries and tacked on 3 scores (including an 80-yard TD) to fuel
a 34-6 rout. The resounding victory over St. Andrew’s reaffirmed to the players just how good they could be, and that special things were yet to come. After an undefeated start, the Falcons met their match in the form of the St. Mark’s Lions, who made the trip over from Dallas on a cold, misty September evening. The rain seemed to thwart the Falcons’ offensive attack, managing just 14 points in a 42-21 (Evans returned a kickoff for a touchdown) defeat in which heralded St. Mark’s William “Big Tex” Caldwell backed up the hype surrounding his play and caught multiple touchdowns. This was the first contest in which the Falcons’ size, or lack thereof, proved to be a distinct disadvantage against the much larger Lions. The Falcon offensive linemen struggled with the heavier, quicker St. Mark’s defensive line, preventing quarterback Mixson Staffel ’15 from establishing a rhythm. However, the team was aware that size was not going to change during the season, and that better play against larger, more physically imposing teams was necessary. FWCD met one such team the following week in yet another home matchup against the Greenhill Hornets. Throughout the entire week at practice, the Falcons knew they were facing an entirely new Greenhill team that was no longer content to roll over and accept defeat. But a focused week of practice ensured that the Falcons would not be caught off guard again, which the defense proved by shutting down an impressive Greenhill offensive line and holding their rushing attack to just 7 points. The night ended in a 25-7 for Country Day, who prepared to carry a 3-1 record into a game that had been circled on the calendar for months. After a two-year hiatus, Country Day and All Saints’ Episcopal School renewed their rivalry on the football field. When the two teams meet, it’s as fierce a rivalry as any in the SPC, with each squad determined to earn bragging rights. The Falcons refused to
be intimidated by the vaunted Saints, and drove for a field goal on their first offensive possession. However, the speed of All Saints’ quarterback Ryan Suitt and the weapons at his disposal allowed the Saints to score in bunches, and an injury to Evans hampered the Falcons’ offensive attack in what ultimately became a 48-13 defeat. The loss left a bad taste in the mouth of every player, leaving the underclassmen motivated to earn revenge in next year’s contest. The following week, Country Day made its longest road trip of the season when the varsity team made the journey to Tulsa to face the Holland Hall Dutch. Thrown off by a 6 p.m. start and a Thursday game, the Falcons had difficulty finding success on either side of the ball against a Holland Hall team that would ultimately make the playoffs. The Dutch struck first and never let up en route to a 34-7 victory, as Country Day never managed to get back in the game against a team that was no more talented than the Falcons. The loss to Holland Hall served as a wake-up call to the entire team that wins would only be earned through hard work at practice and unyielding effort on Friday night. With the vaunted Casady Cyclones coming to town the next week, that newfound resolve would be tested. The Casady Cyclones were considered by many to be 2014’s top SPC team, led by lineman Josh Wariboko and his brother, safety Max Wariboko. However, talent and rankings mean little without execution on the field. The Cyclones fumbled three times and seemed to have looked past the Falcons as Country Day rushed out to an early lead in its most inspired performance in weeks. Staffel threw for two touchdowns, both to Joseph Breedlove ’17, and Evans rushed for another in an excellent offensive showing. The defense, led by seniors William Kleinheinz ’15 and Pergande, generated turnovers and forced Casady to earn each and every yard as they held the Cyclone offense at bay. As the game wore on, the Cyclones found their
groove and slowly chipped away at the lead before coming away with a 35-30 victory. The final score was a letdown for the Falcon team, who knew just how close they had been to one of the year’s biggest SPC upsets, but they took pride in hanging tough with a very talented team that will send multiple players to the college ranks. In the seniors’ final game to wear an away jersey, the Falcons traveled to Oakridge to take on the Owls on their senior night. The loss to Casady still weighed heavily on the players’ minds, and it showed as Oakridge played much more inspired football than the Falcons from the opening whistle. The Owls built a 20-7 lead at halftime, and it proved to be too much to overcome as Country Day fell 34-14, as Evans and Vincent Marquis-Cartier ’15 each rushed for touchdowns. The loss stands out as the most disappointing of the season, as the Falcons were unable to put it all together and defeat an inferior Oakridge team. Wins do not come easily in SPC, and Country Day let one slip away by not performing to full potential. With just one game remaining, the seniors were determined to go out on a winning note. The Battle of Bryant Irvin annually represents the last time a group of senior players who have given everything to their team get the chance to step on a football field. The entire week is filled with emotion as the seniors prepare to represent the red and blue one final time against their archrival, Trinity Valley. This year was no different. Inspired by the two previous classes, the Class of 2015 was determined to ensure that the Battle trophy remained at Fort Worth Country Day. And on October 24, they did just that. From the opening kickoff, the outcome was never in question. After a season punctuated by the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the Falcons wanted nothing more than to give the home crowd one more victory and a trophy to display for one more year. They proved it by dominating the Trojans on both sides of the ball 3
for a full four quarters. The Falcons ground attack scored 3 times in the first quarter and kept the pressure on, finishing with 305 yards and 5 touchdowns. The defense held up their end of the bargain, holding TVS to 14 points until a late touchdown made the final score 42-21. Although it is difficult to single out one high point, an extra point made by Kleinheinz certainly stands out. The dominant victory was just what the Falcons needed. Months of lifting, running, practicing and often suffering under the hot Texas sun made it possible for a group of 12 seniors, the Dirty Dozen, to hold their trophy high for the entire world to see.
