Before November 5, 2011, Mrs. Tina Reeder had a few titles—all recognizable by her CCA family: mother of CCA junior, Avery Reeder, Health and Home Economics teacher, cheerleading coach, CPR instructor, and even special friend. And on November 6, at precisely, 12:46 am, Mrs. Reeder added this new title to her name: Ironman.

If anyone knows anything about IronMan, let’s just say it takes a lot of work, commitment, and determination to see it through. The swim/bike/run training is intense and when you see an Ironman race you recognize how amazing those ironman people truly are.

Mrs. Reeder decided to train for the Ironman race after she completed her first triathlon in 2005 at Disney World. “It was at the finish line that God showed me that all I needed was Him,” Mrs. Reeder wrote in her blog, The Quest for the IM. There she explains how during her triathlon she got separated from her running partner, but she had Christ as her company and was able to finish the race.

This realization made her want to do the Ironman. She felt God had called her to run, bike, and swim with Him alone. And on November 5, she did just that. Her only brief disappointment was that Mr. James Reeder, who went to be with the Lord in March of 2009, was not there to share her happiness. The thought of him in heaven with God, who was also here with her, was all the strength she needed to move forward.

On her blog, she gives a full account of her entire Ironman experience– a journey that began way before the race and still had lasting effects afterward: “It’s 3am, 3 days after IronMan and I can’t sleep!  I think I am as excited right now as I was the moment I crossed that finish line and still wonder if it was all a dream.”

But it was definitely not a dream. On her blog she shares some of the toughest parts of the race, how she struggled and how God pulled her through it. As she tells it, at mile 20, of the 26.2-mile running portion, she realized that she had two hours to finish six miles. She explains her feelings as, “Nothing short of amazing.”

Through sweat, tears, and perseverance, God continually showed Mrs. Reeder His love for her. She shares her amazing experience and how God never let her down. He constantly reminded her of the task at hand and supported her all the way. “Just you and me Jesus, just you and me,” she said as she crossed the finish line. And as she did, she raised her arms to heaven. For an onlooker, she must have appeared just like another runner throwing their arms up in the air after a hard race. But Jesus knew better.

Coach’s Calculations

“Chaney is a naturally gifted runner, with a God-given ability,” says Cross Country Head Coach, Danny Talpesh. “He has a bright future in both cross country and track and field.” As the top runner on the team, Chaney holds the key to the team’s success overall. “The faster he finishes and the higher place he gets, the better CCA does in races,” he said.

Hewlett’s Hopes

Chaney ran his first mile-run when he was just in fifth grade. “That was my first actual long distance run,” he says. “From there, I figured if I could run a quick mile, then I could probably run a few more in a decent time.” By his own admission, cross-country is a tough sport. “I’d definitely like to break 18 minutes this year, but that’s going to take a lot of work. I pray that God will give me the desire to work to do well, and help me make States.”

The Chaney Profile:

Nickname: Chainsaw and Chaindeisel

What do you do before a race? Get my stretching in, drink a sip of water, and do a quick prayer.

Favorite TV show: Wipeout

Favorite music artist: Switchfoot

Favorite movie: Napolean Dynamite

Favorite video game: Burnout 3

Height: 5’4 ½

Weight: 110 lbs.

Years running cross-country: 2

Personal best 5k time: 18:25

Last year, the team was lead by the extremely athletic senior Ty Middlebrooks, who also played soccer and baseball. This year, his brother Jake has stepped up to the task, leading the team to five losses in six contests. As the only senior on the team, Jake has been playing golf for the longest. He started playing when he was seven and hopes to play for Harvard University one day.  “I love golf because it is more exciting than one may think. There is actually a lot of suspense in watching your opponent hit the ball,” he says.

Some would say that golf is a pedigree of the Middlebrooks family. Jake and Ty are not only related to extremely talented golf players, they are also the nephews of CCA’s athletics director, Dana Ridenour. Jake practices six days a week so it is convenient that he lives on a golf course.

