design by julia campbell
art by francesca lorusso
THE ACT NOT SAVE
NOT SAVE
The SAVE Act isn’t an effective way to eliminate voter fraud, rather a method of keeping millions from voting
SORRY MA’AM, YOU’RE not allowed to vote without a matching name on your birth certificate and driver’s license. I understand you’re married, but there’s nothing we can do.”
While it may seem oppressive, this may be the unfortunate reality for tens of millions of women, minorities and lower class citizens attempting to vote in the next election.
On April 8, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — a bill meant to target voter fraud by changing voter registration requirements — passed through the U.S. House of Representatives.
For supporters of the bill, this means lessening the “threat” of voter fraud. For the bill’s opposition, this means the disenfranchisement of nearly 21.3 million Americans, according to NPR.
The SAVE Act is ultimately a way to limit voting for women, minorities and other voting groups, not a way to protect the integrity of voting in the U.S.
The act would change how citizens register to vote. As of now, voters must simply provide a valid driver’s license, state ID or other proof of identification, such as a military ID, to verify their age and citizenship at the state and federal level.
This new legislation would force voters to provide an “Enhanced Driver’s License” — conveniently available in only five states, Kansas not being one of them. If you can’t get one of these new licenses, you can always provide two additional documents, such as a birth certificate or passport paired with your driver’s license. You know, all those readily-available documents absolutely everyone has.
The catch: the name on your ID and birth certificate must match. This leaves anyone who has changed their name at a complete disadvantage.
According to the Pew Research Center, 79% of U.S. women took their spouse’s last name and another 5% chose to hyphenate the two.
Anyone whose name doesn’t match on
both documents they wish to register to vote with must attain a new birth certificate, a process that takes up to a week and comes with a fee. If they can’t do this, they can opt to get a passport, another process that takes four to six weeks and, on average, costs $130.
But what happens to the millions of Americans who don’t have access to their birth certificate, the means to acquire alternative identification or time and ability to attain and fund new documentation? They get denied at the polls.
If the SAVE Act passes, we’re essentially moving back to the time of our founding fathers, when only rich, white men with property (and their papers in order) could vote.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, as many as 7% of voters, most of which are minorities, don’t have documents like a birth certificate which, ironically, is needed to purchase a passport.
This means people who were adopted, minorities, women and the lower class could all be affected the moment the SAVE Act is put into play. In short, this legislation simply sets a vicious cycle of paperwork and voter disenfranchisement in motion.
And for all you high school teenagers gearing up to vote in the next election, you better hope you have access to all the required documentation. If not, be ready to be asked to leave the voting booth the minute you open your mouth and say “I’m here to vote.”
But let’s say you ignore the blatant targeting of lower class, female and minority citizens and just think about the bill in terms of truly trying to stop voter fraud: this bill still doesn’t make sense.
Voter fraud simply isn’t a large enough issue to pass aggressive legislation like the SAVE Act. In fact, it’s barely a problem at all. In 2017, the Brennan Center for Justice studied 42 jurisdictions during the 2016 election. Their research showed that out of 23.5 million votes cast, only 30 were potentially non-citizen.
And they’re not alone in their argument. A 2024 article by CATO Institute claims the
percentage of Illegal voters in the U.S. is less than one percent.
Non-citizen voting, while a possibility, obviously isn’t the massive issue supporters of the SAVE Act are making it out to be.
Kansas passed similar legislation that inspired the SAVE Act in 2011. It ultimately forced voters to provide the same additional, difficult-to-obtain documentation in order to vote, according to PBS.
The result? Around 31,000 Kansas voters were blocked from voter registration.
The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 2018.
If we know legislation like this doesn’t work to eliminate voter fraud, there’s absolutely no reason to keep pushing these blatantly repressive laws through Congress.
While democrats are dedicated to blocking the legislation in the U.S. Senate, there’s no reason this blatantlyrepressive, 1920’s-feeling act needed to be introduced in the first place.
Our representatives should focus on protecting our vote, not restricting it, and the SAVE Act isn’t fooling anyone.
