Eagle

crest Student Magazine

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Eaglecrest 5100 S Picadilly St Centennial, CO 80015 - EQextra.com - March 29, 2013 - Volume 21 Issue 6 - EQnewsroom@gmail.com

There was no last-second battle in the paint. With four minutes left in the game, the chants from the crowd screamed victory and East High School subbed out all of their starters. The tears swelled in Coach Olander’s eyes and the bench erupted in hugs. Nobody thought the Raptors would come this far. Unranked at the start of the season, the solid and overlooked team worked their way to the top, earn-ing Eaglecrest’s first state championship in school history. But it wasn’t without setbacks. The second league game against Cherokee Trail in February went into a strenuous double overtime. In the last minute, CT was sent to the line for three free throws that put them ahead with crucial seconds left on the scoreboard. They walked away with the League Championship title. “That was the low point of the sea-son,” Head Coach John Olander said, “losing to CT and losing the chance to win the League Championship title.” Each loss remained in the back of their minds. Three months earlier, the Raptors had played East in the third game of the season and lost by 20 points. East remained undefeated in-state going into the last game of the season. “We had a lot of slip ups the first time,” Senior Tre Shawn Wilford said. “So we knew we could hang with them.” When it came time for the champion-ship game, the Raptors were in control from the moment they stepped on the court and held a comfortable lead most of the game. After halftime, East trailed by just one point, the closest they came all game. But in the end the Raptors securely took home a state championship with a 19-point lead. “I was just so proud of them,” Olander said. “It was such a good feel-ing to watch your kids go out and execute what you’ve been working on all year and demonstrate their skill and their toughness.”

The team was underestimated and projected to lose, but Olander and the team had their sights set on victory. “I’ve been on varsity since I was a sophomore, lots of ups and downs,” Wilford said. “To win as the underdog is probably one of the greatest feelings.” They made lots of changes this year, both in coaching and on the court, to strengthen the team. “Sometimes as a coach, you just have to step back and let them play to their strengths and make plays,” Olander said. “We gave them a lot of freedom on defense to just go out and make plays. I had to trust them this year.” But one of their greatest attributes as a team is their ability to work as one - no single player is valued more than an-other because they know that they need each other to succeed. “We don’t have just four people that

can play,” Junior LaDerian King said. “You can put anybody out there, and they’re going to give it their all.” The fans are a major part of the game too, and their support is dire as tensions run high at the end. “It was really awesome - everyone was cheering for EHS,” Sophomore Madison Smith said. “They were ecstatic, pump-ing up the team.” But Olander doesn’t just want the team and coaches to be able to celebrate the championship - it belongs to every-one. “This is a great thing for Eaglecrest High School and the Eaglecrest commu-nity, all the alumni, anybody who’s ever gone to school here. I just want them to know that this is theirs too - it’s not mine, it’s not the basketball team’s, this is Eaglecrest High School’s state cham-pionship.”

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Making HistoryBY JESS DANKENBRINGEditor-in-chief

Sophomore Blend Avdili led his team into the gym to celebrate the State Champion-ship title with students, staff, parents, and coaches at the pep assembly on March 27.

photo by Jess Dankenbring

ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP

MOUNTAIN VISTA

REGIS

EAST

64 - 57

74 - 59

63 - 44

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The Raptors remained ahead for most of the game, but not by a safe distance. In the last few minutes of the game, Regis took a minor lead that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Senior Tre Shawn Wilford, who was injured part way through the second half of the game in a fight for the ball, came striding back onto the court just in time to shoot free throws for a technical foul called on Regis. Their momentum was back, and after a three-pointer from Senior Sean Wat-kins and a jump shot from Jaisean Jackson, the Raptors had a solid lead to carrying them into the final moments of the game.

There was an uncertain cushion of points throughout the game, and trouble ensued on the floor as Senior Tre Shawn Wilford and Sophomore Blend Avdili fouled out with 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter. But it was in those final minutes that the gap in points grew to 15, mostly from free throws. So even when Senior Sean Watkins took a seat on the bench with a knee injury, the Raptors held a lead significant enough to take them into the Finals.