Jake describes golf as a thinking sport that requires a lot of mental discipline and focus. With high expectations of this team, he is unwavering in his belief that it has the potential to perform at an exceptional level. Although some may consider golf a ‘slow sport,’ Jake maintains that it can become really enjoyable. So, if you like watching sports, give CCA Golf a chance and come and watch this team shine.

But those who know Mabin can tell you that his best part is his heart. And out of it flows great attitude and confidence. When you speak to him face to face, it shows. “I started football when I was in second grade, and my first impression was that I was faster than all the kids out there,” said Mabin, who humbly reflects on the past and realizes that his years at CCA have produced a successful outcome for the future.

College recruiters are watching him. He’s talked to colleges from Georgia, Wisconsin, Miami, Tulane, Middle Tennessee State, and Iowa, but his first choices are Georgia and Wisconsin. Recently, Mabin spotted a recruiter who came to watch him at a tough Kings Academy game, where he had a key play:  a punt return that he took back for a touchdown to tie the game and sent it to overtime. They won that game.

Riding this year’s winning streak has been sweet for Mabin, whose talents and skills have been pronounced by his long-time relationship with his quarterback, Javan Shashaty.  As people know, the wide receiver’s job is to get open and the quarterback’s job is to know where to find him. “Javan and I have been playing together forever and it’s been great. It means a lot to me to have him as my quarterback.”

According to Mabin, the fans who come out and support the team also have a huge affect on him and on the outcome of the game. “The bigger the crowd, the more I am into the game. They make me more emotional while I play.”

There was an array of faces and athletes that decided to pursue this new adventure this year. CCA’s head swim coach, Erin Sayre said with a laugh, that the first day of practice was: “The day that a million kids walked off that bus.”  However,  “The amount of people that actually stuck with it was surprising for the team’s first year.”

Two swimmers in particular, Elise and Clayton Atkins, are currently set at the top of CCA swimming. Elise’s fastest race is the 100 meter freestyle, with a time of 1 minute and 3 seconds. She is the fastest girl on CCA’s team, but as districts approached, her work ethic continued to heighten. “I want to improve by getting better times and glorifying God through swimming,” said Elise. She has been swimming for two and a half years. Her favorite strokes are the freestyle and backstroke. Elise’s passion for swimming is evoked from the love for being in the water, and the added bonus that,  “You don’t feel like your sweating.” Elise also trains with a USA team called SwimFast (this organization is in charge of selecting swimmers for the JR Olympics and Olympics). “Eat, sleep, swim,” said Elise.

Clayton’s fastest race is the 500 meter freestyle with a time of 5 minutes and 29 seconds. Clayton’s performance at the district meet is sure to be a riveting and successful one. Aside from his outstanding times, his swimming is captivating to watch; he is an inspiring swimmer. Clayton has been swimming for two years. “I love swimming because I work hard, but still have fun,” said Clayton.  He enjoys the backstroke the most. “My goal is to get a swimming scholarship to college.” Clayton also swims at SwimFast with Elise. “We swim until it hurts,” he said. “And then we swim some more.”

The CCA community was represented well. Students, parents, and staff filled the bleachers before the start of the game at 4 p.m., EST, but as the event went on, more and more dedicated and fully enthusiastic fans joined the crowd. Nearly 1,500 fans were in attendance, making this “white out” game one of the best in CCA history.

The “white out” idea was the concoction of a few of the football players, who wanted to christen the new field with great fanfare. Their strategy was simple: spread the word on Facebook. Once the Facebook fan page was created, hundreds of invitations were sent out. In a short time, 438 students were listed as “attending.” Enthusiasm grew as word of mouth spread out rapidly throughout the student body and the CCA community, creating a new kind of school spirit on campus.

