BLUE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

Vol. 43 Issue 8 March 2013

Stilwell, Kan.

GOING WITH THE FLOWCoping with fear of change, sta!er recognizes inevitability of new beginnings page 5

FRACTURED FEMURState wrestling hopeful breaks femur during pre-State match page 14

FUTURE FILMSDespite multiple upcoming March movies, sta!er predicts dismal ratings page 13

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Varying vacations:

Photo illustration by Kelly Cordingley and Raine Andrews.

inthenews2 March 2013

March 14 — No School: End of Second Semester

March 15 - March 24 — No School: Spring Break

March 25 — School resumes, end of Spring Break

March 27 — National Honor Society Induction, 7 p.m. in the PAC

March 28 — Senior Graduation Announcement Delivery, 7:30 - 9 a.m. Spring Recognition Assembly

April 1 — Pizza Hut fundraiser

April 3 — Senior Speech tryouts, 3 p.m. in the music room

April 4 — Spring Academic Breakfast, 7 a.m. in the PAC

April 11 — Tiger TV

April 12 — It’s Paper Day: April Tiger Print distributed

April 13 — ACT, 8 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

April 15 — No School: Professional Development Day

April 17 — National Signing Day

April 20 — Prom, 9 p.m. - 12 a.m. at the Ritz Charles

April 21 — A!er Prom

April 24 — Signing Day, 3 p.m. in the Commons

April 25 — Senior/Faculty Challenge

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!ree Blue Valley choir students, seniors Bri Woods, Ali Hibschle and junior Ryan Casey, earned a place on the State Choir ensemble. !e concert is put on by winners of District choir competitions.

District choir competitions resemble an audition, with the top ten singers of each range (soprano, alto, bass, tenor) from each district continuing to perform at State.

“It’s something you have to work for,” Woods said. “Each year, you try to work your way up.”

Hibschle said she enjoys the opportunity to go to State.“We all worked really hard to get there, so it’s like our

reward,” she said.Hibschle said because the participants were seasoned sing-

ers, the experience added value.“We all work together,” she said. “Everyone’s on the same

level.”

Woods said it wasn’t easy getting to this point. Exercises included drilling the notes, learning dynamics and rehearsing music.

“It’s a lot more technical work than people think,” Woods said.

She said she’s grateful for the invitation to State, and it was a good end to her senior year.

“It was really fun while we were doing it,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, and it’s nice to have a break.”

As for Hibschle, she said she plans to sing in college and has plenty to look forward to for the remainder of her BV choir career.

!e Chambers Choir class will travel to New York City to perform at LaGuardia High School and to partake in usual NYC activities during Spring Break.

“We get to go see Broadway shows and do other fun stu",” Woods said. “It’s going to be awesome. We’re going to spend #ve days there, just chilling with our friends and singing and dancing.”

Choir students earn position on State ensemble, look forward to competing

kellycordingleyeditor-in-chief

!e use of synthetic marijuana is on the rise again, and there are instances of teenagers dying from heart failure a$er using the synthetic substances. !is substance is made, not grown.

“I’ve read some articles, and [police o%cers] read about it,” school security o%cer Dennis Randall said. “We see circum-stances of kids doing it because they don’t know. It’s not natural stu" to get the high, it’s chemicals. And some chemicals are very dangerous.”

!e possession and sale of synthetic pot is illegal in Kansas. However, just like marijuana, teens are still getting their hands on the potentially harmful drug.

Although it is illegal here, in other states, according to medicalnewstoday.com, these drugs are sold as legal alterna-

tives to weed. !e problem may lie in the unknown e"ects of the drug. According to the “New York Times,” a teenage girl su"ered

a series of strokes leaving her brain paralyzed a$er smoking synthetic weed she purchased at a gas station.

Randall said while both weed and synthetic pot, referred to as potpourri, are dangerous, synthetic pot is much more dangerous in regards to health.

According to drugabuse.com, labels on these drugs claim to contain “natural” psychoactive material from plants. While they do contain plant material, that material is soaked in chemicals which induces a high.

Randall said although the drug is illegal, he is sure students still manage to smoke it and are drawn to it for the high. In fact, one in nine high school seniors has admitted to smoking fake weed, according to CNN.

“It’s not much di"erent from smoking [marijuana],” Randall said. “It’s a similar high, but it’s quicker.”

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outloud 5March 2013

maddiejewettfeatures editor

We’ve all heard it before: “When one door closes, another opens.”

I personally have an extremely di!cult time accepting change.

Whether it be in a friend, an event or any other aspect of life, I honestly hate change.

I once read a quote by Carlos Banks that said, “I think part of the reason why we hold on to something so tightly is because we fear something so great won’t happen twice.”

"is basically sums up my vast array of feelings about change into one 24-word quote.

I am afraid to let go of things because I love them and am grateful for them. I don’t want something else to come along and take their place.

You see, this leaves room for disappoint-ment.

Change.So now we ask, why do things need to

change? Can’t our lives just stay the same forever?

Well, maybe in a fairytale they can. You know, the whole ‘marry a prince and live happily ever a#er’ spiel.

No matter how hard we try, people will come in and out of our lives.

In reality, change is inevitable, along with endings. In fact, the two typically go hand-in-hand.

Someone you’ve been close friends with since freshman year changes, and you slowly dri# apart.

"e boyfriend or girlfriend you’ve dated for over a year breaks up with you, and you are devastated.

A close family member passes away unexpectedly, and you know your life will never be the same without them.

In all of these cases, something loved is lost.

But looking at it in a di$erent way, aren’t new things beginning? A#er each one of these things, life goes on.

“...another door opens.”Everything happens for a reason, right?Whether we consider change to be posi-

tive or negative in our lives, there’s a reason behind it.

Rather than dwelling on the past and dreading endings and change, we should all take a step back for a second and realize that something new will come.

“If I told you that in 10 years your life would be exactly the same as it is now, you most likely would not be happy. In that case, why are you afraid of change?”

If nothing ever changed in our lives, we would never be able to experience and learn new things.

“"is too shall pass.”It’s o#en hard to see, but a#er every

single ending is a new beginning.And, if we’re lucky enough, we may end

up with something greater than we ever could have imagined.

sallycochran

All day long, I hear people, mostly girls, talking themselves down.

“My hair looks like crap.”“I’m so ugly.”“Ugh, I’m so fat.”"e fact is: I’m tired of hearing these

things.Everyone is beautiful.I understand — we all have physical

features that we aren’t crazy about.Let me tell you a story: I have crazy

curly hair.Sometimes it looks half-decent.But most of the time, it just looks like

a giant mass of frizzy, blonde %u$.I spent all of last year trying to tame

my curls into the sleek, long locks I see on models, TV stars and on a large number of girls at Blue Valley.

But guess what?It all failed.I tried everything, believe me —

straightening products, a special brush meant to straighten my hair, blow-dry-ing it straight.