East remained undefeated in-state until the last game of the season. Three months ago, the Raptors played East and lost by 20 points. This time the roles were reversed. The Raptors led by a comfortable margin for the entire game. After halftime, East came back within one point, the closest they came all game. But in the end the Raptors securely took home a state champi-onship with a 19-point lead.

Sophomore Blend Avdili (right) had 15 rebounds in the game against Mountain Vista, the most any Raptor had in one game.

Junior Jaisean Jackson (right) had 19 points, more than any other player on the floor, in the game against Regis.

Senior Tre Shawn Wilford (right) scored 21 points in the game against Denver East, and has the most steals all season for the Raptors.

photos by Jess Dankenbring

photo by Jess Dankenbring

GREAT EIGHT

FINAL FOUR

CHAMPIONSHIP

When Senior Tre Shawn Wilford found out he was picked to play for the All Star game, after winning the State champion-ship, a first for Eaglecrest, he let loose. “I put my hands up high and started yelling because I was with my team,” Wilford said. Wilford has earned many titles this season: MVP of the tournament, Player of the game for the final, and male athlete of the week by the Denver Post, and he likes the attention. “It’s a high honor to be recognized for my work since sophomore year,” he said. Off the court, you wouldn’t think he’s done all that. He’s a soft-spoken guy, who takes his aca-demics and basketball seriously, though it can be hard at times to balance the two. “The hardest part is the late night practice and having to wake up early for school,” Wilford said. Wilford decided he would be attend-ing University of Colorado in Colorado Springs at the beginning of the season, due to advice from his coach, John Olander. “The coach sold me for their program and being the face of their basketball team,” Wilford said, “I feel accomplished, I’ve been working for this since forever.” His step-dad taught him how to play basketball when he was six years old. Wilford lives with his mom, step-dad and three brothers, who are also into basketball, and they have been sup-portive and happy of his success. “They’ve been more excited than I am,” he said. His brother, freshman Charles Roberts, said they’ve watched the State Champi-onship “at least 10 times.” Roberts describes his brother as a “great person, funny and trustworthy.” “He gives me tips about

everything: basket-ball, school, girls,” he said. Teammate Senior Marcus Carpenter agrees he’s a great guy who’s “humble,

hardworking and really skilled.” Wilford worked out every day during the season and practiced shooting by taking 1000 shots a day, which took

three hours. “My shooting has increased way higher,” Wilford said.

Though he works hard, he has had to face diffi culties this season, from injuries, to foul

trouble. Wilford broke his knuckle in his left hand

as he was trying to dunk, and he later hurt his mouth by another player as he jumped

into block. During the Mountain Vista game, Wilford sat out due to foul trouble. “It was frustrating for me to sit out,” Wilford said. “It hurts the team.” Wilford took basketball serious-ly his freshman year after seeing high school athletes.

“That inspired me,” he said. Wilford in turn inspires others, and is a “player every-body looks up to” according to

Olander, including his own brother, Roberts, who hopes to follow in his footsteps. “I want to be like my brother,” he said.

“It’s a high honor to be recognized for my work since sophomore year.”Tre Shawn WilfordSenior

BY DILKUSH KHANReporter

Tre Shawn Wilford

photo by Jess Dankenbring

Points per game: 13.4

Assists per game: 2.1

Rebounds pergame: 5.0

Steals per game: 3.4

Blocks per game: .5Points this season: 375

“A player everybody looks up to.” -John Olander, coach

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Creating a huge upset by beating East, varsity boys take home the 5A State Championship with a

score of 63-44. This infographic takes a closer look into the season and the last time Eaglecrest was in the playoffs in 2008.

Overall:

League:

National Rank:

Colorado Rank:

game win streak

23-511-3

41

17

Season Stats

2 10 35 21 1

Tre Shawn Wilford

Rayjon CraigSean Watkins

Blend Avdili

Jaisean Jackson

Head: Points scored

Eyes: Steals

Hands: Blocked Shots

Legs: Rebounds

Mapped player statistics to physical attributes

*more blocks equals bigger hands, more rebounds results in longer legs etc.

