Volume 1, Number 5 November 7, 2014
In Sickness and in Health
Story by: Kerenza Robinson
Imagine yourself in the most important race of the season when, suddenly, you puke. What would you do next? Would you just stop and give up?
Lots of people would. But not Ronnie Rondeau. He decided to keep going and push himself even harder than before. He refused to give up.
This race was different than his usual because Ronnie threw up in the middle of it, giving other runners the chance to pass him. (This may have had something to do with all those hot dogs he ate the night before. But who can say for sure?) Ronnie began to feel a little nervous as he noticed some of the other runners passing him, but afterwards, he felt a surge of energy. He sprinted to the finish line because he “really wanted to get the top seven” and passed both the 6th and 7th place runners. Despite this unexpected turn of events, Ronnie pulled through and ended up placing 5th in league.
Ronnie Rondeau’s performance, along with the rest of the team, guaranteed them a spot in CIFs, which Ronnie is looking forward to a lot this year. He hopes to perform well, and he is ready to end the season with a good race. This is Ronnie’s first year participating in Cross Country, and he has definitely proven himself as an asset to the team. Ronnie joined the Cross Country team to stay in shape for soccer, and he thinks that it has been a valuable experience.
All in all, it is safe to say that Ronnie is one talented runner, especially since this is his first year doing cross-country; he has proven himself a strong athlete.
Never mind the Legacies; We’ll Do It Our Way
Story by: Makayla Ogdahl
There’s something about maintaining legacies... and there’s another something about disrupting them. It’s old news that our very own Wildcat tennis team lost their nine senior starters last season; every team loses seniors, after all.
But even with a team that is 60% newcomers (yes, I really did the math), and a majority of returners having never played a full set before, the girls clawed their way up to second in league, losing only three games in the season. And so, at the end of this season, we found ourselves playing in the famed Indian Wells Tennis Gardens.
Upon first entering we were certain of one thing: “This place is beautiful.”
This place was also very, very hot.
It’s the end of October, come on.
The first matches of the day are won, or lost, fairly easily. Jasmine Smith gets a “Bye”, Alex Morrissey and Makayla Ogdahl win 8-1, and Brianna Sears and Marissa Thomas win 9-7. The only Wildcat knocked out of the running is Lexi Wade, who stays neck and neck with her opponent until the girl manages to steal two games in a row, bringing Lexi’s final score to 5-8.
The second matches are more difficult, to say the least. Makayla and Alex start out their set against the #1 Shadow Hills team in a 1-4 loss, but manage to deafen themselves to the other team’s obnoxious cheers by cheering for each other, and ultimately win in an 8-8 tie break, 7-4. Brianna and Marissa find themselves going back and forth with their opponents, DHS, but manage to break away just enough to win 8-6. Jasmine maintains a less difficult match, and beats her competition 8-0.
Thus ends the first day, with five out of six girls advancing to semi-finals.
The next day proves itself much more of a horrible emotional rollercoaster than the first. As Coach Ingram says later on, it’s sometimes much harder to go against your own team than it is to go against your rivals.
Both TPHS doubles teams lose their first rounds and find themselves pitted against each other in a battle for third. Its hard to want to crush your opponents when you know how hard they’ve worked, just like you have. Despite the coach’s pleas for us to flip a coin or play to eight (instead of two games to six), we fight it out until the very end, and Alex and Makayla come away with third in hand, winning only by a tie break in one game, and the other 6-3. One court over, Yucca Valley’s #1 and #2 doubles teams are also battling it out, and the tension can be felt in the air.
After all is said and done, both Yucca and TPHS get a chance to see the pro court, lay down on it, and take about a dozen selfies on it. The Wildcats now move on to CIFs, winning their first game against San Gorgonio High School 12-6, and closing out their season with a 4-14 loss against Vista Del Lago.
All in all, yes, the undefeated #1 in league legacy was let down. But climbing to second and moving on to the second round of CIFs doesn’t seem like such a bad end to a pretty great season.
That One Word Seniors Love: College
Story by: Kathleen Moore
For three dark and ominous nights, eight seniors were trapped inside a disgusting motel room with bloody carpet as putrid smells filled their nostrils. Regardless of their horrible sleeping conditions the senior AVID trip was a success because they were given the opportunity to visit 11 different college campuses in Northern California during a four day trip, some of which included: UC San Francisco, UC Merced, and UC Fresno. The sole purpose of the AVID trip was to prepare seniors for their much anticipated college-life and give them a better idea of what college could be like.
Students were able to explore the college campuses high and low. They went on tours, checked out different programs, and decided for themselves which types of colleges they were interested in. But they didn’t do all that without Mrs. Lee-Briggs’ support of course.
Koko Cabrera stated, “Mrs. Lee-Briggs showed me what was important. I couldn’t have done it without her guidance.” Koko has always wanted to attend UC Santa Cruz, and once she visited the campus in person, instead of just seeing it through a website, she knew she was making the right choice. She was reassured and excited when she discovered the campus was in a wooded area and it provided a good bio-med program which suited her interests.
Kyle Lav was also excited to explore different colleges, and he now has his mind set on UC Merced. He likes that the college is located in a “farm country” area and has a peaceful atmosphere. After this trip he knew for certain which colleges he was going to apply to and what he wanted to major in. Kyle confessed that, before this trip, there were a lot of “ifs” and he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but now he knows.
Overall the trip was extremely beneficial because it served as an eye-opener to most of the students. It helped with the application process and showed the students which colleges they should actually apply to, saving them time and money. The trip was worth it, even though the rooms were horrid, and as advice to anyone interested in college, Koko suggests that you “visit before you apply.”
November 21, 2014
October 24, 2014
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