BANDINGTOGETHER The BLHS band has been working hard to get its current songs in a presentable state. In fact, assistant band director Ryan Kazmaier said that the marching band has been practicing since about the end of last school year. They start practicing at band camp, and now that school has started, they practice from 7:00 a.m. to 9:05 a.m. every Green day. The band practices very often. Not only do they practice during their respective class periods, but the marching band also practices before school. They spend very little of this time messing around, as well, as they don’t have time to spare. All of the time that they have is used preparing for the many events they have to attend. The marching band had a competition in Bonner Springs on Sept. 24. They also have three festivals that they attend in October. In addition, the marching band can be seen as every football game’s halftime entertainment. Kazmaier shared his opinion about his students. He said that they are all energetic and enjoy music. They also make up a great band because they all work towards a common
CONFLICTS BY ADAM CROUSE
Homecoming week is a busy week for a lot of people. There’s the parade on Thursday, the game on Friday, and of course, the dance on Saturday – not to mention all the preparation that goes into these events for weeks in advance. In fact, it’s easy to understand how a student could begin to get overwhelmed by all these events and all the stress involved in them. Every student has these three events: the parade, the game, and the dance. Then, depending on the other activities these students are involved in, more events are added to their calendars. Band members have to march in the parade, play at the football game, and also attend a marching band competition in Blue Springs the day of the dance. If they don’t place at all
BY COLIN COON
goal, and they get along better than any other previous band. They did multiple events in order to bond with one another, including events at band camp like pool night and movie night. Kazmaier speculates that this year will be great, judging from the successful performances they have already had. He said that this year has already been a fun, yet busy, experience. The many kids who are in band are hardworking, and they are doing well both in their careers as musicians and as a working group.
after the first round, they’ll be back in time. However, everyone wants to do well. If the band accomplishes finals, they’ll be pushing it to get back in time for the dance. A large portion of the student body is involved in cross country, which has a meet on the day of the parade. It’s at Perry-Lecompton, and most of the team is set to compete there. Unfortunately, there’s no way that they’ll be able to get back in time. The freshman volleyball team has a game on the day of the parade at 4 p.m., and the JV team has a game the day of the dance, set to take place at 8 a.m. Then, there’s the factor of jobs, family events, and other activities that might be added in a high school student’s life. Many students are employed somewhere, with some students even taking on multiple jobs. Others are involved in extracurricular activities that aren’t tied in with the school. The final thing to add to this giant mess of
SENIOR HOMECOMING CANDIDATES
CHET SARLLS
NATALIE COWAN
What trend of 2015 do you hate the most? The whip and nae nae
If you could be in any old Disney show, what would it be? “Tangled” because I feel like we would be BFFs.
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Donald Glover
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Kaitlin Leiker
What city would you most like to live in and why? Rio, because Rio is an amazing place and it holds car-ni-val!
What is your favorite thing about Homecoming? Dressing up and taking pictures
stress is homework. All students have an obligation to school first and everything else second. There’s always homework in math classes, there’s often projects or essays in history, and there’s a whole lot of reading to do in English. Science often has labs, and then we get into elective classes on top of all of that. It seems that teachers try to overwhelm you during the week of Homecoming. Of course, they can’t set their class aside just because of this special week, but surely they could calm it down just a little. It also seems that there was some poor planning done here. There are a ton of things going on on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Homecoming week. The school isn’t in control of decisions made by outside sources, such as the dates of sporting events or marching band competitions. However, they are in charge of their own scheduling, which means they could’ve found a better week for the dance. The fact of the matter is, a lot of the student body is going to be rushing to be a part of something that’s meant to a be a fun time for those attending Basehor-Linwood High School. Instead of being fun, it’s been turned into a stress-inducing, time-crunching, haphazard week. Everyone should just take a moment, however, to take a deep breath. Homecoming is always crazy; that’s part of the principle of it. This year seems more stressful than some in the past, but maybe that’s just how it feels in the spur of the moment. Just remember that it’s only a week. One week, and then it’s over, and life goes back to ‘normal.’ We can’t change the schedule, at least not anymore. We can, however, learn to make it work. Put in some headphones, turn on your favorite playlist, sit down, and do your homework. Then get out there and have fun. The week can’t be left a total waste, so go enjoy it. It really is fun, albeit stressful. To the volleyball teams, cross country team, and marching band, best of luck on your events, and all of the events in the future. To everyone else, best of luck with the rest of school. Just remember, in whatever you do, to have fun. School, and life in general, is what you make of it – so make it fun.