Arms: Assists

Player Visualization of entire (2012-2013) season

Reaching the

Final Four in

08’, Eaglecrest was

shut down by East

with a 52-67 lost, and ending

the season with a

record of 22-5

StateChampions

# of players who made All-Centennial

Eaglecrest

League teams this season.

Cherokee Trail Overland Smoky Hill Grandview

Infographic and Information compiled by: Mallory Sullivan

Player Visualization of entire (2012-2013) seasonHead: Points scored

Eyes: Steals

Hands: Blocked shots

Arms: Assists

Legs: Rebounds

Mapped player statistics to physical attributes

*more blocks equals bigger hands, more rebounds results in longer legs etc.

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Football coach John Madden once said, “Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.” Luckily for Eaglecrest Boys Varsity Basketball coach John Olander, while the team had its ups and downs this year, the overall result was nothing to cringe at. The team managed to clinch the 5A State Championship, a far cry from what many assumed would be an automatic win for East High School. The boys’ work was critical, but Olander’s coaching also led to the victory over East, and their coach Rudy Carey, who has over 700 wins under his belt. Snyder sees Olander as an “outstand-ing” coach who knows how to lead the team. “Obviously he’s phenomenal with the Xs and Os, and the strategic pieces of being the coach,” Snyder said. “Coach Olander was by far many steps ahead of Coach Carey in that game.” Olander’s style has developed from over 20 years of coaching. “I feel pretty lucky to be able to have coached that long,” he said. Olander played for Fort Collins High School (and holds the school record for assists in a single season with 129), and then later for the Bears at the University of Northern Colorado. Olander’s father, John Olander Sr., coached the younger Olander in a way that has stuck with him. “A lot of the base philosophies that I have as a coach came from him. A lot of how we teach things came from him.” Olander said. Olander Sr. works as an assistant for the team, a role, which according the junior Olander, helps the team out a lot. “He really does a lot of our break-down of game film, of our own team.

He comes to practice and tells us what we need to work on for our own team,” Olander said. “He doesn’t say a whole lot, and so when he does speak, I know that [the boys] listen.” One of Olander’s defining character-istics is how he will grant some level of autonomy to the boys in their playing. “As a coach, you want to be in control of everything. You want to control every single position and every single play, and this group really taught me that I need to let them use their skills, let them use their talents, let their basketball knowledge influence what we’re going to do offensively, defensively as a team,” Olander said. “You come in with a plan, but you’ve got to be able to adapt that plan based on the talent that you have, the players that you have, and their strengths.” Senior Maurice Perez, a starting guard, said that Olander placed more trust in him during the Mountain Vista game. “He let me shoot three-pointers,” Perez said. “He trusts us to execute plays,” shooting guard Marcus Carpenter, also a senior, said. Understanding his players allowed

Olander to adapt to different situations. “This year, be-cause of how good our players played man-to-man defense, we pretty much stuck with that all year,” Olander said. “Offensively, we had a few offensive concepts we would change up through-out the game based on how the other team was guarding us. We didn’t get too fancy with that. We kind of just let the players use their abilities and wound up being successful with that.” A few games,

such as the first one against Arapahoe,

required fine-tuning. The only low point, Olander explained, was when the team did not secure a win at the Centennial League Championship. The lack of distress was no doubt buttressed by the team’s personali-ty. Compared to other teams he has coached, Olander describes this year’s team as “very even” in terms of their emotions. “They just didn’t seem to take things too serious, which sometimes as a coach frustrates you. You want them to take it more serious, but that was their person-ality, and I think that that’s why we were able to be so successful is they just were a relaxed group,” Olander said. This is no accident. Olander is just as able to objectively assess a situation and not get too emotional about it. “Sometimes coaches get caught up in the moment or caught up in the situa-tion. He doesn’t do that; he doesn’t get caught up in the moment or the situa-tion, and that’s what makes him a great coach.” Snyder said.

Game plan: the Olander approachby STEVEN TIBBITTSNewsfeed Editor

photo by Jess Dankenbring

To continue reading the story, scan this code with your smart phone or go to EQextra.com!

