City-West Double Headers
After a West home court sweep Dec. 22, the Trojan basketball teams traveled across town to City High Jan. 26 for another double-header match-up. Following a 63-57 victory Dec. 22 with a 33-point performance from sophomore stand-out Grace Fincham, the girls team lost to City 46-63 Jan. 26. Coming in with a six-game winning streak and a nearly perfect record (10-1), the boys team dominated City with a 70-44 win. As of print time, the girls team ended their regular season ranked No. 15, and the boys are ranked No. 2 for Class 4A.
Winter Weather
Chilling temperatures, icy conditions and heavy snowfall were behind school cancellations throughout January. The ICCSD builds ~6.5 additional school days into the calendar each year. After six missed school days this school year, only 2.5 extra hours remain as of print time. If more than 2.5 hours are missed, the ICCSD will employ make-up measures, such as converting April 19 from a no-school day to a school day or holding classes virtually. Additionally, West student government scheduled a Northern Lights themed SnoCo Jan. 20 but administration canceled it due to winter weather and low ticket sales.
View the ICCSD’s inclement weather policies here.
Dance Team Nationals
The West High Dance Team qualified for the Universal Dance Association (UDA) National Dance Team Championship held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla Feb. 2-4. The dance team qualified for nationals after placing 3rd for Pom and 5th for Jazz at the UDA Chicagoland regional competition Jan. 7. On Feb. 3, they advanced to the finals of nationals for the first time since 2019, in the Small Varsity Jazz category, ultimately placing 18th.
Girls State Wrestling
In girls wrestling’s second year as a sanctioned sport, three West wrestlers, Helen Orszula ’24, Peyton Van Dyke ’27 and Trinity Myers ’25, punched their ticket to the state tournament Jan. 27 at the Region 4 qualifier at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines. They competed at the state tournament in a sold-out Xtreme Arena Feb. 1. Orszula’s season ended after a first-round consolation loss, with Van Dyke and Myers falling in their second-round consolation matches.
Speech & Debate Districts
Following their fourth consecutive year as Iowa High School Speech Association (IHSSA) State champions, the West Speech & Debate team hosted the East Iowa District Tournament Feb. 9-10, in hopes of qualifying for the 2024 National Speech & Debate Tournament. 10 West members qualified across five events and will be traveling to nationals in Des Moines June 16-21 to compete among 6,700 students for 42 champion awards.
List of Qualifiers-
- Public Forum: Waad Dafalla ’26 and Diana Tivanskaya ’25, Bashir Eltyeb ’25 and Benjamin Kleiman ’24
- Lincoln Douglas: Jerry Li ’26 and Gwen Smith ’26
- International Extemporaneous: Evelyn Asay ’25
- US Extemporaneous: Andrew Dong ’24 and Faizaan Ahmad ’27
- Congress: Lincoln Beihl ’25 and Endrit Ramku ’27
Show Choir Competition Season
West’s varsity show choir, Good Time Company, kicked off its competition season with a fourth-place finish at the Prairie Premiere Jan. 27. For their second competition, Good Time Company placed first-runner up Feb. 3 at the Norwalk Nexus. A week later, Good Time Company took home the “Best Stage Presence” and “Best Soloist” awards at the Cedar Rapids Washington MoShow.
Boys Swimming State
The Trojan Bolts competed at the IHSAA State Swimming Championships Feb. 9-10 at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, hoping to improve on their 8th place finish in 2023. Notably, Hayden Hakes ’25, Holden Carter ’24, Winston Fan ’26 and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis University commit Max Gerke ’24 broke a state record set by the Trojan Bolts in 2022 for the 200-Yard Medley Relay, finishing with a time of 1:30.31. Overall, the Trojan Bolts placed 5th with 168 points.
Boys Wrestling State
Eight West wrestlers traveled to Des Moines Feb. 14-17 to compete in the Class 3A State Wrestling Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Alexander Pierce ’26, the 2023 state champion in the 106-pound class, finished as the runner-up this year in the 113-pound class. Two other West wrestlers made it to the podium: Justin Avila ’25 placed 5th in the 150-pound class, while Loras College commit Kyler Scranton ’24 placed 4th in the 175-pound class.
