5 Foods to Boost Brain Power by CHANG JEONG '13

Many believe high school builds the foundation for a better quality of life.  If that is so, being alert and paying attention will be very rewarding not only to the student but also to their family and friends.  However, like all methods to achieve success, keeping up with the school regimen along with extracurricular activities might prove to be exhausting.  According to Karen Ansel from CookingLight.com, a supplement to that problem, there are 5 great foods that can help boost brain power.
    The first food is blackberries.  Do you know why it is more difficult for older people to learn new things?  As we age, the brain cells gradually inflame and make connections harder to make, thus soaking the brain of new information is harder proportionally to our age.  Luckily, blackberries provide potent antioxidants called polyphenols that encourage new learning and delay such matters.
    The next item is surprisingly—chocolate.  Not only does the sweet treat lower blood pressure when consumed in moderation, chocolate, as researchers have found, keep the mind sharp.  Eating a third of an ounce of chocolate or two Hershey’s kisses may do the trick to give one that little extra boost because cocoa also contain polyphenols which contribute to increased blood flow to the brain.
    Next time you cook use oil use extra virgin olive oil.  Famous for its mono-saturated fats and heart benefits, EVOO, in addition, provide oloecanthal, an effective foe against ADDLs, Alzheimer’s inducing proteins.
    The fourth food, or rather a beverage, is concord grape juice.  In a study at the University of Cincinnati of Medicine taken over three months, 12 older adults stricken with declining memory were given concord grape juice or a placebo drink.  The researchers learned that those who drank juice significantly increased spatial memory and verbal learning skills.
    Finally, spinach. Yes, students.  It is very, very healthy for you.  Spinach is packed with folate, vitamin E, and Vitamin K, which are all proven to prevent dementia, a disease associated with memory loss.  Spinach may not taste good, but if included in a regular diet, it can bring tremendous health benefits.
    In reality, just eating (or drinking) healthy foods will not bring immediate success.  It is persistence and strong-willed determination to achieve whatever the task.  After all, these foods are just an extra little boost to reach that golden goal.

Competition Squad Cheerleading by JEN SMITH '14

This winter, some of our cheerleaders will be competing at many competitions around the area. They will be trying to get a paid bid to qualify for the U.S. finals this May in Washington D.C.  The girls on the squad were lucky enough to get the dance and pyramid part of their routine choreographed.  This will hopefully make their scores go higher when they perform in front of judges.  Some of the competitions that the team will be visiting will be a chance for them to get a bid to the U.S. finals.  When the girls compete, they will be competing against schools close to Wissahickon.
     The routine consists of an opening sequence, which is standing tumbling, or otherwise known as flips.  The next part is running tumbling, followed by the girls lifting some one else in the air, otherwise also called team stunt.  After the team stunt, the girls come together form a pyramid.  Then, they go to show off the dance that got choreographed.    
    If the girls do well at the competitions, they will hopefully get to go to the U.S. Finals.  There, they will compete with schools from all over the east coast. At the finals, there will be not just high school teams, but all-star cheerleading teams.  The high school level will only be competing against other teams in their division.  Since this is the first year for Wiss, the nerves will be quiet high at the first competition, which is taking place on November 28th.  Hopefully, this year, the girls will do well and go the finals.  We wish them luck as they start the competition season.

A Year to Remember by MICHAEL MARCANTONINI ‘13

Over the last six months, there has been some great baseball played throughout the Major Leagues.  Now, it is October and it is time for the postseason.  Let’s take some time to reflect on the year.  Since April, we have seen much hyped about Rookies phenoms make their MLB debuts like Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, Braves outfielder Jason Heyward, Reds pitcher Aroldis Champan, Indians catcher Carlos Santana, and Giants catcher Buster Posey.  We have also seen big trades made like the Rangers acquisition of lefty pitcher Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt coming to Philadelphia, and Manny Ramirez leaving LA for the windy city and the White Sox.  It has been an exciting year and it has not gone as expected.

     At the beginning of the season, we all heard the buzz around the big leagues.  The usual Yankees and Red Sox, the Dodgers who have seen the playoffs the last few years, the Phillies once again after repeating as NL champions last year, the Cardinals led by Albert Pujols, and a few other teams with high expectations.  But, it has been a crazy year with teams like the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Cardinals out of playoff contention.  Instead, teams like the Padres, Giants, Rays, Braves, Twins, Rangers, Reds, and Rockies have all had great years along with the Yankees and Phillies, who have lived up to expectations.  Team like the Reds and Rockies are where they are today because of NL MVP candidates Joey Votto and Carlos Gonzalez.  With that said, the Rangers have been led by AL MVP candidate Josh Hamilton.

    Other MVP candidates around the league include Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (AL), the Blue Jays Jose Bautista (AL), and Albert Pujols from the Cardinals (NL).  While these guys have been doing it with the bat, it has really been the year of the pitcher.  Standout hurlers include Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies (NL), Phillies ace Roy Halladay (NL), Yankees work horse CC Sabathia (AL), Red Sox young right hander Clay Buchholz (AL), Josh Johnson of the Marlins (NL), and Mariners stud Felix Hernandez (AL) are all Cy Young candidates.  There have been five no-hitters this season and two of them have come from guys like Roy Halladay who threw a perfect game and Ubaldo Jimenez. Others have come from Dallas Braden of the A’s, another perfect game, Matt Garza of the Rays, and Edwin Jackson with the Diamondbacks, who was later traded to the White Sox.  2010 has certainly fit its description of “The year of the pitcher.”