Requirements that will be held for American voters if the SAVE Act is enacted
Mandates that all people must provide citizenship documentation in person when registering to vote
Requires an extensive majority of Americans to depend on passports or birth certi cates to prove citizenship
If enacted, the law would force some states to implement major changes to their voter registration systems,with no transition period provided
*according to ncsl.org
The members of the editorial board who agree with the viewpoint of the editorial are represented by for, and those who disagree with the viewpoint are represented by against. for: 8 against: 1
AFTER A PROPOSED real Jazz night for the jazz band will be held in the auditorium on May 2 at 7 p.m. The concert occurs yearly and allows the jazz band to show off the songs they have worked on throughout the year.
Senior Brennen Barnes and saxophone player has been in Jazz Band for five years and is looking forward to his last jazz night.
band jazz night supporting south news
The SM East band annually holds a jazz night where they show off the songs they have been working on throughout the year
The Indian Hills Middle School jazz band will also play alongside East bands.
“It’s a special night for the high schoolers and middle schoolers to be able to play together,” Barnes said.
So far, they are playing “Children of Sanchez” by Chuck Mangione and “Softly As in a Morning Sunrise” by Oscar Hammerstein II, and are still choosing more songs to add.
Around 40 people make up the jazz band and including Indian Hills there will be around 60 players. Jazz Band consists of three parts — the rhythm
section, saxophones and trumpets and trombones.
Piano player and junior Nash Ohlund, the concert is a bittersweet experience because it’s his last time playing with the graduating seniors.
“I think every year I get closer with the senior class of that year,” Ohlund said. “Jazz night is the last night playing with the seniors. It’s still fun because there’s no other time where it’s just like a concert at East for jazz.”
LANCER
Giving the Lancer community a voice
ON APRIL 22, all Shawnee Mission School District students were encouraged to wear green and gold to support SM South after the deadly car accident of senior Itzel Guerra and junior José Placensia Castañeda on April 19.
SMSD sent an email out on April 22. to all of the high schools in the district proposing the idea and the administration decided it would be the right decision for the community.
SM East students wear green to show support after two SM South students passed away in a car crash on April 19
Principal Jason Peres believes that this decision shows our empathy towards the South community.
“It’s important because we have such competitive spirits from school to school,” Peres said. “So when something tragic happens, I think it’s important for us to all come together as a district and demonstrate support for one another”
Junior Norah Anderson wore green on April 23 to show support after hearing about the accident.
SM EAST’S SENIOR sunrise
will be held on May 2 at 6:30 a.m. on the lower football field. Around 250 graduating seniors are expected to attend this year and Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwiches will be catered.
Senior class president Maggie Condon has been planning the event since March, along with the help of other senior Student Council members.
This year, new traditions have been added to the senior sunrise, such as Condon collaborating with
“It’s important because it shows that we support South in this time of tragedy for their community,” Anderson said.“I just feel so horrible about what happened.”
SM South Junior Kylie Dove is grateful for the gesture from East.
“I think it’s important because it’s a kind gesture to show support and being supportive of their families while they’re going through so much,” Dove said.
The SM East graduating class annually hosts senior sunrise where seniors watch the sunrise on the football field
the East student store to make senior sunrise shirts. The money made from these will be donated to “Giving the Basics” — a nonprofit in Kansas City.
“I’m on Student Store, so I was in charge of that process,” Condon said.
“I sent out the Google Form to the StuCo class GroupMe and then from there, I told Mercedes how many shirts we needed. I’m in charge of pressing them and texting everyone that their shirts were ready.”
In addition to having customized shirts, the field will be decorated with banners, as well as disposable
cameras spread across the field so students can take photos. A joint Spotify playlist is available for the senior class to add to in the senior StuCo Instagram account.
Spanish teacher Kristina Calvano is the senior class sponsor and has been planning the event alongside senior StuCo.
“Last year we had problems with the weather so I’m really excited to be able to do it on the football field and get to celebrate the seniors’ last few weeks together,” Calvano said.
Senior class president Maggie Condon has worked with the Student Store to make shirts for the event
MAGGIE CONDON SENIOR CLASS PRESIDENT
STUDENT COUNCIL WANTED to add shirts this year so people can bring Sharpies, and StuCo will provide Sharpies, so people can sign their names on the backs of shirts. We thought that this would be a fun tradition to add to senior sunrise because it’s already so fun.
