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TEAM EFFORT Friday, April 10, 2015
This upcoming Saturday, a teachers vs. student basketball game will be held called “Ball for Blad.” The game was created to help raise money for world language teacher Simone Sundblad and her twoyear old son, Elliot. Last October, Elliot was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The tumour inside of him was around the size of a softball and was likely there ever since birth. He later on went through 12 weeks of chemotherapy before having both his tumor and cancer removed. After recovering from the surgery, Elliot received seven radiation treatments followed by several more rounds of chemotherapy, with his last chemotherapy session being done last Tuesday. “It has been a long six months, but we managed to focus on one day at a time,” Simone said. “We’ve had so much support from family, friends and even strangers.” Students have previously helped the Sundblad family last semester by selling “Team
Attitude of Gratitude Thankful world view has life-changing impacts/Pages 4 & 5 Follow us on Twitter at tigerhiline, Facebook at TigerHilineOnline and on our website at www.hiline.cfschools.org
Volume 55 Edition 22
Elliot” wristbands, but now they’re hoping to raise even more money by putting together a basketball game. The event was organized by senior Addison Long who wanted to help due to knowing Simone for a long time period. “She’s always been the teacher that works beyond the blackboard,” Long said. “She puts so much confidence in her students and wants the best for them, so it was just a good way to help back and show her that we care.” Long didn’t have much difficulty coming up with this event since the administration pushed for the idea as well. A few businesses have even donated for the fundraiser. “It would mean the world to her just seeing a lot of people there all showing appreciation for her and her family. Around 20 teachers and 30 students have signed up to participate in the game. “I really wasn’t expecting that many staff or students signing up, so I think that’s awesome,” Long said.
‘Ball for Blad’ event takes court in support of teacher’s son
While dozens of both students and faculty prepare themselves for the big game on Saturday, Simone expressed how gracious she feels about everyone coming together to help support her son. “We have truly experienced selfless love from so many people and feel beyond blessed to have such a supportive community of people surrounding us. I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive place to work than CFHS, students and staff alike,” Simone said. “I’m looking very forward seeing my colleagues and students come together to support my sweet boy, and I’m even more happy that Elliot should be healthy enough to attend the event and cheer me on from the sidelines.” The event takes court at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, and tickets are $5. There will also be chances to win prizes in basketball competitions between games and silent auctions for baskets from various community businesses. By Staff Writer Sarah
STORTZ
Jazz band takes 6th at State
The expectations were contained heading into the Iowa high school jazz championships for the CFHS jazz band last week in Des Moines. As the names of the schools kept getting listed from 15th down through 10th place, there wasn’t much in question. Then the first celebration began when the Tiger jazz band wasn’t named the ninth best band at the championships because that would mean they received a trophy for placing in the top eight 4A jazz bands in Iowa. Even at this point there was no pressure felt by the musicians because of their instruc-
tor’s support. “Mr. Engelhardt always harps on us about not caring about the scores, and he just tells us to have fun, so I kinda just have fun,” senior drummer Kyler Boss said. The next celebration came when the Tigers were announced in sixth place. “I was thinking, ‘Wow, this is great.’ But at the same time I felt we deserved it because we had been trying so hard to play the best that we can,” Boss said.
With the ongoing problems that are happening in our society, it can be difficult to keep track of them all and help keep them under control, but one local group filled with young people is pitching in to help improve the Cedar Valley community. The group is called Teen Trust and what they do is work with non-profit organizations by sharing $10,000 with them. The board is composed of 25 students that are all from the Black Hawk County area. They meet a couple of times a month to work with grant applications and learn about philanthropy.
This year, Teen Trust has recently sent in its grant and helped eight major Cedar Valley non-profit groups. All of the members needed to come to a consensus to decide which nonprofit organizations should receive a grant and how that grant will benefit the community. Junior Katarina Walther is one member of Teen Trust who explains the difficulty of the process. “There were so many of them, probably 15 of more,” Walther said. “It was really difficult
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Trust fund looking for teens
TEEN TRUST
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Submitted Photo
Elliot Sundblad, the son of world language teacher, Simone Sundbad recently underwent extension cancer treatments. The Ball for Blad event on Saturday, April 10 will help with some of his expenses.
