March 2018 by Play newsmagazine

PLAY Maize High School

March 2018

IT Could

HAPPEN

HERE - Now Playing, Page 6-10

Table of Contents

14-15

1 3 30-

(page 29) Assistant coach Rebecca Doerksen cheers with the girls basketball team after winning the game against Mill Valley. The Eagles defeated Mill Valley 44-37 in the state quarterfinals. Photo by Sam Bartlett (page 30-31) Seniors Madi Arnold and Maya Stucky perform their duet of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;For Goodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the choir Senior Showcase. Photo by Kiara Ehrmann (page 28) Sophomore Duwayne Villalpando gets ready to go against his opponent during the championship round. Villalpando has been wrestling for 12 years. Photo by Lizzie Bell (page 14-15) Wichita is becoming famous for its local businesses selling anything from coffee creations to fresh pressed juices. Photo by Sam Bartlett

(page 5) English teacher David Walker speaks to his students during his American Literature Class Photo by Kiara Ehrmann

What’s inside?

4 5 6-10 12-13 14-15 17 18-19 20 22 24-25 28 29 30-31 32

News

For monthly fee, MoviePass is good for a daily movie.

News

Four Maize staff members announce their retirement at end of the 2017-2018 school year.

Now Playing

A look into school shootings and what comes next.

Columns

Senior Allie Choyce and sophomore Casey Loving share their beliefs on the debate of gun control.

Review

Locally owned drink and eateries to check out in the ICT.

Lifestyle

Freshman Jimmy Lewis-Swain shares his experiences of being a visually impared high school student.

Lifestyle

A look into the daily lives of the MHS counseling staff.

Entertainment

Play explores the prices of prom for male and female students.

Sports

Maize baseball team will be short-handed in experience this season due to the loss of 14 seniors.

Sports

Winter sport athletes who had a successful season.

Sports

Maize wrestling places third and gains two state titles.

Sports

Girls basketball finishes fourth at state.

Photo Focus

Maize choir students perform in their annual Senior Showcase.

Press Pause

Senior Jacob Ruder shares his plans for the future as well as his accomplishments on the swim team.

Table of Contents

Who’s inside? Savie Hughes Editor-in-chief Allie Choyce Online editor Bailey Birkholz Design editor Lizzie Bell Photo editor Sadie Ast Features editor Casey Loving News/Opinion editor Kiara Ehrmann Engagements editor Abby McCoy Sports editor Brett Loving Advertisement editor Sam Bartlett Kylee Delmar Olivia Elmore Ryann Redinger Maddie Neigenfind Lauryn Ogden McKenna Smiley Morgan Thomas Ellie Stucky Jordan Wontorski Kasidy Bell Paige Young Dan Loving Adviser

Cover Illustration by Lizzie Bell Play is the official newsmagazine for and by Maize High School students. Play is published six times throughout the year. Play is a student publication and a forum for public opinion. Letters to the editor should be signed and around 300 words. The editorials and columns are the sole opinion of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USD 266 Board of Education, the administration, the faculty or the adviser.

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Raise your voice

Submit a letter to the editor for the next issue to room D16 or mhsnewsmag@gmail.com Printed by Sedalia Demorat.

News

MoviePass good for daily movie

Story by Jordan Wontorski f you like going to the movies, you might consider getting a MoviePass. A MoviePass is a prepaid card, much like a Mastercard, that can be purchased online and comes through the mail. The card allows customers to see one movie every day, seven days a week for one monthly fee. At Regal Cinemas, the price of one adult movie ticket before 7 p.m. is $7.22. Past that time, a ticket rises to $10.22. At $9.95 a month, MoviePass is accepted at over 91 percent of theaters nationwide, making it a convenient and easy way to save money. “You can go see a movie anytime and it’s not as much money you’re spending,” pass owner sophomore Braeden Thompson said. “After about one movie

it pays itself off. It’s super convenient.” Principal Chris Botts says that he thinks the pass is the perfect thing for him and encourages others to buy it. “If you go to a movie a month, you’re going to break even,” Botts said. “If that’s your thing, I would absolutely encourage people to get it. Every time I go, I’m [excited] to use it. You’re not forking over cash, you aren’t using your own debit card, you feel like you’re getting away with something but you’re not because it’s totally legal.” While it seems like the perfect deal to many customers, some people remain uncertain about how the passes could affect movie theaters. “If there’s someone who goes every day then the theater is losing a ton of

money,” Thompson said. “But if it’s someone that goes maybe once or twice a month, then it’s a good way of getting people in[to the theater].” Contrary to that belief, however, some people, including Botts, see the negative effects hitting the company itself. “Theaters are getting paid regardless,” Botts said. “From what I’ve read, the person who was starting this was the guy who started Netflix. I think what he was counting on, or what his company is counting on, was that initially there’s going to be this bubble of people going to watch movies, but then [the rush is] going to die down a little bit and that’s where they’re gonna make a profit.” To find out how you can get a MoviePass, go to moviepass.com.n

Senior Art Show set for April 27

Story by Sadie Ast he annual Senior Art Show will be held at The Frame Guild in downtown Wichita on April 27. Maize invites every senior that has taken an art class to submit art for the show. Seniors who submit a piece will be allowed to show at least one or more of their works for display. Every year, the Joe Pfannenstiel Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a Maize senior art student. Pfannenstiel was an art teacher at Maize who died in 2007. To apply for the scholarship, Johnson said requirements include a portfolio with five original works, a short paragraph essay and a minimum GPA of 2.5. Longtime art teacher Jodee Johnson said she is very excited for participating seniors. “I imagine the show will be bigger than it was last year and the year before,” Johnson said. “I know we have several [seniors] that are interested in the scholarship and are going into art-related [careers].”

The show is in conjunction with the Final Friday celebration in Wichita. “People will just wander over to our shows because they’re down there anyway,” she said. “It’s not just limited to Maize High people, which I think is really cool.” Senior Victoria Peterson mounted her work on the walls of Maize last year when she and senior Jadyn Landreth co-painted a Dr. Seuss mural by the library. She even received a handful of awards for her art. Peterson said she is eager to be a part of the show and reconnect with old friends. “I can’t wait to see and talk to people that I haven’t been able to be around,” she said. “I am very excited for the show.” Although this is her last year at Maize, Peterson said she is overlooking the sadness and staying excited for the positive. “It will be sad to leave my art teachers,” she said. “I’m super excited to see what my peers have been up to, but it is sad to see them all leave in a couple of months. My expectations are bittersweet.”n

Maize High School

Senior Art Show 2018

April 27, 2018 From 6:30 to 8:30 The Frame Guild, 506 E. Douglas Joe Pfannenstiel Memorial Sholarship Will Be Awarded At 7:00 During The Show

MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Lifestyle

Dan Kern, right, helps seniors Braeland Booth, middle, and Jasmin Choate with their project in Metals 2. Photo by Kiara Ehrmann.

Penny McAnulty works alongside BPA students in the school store. Photo by Kiara Ehrmann.

