sports7
wingspan • june 4, 2010
How to Lose the Right Way: 101
I
will always remember the car rides home after my little league baseball games, especially those car rides after a tough loss. I would sit in the back seat of my dad’s Saturn, pouting about how I failed to perform the way I usually did when playing backyard baseball in our Matt Thielke neighborhood. One day I remember my dad telling me something on one of those car rides that I still hold true to this day. He told me that eveybody knows how to act when they win, but not too many people know how to act when they lose. He said that if I learned how to be a gracious loser, I would have more self-respect than if I had won. Don’t take me as one of those guys who thinks that sports are all about having fun and winning and losing doesn’t really matter. I am a very competitive person, and I get upset when I don’t win. But you could say I handle these feelings of disappointment better than most. I was reminded of this virtue of losing in the right manner at the 3A state track meet last week. I was competing in the 800-meter run and seeded near the back of the field. I knew that it was possible for me to pull off a miracle race and place in the top three, but my main goal was to take down our school’s record in the 800-meter run. I ran that race harder than I have ever run anything before, leaving it all on the track, knowing that this was the last track race I would ever run. When it was all over, I crossed the finish line feeling like I was going to pass out. I was in the back of the pack and still 2.9 seconds off of the school record. I felt sick with disappointment and overwhelmed with an “it’s all over” feeling as I looked at the jumbotron and saw my finish time was still slower than the ambitious goal I set for myself while I was still in rehab from my hip injury. I was tempted to pout like I did in little league, but I remembered all I had learned about how to lose the right way: how not to blame others for your own mistakes, take responsibility for your own failures and learn from them. I also recalled how you should simply reflect on just how fortunate you are sometimes just to be participating in the event. Things don’t always go the way we have it all mapped out in life. At some point, all of us will come up just short of our own expectations and goals. When this happens, learn from what you did wrong and then move on; don’t dwell on them. Our goal may be to come out on top, but whether we realize it or not, we should have one goal: to enjoy the moment and appreciate playing for the love of the game.
Ben Roethlisberger and other football players face legal issues Camen Royse Asst. Sports Editor
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he crime rate in the National Football League seems to never end. Despite numerous players getting arrested and suspended last year, NFL players are still being caught breaking the rules. Houston Texans’ linebacker Brian Cushing was caught allegedly using an illegal supplement. Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receiver Santonio Holmes was accused of assault and battery and was also suspended for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. And now, one of the biggest faces in the NFL has a cloud of suspicion surrounding his name: Ben Roethlisberger. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback, Roethlisberger has enjoyed one of the most successful careers in NFL history. In just five years, he has won two Super Bowls, been to 10 playoff games and won 51 regular season games. But lately, he has brought shame to himself, the Steelers and the NFL. On March 5, 2010, police began investigating Roethlisberger for sexual assault. The alleged victim, a 20-yearold woman, claimed that she and Roethlisberger had en-
tered the bathroom at the bar they were in and engaged in sexual intercourse, despite the victim’s telling Roethlisberger to stop. The case was dropped due to lack of DNA evidence and eyewitness accounts that the victim had been severely intoxicated. For Roethlisberger, however, it wasn’t even close to over. The media brought up the case from 2009 in which Roethlisberger had been sued for sexual assault, although it had been dismissed. This was also mentioned with his motorcycle crash in 2006, in which he was not wearing a helmet. On top of that, former teammates of Roethlisberger came forward with accounts of other players calling Roethlisberger out for not working hard or being a team player. For weeks, there was speculation that the Steelers might trade their franchise quarterback. The Steelers’ fan base seemed to back that notion for the most part, but Roethlisberger remained a Steeler. “He just needs to stay away from whatever is tempting him,” junior Chase Andrews said. “He needs to control what he’s doing and keep his fly up. Or get a wife, whatever helps.” Commissioner Rodger Goodell hoped to solve these
character issues when he took the commissioner’s office in 2006 and imposed his Personal Conduct Policy. To Goodell, it doesn’t matter if one is found guilty of a crime: if someone is accused of a crime, the NFL will investigate the matter and punish accordingly. For instance, former Tennessee Titans’ cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones was suspended indefinitely after several arrests, although he was never found guilty of a crime. Goodell used this mindset when deciding Roethlisberger’s punishment. The final decision was to suspend him for six games, with a possible reduction to four. Andrews said that despite suspensions as punishment, player misconduct is inevitable. “Goodell can do all the restrictions he wants, but players are still going to do wrong,” Andrews said. “And nobody wants that. If a player acts stupidly, it affects everybody. Your fans get disgruntled, and your season is ruined. When your season goes bad, your fans get mad. And it’s all downhill from there.” Some people have questioned Goodell’s Personal Conduct Policy. “The worst thing Goodell can do is kick someone out of league, like he did with Michael Vick,” Andrews said. “Fines will hardly punish the players; that’s been going on forever. Hopefully, the Roethlisberger suspension will cause some players to behave better.”