Physics competes at UNI Physics teacher Kenton Swartley has been a busy man for the past few months. In the midst of multiple robotics competitions, including the World Championship Competition coming up later this month, and team meetings every day, Swartley also took about 20 physics students to the McLeod Center on March 26. The students were tasked with a choice between a variety of multiple challenges, which included building a catapult that must shoot a projectile at a target from exactly three, five, and eight meters away; constructing a car powered by the snap of a mousetrap that must travel exactly five meters; finding the weight of an unknown object by using an assortment of school supplies; and making an arm out of 15 straws and 10 pins that holds 50 grams as far away from the table as possible. Junior Nathan Shull made a catapult and enjoyed the project. “It was a lot of fun stuff that we had to do outside of class,” Shull said. “I got to enjoy a hands on project where
I got to build my own catapult, and it was cool to see it be successful.” Senior Blake Love was Shull’s partner on the catapult, and he enjoyed the physics bowl. “At the physics competition we all had a good time,” Love said. “Other schools took it more seriously than we did. We just had fun.” Junior Aaron Iehl worked on a challenge problem. “Each competition was scored individually, but you could win as a group or team,” Iehl said. “It’s a lot like wrestling is scored.” After this physics competition, some of the competitors qualify for a larger competition at the McLeod Center on April 16. In order to qualify for the state competition, students must finish in the top two of whatever project they decided to do. Unfortunately, no one from Cedar Falls High School qualified for the state competition. By Online Editor Zuhayr
ALAM
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The
OPINION Our View
Trigger Happy Justice? Instead of following Utah’s firing squads, nation should adopt Iowa’s ban on death penalty
In The United States Of America, 32 states out of the 50 have made capital punishment a legal sentence. But, out of those 32, only one of them has instituted death by firing squad. Utah’s Gov. Gary Herbert signed a law instituting death by firing squad only in the event of a shortage of the needed lethal injection drugs. The lethal injection drugs are imported from Europe and are then distributed to the s t a t e s that need them. As of recently the Europeans have been putting pressure on the United States to completely stop the death penalty by putting export controls on the drugs. Instead of rationalizing and taking steps to abolish killing its citizens, the state of Utah has decided to go back to shooting them. The practice was banned in 2004, but executions from firing squads continued until 2010 due to prisoners who had wished for execution by firing squad before it was banned. Gov. Herbert did mention that he did find the method “a little bit gruesome” but still went on to sign it into law. Herbert’s actions may be echoed as time goes on by lawmakers who believe in capital punishment and see no other alternative to the European export controls. The debate over capital punishment is one that has been discussed by presidential nominees. Even now two candidates who are making strides towards the White House — Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Ted Cruz who just announced his presidential intentions for the Republicans — both support the death penalty. As time goes on and with no states looking to ban the death penalty in the foreseeable future, death by firing squads may start to become reinstated again and become part of the unfortunate norm. Even in Iowa, which banned the death penalty almost 50 years ago, there was recently a bill to reinstate it in certain instances, but the bill failed to move forward; the rest of the nation should also adopt this path and abandon the trigger happy justice of the death penalty.
... death by firing squads may start to become reinstated again and become part of the unfortunate norm.
Contact Us
The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes at Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Our website is www.hiline.cfschools.org. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Fridays to read during their fifth period classes. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hi-Line staff or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial is presented weekly in the editorial labeled Our View, and it is the view of the majority of the editors listed below. Reader opinions on any topic are welcome and should be sent to The Tiger Hi-Line staff or delivered to room 208. All letters must be signed. Letters must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Monday for publication in the following Friday edition. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Writers should include their contact information for verification. Editor-in-Chief: Austin Anderson Online Editor: Zuhayr Alam Copy Editor: Annebeth Ahrenholz Staff Writers: Sommer Danielsen, Agatha Fenech, Taylor Hylton, Ben Louviere, Mikaela Mallin, Malcolm Musoni, Dino Odobasic, Josie Speltz, Skylar Starbeck and Sarah Stortz
Tiger
HI-LINE
Friday, April 10, 2015
Anti-Social Media You are not the person your social media profile says you are Hundreds of faces pass each other in the hallway every day. Some produce smiles, greetings or high fives, while others pass each other without as much as eye contact. Students walk by someone every day for an entire semester without exchanging a word, yet they could identify each other’s favorite music, thoughts on controversial topics and even what they had for dinner the previous night. That is exactly the terrifying beauty that is social media. It is technically called social media, although that is the exact opposite of what it truly is. It is anti-social media. Instead of getting the guts to talk to a classmate who is found to be intriguing, the members of the anti-social media generation sits behind Instagram putting themselves in an easily unnoticable realm of 200 others who decided to give a “like” to another selfie captioned with an unoriginal saying generated through the help of a group chat of best friends. Sometimes if a person gets really