Four Maize educators to retire this year

Story by Kiara Ehrmann ducators Debra Cox, Dan Kern, Penny McAnulty and David Walker are four Maize High staff members who will not be returning for the 2018-2019 academic year. All four are retiring. Cox has been teaching for just over 36 years, 29 of them in the Maize district. She teaches Art 1, Drawing and various levels of ceramics. “Sometimes people don’t realize how meaningful teaching can be,” Cox said. “It can be a really hard career at times, just because … some kids have some really difficult times, but it’s also a privilege to be able to walk with them through things. “Those little successes really add up to be super meaningful to teachers. And I feel like I’ve been blessed to have this gig all this time; it’s been really fun.” Kern has been teaching for 31 years, 26 of them in Maize. He teaches in the applied technology department, teaching all levels of woods classes. “I started in ’92 and I’ve watched this place grow and grow and grow,” Kern said. “And it’s just been an awesome environment to work in.” McAnulty has been teaching for 34 years, 23 in Maize. She originally became a teacher simply MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

because she loves working with high school students. She teaches in the business department, teaching classes such as Business Communications and Web Design. “Leaving students is what made my decision to retire so incredibly difficult,” McAnulty said. “Particularly those I have gotten to know through BPA. They are definitely the ‘cream of the crop.’” Walker has been teaching for 22 years, 20 in Maize. Before teaching, he worked in sales and marketing for 21 years. Walker said his favorite part of teaching was sharing his knowledge and helping shape young minds. And “helping to make a difference in their future,” Walker said. The four teachers have gained at least 85 points on the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. The retirement policy for educators in the state who started working in education before July 2009 falls under tier one of the KPERS benefits. Within the first tier, they have the 85-point policy. The policy states that an employee can retire when beginning or after they have accumulated procured 85 points. The points are the sum an accumulation of the employee’s age added to the number of years of experience they have obtained.n

David Walker laughs with a student, while giving them time to prepare for a test in his American Literature class. Photo by Kiara Ehrmann.

Debra Cox speaks to a visitor about students’ projects in her Ceramics class second block. Photo by Kiara Ehrmann.

News

22 % Of students said they would feel safer if

teachers

carried fire arms

57 % of Students said they feel moderately safe while at school

Source: 271 responses to an email survey sent to 6 maize high students

12 % of students have been oR know someone who has been a victim of gun

violence

Photo illustration by Lizzie Bell MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

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Story by Savie Hughes and Maddie Neigenfind t was the end of the day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14. Sophomore Taylor Yon had finished early in her Algebra II class. She was chatting with her friends when they all heard a few loud sounds. Yon and her classmates dismissed the sounds as the drum team, as they sometimes paraded through the hallways to be funny. “Then we heard a couple of shots,” Yon said during an interview with Play. “We didn’t really comprehend that they were shots. It was just so random, and we were kind of confused like maybe it was a [school violence] drill.” Next, the fire alarm echoed through the halls. Yon said nobody in the classroom comprehended what was happening. The school had already had a planned fire drill that day, so the teacher told the class to stay in the room with the assumption that the fire alarm was pulled by a student. “Then there were a lot more shots,”

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Yon said. “There were shots in my hallway. Right outside my door. Everyone, we all dropped to the floor.” Yon said she still thought it might be a drill that the school had planned. “I couldn’t even tell,” she said. “We couldn’t tell that it was real until we heard screaming.” The class stayed in the room for another hour and a half until the police came to their room and gave them instructions on how to exit the building. “There was like shell casings on the floor as we were going out,” Yon said. “I turned [once outside of the room] and at the end of the hallway on the first floor there were bodies on the ground. You could see the bodies.” A former Douglas student, 19-yearold Nikolas Cruz, took an Uber to the school, hiding his AR-15 rifle in a case. Once on campus, he started opening fire on students outside the school, in the hallways and in classrooms, killing 17 students and staff members in six minutes. He then dropped his gun and vest to blend in with students to get off campus. Police apprehended him about two miles from the school. Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder later that week,

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but people in the community are still pointing fingers at what could have been done to prevent this shooting. “The school system can only do so much,” Yon said. “There needs to be a mental check or something done when you’re buying a weapon. Perfectly sane people who have guns, they should not have a problem with that because… they don’t have a mental illness. We aren’t trying to take away your guns, we want to make it harder for people who shouldn’t have them get them.”

‘It can happen anywhere’

Yon said the shooting has been an eye opener for her. “My town, my city was one of the safest in Florida,” Yon said. “It can happen anywhere, and I have such a greater appreciation for everyone in my life and what I have right now.” With roughly 3,500 students and staff, Douglas High School had only one resource officer available at all times. Yon said she would like to see changes made. “I know we need better security on campus,” Yon said. “Living in South Florida, my school is completely outdoors. So anyone can walk on campus.” Maize principal Chris Botts said that safety is a number one priority for him. “God forbid something happens,” he said. “Every day on my way to work, my

Since 2013, there have been nearly 300 school shootings in America — an average of about one a week. MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Source: everytownresearch.org

Now Playing

goddard 1985

1 death columbine 1999

13 deaths parkland 2018

17 deaths should teachers carry guns in school? 25%

62% said no

other

13%

said yes

67% 30%

do you think gun control should be increased? said yes do you think school is safe? said no Source: 129 responses to an email survey sent to maize school district employees 8

radio is off and I think ‘Okay, if it happens today, are you ready? How are you going to respond?’ You practice in your head the steps you’re going to take, how to make sure you keep everybody safe the best that you can. It’s more mental preparation than physical.” Senior Alissa Patton said it would be difficult to completely secure the school.. “Unless security is at every door or every single person coming in goes through the front office, there’s still no way to regulate,” Patton said. “People are always going to find ways around the rules or the locked doors or the security. Although security seems like a good idea, it puts out a bad vibe. I’d be more terrified to come to a school with metal detectors/officers at every entrance because it’d remind me every single day that I may be taking a bullet.” Patton was one of 271 people who responded to a Play newsmag survey sent to MHS students. In the survey, 96 percent of students said they feel very safe or moderately safe at school. However, 26 percent said they don’t feel as safe as they did when they first entered high school. A number of local schools have been on high alert since the Douglas shooting because of false reports or rumors about school violence. On March 8 at Maize South, a false call about an active reported shooter sent more than 60 officers to the school, Maize school resource officer Jamey Dover said. “I feel bad for the day you guys grow up in because this [school violence] has to be so stressful,” Dover said. Dover said one thing to expect now is for the school district and police department to sit down and review and learn from the false report. “We are doing active shooter training at Maize South, which was planned before all of this happened,” Dover said. “And that training is basically going over how to search and how to work together as a team. We will also be doing live simulation rounds, which are basically real guns with soap bullets.” With everything going on in the school systems around the country with real threats and false threats, Botts feels as though it’s time to start improving Maize security. “You look at every single thing with

a different lens now,” Botts said. “I emailed teachers ‘Who does not have intercom? Who can not hear this.’ Check locks. What doors don’t lock? Do we need things fixed? It’s some of those basic things that should be working anyways that haven’t been for some time. Now there is a little more urgency to get those things fixed.”

‘It was surreal’

Science teacher Cheryl Mosier was in her second year at Columbine High School in Colorado on April 20, 1999. She had just finished doing an electromagnetic spectrum demonstration when she heard a few small explosions down the hall. She dismissed the sounds as the other science teachers doing a demonstration. The next thing she knew, four students burst into her room telling her that there was someone shooting and they needed a place to hide. “I heard a few more bangs,” Mosier said in an interview with Play. “[I] told all the students to get away from windows and to be quiet. I grabbed my keys and quietly opened the doors to my classroom to lock them.” Once she got the students settled where they couldn’t be seen from either door, she heard a huge bang from right down the hall. Mosier then turned on the radio to try to get information, but a few moments later turned on the TV to actually see the footage. “It was surreal to see a helicopter fly over the room while watching it on the screen,” Mosier said. Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were the shooters that day at Columbine. They had planned the event for months beforehand and were each armed with multiple weapons and homemade bombs. They killed 13 people before killing themselves. “They had very detailed plans and had thought long and hard about how to cause the most damage in the shortest amount of time,” Mosier said. “Had the bombs gone off in the commons, there would have been even more lives lost.” Mosier said that while she didn’t know the two personally, she had seen them around the school and had even avoided them because they would often disobey authority. She said reports about them being bullied for their motive were untrue. MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Now Playing “The two shooters were not bullied per se — they were some of the biggest bullies in the building and had very imposing and commanding presences,” Mosier said. Maize science teacher Wayne Sill started working at Columbine in 2003. He said that when he started the kids who experienced the event had already graduated, but the staff was still affected by it. “One of my very close friends had to deal with PTSD,” Sill said. “If the fire alarms went off while we were doing a fire drill, that really triggered an anxiety episode with him.” Sill, who left Columbine in 2005, said the school is a lot like Maize. “Demographics, the type of students, the economics of the students that attend that school are almost identical,” Sill said. “… There are a lot of similarities, and we in our current culture and society are at risk.”