A#er many trials — and many errors

— I &nally just had to accept the fact that I have curly hair.

It’s how my genes are wired, and there is no beauty product that will change that.

Now, even when I occasionally attempt to %at-iron my hair, I have to accept that the ends will be curly again within half an hour.

I’m OK with that.Whatever it is for you, you have to

accept yourself as you.You have to face the facts — some

things can’t be changed.I’m not incredibly religious, but I

have strong belief in the Serenity Prayer.“God, grant me the serenity to accept

the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the di$erence.”

"is applies to many parts of your life, especially to yourself and your body.

Know that no matter how much you hate that one physical feature, it’s just the way you are.

Focus on things you can change. For one, you can change your attitude

about your body. Instead of hating on ourselves, what if we focused on more positive goals?

Smile more.Hold your head up.Live every day with con&dence.Because you are special.Because you are unique.Because you are beautiful.

kellycordingleyeditor-in-chief

"ey say study. "ey say strive for the best. "ey say get a job for the experience. "ey say be sociable and have a life. "ey say get involved.

"ey say get enough sleep. "ey say eat right. "ey say relax. "ey say take some time for yourself.

And it is absolutely impossible to follow both sets of suggestions.

I’d love to get eight hours of sleep a night, and I’d really

enjoy relaxing. Too bad good grades, scholarships and job responsibilities don’t take care of themselves.

It would rock to both attend parties and get 300 hours of community service.

I’m thrilled our teachers and parents think so highly of us to assume we can carry it all. And we can because we’ve been trained to be strong and persevere and manage time.

But sometimes, we need a break. Every now and then it would be wonderful to not have

someone breathing down our neck. Sometimes it’d be great to not have hours of homework — and I’m taking a fairly easy course load. I cannot imagine what a student taking seven Advanced Placement classes feels like.

Do they even know what sleep is anymore? But we, as students, put ourselves through the stresses

because we need to stay competitive for colleges and jobs. We know that.

But where does it stop?

Our parents didn’t have all the stresses we do, and our children will probably have more stresses as jobs become more competitive.

And yet, as we run ourselves ragged, we are still falling behind other countries. So what is Japan doing that we can-not seem to grasp?

Is it that we need to spend more time in school listening and more time outside school teaching ourselves instead of doing worksheets?

Whatever it may be, we need to &gure it out because I’d hate to be this stressed and still fail in comparison.

So, while we continue to strive for our best, it’s crucial to have realistic expectations.

Hard work is worth it as long as we’re not working for perfection because that is just setting ourselves up for disap-pointment.

Set priorities and realize what can fall by the wayside because no one person can do everything forever.

acceptance of change Students need to accept

outloud6 March 2013

jansenhesssports editor

My grandpa never was one to say much. For as long as I can remember, he’s always been the quiet

type but always part of my life. He and my grandma would be at every sporting event — rain or shine.

We’d have the occasional sleepover at their little three-bedroom, one-!oor house in Kansas City, Mo. It would always consist of the same thing — “"e Sound of Music,” my two younger sisters and I playing in our homemade cardboard houses and cars, ghost stories before bed and a cookies and cream ice cream cone from 7-Eleven.

We’d laugh our heads o# as my grandma would tell us stories of her childhood on the farm in Eldon, Mo. She reminded us of simpler times when she would buy a candy bar for 5 cents and how she and her friends would run around for hours during the summer.

My grandpa would sit in his chair and laugh with us, still never saying much.

Years later, my grandpa still doesn’t say much. But it’s not because he doesn’t have anything to say, it’s because he doesn’t remember.

My grandpa has Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of Dementia and

causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.Although he can remember stories from back when

he was in the army, he has trouble with his short-term memory.

He can’t remember how to do habitual activities, nor can he remember what he had for breakfast.

He can’t remember his birthday. He can’t remember his family members’ names.

He’s starting to become too much for my grandma to handle, so she has to send him to a daycare a few times a week.

Whenever the family gets together, we ask him basic questions just to see if he has a vague remembrance of the answer.

He doesn’t.He’s wandered o# a couple of times — le$ the house and

gotten lost. He sometimes falls and hurts himself. "ey try to hide it from my sisters and me, but we all

know the inevitable truth. Despite everything he’s gone through, though, my grand-

pa always has a smile on his face. And on the rare occasion that he does speak, it usually makes me laugh until I cry.

He’s taught me so many things both directly and indi-rectly.

He taught me how to %nd the only four-leaf clover in a cluster of hundreds of three-leaf clovers. He taught me how to draw a dog using the outline of my thumb. He taught me

how to see the good side of everything and how to laugh at myself.

My grandpa still doesn’t say much. Whenever he and my grandma come over, he pulls out his newest collectable he found in an old drawer or on the side of the road. He then retreats to the kitchen table and picks up whatever has words on it and begins to read it. It can be the newspaper, instructions or a food label. Doesn’t matter to him.

Observing him intrigues me. You can tell he’s still in good shape. Just looking at him, you’d think he was the picture of health.

"en you try to have a conversation with him. Usually, what you say just slips in one ear and out the other.

Physically, he’s there. Mentally, he’s not. It’s hard. It’s hard to see someone you love change so drastically

and know there’s nothing that can be done. However hard it may be, though, I’m going to make the

most of the time I have le$ with him. I want so much for him to be able to see me graduate

and to see me get married one day, but I know that’s a big wish.

For now, I’m going to appreciate him while I have him. "e same goes for everyone else in my life. No one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow.

I’m not going to waste any more time worrying or stress-ing about frivolous things.

I’m going to appreciate the life I’ve been given, and I’m going to appreciate the people I’ve been blessed with even more.

colingregory

“Ezekiel 25:17.”Five minutes later it’s dropping f-bombs le$ and right

while complaining about how horrible life is.One minute it’s, “God is good,” and the next it’s, “My

parents should rot int Hell.”Seen separately, these tweets barely register to me.But seen posted by the same person, and I can't help but

be ba&ed. I’m ba&ed at the massive contradiction taking place.I’m ba&ed that someone would put their faith on display

for the world — or their few hundred followers — to see and then de%le it a few moments later.

When I see these tweets, it opens the door for me to examine my own judgemental qualities and those same qualities held by everyone.

"is is not me making a statement on religion, those

who are religious or those who lack religion."is is not an assault on profanity or coarse language of

any kind. I use it more than I care to admit. Profanity does not, in any sense, make you a “bad” person, nor should it. It’s just hard for me to see a person claim one thing and then do or say another.

But at the same time, we all do that. Religion calls it sin, and everyone else calls it a mistake. We all “fall short,” whether that comes from a religious standpoint or a simple moral one.

No, this is an assault on hypocrisy, an assault that might just be inherently hypocritical in itself. "is is also, perhaps, an embrace of my own hypocrisy.

When I judge the previously mentioned user on Twitter, I am being a hypocrite.