Field Hockey
“The Sparkplug” By Alex Doswell ’16 “So who’s going to be the sparkplug today?” Varsity Field Hockey Head Coach Paige Farris Chisholm ’87 asked the team during the pre-game huddle. This question is definitely an important one. The sparkplug, a term that Chisholm coined as the team’s motto for the season, is the person that brings the energy to the game and inspires the rest of the team to play to their fullest potential. At the least, there is always one person per game that sparks energy and competitiveness into the rest of us. Although the sparkplug may seem like it would be someone who plays “out of their mind,” like Assistant Coach Chloe Bade Anderson ’06 likes to say, that’s not always the case. The sparkplug could be someone who is cheering as loudly as she can or someone who is just flat-out having fun. Fun. That’s the word that I would use to describe the field hockey team this year. Throughout the three-month season, there genuinely was not a moment that I wasn’t excited to be around my 25 teammates and my two coaches. Whether it was our pre-game dance parties to Pitbull and Fergie or the practices where our coaches broke the team up into two teams and had us compete against each other, there really wasn’t a moment where we 4
stay motivated. Several of the veteran runners, including myself, ran with a local training group, meeting on the trails for distance runs; tempo runs; hills and, by the end of the summer, longs runs of over 10 miles. In early August, we started our first week of preseason training, which ended with a two-mile time trial to measure progress. Afterward, we caught up and bonded over a team breakfast.
Senior field hockey players jump for joy after qualifying for the SPC Tournament! didn’t have smiles on our faces. Except for when the coaches made us run the dreaded “five-minute drill” or the “timed mile.” But even the conditioning had its own silver linings because we learned to appreciate the days without conditioning even more. Although the season had a few losses, the scoreboard couldn’t reflect the fun we had by simply just playing together. A lot of the fun Falcon field hockey, or FFH for short, had was due in part to the senior class. With 13 seniors, including Annalyn Kumar, Caroline Malanga, Devon Davis, Ellee Conway, Gigi Hull, Isabella Burnette, Kate Laughlin, Laura Catherine Wilson, Leslie Blake, Mary Geren, Meg Moritz, Sydney Phillips and J.R. Torres, there was never a dull moment. However, their fun-loving nature wasn’t their only contribution to the team. Each senior possessed his or her own special skills that made the team the best it could be. Although these special skills were exhibited throughout the season, the final home game against the Trinity Valley Trojans was the game where the seniors truly shined. The entire game was energetic and competitive, leaving the team with a 2-0 victory over our rivals down the road. That game went down in the books as one of the most fun games of the season, and it won’t be forgotten by any of the members of the 2014 squad. The Class of 2015 will be
missed, but they have passed down their skills to the rest of us. As for the upcoming 2015 season, FFH is going to be as strong as ever. Chisholm and Anderson have big plans for the off-season to get the team ready for the regular season. Falcon field hockey is looking for vengeance, so next season is set to be a heated one. The team also will miss its biggest fan, Head of School Evan D. Peterson, who came to every home game and traveled to Dallas multiple times to watch us compete. Falcon field hockey is looking for its new biggest fan, who will have some big shoes to fill, but the team won’t be disappointed because it plans to bring the SPC Division I Championship trophy back to Fort Worth Country Day next year, where it belongs.
When school started, we began training at 6:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and competed in three competitive meets during the first month. Led by seniors Melody Rodriguez , Cooper Baird and Sawyer Stratton, both the girls’ and boys’ teams vied for top spots in each meet. In the Burleson Elk Run on August 30, the boys’ team finished in first place overall, ahead of several local 5A schools. Later in the season, we took a road trip to the Woodlands to compete in the Nike South Invitational, a prominent race featuring hundreds of the region’s top runners from several different states. We ran well in the race, and also had a great time bonding during the car ride and team dinner.