WE’VE GOT SPIRIT BY CALDER HOLLOND
As students walked into the senior hallway on the day of the home football game against Lansing, they passed underneath a brightly colored banner. “Game Theme: USA,” it proclaimed, amid red, white, and blue stars. That afternoon, students chattered about what they would be wearing to the game. Should they wear a red sweater or an American flag shirt? At the game that night, newspaper and yearbook staff caught GoPro footage of noisy touchdown celebrations and chants. In class the next Monday, students talked about the win. “I lost my voice from cheering so loudly,” senior Kali Jacobson said. The idea of cheering on school teams and being full of pep and enthusiasm can be summed up in two words: school spirit. But while the concept seems simple, many people argue that it’s been lacking from BLHS in years past. “I’m a senior now, and it wasn’t good when we were freshmen, sophomores, juniors,” Jacobson said. That’s all changing, though. “I think it’s actually growing a lot this year,” junior Madison Bowers said. The game against Lansing was a testament to that: it was chosen as the Hy-Vee Game of the Week, in part because of enthusiastic voting by BLHS students and staff. Bowers thinks part of the reason for the change in school spirit can be attributed to the student council. “Student council is trying to make themes for the football games, and trying to get everybody involved and together,” she said, but adds that it’s not just student council who’s responsible for the change – it’s the whole student body. “Our student section
is growing and supporting the football team, and all of our other teams as well,” she said. Jacobson agrees. “Everyone’s getting involved,” she said. “I just think this year’s going to be completely different, and pep is a big thing this year.” Pep is so big this year, in fact, that junior and student council member Colton Gibson set up a Twitter account, @ BasehorPep, to announce themes, dates, and locations for games and meets. The account’s tweet announcing the USA theme got dozens of retweets within a few minutes. “With the Basehor Pep twitter account, [school spirit is] becoming better and better, especially at football games. People are actually getting involved,” junior Haley Langstraat said. The effects of school spirit go beyond
simply getting students to dress up in certain colors, too. “I think it intimidates the other team,” Langstraat said. “We can feed off of the energy of the crowd.” Sophomore Morgan Buchholz echoes Langstraat’s sentiments. “When the players play, they get excited because they know everybody’s cheering for them, so they do better,” she said. Buchholz also thinks school spirit can help to unite our school. “It makes you feel involved,” she said, “like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself.” As fall sports come into full swing, the pep and school spirit show no signs of stopping, and many students are hoping they will continue to grow. Hopefully, walking underneath game theme banners and losing voices from cheering loudly will become regular occurrences here at BLHS.
CALEB METSKER
DARCY NOE
If you could be in any old Disney show, what would it be? “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” because they live in a hotel. Duh.
If you could be in any old Disney show, what would it be? “That’s So Raven.” Isn’t it obvious? She is fab.
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Tom Brady If you could require everyone on Earth to watch one movie, what would it be and why? “The Dark Knight” because it is the best film ever created.
What city would you most like to live in? Chicago or New York. It would be a major change from Basehor, Kan. Pancakes or waffles? Waffles - they have little compartments for your syrup.
