Ida B Wells Athletics Weekly

"Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy." — Dan Gable

Guardian Athletics

Be Courageous

Be Encouraging

Be Helpful

Be Gracious

Be Energetic

Be A Guardian

• If life continues to teach us anything, it's that life is precious ― and can be here one day and gone the next.
• We don't have to wait for special occasions to convey to people around us that we're grateful for their presence in our lives.
• Realize our greatest discoveries do not always come from speeding up and doing more but from mindfully slowing down and taking on less.
• We choose courage over comfort when we decide to remain present in the face of the unknown, the unexpected, and the uncontrollable.
• As leaders, one of the most important things we can do for ourselves is to be intentional in cultivating moments of solitude, reflection, and positive self-talk.
• Disconnect to reconnect with your spirit and lean more bravely into the stillness of your transformation.

Greetings Sports Fans!

Just one week left in the regular season for PIL Basketball and we now know who is going to State for Wrestling from the men’s program.

Our Men’s Basketball Program took care of business against Jefferson and Cleveland this past week taking down the Demos and Warriors in convincing fashion. They have a huge week coming up with Senior Night on Tuesday night against the McDaniel Mt. Lions and then wrapping up the regular season on Friday against the Generals of Grant. On the women’s side, we took down the Demos at Jefferson avenging an early season loss to them. We couldn’t quite find a rhythm against the Warriors on Friday night falling to Cleveland. They too have a big week traveling to McDaniel on Tuesday and we host the Generals on Friday for a fun night which includes the Senior Night for the women’s program and Alumni Night!

Over the weekend, the Men’s Wrestling Program traveled to Lincoln for the PIL District Tournament. The program finished in 5th place just two points behind Cleveland. Shae Morrison is District Champ at 126, Lucius Coon 2nd at 175, Walker Gwaltney took 3rd at 150, and Roman Tubay took 3rd at 150 all qualifying for State!

We host our last Unified Game today at 4pm versus Grant and it is their Senior Night as well!

Finally, as we wrap up the Winter Season please be reminded that we are just one week away now from our Spring Season so if you haven't done so already, please get registered! This is the only way our coaches can accurately plan for the season! Much more information can be found below.

Great to Be A Guardian!!

For a complete listing of the weekly athletic schedule, please visit the athletic dept. website:IBW Athletics/THIS WEEK. Links to team schedules can also be found on their team pages on the athletic website and in the 2025-26 Winter Season Media Guide. Use the QR Code or this link 2025-26 Winter Season Media Guide

Get ready to ignite your Guardian spirit! One week from tonight, we're taking over the IBW gym for an exciting evening of basketball, camaraderie, and celebration! Come and loudly support our surging boys and girls basketball teams as they battle it out against Grant.

The excitement doesn't stop there! Between the varsity games, we'll have a special Alumni Recognition. So if you are a WHS/IBWHS Alum, join us!!

That's not all... We'll also be celebrating a remarkable group of senior girls who have poured their hearts and souls into our program, school, and the entire IBW community. Let's send them off with the roaring applause they deserve!

Here's the game plan:

• 5:45 PM: Boys Game - Get ready for some high-flying action!
• 7:15 PM: Girls Game - Witness true grit and determination!

Alums, once the final buzzer sounds on the girls' game, the celebration doesn't end! Join us at the Old Market Pub for an alumni after-party. Let's keep the good times rolling, reminisce about the glory days, and make some new memories!

See you in the gym! Let's GO GUARDIANS!!!

Glen Coblens, Head Girls Basketball Coach, WHS Class of 1985

-"The place where fear has you blocked is the doorway to courage. Enter it."

“People wait all day for 5pm. All week for Friday. All summer for winter. All winter for summer. And all of life for happiness. Don’t let the pursuit of tomorrow diminish the joy of today.”

I. Aliveness Is the Signal

• What is my purpose in life? Versus…What brings me alive at this point in my life?

The second question removes the pressure to know the meaning of your existence and trains you to view purpose as a moment-to-moment conversation with your heart.

• What if purpose is not a conclusion … but a conversation?
• Not something you solve — but something you feel.

Moment to moment. Breath to breath. Aliveness is the signal. Follow it.

Source: Cory Muscara, Practicing Human

II. A Good Coach Transforms Lives

A good coach can change a person’s life.