    Although there have been some great individual accomplishments this year, many teams have had wonderful seasons like the Reds out of the NL Central division.  Veterans Orlando Cabrera, Bronson Arroyo, and Scott Rolen have contributed to this team of mostly young players.  But, the biggest contribution has come from Joey Votto.    They would be pretty low in their division without his MVP-like performance.  Out of the AL, the Twins put together a great season without Veteran closer Joe Nathan (Tommy John surgery) and much of the year without their slugging 1st baseman Justin Morneau who is on the disabled list with a concussion. They have also gotten through the season with a mostly young pitching staff.  Guys like Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, Carl Pavano, and young Francisco Liriano have carried this team.  Other great stories include the revamped Rays sticking right with the Yankees in the AL East and the Padres in the NL West with their great pitching staff.

    It has been an incredible year and it is almost over.  So many big time players have had wonderful seasons as well as surprise guys who have really made names for themselves.  With this production, a lot of teams have been able to contend for a chance at the postseason.  If we are lucky, the 2011 season will be just as good as and hopefully even better than this outstanding year.  As another baseball season is almost over, it will be great to see who ends up with all the awards in the end and who walks into 2011 as World Series Champions.

76ers 2010-2011 Season Preview by WESLEY CHENG '12

With the football season underway, basketball fans know that the 2010-2011 NBA season awaits.  With the Lakers taking the NBA title last year, and the Miami Heat stacking up with the Big 3 in LeBron, Wade, and Bosh over the past summer, this season is sure to be full of surprises. In the City of Brotherly love, the only way to go is up after a pitiful 27-55 season.  Gone are Coach Eddie Jordan’s failed Princeton offense, and Sam Dalembert’s questionable attitude. In are the multi-talented Evan Turner (aka The Villain) the Sixers #2 draft pick from Ohio State, the hardnosed Andres Nocioni, a new young center in Spencer Hawes, a steady veteran presence in Tony Battie, but most of all a no-nonsense coach in Doug Collins.
    One can argue that many of the Sixers troubles last year were due to a lack of discipline and chemistry.  The inability to utilize the talent on the team consistently often hindered the Sixers chances of winning any games. Doug Collins will be sure to correct those issues. Collins expects the most out of his players and this is great sign because this year’s Sixers team does not lack talent.  The amount of success the Sixers experience this year hinges on bounce back seasons from disappointing players and the growth of young players such as former UCLA Bruin Jrue Holiday. Holiday will almost certainly start at point guard to start the season, which leaves high scoring Lou Williams as the primary 6th man off the bench.  Holiday showed flashes of greatness last year, producing one three-pointer and a steal per game in limited playing time.  Holiday dropped 25-7 while shooting 10-12 from the field on April 3 in a game against the Toronto Raptors last season.  The progression of Jrue Holiday this year with consistent playing time will serve as an indicator of whether he really was the steal of the draft in 2009.  Starting at the 2 will most likely be rookie phenom Evan Turner, last year’s NCAA Division I Player of the Year. While a poor summer league tampered many expectations, it is hard to argue that Turner will finally be the solution to the SG problem that has been successfully and unsuccessfully manned by Andre Iguodala who will finally be allowed to man the 3. Stats have never been a problem for Iguodala who consistently averages around 17/5/5 (a stat only shared by a few NBA players in the league), but he has clearly shown the inability to be that #1 who takes over games in the 4th quarter. However, fresh off a US National Team appearance with heavy praise from Coach K,  Iggy is ready to step in for the Sixers for a 7th year, with Turner taking some of the weight off his back. At PF, there is a bit of a logjam, but many believe the spot will ultimately go to Thaddeus Young. Tall, but lanky, Young is looking to improve on his disappointing 3rd year after his promising sophomore campaign in which he averaged 15.3 points per game. What Thad lacks the size, he makes up for athleticism, and Coach Collins will be looking for a steady improvement in Thad’s game this year as he enters his 4th season.  That leaves either disappointing and expensive Elton Brand or the young Spencer Hawes to man the middle. Ultimately it appears that the Sixers will use Elton at the 5 rather than have his fat contract rot on the bench.  Brand has been an absolute bust in his first two years with the Sixers after signing a lucrative 5 year contract back in the summer of 2008, averaging less than 14 ppg in each year while seeing a steady decrease in his rebound numbers.  However, Doug Collins is determined to get Elton back to his old 20-10 form (although anything near 17-8 would be great), meeting with the former all-star over the offseason in an attempt to rejuvenate him.  Brand should be able to see an increase in his numbers as Doug Collins implements less of a run n’ gun style and more of a set offense style, a style that suits Brand much better.  In addition Elton Brand has failed to receive any consistent playing time in his Sixer career, so maybe this is the year Brand shows his true worth. Key bench players include the oh-so hated Willie Green, Marreese Speights, and a steadily improving sharpshooter Jodie Meeks.  
    Let’s be honest.  The Sixers are NOT favorites to win the NBA finals.  However, if the Sixers can begin the meshing as a team, and individual players begin to improve/bounce back from last season, then they have an awfully bright future with the amount of talent and versatility on this team.