But is that wrong? Well, me writing these words is probably wrong. I know

I don’t deserve to judge others, but I do it anyway.We are predisposed to judge. Since that’s true, then we

should embrace it, to a degree. We lie every time we condemn those who judge. OK, we

don’t lie, but we subject ourselves to a massive state of bliss-ful hypocrisy. We all judge.

As soon as man could think, he judged. I judge, and you judge. We tell ourselves to accept others,

fearing that if we don’t we’ll be lumped with the racists, homophobes and bigots.

We want to be with the seemingly progressive America, where lifestyles of all kinds are accepted, for the most part.

In short, we don’t want to miss the boat.But deep down, we are all looking at others, and think-

ing things we would never say to their face. We all do it. Some hide it, or make it less apparent to their peers.

Some actually do it less, and might be nearly perfect when it comes to avoiding passing judgement.

But since we all do it, that has to bring every one of us to a conclusion, a realization of sorts.

We have to realize that, no matter what we do, our words and actions will, in some way, be perceived in a way that is negative.

And as much we can tell ourselves that it doesn’t a#ect us, it will irk us somehow.

"e sooner we realize this, the sooner we can minimize how the judgment of other people bothers us.

In the end, we need to embrace that judgment is part of life. "ere is a time to share our opinions on other people, and there is a time to suppress them, forgetting they exist.

So I believe I’m allowed to judge the hypocrite on Twit-ter, and that hypocrite is allowed to not care.

I also believe that, in this case, I’m allowed to share my somewhat brutally honest opinion about that person.

Here goes.Quote scripture. Profanely tell us about your horrendous

day. But don’t do both. It’s confusing.

Class competitions are not some-thing that should be taken as seriously as they are.

It isn’t the end of the world if your grade doesn’t have the most people dressed up on a spirit day.

You can almost guarantee the seniors are going to win anyway, but that doesn’t mean you should com-pletely give up.

It is still fun to plan out your

costumes everyday and surprise your friends with your creations. Plus, it’s ten times more exciting going to school dressed in 80s gear than your normal jeans and a t-shirt.

!e one competition that does have a tendency to change is the class chants at assemblies.

Numerous times, the junior class has stepped it up and defeated the seniors.

!is year, the juniors even won the class dance with “Waka Waka” by Shakira.

!ere have been some close calls, but in the end, the seniors will be the ones going on the bowling trip while the rest of the students are at school.

It has never been di"erent, and it never will be.

!e senior class — despite rumors — does not cheat, so don’t even try that argument.

By the time you get to be a senior, you will have so much school spirit, you won’t even need to cheat to win.

Enough students participate, so it will be easy to win. When you’re a senior, you will understand.

!is is all done in good fun. It’s not meant to start World War III between those few students who take these things way too seriously.

Just enjoy the spirit competitions. Sing along to the songs played during passing periods, join in on your class’ dance, help decorate doorways — just do whatever you can to contribute be-cause even though you may not win, it will still be fun to do all these things.

outloud 7March 2013

staffeditorial editor-in-chiefKelly Cordingley

website editorOdi Opole

photo editorBailey Outlaw

design and news editorHailey McEntee

features editorMaddie Jewett

entertainment editorAbby Bamburg

opinion editor Caroline Meinzenbach

sports editorJansen Hess

business manager, managing editorAnna Wonderlich

sta! writersRaine AndrewsSally CochranGennifer GeerColin GregoryMeghan KennedyRiley MillerMitch SundquistDanielle Williams

photographersMegan BallMolly JohnsonAlex Kontopanos

cartoonistBecky Winegarner

adviser Michelle Wilmes

!e Tiger Print is published 10 times a year for students, faculty, and the surrounding community of Blue Valley High School. It is an open forum for student expression. !erefore, the opinions expressed within this paper do not necessarily re#ect the views of the administrations of Blue Valley Uni$ed School District #229. Letters to the editor and reader responses are encouraged for publication. !e Tiger Print reserves the right to edit all submissions for both language and content and encourages letters to be no more than 350 words. Letters should be submitted to room 450, emailed to thetigerprint@yahoo.com or mailed to:!e Tiger Print c/oBlue Valley High School6001 W. 159th St. Stilwell, KS 66085phone: 913-239-4800

Pacemaker winner, 2012.Pacemaker $nalist, 2009, 2010, 2012. Member, Kansas Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

Cartoon by Becky Winegarner.

TIGER THE

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staff editorial

17agree

1 disagrees

Class competitions taken too

What’s your opinion on class competitions?

indepth8 March 2013

TimeforSpring -Go stargazing with your friends somewhere dark,

-Camp out

-Go chalk

-Support Sporting Kansas City, the Royals or the T-Bones

up this summer are the Color Run (June 1), the Glow Run (June

29) and Race for the Cure

weekend or day in the summer to go down and shop at

some of the stores and boutiques on Massachusetts

Street

is Clinton Lake, equipped with a sand beach,

a roped-off swimming area and plenty of

-Spend a day at Worlds of Fun or

Oceans of Fun

and go see a show at

Starlight or Theater

Time for a

Kansas bucket list

Sunshinefun

frie

nds

warm

soccer

good

tim

es

memories

shorts

bre

ak

baseball

beac

hease

swim

min

g hot

gra

ss

relaxsoftball

pic

nic

sun

rainfall

tan

thunder

lakebloom

T-s

hir

ts

great outdoors

diveroad tripgardenssunny

sea

trackgreenmelt

pro

m

easter

gro

w

travel

breeze

dai

sy

stargazing

heat

bright

indepth 9March 2013

mitchsundquiststaff writer

Laying on a beach of white sand, toes in the ocean, the hot sun shining down.

!at’s how a group of Blue Valley seniors will be spending their spring break this year. !e group includes approximately 60 BV seniors who, along with some par-ents, will be vacationing on the beaches of Mexico at the Sandos Resort in Playa del Carmen.

Senior Connor Hurst said his trip was decided earlier this year.

“A bunch of parents started an email group and talked about everything,” Hurst said. “I made my reservations a"er I convinced my parents to let me go.”

Senior Sara Hanna said although her parents were OK with the trip for the most part, she had to spend some time convincing her parents to let her go.

“I’d say it was half and half because we have all planned it for a while,” she said. “It took more to convince them to pay for it and [about] the safety of Mexico.”

Senior Armin Tarakemeh will also be headed to Sandos over break, although he is not a part of the larger group.

“I’m going at the same time as everyone, but I wouldn’t say I’m ‘in’ their group,” Tarakemeh said. “[Senior] Jake [Sloan] and I will want to be with them at times, of course.”

Tarakemeh said he made his plans about a month ago and is looking forward to doing a number of things.

“[I’ll be] relaxing and having fun with my BFF Jake Sloan, getting girls, showing o# my hot bod, eating un-limited food, doing various activities that the resort has available and getting swoll,” he said.