The game was all that a fan would wish for. Quarterback, Javan Shashaty, threw 8 touchdown passes to receiver, Shawn Lashbrook and Gregory Mabin, to set a new single-game Broward County record. He was later honored as the “Player of the Week,” by the Miami Dolphins at their Monday Night game against the New England Patriots on September 12.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Shashaty said. “It’s like a dream really because you don’t think about throwing that many touchdown passes in a game. It feels great, but the best part about it is the team winning.”

The Eagles (1-0) trailed the Knights (0-1) 20-7 early in the second quarter before Shashaty led his offense with five unanswered touchdown passes, capped by his 91-yarder to Lashbrook early in the fourth quarter. Lashbrook finished with 256 receiving yards on eight receptions. Mabin finished with three catches, all for touchdowns covering 3, 59, and 72 yards.

To say that this game brought hype and anticipation would be an understatement. The vibe around the school for the week prior was up-tempo and stimulating. When asked about the affect of the expectations, Lashbrook said, “It makes the players want to go out and put on a really great show for the fans that are out there to support us.”

The CCA community was represented well. Students, parents, and staff filled the bleachers before the start of the game at 4 p.m., EST, but as the event went on, more and more dedicated and fully enthusiastic fans joined the crowd. Nearly 1,500 fans were in attendance, making this “white out” game one of the best in CCA history.

The “white out” idea was the concoction of a few of the football players, who wanted to christen the new field with great fanfare. Their strategy was simple: spread the word on Facebook. Once the Facebook fan page was created, hundreds of invitations were sent out. In a short time, 438 students were listed as “attending.” Enthusiasm grew as word of mouth spread out rapidly throughout the student body and the CCA community, creating a new kind of school spirit on campus.

The game was all that a fan would wish for. Quarterback, Javan Shashaty, threw 8 touchdown passes to receiver, Shawn Lashbrook and Gregory Mabin, to set a new single-game Broward County record. He was later honored as the “Player of the Week,” by the Miami Dolphins at their Monday Night game against the New England Patriots on September 12.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Shashaty said. “It’s like a dream really because you don’t think about throwing that many touchdown passes in a game. It feels great, but the best part about it is the team winning.”

The Eagles (1-0) trailed the Knights (0-1) 20-7 early in the second quarter before Shashaty led his offense with five unanswered touchdown passes, capped by his 91-yarder to Lashbrook early in the fourth quarter. Lashbrook finished with 256 receiving yards on eight receptions. Mabin finished with three catches, all for touchdowns covering 3, 59, and 72 yards.

To say that this game brought hype and anticipation would be an understatement. The vibe around the school for the week prior was up-tempo and stimulating. When asked about the affect of the expectations, Lashbrook said, “It makes the players want to go out and put on a really great show for the fans that are out there to support us.”

Play by Play…Game by Game…

September 2:  The Whiteout. It was the first home game on the new football field of the 2011 season. Senior, Alec Corbijn, came up with the idea to have the student body come to the game wearing all white. The boys beat Highlands Christian 55-26.

September 20: The Flood. Varsity Volleyball “flooded” Westminster Academy’s Gym with blue. Extreme fan, Senior Taylor Gushue, said “This was definitely the most people that I have ever seen going to a volleyball game; it was cool!”

September 30: The Gold Rush. The Varsity Football didn’t just rush yards, they also rushed gold against the Westminster Academy Lions. Taylor Heckocks and Andrew Lowe contributed to the rush by coming with drums to lead the student body in spirit.

October 6: The Blizzard. Varsity Volleyball “froze” the Westminster Academy Lions in their steps again, this time in our gym. The student body came together at lunch to decorate the gym with an abundance of paper snowflakes and signs. The team entered the gym with a chill, running in with a fog machine on and warming up to the CD player blaring. It was a cold night for WA.

