SPORTS IN BRIEF GOLF TEAM OF THE WEEK Hy-Vee announced Sion’s golf team as team of the week Sept. 10 for their hard work and sportsmanship. The team and award was highlighted on Fox 4 news. “Everyone on the team works so hard, but it’s not just the scores, it’s the team chemistry also,” junior Helen Willis said. The team recently took second in their Mo-Kan Golf Invitational tournament at Blue Hills Country Club as well as first place at the Richmond Girls Golf Invitational. (Photo by Stephanie Vince)
SOFTBALL SENIORITY The softball team had their senior night Sept. 18 before their game against Benton High School to honor the commitment of seniors Kaitlin Jones, Lydia Parsa and Dani Rotert to the team. Each senior presented flowers to their parents and shared their favorite memory of being on the team as well as advice for other players. The Storm suffered a 0-6 loss. “It’s a really nice tradition, everyone feels included,” junior and varsity softball player Brooke Walker said. “It helps send off the seniors and always remember the softball team.” (Photo by Sela Kincaid)
FRESHMEN FIELD HOCKEY Field Hockey made cuts for the first time after over 50 students tried out for field hockey this fall. Seventeen freshmen tried out which is roughly a fourth of the freshmen class.. The ideal team size is about 36, according to head coach Gwyn Savage. This year’s team includes 12 freshman, 12 sophomores, six juniors and six seniors. “It was a logistical issue mostly. First thing there’s just too many,” Savage said. “We cannot coach the situation and the quality wise.” (Photo by Ana Pendergast )
CROSS COUNTRY The cross country team took second place at the Blue Springs invitational meet Sept. 15 with a total of 45 points. Junior Lily Henkle led the school and finished second place with a personal best time of 21:59. “The meet went really well. After the race everyone felt really good and confident about how they ran," Henkle said. "At the beginning of the season we were all in really bad shape, but we’ve progressively gotten stronger." (Photo by Sela Kincaid)
Life's a Climb Junior Brooke Walker pursues her passion in rock climbing BY KATIE FITZGERALD REPORTER
Standing on the ground looking up at a rock 60 times her own height, junior Brooke Walker takes a deep breath and begins her trek upward, finding little to hold on to on the flat stone. Soon, adrenaline begins to kick in and she finds herself switching between ropes with ease and confidence. Before she knows it, she is standing on the top of a 300 foot rock, looking out over Yosemite National Park in California and looking down on her biggest accomplishment yet. “Yosemite was definitely the hardest climb of my life," Walker said. "The feeling of propelling down from the top and looking around at the view and the rock you just climbed is amazing." From low to high elevations, gentle to steep slopes, flat to sharp rocks, Walker has climbed it all. Walker said that Yosemite was by far her favorite climb and it was great to have her whole family beside her, who she said has always had a big role in rock climbing. Walker has been pursuing this hobby since the age of 4 when her family urged her to begin rock climbing with them. “I was sort of born into the rock climbing life,” Walker said. “My brother and I used to have full
(Photo submitted by Brooke Walker) body harnesses. And if a climb got too hard my dad would just pull us up the wall.” Walker tries to get into the gym as often as possible to practice before her family can take their next weekend climbing adventure. As kids, her dad built a mini wall in their basement to teach her on. Walker still uses it to create and practice new routes. “We built the wall to stay in shape for climbing during the winter months, and to help the kids learn more technical moves,” Walker’s father Mike Walker said. Walker said her next goal in the sport is to accomplish lead climbing, a technique where the lead climber works with a belayer, the person on the ground monitoring her climb, through joining ropes in different hooks. She said she loves the thrill of climbing and the way it brings her family together. “We use it as a way to bring adventure into our weekend getaways, or just an excuse to get away. It’s a great excuse to go to some beautiful places,” Walker’s mother Laurie Walker said.
STORM SCHEDULE SEPT 29
CROSS COUNTRY KC METRO MEET AT RAYMORE-PECULIAR HIGH SCHOOL 8:00AM
20 LE JOURNAL
OCT 1
GOLF DISTRICTS MONDAY AT FRED ARBANAS GOLF COURSE
OCT 5
VARSITY HOME VOLLEYBALL VS LEE'S SUMMIT NORTH HIGH SCHOOL AT 6:00PM
