VOLUME 28
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ISSUE 3
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DECEMBER 2018
PAINTING
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PLATTE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
Town THE
PAGE 06
Art club paints Main Street windows for the holidays
ISSUE 03 DECEMBER 2018
Created by:
Inside OPINION 03
LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX
FEATURE 06 07 08
PAINTING THE TOWN DON’t WORRY, BE HAPPY THE NICOTINE SCENE
SPORTS 10 11 12
Editor-in-Chief Ashley Tohm Feature Editor Tatianna Tafolla Opinion Editor Jacob Flynn
Staff Writers Kiersten Robbins Charisma Root Photographers Jency Bell Jessenia Orellana Adviser Kari Johnson
COVER Red paint on her brush, freshman Allison Dolan paints candy canes on a Main Street window with the art club on Nov. 20. Students faced freezing temperatures to complete their paintings in time for the lighting ceremony. Photo by Jency Bell
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December 2018 / 03
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LET’S TALK ? ABOUT SEX ce? n e n i t s b A
PCHS has an obligation to provide students with comprehensive sex education Written by Charisma Root
04 / Opinion
Should PCHS provide comprehensive sexuality education?
What topics should be covered in a sex education class? Abstinence
Contraception Sexually Transmitted Disease Healthy Relationships Consent
LGBTQ+ Resources Yes
No
W
hile the taboo topic of teenage sexuality may cause many adults discomfort, schools cannot ignore the idea and enter a state of denial. Currently, mandatory one-semester health classes do not cover sex education other than the basics of reproduction due to the lack of time. This is unacceptable. Our school handbook clearly states, “The board recognizes that effective sex education helps students avoid risks to their health and academic success and prepares them to make informed decisions as adults.” If the board is aware of this, than they need to provide us with this education. According to Advocates for Youth, 46 percent of all high school age students in the United States have had sexual intercourse; that is almost nine million teenagers. Teens have sex regardless of if schools openly recognize it, and without the proper precautions students are at risk of numerous dangers. That same study shows that 39 percent of those sexually active teens mentioned above did not use a condom
GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT A look at the United States’ outlook on sex education.
Out of 177 responses
during their last intercourse. Uninformed decisions like this are how STDs are spread. According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, STDs are on the rise, especially in younger individuals, with nearly half of all cases in the U.S. occurring in those under the age of 25. Aside from the general health risks and diseases, there is another rising issue in safe sex: understanding consent. On average, there are 321,500 victims of rape and sexual assault each year in the US. One reason for this is many people are unaware of what constitutes rape or sexual assault. Additionally, results from a 2007 Department of Justice survey found that 35 percent of sexual assault victims did not report the crime because it was “unclear that it was a crime.” We need to be told from a younger age, with crystal clear facts, how to behave in intimate situations and respect boundaries. Implementing a required sex education program covering medically accurate, age-appropriate information ranging from STDs and contraception to relationships and consent could
change all of this, allowing teens to be educated, aware and safe. The school thinks this education should come from parents. The handbook states that “The Board of Education recognizes that parents/guardians are the primary source of sexuality education for their children.” In reality though, parents cannot or will not cover this on their own because of personal bias, time constraints or discomfort at discussing such topics with their children. Therefore most kids are not likely to receive this information outside of the classroom. ONE LITTLE ISSUE If we discuss the school’s need for sex education, we must also discuss the best method of educating our teens. The student handbook states that any course of material regarding human sexuality taught within our school must be abstinence-based. This is outdated and ineffective. While yes, abstaining from sex is the only guaranteed way to avoid STDs or pregnancy, public health data from Advocates for Youth indicates that these programsdemonstrate little efficiency in actually helping adolescents to delay intercourse.
99% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT STDS. FROM ReCAPP
TEENS EXPERIENCE ALMOST HALF OF THE 20 MILLION STD CASES IN AMERICA EACH YEAR. FROM THE CDC
December 2018 / 05
Do you think the school has provided you adequate sex education?