Hanna said some big factors made Sandos stand out more than the other resorts the group looked at.

“!ey are all-inclusive, they had the best reputation and there are [students from] other schools going there,” she said.

Students from Rockhurst High School, St. !eresa’s Academy and Notre Dame de Sion High School are also going to Sandos over break.

Hurst also plans on spending his time doing a multi-tude of activities.

“[I’m going to] tan, windsurf and just relax,” he said. “[And] enjoy my time away from school.”

!e parents of most of the students in the group are paying for the trip, although there are a few students who have to help pay their way to Mexico.

Hanna said she is looking forward to the beautiful view and spending quality time with her and other stu-dent’s parents.

“Sand between our toes and the ocean air beneath our nose,” she said.

Time for a trip to Mexico

odiopoleweb editor

Before you start reading this, play the “Jaws” theme song in your head.

Got it? OK.!ird quarter’s ending — a harmless

fact, right? Two months until summer, two months until freedom and two months until the carefree, sleep-till-2 p.m. attitude we’ve all missed over these long winter months.

However, (cue the “Jaws” theme song) this also means there are only two months le".

Two months until $nals.Two months until Advanced Placement

exams.Two months to get that low grade you

weren’t really worried about back up to something your parents will be OK with.

Two months.Second semester is always di%cult be-

cause we go from a winter slump to spring fever in 0.5 seconds, and, somehow, grades and clubs end up slipping by the wayside. If you’re still feeling that “blah, who cares”

feeling from the cold or if you’re already in a “sweet summertime” mood, these tips will get you re-energized and back on track for the rest of the semester.

Or hang up a new poster in your room,

or change up your bedspread or do some-thing to break the monotony.

Sometimes, a little change is all it takes to get us pumped up and ready to go again, whether it’s the little smile you get from having a vase full of your favorite &owers on your desk or coming home to see that new poster on your wall.

!at change-is-good mantra can apply to your wardrobe, too. Even if you’re a fashionista who mixes it up all the time, sometimes trying new combinations of clothes you already have can make you see them in a whole new light.

Or, you can try to start a new fad day. Maybe “Tank Top Tuesday” can give way to “Wedges Wednesday” or “Flannel Fri-day.” Just don’t judge the day by its name

— alliteration is harder than it looks.

One that doesn’t include Mumford and

Sons, or any other folksy genius. !ere are lots of great artists and bands whose music is just too slow to ever energize you — I don’t care how incredible the lyrics are.

Get on Pandora, Spotify, Grooveshark or whatever you use to $nd new music and look up songs with a strong beat, upli"ing lyrics and a melody you would love to hear on repeat.

For starters, try “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore, “Donald Trump” by Mac Miller and “Tightrope” by Walk the Moon.

Sometimes, we just need to do some

good ol’ fashioned zombie-slaying to get that extra energy out.

No matter what your game of choice turns out to be, if you enjoy it you’ll be able to relieve some of that excess tension and focus on your work a"erwards.

Just don’t over do it and end up not do-ing any work at all, OK?

And better yet, exercise outside. When

was the last time you rode a bicycle or roll-er-skated or even just got some fresh air? Unless you’re a dedicated track or cross country runner, my guess is that most of your exercise happens inside — inside a gym, your basement or the weight room. Even if you don’t exercise regularly, getting outside can be a pick-me-up, a study break or another opportunity to mix things up. Plus, when it’s sunny outside and not super-hot, walking is really nice.

Spring Fever, rather than being an

illness caused by spring, is really just the need to get up, get out and do something. So do it. Get a group of friends together and go out to dinner — and make it fancy. Or, organize an all-day tournament of some sort — basketball, Quidditch and Halo are all fair game for competition.

Go see a bad movie. Go to the aquar-ium at Crown Center. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you enjoy yourself and stay safe.

Time for fourth quarter

upclose10 March 2013

maddiejewett

features editor

With everything from renting and !tting costumes to spell-checking names on programs to emailing parents about upcoming events, Blue Valley mothers Laura Berge-son and Laura Wadley have done it all.

"ey spend countless hours both at school and outside of school working to help improve the music department at BV. Not only are the cast and crew of the musical work-ing every day for months to perfect everything, but many mothers are also putting in an exuberant amount of time to make everything a success.

Although her older daughter, who was involved in the theater department at the school, graduated a couple years ago, Bergeson still remains as a key role behind the scenes of all the musicals.

“I am still involved because [choir director] Marsha [Moeller] asked me to be, and because I love doing the costuming,” she said. “Also, I love being around the kids, and I absolutely love musical theater. It’s a great way to stay involved with the program. To me, it’s basically a hobby. I just love doing it.”

Bergeson said the time com-mitment di#ers with every show.

“Depending on the show, we have to do more or less regarding costumes,” she said. “However, I’m pretty much

at every rehearsal.”Wadley not only works in the o$ce at BV, but also is

a main source of communication throughout the choir department. She keeps in contact with all of the parents, let-ting them know about upcoming dates, costumes and other various information.

“I used to be the o$ce manager for [Christian Youth "eater],” she said. “I’ve been volunteering for years with that, so I just thought this would be a good !t for me and a good way to help out the program.”

Bergeson said her jobs vary depending on what is needed each day.

“For this show, I have not only done costuming, but I’ve also helped with props and programs,” she said. “I have done various things. In general, [Moeller] will just call me and say, ‘Hey, can you do this?’ or, “Hey, can you go buy this?’ — I’m basically her gopher.”

Wadley said watching all of the students perform on stage is her favorite part.

“I love watching the kids’ progress and getting to know the kids,” she said. “It was fun seeing how talented they all are. I met them all backstage, and then I got to see them shine on stage. Instead of just watching my daughter [sophomore] Madeline [Wadley], I wanted to watch them all perform.”

Bergeson said she enjoys being a part of the production and seeing the end result.

“I like being around the kids,” she said. “I love working on the production — it’s kind of like a puzzle. You have to see what all they need and make sure everyone has every-thing they need. "en, when you see it on stage, it all kind of comes together, just like a puzzle, and hopefully you aren’t missing a piece. It really is such a collaborative pro-cess. All the pieces have to come together just right to make it happen, and somehow, they always do.”

STAGE MOMS

Bergeson

haileymcentee

design & news editorSpanish 3.5 classes participated in a political campaign

for a !ctional country called Malaguas. "ey worked in groups to create a newscast that supported their campaign.

"I liked working with others for this project,” sophomore Gabby Gunnerson said. “We got to work in small groups, and it made it a lot easier and more enjoyable."

Gunnerson said her group had good communication with each other about the project.

"My group had a group text going so we could talk about everything for the project,” she said. “We divided the work and made plans over the text, and then we compiled every-thing we had all done. It worked out really well."

Gunnerson said she liked seeing people’s viewpoints on certain issues.