VOLLEYBALL
It should come as no surprise that this year’s varsity volleyball team is already being labeled as one of the strongest teams in recent memory. Many of this year’s seniors were pushed on the varsity scene from their first day of tryouts freshman year. Ever since then, they’ve been honing their skills, playing at the highest levels year-round, inching closer and closer to their dreams of state glory. Senior captain Jaime Weible acknowledges that, despite all of the talent this year, state won’t be easy. “Our goal is to win sub-state,” she said. The “one goal at a time” mindset that this year’s team has taken is a definite contrast from years past. Cockiness has hurt the team before, but this year’s team seems much more mature, and according to Weible, much better conditioned. “We’ve been doing Coach Schwisow’s JUMP Training. It’s helped out a lot. Long games don’t feel so long anymore,” Weible said of their weekly training regimen with strength coach Ross Schwisow. Although the BLHS team is currently the #6 team in 4A, Weible states that, as with any team, there’s room for improvement. “We’ve been having issues with figuring out our roles, but our veteran defense and resiliency have pulled us through tough situations,” she said. Weible gives much of the credit to coach Amy Irvin, saying, “Coach Irvin has been the hardest she’s ever been, but despite that, we’ve seen the team really come together and improve. She’s made the team better.” The Lady Cats still have a long road ahead, sub-state brackets haven’t yet come out, and the toughest test of the season is just around the corner in the form of the Mill Valley Jaguars. Still, Weible remains optimistic about the team’s future, “This is a special team,” she said with a smile, “and I think we’re capable of doing some great things.”
BY MITCHELL MIKINSKI, ADAM LANG, AND ASHLEY HICKLIN
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
FALL SPORTS
Having come so close last year, this year the girls cross country team is fired up and even more ready to go to state as a team for the first time. With sophomore Rylea Oliver leading the girls to the finish line, the team seems to be on an inevitable course for making Basehor-Linwood running history. About the team’s performance so far, Oliver said, “We have had a pretty great start, and a rough start, too. Throughout the girls team there have been a lot of injuries that we hope to overcome.” Despite the injuries, the girls seem unfazed, coming in top places at large meets and continuing to accomplish their goals. “The main goal this year is to qualify the girls and boys team to state, which I think both teams are very capable of doing,” Oliver said. While the team continues to reach for their goals, it’s hard for them to forget their past leader, Quinn Walcott. “One of the most challenging things for me is running without Quinn and having no one to pace off of other than myself,” Oliver said. “I miss her lots, but I still love the team that I have by my side.” Even without Walcott, there have been some great moments for the team. “I would say that we have had lots of good moments this year,” Oliver said, “but one of my favorite was at our home meet, when the girls took first place overall and beat Atchison – the team that beat us by one [point] to go to state.” Oliver said the whole team runs as one. “I couldn’t be more proud of my team, no matter what the outcome of the season is.”
SENIOR HOMECOMING CANDIDATES
BROCK GILLIAM
KAITLIN LEIKER
What trend of 2015 do you hate the most? “What’re those?”
If you could be in any old Disney show, what would it be? “Kim Possible,” because being a spy is pretty cool.
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Carrie Underwood
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Darcy Noe
If you could be in any old Disney show, what would it be? “Wizards of Waverly Place,” because Selena Gomez is hot.
If you could require everyone on Earth to watch one movie, what would it be? “Mean Girls,” because “the limit does not exist.”
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
The 2015 boys cross country season started off with excitement. The team, which had trained all summer, finally saw its efforts pay off in the form of a second place finish at their home meet, hosted at Wyandotte County Park. The team was led by Bevin Coon’s first place finish. Since then, the boys have continued to be strong. They’ve had medalists in each of their meets this season, and the team as a whole has made strong showings everywhere. The team’s best showing was at the Bonner Springs Invitational, where team captain Aden Shorney said, “The entire team improved their times.” A focal point of the year thus far has been the competition between the top two runners on the team, Bevin Coon and Joe Ruffcorn. So far, Coon has had the upper hand, but the two rarely finish more than three places apart at meets, and Ruffcorn beat Coon both Turner and Rim Rock, setting up an interesting battle for team supremacy over the next few meets. Despite the individual nature of cross country, there are still a few things the boys team can collectively improve on. One thing in particular that the team needs to work on is a pacing method known as “negative splits.” In a negative split, runners start off slower, and continually increase their speed. When perfectly executed, this leads to each mile being faster than the other. Shorney explained, “By doing perfect negative splits, we’re hoping to reach our goal of five athletes running faster than 18:20 by regionals.” That task won’t be easy, but with three weeks still remaining before regionals, Shorney assured us that he’d “make sure that our negative splits [are] perfect by then.”
