Coach Yanske stated, “being a part of the process, observing the growth of student athletes whether it's on the track and field or outside of the sport, and watching them succeed” is a favorite part of coaching track and field. Although Coach Yanske has been coaching track and field for 39 years, he mentioned, “when this is all said and done I don’t want this to come up short, I want to give everything I got. I don’t want to play the what if game. No regrets, no excuses, no what if’s, bring my best each day. You always want to grow as a coach, I’m still challenging myself even after all these years.”
Captain Bella Turben and fellow cheerleaders Madi Sloan (10), Kari Ofte (12), Maddy Berg (11), Sydney Sill (10), and Rhianna Steiger (11), cheered at their last home wrestling meet, which combined multiple honors as our school celebrated the parents and seniors of our winter cheer and wrestling teams.
Halvorson says that the definition of "success" is different every year and with every team. "You set goals for your team based on characteristics of each player. Improvement is key. If there is improvement throughout the year then that is success."
The wrestling team has been working hard this season. Their main goal is to make sure everyone improves in their ability to wrestle, and coaching the kids to the best of their abilities. Coach Drew stated “everyone has stuck with it and is turning into the family the wrestling team is.”
Gymnasts have already seen results in their hard work and determination. Coach Tiffany said “Our team score high for 2021-2022 was 107.45 with an average score of 102.69. This year with only 3 meets under our belt and only one meet with our entire team, our high score is 105.6. We have extreme potential to beat last year's team score high as the season continues.” There are 8 more meets this season, 5 of which are home meets that are on Jan. 23 and 27th and Feb. 6th, 11th, and 17th.
The Norsemen volleyball team had a historic season in the fall of 2022. There were record numbers of seniors, creating a full Varsity with just two juniors, a Varsity Reserve Team, as well as a C Team. This year's Varsity Girls team surpassed expectations and past records, going 33-2.
The Westby Football team had high hopes going into their season. They started in their annual scrimmage at Prairie Du Chien and unfortunately lost a key member of the team, Blake Sutton, to a season-ending leg injury. The first two summer games went well. The team led off at home against Richland Center winning 41-0 and continued on to beat Benton 29-14 the week after. They hit their first roadblock against West Salem ending in a 44-7 loss. After that loss, they left that game in the past and prepared for the Mega Bowl.
The Westby Cross Country team finished with a wonderful season. In particular, the girls team had seasoned leadership that created a phenomenal season. Seniors: Denali Huebner, Audra Johnson, Meghan Nelson, Aubrey Jothen, and Montana Lindahl were a huge part of this years success, and their leadership and success will be missed next season.