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In Olander’s twelfth season caoching, he allowed the boys’ talents to show leading them to victory over East’s coach, Rudy Carey, to bring home the gold.

BY BRANDON DIENERReporter

Let me start by saying that I think it’s fantastic that we won the state championship, but basketball as a whole is signifi-cantly less fantastic. Watching it or playing it, I find basketball unenjoyably to say the least. My main problem with watching basketball is simply how the game is played. It’s just running up and down the court with each team taking turns scoring. This makes it so the first forty minutes of most games is like a completely irrelevant warm-up. Most games come down to the last two minutes and that’s the only time I find it real-ly exciting. It’s when the points and strategy actually matter. Granted, it was pretty awesome being thirty points up in the last minutes of the championship game, but in general the last few minutes is the only exciting part of any basketball game. This is why I prefer hockey. The whole game can be exciting because scoring is actually difficult and it’s not so turn-based. As for playing basketball, I don’t have much experience with it outside of the madness that is playing basketball in a gym class. It might be fun if it was a little organized, but it’s just a bunch of people trying to make trick shots from all over the gym, so I have to focus on not getting hit in the face with a basketball in-stead of actually playing the game. The few pick-up games I’ve played outside of school felt more like boring old exercise than playing a game because it was still just running up and down the court. It’s not like hockey. With hockey, you can exercise and have fun AT THE SAME TIME! In closing, stop playing basketball and start playing hockey.

NO

Is basketball the best sport?

YESBY EMILY ATWELLReporter

So, if I’m being honest, I don’t like sports, except the best sport, basketball. The game of basketball is easy to follow and understand, which is one reason why it’s the best. When I go to a game like football, I can never tell what’s going on. One moment the ball gets hiked, the next, players are on the ground. When I go to a basketball game I know exactly what’s going on. When you attend a basketball game you are so close to the court, compared to football, where you’re at such a distance

it’s hard to be involved. I like to hear the squeaks of the sneakers on the floor, the voices of the coaches directing the players, and the swish you hear when the ball make it in the basket. The best thing about sports is watching players get injured, right? I like what injuries do to the feel of the game. In most sports, don’t you have some sort of protection? Well, not basketball. There’s no helmets, no shin guards, no masks, no pads, just shorts and shirts, along with socks and shoes. Most times if you get an injury,

you sit out for a few minutes, then they’re right back in to game. At

the game against Regis, senior Tre Shawn Wilford injured his ankle, but still played later on that night. I mean isn’t that what sports are about? To just push forward no matter what happens? When you get injured and you keep going, you add to the sportsmanship and dignity of the game. Okay, quick input on the uniforms, I’m not a huge fan of the tight pants look. The loose fitting basketball shorts honestly compliment players better than tight pants. Sorry football, basketball’s the best sport.

VS.

photo by Jess Dankenbring

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Though many students find it easy to get engaged with the game, there are those who don’t always find it exciting.

Jess Dankenbring

Steven Tibbitts

Brandon Jordan

Madeline Johnson Yoni Fine

Beau JamiesonZach Parker

Brandon Diener

Dilkush Khan

Emily AtwellMallory Sullivan

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Like us onfacebook.com/EQextracover photo by Beau Jamiesoncover illustration by Jess Dankenbring

Poms bring home silver from Florida

Cheer takes on the Nation and World

In “Taking Vegas to Orlando,” the Poms showed off their technical skills and powerful energy. Their outstanding choreography and stage presence made them the second best Poms team in the United States. Those same skills, with additional flare gave them the Las Ve-gas-themed routine they performed at the winter pep assembly and polished into a fourth place dance at nationals.

“ Team routine is essentially a combination of categories. It’s a dance that combines Pom, jazz, kick, and hip hop sections in one dance. It really tests a team.”-Captain Melissa Malone

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Photo courtesy of Eaglecrest Poms

2nd place and superior showmanship

Ranking 10th in the nation, Varisty cheer moved toward the World competition

and placed 4th out of 6 countries.

Photo by Jess Dankenbring The cheer team, after competing in nationals, cheered on the basketball team onto their state championship. Information compiled by: Brandon Jordan