There’s No ‘I’ In NorthWood
ROCHESTER – The fine people working at the Arby’s in Rochester made me take a moment and reflect on what was a crazy, crazy weekend. Sitting in the drive-thru waiting on a couple roast beef sandwiches in between stops on what was a very busy and sleep-deprived sports tour in and out of Indianapolis, I hadn’t had the time nor the mental capacity to reflect on what had happened. I was high-tailing it up US 31 to get back to Nappanee in hopes of not missing the latest bit of excitement at the Black Swish basketball pep rally, something else I wanted to experience on just a couple hours of sleep.
A little over five minutes in line sitting in my car at the Arby’s gave me that pause.
I did what so many of us have been conditioned to do when we become impatient, we grab our phones. As I quickly swiped through my Twitter feed, mostly looking at all the NorthWood girls basketball retweet love from all angles of northern Indiana, I ran across a tweet from NorthWood baseball coach AJ Risedorph. He verbalized about a list he is keeping on the success of the programs at NorthWood, and shared his list publicly with updated notations for the Black Swish, Caden Jenkins and Jake Lone.
I would say that his list is impressive, but it was lacking. It was actually less than what it was supposed to be. Which gave me more pause as I started pecking through my own mind waiting on those roast beef sandwiches. I came up with a couple things he didn’t have, so did Tif Schwartz about her tennis team last fall. Shout out to my guy at the window for the extra Arby’s sauce, by the way.
As the championship sentiment overflowed at The Pit later that afternoon, NorthWood AD Norm Sellers brought up the same list AJ did. But rather than read through them individually, Sellers advertised his entire athletic department and student athletes as a whole and the run they are on this year.
Let’s dig in, because over the weekend, it became clear NorthWood is on quite a roll right now.
Going back to Indianapolis, the Black Swish obviously got it done, winning the second girls basketball and third team title with the 1999 girls basketball and 2005 football teams (fourth if you include the cheer title that sits just as prominently on the Wall of Fame high above The Pit). What a lot of people missed among the hubbub at Banker’s Life was Caden Jenkins finished 16th in diving just down the street at IUPUI, sitting as high as sixth heading into the afternoon rounds. Jenkins made the state round three years in a row. Just a week before at BLF, Jake Lone capped a brilliant wrestling career with a runner-up finish at 182 pounds, his second trip to the big dance in as many years.
The fall was rich with excitement, with volleyball, boys tennis and girls golf all going undefeated in Northern Lakes Conference play, golf having not lost an NLC match in over seven years and tennis went 35-0 in NLC dual matches this season, the only time in conference history that’s happened. All three of those programs went on to win sectional titles, and golf – led by Adam Yoder as well – took Oreo the Panther to state and finished sixth overall, its highest-ever placing at state. Cybil Stillson was sixth on the golf individual list as well. Ben Vincent ended his season 25-0 at No. 2 singles in tennis and 50-0 in dual competition while doubles teammates Jack Wysong and Landon Holland reached the state finals.
OK, so that’s a lot to digest, and it is. What struck me was how the feats have been achieved. The golf team made their run quietly and with a lot of confidence. The tennis team was easy to root for, and for the most part, didn’t get sucked into a lot of the court shenanigans that seems to be permeating high school tennis. Volleyball was awesome and brutal at the same time. I found myself wanting the team to do well, because the kids themselves wanted to do well. Those same kids were playing basketball, being good humans. Helping opponents off the court. Not arguing with refs or each other.
In an era of Twitter trolls, Instagram filters and Tik Tok stars, there seems to be a pattern developing. The coaches from Marian, Knox, Benton Central and Salem all said the same thing. NorthWood plays with class. Jon Reutebuch said it after Wawasee was run over by NorthWood in the sectional. NorthWood played with a lot of class. Norm Sellers said it at the pep rally. NorthWood plays with a lot of class. Adam Yoder didn’t have to, yet first publicly applauded Salem as a quality opponent and how they brought a great support system before saying anything about NorthWood Nation.
Caden Jenkins didn’t want to really talk about smacking his foot on the diving board on his final dive as a high schooler. But he did anyway. Riley Kitson said ‘yes sir’ before every question she was asked about not playing during either of her team’s runs to golf and basketball state. Reagan Hartman could barely finish her statement at the pep rally, standing in front of 1,000 people who all know how she felt, and all of them wanted to give her a hug. Maddy Payne deflected all her personal accolades at her teammates, giving them the credit for her to be in any position of adulation.
So all that to say, NorthWood is on a run, but what’s the overriding commonality between girls golf, boys tennis, wrestling, girls basketball and all the sports in between? Humble, hardworking kids who genuinely seem to have put the ‘we’ before the ‘me’.
Shaq spoke about Kobe at the memorial several days ago, joking how Kobe had a special way of putting the ‘me’ in ‘team.’ While NorthWood certainly has its versions of what a Kobe could be in the pantheon of Panther athletics, you’d be hard pressed to find many in uniform saying ‘give me the (blanking) ball.’
Even AJ Risedorph couldn’t, and he’s counting.