Q: Are you going to the annual senior sunrise?
A: I’m going to senior sunrise. I don’t really know what the plans are yet, but I am going mainly because it is a big tradition at East. I just love doing all the traditions at East. I did get a shirt because I have heard that some people will have Sharpies so you can sign them.
Q: How has it been making the senior sunrise shirts?
A: Shirts are gonna be really fun for us because people can sign them. They’re really cute and they’ve been pretty easy to make, as far as all of the shirts that [Student Store has] done so far. I think it’ll be kind of cute to have something they can match if they want to. It is also a white shirt so people can sign them.
hot take
Salads are severely overrated
story by alex harden
MY PROBLEM WITH the classic salad is two-fold. First, the combination of slimy, massive pieces of lettuce, miscellaneous vegetables and toppings is odd and doesn’t work well. Second, the dish is smothered in salad dressing that usually tastes like hand sanitizer.
The main appeal of a salad is the health factor, but a classic helping of salad dressing can challenge that.
One of the most, if not the most popular salad dressing is ranch. According to the label on the back, a two tablespoon serving of Hidden Valley
comic strip
art by bella broce
Prom be like:
ranch boasts a whopping 130 calories and 13 grams of fat, and other salad dressings have a similar amount of calories and fats
I’m not denying that it has health benefits, but many believe it’s as healthy as breathing air when it’s not. For something that tastes putrid I don’t think the health benefits justify me eating it.
Why would I ever eat food that tastes bad? The only purpose I can think of is to either trick myself into feeling better or to make myself seem healthier around others.
If I ever have to eat salad, I make sure
it has no dressing at all.
Although a dry salad sounds horrid at first, once you try it you can’t go back. Say goodbye to the extra calories and that one soggy piece of lettuce drenched in more dressing than the other leaves. It’s better to just eat your salad dry to avoid the gross dressing. Save yourself the torture.
But a dry salad is still undesirable, since it’s still a salad and suffers from tasteless ingredients.
Moral of the story, salad is gross. It’s time to think again before ordering a salad or when pouring dressing on your plate. Ask yourself if there’s a healthy
*Instagram poll of
*Instagram poll of 362
dish you can order that doesn’t taste terrible.
Harbinger staffer rates best cleaning products
1
3
With an unmatched versatility, cleaning everything from bird poop to pen ink, a Tide pen is a must for those constantly on the go. It’s sleek design and simple function make it a go to for many to remove unwanted stains without washing your clothes.
Famous for deoxidizing white garments in particular, Oxiclean White Revive Powder is essential to lengthening the life of your garments. From sheets to shirts, Oxiclean White Revive Powder offers unprecedented consistency and de-yellowing effect.
Although it comes with a price, Dirty Labs Free and Clear Bio Detergent focuses on sustainability and stain- ghting power. It offers an environmentally conscious take in a plasticdominated eld. 66% 65% of Americans believe they have higher than average intelligence, ccording to Statista believes Waldo Thai is the best Asian-Fusion restaurant in KC of Americans own pets, according to Statista Freshman Logan Brettell
*Instagram poll of 343 votes
2
OPINION
by francesca lorusso
Tstory by christopher long
HE FIRST TIME I walked through the glass doors of the SM East library, I passed a dim and oddly rectangular room. Naturally, I assumed it was storage or maybe even a depressing teachers lounge.
But, in the coming weeks, I came to know this room as the paper-copying, packetstapling, worksheet-printing hub of East.
Although I was used to doing paper tests and quizzes, the rationale behind using paper — a precious resource — to print out busywork, such as vocabulary bingo and mathematician crossword puzzles, was unclear.
In a new age of technology with students armed with MacBooks and iPads, traditional, paper-based education shouldn’t be the focus. To move into the modern area of education, SMSD should eliminate using paper for coursework other than quizzes and tests.
The use of paper for useless assignments and silly games practically makes me nauseous. This not only wastes paper, but also my time.
According to a study done by Walden University Research, 9 out of 10 students indicated that using technology in the classroom would help prepare them for the demands of the digital workplace.
