Volume 58, Issue 6
Arcadia High School 180 Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA
February y 2010
Mirai: Arcadia’s Ice Princess
In this issue:
Graphic by BEVERLY CHEN
OPINION pg. 4 XOXO, Miss Understood: Here are the frustrations of mixed signals on Valentine’s Day.
Photo courtesy of TEAMUSA.ORG FIGURE SKATING STAR Former AHS student Mirai Nagusu received a score of 63.76 in the ladies’ short program in the
2010 Winter Olympic Games and will advance to the free skate, which will take place tonight, Feb. 25. By JASMINE WU Staff Writer Photo courtesy of FRANK HUANG
CENTER SPREAD pg. 12-13 Gov Love: Constitution Team wins first at the state competition for the first time in 13 years.
Photo by DEBBIE JONG
STUDENT LIFE pg. 19 Sadies 2010 Will Be Off the Pages: Learn the details of this year’s Sadie Hawkins Dance, and girls, start asking!
Like your average teenage girl, she loves the color pink, eating sweet and spicy foods, and hanging out with her friends. But on top of that, she has placed at the top in national and international figure skating competitions, qualified for the 2010 US Olympic Figure Skating Team, and is competing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. This is Arcadia’s very own Mirai Nagasu. On Jan. 23, at the 2010 US National Figure Skating Championships, Mirai placed second overall and was nominated for a position on the 2010 US Olympic Figure Skating Team. After marching in the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver on Feb. 12, Mirai returned home, trained for a week, and then flew back on Feb. 19. On Feb. 23, Mirai competed in the ladies’ short program, and despite a bloody nose in the middle of her routine, received a score of 63.76. This put Mirai in sixth place and qualified her for the free skate, which will be held tonight, Feb. 25. Mirai began ice skating when she was five but became more serious about the sport
at the age of eleven, winning the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships in 2005. In 2008, Mirai won the US Figure Skating Championships and would have gone on to the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, but she was 14 at the time—too young, according to the rules, to compete in the international competition. Mirai acknowledged that the International Skating Union (ISU) had its reasons for enforcing the rules. “I think these restrictions are good because they give us the chance to let our bodies grow,” Mirai said. “We develop into our mature bodies, our bodies get stronger, so we’re more fit for the bigger events.” Later on that year, she competed and won the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Despite being a fun and spirited teen, Mirai is able to show her focused side on the ice. Mirai left AHS in 2009, opting for an online schooling program that better fit her skating career. Also, not too long ago, Mirai proved her commitment by stepping it up for the 2010 US Championships. Mirai knew she had to work hard to land a spot on the US Olympic Figure Skating Team. In an interview, Mirai described herself as “talented but lazy,” stress-
ing the need to push herself. Thankfully, Mirai came through with her hard work and placed second at the US Championships, earning a spot on the US Figure Skating Team. But of course, preparing to represent America at the Olympics can be stressful, to say the least. When asked what she felt was the hardest part about competing, Mirai said, “It’s the waiting between the six-minute warm up and the time you get on the ice to skate your program. This is the time that you have to believe in yourself the most because your nerves can take over.” Mirai said her parents are her greatest external source of strength. “My parents are the reason that I’m able to get myself out of bed and ice skate—literally,” said Mirai. “If they weren’t there to support me and help me every step of the way, I’d have probably slept through half of the excitement.” Tonight, Feb. 25, at 8:00 p.m., the US and AHS will have our channels turned to the Olympics to support Mirai as she prepares to finish the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with flying colors. jwu@apachepowwow.com