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February 2010
by Madison Enebak
For junior Michael Jordan, wrestling wasn’t originally his first choice in sports.“I didn’t make the basketball team, but I still wanted to stay in shape, so I tried out for wrestling,” Jordan said. That was in the eighth grade. He stayed with wrestling because he soon found out he was pretty good at it, and has stuck with it ever since.
“If you’re going to wrestle, you’re going to have to man up,” the 112-pound Jordan said. “The warm-ups aren’t too bad, but drills are intense.”
Practices include a warm-up, drills, live wrestling with teammates and conditioning. Conditioning for wrestling begins in the summer and lasts year-round to stay in shape for the opening of the season on October 31.
There are three two-minute periods in a wrestling meet, and wrestlers are paired by their weight class. “Before a meet, we weigh in and have to be exactly on weight, and then we’re given about 10 minutes to eat. After, we warm up and the smallest weight class (103 pounds) begins,” Jordan said. “My fastest pin time is about eight seconds, and we are given a two-minute time limit.”
There are a lot of rules in place now to cut down on unhealthy weight loss habits, and hydration tests are mandatory. “There is only a certain amount of weight you can lose, and hydration has to be above a certain percent,” said Jordan. The key for the Auburn High School team to cut their weight is mainly hydration. “We have to drink lots of water, and we cut back on carbs and eat healthy, like grilled chicken and tuna,” said Jordan. “There is also the legal way and illegal way to lose weight, but we just work out in sweats.”For the coming year, Jordan has big plans for winning state. “I have to,” he said. Jordan currently leads the team with the most takedowns (25).
Over the summer, he hopes to participate in out-of-state tournaments in order to get more recognition, then come back for his senior year and take state again.
“State works a lot like track,” he said. “We have sectionals, and the top wrestlers of each weight class make it to state. For 6A, there is a 16-man bracket; you are placed by records so that, ideally, the No. 1 and No. 2 wrestlers play each other at the end for the state title.
“It gets intense by the semifinals,” he added. “I think it’s the hardest sport in high school. It’s also interesting to watch, and besides all of the workouts, it’s a lot of fun.”Jordan is coached by first-year varsity head coach Nick Tucker, who previously coached at Benjamin Russell High School and is a former wrestler for the University of Tennessee. Coach Tucker takes over from Ross Reed, an assistant principal at AHS. Assistant coaches are Rob Bullington, Justin Taylor, and Joe Eckhardt.
The team’s record is currently 5-9.
After high school, Jordan hopes to continue his wrestling career in college. “I know I want to wrestle in college, but I’m not too sure where yet,” he said. “I also want to look into going into the Air Force.”
The wrestling season ends February 13, and by then, Michael Jordan will hopefully have his state title.
January 2010
by Madison Enebak
For AHS football, the 2009 season was one for the record, with the team going further than any other since the start of the program in 1911. “There were high standards going into this year,” said senior Austin Shiver. “Everyone was expecting another great season, and I think we gave it to them.”
The team went 10-0 for the regular season, like the previous year, and continued on to the fourth round, where they were defeated in a close game to Prattville with the final score being 13-9.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said senior Calvin Jenkins. “Not just that we lost, but that it was my last high school game and last at Duck Samford Stadium.”
“The Prattville game was the defense’s best game of all time,” said Shiver. “They played spectacularly. Offense fought hard, too. It came down to minute details in the end, but we gave it our all.”
The season as a whole was a memorable one. “We accomplished more, we won more games, and there was a lot more leadership from the seniors who loved the game more than last year’s seniors. We pushed ourselves and kept working harder,” said Jenkins. So, what was the highlight of the season for Calvin? “Beating Opelika,” he said. “It was close last year, but this year was a bigger win.”
The bar of expectations was definitely raised this season, according to coach Tim Carter. “There was a great sense of maturity and focus this year. We had big margins of victory and the win against Central solidified our title,” said Coach Carter. The rematch with Opelika and the second win in a row was another pleasant accomplishment after Opelika had dominated the past 15-20 years.