Mental health issue

Sill and Mosier said that in the future the best way to stop school shootings is to look into mental health issues. “One of the major issues I see is the lack of quality mental health support and even finding out that there are issues to begin with,” Mosier said. “All systems [justice, school, mental health and medical] should be able to work together when there is a possibility of a threat. Giving teachers more support to actually do our jobs of educating kids and caring about their success and supporting them would work wonders.” Cruz, the Florida shooter, had posted on most of his social media about guns. The sheriff, Scott Israel, reported that 23 disturbance calls had been made about Cruz, and on a YouTube video, Cruz commented: “I want to be a professional school shooter.” This led to the person who posted the video reporting it to the FBI. On Jan. 5, someone close to Cruz reported him to the FBI, warning them about his gun ownership and his violent mindset. Two days after the shooting, the FBI released a statement stating that the tip did not follow protocol when the information was not forwarded to the Miami field office, where the investigation would have taken place. “He was talking about the issue, he

was talking about what he was thinking about doing,” Congressman Ron Estes said during a recent visit at Maize. “Somehow we have got to look at our approach to how do we, one, maintain people’s rights to privacy … but also recognize that there are situations where they do need help, where they do need some involvement, some interaction with others to help make them feel a decision that makes them do some of those horrible things.” Yon said she rode the bus with Cruz her freshman year and that he often seemed distant and uninvolved. “His eyes were always just very crazy looking and staring off blankly,” she said. “I would try to be really nice, because I didn’t know if he was OK or he just always seemed kind of sad and not there.” Botts said that after the events in Flor-

“Those memories are still very vivid to me.” —Jeff Piper, Maize Detective ida, the teachers got together the next inservice day to discuss safety and ways to make connections with every student to help those who show signs of mental health disorders. “We talked to teachers about making connections, making sure that every student has an adult in the building that they are connected to,” he said. “If they are not, then we need to start focusing more on those kids.” Botts said school shootings aren’t random incidents. “It’s a student or a graduate or someone who’s had a relative in the building,” he said. “They’re known. Most of the time, I would bet there was a red flag somewhere.” Maize sophomore Lucy Axmann said in response to the Play survey that she

thinks the school does a good job at caring for all the students. “The school attempts to address the underlying mental issues that students have,” she said. “Include said students in things like clubs, and get them help.”

‘Didn’t fit in’

On the cold morning of January 21 in 1985, 14-year old James Alan Kearbey woke up and got ready for school. He walked toward Goddard Junior High School armed with a fully loaded M1A .308-caliber semiautomatic rifle and a .357-caliber Magnum pistol. His only intention that day was to kill people on his list. Kearbey walked up and down the halls of Goddard Junior High, searching for the names on his list. He murdered one person and three others were injured. “Kearbey didn’t fit in,” Ronny Lieurance, Goddard’s police chief, said in an interview with Play. “But he also didn’t write any letters or tell anyone ahead of time. He was just a kid that didn’t get along with a lot of people. I think he might’ve had a small group of friends, and they were just as different as he was.” One of the people on the hit list was Marc Bennett. Now Sedgwick County’s District Attorney, Bennett was a freshman at Goddard. He was on a family vacation the week of the shooting. “We didn’t get along,” Bennett said. “How do I feel about that? I’ve been thinking about that question for years.” Similar to the shooters at Columbine, Kearbey despised athletes. “Kearbey had a real hating for the jocks, and Bennett was one of those,” Lieurance said. “It’s hard to tell how the whole dynamic would’ve changed if Mr. Bennett would’ve been there that day. If Kearbey would’ve stopped at just shooting him [Bennett], if he would’ve shot everyone in the classroom and turned it into a Sandy Hook.” After searching Bennett’s classroom, Kearbey continued down the hall where he was stopped shortly after passing the front office. Principal James McGee had caught word of Kearbey’s actions and stepped into the hall to confront him. “Once he heard his name he turned, held the rifle waist high and shot, hitting McGee in the chest,” Lieurance said.

9 MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Now Playing “Part of the fragmented bullet that he fired hit the teacher next to McGee in the head. The intercom came on shortly after and let everyone know there was a crisis.” The bullet that struck McGee traveled through him, down a hallway, through an open door and into an empty classroom before exiting out of a front window of the building. Jeff Piper, now a detective on the Maize police force, assisted in searching for the bullet fragments. “I went through an enormous amount of anger,” said Piper, a senior at Goddard High in 1985. “The officers took him into custody and arrested him, but he had just killed a principal and wounded three others. It was that initial reaction of revenge and anger of how could someone do this and only be punished by going through a system?” The Goddard shooting is the only fatal school shooting in Kansas history, according to a Wichita Eagle story on the 30-year anniversary of the incident. Changes were made to the Kansas judicial process relating to juvenile prosecution because of the shooting, but that didn’t change the awareness of possible local school shootings. “Something that really bothered me at a conference a few years ago while listening to a speaker talk about school shootings,” Lieurance said. “He went through the whole list of places like Columbine and Jonesboro. The man speaking never mentioned Goddard, and I thought, ‘Hmm, that’s odd. We were one of the first.’ So I asked him

at a break, ‘What about Goddard?’ He said he knew about it. He said he never spoke about it because the body count wasn’t high enough. I almost fell over. I asked what he meant because there were three wounded and one murdered. But he brought up the number of lives lost at Columbine and said that people study higher body counted shootings more.” The community of Goddard has battled the idea of losing a beloved principal for some time. They placed a memorial in the back of the middle school dedicated to James McGee and his memory, but moving on wouldn’t be that easy for some. “Those memories are still very vivid to me,” Piper said. ”The memorial that was erected for McGee in the back of the middle school was very impactful for me and is still vivid in my mind today.”

‘no simple answer’

Although some students feel implementing new safety procedures could solve the issue, some feel giving teachers guns could potentially offer a solution as well. “I did a lot of news interviews [after Parkland] about teachers being armed in school,” Lieurance said. ”I totally support it in the right places. When I say the right places, I mean look at western Kansas where a community might have one or two school buildings and their closest responding help in the form of a sheriff or a deputy might be 10-20 minutes away.” Of the Maize students who responded to the Play survey, 22 percent said they

43% of staff members own a firearm

would feel safer if teachers carried guns. “Teachers become teachers because they love kids, and most teachers would stop at nothing to protect us,” said senior Adrienne Allen. “And they would put their lives on the line to save us. I think, with very deep background searches, some teachers should be able to carry a gun if they feel comfortable doing that.” On the other hand, 59 percent of Maize students said they would not feel safer if teachers carried. “Giving teachers guns will do more harm than good,” junior Kaylynn Gromala said. “If there was a shooter, by the time the teacher went to get the gun, damage would have already been done. If a student is a potential school shooter and they find out the location of the gun, it’s easier for them to actually become a school shooter. Teachers could easily be school shooters also.” Bennett, the Sedgwick County DA, said there have been positive changes relative to mental health issues and how law enforcement responds to shootings. “But the incidents keep taking place because, like most difficult questions, there is no simple answer,” he said. “Access to guns; civil liberties protections that rightly prevent law enforcement from just arresting/questioning/ detaining someone about whom others complain; access to mental health treatment; how to keep kids “connected” to their peers; and the home lives of the kids involved — these are all issues that need to be addressed to affect a positive change.”n

88%

of staff members do not have a conceal carry permit

“We are sitting ducks and the shooter knows it.” —Jodee johnson, teacher 10

Source: 129 responses to an email survey sent to maize school district employees MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