Only 13 states in the nation require sex ed. to be medically accurate. No Somewhat Yes
Abstinence-based sex education also fails to prepare students in the event intercourse does occur. Furthermore, a 2004 report from National Public Radio showed that language used in an abstinence-based curriculum often reinforces “gender stereotypes about female passivity and male aggressiveness,” an attitude that can be a gateway to harmful outcomes such as domestic violence. Meaning, not only do abstinence-based sex education classes not work, but they have also been proven to sometimes be unethical and even harmful. A SCHOOL’S DUTY The entire purpose of school is to ensure that children receive the best education they can to prepare them for the real world. Teens need complete and comprehensive sex education to prepare them to make wise and informed sexual decisions as well as allow them to form a deeper understanding of relationships, health, and the human body; something that will remain incredibly useful throughout students’ high school careers as during their entire adult lives. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that, “School health programs can have
ONLY 10% OF SEXUALLY EXPERIENCED TEENS REPORTED A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER AS A SOURCE OF BIRTH CONTROL/STI/HIV INFORMATION. FROM AAP
25 teens per every 1,000 between the ages of 15 & 19 have children in Missouri.
positive effects on educational outcomes, as well as health-risk behaviors and health outcomes.” A sex education program could provide us with more real-life preparation than some of the material we are taught in math, history or science. It is important to recognize that good decisions come from a good education. A common fear about a sex education class is that it would encourage teens to have sex, but it has been proven in high schools around the country that comprehensive sex education does the exact opposite. According to Advocates for Youth, evaluations of Comprehensive Sex Education programs have proven that this education delays the onset of sexual activity, reduces the number of sexual partners, and increases condom and contraceptive use in youth. A separate evaluation of the National Survey of Family Growth also revealed that teens who received comprehensive sexuality education were 50 percent less likely to report a pregnancy. These classes make teens more conscious of their actions’ effects on the future. IT STARTS TODAY It is the school’s responsibility to
SEX EDUCATION
CHANGES LIVES
From the University of Southern California
make sure we acquire the knowledge necessary to prepare us for life. What better way to do that than to make absolutely sure we learn information that could mean the difference between being a teen parent forced to drop out, or a victim of an abusive relationship or life-threatening STD, and being someone who has the tools to accomplish all of their personal goals and aspirations while also having safe sex if they so decided. From every perspective, a comprehensive sex education class is nothing but beneficial and necessary. The health curriculum needs to be updated and the class expanded from a semester to a year-long class, ensuring there is ample time to touch on important mental and physical health aspects while also implementing the proper amount of sex education. The class needs to sufficiently cover a variety of important issues, particularly the key points of abstinence, contraception, STDs, healthy relationships and consent. It also needs to provide resources for pregnancy, abuse, sexual assault and the LGBTQ community. But above all, it needs to be provided sooner rather than later. We need comprehensive sex education now.
ONLY 14% OF AMERICANS THINK THAT SCHOOLS SHOULD TEACH ABSTINENCE-ONLY PROGRAMS. FROM ReCAPP
06 / Feature
Painting the
Town
Art Club paints Main Street shop windows for the holidays
A
Paint sponge in hand, sophomore Jordan Mondaine paints snow on the windows of the firehouse. On Nov. 20, Mondaine went with Art Club to help with the windows and painted snowflakes on buildings on Main Street. Photo by Jessenia Orellana.
Written by Jessenia Orellana and Charisma Root
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the holiday season is Candyland. This gave the painters a wider variety of options than past year themes and allowed the club to experiment with new colors and techniques. “Some years we have trouble coming up with more ways to paint snow so this one is a little bit of fun, we
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round the holiday season, many businesses participate in festivities by investing in seasonal decor. The Art Club has an annual tradition of offering the local shops and businesses on Main Street the opportunity to have their windows painted for the holidays.