As a freshman, I was astonished when stacks of cardstock and bound paper bundles replaced the iPads and PDF annotations in Squid, an app used to
• art
annotate files. I knew from my nine years at elementary school. A regression that not only hurt my education, but the planet as well.
Despite enjoying being part of a school with 1800 students and endless opportunities, I missed my previous schools’ joint push towards sustainability.
And even though the majority of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) tests are now digital, school districts maintain the age-old habit of printing out everything — their stubbornness only harming the environment.
But with the advancements of technology, there’s no reason why schools can’t make a push towards moving education digitally and moving paper towards the way of the Wooly Mammoth.
With countries like Malaysia, China, United Kingdom, South Korea and South Africa boasting the benefits of paperless education — such as preparing students for a digital workplace — SMSD should follow suit.
According to SMSD Board Documents, an estimated $6.5 million was used to purchase supplies and instructional resources for the districts’ 44 schools in 2024. The vast majority of this $6.5 million budget was used for paper. This means that, in theory, each student was supplied with around $240.99 for supplies. But with our existing MacBooks, all of this additional
money goes to waste.
RETHINKTHEPAGE
School assignments should be done on a computer for environmental sustainability
However, SMSD’s budget for technology is only $29,000. Moving away from print coursework could easily save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Although East has teachers like Mr. Bickers using digital tests or Mrs. Davis’s digital Biology labs, it feels flat-out stupid when we get handed a huge, wasteful packet and then are told to put our $1,200 macbooks away.
Online work not only utilizes existing resources, but it’s healthier and more productive in an age where much of the workplace is digital.
It’s an insult to past innovators that while anyone can yield millions of results on a simple Google search, society uses almost 70 million trees per year for paper.
Instead of shunning the millions of dollars already invested in MacBooks and smart TVs, SMSD needs to mandate touch screen devices to push all schoolwork into the direwolf and digital era.
• The U.S. kills 68-70 million trees per year
SMSD has a budget for instructional resources and supplies of about $6.6 million
THE PAPER TRAIL
Statistics about the true cost of paper usage
• 31 million tons of printing and copier paper were used in the U.S. in 2022
• 400 million tons of paper are used worldwide in a given year
design by evelyn bagley photo by lila elwood
KEEPING
WALKING INTO
THE last 20 minutes
of Jacob Penner’s AP
U.S. Government and
event” project to students on any topic once every semester.
The catch? Each presentation must be tied back to one of College Board’s “learning objectives” for AP Government.
“This class is so much about learning content that the modern things that happen in the world get lost,” Penner said. “We can’t really talk about it every day and I’d like students to still know.”
Each presentation must have a thesis which takes a stance on a topic, defended by pieces of evidence from multiple sources, according to Penner. Current events are topped off with a ‘bubble buster’ to provide a counter argument for the student’s thesis. After the presentation, classmates are encouraged to ask questions about each current event.
Typically, two students present during each class after signing up for a specific day at the beginning of the semester. Penner hopes the current event presentations will allow students to stay up-to-date with political news.
For some students, the assignment is more than just a completion grade; the current event project is a way for students to research topics they’re passionate about or listen to differing perspectives on controversial issues.
AP Government student and senior Nathan Daniels believes some students dive further into topics than others,
highlighting individual and differing passions.
“I think you can tell when people are more passionate than others with the effort they put into it,” Daniels said. “You kind of get a range of viewpoints and perspectives on different topics.”
Senior Nicholas Black, another one of Penner’s AP Government students — although only required to present one current event a semester — enjoyed the project so much that he signed up to present another one in the same semester.
“I found [the current event project] pretty exciting,” Black said. “I think it requires a lot of research and knowledge on your subject, especially when it comes to answering your classmates’ questions because they can send anything your way.”
Black covered the war in Ukraine and an executive order passed by President Donald Trump in his current events, which he researched thoroughly before presenting, compiling different resources into a hand-made powerpoint.
Some of the issues presented by students are similar topics but provide different sides of the argument, which Black believes is a positive thing for students.
“I know sometimes it can be controversial to some students who disagree with the topic at hand or the thesis that the student has,” Black said.
“But, I think it’s definitely engaging for students and it lets us get a wide variety of opinions that we might not otherwise see.”