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S A F E

Column

“Guns have evolved significantly, the rules governing them need to evolve as well.” —Jessica Fisher, Science teacher

Play staff members discuss

Enough is enough

Story by Casey Loving f you have opened Facebook, turned on the television or stepped outside in the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard some of the same arguments against gun control you’ve heard a thousand times. And, to make a long story short, I am sick of it. I’m sick of hearing excuses for why these shootings keep happening. I’m sick of hearing about thoughts and prayers. I’m sick of having shootings be the new norm, like they should be something that we just need to get used to. I’m sick of having the same conversations go around over and over again in circles with no real progress. I’m sick of guns. Before I get into my greater points, I would like to address first and foremost that I am not calling for a gun ban. You can put your second amendment arguments back in your holster, because I believe in the Bill of Rights just as much as the next guy. I’m a journalist. That’s my bread and butter. I do, however, believe that it would be irresponsible for anyone to see the current situation and say that gun control isn’t something that should be discussed. You can say the same excuses I’ve heard a thousand times all that you want, but the biggest outlier you’ll find with what’s happening here and what’s not happening in other countries is a lack of regulation. It seems like some people will try to blame anything other than a gun for the shootings recently. I’m sure everybody has heard someone blame bullying, mental illness or violent movies and video games for the state we’re in. All of these are used as scapegoats rather

Caught in than blame falling on any true causes to the problem, but they don’t hold up in the slightest. Go look at the movies on my shelf and ask me how many guns I own. I’m sure most of us have been bullied at one point or another, but how many of us think of taking another student’s life? And I might not be mentally ill, but why should someone with a mental illness get their hands on an AR-15 so easily in the first place. Another common defense I hear for guns is that without them we won’t have anything to defend ourselves with, as criminals would still get weapons. I get it, anyone who brings a loaded weapon to school probably isn’t too concerned with following the law in the first place. But that doesn’t mean we should make it easy for them. Just because you think you’re going to lose a race doesn’t mean you should run it on crutches. In fact, you really shouldn’t need a weapon as dangerous as an AR-15 for self defense. It’s not like we’re doing much defense now anyway. Perhaps the dumbest argument I hear against gun control is that cars kill a lot more people than guns, and we don’t regulate them. I don’t know if anyone who’s made this selective point has ever bought a car, but if they did they would know that we regulate them plenty. If guns were regulated nearly as much as cars, it’d be a massive step in the right direction. Now, onto the point that haunts every gun-control activist’s dreams and Facebook pages. “Guns don’t kill people, PEOPLE do!” A gun is a weapon designed to harm. Sure some people use them for sport,

but there is no argument against the fact that a gun was made to hurt. Of course it’s the shooters fault for wanting to use the weapon in such a way, but there’s no reason for us to hand them the tools. There are plenty of countries that have better gun control than America, and I’m sure none of them have this conversation day in and day out. In Japan, you must go through rigorous tests and procedures to own a gun, and even then very few are allowed. We don’t see them blaming “Grand Theft Auto” for weekly shootings, because weekly shootings aren’t a thing there. The bravery of these kids coming out of Parkland is astounding. To speak with such passion, to not be bullied by the media or authority figures, to stare down one of the greatest debates in our country and say it’s wrong is inspiring to me and something I could only hope to do. They’re standing up for what they believe in, regardless of consequences, as I plan to do with the upcoming national walkouts for gun control. I don’t know that I could put my name on this story if I weren’t willing to face those consequences for what I believe in. I’m well aware that there is nothing I can say to sway some people to my side. If you like guns, chances are I can’t convince you to make them harder to get. With students getting shot at their own schools and shootings becoming little more than a common occurrence, I have to ask: When does it stop being worth it? When do you forget about your hobby and acknowledge that something has to change, even if you don’t like it? I’m sorry, but right now “thoughts and prayers” aren’t enough. So let’s stop just thinking and praying. Let’s do something.n

MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

The Crossfire their stance on gun control laws

Column

“We need to be more focused on people and how they behave.” —Makenzie Owings, Sophomore

The problem is the people

Story by Allie Choyce n light of the most recent mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., there have been many calls for gun control laws or a full-on gun ban. People are too quick to jump on the gun laws bandwagon or the guns are great bandwagon without properly looking at what the real problems are. Our problem in America is not the people, it’s not mental illness, and it sure the heck is not just the guns. Yes, we can argue these are all factors, but in reality the problem is American society as a whole. A gun owner oftentimes has to have the consciousness to realize that there is a threat, whether they have personally faced one or not. The police can do only so much, and if the situation escalates too quickly they can’t do anything at all. This is where gun culture begins. There is a stigma placed around guns. They’re something many fear. Some people fear using them while others fear the people behind them. Gun culture is the attitude and beliefs people have toward firearms. The reality is, anyone hellbent on hurting people is going to find loopholes around using a gun. If given the chance, a person could walk into a school and stab 10 people, the same amount of people he can kill with a semiautomatic weapon. But no one is jumping out of their seat to ask for a ban on switchblades or cooking utensils. If people don’t want a full-on gun ban, they want to ban only certain types of guns, like the semi-automatic “assault rifles.” What a vast majority of people

don’t understand is that by banning semi-automatic weapons, you are banning not only the AR-15’s but many handguns too. Most people have assumed that the “AR” stands for assault rifle, but “AR” stands for ArmaLite. ArmaLite Rifle is a company that was created in the 1950s. This company made the guns we call AR-15’s. It’s the brand name; much like all Tasers are electroshock weapons but not all electroshock weapons are Tasers. Not many people will talk about the Sutherland Springs, Texas, shooting in November of 2017. A man named Devin Kelley walked into a church and began to shoot. A man named Stephen Willeford, who at the time was a member of the National Rifle Association, began to fire at the gunman causing Kelley to flee. If Willeford had never been there, many more lives could have been lost. One of the only ways to protect yourself against someone with a gun is by using a gun back. Now this is not me saying we should arm the teachers, because that might not help. But maybe things would be a little different if teachers could carry. Now that doesn’t mean every teacher who met the criteria could carry a gun, but if a teacher wants to, they should be able to. Mass shooters are oftentimes seen as the kids who sit alone in a crowded room. The ones who talk about weird things or listen to strange music. The one you whisper about and isolate

because they’re “not like the rest of us.” Staging a walkout for someone to pass gun regulations is not only stated in the student agenda as against school policy, but also ineffective. Maybe instead of staging a walkout, you should introduce yourself to 10 people you never talk to or give 15 people a compliment. Most kids who are classified as school shooters are continuously laughed at and mocked for having a mental illness, extending the criticisms toward the emotionally unstable. Some people wish to make it harder for people with mental illnesses to never own a gun. But what does this mean for people like me? I struggle with severe anxiety and used to struggle with depression. Should these things disqualify me from holding a gun? The same gun that eases my anxious thoughts about not being safe in my own home, or out on the street when I’m walking alone. Breaking down the thought that guns are ultimately almost always bad, that they will harm you, and that there is a reason to be scared of an inanimate object is key to repairing the problem. A gun was designed to defend our country, our homes and our families. A gun ban is not the solution. The solution is educating and arming people. The solution is saying “hello” to that kid who always hides in the back of the room and has very few friends. The solution is not jumping to believe Twitter statistics and educating yourself on a topic. The solution is changing us, the people.n

13 MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Entertainment

perfect>blend

Coffee, juice and dessert places to visit in Wichita

Story by Abby McCoy Photos by Sam Bartlett

W offer.

hether you hate it, or love it, it is no secret that coffee has been a popular drink for ages. It’s also no secret that Wichita has become a hotspot for many coffee connoisseurs to pursue the American dream and open up their own small business. The feel of these shops have drawn many in, but still others don’t know of the local creations Wichita has to

ecceslia coffee community 7 1 3 0 W. M a p l e @ e c c l e s i a c o f f e e

First, you might be wondering about the name ‘Ecclesia.’ Its meaning is to be “called out” or an “assembly,” which makes sense because every time I visit, the tables and couches are filled with an assembly of happy, coffee-loving people. My first time in Ecclesia, the owner’s small dog was walking around the shop greeting the guests. It warmed my heart. I think that about sums up the atmosphere in Ecclesia. It feels like home. The cozy vibes in the shop have always been a favorite of mine. Ecclesia is owned by Rochelle Stroh. It’s evident that she has a passion for the community and for bringing people together through coffee. Ecclesia has a strong connection with the community, which definitely makes it unique. The shop recently added an interactive art installation to their shop, which allows customers to add their drawings, words and art to a small wooden table. They also have a 2018 memories box where customers can add a memory, and on their anniversary in 2019, they will read and share all the memories. The shop often has live music, allowing local musicians to share their talent with the community.