“You get a lot of di#erent ideas when you work in a group,” she said. “People were coming up with things I would have never thought of if I wasn’t with them. When I was coming up with ideas I didn’t really think of what could go wrong with it, but the people in my group did, so that

really helped.”Spanish teacher Jill Gouger said

she liked hearing the ideas students had.

"It's important because since students run the whole unit, they have to speak to convince us," she said. ""ey try to express their own views and opinions. "ey got to learn about more than just Spanish. "ey

have to think about problems and positions, and they have to come up with possible solutions to things like poverty and unemployment. "en, these choices they make in their party a#ect the other factors."

Gunnerson said she has made many memories through-out this unit.

“One of my favorite memories was when we decided that we were going to do a Chipotle commercial in our news-cast,” she said. “So, obviously, that meant we had to go on a Chipotle run — it was my genius idea.”

Gouger said she likes that the students get to create campaign posters.

"I always keep the posters up until the following year," she said. "I like keeping them up so students get excited for that unit and can see how our class was sort of like its own little country."

Gunnerson said the Malaguas unit is very bene!cial to learning.

“"e whole unit was centered around speaking and lis-tening and comprehending things in Spanish,” she said. “It forced us to think quickly in Spanish which we haven’t had very much experience doing before, so it has really helped us all improve.”

Gunnerson said the political aspect of the unit was constructive.

“Obviously, I don’t ever plan on being a politician, but this was actually a good way to see how politicians have to think about issues,” she said. “You have to see the problems and try to solve them, but then there are a bunch of other factors. It was really interesting.”

Gouger said she likes how the political aspect of Mal-agauas makes students think.

""ey can choose whatever position they want," she said. ""ere's no right or wrong answer."

Spanish classes create political campaigns, provide hands-on learning experienceMALAGUAS!

¡VIVA

Wadley

Gunnerson

daniellewilliams

Running his bow across the strings, creating harmonious sounds, keeping time with the melody, !ip-ping his sheet music — the only State quali"er for orchestra.

Sophomore Jonathan Jarrell is one of the many students at Blue Valley. He has played the cello since fourth grade, when he joined the Prairie Star Elementary orchestra.

Jonathan said he "rst joined orchestra because it sounded like a fun activity, and he discovered his gi# for the cello soon a#er.

“You can play a large range of notes on the cello, and the instrument’s pitch is usually never too high or too low,” Jarrell said.

Jarrell said playing the cello can at times be strenuous because of all the practicing. Jarrell practices around 25-30 minutes a day — sometimes even more when he’s preparing for competitions.

“It’s not like riding a bike,” he said. “Once you learn how to play, you have to keep practicing just to keep up basic skills. To improve you have to practice even more.”

BV orchestra director Amy Fear said she met Jonathan

four years ago and realized his potential right away. “He is a very quick study, and it doesn’t take as much ef-

fort to get where he’s at as it does for others,” she said.Jonathan uses BV graduate Jenny Shyver as a private

teacher. Jarrell said she is his inspiration to improve each and every day.

“She is one of the nicest people I know, and an outstand-ing cellist,” Jarrell said. “She teaches with a positive attitude and loves every minute of it, which is really important when you're trying to develop good musicians.”

Jarell went to the KMEA District and State Solo and Ensemble last year.

“I managed to do well,” he said. “I got a 1 [rating] for my solo.”

All-State Orchestra is comprised of the most talented sophomore, junior and senior musicians throughout Kansas. Each musician has to audition at the district level, and then at the state level to make All-State. Jarrell "rst auditioned for a chair in the Northeast KMEA District Orchestra where there were around 60 cellists. He was one of twenty who made the cut and went to the All-State audi-tions.

Fear said there were 16 band students and two choir stu-dents accepted into All-State, along with Jarrel and junior Grant Dickerson from orchestra.

“It puts him in the top 20 cellists in the state,” Fear said.Jarrell was the only cellist from BV accepted into All-

State Orchestra.

“Sometimes a musician has a bad day or a bad audition, so just because someone doesn't make All-State, doesn’t mean that person isn’t a good musician,” Jarrell said.

Jarrell and Fear said they were both pleasantly surprised to hear Jarrell had made All-State.

“I was surprised because his reaction to his audition was neither nay or yay, so I didn’t know how he felt,” Fear said.

Jarrell said he found out the news at lunch when Fear came up to his table.

“I was pretty surprised because I’m a sophomore, and I thought I probably wouldn’t make All-State until my junior or senior year,” he said.

Jarrell said everyone has been very congratulatory, and he has gotten a lot of nice comments from friends and teachers.

“My parents were happy, obviously,” he said. “My teachers went out of their way to congratulate me, which I appreciated.”

Fear said she thinks Jarrell has a bright future and has the potential to be an amazing player.

“I hope he applies himself, works hard and sees where he can go with this,” she said.

Jarrell said he’s not sure what's in store for his future, but plans on continuing to grow and improve as a cellist each day.

“I just plan to keep playing, and whatever happens is "ne,” he said. “I’d like to play in college, but I don't have any "rm plans beyond that.”

upclose 11

sallycochran

It’s a normal Monday morning. Science teacher Sarah Jennings walks into her classroom and sees a six-pack of Dr. Pepper on her desk.

$e Blue Valley science department bonds by having Secret Science Buddies (SSB). Each teacher draws names for their SSB and gives them four to "ve little presents over the course of the semester.

Jennings said the Dr. Pepper was her favorite gi# from her SSB from last semester, Physics teacher John Holloway.

“I had been having a stressful week the week before, and one Monday morning I walked in and there was a 6-pack of Dr. Pepper sitting on my desk,” Jennings said. “It was just a nice way to start o% the week because that’s kind of my ca%eine. I don’t drink co%ee. It was a Monday morning — so, bad day to start the week — and I had actually meant to bring one from home and completely forgot. I was frus-trated about that, but there was some waiting for me when I got here. It was a nice treat.”

Holloway said he bought her Dr. Pepper because he knew they both liked it.

“I was actually going to the store to get myself some, so it was an easy thing to get,” he said. “It was getting close to the end of the semester, so sometimes as "nals approach, you just need a little extra pick-me-up. I thought the ca%eine

and everything might help her perk up a little bit.”

Jennings said the SSB’s have helped the science teachers get to know one another better.

“We get to spend lunches together pretty much every day,” she said. “It just helps us to get to know each other better since we do get to spend as much time together as we do and really support each other and help

each other out with whatever we need.”Holloway said the most of the teachers did not correctly

guess who their SSB was. “At the end of the semester, when we tried to guess who

our person was, we were really bad at it,” he said. “Almost no one guessed correctly who their person was. You’ve got like 11 people to try to guess out of, your chance of ran-domly getting it are 1/11 — not very good odds.”

Jennings said she didn’t know who her SSB from last semester was until the day the teachers revealed it.