• People come with some knowledge, some skills, some desire, and some confidence, and a good coach can take that raw material and convert it into greatness.

How many of you got to where you are today because somebody chose to see the good in you when it was easy to see the bad?

• And they said to you four magic words. Outside of “I love you,” the most powerful thing you can say to another person is, “I believe in you.”

I see something in you.

Source: Anonymous via Kristen Watson

III. The Messy, Beautiful Work

It takes bravery to break old habits, to turn to the voice inside of your own head and say: I will not let you speak to me that way.

• It takes courage to sit down and have a conversation with your mistakes. Growth is uncomfortable; it's slow and rarely steady.
• Take a moment to realize just how far you've come. Look at all the bridges you've crossed, and all the scary things you've done.
• We often don't give ourselves credit for the little things, but there is strength in those things too.

Forever is only the sum of right nows. You will never have everything figured out. Life is allowed to look like a Renaissance piece and a work in progress at exactly the same time. Don't wait until the day is perfect to look up and watch the sunrise.

Source: Sian Wilmot, The Butterfly Effect

IV. Question

If forever is only the sum of right nows, how do I want to live this one?

V. This Week, I Will

• Speak to myself with compassion.
• Notice something I love about myself and write it down.
• Keep my empathy but protect my energy.
• Allow the days to surprise me in beautiful ways.
• Remember, my resilience is a map someone will use to find their way.

The Last Words…

“When you know time is sacred, you don’t waste a single breath. You don’t rush. You don’t scroll. You don’t worry about tomorrow. You sit. You listen. You hold hands. You watch the sky change colors, and you let it change you, too. The present moment is everything. Love the people in front of you. Say the words. Watch the sunset. Trust, even when you don’t understand.”

― Stacy Keibler, WWE Hall of Famer

The IBW Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week is Anna Slade. Anna has a true nose for the ball and plays with nonstop energy. She drives to the hoop with strength and confidence, never shying away from contact, and has the ability to get a bucket when we need one. On the defensive end, Anna takes pride in being a lock-down defender. She embraces the challenge of guarding the other team’s top player and brings toughness to every possession. Congratulations Anna.

I have had a lot of proud coaching moments this season, but last weekend takes the cake. These girls are RESILIENT!! There were so many curveballs thrown at this team leading up to a big week at state. From injuries, to illnesses, and everything else, these girls stood tall, and did what it took for their teammates to put out a performance at state. They had a wonderful performance, and at the end of the routine, there were no tears because something went wrong. There were no tears because they were mad at their teammates, only tears because they were proud of themselves and their teammates. They were in a tough division all season, and never did they let that deter them. Following awards at State, while many teams were in tears because they didn’t take first, or taking to TikTok to express how they were robbed and the first place teams didn’t deserve their win, the guardians had big smiles on their faces… regardless of their placement, they were proud of their performance. These kids know how to win with grace, and they know how to lose with grace, and their ability to demonstrate that level of sportsmanship and maturity is something I am so unbelievably proud of.

Walker had the most improbable result of the tournament. In his first match, he faced the number one seed, and lost a close 15-9 match. His next 3 matches were roller coasters of emotion as he pulled off a 20-19 win, 7-3, and then 12-11. This put him in the 3rd/4th place match that he won with a pin, earning his first trip to the state meet. Walker has improved so much over the last 2 seasons that a tournament like this was bound to happen. He works tremendously hard in the room and is now listening more and more to the coaches in the corner during his matches. We can't wait to see what Walker does next.

Despite being injured for girl's regionals and unable to compete, Amber and Finley have been tremendous supporters of the team. They have been a positive presence at practice and even more so at the recent tournaments. Both spent their Friday and Saturday supporting the boys at Lincoln, learning along the way. They have both grown into the sport and we are excited to have them back next year.

We are still collecting donations to run our Zero Period Weight Training for the remainder of the school year. Student-Athletes from many of our programs take advantage of this opportunity to lift weights before school. Donations of any size are very appreciated!

We are just one week away from the start of the spring season! Do not delay any longer, register today

for baseball, softball, golf, tennis, lacrosse, track and field and boy's volleyball. See our website for all the details and links needed for registration https://www.ibwathletics.com/registration

SchoolPay is also open to make the payment for the Spring PIL Pay-to-Play Fee. It is important to note the $400/individual or $800/family maximum for the year. For many, the spring season is free. Lacrosse is still a club sport and does not count towards the maximums. More information to come regarding Boy's Volleyball.