With 27 seniors leaving this year, including the entire offensive line and quarterback, it is a bittersweet ending that the underclassmen will have to pick up again in the spring. As of December, there are five seniors with offers to Division I schools, and three of them have already committed: Calvin Jenkins and Rodney Thomas to the University of South Alabama, and John Hix to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
For Austin Shiver, the past three years have been hard work, yet incredibly fulfilling. “We go through a lot that isn’t in the school year and that no one is really aware of. We wake up at 5 a.m. for summer workouts, we also have two-a-days and we come to the school on weekends to watch film.”
Shiver’s favorite game was the Enterprise game. “They were a tough team, but we took it to ‘em,” he said. “The upcoming seniors have big shoes to fill.”
Junior Will Campbell is one of many who will be filling these shoes. “We convinced a lot of people what we are capable of this year, and we still have a lot of great players, like Cameron Luper and Desmond Purter,” he said. “It’s upsetting since we could’ve won state, but we fought our hardest.”
“Desmond Purter will definitely step up a lot,” said Jenkins. “Jamichael Payne, Jason Webb, Will Campbell and Cameron Luper are going to be players to watch for next year, too.”
The ultimate goal for next year is like it is every year: to win a state championship, to work hard and become a stronger team. “Most importantly, though, is to make the players into better men and citizens,” said Coach Carter.
December 2009
by Madison Enebak
The Auburn High School swim team’s season will culminate December 4-5 in their only meet of the season, the 2009 state meet. Although the stellar swimmers have competed in other races unrelated to AHS athletics, this is the only meet they participate in through the school as there is no official swim season for the high school team. All of the swimmers on the AHS team are also members of Auburn Aquatics, which is sanctioned by USA Swimming. The Auburn Aquatics team competes in meets every other month throughout year.
The athletes have a rigorous training schedule that requires considerable commitment to the sport. For the Auburn Aquatics team, the year is divided into two seasons, long course (summer) and short course (winter). The team practices every afternoon except Saturday with two practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
While some students might balk at the time commitment for the sport, senior Luke Ianuzzi embraces it. “Waking up before five is rough, but I still really enjoy it,” said Ianuzzi, who has been swimming since the sixth grade. “My specialties are the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke,” he added as he quickly demonstrated the four styles of strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.
“The benefits of swimming are not only the exercise, but being a part of a team and having a sense of community,” said senior Sara Frinak, who has been swimming for nine years. Another one of the best parts, according to Ianuzzi, is the potential for surpassing personal goals. “You are still a part of a team, but instead of just losing or winning like in soccer or football, you can see how you did as an individual and see what hard work does for you,” said Ianuzzi. So what keeps swimmers encouraged to wake up early in the morning and practice almost every day, sometimes twice a day? “Our coaches are definitely our encouragement to come to practice. They hound us if we don’t,” said junior Megan Molnar. The swim coaches include head coach Jeff Dellinger and senior assistant coach Lionel Moreau. Moreau was a former member of the French national swimming team, a national record holder, and a world-ranked European championship finalist. Needless to say, the swimmers consider themselves privileged to be able to learn from a coach with extensive personal experience.
Not only does Molnar have her sights set on state, in which she holds the record for the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:01.7, but also on the Junior Nationals Championship, which follows the week of state on December 10-12 in Columbus, Ohio. Molnar is one of three to have qualified from Auburn Aquatics and the only one to qualify from AHS. The other competitors are Amy Middleton and Mac Lowery of Opelika and Auburn, respectively. They will join the thousands of athletes competing at junior nationals. The only difference between nationals and junior nationals is an age limit of 18 years; qualifying times are still necessary for eligibility.
Molnar made the Olympic trial cut last year in the 100-yard breaststroke with a qualifying time of 1:09 and has her sights on the next Olympics. “I’ll be in my second year of college, and I’ll definitely try out for the Olympic team,” said Molnar. After Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in the 2008 Olympics, swimming gained significant recognition and popularity. “There is actually a crowd at university meets now,” said Molnar. “Some people just don’t realize how much work actually goes into training for swimming. Michael Phelps definitely raised awareness, but there still is only a slight notion of what really goes on. It’s not boring and just swimming back and forth like most people might believe. There’s more to it than that, and it’s fun.”