“It dawned on me because I think Mr. Holloway was wearing a Dr. Pepper shirt or he was drinking a Dr. Pepper — one of the two,” she said. “It dawned on me, ‘$at’s right. He’s the only other person who likes regular Dr. Pepper.’ So, at the very last minute, I was like, ‘It’s got to be him,’ and, sure enough, it was Mr. Holloway.”

She said the SSB’s also have an impact on performance

within the classroom.“You spend so much time during the day with the kids

that your mood is going to show and kind of rub o% on them,” she said. “You have to be completely happy with everything about the place that you’re working in, and that includes the people you’re working with, not just the kids, but the adults as well. So, just being able to do something like this is — it’s something fun. It’s something di%erent that maybe a lot of other schools and sta% don’t do. It’s a good way to get to know people, and it just de"nitely makes you a happy person that one day when you walk in and get a little gi#.”

Holloway said the SSB’s help the science department improve camaraderie.

“Sometimes, as teachers, you kind of get locked, in a sense, in your own room,” he said. “You don’t really always get a chance to connect with other people in the faculty or the other people in your department.”

Jennings said the SSB’s were helpful to her because she is new to BV this year.

“It’s been something that’s been really nice for me to have — some of the team building — to get to know people a little better,” she said. “It’s made me a lot happier, a lot more con"dent of a person, to know that I have people who are very supportive of each other, that we all get to work together every day. It makes me a lot happier when I come here knowing I work with awesome people.”

secretscience buddiesScience department teachers bond over

gift-giving, improve relationships

Jennings

Jarrell

Champion Cellist Student inducted into All-State Orchestra as

sophomore, works hard to achieve success

centerstage12 March 2013

A website with everything on it. A place where you can buy di!erent, interesting and

fashionable things from stores all over the web. Created by a team of developers in San Francisco in 2012,

Wanelo (pronounced “wah-nee-lo,” from the "rst two letters of “want, need, love”) is basically an online catalog that al-lows you to connect with people all over the world through products.

Creating a Wanelo account is free and allows you buy, sell, collect and post products.

Stories by Abby Bamburg.

Selling: You can link to products you want to sell to a website such as Etsy or eBay.

Posting: You can share products you think are interesting or want to buy yourself by posting the link to it.

Collecting: Each member has boards in which you can buy products or also make a wish list, just like Pinterest.

Wanelo is a great way to share products you think are cute or interesting with other people. Although you can spend a lot of money on the website, most of it is fairly cheap. You can even make wish lists for your birthday or the holidays. #e only problem with this website is some of the links you click on to buy the products are expired, or the product is no longer available, which can be very disappointing.

It is de"nitely an upgrade from Pinterest, which you can see the products, but not necessarily know how or where to buy them. You also don’t have to be invited to join Wanelo, unlike Pinterest.

#e website allows for creativity, marketing, buying and de"nitely a lot of procrastination.

wanelowant need love

what wanelo is:

how wanelo is used:

thoughts on wanelo:

Sayegh Woodworth

Marr Holland

“I love the website and go on Wanelo at least once every day because if I see something I like I can just buy it right at that moment,” junior Kris-ten Sayegh said.

raise your voice:

“If I like what some-thing looks like, I can just buy it right away,” junior Emily Marr said. “If I get an iPhone, I’m de"nitely going to look for a phone case on there.”

“I like Wanelo because it gives you an opportunity to "nd dif-ferent clothes that you wouldn’t be able to "nd in retail cloth-ing stores,” senior Courtney Woodworth said. “I’ve been trying to save up my money so I can go on a buying-spree on the website soon.”

“I like it because it’s online shopping without having to buy anything,” sophomore Lauren Holland said. “You can just put all the things you like in a big category and save it. I’ve bought shoes on the website, and they were way cheaper.”

centerstage 13March 2013

Exp. 4/30/13

!is thriller, starring Oscar-winner Halle Berry, looks promising on paper. Berry plays a 911 operator who takes on the kidnapper of a teenage girl. However, I have a feel-ing this will be just another forgettable, lame knock-o" of hundreds of movies before it.

I might be wrong, but a decent movie in March is usually harder to #nd than Waldo.

Maybe this will be an adaptation of a Stephenie Meyer novel that won’t completely suck. To be fair, the only other movies based o" of her books were those god-awful “Twilight” movies.

“!e Host” thankfully doesn’t involve Kristen Stewart or vaguely ho-moerotic relationships between vampires and werewolves. It does involve something about alien parasites and mind control.

Whatever the case, I’m mildly intrigued. Mildly.

What do you know, a movie I’m actually looking forward to. !is crime drama stars Ryan Gosling as a motorcycle stunt driver who resorts to

robbing banks in order to provide for his newborn child. !is puts him on a colli-sion course with an idealistic cop played by Bradley Cooper. Gosling is an actor who, aside from “!e Notebook,” doesn’t do bad movies.

!e early reviews on this one have been very positive, and I think it’ll be terri#c.

!e #rst G.I. Joe was an insult to my intelligence, and this one should be no di"erent.

Want proof? !is one stars Dwayne “!e Rock” Johnson. As much as I love killing brain cells, I’m skipping it, and you should, too.

!is movie will likely be more painful to watch than seeing your grandma get carried o" by a $ock of rabid geese.

marchmovies

Stories by Colin Gregory.

The Call: March 15

The Place Beyond the Pines: March 20

Olympus Has Fallen: March 22

G.I. Joe: Retaliation: March 28

The Host: March 29

Exp. 4/30/13

www.bvtigernews.com

TIGER PRINTTHE

ONLINECheck out our website for updated news coverage,

exclusive stories, photos and digital issues of the paper.

tigerturf14 March 2013

meghankennedy

One day a!er school, she’s called down to the o"ce. As she enters the o"ce, a huge stack of magazines laying on the counter catches her eye. She heads over to the counter and immediately knows what’s going on. Picking up the magazine, a huge smile spreads across her face, similar to the one on the cover. Blue Valley sta# surrounds her, asking for her autograph.

Four-year varsity so!ball catcher senior Anna Varriano was recently recognized in “Advanced Athlete” magazine. Varriano said the whole article was about her receiving an

almost full-ride scholarship to play so!ball at the University of

Northern Iowa next season. “I was pretty surprised

that I was chosen to be on the cover, on top of be-

ing in the magazine,” Varriano said. “I felt extremely honored that they asked me to be a part of it. It was a great feeling knowing that I would be recognized for my hard work and my commitment to play at a Division I school.”

Varriano said the distance between North-ern Iowa and Kansas freaks her out.

“I’m going to be so far away from home and out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I’m not really nervous, but I guess the only thing I was ner-vous for would be the workout and having to wake up early. I’m not exactly the fastest girl, but I’m mostly excited just to play.”

Varriano led the spring so!ball

workouts. Mondays

and Fridays were focused on improving agility and strength enhancement through weight li!ing and running. Wednes-days were more dedicated towards improving so!ball skills, with a little agility added in.