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v e r i ta c o f f e e c o m pa n y 9 4 1 4 W. C e n t r a l Av e @ v e r i ta c o f f e e

Verita has a wide selection of both hot and cold drinks made with house-roasted beans and local ingredients. It is known for cold brew coffee and lattes. I always go for an iced vanilla latte or lavender honey latte because the taste is so smooth and unique. If you are a latte lover, Verita is a perfect stop for you. The aesthetic is great for working or relaxing, with cafe lights strung on the ceiling and a light wood interior. I never have to plug in my headphones when working because their alternative and indie music taste is always perfect. Verita has a drive thru window, which is convenient. Personally, I have never used it, though, because if I’m in the area and visit, I just go inside. I can’t say I have ever gone to a local coffee shop and been disappointed by the staff. Verita exceeds my expectations of a wholesome and warm staff. Verita is a must for coffee lovers in Wichita.

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Reverie Coffee roasters

Entertainment

2202 E. Douglas Ave @reverieroasters

Personally, I don’t think you can ever go wrong with Reverie. They were the first local coffee shop I visited and they truly do a phenomenal job of encapsulating Wichita spirit and pride with their special touch. They have been a Wichita classic since 2013, with a couple different locations. Within the last month, they moved from their original location to a new, larger space just down the street. I didn’t doubt for a second that the new location would be just as amazing as the first, and it is. The atmosphere inside is classy and modern, but still has that hometown coffee shop vibe that the old location possessed. In their new shop, Reverie has partnered with Founder’s Bakery to provide new bread, pastry and dessert options. Additionally, they have added a lunch menu with breakfast food, salads and more. What really makes Reverie special is that their entire staff is full of passion for what they are doing. They are incredibly friendly and kind people who are always up for a conversation and any questions. I’m always excited to go in and talk to the awesome baristas and staff. I cannot recommend Reverie Coffee Roasters enough, it never fails to make me one happy human.n

other places to visit Churn and Burn 548 S. Oliver St. @churnandburn Wichitans love coffee and ice cream, right? So why not combine them both? Churn and Burn specializes in “coffee ice cream” that is created with liquid nitrogen technology.

Fairmount 3815 E. 17th St N. @fairmountcoffee Fairmount is located on the Wichita State University campus with lots of yummy coffee drink opinions and plenty of room available to work.

Sente 132 E. Douglas @sente_ict Located directly across the street from the Pop-Up Park, Sente has a library of over 200 board

-salted carmel lat te -chocolate cr ossiant -i ced cocoa dolce mocha

games available to play while you enjoy some coffee.

Milkfloat 535 W. Douglas Ave @_milkfloat Milkfloat is a place for you to “celebrate dessert” with their famous homemade pop tarts and cake jars. They also have classic coffee drinks available to order.

Mead’s Corner 430 E. Douglas Ave @meascorner At the corner of Douglas and Mead, this classic coffee shop has many drink options and often hosts live music from local bands and artists.

86 Cold Press 612 E. Douglas @86coldpress 86 offers cold-pressed organic juice in the heart of Wichita. They also serve house-made yogurt bowls and locally grown tea.

Songbird Juice Co. 1142 Bitting St @songbirdjuiceco Songbird offers 100 percent pure cold-pressed juice as well as smoothies, acai bowls and more. 15

Lifestyle Column

Lyrical Legend

QuikTrip worker Pat Turner brightens days the rhyming way Story by Casey Loving hat makes a hero? A hero should be kind. They should be generous. Heroes are talented while still being humble. They go above and beyond the call of duty. And, more than anything else, a hero should put a smile on your face. I am happy to say that my hero does all of this and more tenfold. Although others may not be as lucky, my hero lives right here Wichita, a mere five minutes from my house. My hero is a public servant, a man who gives much more than he receives and one of the funniest, kindest people I’ve ever met. My hero is the Limerick Guy from QuikTrip. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, I almost envy you. I wish I could go back to a time before I knew of the fabled Limerick Guy, if only to be able to have the experience of meeting him for the first time all over again. I remember the first time I met him like it was yesterday. My dad and I were out for the afternoon, and we decided to get a snack and a drink from the best convenience store in Kansas. Walking up to the counter with my

food, I had no idea what kind of treat I was really in for. “One coffee, a Big-Q and buffalo times two,” the man said, ringing up our purchase. I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe he could just come up with that on the spot, right in the middle of his workday. I like to consider myself pretty good at puns, but this guy was on a whole other level. And at his job, no less. Not knowing the name of my service station superstar, I dubbed him the Limerick Guy, for that’s what he did. If you were lucky enough to get placed in the line of the Limerick Guy, you could be sure to expect some clever rhyme about your order. I’ve been lucky enough to go through my life so far without much heartbreak. But every time I go to QuikTrip while Limerick Guy is working and I end up in a line other than his, it’s like the worst breakup imaginable. Several times I’ve considered telling the other clerk working that I’d like to wait to end up in his line, but I’ve stopped myself because that seemed rude. And being rude is

not what Limerick guy is about. As if QuikTrip wasn’t already one of the best stores on the planet, the fact that they’ve employed one of the kindest workers I’ve ever seen is only icing on the cake. Whenever I see that brilliant man working at that beautiful red gas station, I know that I can always trust him to whip out one of his signature rhymes, promising me some “wholesome nutrition from the kitchen” and making my day that much better through his infectiously bright demeanor. Limerick Guy is by far one of the most wholesome men I’ve ever met, making the world a brighter place one rhyme at a time. Seemingly effortlessly, he can put a smile on my face whenever I see him, an impressive feat considering we only ever cross paths at a gas station. Through this winning personality and exuberance, he may not be the hero Wichita deserves, but he’s certainly the one it needs. Although I didn’t know your name, if you are out there reading this, thank you Limerick Guy for all you’ve done. You can consider me one satisfied customer.n

“One coffee, a Big-Q and buffalo times two.” —Pat Turner Employee Pat Turner works at QuikTrip on 13th and Tyler. Turner uses rhymes and a cheerful personality to irmpove the days of his customers. Photo by Sam Bartlett.

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Lifestyle

Visually impaired freshman navigates high school

Story by Ellie Stucky reshman Jimmy Lewis-Swain has been visually-impaired for all of his life. It would seem that getting around without a para or someone to assist him 24/7 would be difficult for Lewis-Swain. But, when he came to Maize High School, he opened the eyes of many and proved them wrong. “It takes practice, you know?” Lewis-Swain said. “I came here one time when I was in middle school. I came here one time and I actually got around pretty well for my first time.” Despite his visual impairment, Lewis-Swain competed in bowling meets throughout the season this year. His mother Alice Lewis is very supportive in everything that he wants to do and already does. She said she was very happy for him when he went out for the sport. “I’ve never told him that he can’t do anything that he wants to do,” his mother said. “I’ve always told him to go ahead and try that’s the only way he can do it or if it’s going to be something he likes. I was kinda excited for him. It was definitely something that he’s picked up on. Coach [Corey] Rainwater and

“He just amazes me with what he does and what he continues to do.” —Alice Lewis, Mother Coach [Dave] Walker have helped him tremendously.” When at home, Lewis-Swain does what every kid does. His mother said his vision does not keep him from having a good time at home. “Believe it or not, he plays video games, and he’s quite good at that for being a child who can’t see,” his mother said. Raising a visually impaired child would not be the easiest thing to do, but his family does all they can to help

Visually impaired freshman Jimmy Lewis-Swain has had to learn to navigate through a new school building this year. Photo by Ellie Stucky.