daring, he or she will comment on the said picture with the help of an emoji (Thank God they finally updated them to include all races. It’s the 21st century for crying out loud!!) that took a couple minutes to select, in hopes of creating a connection. Twitter doesn’t fall far from the anti-social media tree either. Favoriting a tweet can be seen to some as a friendly gesture where to others it is a sign of romantic interest. In order to get to know somebody, the anti-social media age doesn’t go up to somebody and introduce themselves; they favorite tweets, like pictures, and if things really are getting crazy, they will add someone on Snapchat in order to truly get to know them through selfies with seven-word sentences over top. The most puzzling aspect of today’s anti-social media age is that people straight up dispise another person, of which they have never talked to, because of who they are on social media. It is true that while scrolling down through feeds, it is easy
to find the sports analyst who might as well head straight to ESPN, the church goer who badly wants you to know that their lives have been changed instantly because of an incredible sermon (they’re not in for the likes I promise), or someone who doubles as an inspirational speaker on Twitter (they aren’t in it for the favorites either, even though the tweet seems to magically get deleted if the favorites don’t start rolling in at a timely manner). Many people will admit to getting annoyed by these previously mentioned types of people on social media and often hear a common response when gossip starts to arise. “Yeah, I know he seems really annoying, but he isn’t like that in real life,” or “Trust me she’s nothing like you would think.” If there are so many claims out there defending friends from being who they seem to be, then there is only one explanation: You are not who your social media says you are. It’s all one big performance. It’s about how funny of a tweet you can formulate, how perfect your flow can be on Instagram, posting at the highest traffic hours of the day and getting the perfect edit for optimal likes on your picture. It’s all about “Hey, look at me. I went on this vacation, ate at this restaurant and hung out with these people.” People adventure into the most beautiful places the world has to offer and spend their entire time taking pictures instead of enjoying the view. The anti-social media generation is more enamored with telling people how great their life is rather than actually making it great. In a world where it is more likely that you know someone because you follow them on social media than have actually been introduced, who you see online is who you know. Since the person you think you know is only showing what is essentially the highlight reel of his or her life, self esteems have been damaged creating the social media self esteem life cycle. You see a person’s perfect (edited) skin, face and body, and after commenting “Omg
so perfect” or “no flaws wtf,” you start to compare yourself to them and your self esteem is lowered. Then you post your own picture with perfect (filtered) attributes and begin to gain your self confidence back with each like and every comment filled with emojis that have hearts for eyes. Next thing you know you’re posting sappy, cliche or inspiring tweets so the positive mental trigger goes off when you get favorites and retweets, and before you know it, you have created the “social media you.” The mental trigger that goes off when you get a like is kind of like getting a pat on the back, but it actually has a name. Impression management is a sociological theory that is an effort to control or influence the perceptions that other people have about something, or in this case someone (you). Basically it states that in order to have an improved self esteem, which everyone wants, you have to impress other people, i.e. the “social media you.” The “social media you” is who all of the people interested in getting to know you see. It’s the instant hardcore judgements that take place from a potential college roommate, romantic partner or fellow social media user who happens to stumble across your profile. A first impression is very important in determining how the rest of the relationship goes, and some studies have shown that you only get seven seconds to make a first impression in person. What does that translate to online? Seven tweets? Does a first impression even go beyond your most recent post? It’s impossible to say, but one thing’s for certain: Make each post as if it were your last because one day the “social media you” will fade into oblivion and all that will be left is regular old you. A day without edited pictures and insincere comments? It doesn’t even seem real. By Editor-in-Chief Austin
ANDERSON
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Tiger
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Friday, April 10, 2015
FEATURES
FRESHMEN TO SENIOR TRANSFORMATION
Catherine Weilein
Kris Gurley
Jackson Skiles
Josie Leeper
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Catherine: I have matured my style and wear a much darker palette now; it’s simpler than what I would have worn freshman year. I’ve basically gone from wearing all pink to all black. I also don’t care as much about what people think of me. I’ve found that people are too busy worrying about themselves for them to pay attention to your insecurities. Kris: I think style is about color and about feelings. It’s like an expression of yourself. I think style is about expressing what you think is beauty, or reflecting what you are naturally attracted to. It’s about just being yourself. Jackson: As I’ve grown up, I began to pay more attention to myself. When I looked good, but more importantly, what I felt good in. My style truly has evolved into something that is just right for me. It’s not exactly unique, but it’s just right for me. Josie: My style has probably just become more individual than it was freshman year. Being in junior high and then first coming to the high school, you’re kind of worried about fitting in and dressing like other people are dressing, and so that’s more of what I probably focused on. Now I have the mindset that I am going to dress the way I want to dress and not care about much after that.