Regardless of whether or not the project resonates with students, it also provides a grade cushion to all, according to Penner. The project is a summative grade, meaning it’s weighted the same as tests, meant to help students who aren’t strong testtakers bring their grades up through a well-thought-out presentation.
While some students, like Black, choose to express their passions into their current events, others use the template provided by Penner to complete the assignment. Some students even learn about new, niche topics through their own presentations, according to Penner.
The current event projects have become a staple of Penner’s AP Government class, which has positively impacted students as a whole.
Due to the personalized nature of Penner’s assignments, he was voted NHS Teacher of the Year by SM East students.
“[Winning the NHS teacher of the year] did mean a lot,” Penner said. “I just really love teaching and sometimes you get validation from students, but getting real validation of what you’re doing is the right thing or that you’re doing a good job feels good.”
Jacob Penner’s AP U.S. Government and Politics students must complete a required and engaging project about current events Three recent “Breaking News” presentations in Penner’s class
design by michael yi
images courtesy of mahmoud golshanirad and unsplash.com
story by ellen bowser
APRIL 28, 2025
Junior LJ Morrissey started her own at-home spray tan business to help plan for college
MORRISSEY MORRISSEY
WHAT LED YOU TO START YOUR OWN SPRAY TAN BUSINESS?
“ I got into wanted to do something that I could do in college. So I was talking to my mom about it, and I was really set on doing nails. But then my mom does the marketing for a med spa, and they have a girl who does spray tans there, and she makes it seem so easy, and it’s kind of expensive to get the kit, but the money pays it back pretty fast.
WHAT DOES YOUR SPRAY TAN SET UP LOOK LIKE?
“ I have this my basement, and in there, I have a pop-up tent, [which is] probably seven feet tall, and then I have a spray gun, just like the machines that they have at any spray tan place. I have a cart on the side that has hand wipes, hair nets, [and for] some people, there [are] little throwaway underwear
HOW DID YOU LEARN HOW TO DO A SPRAY TAN?
I watched a lot of videos, for sure. But the main way I learned is at the med [spa] school [where] mom works at. The girl that [spray tans] there, she’s good friends with, and so I went and shadowed under her for a while. It can be kind of awkward, standing [in] on people’s spray tans, but I would just go, and she showed me exactly how she does it.
HOW DO YOU DRAW IN CUSTOMERS?
it that much, I don’t have any posters or anything out there. Word of nitely how I’ve gotten it so far. Eve Tollefson rst girl I did, and so when we went to DECA State, everyone saw it, and they were complimenting it and asking who did it. That’s how a lot of people have known about it, but my friends have de nitely helped. They’re more comfortable having their friend do it, especially if they’re getting it for half the price. It’s just a
PREP LIKE A PRO
LJ’s guide to the perfect spray tan
• Shave and exfoliate 24 hours before spray tan
• Avoid skin products that can damage the skin barrier
• Wear loose clothing to spray tan appointment
design by caroline beal
photos by molly scott
AN ELITE
“Fearless”
ELITE
books in the past year, and only three have made me audibly gasp or set my drink down to process what just happened in the story, but “Fearless,” by Lauren Roberts, was among the few that did. Alongside the shock, the book also left me in tears, staring at the wall after finishing the epilogue. Considering I’ve cried about three books in my life, this story is now one of my favorites.
“Fearless” is the last of the fantasy romance trilogy, “Powerless.” The main plot of these books, however, is centered around a kingdom divided by the Ordinaries, who have no powers, and the Elites, who do have powers.
I take my Goodreads account and ratings very seriously, so when I rated this a five out of five, those stars were earned. I found myself constantly taking pictures of pages to come back and dissect them — a tell-tale sign of a good book.
The book centers around an ordinary girl, Paedyn, an orphan living in the slums, who is picked to compete in a set of trials. The other main character is Kai, an Elite, is one of two princes in Ilya. Both of them are inevitably part of the enemies-to-lovers relationship throughout the books.
Paedyn goes through the trials alongside Kai in “Fearless.” These trials include a journey across a dangerous sea, a trek through the desert and a battle to the death, all to prove her worthy of being the queen of Ilya. These trials are deadly if there’s one
misstep, so her main goal is to survive.