CCA fans heard the warning and advanced in droves, wearing blue and white from head-to-toe, to the volleyball match to support their team. “This was definitely the most people that I have ever seen going to a volleyball game; it was cool!” said CCA senior Taylor Gushue, who also noted that this was by far the most school spirited volleyball game our school had ever had.Taylor took being a fan to the next level, and so did his friends. “Ryan (Riley), Dawson (Allen), Sam (Cudmore), and I painted the letters of ‘C-C-A-!’ on us…I was the first ‘C!’”

Senior, Monica Neiconi also went to the match, wanting to see rivals WA “go down with the flood.” She supported the battle wearing all blue, pool floaties, goggles over her eyes, and blue and gold writing on her face to rep her CCA pride. “You could see how the team got so pumped up from the crowd, and how it really inspired them to do well. Our support for them helped them play better,” said Monica.

The Eagles slayed the Lions in four out of five games: 25-15, 25-13, 23-25, and 25-14. Gabby Pile, better knows as the team’s Libero, a player specialized in defensive skills, contributed to the game with 35 digs. Seniors, Jennie Wilkie followed with 34 assists and Christine Lakatos with 21 kills.

As of September 20, Calvary improved their overall record 8-3, and 4-0 in districts. Last night, at 7 p.m., Westminster Academy came back to the CCA gym for another heated match.  Our Lady Eagles were ready, this time to FREEZE them out. And they did! For a play-by-play account of this game, check out next week’s Lady Eagles article entitled: Eagles Freeze Out Lions. 

Shawn was on the ground for about five minutes. The trainer rushed over and helped him off the field while he was in pain.  About ten minutes later he was picked up by his parents and taken to the hospital. The doctors confirmed that he had two fractures in his back, and would be on the disabled list from two to six weeks.

One week later, he went in for another evaluation, and was told that he would only be out from two to three weeks.

“It’s rough that I am missing out on a couple games’ but it’s a chance for others to step up and be a big part of the team”, said—Shawn Lashbrook. He expects to be back before the season ends.

Keep Shawn in your prayers and pray for a speedy recovery!

On that evening, during the Miami Dolphins Monday Night Football game against the New England Patriots, Shashaty was recognized by The Miami Dolphins Organization as the High School Player of the Week for his record-breaking performance against Highlands Christian Academy, where he threw for over 500 yards, 8 touchdowns and only 1 interception.

 “It was a really cool experience,” said Shashaty, who got to go down on the field at the end of the second quarter, and remained there the majority of the third quarter, right next to where all the NFL players were.

These are the kinds of nights, one might wonder, that could make a young athlete prideful, even boastful about their accomplishments, but not Shashaty.  In fact, for him it’s quite the opposite affect. He never hesitates to give all the glory to God, giving credit where credit is due.

“God has really blessed me with all these platforms—that’s what I like to call them—it just presents some really cool ways to show how God has used me that it’s not just me personally, or what I am working for, but it’s all about what He’s been doing in my life.”

This athlete’s humility and seemingly never-ending success makes him a great role model and has caused him to receive respect on and off the field. When news broke on our campus that he had been honored at the Monday Night Football game, one of America’s favorite night during the fall and winter season, Shashaty had a new list of fans yelling his name at the next CCA football home game. But the Dolphins game was forever in-printed in his mind.

“It’s every high school athlete’s dream,” he added, as recalled the night—seeing himself standing on NFL turf, surrounded by thousands of Dolphin and Patriot fans. Was he thinking of the future? Was he imagining himself playing on that field one day? Regardless of what was going through his mind, we know this: he carries the weight of the award heavily on his mind, but not the way most people might think.

“I think it’s a really awesome opportunity and with that comes a lot of responsibility, knowing that everything you do is under the spotlight, and I’ve found that out from both sides. It’s just a privilege for me to have that kind of an influence on the student body and it’s something that I do not take very lightly.”

As colleges around the country comb South Florida high schools to find the next superstar, CCA’s football quarterback is looking to play his name game. His focus is clear; his determination to win even more so, but most notably is his heart, which is connected to God. That strength is driving him and his team to success.

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