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Friday, April 10, 2015
Strong Mental Health
Overall Greater Happiness
Better Relationships
The Importance of Many studies show that practicing gratitude will lead to a happier, more fulfilled life. One of my new year’s resolutions was to write down the best moment of every day or what I was grateful for every day. While I for sure have not written down something for every day, I have found the time to journal quite a bit. But more importantly, I have just been more grateful about the little things and life in general. Practicing gratitude helps you with your life perspective. For instance, many of us complain about our sports or activities because they are physically hard and oc-
cupy a lot of our time. However, writing down why you are grateful for that sport or activity helps you remember why you did it in the first place. I have been dancing since I was little, and one of the things I write about most is dance. I write how grateful I am that I get to do a physical activity where I can express myself artistically. I write about how grateful I am for the girls I dance with because they are basically my family and they love dance as much as I do. After a stressful rehearsal or practice, it is always good to remember these
Gratitude: The quality
of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness
Gratitude
things. Though we may complain about our sports, we should be grateful for all the things they add to our lives. This same concept applies to everything else. After researching and practicing gratitude for the past few months, I have learned the importance of gratitude, for the opportunity to use everything life throws at you by being grateful for it. There is so much bad in the world. But more importantly, there is so much good. One of my friends once told me that though there are always problems, there are always people. Even in negative situations, it is so important to find your silver linings and be grateful for them. Furthermore, if you are grate-
ful for what you can take away from any experience, no matter how horrible, you can use that gratitude to share the lessons you learned. Authors casually sew gratitude into many popular books, such as JK Rowling’s Harry Potter Series. The fundamental themes of Harry Potter, love and friendship, are built on gratitude. Harry often displays his gratitude for the people in his life, especially those who sacrifice for him. Dumbledore thanks Harry for his bravery and perseverence. Gratitude is not always the most visible concept, but it is still there. Harper Lee also reveals reasons why you can be grateful for even horrible experiences in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Though witnessing Tom Robinson’s trial is very traumatic for Scout and exposes her to the extreme prejudice and hate in her town, it
also shows her the extraordinary character of her father, something of which she had been ignorant. This gives her reason to be grateful for that experience. Be grateful for your Cedar Falls education and experience. Be grateful for your family and your friends, no matter if you fight with them. Be grateful for your disappointments and your failures because you often learn a lot more from them than your successes and victories. Be grateful for all the opportunities you have; disappointment and failure merely provide you with opportunities. Be grateful for the world, and live your life so the world is grateful for you.
By Staff Writer Agatha
FENECH
The
Tiger
HI-LINE Easy ways to practice
Gratitude
1. Right before you go to bed, write down and describe the best moment of that day. Write why you are grateful for it. Even on the worst days, there is something to be grateful for, and this excercise helps you focus on the good. 2. When you wake up, make a list of all the things you are grateful for at the start of that day. They can be as simple as being grateful that you have release right before your big test so you can study, or as deep that you are grateful for all the support your family gives you. 3. Make a pact with a friend to text each other one thing you are grateful for each day. This is a good option if writing/journaling doesn’t really float your boat. 4. Write a thank-you letter to someone you love. Call them, and read it to them. Of course you can always text it to the person you choose, but if you don’t want to call, snail mail can also be a good option because it gives the person something to keep. 5. Simply say thank you and mean it. Thank the lunch ladies, thank your teachers, thank your parents.
What are you grateful for? “I am grateful for growing up in a nice home. I am grateful for my tennis team because they are all really nice, and we are all really close. I am grateful for my family and friends too.” -Junior Rachel Paup “I am grateful for a great family that I have and friends that are supportive of who I am. I am really grateful that I got to travel abroad to France and be exposed to diversity.” -Senior Ben Dagit “I am grateful for having the opportunity to go to college next year and study family services to help me find my dream job. I’m thankful for my family helping me out along the road with colleges and finding an apartment next year.” -Senior Sammi Palmersheim
Friday, April 10, 2015
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FEATURES
Be grateful for the world, and live your life so the world is grateful for you Staff writer explores with gratitude experiment What makes you thankful for each day? Being able to keep on living your life in the way you choose? When asked to write down what I was most thankful for each day, I thought it was going to be a breeze. However, each day that I was presented with the question, it actually got me thinking, what am I truely the most thankful for? On Monday, after a shortened day of school I decided to contemplate what I was most thankful for. The first thing that instantly came to my mind was the education system that I have grown up with. I have been given the opportunity to learn so much from amazing teachers that actually care about my future. Some people do not get the chance to challenge themselves mentally, but with the Cedar Falls education system, I have been challenged almost every day, and have been able to learn a massive amount of information. Once it was Tuesday, I was again faced with the difficult question. I began to think about how great of a city Cedar Falls is. With so many friendly people, I realize how thankful I am to have grown up in such a good city. Having visited other cities, it has made me take a step back and realize how different
Cedar Falls is, in a great way, and I am very thankful for that. For Wednesday, I thought of how I am very thankful for the people who have been involved in my life and have made an impact on me. Every person that I have been close with or that I am close with has taught me something about myself, and I would say has just improved me as a person overall. On Thursday, I was most thankful for the close friends that I have made recently. I know that they always will be there for me, and it’s nice to know that I will have someone there for me if my family is ever unable to be. They also seem to make me a happier person because when we are together, there never seems to be a dull moment. Finally, on Friday, I thought of how I am thankful for the fact that my mom stayed at home when I was born and raised me and taught me many valuable life lessons. So, overall, I can say that I am the most thankful for my upbringing and the experiences that I have faced that had built me into who I am today. Without being raised in the way that I was, I don’t think that I would be where I am today, and for that I am grateful.