Lewis-Swain. “It had its challenges, but when it’s your child you just do [whatever you can to raise them],” his mother said. “I think with my older boys, it was harder for them having to deal with having a little brother that was so needy, but they stepped up. He hasn’t been raised just by me. He’s been raised by his [two] older brothers as well. They do everything with him and for him.” Lewis-Swain sees himself touching the hearts of many through music and the arts in the future. “I plan to go to Nashville and be a musician, a country music artist as of right now,” Lewis-Swain said. Though his journey through life has been challeging, He continues to progress and grow. “He was born premature, so just everything about dealing with a visually impaired child [has changed my life],” his mother said. “All of it was completely new to me, and I had never had to deal with it with my first kids or anything. It was just a whole new experience for me and my kids. But I definitely wouldn’t change it. He just amazes me with what he does and what he continues to do.”n

Features

Reaching out

A look into the lives of the Maize High counselors Geri Hickerson sits in her office, preparing to compose an email . Photo by Kiara Ehrmann.

Story by Jordan Wontorski pening the doors to the counseling office, you’re greeted with smiling faces and ears that are ready to listen. You may have gone because you need a little bit of help with enrollment or maybe you went to get some life advice, but no matter the reason, the counselors in the office are always ready to offer a helping hand.

Paula Bette

Since 1993, Paula Bette has been a part of the Eagles staff. She loves talking with students and staff and holds connection very close to her heart. She attended Wichita West High School and after graduation, Bette attended Friends University and later transferred to Emporia State. After college, she went straight into work at schools and found her love for teaching. “As a high school science teacher and coach, I found myself helping a lot of kids outside of class,” Bette said. “[I would talk] them and enjoyed that and so that’s how I got into counseling.” As a counselor, things can stressful.Times are changing 18

and so are the ways students are being helped. “The most difficult part of my job is to try to balance helping kids which comes first and getting your work done that people don’t see you do,” Bette said. “I feel like counselling has really changed over the last 5-10 years. I feel like there’s more kids that have some mental health issues, anxiety, depression and I don’t know exactly where it’s coming from whether it’s social media or society’s just changing.” Overall, she loves to be with children and help make their futures as bright as she possibly can. “Kids are special,” she said. ”They all have a purpose and they all have strengths and we all have weaknesses too.”

Geri Hickerson

Counselor Geri Hickerson is here for her eleventh year as a Maize counselor. Before teaching here, she worked at the Valley Center Middle School for 17 years as a P.E. and health teacher. After seeing some issues within the halls, she decided that she needed to step up and do more for students. “As a P.E. teacher, there was always drama and there would be girls that would be crying every day and I would have to send them to the counselor and I always wondered what happened at that end,” Hickerson said. “I always wanted to be able to help them, but I had 35 others that I had to attend to so I could never really stop class and help

them.” Hickerson’s favorite part of her job is helping students understand how important they are and how much they’re worth. She sees each student as an individual, each with their own struggles and is ready to help with anything she is needed for, whatever it may be. “One moment we can have someone in here crying and upset and the next minute we’re working on academics with someone on the computer and the next minute we’re working with rising eagles in the back, just the multitasking and how we never know what’s going to be the next ten minutes.” At home, Hickerson loves to walk her dogs, read, and see her six grandchildren. Her husband is the principal at MSHS, and her three kids all live fairly near to her. She loves making connections with students and helping through their hard times. “Being a safe place for kids, making connections with kids, [it’s the best part of my job],” Hickerson said. “I remember when I was a P.E. teacher I had to be pretty strict and disciplined … Here I get to be more who I really am, welcoming and wanting to know about kids and be someone they can count on.”

Paula Bette works on reviewing student transcripts while receiving a phone call. Photo by Kiara Ehrmann.

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Betsy Manning, head of the Maize High counseling office. Photo by Kiara Ehrmann.

Betsy Manning

Head of the counseling office, Betsy Manning, a former math teacher, holds an even higher responsibility. She attended Maize during her high school years, and found that she wanted to help the students as she had been helped. She sometimes struggles with staying positive in hard situations, but she feels that it’s all worth it in the end. “There really is never a dull moment, and it’s a lot harder than what a lot of people [might] think,” Manning said. “It’s hard. It’s constant work. As a counselor there are so many topics, [and] such a wide variety of things you are expected to know, it’s kind of hard.” At home, Manning loves to hang out with her family and relax. Having her fair share of high-stress days at work, her children and husband are a great relief to come home to. “Sometimes it’s hard to not carry the day home with you, if you’re worried or concerned it’s difficult to leave it at the

door,” she said. “We watch a lot of sports, love KU basketball and we always watch Chiefs or Royals.” Though some days can be hard, Manning finds that helping students to the best of her ability is the best feeling in the world. She loves the program, having gone here as a student, and said she is proud to be an Eagle.

Jennifer Cashman

Jennifer Cashman is new this year, but took no time to jump into the swing of things and start her first year of counseling off with something to prove. Born and raised in Kansas, attending Andale high school and receiving her associates degree from Garden City Community College, after teaching children for a handful of years, she realized that there was more she wanted to do to help within the education system. “I was actually an elementary [school] teacher before becoming a high school counselor,” Cashman said. “I think that both have very positive aspects, they're just different. I wouldn't say one is better than the other, [counseling] is just what I felt called to do.” Cashman was brought into counseling by a troubling situation that inclined her to do more to help her students. She believes that there is always a solution to even life’s toughest problems, and she said she wishes students knew that she truly cares about them.

“Sometimes it's frustrating when you have a kid that comes in that you know is really struggling and you want to convey how much you care to the kid,” she said. “But sometimes some kids have this perception that you're faking caring because you're paid to do it and it's my job, but they don't know that that's the reason I got into counseling.” Outside of school, Cashman said that her family of three are her favorite people to hang out with. She loves to do D-I-Y projects and recently bought a house that she is constantly upgrading. “My family’s awesome,“ she said. “I have two kids, Macy [12] and Dylan [8], and they’re a blast. I also have three golden retrievers. In regards to the counselling program, Cashman thinks that the positive environment is tremendously beneficial in order to help students. “I think that we continually strive to improve,” Cashman said. ”We have constant meetings on how to improve things and make things better for kids and I think that's what makes it so successful. All the people that work in the counseling office, not only the counselors but the secretaries and the registrars and everybody who works in this office, our focus is on making things better for kids and that’s what makes it a really positive place to be.”n

Jennifer Cashman writes passes for students to come into the counselors’ office for scheduled meetings. Photo by Kiara Ehrmann. MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