The biggest part of “Fearless” that kept me reading was the relationship between Kai and Paedyn, and I’ve never been more obsessed with a book duo. I usually don’t love the romance in a book unless I feel like I’ve really gotten to know the characters in a story, but this relationship was flawless.
Some of the quotes even made me feel like I knew the characters personally. One quote from Kai in particular sent shivers down my spine.
‘“I’ve been waiting to tell you since I realized your eyes are my favorite color and your freckles the only constellation worth looking at. I could lie–– say that you’ve stolen my every thought and heartbeat like the thief you are, but all of me was already yours. Pae, you are my inevitable.”’
the first trial, when she was almost trapped in a cave, because she was tasked with retrieving the dead queen’s crown.
Then, when it would switch to Kai’s chapters, readers can see how much he worried about her in the trials and what was going on back at the castle as her enforcer.
At so many points throughout the book, I was in such suspense as to what would happen to them. I remember trying not to let out a loud gasp in the library at one scene where I was convinced Paedyn was going to die on a boat.
Both of these characters, as well as others, went through major character development and were the dictionary definition of dynamic characters.
brain could get within the first 100 pages. Then there were around three other plot twists within five chapters, and it threw me for a complete loop. It gave me whiplash, and I had to reread to figure out what happened, but I enjoyed the out-of-nowhere discoveries.
This quote is only one of the many examples of Lauren Roberts’ amazing execution of emotional writing. Emotional writing is vital to make a reader care about the characters, and I think a part of this is the dual point of view.
Through a dual point of view, a few characters each have their own chapter, which immerses you in the world of the book and makes the reader feel like the characters are their best friends.
In Paedyn’s chapters, you get her POV while she goes through the set of trials. This makes it easier to understand what’s happening and how she’s reacting. A specific scene where this made a difference was in
Kitt, the other brother and prince, goes through the most personality changes and mental struggle, adding an engaging and realistic element. In the first book, he starts out as innocent and naive because of how young he was. Then, after all the horrors that occur in the rest of the books, he turns out to be coldhearted, which is a big subplot in “Fearless.”
I could’ve never expected everything that was coming towards the end of this book. There was the death of a main character, a huge betrayal, and a discovery of a hidden father. When these plot twists hit was the point in
Ratings of “Fearless” across multiple reading services
GOODREADS AUDIBLE AMAZON
reese dunham
2 days till the girls Varsity Swim Dual
spring season standings
4-3-0
VARSITY SOCCER
SCAN ME SCHEDULE
Take a peek at SME’s athletic calendar for a preview of our upcoming sports events
an update on our spring athlete’s records
6-10-0
GIRLS VARSITY SOFTBALL
30 upcoming events 29 SOFTBALL 5:30 p.m. @ CBAC
28
BOYS TENNIS
3:30 p.m. @ Harmon Park
Sophomore Christopher Long APR. APR. APR.
is on a 9-win tennis match streak
GIRLS SWIM 3:30 p.m. @ SMSC
3-0-1
BOYS VARSITY TENNIS
1MAY
GIRLS SOCCER
7 p.m. @ ODAC W SR
LEFT Junior right forward Louisa Holzbeierlein settles the ball and takes it down the sideline. Holzbeierlein scored two out of the five goals.
by vivien glenski
TOP RIGHT Sophomore Drew Lash practices his swing timing with the pitchers throw while on deck to bat.
BELOW Senior Francie Garrison breaks her underwater streamline into her 100 yard backstroke. Garrison maintained her backstroke state consideration time.
photo by molly scott
photo
photo by zac russell
SRAISING THE
Junior Cate Conrad recently set a new, personal pole vault record of 11’3”, ranking her fourth in the state
didn’t expect much. She’d never cleared this height before.
Conrad ran 12 steps on the Blue Valley High School track, launched herself off the track with her left foot and hoisted herself using the 13-foot pole vault. She flipped over in the air and hit the memory-foam-like mat.
She had just cleared a new height — for the first time since last May.
On just the first of her three attempts, Conrad had achieved a new personal record, her last being 11’.
“It’s always a little bit scary going for a new height, because the bar is higher,” Conrad said. “But I didn’t think about the height, which is honestly better because then I didn’t get in my head.”