STATE JAZZ continued from Page 1
mance. I was extremely excited for the students to get this incredibly unique opportunity.” At the conference, all of the band directors from across the state come together and they listen to the best bands in Iowa. Those best bands in Iowa now include Cedar Falls as they are prepared to play eight tunes at the conference, two of which they still have to learn. “The students in Jazz One are some incredibly talented people and have received a lot of recognition this year for their efforts,” Engelhardt said in praise of his band. It’ll be the last performance for this band together, making it bittersweet, but Boss is excited to add this accolade on to his already impressive high school career that includes being a two-time All State jazz drummer, and he is appreciative, a feeling that is shared by his bandmates. “I have had the opportunities that many high school students will never ever get to experience, and I am greatly thankful for that.” By Editor-in-Chief Austin
Throughout Boss’s three years in Jazz One, this is the highest finish his bands have received, placing 8th in his sophomore year and not receiving a trophy his junior year. Boss said he is not only very proud of the band but believes this is the best band he’s ever been a part of. “I’m really proud of my bandmates because they kind of threw me off guard. I didn’t think they all would be as good as they are this year. My expectations were exceeded.” Being proud of this band didn’t stop there for Boss as they are headed down to the Iowa bandmasters conference in Des Moines in May. Only a single jazz band from across the state is selected to be a part of the conference, and no band from Cedar Falls had ever been selected before. “The opportunity to perform at IBA in May for the state Band convention,” band director Kyle Engelhardt said, “is a huge honor, and it’s going to be an outstanding perfor-
By Staff Writer Josie
SPELTZ
ANDERSON
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The
SPORTS
Tiger
Friday, April 10, 2015
Dancing into a new season
HI-LINE
CFHS dance team selects new team, new captains, prepares for new year Cedar Falls Dance Team tryouts for the 2015 - 2016 season were held the morning of Friday, March 27. Judged by area dance experts — and in part by the 2014-2015 season captains, 27 participants auditioned. The results were posted later that evening, announcing the 2015-2016 performance and competition teams. This coming season’s performance team, which attends camp in the summer and performs at all home football and basketball halftimes during the school year, consists of 22 members: 21 girls, listed at right, and for the second time in Cedar Falls history, one boy, current junior Jarod Smith. Smith was also accepted, along with 13 other girls and four alternates, to be part of the competition hip-hop team which competes each year at the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Association’s statewide competition. The competition pom team, which also competes annually with ISDTA, consists of 12 girls and three alternates. After watching tryouts, team coach Gayle Bruene is really excited for the coming year. “It’ll go great,” she said. “We’ve got lots of experience on the team, and I’m excited to work with everyone.” Former captain, senior Josie Speltz thought the same. “Next year will be good. The captains that were chosen are very responsible and are great dancers. I think they can accomplish a lot next year,” she said. This coming season’s captains, current junior Sommer Danielsen, current junior Jessica McMurrin, current junior Hannah Gaffney and current junior Katy Lockard, are all extremely enthusiastic for their final year. “I’m really excited to be a captain this year and have the opportunity to have a positive influence on the team, as well as connect with a team and have fun with all the new members,” Danielsen said. Lockard echoed her, and said, “I’m really excited to be a leader to the team, to set an example to the new girls coming in.” Even first-year member, current eighth grader Ellie Judisch is excited about the up and coming season. “I’m really excited to have made the team and am glad to dance with people who share my passion,” she said. Perhaps most excited of all is Smith, who is the second boy in CF history to be part of the performance and competition dance teams, and the first to officially try out with all the girls. CFHS alumni Richard Lam danced with the competition hip-hop team his senior year, during their 2012-2013 season, but didn’t try out with the team. He had his own tryout after the girls’. His year on the team was the first year ISDTA allowed guys to be a part of the girl competition teams. Smith spent a year on the All-Male dance team, and has taken few classical dance classes here and there but decided he wants more. “I thought All-Male was really really fun, but I wanted something more intense and challenging,” he said. So in January, he started taking and assistant teaching hip-hop dance classes at Fusion Dance and Fitness, a local studio in preparation for spring tryouts, and it looks like it paid off. “It’s great!” He said about making the team. “I’m really excited, especially for State, but also nervous. It’s definitely harder [than any dancing I’ve done before].”