Spring sports conclude seasons; school earns Wachovia Cup
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hree spring sports teams earned spots in the playoffs: softball, baseball and women’s soccer. The softball and women’s soccer teams fell in the first round and the baseball team made it to the second round. The men’s golf team sent players to the regional tournament, and nine men’s and women’s track and field athletes qualified for state. Overall, West earned the Wachovia Cup for the Appalachian Athletic Conference.
Softball
Sophomore Sieara Bishop sprinted toward third base. It was the first round of playoffs against Erwin on May 17. Upon seeing that she was safe, she kept on running to steal home plate, scoring the first run of the game. The Falcons hadn’t made it past the first round of playoffs since 2004, so her teammates were cheering her on. “We were feeling pretty good about it,” Bishop said. “We definitely could have beat them and should have.” The team had reason to look forward to the game before it even began. According to Bishop, the Falcons had defeated Erwin in the previous season. “We felt confident going into it,” Bishop said. “We hadn’t played them yet, but last year we beat them.” However, West lost to Erwin, 10-1. “In the fourth inning they (Erwin) had four or five runs, and we just couldn’t catch up,” Coach Mike Matthews said. Even with the unexpected loss, the team is hopeful for next year’s season. “We had a lot of girls try out this year for JV, and actually had a JV team this year. A lot of them were really good and if they keep working they’ll be great,” Bishop said. “We’ll have a young team so hopefully Record: next year and my senior year we’ll make it pretty far.”
7-14
Baseball
Junior Cameron Brogden jogged out onto the mound with the bases loaded and two outs. It was the bottom of the seventh and final inning, and the Falcons had a two run lead over county rival East. It took only three pitches for Brogden to end the game and the Falcons had earned a playoff spot. “I felt confident going in,” Brogden said. “Warming up in the bullpen, I was throwing really well, and I knew that it wouldn’t take long to get the kid out.” With that win, the Falcons entered the playoffs with a 12-9 record matched up in the first round against Erwin. Erwin was seeded higher than the Falcons, but they managed to pull out the upset victory, 7-5, and advance to the second round. “I didn’t want to lose in the first round of my senior season,” senior Zak Beard said. “It was important to all of the seniors that we got that win and move on.” The second round brought on an even tougher
opponent — top-seeded Patton. In the first inning Patton scored five runs, and the Falcons had to fight back in order to stay in the game. “We felt really low when that happened,” Beard said. “I wasn’t about to lay down and lose, though; we fought back, but just couldn’t get enough runs.” The final score was a 5-3 loss, ending the season with an overall 13-10 record. “Considering we beat the teams ahead of us once and were ranked in the Record: state rankings, we had a good season,” senior Jesse Ivens said.