I think it is a great way for the kids to be a part of the community. LA DENA SKIDMORE | ART TEACHER
This event has taken place for more than 10 years. Art teacher and club supervisor La Dena Skidmore sees it as a way to allow students to give back to the community. “I have been involved with Art Club for seven to eight years now, but it’s been going on for many, many years before my time,” Skidmore said. “I think it’s a great way for the kids to be part of the community and feel like they have something to contribute.” This year, the theme for
can experiment and have a little more color this year,” Skidmore said. The paintings give businesses a chance to support the school and simultaneously receive festive decor for the winter season. Sophomore Autumn Colstion has been in Art Club for a year and participated in the window painting tradition this year. “It’s been a tradition of the high schools for quite a long time and more shops every year want their win-
dows to be painted,” Colstion said. “This year it was Candyland, so they changed it up like a board game and I think that makes it a lot more interesting to do and to look at then it was in previous years.” Aside from benefiting the businesses, painting windows gives students the chance to see their art on display. Sophomore Jordan Mondaine helped out with this project. “Whenever people drive by they can actually see it on the windows instead of it being on paper,” Mondaine said. “It makes me feel good because everybody gets to see my artwork.” Not only does it give the
club members exposure and practice, but the event also serves as a way for them to meet new people and to be able to learn different valuable lessons about putting self-criticism aside and following through with projects. “I was super nervous because I didn’t think I would do good enough, but after I got into painting I realized that no matter what you do, people are still going to be proud of you actually finishing the paintings,” Colstion said. “It’s really nice to talk to everyone there and see that there are other people who enjoy art as much as you do.”
December 2018 / 07
Don’t Worry, Be Happy SADD hosts positivity campaign to combat negativity
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Written by Kiersten Robbins top. Hoppe is one of the co-presidents of SADD, as well as the main organizer and creator of the Pass the Positivity campaign. “I learned that more people at our school deal with negativity than I thought before,” Hoppe said. “I knew there was a lot of negativity, but then the people in SADD were talking about how they know at least more than one person who is pretty negative.” SADD member freshman Olivia DeGrave assisted with passing out stickers and hanging up posters. This campaign not only had an impact with people outside of the SADD members but also the SADD members themselves. DeGrave said
she wanted to bring joy to someone. “Words mean a lot to people so passing on kind things can make such a difference,” DeGrave said. A study done by the American Psychology Association says that out of 1,018 teens, 31 percent are feeling overwhelmed and 30 percent are experiencing sad or depressed emotions due to stress. The SADD members created this campaign in hopes of relieving stress with positive words. “We learned how much our bodies and minds reacts to positive versus negative thoughts and how positivity can help depression and negative thoughts,” Schlorholtz said.
ADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) hosted the Pass the Positivity campaign on the week of Nov. 12 to show how positivity can make an impact on people’s lives and decrease depression. They earned a grant from Tri-County Mental Health and the Prevention Coalition. The coalition consists of students concerned with preventing student use of marijuana, prescription drugs and alcohol. “The grant money is shared with DECA, and we can use the money for anything approved regarding the topic of resilience,” SADD adviser Ashleigh Schlorholtz said. “For this campaign it covered the stickers, posters and magnets.” SADD was given a set of rules with the grant requir-
ing them to organize a campaign based on the topic of resilience that had to be approved by Tri-County Mental Health. The $1,000 grant will fund all of SADD’s and DECA’s campaigns for this school year. “I helped lead the the group,” senior Grace Hoppe said. “I also lead the ideas so we did the positive messages on the mirrors, and then we also passed out stickers and talked to people at lunch.” Schlorholtz ensured that the group was on track during the conceptualization of the campaign. She also communicated with Tri-County Mental Health and SADD for campaign ideas. Pass the Positivity was the idea that came out on
Photo by Jency Bell
On her Chromebook, sophomore Janiecia Sharp finishes her homework in her Hospitality and Tourism Management class on Dec. 4. SADD and DECA teamed up to create the “Beleaf in Yourself” sticker. Photo by Jency Bell
08 / Feature
Teens who use e-cigarettes, vapes more likely to be addicted to nicotine
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Written By Tatianna Tafolla and Jacob Flynn
he growing epidemic of vaping has created a surge of students engaging in illegal activity and a gateway to nicotine addictions has become more accessible. According to Centron Vaping, vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the aerosol, often referred to as vapor, which is produced by an e-cigarette or a similar device. These nicotine products are sold to people 18 years of age or older but are still being used by underage teens. School nurse Jenni Olson is aware of the vaping epidemic going on across the school. “Underage students think that it is