2015-2016 Dance Team Members:
Four-year member, captain Sommer Danielsen: “I’m really excited to be a captain this year. I think there’s going to be a new dynamic. However, I’m nervous about all the responsibilities that come with being a captain. I don’t want to let anyone down.”
Four-year member, captain Jessica McMurrin: “I’m nervous about being a leader and having people watching what kind of example I’ll set for girls to follow, but I’m excited at the same time. Four years on the team has given me an example to watch and see certain things that work and didn’t work.”
“[This year] will go great! We’ve got lots of experience on the team, and I’m excited to work with everyone.”
-Dance Team Coach Gayle Bruene
Seniors: -Captain Sommer Danielsen -Captain Hannah Gaffney -Captain Katy Lockard -Captain Jessica McMurrin -Kaylene Konigsmark -Talon Plum -Jarod Smith Juniors: -Izzie Armstrong -Allison Eagan -Sierra Fredrickson -Kylie Mast -Casey McIntyre -Summer Pieters -Kloe Pilipchuk -Megan Poppens -Kim Salmon -Kari Starbeck -Kayla Vanderwerf Sophomores: -Mackenzie Beving -Alyssa Omalley
Four-year member, captain Hannah Gaffney: “I’m excited to be a captain as a senior and help lead the direction of the team, work hard for success at State and push the team to improve. I’m nervous about taking charge and making sure [I’m] actually leading the team by being a captain.”
Three-year member, captain Katy Lockard: “Trying to pick up where the captains from last year left off is going to be a big responsibility, but I’m really excited about the new girls coming in. I’m excited to be a leader to the team by setting an example.”
Freshmen: -Ellie Judisch -Rachel K. By Staff Writer Mikaela
MALLIN
The
Tiger
HI-LINE “We have a really good group/team dynamic. That’s the reason we play. In 10 years, we aren’t going to remember the scores of the meets or the matches we lost. We are going to remember the car rides and team meals and friendships.” —Senior Mia Poleksic
Senior Mia Poleksic and Junior Madison McCann
Senior Ariana Mitra
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Love-Love Your Team Friday, April 10, 2015
Women’s tennis team prepares for successful season A smack reverberated through the tennis courts as senior Mia Poleksic crushed the ball over the net. “Nice shot, Mia,” a supportive parent sitting in a lawn chair called from the side. Smiling, Poleksic turned to her doubles partner, junior Madison McCann. They had just won their doubles match against Western Dubuque in an extended tie-breaker. The members of the women’s tennis team hit the ground running, or swinging, winning both of their first meets this past Saturday. “I think it was a great confidence boost for the season. It was good for us to go and win some non-conference matches, start off with a positive record and just get back into that competitive drive, even though most of us play at the (Black Hawk Tennis) club over the year,” Poleksic said. Of course, the players hope this great start only foreshadows what is to come for the women’s tennis team this season. “Our (first) meet went really well. We are coming back with seven of eight of our returning varsity. We were able to beat both Western Dubuque and Waverly Shell-Rock. Our first doubles team was able to show our fight and resilience coming back from 0-5 to win the set 9-7. It gave us confidence to bring to the rest of our season,” tennis captain senior Ariana Mitra said. The varsity team plays six single matches and three doubles matches, needing to win five of any combination to win the meet. Poleksic and McCann were a new team this year, playing No. 2 doubles. “It’s great that Maddie and I know each other really well, and we’ve played together for a long time. Maddie and I are good friends off the court as well. We’ve never played doubles together during tennis season, but it has been going well so far, and I think we’ll have a good year,” Poleksic said. Mitra plays No. 1 doubles with junior Becky Hughes: “I prefer to play doubles; I feel
it’s more fast paced. I like to play aggressive, and doubles gives you the opportunity to play at the net. It’s also a lot of fun to have another person out there for you to talk with and keep yourself positive and pumped up,” Mitra said. Following their winning streak, the tennis players face Cedar Rapids Washington this week. “Wash are the defending state champions, so they have an extremely strong team. We don’t expect to be able to do anything major against them, but since we aren’t expected to win, it will be a good meet because we get to go out there with no pressure and see if we can surprise anyone,” Poleksic said. Despite the difficulty they soon face, the players remain optimistic about the rest of their season. “Cedar Rapids Washington will probably be our toughest meet. They have several of their varsity players returning from last year, but it will give us good practice for the remainder of our season, which we have high hopes for. Our hope is to win our division and make it to State. I think this year is one of the best years to do that. We have lots of talent, a very deep team and have worked hard year round to achieve this,” Mitra said. The CF tennis team is part of the Valley division which includes Dubuque Senior, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Iowa City West, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Linn Mar and Dubuque Wahlert. In order to win the division, the team must have the best record of these seven schools. State is decided at the end of May during the individual district tournaments and during team substate. “I think we have a really good shot of making it to the state tournament this year and being conference champions. We have a really good team dynamic, and I think that can take us far because we are all really good friends and supportive of each other, and we have the skill level that it takes to go to State. Last year we had bad luck
