Most athletes are only identified by their real name when they are in the classroom, but some have another as soon as they put on their Trojan uniform. Here are some of the nicknames from sports teams at West High. PHOTOS BY SARA BARONCINI AND KILEY BUTCHER DESIGN BY MADDY EPHRAIM
BY HANAH KITAMOTO
“FUZZ”
IZZY PAULSEN ‘21
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aulsen has been called ‘Fuzz’ ever since she could remember, but the reason for it is still unknown. “Ever since I can remember, my dad has called me ‘Fuzz’. Neither of us know the reason, that’s just what he calls me. When my parents cheer for me while I’m playing they call me ‘Fuzz’, which then spread to my teammates and their parents,” Paulsen said. “It’s less used now, coach Scott calls me ‘Iz’, but my club teammates, coach Panther and a few people at West will always know me as ‘Fuzz.’”
“RICO”
JOSEPH BARTOSZCZYK ‘20
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t all started when Bartoszczyk was an unknown face to a teammate during his first year on the swim team. “When I was a freshman, Jeff Garbutt ’18 didn’t know my name, so he just looked at me and called me ‘Rico Suave’ [a song from 1992],” Bartoszczyk said. “And ever since then it just stuck. [It’s] pretty much my first [name].”
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SPORTS FEB. 21, 2020
“GREMLIN”
GRANT O’DELL ‘22
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’Dell made a state wrestling tournament appearance last season. During the state tournament, assistant coach Kody Pudil was joking around and compared O’Dell to the creatures in the movie “Gremlins.” “Pudil just came up with it last year and he said that I looked like the [Gremlin from] the movie, so then he went with it,” O’Dell said. “It was pretty cool and I just kind of went along with it because I wasn’t gonna get anyone to stop saying [it]. It’s just a joke that Pudil made up. Now it’s not even a joke, it’s just my name.”
“LOOSH”
ALI ALWAHDANI ‘20
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lwahdani may have played nose tackle for the Trojan football team, but the nickname ‘Loosh’ originates from his elementary days playing travel basketball for the IC Ballers. “My parents have always called me ‘Loosh’ because of some song [from the 1970s] my name was in. They would call me by the name during my old travel basketball games and my teammates just started calling me ‘Loosh’ since,” Alwahdani said.
“PEACHES”
RYLEE GOODFELLOW ‘21
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hat seemed like a simple nickname quickly became popular amongst her teammates during Goodfellow’s freshman year of high school. “I’ve been called ‘Peaches’ since I was little because my hair looked like peach fuzz [and] someone heard my parents call me that and then everyone just kind of started [calling me it],” Goodfellow said. “I just think it’s kind of funny, I hated it and then people started to calling me it again and so I kind of just learned to live with it.”
“BAMBI”
AUDREY KOCH ‘21
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och has been part of the girls varsity basketball squad since her freshman year. Her long legs and the way she ran contributed to the creation of her nickname, ‘Bambi.’ “My nickname was an inside joke from my teammates about the way I ran when I was a freshman because I did not have the best running form or the best coordination,” Koch said. “It was [because of] how long my legs were and that I didn’t have the best control when I ran.”