UPDATE
want to do well with these guys, and I hope that they expect the same from me. This is a group I’m proud to play with,” Whaley said.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding the boys soccer team this year, and no one is more hyped up then the players themselves. David Whaley is a senior captain this year, and he is ecstatic about the year so far and proud of his team’s winning record. “Right now [as of September 29], we are at 6-2. We lost two pretty key games against Mill Valley and Miege,” Whaley said. The Miege game pitted BLHS, the #4 team in the state, against Bishop Miege, the #2 team in the state. “It was a pretty tough game,” Whaley said, “but even through these two tough games we played our hearts out.” Whaley recently suffered a foot injury that took him out of commission for a while, but he recovered quickly and returned to the field. “I just had to turn myself around and get better so I could play this week against the tough teams we had to play,” he said. With only eight games left in the regular season, most people would be nervous and maybe a bit scared, but Whaley said he is simply pumped for regionals and ready to dominate the field. “I think we have a very high possibility of making it to the state championship game and as hard as we’ve been playing, win. I without a doubt, believe we can win state,” he said. With this being his senior year, Whaley looks forward to going as far as he and his team can go and ending his senior year of soccer with greatness. “Every time I go to practice, every time I walk on the field with those guys, I’m like, ‘This is the group I want to win a state championship with, this is the group I want to go out with my senior year, I want to win with these guys, I
Heading into this year, expectations were high for the Bobcat football team. Head coach Rod Stallbaumer had turned the team around last year, and many key players from last year’s team, including Nick Fisher, Jahron McPherson, and Justin Phillips, were all returning. But as we approach five weeks into the season, the Bobcats still seem a little rough around the edges. Senior captain Nick Fisher acknowledged that the team’s performance hasn’t been perfect, saying, “We should be 4-0; we just need to learn how to finish games.” Finishing games was a common topic throughout Fisher’s interview, and rightfully so. The Bobcats have played four games on the year, and they’ve lost leads in two of them and narrowly missed out on a chance to win in another. Fisher stressed that the key to winning was more maturity, saying, “We need to communicate and be more disciplined.” The Bobcats have already been penalized 16 times this year, and Fisher believes that it is a direct result of low discipline. “Low discipline leads to personal fouls, and personal fouls aren’t good,” he said, grimacing at the thought of missed opportunities. The season has certainly had high points, though. The Bobcats destroyed their 5A county rivals, Lansing, in a game that Fisher described as “so fun” and “by far the best moment of the season.” They also topped KVL member Turner in an overtime thriller that saw Chas Rollo rush for a game high of 160 yards on just 19 rushes. The Bobcat running game, in all, contributed 386 total yards and averaged a ridiculous 7.7 yards per rush. The Bobcats take on Eudora tonight at home. They hope to bring a three-game win streak into a game against league rival Piper High School on Oct. 16.
BOYS SOCCER
FOOTBALL
GIRLS GOLF
“It is harder than most people think,” senior golf captain Hanna Dickey said about girls golf. “We carry a bag full of ten clubs and a lot of golf balls for five hours. On top of that, we swing a club over hundred times, not including our practice swings.” It’s no secret that football dominates the attention of the student body during the fall season, but the girls on the golf team should have just as much attention. Dickey knows what it takes to be a golfer and has accomplished a lot this season. “I have been within a few strokes from placing at every tournament,” she said. “It’s been my best season yet. The team is great and we get along really well.” Being out on the green creates a lot of good memories for the players and plenty of memories from competition. “The best moment this season was a bittersweet moment. I was one stroke away from placing at a tournament, and that is the closest I have ever been to placing,” Dickey said. “Placing in a tournament is really hard because we are competing against 5A and 6A schools. They have a lot of talent on their teams.” Senior year for the players allows them to realize how far they’ve come and just how much their game has improved. “I have found success in my drives this season,” Dickey said. “I have always struggled with them until this season. They aren’t perfect, but they help me out a lot when they go good.” Senior year also gives players, including Dickey, one last chance to look out over the green with your team. “I am very proud of the team,” she said. “My freshman year, everyone on the team treated it like a joke and no one cared how they did in tournaments. Everyone this year cares a lot about their scores and really tries to improve.”