Varsity so!ball coach Stephanie Chomicki said, even if she doesn’t want to, Varriano will stay a!er practice to help other athletes.

“As a catcher, she has to stay to help the pitchers, and she is always willing to catch for them,” Chomicki said. “She is always the $rst person at practice and the last one to leave. She feels better when she leads — I can tell that by her atti-tude. She has been one of our leaders on the team since last year. Even though she wasn’t a senior, I still considered her a strong part of our team and a strong leader.”

Varriano said being a catcher comes with a large time commitment.

“Catching and pitching are two of the main important jobs in so!ball,” she said. “A lot of people forget that we have to do a lot of extra practicing. Even if it’s not scheduled, we still work together and practice. If you enjoy what you’re do-ing, it doesn’t feel like extra work.”

Varsity so!ball pitcher Ashley May said Varriano’s will-ingness to always help athletes improve themselves makes her an important aspect of the team.

“She is always making time for me to improve my pitch-ing,” she said. “Pitching is one of those things you can’t improve on without doing it every single day. It’s very hard to be a pitcher without a catcher — you can’t pitch against a wall. It’s just really hard to $nd someone so willing to work with others like [Varriano].”

Chomicki said Varriano not only leads by example, but she is the vocal leader on the $eld.

“%e catcher is pretty much the captain of the in$eld, so she always guides [the other players] in the right direction,” she said. “She always has been like that, but now, since she is a captain, that is her main responsibility, and she gets that.”

Chomicki said Varriano’s attitude re&ects on and o# the $eld.

“Con$dence is a huge part of her,” she said. “She is very hardworking, probably one of the most hardworking players I have coached. [Varriano] is very dedicated and passionate. %at’s something you can’t coach — she just has it.”

May said Varriano’s motivation, dedication and love for the sport is immense.

“[Varriano] is like a diamond in the rough,” she said. “It’s really hard to $nd someone who is so motivated at such a young age and willing to step up and take the role of a catcher. You will not see anybody else practice more than she does. %ere is no one who shows more dedication than she does with the practice she does and the work she puts in. She deserves everything she works for because she works so hard all the time. Northern Iowa is so lucky to have her.”

Varriano said one of her main goals for the season is to build team camaraderie.

“I know we had $ve girls graduate last year, so my $rst goal is to kind of get a good team together,” she said. “%is year is going to be a lot better than last year. %e seniors this year are more focused on the team-building aspect rather

than just the skill part. We’re doing things a lot di#erently this year.”

Chomicki said Varriano impacts the program every day. “Her attitude is contagious out there,” she said. “She

wants to win. %at re&ects on every girl on the $eld. She won’t accept anything except the best.”

May said Varriano has always been the hardest worker on the $eld.

“Obviously, everybody works hard, but she just shows so much dedication through all the e#ort she puts in,” she said. “She genuinely cares about every single point and every single play. %ere is just another level above and beyond how people care about the sport, and she’s on that level. She truly has a love for the game.”

Varriano said her family fuels her drive to succeed.“My parents have supported me through everything,” she

said. “When I was little, I would watch my sister play, and I would go to all her games and practices.”

Chomicki said Varriano’s con$dence and determination have changed now that she is a captain.

“I’ve de$nitely seen a huge di#erence in her attitude when she became an upperclassman,” she said. “As a fresh-man and sophomore, she was more like a ‘let the upper-classmen lead the way’ type of person, but now she has stepped into those shoes. She has always been a very tough and fearless player and more so now that she is a captain.”

Chomicki said Varriano is similar to previous captains in leadership styles.

“Our captains last year were very strong and were on varsity all four years, just like [Varriano],” she said. “%e one thing I know about [Varriano] is that she is more passionate and hardworking than anybody I have ever coached. She is not going to accept second place. She always strives to be the best.”

Varriano said all three captains share a good-cop, bad-cop relationship. Varriano said she is the bad-cop because she isn’t afraid to get on the other players.

“When I’m on the $eld, I take it very seriously,” she said. “I’ve talked to other girls, and they all think I’m intimidat-ing. %ey know when I go out to play, I mean business. %ey know that if someone makes a mistake, I’m not afraid to go out and say, ‘Hey, what was that?’ I think they respect the fact that I want to win. I go out and do my part, so I expect them to go out and do their part.”

Chomicki said having Varriano’s varsity experience will be a key component in their season.

“She is very vocal as our catcher,” she said. “We are go-ing to have quite a few new girls this year since $ve seniors graduated, so having someone who has been through the level of play is going to be very clutch for us.”

Chomicki said she is concerned for the upcoming years without Varriano.

“I started coaching at BV three years ago, so she was the catcher when I started here,” she said. “I don’t know anyone else, except for [Varriano], as a catcher. I am con$dent the girls below her are looking up to her as a role model, and they’ll kind of step into her shoes. She is basically irreplace-able for us.”

QuitetheCatch Four-year varsity catcher featured on cover of athletic

magazine; leadership plays vital role in upcoming season

Swinging the bat, senior Anna Varriano practices for the $rst game. %e team will play Basehor-Linwood in the season-opener on March 26. “She leads our a!er-school workout,” coach Stephanie Chomicki said. Photo by Bailey Outlaw.

tigerturf 15March 2013

B V S P O R T S

TIGER TURFsports in brief

GIRLS BASKETBALLPrevious Action: 3/2 @ SMNW (58-48 W) 3/7 @ Wichita South (36-31 L)Record: (13-10) TRACK AND FIELDPrevious Action: 3/12 BV Intersquad MeetUpcoming Action: 3/15 JCCC Indoor Meet 3/27 BV-BVW Dual

GIRLS SOCCERUpcoming Action: 3/26 @ Topeka Seaman 3/29 vs. Pembroke Hill

GIRLS SWIMMINGUpcoming Action: 3/28 @ BVW 3/30 Greg House Invitational @ BVW

SOFTBALL Upcoming Action: 3/26 vs Basehor Linwood @ BV Rec 3/26 vs Lansing @ BV Rec

BASEBALLUpcoming Action: 3/26 vs Gardner-Edgerton 3/29 @ Gardner-Edgerton

BOYS TENNISUpcoming Action: 3/27 @ Lee’s Summit North 3/28 @ Emporia Invitational

BOYS GOLFUpcoming Action: 3/25 @ Lionsgate 3/27@ Eagle Bend

Results current as of March 7.

meghankennedy

In a crowded gym, chatter !lls the air as wrestlers compete for the Eastern Kansas League Tournament title. With mats spread throughout Blue Valley West’s gym, it’s hard to chose which duo to watch. Your eye scans the gym when one pair catches your attention.

Blue Valley varsity wrestler se-nior Grant Robbins battles against a Gardner-Edgerton athlete. Robbins leads the match 8-3 by the end of the third period.