better than using nicotine and getting addicted to cigarettes,” Olson said. “They are mistaken because vapes are just as addicting and sometimes worse.” Products that are most common are Juuls, standard vapes and e-cigarettes. The prices can range all the way from as low as $10 and as much as $200. One of the most popular products is the Juul which is one of the cheapest that can be found in stores, contributing to their popularity. The Juul looks similar to a USB device, making them easy to conceal on campus. “I think there are absolutely no benefits to vaping,” Olson said. “If you’re
addicted to cigarettes I think it’s better to get off the nicotine, and to do something besides inhaling other chemicals into your lungs.” The negative side effects of using nicotine-based products can be seen through a health perspective. If a student uses a nicotine-based product they may be expose themselves to harmful side effects of using the product for a prolonged period of time. According to Olson, some side effects can occur, such as nicotine addiction, high blood pressure, risk of heart attack, infection in lungs, brain damage and respiratory issues, as well as changes in emotions.
December 2018 / 09
Do you know someone who owns a vaping device? Yes - 79.2 Percent 48.1 percent
No - 20.8 Percent
35.5 percent
What is your opinion on vaping? 16.4 percent
Support Mixed Opinion Reject Out of 183 Responses
Have you ever vaped?
Yes - 32.2 percent No - 67.8 percent Sophomore Danyelle Huntsman has friends that suffer from a nicotine addiction. “I think our school has done a good job about it [bringing awareness of the vaping epidemic], but if somebody doesn’t want to help themselves then they’re just not going to get better,” Huntsman said. Some side effects of vaping could be considered benefits. An electronic nicotine device can be a tool for recovery from nicotine addiction, and some juices for vaping products do not include nicotine or the relaxing side effect usually associated with vape products. Junior Trey Phan personally does not agree with people using vapes. “Vaping is for when older people are
addicted to cigarettes and vaping for high schoolers is just because they want to look cool,” Phan said. If someone is caught with a vape product at school they are brought to the nurse’s office and are taught the dangers of using the device. Disciplinary actions are given after putting the attention for what is at risk for the student if the usage continues. “I think nicotine is bad, but if you have nicotine vape juice I don’t see a whole lot of issues with it,” Huntsman said. According to Olson, some of the vape products used on campus can go undetected in classrooms and the restrooms. While new bathroom sensors are not being used at our schools,
schools in New York rely on technology to crack down on the usage of the vape products on campus. These alert systems notify administrations of the chemicals found in vapes. “I hope students would understand that even though [seems like a] a cool trendy thing to do, the long term effects are not worth it,” Olson said. While vapes can be put into positive and negative perspectives, prolonged use can be just as dangerous as cigarettes. “I would love to introduce students and people that vape to people that have used similar products long-term to show them their physical ailments, to talk to them about how they wish they never started,” Olson said.
10 / Sports
Average Cost of Basic Gear
Short on Sports MSHSAA offers new winter sports, activities for athletes
SHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) oversees a total of 23 sports and activities, yet, of these, the school only offers 18. Because of this, we are missing a number of programs, including field hockey, lacrosse, water polo, bowling and men’s volleyball. Students, such as sophomore lacrosse player Spencer Cupp, instead participate in these sports through clubs outside of school, providing an entirely different experience. “For me personally since I’m not around my teammates as much, club sports are more for individuals competing and not as much competing as a team,” Cupp said. “I feel like since you learn to compete in different levels, it will prepare you for anything that can be thrown at you.” Ideally, coaches such as Courtland Ingram, would like to offer more of these programs through the school. This is unlikely though due to the recent decline in
popularity of gender-specific sports. With activities such as wrestling and volleyball expanding, throughout the nation, for both genders there is less availability for additional sports to be offered “I really want to see men’s indoor volleyball,“ Ingram said. “But, we most likely will not be getting a male sport because we recently added girls wrestling.” Location and scheduling issues arise as well when it comes to offering these club activities as after school programs. There are numerous sports requiring specific settings the school is currently unable to provide, along with reasonable time to practice and compete. “You can only have so much activity space, so ideally you could play men’s volleyball, but you would have to play in between when they have other practices and games in the week,” Ingram said. “You need to know when the freshmen practice too. Your best bet if you were to have another indoor activity is having them practice before school every day.”