13-10
Women’s soccer
Momentum can be a powerful game changer for a team when entering the playoffs. The Lady Falcon soccer players felt they had the momentum needed entering their first round playoff game against an always tough opponent, Asheville. During the regular season, the team took Asheville into overtime, coming up short in a 2-1 loss. Even though the result of the regular season game added a loss to their record, it provided the Lady Falcons much needed confidence going into the playoffs. “The girls played very well the first time around against Asheville, and we lost only because we were a little less lucky than them,” Coach Craig Long said. “So in a sense, the loss was still a positive for us. We really thought we had a chance to beat them because we played so well in the first game.” In the playoff game on May 12, Asheville scored two quick goals in the first half and the Lady Falcons didn’t have an answer for them. The game ended 2-0. Long will be losing six seniors off the soccer team, but he is confident in his underclassmen’s ability to step up to the challenge of being team leaders. “Our goal was to improve our intensity and play level during games, and we accomplished that,” Long said. “We had seniors that provided great leadership, but I think we have great juniors as well as some underclassmen Record: who will lead us to long success in the future years.”
11-10-2
Track and Field
Both the men and women’s track team enjoyed some success in the postseason. Both teams sent athletes to the state track meet on May 21. On the men’s team, senior Matt Thielke placed 11th in the 800-meter and junior Chase Andrews finished 6th in the discus event. On the women’s team, junior Lydia McCall placed 12th in the long jump; junior Kiersten Ellsworth placed 6th in the 1,600 and 4th in the 3,200, breaking the previous schoool record of 11:57 by running a time of 11:45.66; the women’s 4x800 team — including
YEAR IN REVIEW winter
fall volleyball - won conference championship - earned state runner-up title
swimming
football
- men’s team placed first in AAC - women’s team placed third in the AAC and placed 14th at state
- finished third in conference - made playoffs, lost in first round
basketball
cross country - men’s & women’s teams won conference - women’s team placed third at regional meet and 10th at state meet
men’s soccer
- men’s team finished third in conference - women’s team finished fourth in conference
wrestling - finished second in conference - state qualifiers: - Brandon Harrison, state runner-up - Trae Hemphill - Jesus Vera - Josh Littauer
- placed third in AAC conference - lost in the first round of playoffs
women’s tennis - tied for fourth in conference
women’s golf
indoor track and field
- won conference tournament - earned west regional championship - earned state championship title - junior Kayla Sciupider earned state title
- state qualifiers: - Matt Thielke: 500-meter dash - Meredith Foster: high jump - Keenan Young: high jump
Go Falcon Basketball!
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Tank Time
Returning Talent
Throwing the ball to the infield, freshman Lauren Norris plays at a varsity home game against North. Norris will be returning to play varsity in her sophomore season. freshman Hannah Owen, sophomore Ashley Heywood, freshman Kelsey Vaughn and junior Caiti Cremer — finished 10th; and senior Meredith Foster earned a runnerup finish in the high jump and tied her own school record of 5 feet, 4 inches. Foster will go on to compete at the national competition. “State was tough for us. The competition level was a lot higher. The guys stepped up and competed like I knew they would,” men’s track coach Walter Fletcher said. “We’re losing four seniors next year, but I have a ton of freshmen to step up. We should be able to get even more people to state. They’re working hard.” Women’s track coach Rodney Proffitt, who is leaving after this season, is glad to have his last season at West end on a high note. “State was great. I’m proud of our young runners. Kiersten Ellsworth pretty much shattered the old school record that some thought would never be broken,” Proffitt said. “We finished 14th at state; I can’t complain about that. Hopefully, they will put in a coaching staff that will continue the tradition we’ve had here for the past 12 years. I wish them the best in the future.”
spring softball - earned second playoff seed - lost in first round of the playoffs
baseball - ended season second in conference - won against Erwin in first round of playoffs and fell to Patton in second round
outdoor track and field - women’s team earned conference championship, placed fifth at regionals - men’s team placed ninth at regionals
women’s soccer - finished third in AAC conference - lost to Asheville in first round of playoffs
men’s tennis - finished season with 6-11 conference record
men’s golf - finished fourth in AAC tournament - placed fifth at regional tournament
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