We've increased from 256 to 324 spring season registrations from last week but still have a ways to go building towards 500! Keep it up!

Registering early informs coaches of intent to participate and they can then add you to their email lists otherwise you may miss out on receiving important information. Here are all our Spring Coaches. Contact them if you have specific questions about the program.

Baseball: Head Coach, Jeremy Shetler, jshetler@pps.net

Golf - Men: Chris Hudson, chudson@pps.net
Golf - Women: Mick Mulligan, mimulligan@pps.net

Lacrosse - Men (Club): Kyle Hincks, kylehincks@rocketmail.com

Lacrosse - Women (Club): Hyland Cullen-Musengo, coach.hyland.musengo@gmail.com
Softball, Krissy Govertsen, kgovertsen@pps.net

Tennis - Men: Welcome Frankie Moua! fmoua@pps.net

Tennis - Women: Dyllan Fitzgerald, dfitzgerald@pps.net

Parent/Player meeting on February 25th at 6pm in the Cafeteria

Track and Field: Thor Esbensen, tesbense@pps.net

Volleyball - Men (Club): Mark Mendak, mmendak@pps.net

• The fastest growing sport in America is now at Ida B. Wells! We are thrilled to announce to welcome in the first season of Girls Flag Football! Camp is on Saturday, February 28th from 10am to 12pm. Practices are mostly on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays throughout the season starting on March 2nd. Games are predominantly on Saturdays, with some weekdays mixed in. Coaches Britney Small and Danny Bradach can’t wait for you to register and get started! Click here to register today – Guardians Girls Flag Football Registration.

The IBW WinterSportsClub had BorderX and SlopeStyle competition the week of Feb. 18th.

BorderX

Girls: Special congrats to Olivia Freeman - 4th place

Boys: Special congrats: Weston Callough for 2nd & Liam Freeman for 5th

We placed: 2, 5, 14, 15, 17, 21, 26, 30, & 40 for Boys

Slopestyle:

Girls: Shout out to Olivia Freeman for 1st place!

Boys: Shout out to Renton Craighill for 1st place!

We took FIRST in both girls and boys SLOPESTYLE!

Special congrats to Ronan for 3rd and Weston for 5th!

We placed: 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 12, 14, 18, 26, 48, 52, 62, & 74

Congrats to the team! Two weekends in and we are dominating! Let’s GOOOO!

IBW Ski Race Team had their final races this weekend and we have 4 athletes who qualified for state in individual events:

Julien Loriaux (11) slalom

Leila Loriaux (10) slalom and giant slalom

Anya Tallman (10) slalom and giant slalom

Lauren Leet (12) slalom (pictured below during last Friday's slalom race at Timberline)

Congratulations!

Dear Female Student-Athletes and Coaches,

We are excited to invite you to the 9th Annual Playmakers Summit, a day dedicated to empowering female student-athletes and the coaches who lead them. This year’s summit will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Oregon Episcopal School in Portland, Oregon.

The Playmakers Summit is designed with intentional, separate programming to best serve both groups:

• Student-Athletes will engage in programming focused on building leadership skills, confidence, collaboration, and personal growth.
• Coaches will take part in a separate program focused on coaching female athletes, developing as leaders, and supporting both personal and team success.

Registration Information
All student-athletes and coaches must register individually.
To register, please visit https://www.playmakerssummit.com/ and click the registration button located halfway down the page.

This is a free event for all attendees, and lunch will be provided.

We can’t wait to make the 9th Annual Playmakers Summit our best one yet. The full agenda and keynote speaker announcement will be coming soon—but space is limited, so be sure to secure your spot today.

We look forward to seeing you on April 18th!

Thank you to all of our sponsors - both to those who are continuing on this year and to some brand new sponsors! It's not too late if you are Interested in being a sponsor this year? See the different options below and contact Athletic Director, Mike Nolan, at mailto:mnolan@pps.net

Website:www.ibwathletics.com

Phone: 503-916-5280, ext 75318
Athletic Director, Mike Nolan,mnolan@pps.net
Athletic Assistant, Leanne Van Horn,lvanhorn@pps.net
Instagram: ibwhs_athletics
Facebook: Ida B Wells HS Athletics
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