ALEC WALKER
CHANDLEY EASLEY
If you could be in any old Disney show, what would it be? None. #nickelodeonforlife
What trend of 2015 do you hate the most? “What are those?” or “Yo Mama”
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Kanye West
If you could require everyone on Earth to watch one movie, what would it be and why? “The Notebook” so guys know how to treat a girl
What city would you most like to live in? New York. I need all the exclusive clothes and shoes they get. Kansas doesn’t get anything cool.
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Taylor Swift
HOMECOMING
BY ERIN MCGOWAN
JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES
JACKSON SHERLEY RACHEL HISS What’s your favorite thing about Homecoming? Definitely the dance.
If you could be in any old Disney show, what would it be? “Hannah Montana”
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Mr. Keeler
If you could require everyone on Earth to watch one movie, what would it be? “Mean Girls,” because Homecoming is on October 3rd.
What city would you most like to live in? Los Angeles – I love beautiful weather and good times.
What trend of 2015 do you hate the most? Bae – it’s spelled babe, and don’t leave out the b, it’s lonely.
AWKWARD STORIES
BY EMMA HALL
Homecoming week is fun, there’s no denying it. Still, sometimes things happen that aren’t so fun. You could catch your hair on fire while curling it, for example. Whatever happens, you’ll still have the ability to look back and laugh at. Junior Mack Grimes said that the entire dance is an awful experience for her, especially when she doesn’t recognize the songs that are played. “Since the theme is Disney, if there aren’t any Disney songs, just like there aren’t any Disney spirit days, I’m going to have to hurt someone,” Grimes said. One idea she had for making the dance a bit more special was to bring a favorite board game and play it with your friends. Freshman year is always a year of firsts. Junior Olivia Sibert’s first dance was “awkward.” “Let’s just say that I was ready to leave!” Sibert laughed. At this year’s dance, she is most looking forward to having fun with her friends. Meeting your friends’ dates can be one of the most awkward experiences one can have, especially at a dance. “I remember last year when I met my friend’s girlfriend for the first time… I thought she was giving me dirty looks, but it turned out she just couldn’t see,” junior Annie Cygan commented. Cygan said that the best part of last year’s dance was dancing to Anaconda with her friends. “I won’t be going this year, but if I was, I would definitely look forward to the synchronized dancing to the Cha Cha Slide,” she said. “The fact that everyone was grinding on each other was really weird to me,” Kendra Otterman said of the dance she went to her freshman year.
POLL
“I’m not going because I have to work, but if I was going I would look forward to my friends, because I don’t really care about anyone else,” Otterman said. Everyone experiences something awful or awkward at some point in their life. Sometimes, those experiences happen during Homecoming. The important thing is to not let yourself get discouraged, and to remember that you’ll have more fun if you laugh it off with your friends.
BY KATIE FULKERSON
HOMECOMING ASKS
BY LIBBY STALLBAUMER
Going to the Homecoming dance is a big deal, but sometimes, getting asked is an even bigger deal. This year, there were many people in our school who had great ways to ask their dates to the dance. Freshman Alyssa Richardson was asked by Jackson Jennings. He surprised her with some Fanta and a sign that read “I would ‘Fanta’ if you went to homecoming with me.” “I was shocked,” Richardson said. “I think my exact words were, ‘uh, I guess.’” Sophomore Jada Mitchell asked Mason Taulbee, a friend from DeSoto. At YoungLife, Mitchell had some of her friends hold signs that spelled out ‘HOCO?’ with the other side saying his name. She said that he had no idea that she was going to ask her and was very surprised. Sophomore Isabella Nusbaum was asked by sophomore Tuckker Johnson. Johnson presented her with a bag of goldfish and said, “of all the fish in the sea, will you go to Homecoming with me?” Nusbaum said no, then waited a few seconds before saying, “Just kidding, I’ll go with you.” Freshman Sarah Matthews was asked by freshman Kobe Sifford. Sifford gave
PHOTO FROM PAYTON YOUNGER
Matthews some of her favorite candy along with a poster with riddles that spelled out ‘Will you go to Homecoming with me?’