with the regional draw, but with a little bit of luck this year and with our skill level and team dynamic, I think we have a good chance of making it,” Poleksic said. The team follows a fun pre-meet ritual and supports each other throughout the meet. “During our practices and warm ups before meets, we bring out speakers to the tennis courts and Becky (Hughes) has created a playlist of pump-up songs and songs that are inside jokes for our team. It really just adds to the fun environment that our team is able to create with one another,” Mitra said. “We kind of huddle as a group, sharing positive thoughts and positive vibes. We give each other the confidence we need because it’s such a mental game. During the meet it really helps that we have the support of our teammates watching if they finish their match first and talk to us because it is such a mental game. The thing with teammates and coaches talking to you during the match is they can see a different angle of what you are doing wrong or right, and they are there to tell you that because it’s easy to get down on yourself. It’s nice to have your teammates and coach to support you even if you’re alone on the court,” Poleksic said. Though the team looks forward to a state run and has the potential because of their skill level, ultimately the team dynamic is what makes this team so special. “I think it really helps that we are really close friends off the court too, and I think that will transfer into our success. We have a really really good group/team dynamic. That’s the reason we play. In five10 years, we aren’t going to remember the scores of the meets or the matches we lost. We are going to remember the van and car rides and team meals and friendships,” Poleksic said. By Staff Writer Agatha
FENECH
8
The
Tiger
SPORTS Special Olympians advance to State
Cedar Falls High School has many different sports and activities for students to participate in. Each student is given the opportunity to discover their passion and pursue it. A very important activity that has been overshadowed by many other things is the Special Olympics team held at Cedar Falls. The special Olympics team is made of primarily Cedar Falls students, with some others joining from nearby schools. The Olympics consists of three different seasons and three different sports. In the fall there is bowling, winter is basketball and in the spring track and field. Many students participate in one season or more. Each season has Districts and then State. If athletes perform well at Districts, they will advance on to State. This past March the Spring Special Olympics were held at the UNI Dome and all students have received first place ribbons and advanced on to State, which will be held at the Iowa State campus in Ames during Memorial Day weekend in May. The whole CFHS team has advanced on to the State level this season. Two seniors Megan Hermanson and Hunter Aldridge who have been involved in this for years, only have positive things to say about the Olympics. Both athletes have participated in different sports in previous years, but this year they both did track and field. Hermanson started participating when she was an eighth grader, and Aldridge soon after as a freshman. “In other years I have done all three events, but this year I am only doing track and field,” Aldridge said. He participated in long jump, the javelin throw and the relay (4x1) at the District Special Olympics, and he is going on in all three events at State in May. Hermanson competed in the standing long jump and mini javelin at Districts and also made it to State in both events. “I was intending to do all three [seasons], but it didn’t work out, but in years past I have done all sea-
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Friday, April 10, 2015
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Seniors Megan Harmanson and Hunter Aldridge earned first place first place finishes in qualifying for the May Special Olympic state track meet in Ames. sons.” Also, she has done other track and field events, such as the softball throw and relay. In order to prepare for these Olympics, the athletes practice at the Dome. “We basically practice all of [the events] at once, then we decide what we want to do,” Aldridge said. Both of these athletes have had a great experience competing in the different sports in the Special Olympics, and they remember how coach Jan Williams, who works at Peet Junior High, encouraged them to compete, and they have never regretted their decision of taking up the offer. Aldridge remembers being optimistic at first. “I was like OK, I’ll give it a try. I’m