Wissahickon Water Polo by ERIC SMITH '14

 
The boys’ Wissahickon Trojan water polo team was stunned by a recent loss to LaSalle High School. The boys’ water polo team, although not far into the season, is doing worse than last year because of a recent lose to Perkiomen Valley. The head coach Rob Mita does think the team could still have a chance to make it to State Championships. “If the boy’s varsity pulls themselves together maybe varsity we’ll go to states.” The boy’s varsity team has a total of two wins and two losses. The two wins were against Springfield and Upper Merion while the two losses were to Perkiomen Valley and La Salle. The boy’s junior varsity team consists of twenty-one high schoolers, including 9 freshmen, with a total of three loses and one win. Coach Mita did have a message for these high schoolers. “If the junior Varsity boys worked harder at practice and stopped fooling around they would have a lot more wins.”
 
The girls’ varsity water polo is doing better slightly better than the boys water polo with three wins and suffering only one loss to Perkiomen Valley. The season is looking good according to coach Rob Mita, due to their hard work and dedication at practices. The team is lead by the two captains Katie High and Megan Royer. Mita basically said the same thing to the girls that he said to the boys. “If the girls keep what there doing and pull themselves together they will have a great season ahead of them.”  
The girls junior varsity is also doing well because of their hard work. The junior varsity team also looks like they have a good season ahead of themselves.

Trojans Fall to Archbishop Ryan 27-20 in a Heartbreaking Loss

Last night the Wissahickon Trojans football squad suffered a draining loss to the Archbishop Ryan Raiders.

After a three-and-out to start the game for the Trojans, Raiders running back Marcus Allen showed glimpses of his namesake, running for an 80-yard touchdown on AR's first play from scrimmage. Despite a nice cutback rush by Wissahickon star running back Anthony DeLegall, the first quarter ended while the score stood at 7-0 Archbishop Ryan.

Early in the second quarter, the Trojans bounced back with QB J.T. Crits tossing a 5-yard TD to offensive captain Jaron Parham. The score remained tied until a long pass by Ryan QB Mike Anunsky set up an easy 5-yard TD toss to wideout Nick Levan with :45 left in the half.

The half time show began with the season debut of the Wissahickon Marching unit, featuring drum major Cassie Drumm and junior drum major Jen Buono. They played selections from the movies Star Trek, Jupiter  from Gustav Holst's The Planets, and music from Transformers.

The third quarter cast a gloomy shadow on Wissahickon's chances, as starting fullback Ivory Taliaferro was carried off on a stretcher after receiving a devastating blow. After a little scuffle at the line-of-scrimmage, Archbishop Ryan scored 13 unanswered points to begin the quarter. However, those would be the last points they would score in the game.

The fourth quarter began with a bang, commencing with a Trojans drive that ended with a deflected pass caught by junior wide receiver Varney Dassin, making the score 27-13. After a three-and-out by the now-struggling Raider offense, Jemy Thelemaque electrified Wissahickon fans with a 49-yard punt return touchdown that shrunk the deficit to 7 points. Then, after the Raiders failed to gain any yards and were forced to punt, Crits marched the Trojans down to the one-yard line. On fourth and one Wissahickon failed to break the plane, and with 3:30 left the Raiders had the ball on their own goal-line. On third-and-eight, it seemed as if Allen had been tackled by Ricky O'Donnell in the end-zone for a safety. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the referees called it fourth-and-ten. After the punt, the Trojans had one last chance to knot up the score. They managed to drive the ball into the red-zone, but Crits' desperation throw was intercepted w/ 1:10 left, and the Raiders proceeded to run out the clock, notching the win.

The loss dropped the Trojans to 0-2. Their next game is Thursday at CB West. If they can duplicate their first half success from their first game and last night's second half dominance, the Trojans might have a chance to nab their first victory of the year.

Wissahickon Football: Trojans fall to William Tennent 20-13

Last Friday, Wissahickon's football season started off on the wrong page. After an 80-yard rush by Trojan tailback Anthony DeLegall that gave the Trojans a 13-0 lead, Tennent scored 20 unanswered points in the second half. Tennent received a great contribution from fullback Connor Geiger, who ran 85 yards and a game-winning 32-yard touchdown with about 3-minutes left.

When asked about what positives he could take from the grueling loss at the home opener, co-captain Rich Moyer said "We played a great first half, scoring 13 points and holding the opponent to zero offense. We just need to finish games". Wissahickon's lack of experience (only 3 returning starters) should not be a problem, says Moyer, as long as they "go out their and play together, and play harder than the other team".

The Trojans will take the field against Archbishop Ryan tomorrow night at 7pm at Wissahickon. The outcome of this game could be an indicator of what is to come for the young Trojans.