Shenandoah announces Mustangs as unified mascot
Shenandoah’s boys and girls teams will both be known as the “Mustangs”, starting with the 2026/27 school year.
The Shenandoah school board voted unanimously in favor of the change Monday, March 9, during its monthly meeting.
“Unifying under one mascot provides an opportunity to strengthen school identity,” Shenandoah officials said in a release, “and bring all Shenandoah teams together under a single symbol as the district enters a new chapter in the Western Iowa Conference.”
Shenandoah Activities Director Jon Weinrich initially brought this proposal to the school officials a couple years ago and it didn’t gain much traction. In a recent interview, Weinrich said he wasn’t sure what exactly brought the issue back to the forefront, but said it’s a good move as the district brands itself under a single name.
“I think the school board took everything into consideration,” Weinrich said, “and obviously sat on it a while and made the decision they thought was best possible. The whole goal is to unite everybody involved with Shenandoah. To have one common goal and obviously, make this the best place we can.”
The girls teams at Shenandoah have been known as the Fillies and Weinrich said making this change doesn’t take anything away from past girls teams and athletes and their part in the history of Shenandoah Athletics.
“I coached softball for eight years and have been the head girls basketball coach for the past 18 years,” Weinrich said, “and I don’t think anyone is trying to take anything away from anyone who played here. We have had a lot of really good athletes and a lot of really good teams. This is about the future and bringing our school together. The research we have done show there are very few schools in Iowa that have two nicknames and we’re hoping this helps to unite all people together.”
The change from Mustangs and Fillies to Mustangs becomes official with the district’s move to the Western Iowa Conference at the beginning of the 2026/27 school year.
WIC schedules complete
Weinrich also addressed the recent approval by a state committee of Shenandoah being approved to leave the Hawkeye 10 Conference and join the Western Iowa. He said conference schedules are complete for next year and right now they are just looking to fill the non-conference schedule in multiple sports.
He said in sports like bowling and tennis, where the Mustangs won’t have any WIC rivals except for Red Oak, who is making the same conference change, and cross country and track and field, where there really isn’t a conference season, those schedules are going to be pretty similar to what they have been in years past.
“We’re doing a lot of the things that we have done in the past,” Weinrich said. “The big tournaments that we go to won’t change and for the couple tournaments we do lose, we’re looking to replace those with some other tournaments.”
“There are some things that have worked out really well,” Weinrich said on putting the WIC schedule together, “and some things that present challenges. We’re doing the best we can to give all our kids the best opportunities.”
A new opportunity
One new opportunity for Shenandoah students is the addition of Esports, which was approved during the February school board meeting. That also starts in the fall.
The Iowa High School Esports Association governs high school competition in the state and Weinrich said there are fall, winter and spring seasons, all with different games, that schools can compete in.
“It’s about giving kids different opportunities to do different things,” Weinrich said. “Not all kids play football, basketball, wrestling or whatever sport it may be. In essence, it’s like when we added bowling 10 years ago. We are giving kids different opportunities to do something we haven’t had before.”
Weinrich said Glenwood and Griswold are two southwest Iowa schools that have added Esports in recent years and Boyer Valley has had a lot of success, including a state title during the winter season.
Weinrich said there haven’t been any formal surveys taken for how many students are interested in competing in Esports but in asking around he feels there is plenty of interest and looks forward to adding this to Shenandoah’s extracurricular offerings.