$565
Water Polo
$500
Field Hockey
$275
Men’s Volleyball
$100
Bowling
$250 From Ohio University
Finally, another conflict is that some of these activities are not considered full-fledged sports that the school is able to implement and offer to students. They are instead deemed emerging sports. Emerging sports
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Dorman said. Included underneath the umbrella of MSHSAA’s emerging sports is lacrosse and bowling. While lacrosse is slowly gaining popularity, due to the limited show of interest, lacrosse has not yet
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M
Written by Jacob Flynn
Lacrosse
We most likely won’t be getting a male sport because we recently added girls wrestling. COURTLAND INGRAM | WEIGHTS COACH
are activities that MSHSAA acknowledges, but are only now gaining traction at the club level. “Field hockey, water polo, etc. are sports that are considered emerging sports by MSHSAA and are mainly being offered in the St. Louis area,” athletic director Phil
been recognized as a completely developed sport. “Lacrosse is definitely a growing sport, and I think it’ll interest people,” Cupp said. “I think it’ll take a little bit of time to kind of build into that support, but I do think that it would get a great amount of it.”
December 2018 / 11
Playing middle blocker, senior Jaycie Stubbs prepares to play at a home benefit volleyball game on Oct. 11. The Pirates won their game against Grain Valley. Photo by Abby Bradley
Transitioning from defense to offense, senior Jaycie Stubbs plays at a conference basketball game against Smithville on Dec. 4. Pirates began the conference with a 58-46 win against Smithville. Photo by Abby Bradley
Season to be Sporty Athletes prepare themselves physically, mentally to transition from fall to winter sports
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Written by Kiersten Robbins and Charisma Root
thletes who participate in both fall and winter sports begin their transition from season to season without much of a break. This transition involves more than just switching out equipment and uniforms. Athletic director Phil Dorman said that being fit is an important role for the transition from the first sports season to the next. “Two ways wrestlers, as well as people in other sports, are going to get in shape s their two hour practice, with lots of sweat, they’re going to lose weight that way and also then diet, not going to McDonald’s all the time,” Dorman said. There is often little down time between seasons. For students with many academic and sport-related responsibil-
ities, this time of transition may affect students’ schedules. For example, for the past two years the football season has lasted longer than usual, causing it to overlap with the beginning of winter sports such as basketball and wrestling, making it difficult for students to participate in both. “Sometimes it’s hard because when somebody’s doing something in the fall and they started in the beginning of August, and they don’t end until November, they want a break,” Dorman said. “They may decide not to go out for a winter sport because of that.” One student affected by the transition from football to wrestling is junior John Owen, who not only has to deal with overlapping sport schedules, but also getting
into the proper physical state and weight class to wrestle. This means a strict diet and workout routine. “Sometimes when they have an overlap you don’t feel prepared for the upcoming sport,” Owen said. The process of switching from one sport to the next does not stop at physical preparation. There is also an aspect of mental readiness for being on an entirely different team and activity. Senior Jaycie Stubbs said some of the advantages of being in volleyball and basketball is making a lot of friends and staying in better shape. “Volleyball was really upbeat, but basketball is more calm and collected,” Stubbs said. “So I think I had to get myself in a mental state to where I understood that you don’t get super excited
after you make a shot in basketball like you would in volleyball.” Another transition to be made, particularly for those participating in both football and wrestling or cross-country and basketball, is the level of team reliance. While football and basketball are team sports, requiring planning and communication, wrestling and cross-country are more independent. This takes an adjustment in perspective and strategy and also affect the team relationship with less of a need to be a united whole to succeed. “For football I keep it at a teammate mindset, like bringing up my other teammates,” Owen said. “In wrestling, I still bring up my other teammates, but I feel like it’s more of an individual act.”