You stop watching, already pre-dicting the outcome. As the match progresses, Robbins stays dominant. In a panic and fear of losing, his opponent attempts to "ip Robbins over and gain the advantage position, by clenching Robbins’ legs between his.

As Robbins desperately tried to break free of his opponent’s grasp, his legs got caught, and he was unable to move. As the Gardner wrestler twisted Robbins’ legs with his in one direction, his hands were forcing it the opposite movement.

Snap.#e chatter suddenly comes to a

halt, and all eyes are focused on one mat. Despite the alarming noise, the match continues.

Robbins broke his femur Saturday, Feb. 9, ending his wrestling career forever.

“It didn’t really hurt,” he said. “It was just like when your ears pop on an airplane. I was just in total shock.”

Robbins said he could immediately tell he broke a bone a$er he heard the snap.

“#e kid kept pulling on it, and then it suddenly hit me,” he said. “It was very painful.”

Screams from coaches, teammates, and Robbins were all directed at the ref to end the match.

“When he !nally stopped the match, my leg was completely messed up,” he said.

Head wrestling coach Kale Mann was watching a di%erent BV match when he heard about the injury from a manager.

Mann said everyone in the vicinity knew it was bad.

“#ey heard the snap,” Mann said. “Usu-ally that injury comes from a car wreck or something like that. It just doesn’t happen in our sport.”

Initially, the injury was mistaken for a dislocation of the knee.

“I was in a lot of pain,” Robbins said. “#ey didn’t know why because they thought it was my knee, but then everyone was completely startled when they found out it was my femur.”

Varsity wrestler senior Jacob Sims said it was weird to see this happen !rsthand.

“People break femurs — it hap-pens,” he said. “#at’s probably one of the worst things that can happen in a wrestling match. We knew stu% like that can happen, just not as o$en, but it just sucks that it happened to him.”

Robbins broke his femur in a spiral fracture.

“If you look at the x-ray right away, it looks like it is in half,” he said. “If you zoom in on it, it’s jagged in the middle.”

#ey performed surgery on the fe-mur and, in place of the bone marrow, the doctors inserted a metal rod.

Mann has seen more serious injuries during his 14 years as a wrestling coach.

“I had a young man break his neck and become paralyzed,” he said. “It’s upsetting, and you worry about it be-cause you don’t know how serious it is. His injury could have had a lot of blood loss, but it was kind of a relief that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

Mann said the severity of the injury is not as detrimental as it could have been.

“His prognosis and recovery are going to be quicker than had he torn his ACL,” he said. “#e end results are actually going to be, hate to say it, bet-ter for him than if it was a less severe injury.”

Visiting Robbins in the hospital brought the team closer together.

“We are lucky to have each other, knowing this can happen at any mo-ment,” Sims said. “We just hope every day it doesn’t happen again.”

Mann said he was disappointed the match wasn’t stopped prior to the snap.

“I’ve actually seen a video of the match, and it’s pretty disturbing,” he said. “#e o&cial was out of position and that happens. I think [Robbins] thought it seemed like a lot longer with the shock that sets in. I think it should have been stopped before it broke, because there are rules to keep the wrestlers safe. #e match wasn’t stopped for, like, 3-4 seconds, and that’s a pretty long time for a broken leg. #en it took a long time to get the wrestlers untangled.”

Robbins played a big part in the team, not just through his athletic capabilities.

“He probably would have been a State-quali!er,” Sims said. “We’re going to miss him a ton. [Robbins] and I are both captains, so he will also be missed in the leadership aspect. We’re going to have to come closer as a team that way. It will be pretty weird not having him there by my side.”

Robbins said if he didn’t break his femur, he would have won the match and advanced on to the next round. He had to forfeit by injury default.

Despite the Gardner athlete apolo-gizing to Robbins, Robbins said he thinks the Gardner wrestler was happy.

“He was losing badly, and he would have been kicked out of the tourna-ment — he would have been done,” he said. “But since he won, he got another match, and he won it.”

Robbins said he couldn’t think of a worse way to end the season.

“My wrestling career is over,” he said. “I’m supposed to have a full recovery though. It’s the worst thing ever. #at was EKL and then there was Regionals and State. I had pretty good expectations, and that’s not how I wanted to go out.”

Sims said Robbins’ injury is going to impact the team in the future.

“It’s scary knowing that it hap-pened to him,” he said. “Just knowing anything can happen at any time is scary. You feel blessed that it isn’t you and blessed that your season isn’t over and that you’re still going. We de!nitely missed him at State. We all got more fo-cused as a team knowing it’s that much harder to accomplish our goals.”

Robbins

Broken Leg, Broken DreamsCareer-ending injury during EKL wrestling match ends State hopes

incolor16 March 2013

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Blue Valley students take advantage of second round of snowdays in two weeks, submit photos

Baby, it’s cold outside

(1) Posing by their snowman, seniors Jordan West, Jessie Peterson and Sarah Cau!eld make funny faces. "e girls spent their day playing in the snow. “We made a snowman and drank hot chocolate,” West said. Photo submitted by Jordan West.

(2) While taking a measurement of the most recent snowfall, senior Jordan West captures the 12 inches of snow on the ground. Between the two snowfalls, more than 18 inches accumulated in the Overland Park area. “I just wanted to see how deep it was,” West said. Photo submitted by Jordan West.

(3) Relaxing in the snow, seniors Chris Hess and Dominick DeWolf bask in the frigid temperatures. In total, the Blue Valley School District cancelled four days of school due to the two snowstorms in two weeks. “We were lifeguarding at Life Time Fitness,” Hess said. “No one was there, so we thought it would be fun.” Photo submitted by Chris Hess.

(4) Sitting in a tie dye igloo, seniors Vaughn Ericson and Katie Shull and sophomore Ricky Shull enjoy their creation. Ricky said they worked the entire day to complete the massive ice fort. “We used buckets to make bricks, and then we stacked them,” Shull said. “For the tie dye, we used food coloring and a spray bottle.” Photo submitted by Ricky Shull.

(5) While in Wichita, sophomore Ajay Subramanian and senior Caleb Trieu help push a stranded car through the snow. Some Blue Valley students were in Wichita for State band. “We were one our way to Chipotle when we saw them,” Subramanian said. “We helped push them out to safety.” Photo submitted by Ajay Subramanian.

(6) Mimicking the scene in “A Christmas Story,” seniors Bingjie Li and Sammy Gibbs stick their tongues to a frozen pole. Li said they spent the majority of their day shoveling Li’s driveway. “We were going to make snow angels, but the snow was really thick,” Li said. “But there was a metal pole nearby and we wanted to try it.” Photo submitted by Sammy Gibbs.

(7) Wrestlers at the State wrestling tournament work on homework during their time o# the mats. "e team le$ a day early for the State tournament in Wichita to beat the snowstorm. “Our wrestling coach made us do a study hall,” senior Ja-cob Sims said. “We were stuck inside our hotel.” Photo submitted by Jacob Sims.

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