Molnar’s Olympic dreams are two years in the making, but you will be able to watch her and the other Auburn Aquatic athletes compete December 4-5 at the Alabama High School Swimming and Diving State Meet. It will be held at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center at Auburn University. On Friday, December 4, the diving competition starts at 10 a.m. and the swimming prelims begin at 5 p.m. Swimming finals will be on Saturday, December 5, beginning at 2 p.m.
November 2009
AHS Cross Country: Five Obstacles For A 5K
by Madison Enebak • Photography by Olivia Glasscock
The Auburn High School cross country teams have had their share of adversities over the last few years as they were plagued by injuries, illness, frequent coaching changes, graduation of star athletes, and financial problems. The 2009 season ends November 14, and both girls’ and boys’ teams still look to place in the top five at state.
The girls’ cross country program welcomed Kay Dee Calloway as the new coach at the beginning of the season. Calloway was excited to face a new challenge and ready for what the season had in store. “My goal is for the girls to win the state title,” said Calloway.
Currently the girls are ranked No. 2 in the state, behind Mountain Brook, and are as close as they have been in years to a first-place finish at the state meet. “It feels good! The pressure is definitely on, though, and that is what motivates us at practice every day,” said senior Courtney Ruggles.
The girls’ team continues to excel despite the frequent coaching changes. In fact, they have had to transition between five different coaches from 2005 to the current season. With each new coach, the girls were forced to regroup and become a team again under different coaching methods. Coaches had little time to get their team to trust their leadership to effectively motivate the girls. 
“We loved all of our coaches! At first it’s hard when our coach has to leave, though,” said senior Haley Davies.
Another setback experienced by the team was the loss of runners to injury and illness. The girls have had a total of seven girls out for the season because of injury; one of them Lauren Jones, a sophomore who placed 11th in the state during the 2008 season. Although the girls are not fit to race, most of them still come to practice and support the girls on race days. “I still come and ride the bike. I know that they would do the same and support the team if they were injured,” said sophomore Autrey Eastman.
The boys’ team also had large mileage-laden shoes to fill with the loss of graduating seniors Patrick Gomez, Howard Graves, Matt Smith and Adrian Quicke last May. Gomez is on the Oklahoma University cross country team, Graves is on Wake Forest’s team and Smith is on Charleston Southern’s team. Gomez was the 2008 State Champion and Graves finished third.
“I knew we had a shot to be in the top five this year,” said boys’ coach Dan Norton. “The boys have had to rely on themselves now − not Patrick or Howard − and they have grown up a lot because of it.”
The boys all agree that they have had to step up since their top runners and leaders graduated. “We’ve done more than we thought we could, and we’ve all realized we could actually do well without them,” said junior Youssef Biaz.
The boys are currently ranked sixth in the state, but are confident they will be among the top five at state because they were ahead of Oak Mountain and Bob Jones at the Jesse Owens Classic and the Tiger Classic, respectively. “We still have a lot of good old-fashioned hard work to do, but we’re on our way there,” said senior Jason Miller.
The cross country program has limited funds and faced even more budget cuts this season. As a result, the team travelled to Georgia for meets since it was less expensive than the meets they traditionally attend in Mobile and Birmingham. This could put the team at a disadvantage as they are not racing against their competition for state meet as frequently as they had in the past. The athletes use this economic situation to motivate them to take advantage of the times they do compete against the best teams in Alabama.
Adding to the fiscal woes of the program are the problems surrounding the resurfacing of the track last fall. Auburn High track and cross country alumni rejoiced at the prospect of a resurfaced track so the school could attract large meets like their competitors. Kevin McDonough, an athlete who graduated in 2001, said, “I was so delighted to hear that the track would be resurfaced. I think athletes should be able to take pride in their facilities.”
