RPWednesday, October 30, 2013
the
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Warden pumping more iron By Dan Sheldon Staff Reporter Sometimes pumping iron is not enough. Sometimes taking care of your body as an athlete goes further than some Band-Aids and ice. For one student, a different kind of problem arose that not too many people are familiar with. Terese Warden, junior, has struggled with low iron this season. It even forced her to sit out two weeks of practices and races this season for the cross country team. “I was tired all the time, and when I would run faster, I would get light headed really easily. My coaches recommended that our whole team get their iron checked, and it just so happened that mine was low,” Warden said. Warden was diagnosed
with anemia. There are 400 different types of anemia, and one of them is caused by low iron. Anemia, as described by Webmd.com, is the lack of red blood cells which carry oxygen to the cells. Anemia causes easy fatigue, unusually rapid heartbeat, difficulty concentrating, and insomnia. Anemia can be hard to catch because the body can compensate remarkably well early on with anemia before symptoms are shown. “Iron is a building block of red blood cells, and if we don’t have enough, we don’t build red blood cells,” said Ms. Bobbi Pointer, nurse. Low iron is one of the most common forms of anemia and is diagnosed more often in girls. “It is not uncommon in high school girls. At the blood drive, several students were turned away because their low measure
of hemoglobin. They were all women,” Pointer said. Low iron is a problem even at higher level competition. In a study done by the University of Minnesota in 2008, 89 percent of the women on the Gophers cross country team were anemic at one time or another. In Warden’s case, her coaches knew that something was wrong when she was not running like she had in the past. “We noticed she was really sluggish. She wasn’t hitting the times she was supposed to be hitting in workouts. Because she’s run with us the past couple years we know what group she should be running in. Her races weren’t at the level that we expected her to be. That’s usually our first default as coaches to say, ‘go get your iron checked,’” said Ms. Anne Sateren, head girls cross country coach and Social Studies.
Warden had to sit out two weeks and had to do another week of training before she could race again. She also upped her iron intake and takes iron pills two times a day. However, anemia could not deter her from coming back even stronger then before. “It got me motivated to run again. My iron was up to a healthy level after about two weeks, and I have a lot more energy now and can go a lot longer and a lot faster,” Warden said. Warden, being in the top five runners for the varsity girls cross country team, is a scoring athlete and with her return has caused a big boost for the team. “She looks like a million bucks now. Her whole demeanor is much happier because she’s feeling much better and she’s staying with her workout group and having great races,,” Sateren said.
Terese Warden, junior, runs the Girls Varsity sections race at Gale Woods. Warden missed two weeks of running due to low iron levels this season. Photo by Roxy Krietzman
Three Royals hit the ice for U.S.A. U18 team By Julia Jallo and Hillary Donovan Staff Reporters Through a journey that started with a tryout of Minnesota high school girls and ended in a final tryout in Lake Placid, New York, Grace Bizal, junior, Nina Rodgers, senior, and Erin O’Neil, senior, made the 2013 U.S. Under 18 national hockey team. While the girls were in Lake Placid, New York, they played in the Canadian series. The series existed of three
games over the span of three days at the Olympic training center in Lake Placid. On August 22, 2013, Rodgers, O’Neil, and Bizal began their USA hockey career. “It was so surreal. It was a dream come true to just be there,” Rodgers said. Rodgers scored two goals and had one assist throughout the series, tying in second for goals scored. “In Canada, the intensity level was very high. It’s a lot tougher than high school hockey, and there is a ton more body
to body contact,” Rodgers said. Unlike Bizal and O’Neil, Rodgers was on the US Worlds U18 team last year during winter break, so Rodgers has some experience playing at this pace. At Lake Placid, Bizal and Rodgers were on the same team. In the second game of the series, Rodgers scored a goal with an assist from Bizal. The girls hope to bring the skills they learned to their home team. “I learned a lot of new things, but especially many new defensive drills. Since I’m a defender,
I can bring some drills back to the team here,” said Bizal. O’Neil was one of 20 goalies playing at the Canadian Series. Playing for the Gold Team, O’Neil only let in two goals the whole series. For O’Neil, seeing the U.S.A. emblazoned across her jersey proved to be validation for her hard work. “Standing on the blue line and thinking of all the blood, sweat, and tears I went through made that moment so great,” said O’Neil. In the final game of the series, O’Neil helped secure a win
with 18 saves and holding Canada to two goals, while the Gold Team scored three. “I learned what it takes to keep my body in really good shape so I am able to compete at such a higher level. I am hoping to bring some of those habits back to the team this year,” O’Neil said. 2013 was the first year that USA Hockey Player Development Camps had a league for girls. The league existed of 10 teams with 17 girls on each team. Only nine of the 170 girls were from Minnesota.
“I actually got a chance to meet a few of the girls before camp started who were really nice and really similar to me. Everyone out there is extremely talented, “ said O’Neil. For most high school athletes, playing outside the metro-area is a pipe dream, but for Bizal, O’Neil, and Rodgers, it became a reality. “It was unreal and breathtaking walking into the locker rooms with a U.S.A. jersey and seeing my name on the locker. It was a dream come true,” Bizal said.
***Boys and Girls Cross Country is based off of individual places, and therefore does not have a team record. Other girls swim meets were scored by place, not according to win/loss.*** Infographic by Julia Jallo and Isabella Weisman