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Bach in control

Lifestyles

Junior Richard Bach competes in eSport tournaments around the Midwest

Story by Olivia Elmore and Ryann Redinger

laying video games is more than just a hobby for junior Richard Bach. Since eighth grade, Bach has competed in “Super Smash Bros.” tournaments for Wii U all over the region. “I just found my local scene,” Bach said. “I entered the amateurs bracket, and I actually won that, but I was just using gimmicks so it wasn’t anything too serious. After that I realized how much I really enjoyed competing. It’s kinda like a sport to me. I just continued rising into the ranks. I kept going, and I kept improving.” Bach is ranked fifth out of the top-10 players in Wichita, but rankings change frequently. One of Bach’s closest rivals is senior Obinna Odunze, ranked fourth, from Wichita South High School. Each gamer puts in the work at home to enhance their skills for competitions. “I like to practice for six hours a day during the week and maybe around 12 hours on weekends, taking a few days of a break when needed,” Odunze said. The tournaments typically consist of 15 to 30 gamers who compete against each other in an open space, such as a lecture hall, full of monitors and chairs. Between matches, the participants have a break, which only lasts a few minutes, before the next round begins. On July 2, during one of these arduous tournaments, Shield Breaker ll, Odunze took third place. At the same tournament, Bach took home the $144 first place prize. “There’s videos of [my win] on YouTube that I like to watch every now and then,” Bach said. On Feb. 25 at the Shield Breaker 17 tournament in Salina, only eight months after Bach’s win, Odunze snagged the title, while Bach took fourth. Bach and Odunze consider themselves good friends and rivals. “The majority of memories that I have of Richard are mainly both of us striving every week to beat each other at the next tournament, and none of that

has changed,” Odunze said. “We both became really good at playing based off of learning from each other.” The double-elimination eSports tournaments can last up to five hours or more, making out of town competitions an all-day affair. “Kinda like in tennis, there’s singles, there’s doubles, and then you’re put into a bracket that is double elimination,”

Bach usually sticks with playing singles, although he occasional finds a partner for doubles. He hasn’t found a consistent partner yet, but he has earned many friendships through competing in tournaments. “A bunch [of my friends are] of different ages, different schools,” Bach said. “Some of them go to South High. Some of them go to Goddard. People from all walks of life play the game and enjoy it.” Bach has even made friends with Forrest Jenkins, a mathematics teacher at Wichita Heights High School and Smash coordinator through Wichita eSports. “I first met [Richard] about a year before I was running events here because I showed up to one of the tournaments, and I met him there,” Jenkins said. “He beat me pretty badly, so you can’t really help but notice a guy when they do that to you.” After seeing Richard’s skill, Jenkins has high hopes for his future as a “Super Smash Bros” player. “His potential is incredible,” Jenkins said. “Richard is incredibly talented. He has all the skills that most high-level players would have with a good mix of his own style. I say he’s one of the best in Kansas, and he has the potential to be like a top-100 level player, but that’s just my opinion.” Bach takes all this in stride, and instead of putting pressure on himself, he approaches his success in eSports as a way to unwind. “For one, it’s a stress reliever,” Bach said. “It helps me get away from school Junior Richard Bach has competed in “Super Smash Bros” tournaments since eighth work. Also, it’s a big accomplishment when you feel the work that you do and grade. On July 2 Bach took first place at the that you’ve put in and to beat someone Shield Breaker 11 tournament and won $144. Photo by Sam Bartlett else with that work. It’s a big payoff.”n Bach said. “You start in winners bracket and you’re seeded against, depending on how good they think you are, certain opponents. Then if you win your match you continue through the bracket, but if you lose you’re put into losers bracket.”

Watch the video of Richard’s big win at https://youtu.be/ rGJ5_McD6Gk 21

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Sports

P U E G N A CH Maize baseball team left short-handed in experience with the loss of 14 seniors

Story by McKenna Smiley ourteen seniors players took off their Maize baseball uniforms for the final time last season. They went out on top, winning a state title in dramatic fashion. The team rallied in the seventh inning to defeat St. Thomas Aquinas 5-4. If the Eagles are going to repeat this year, they’re going to have to do it with a bunch of players who didn’t see much, if any, varsity playing time a year ago. “I will have more kids with less varsity game experience then in the past,” coach Rocky Helm said. The 2016-17 team had a .326 batting average, .449 on base percentage, 76 stolen bases, 184 runs, four home runs and only 27 errors. They ended the season with a season 22-3 record. Some of the returning players who saw some varsity time last year are seniors Noah Sisemore and Gage Kennedy, juniors Jordon Helm, Deriq Doty and Adrian Perez, and sophomore Camden Jurgensen. Only Helm

played in almost all of the varsity games. He played in 22 out of the 25 games. Seniors Garrison Norris, Carson Avery and Peyton Wardell will be playing varsity for the first time. “There is going to be a lot to get used to, but I have high hopes for the season,” Norris said, “I feel confident stepping up and being a leader.” Also gone from last year’s team is outfielder Brayden Payne, who played in 19 varsity games last season. He injured his shoulder and is not able to play.

“With good team chemistry, winning will come naturally.” —Senior Garrison Norris

Even though he’s lost pitchers who threw 96 percent of the innings last season, Rocky Helm has the same goals for his team. Much of the burden to replace last year’s starters will fall on Perez, Sisemore and Doty. “I don’t think it will be tougher,” the coach said. “My expectations are the same.” Since Doty and Jordon Helm are the returners with the most varsity experience,

Rocky Helm said he has high expectations for them as leaders. “I know the coaches’ expectations more than the other players that didn’t play varsity last year,” Doty said. “So that’s going to help me help others meet coaches expectations.” Even so, Doty has only played one season of varsity, and played in only seven of the 25 games of the season. “I think I have enough experience, but I’m going to need other players to step up, too,” Doty said. Jordon Helm agrees that he and some of the other juniors with experience are going to have to assist the seniors in a leadership role. “As a leader, I’m going to take over the role of the seniors from last year and keep working together as a team,” he said. The coaches and players are motivated to work just as hard, even being short handed. The team is seeking its fourth state title. “Chemistry is definitely going to be a strong suit, and with good team chemistry, winning will come naturally,” Norris said.n (Left) Players clebrate after winning last years state championship (Right) Junior Jordon Helm is one of the players returning this season who played on the varsity team a year ago File photos

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Athlete

Sports

Of the

Season

The “athlete of the season” for each winter sport was picked by the coaches’ recommendation for fitting the criteria of an athlete who demonstrated strong character, work ethic, teamwork, improvement, and leadership on the team during the season.

NICK SPROWLS

BOYS SWIMMMING

3-POINT SHOTS

CALEB GRILL 24

BOYS BASKETBALL

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FOUR

1ST PLACE FINISHES

Sports

AIDAN CAMPBELL

WRESTLING ADRIAN CRUZ

BOYS BOWLING EMILY RYNO

GIRLS BOWLING AUTUMN HANNA

GIRLS BASKETBALL

“SHE HAS BECOME ONE OF MY BEST LEADERS I’VE EVER COACHED.”

— COACH JERROD HANDY

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A look ahead at spring sports

Baseball

Junior catcher Deriq Doty hopes to succeed in having a sub 1.00 ERA in his second year of pitching on varsity. Doty isn’t overly concerned after losing 14 seniors from last year. “We have a chance to be really good again even with the amount of seniors that left and there aren’t very many returning players, but I still think we will be able to make it work,” Doty said. Baseball won the championship last season against St. Thomas Acquinas 5-4, rallying in the bottom of the seventh inning. “Our biggest threat this year will be Bishop Carroll and both of the Salina schools” said Doty.

Junior swimmer Alex Palmer is honest when it comes to stating the facts about the season to come. She talks about how last season went and how she sees the future season going. “Some of us didn’t really care about our outcome last season but a few girls did make it to state.” She said they have a very good chance of making it to state this year because of skillful athletes such as sophomore Kelsey Taylor and Junior Caitlyn Gooding. Palmer said the biggest improvements to be made will be “working on teamwork with relays, just keep going. You run out of gas fast and once you get tired it doesn’t even feel like you’re moving anymore.”

Story By Kasidy Bell

Junior forward Kourtnee Davis believes girls soccer can qualify for state this upcoming season after finishing third last season. “We haven’t won state before, and we have a lot of good incoming and returning players this year,” Davis said. In addition to the returners, 13 freshmen came out for the team this season. Davis said it will be important that the team takes practices seriously and works hard to achieve their goal of taking state. “Our biggest competition will be St. Thomas Acquinas, Maize South and Kapaun Mount Carmel,” she said.