This 11’3” jump would snag Conrad the number four spot on the Kansas all-class girls pole vault leaderboard — third in the 6A class. But despite being ranked fourth in the state now, Conrad only started taking pole vaulting seriously when she was a freshman.
Conrad grew up as a gymnast, taking weekly classes at Beller’s Gymnastics to eventually reach level five. After quitting gymnastics in sixth grade, Conrad looked for a new sport. Her second cousin was also a gymnast-turned-pole vaulter, who inspired Conrad to start private vaulting lessons at Olympus Vault Academy.
Before starting lessons, Conrad didn’t know the different tricks and flips she learned on the Beller’s gymnastics mat would translate to her pole vaulting skills. Conrad said these skills made the transition to pole vaulting much easier.
“A lot of gymnasts turn into pole vaulters, because it’s a lot of the same body control type of stuff,” Conrad said. “A lot of good gymnasts end up being good pole vaulters.”
Back extension rolls — a skill learned in level five of gymnastics — are the exact
same motion as jumping over the bar, according to Conrad. Even now, during every practice at Olympus, she warms up with handstands, forward rolls and cartwheels, training various pole vaulting motions.
Conrad is currently on the Olympus Group One club pole vault team during the summer, fall and winter. She trains three days a week and occasionally competes nationally alongside girls at her level.
Many girls who practice with her at Olympus attend other Kansas high schools in the Sunflower League. During the school season, she’s on the varsity track and field team and her club teammates become opponents when Conrad competes against other schools.
“There’s a good group of girls who are pretty competitive with each other because a lot of the girls who are really good practice with me,” Conrad said. “They’re all my friends, but sometimes it’s weird competing against them.”
During the school season, she gives advice to her other teammates using the prior knowledge she has on the sport.
“She does have the most knowledge on pole vault, so she’s always there to help everyone,” pole vaulter and senior Addi O’Roark said.
During practices, O’Roark and Conrad will sit in the grass, alongside the pole vault track, watching all the vaulters while waiting for their turn to go.
They’ll talk about their common interests like cheer and track, but for the most part, they watch the other vaulters, giving advice and cheers when necessary.
Once O’Roark is up, she’ll stand her distance from the bar and start running full speed. After she heaves herself over the bar, inverts in mid-air, and lands on the squishy mat below, she’ll hear Conrad call something out.
“Keep your drive position longer.”
So the next time she’s 12 steps from the bar, O’Roark will focus on her driving position — the position hit just as the athlete pushes off the ground.
Conrad is seen as a mentor and motivator for the whole team, O’Roark says.
“Us being cheerleaders, it’s very second nature to say ‘Yes, you got it,’ ‘Run fast’ or whatever it is that we’ve been working on throughout the week,” O’Roark said. “I think that the whole team really does that because she leads by example.”
UP TO
SUCCESS
Awards Cate Conrad has won throughout her pole vaulting career
Fourth Kansas All-Class
Eighth Place in 2024 State Freshman MVP 2024
APRIL 28, 2025
THE LIZARD
“
JUST CHILLS IN MY HAND, HE IS ALWAYS SLEEPING.
SUPER SLEEPER
PLAYFUL PAL
COCKA
“
DURING A FRESHMAN TOUR, SUNNY FLEW OFF MY FINGER ONTO OF ONE OF THE CAGES IN THE ROOM AND IT WOULD NOT COME DOWN SO WE HAD TO STAND ON THE COUNTER AND GRAB IT IN FRONT OF ALL THE STUDENTS.
MANGO MEET THE BOA
“ I JUST GOT THE SNAKES, AND THEY ARE REALLY FUN TO HANDLE. THEY CAN BE BIG OR SMALL, BUT MY FAVORITE ARE THE NATIVE ONES TO KANSAS LIKE THE CORN SNAKE.
ELLA SLICKER
JUNIOR
BEAUTY
MEET SUNNY
“ MOST PEOPLE ARE SCARED OF THE SPIDER, BUT HE IS ACTUALLY PRETTY FRIENDLY. CARLY KOUNKEL JUNIOR
ELLA SLICKER JUNIOR
GENTLE GIANT BOA
design by lyla weeks photos by caroline hoffman
art by francesca lorusso