Matthews gladly accepted. Freshman Bailey Webb was asked by sophomore Mateo Rosales. He made her a sign that said ‘It would be sweet if you went to homecoming with me,’ and gave her some of her favorite candy. It took her a while to say yes, due to her excitement about the candy. “She said yes after like 2 minutes of gawking at the candy,” Rosales said. Sophomore Payton Younger asked a friend from DeSoto named Connor Strause. She surprised him, dressed up in a banana suit, and had a sign saying ‘You would be bananas not to go to hoco with me.’ “I was going to throw bananas at him, but I didn’t want him to say no,” Younger said. “He just laughed at me.” This year, BLHS students have clearly been setting the bar high with Instagramworthy Homecoming asks. With such exciting asks, they can only hope the actual dance will be half as great!
SOPHOMORE REPRESENTATIVES
ZACH HOWARD
PAYTON YOUNGER
What is your favorite thing about Homecoming? Eating the good food before the dance
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Ed Sheeran
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Jackson May What trend of 2015 do you hate the most? Bae, it’s annoying
What city would you most like to live in? Colorado Springs because I love Colorado If you could require everyone on Earth to watch one movie, what would it be? Forrest Gump. It’s a classic.
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY BY TRISTAN MCGEHEE
Select students at BLHS are getting ready to apply for the National Honor Society. The person who organizes the program is Alex Verbenec, a math teacher at BLHS. The National Honor Society (or NHS) is an organization nationwide that is based on four pillars: service, leadership, character, and scholarship. The categories each have their own distinct properties that determine if students get accepted into the program. National Honor Society was founded in 1921, and since then has been a strong and supportive organization that continues to grow over the years. The members of the organization are people who serve their community. Students who join are also given many opportunities besides community service. They are able to apply for scholarships
through the organization as well. Only students in 10th-12th grade can apply. When students apply, they are expected to have the following: a written essay about character, three evaluation forms filled out by teachers, and a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher. It is very rare, but it is possible to be released from the organization. This is only in severe cases, and for the most part students are in for life. If the students’ GPA drops below the required 3.75, they are still a member. Nothing changes about their membership. There are about 70 current applicants. Once accepted, they must go through induction in February. After the induction ceremony is completed, they are officially members of the organization. Member and senior Steven Salazar said that being in
NHS helped him with “being more caring for others.” From another point of view, applicant and sophomore Colton Lennard said that he wanted to be in NHS because it would help him to be “a better leader on the soccer field and in the school.” The 80+ year old organization has thousands of members nationwide. The society does so much for students and the community, and being a member is hard work. It is not easy to get into the society, but once in, it’s worth the effort. It is truly an honor to be a member of the National Honor Society. Applicants will be met with the week of October 13-16 to find out if they made it into the society.
EXPRESS STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Mitchell Mikinski Managing Editor: Calder Hollond Reporters: Emma Hall, Ashley Hicklin, Adam Lang, Siera Bernard, Colin Coon, Katie Fulkerson, Adam Crouse, Libby Stallbaumer, Morgan Buchholz, Erin McGowan, Tristan McGehee Adviser: Kristen Loney Letters to the editor or inquiries about advertising in The Express can be sent to expressblhs@gmail.com.
@blhsnews FRESHMEN REPRESENTATIVES
JACE FRIESEN
ADDISON GILLIAM
If you could be in any old Disney show, what would it be? “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” to mess with Mr. Moseby.
What is your favorite thing about Homecoming? Getting to hang out with friends and eat as much as you want.
If you could pick one person to run for president in 2016, who would it be? Will Ferrell
If you could require everyone on Earth to watch one movie, what would it be? “Life As We Know It,” because it’s the best romance.
Pancakes or waffles? Pancakes – you can stack them.
What city would you most like to live in? Miami, so I could live on the beach.