Cross Country
By William Newton ’16 Throughout the summer and early fall mornings, while most people were still sleeping, the FWCD cross country team was out running. It was hard work, but by the end of the season it was clear that it paid off: The girls’ team ran really well, and the boys’ team had arguably one of its best seasons in FWCD history. The season started in early June when the coaches opened an online training log for us to track our mileage and
Gregory Sholars ’18
By mid-October, with both the North Zone and SPC meets ahead of us, we had our eyes set on SPC competition, namely against longtime rival Trinity Valley. In the North Zone meet, the boys’ team had one of its best performances of the season. Led by All-North Zone runners Baird, Stratton and I, we finished second overall as a team, beating TVS for the first time in several years. The girls’ team, although shorthanded, still managed a strong performance behind Rodriguez, who also received All-North Zone Honors. At the SPC Championship Meet, the boys’ team, although short two runners due to injuries, ran a great race. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams gave their best efforts, and Rodriguez and Stratton finished with All-SPC Honors. Overall, it was a breakout season for Country Day. This year, we weren’t just an average SPC team; we made our presence felt at every race, competing head-to-head with the toughest competition our conference had to offer.
Boys’ Volleyball By Mason Beasley ’15
This season for boys’ volleyball was great. We grew closer as a team, and we grew stronger as a team. We were a team of little experience and small stature, but we didn’t let that stop us. The team opened up the season by taking down Trinity Valley School (TVS) at the Red River Round-Up Tournament. We played well at the St. John’s Tournament, winning the silver bracket by once again taking out TVS and then Kinkaid. We went on to the St. Mary’s Hall tournament with high hopes, and some high moments were beating St. Mary’s Hall and TVS, and taking a set from St. John’s. SPC counters started with a victory over TVS. That would be our only win during counters, but it ended up being the game that mattered most because the margin of victory qualified the team to make it to SPC. At SPC, we lost our first
Mason Beasley ’15 game against St. John’s and started out losing to Kinkaid. We fought back and beat Kinkaid in five sets to go on to play for fifth place against Episcopal High School (EHS). Our game against EHS was our best game yet; we fought hard but we came up short in the fourth set. During the season, we became a tight-knit group of friends who cared for and helped one another. Our coaches made these things possible with team bonding opportunities like Tycoon Flats. This season was a success not only in the game aspect, but also in the growth as people and the bonds that we formed.
Girls’ Volleyball By Laura Murphy ’15
This season, our team came so much closer together. We learned to work together as one and to be sensitive to one another’s needs. Although our skills might have been outmatched by some of the other teams, we worked hard all year and fought in every one of our games. While we did struggle in some games, we managed to remain positive. Our favorite part of the season was going to the tournament in San Antonio and having some of our student 5
2014 Fall Postseason Athletic Awards Boys’ Volleyball
Most Valuable: Quentin Pinto ’15 Most Improved: Bastian Wood ’15 SPC All-Conference: Mason Beasley ’15, Quentin Pinto ’15 SPC All-Zone: Nicholas Aufiero ’17, Quentin Pinto ’15, SPC All-Conference Honorable Mention: Nicholas Aufiero ’17
Cheerleading
LeBlanc Award: Carlyle Rascoe ’15, Katelyn Tierney ’15 Cheer Spirit: Amanda Stephens ’15
Cross Country
Katherine Walters ’17, Emily Hodnett ’16 and Meredith Berry ’17
Laura Murphy ’15 body come cheer for us in addition to our parents and families. Maybe if we had worked harder in the off-season we would have had a better outcome, but even though things did not turn out as we had planned at the start, we would not take for granted the experiences we shared together as a team. It was an amazing season for the seniors to go out on and a great way to bring in a new season for the next year.
Cheerleading
By Whitney Kelly ’16 Falcon cheer started off the season strong with an amazing showcase of their skills at UCA Cheer Camp in August, winning eight different awards and overall camp champions. Cheer camp brought the team together, creating the closest team FWCD cheer has ever seen. Falcon cheer continued to show its skills in the two pep rallies, “Snapbacks and Falcons” and the “Welcome to the Zoo” Homecoming rally. Both the junior varsity and varsity teams worked extremely hard in order to perfect a fun, entertaining routine not only for the pep 6
rallies, but also for each Friday night football game. The varsity cheerleaders also had the opportunity to compete in the Large Advanced Varsity Division of the Spirit Celebration Competition, which takes place at AT&T Stadium on December 7.
While the fall season is over, it is hard to tell since the winter season has been gearing up and is in full swing now. We thank the 46 seniors for their commitment over the past four years to their fall sport. And now we look forward to watching the Falcons in action this winter.
Welcome New Coaches This spring, there are two new varsity coaches. Lindy Miller will be coaching boys’ golf and assisting with the girls. Paul Reintjes is heading up the lacrosse program. Miller has an impressive resume spanning from Fort Worth City Junior Champion in 1973 to Low Club Pro Senior PGA Championship in 2010. He is currently a teaching professional at Shady Oaks Country Club and the instructional consultant for The First Tee of Fort Worth. He is a graduate of Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University. He played on the PGA Tour from 1979-84.