not really sure what it is, but I’m game, and now I have a total of I don’t even know how many medals.” Hermanson was also optimistic yet also thrilled with the opportunity to get to take part in something like this. “I guess I thought it would be fun to do, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do sports. There aren’t really sports here that I can do at the high school, so with this I was finally given the chance to do sports. I have gained a lot of medals and ribbons from it.” Both athletes spoke out on how fun not just the Olympics are, but the other activities they get to partake in while they are there are. “When you go to
TEEN TRUST continued from Page 1 to find which ones we all agreed choosing which organizations that on and which would make a differ- should receive a grant, it all beence in the community and which comes worth it when the groups ones had well-written grants. One they picked receive it, according of them applied for $5,000, which to Junior Noah Beisner. “Once we was half our grant, so we needed finally got that ironed out, it was reto figure out how much we could ally rewarding to go to those orgaactually give them while still making nizations and surprise those people sure they were able to complete with that and see them smile,” their project.” Beisner said. Despite the difficulties of Walther first took an interest
in helping non-profit organizations when her uncle started one last summer, which was the main reason why she joined. So far, Walther has claimed to have a positive experience with Teen Trust . “It’s a great way to get to know people who have somewhat similar interests to you. There are eight different schools represented, so we all come from different backgrounds,” Walther said. “I’ve learned a lot
Athlete
Ames, you get to do fun things. My favorite part is the dance,” Hermanson said. Aldridge explained how there are other activities to be done for athletes who arrive early while other events are being finished up. “They have an Olympic-type plane to open the ceremony, which is really cool,” he said. Another fun aspect for the athletes is that they get to stay in the dorms on campus while they are competing in Ames. “The Olympics are usually held on Iowa State’s campus, so we get to stay in the dorms. We leave on Thursday and most likely won’t come back until Saturday, depending on events. So we get two nights in the dorms,” Aldridge said. He also said how much these Olympics mean to him and explained that they are all just as capable of anything. “Most people don’t give it enough credit. We are all capable of a lot more than what most people think. Just because people are disabled physically or lack in a certain department, that doesn’t mean that they can’t compete.” Hermanson agreed that they are just as capable, “Sometimes our Olympians throw farther than the UNI football players,” she said. Also, the Special Olympics are always in need of volunteers. “They always need volunteers, so you could always sign up. The Panthers help out, and so do other college students,” Aldridge said. “Even the UNI cheerleaders help out,” Hermanson added. Both athletes have thought of advancing on in the special Olympics after high school. Hermanson might join the Goodwill team. Aldridge overall has enjoyed these Olympics and has had a lot of fun over the years, “It’s an experience that is hard to sum up, but it’s pretty great.” By Copy Editor Annebeth
AHRENHOLZ
about non-profit organizations, so I think if I go into working into one, I will be more prepared.” Currently, Teen Trust is seeking members to become a part of the board. Anybody interested in joining can visit www.cfneia.org to apply to become a member. Applications are due Wednesday, April 22. By Staff Writer Sarah
STORTZ
of the
Week
Alexa Rabune Soccer
Senior goal keeper Alexa Rabune has been a varsity starter since her freshman year and has recently comitted to Minnesota State University, Mankato who spent much of the last season ranked first in Division II.
When do you think the first time you dribbled a soccer ball was? When I was six years old. What different places has soccer taken you? I had the opportunity to play with ODP (Olympic Development Program), so all over Iowa, and we got to go to Las Vegas. When I moved back to Iowa from California, my old soccer team flew me out a couple times to play with them. Why did you decide to attend Mankato? I chose Mankato because the team has something I’ve been looking for since I moved back to Iowa. They treat each other like family, and I’ve been looking for a team that connects really well, and the coaches are great, and they are a pretty successfull team, and they have some pretty high expectations.
Tigers in
Action
Women’s Track April 11 @ CR Kennedy 10:30 a.m. Men’s Track April 10 Hempstead Mustangs relays 4:30 p.m. Women’s Soccer April 13 @ Linn-Mar 5:15 p.m. Men’s Soccer April 11 Linn-Mar tourney 9 a.m. Women’s Golf April 14 MVC Quadrangular @ Dub Senior 2 p.m. Women’s Tennis April 11@ Linn-Mar 9 a.m. @ CR Xavier 1 p.m. Men’s Tennis April 11 vs Linn-Mar 9 a.m.
vs CR Xavier 1 p.m.