Tag: Trojan Tribune

By Claire Dunlap, WHS Trojan Tribune

“We have been together as Flow and the Mingos for about 2 and a half years now,” said Coughenour. “We started off just playing at friends’ parties. During the summer, we played at Parkers Lake and participated in a few battle of the bands that we actually did pretty well in. It’s been in the past four or five months that we have been getting more shows.”

“Jam Solid Productions contacted us about this contest over Myspace. We didn’t know much about it, but we decided to give it a try,” said Walk. When the band arrived at the Dinky Towner, they were a little surprised by how things looked on the outside. “It looked really small from the outside; turns out most of it is underground,” said Walk. “It was really cool though; there was a really wide variety of people.”

There were about 20 to 30 Wayzata High School students in the crowd waiting to support their friends. “It was a big turnout; we were really thankful to all of the fans that came to support us,” said Drasher. “This show was the most energy-filled performance we have had.”

Once the band took the stage, all the fans realized how thankful they were that they came. “I don’t know who Flow is, and I don’t know who Mingo is, but I’m sure they would have been proud because the show was epic,” said Josh Vicary (Grade 12). “This was the best show they have had yet,” said Dana Ness (Grade 11). Two days after the show, Walk received an email informing them that they had beaten the other, much older bands they had played with on Sunday. “We were pumped when we got the news,” said Coughenour.

The band will go on to play in the finals at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. A date has not been finalized, but the band is excited for what could come of it. Said Coughenour, “The prize is awesome: $400, 20 hours of recording time, and the possibility of a tour!”

By Jeff Harrison, WHS Trojan Tribune

He weighs in at 165 pounds and stands 6 feet tall. Who is he? Your very own athlete of the week, Wayzata High School student athlete Anders Bowman (Grade 12).

Bowman has been active for as long as anyone can remember. In elementary and middle school, he explored various sports, with soccer, basketball, and track being the three main ones. It was evident that track was his forte. In sixth grade, at a track meet where athletes from Central, West, and East middle schools competed for ribbons, Bowman excelled, winning the 800, the longest event offered. “That was my first track meet. It’s fun to know I was running against athletes that are now on my team, such as Danny Gerber.”

The success at that meet motivated Bowman to join the Wayzata Trojans cross-country team in 7th grade. He has been running cross country since then, maintaining a winning streak. “This year’s cross-country team was a lot of fun,” said Bowman. “We took first in state and went to nationals.” Bowman is also part of the Nordic ski team, which had a successful year, partly owing to Bowman’s contribution. He secured 11th place in the state, and the Nordic ski team as a whole took third.

Currently, Bowman is focused on having a stellar track season. After school, he joins the team in the gym for stretching, but his workout plan takes a different turn. “I just run,” said Bowman. “It’s a lot like the cross-country team practices but with a lot more repeats.” Repeats, a practice technique, are used to enhance the runner’s endurance, involving running a certain distance repeatedly.

The track season has begun, and Bowman is off to an impressive start. The first indoor track meet at Bethel College saw Bowman exploding right at the start of his mile race, finishing with a time of 4 minutes and 36 seconds. This set a new personal record, eight seconds faster than his old one. As long as he stays healthy, Bowman will continue to contribute to the boys’ track team. Before each meet, he eats half a Cliff Bar and takes a swig of Gatorade before his event.

His well-balanced diet and the right training regimen are sure to keep him in shape. Bowman has experienced only one running injury, occurring during last year’s cross-country season. An Accelerated Recovery Program revealed a partial tear in his hamstring, causing an irregular running pattern. “The doctors discovered there was a partial tear in my hamstring, and it was causing me to run funky,” says Bowman. Fortunately, the injury is fully healed, ensuring his continued contribution to the track team.

Bowman promises a fantastic track season ahead. “As long as we stay healthy and practice hard, we’ll be fine.” When asked why he runs long distances, Bowman responded with a short but to-the-point answer: “I don’t run to see who’s the fastest. I run to see who’s the toughest.”