Girls Swim

Girls Soccer

Sports Preview

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Track Softball

Sophomore center fielder Sophia Buzard returns after hitting 10 varsity home runs last season. “The team can win state this season,” she said. “We have a really strong lineup with seven seniors.” She said the team will come up against some tough individual and team competition in their effort to make it to state, which is at Maize. They will come against tough players like pitcher Reagan Smith, Bishop Carroll; outfielder Emma Furnish, Eisenhower; and outfielder Macy Omli, Eisenhower. Bishop Carroll will be the biggest competition this coming season. Carroll handed Maize its only regular-season losses a year ago. Buzard has an individual goal of having a batting percentage over .400 and maintaining the most amount of stolen bases.

Boys Golf Boys tennis

Senior pole vaulter Toby Bartlett isn’t afraid to take a huge leap on the track. Bartlett has committed to Fresno Pacific University and leads the pole vault team with having a 12-foot record. His biggest issue to fix is “collapsing my elbow, once I work on that and let it collapse then I’ll be able to get inverted”. He describes how the team includes five girls and two boys. Bartlett hopes to make it to state this year as last season he got a two-foot personal record and made it to regionals. He expects big improvement since he has been working all winter to better himself. Bartlett hopes to beat out two juniors and a sophomore from Bishop Carroll as he’s been jumping with them all year and he knows what to anticipate.

Sports

Sophomore tennis player Spencer Headding doesn’t hold back when he’s asked questions about the upcoming season. He mentions how he foresees the team making it to state for another year this season as they have a pretty well-rounded amount of athletes coming in. The team won league, regionals and took state. Headding says his biggest goal for this coming season would be “To get better at my singles and doubles and I think I can accomplish that, work better with my partner in doubles and have more control over the ball in singles.”. He says the biggest threats we will encounter will end up being Bishop Carroll and Maize South.

Senior Nolan Brackin is one of two seniors on the team this season. Both seniors were on varsity last year, along with junior Jared Murphy and sophomore Caden Cox. Tanner Prophet, a freshman, is another likely varsity golfer this year, although the last two varsity spots are still up in the air. Cox, who also runs track, placed at state last season. The team is looking to qualify again this year. “I played OK last year at state,” Brackin said. “Hopefully the work that I’ve put in will help me place in some tournaments this year.” Murphy and Brackin have been practicing together on a regular basis the past two years. “I feel our chemistry being as strong as it is really helps us,” Brackin said.

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Maize wins two state titles Onwugbufor, Vallalpando win championships; team third

Story by Maddie Neigenfind

aize won two titles at the state wrestling tournament Feb. 24 at Hartman Arena. The Eagles finished third in the team standings, with seven of nine wrestlers who qualified earning medals. Senior Devin Onwugbufor and sophomore Duwayne Villalpando

“He’s been wrestling since he was 5, and that’s the gift God gave him.”

—Ike Onwugbufor

placed first, winning their first state titles. Onwugbufor won the 138-pound weight class, defeating Devin Gomez of Valley Center 3-1. Villalpando won at 152 pounds, defeating Jarrett Bendure of

Mill Valley 9-4. Villalpando didn’t hold back when asked what he was expecting. “I knew I was going to win it all.” Villalpando said. Onwugbufor’s dad said he’s proud to say the least. “He’s had two years of injuries, and it’s been a long journey for him,” Ike Onwugbufor said. “He’s been wrestling since he was 5, and that’s the gift God gave him.” Other Maize wrestlers who placed are Aiden Campbell, second place; Kyle Haas, third place; Jacob Quiggle, fifth place; Junior Camacho, sixth place; and Talon Fitzmier, sixth place.n (Right) Sophomore Duwayne Villalpando smiles after winning his first state title. Villalpando wrestled a senior from Mill Valley in the state wrestling finals. Photo by Maddie Neigenfind (Below) Senior Devin Onwugbufor yells in victory after gaining his first state title. Onwugbufor has wrestled for most of his life. Photo by Lizzie Bell

Sports

Looking forward The Eagles will have all but one player returning next year, including Cassie Onwugbufor Photos by Lizzie Bell and Sam Bartlett

With one senior, Eagles finish fourth at state

Story By Abby McCoy ith all but one starter and every top reserve returning, girls basketball coach Jerrod Handy is looking forward to next season. The Eagles finished fourth at state, falling to Liberal 43-37 on March 10 in the Class 5A tournament in Topeka. Junior Halie Jones led the Eagles against Liberal with12 points. “We are excited about next year,” Handy said. “We don’t want to talk about it right now, but we do mention it every once in a while. … That one year of experience is going to help so much.” For the second consecutive year, St. Thomas Aquinas stood in the way of the girls basketball team’s state title. The Eagles lost to Aquinas 41-34 in the semifinals. Aquinas defeated Maize in the title game a year ago. After struggling in the first half against Aquinas, the Eagles came back strong in the third quarter and took the lead. Handy said he was happy with the way the team responded after trailing 25-17 at the half. “Offensively we just said we are going to shoot it up,” Handy said. “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be hesitant. Just make your shot and shoot it. I think they relaxed and started shooting a little better.”

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The Eagles scored 13 points during the third quarter and built a 28-25 lead. They held strong defensively, preventing them from scoring in the third quarter until 3:19 was remaining. Aquinas, however, scored six consecutive points to lead 31-28. With less than a minute remaining in the quarter, sophomore Cassie Onwugbufor’s basket cut the lead to 31-30. But that was as close as the Eagles got. Maize lost steam in the fourth quarter, scoring four points. The sixth-seeded Eagles defeated No. 3-seed Mill Valley 44-37 in the first round of the tournament. After a low-scoring first half Thursday — the Eagles led 8-7 after one quarter and the teams were tied at 13 at halftime — the Eagles surged in the second half. “We tried to make some adjustments,” Handy said. “We started driving on them better in the second half. They are such a good defensive team, it’s hard to get to the rim.” Saturday’s game was the last in a Maize uniform for senior Autumn Hanna. “I thought ‘dang’ about how hard this was going to be,” Hanna said of being the only senior this season. “I had to be that person that stands out and tries to control everyone at the same time. I did my part and others followed me.”

Handy praised Hanna’s leadership. “She’s an inspiration to the team, coaches,” he said. “She’s our favorite. She just always has a smile on her face. She’s so coachable, like a lot a girls, but it’s her lead and her example that a lot of the girls follow.” The Eagles finished the season with a 17-8 record. “We came into this tournament as a celebration for our season,” Handy said. “We just wanted to have a good time. … I think the girls really truly enjoy the game.”n

Features

L FEL NES

Choir puts on annual concert to honor seniors 1. Senior Sydney Jackson sings the last song of the senior showcase “This is Me.” Photo by Savie Hughes. 2.Seniors Ellie Hahn, Emily Conner and Emisha Barnard dance to “Wings”. Photo by Savie Hughes. 3. Seniors Trent Johnson and Alanis Balza smile at each other during the show. Photo by Savie Hughes.

MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Entertainment

6. 5.

4. Senior Trent Johnson sings his solo “You Will Be Found.” Photo by Savie Hughes. 5. At the dinner theater, junior Hope Reasoner sings to entertain the guests. Photo by Savie Hughes. 6. Senior John Patton starts the senior showcase dressed as The Cat in the Hat. Photo by Savie Hughes. 7. Senior Alex Recio and the Select Men’s Choir perform “Shop Around.” Photo by Kiara Ehrmann.

MarchPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Press Pause A moment with

Senior swimmer Jacob Ruder What do you like to do in your free time?

How long have you been on the swim team, and what are some accomplishments youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made on the team?

What branch of the military do you plan on going into, and why did you choose that branch?

What made you want to join the military?

Senior Jacob Ruder finishes his last year on the swim team and looks forward to joining the military once he graduates.Photo by Ryann Redinger