Most Valuable Boy: Cooper Baird ’15, Sawyer Stratton ’15 Most Valuable Girl: Melody Rodriguez ’15 Most Improved Boy: Nate Wallace ’18 Most Improved Girl: Brianna Ordonez ’17 SPC All Conference: Melody Rodriguez ’15, Sawyer Stratton ’15 SPC All-Zone: Cooper Baird ’15, William Newton ’16, Melody Rodriguez ’15, Sawyer Stratton ’15
SPC All Conference recipients; Back Row l to r: Sawyer Stratton ’15, Quentin Pinto ’15, Mason Beasley ’15, Mixson Staffel ’15, Graham Pergande ’15, Erik Lopez ’15. Bottom row l to r: Kate Laughlin ’15, Laura Catherine Wilson ’15, Laura Murphy ’15, Melody Rodriguez ‘15
Field Hockey
Most Valuable: Devon Davis ’15, Kate Laughlin ’15 Heart and Hustle: Meg Moritz ’15 SPC All-Conference: Kate Laughlin ’15, Laura Catherine Wilson ’15 SPC All-Zone: Isabella Burnette ’15, Devon Davis ’15 SPC All-Conference Honorable Mention: Devon Davis ’15
Outstanding Special Teams Player: Vincent Marquis-Cartier ’15 SPC All-Conference: Erik Lopez ’15, Graham Pergande ’15, Mixson Staffel ’15 SPC All-Conference Honorable Mention: Joseph Breedlove ’17 SPC All-Zone: Jeff Avena ’15, William Kleinheinz ’15, Connall McCormack ’15
Football
Most Valuable: Mixson Staffel ’15 Outstanding Offensive Player: Brandon Evans ’16 Outstanding Defensive Player: Graham Pergande ’15 Outstanding Lineman: Erik Lopez ’15
Got Questions? Get Answers!
Reintjes is in the process of moving to Fort Worth and is anxious to get started coaching the Falcons. Most recently, he was the assistant lacrosse coach at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to that, he was the assistant varsity coach at Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas. Reintjes has also coached at the club level. He played at Hobart College in New York, where he earned a BA in Economics and a minor in American Studies. Please help us welcome these coaches to the FWCD family.
Girls’ Volleyball
Most Valuable: Laura Murphy ’15 Most Improved: Cassidy Bates ’15 SPC All-Conference: Laura Murphy ’15 SPC All-Zone: Laura Murphy ’15
Seniors Graham Pergande, Erik Lopez and Mixson Staffelwere selected to play in the Tom Hillary DFW All-Star Game on Saturday, December 13, 2014, at Pennington Field in Hurst.
If you have a question about the athletic program at FWCD, email Athletic Director Frank Gendusa at frank.gendusa@fwcd.org. 7
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Winter Sports Coaches Athletic Director Frank Gendusa ATHLETIC TRAINING Head Trainer Ed Chisholm Assistant Trainer Chelsea Procter-Willman BOYS’ BASKETBALL Varsity Head Coach Joe Breedlove* ’78 Assistant Coach Chris Anderson Assistant Coach Pepper Ackers ’92 Assistant Coach Spencer Smith Assistant Brandon Livingston JV RED/BLUE Head Coach Chris Anderson Assistant Spencer Smith Assistant Brandon Livingston MIDDLE SCHOOL A Head Coach Brady Benoit MIDDLE SCHOOL B Head Coach Chris Anderson MIDDLE SCHOOL B Red, White, Blue Assistant Coach Austin Walton Assistant Coach Amanda Watts 8
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL Head Coach Shelley Rains* Assistant Coach Aimee Jenkins Assistant Coach Rachel Donahue MIDDLE SCHOOL A Head Coach Butch Traeder Assistant Coach Chuck Maddux MIDDLE SCHOOL B Head Coach DeAnn Hall Assistant Coach Chuck Maddux CHEERLEADING Varsity Head Coach Courtney Collings* JV Head Coach Sarah Stallard MIDDLE SCHOOL Head Coach Killian Naylor BOYS’ SOCCER Varsity Head Coach Mike Vincent* Assistant Coach Jeff Rozanski Goalie Coach Ryan Byerly JV Head Coach Tafaria Fray
Assistant Coach Ivan Kovacevic MIDDLE SCHOOL A Head Coach Frank Remmel MIDDLE SCHOOL B Head Coach David Irons GIRLS’ SOCCER Head Coach Tarik Guendouzi Assistant Coach Rachel Stepp Pinckard ’07 JV Head Coach Brittney Grady MIDDLE SCHOOL A Head Coach Ryan Byerly MIDDLE SCHOOL B Assistant Coach Jamie Ringgenberg Assistant Morgan Tornga SWIMMING Kaytlin Blanchard ’04* Head Varsity Coach Kathy Steinbrenner WRESTLING Varsity Head Coach Joe Murph* Assistant Coach Ruben Martin * denotes program director