12 / Sports
Snapping down, sophomore Avery Krahenbill gets ready to circle around freshman LJ Scott during practice on Dec. 4. Krahenbill wrestled on a co-ed team before joining the high school team. Photo by Jency Bell
FIGHT LIKE A GIRL
Female wrestlers join new all-girl wrestling team
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Written by Tatianna Tafolla
irls wrestling teams have seen a rise in participation across the United States, because of this our school has officially added a girls wrestling team to the list of sports being offered rather than the co-ed options offered previously. Now that female and male teams are separate new changes are being put into place. Before the creation of a girls wrestling team, females were usually only able to wrestle males which presented problems such as refusal from the male opponents. Now that a separate team has been formed, females no longer wrestle males. Head wrestling coach Reggie Burress has coached both teams since the addition of the girl’s team. “I think the participation throughout
the United States and Missouri in particular has made it possible to have a women’s division for the Missouri state championships,” Burress said. Many girls have since joined the division. As of right now there are only five members on the girls wrestling team, which can be considered an exponential difference from a year, where there were no girls participating in wrestling. Sophomore Avery Krahenbill has wrestled for five years. “I’ve only wrestled girls in one tournament and that was at girl’s state,” Krahenbill said. “This year I’ll only be wrestling girls so it will be kind of a big change.” Last year Krahenbill was unable to compete in wrestling due to not being able to meet weight guidelines. With the creation of the girls team comes a
new set of 12 different weight classes, the only major difference from the boys is the lightest weight class being three pounds lighter than the males. Practices and meets look the same for both genders, consisting of running and repetitive drills to trigger muscle memory. “We’ve had some female wrestlers before, but none that have taken it as serious as these ladies,” Burress said. There are 800 girls who are active in wrestling in Missouri, five of which participate through our school. Female wrestlers will participate in The Stampede, a large tournament that will have a women’s division wrestling in three or four other duels. Junior Josie Smart is one of the wrestlers on the team that has received a scholarship based on managing wrestling in college.
December 2018 / 13
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I’ve kind of grown up around wrestling. My brother has been wrestling since I was five and I’ve always been kind of interested in it, but I didn’t want to wrestle guys.
Preparing for their next match, senior Natalie Crain (top) and sophomore Serina Bertram (bottom) practice a down block go behind move on Dec. 4. This is both their first year wrestling for the high school. Photo by Jency Bell
said. “It’s an easy sport to give up on early but once you get into it, you start understanding it and it becomes more
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tling team, the girls spend a lot of time together at practices and are able to use this time together to bond and to
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“We don’t have that many members this year and the program is new, so a lot of people aren’t as open to it but it’s a really good experience,” Smart said. “It’s a great way to get into shape and make some friends and for self-defense you’ll be stronger. It’s going to help you in every aspect.” The two major science factors between wrestling between a male and wrestling between a female is strength and flexibility. Now that there is a female-only wrestling team there are no longer major physical differences to overcome by the opponents, just what the wrestler has worked for themselves. “You have to have a mindset that you’re going to stick it out, because at first it seems really difficult but as you go things become easier and you understand what’s going on better,” Burress
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JOSIE SMART | JUNIOR
It feels good to have my own team. AVERY KRAHENBILL | SOPHOMORE
apparent that it’s well worth it.” According to Burress, the boys have been supportive of the girls wrestling and practicing with alongside them. Now that there are officially five girls now making up the all-new girls wres-
practice going against other females. “It feels good to have my own team,” Krahenbill said. “The guys used to look at me kind of different but now I have a team, and we’ve bonded over the last few weeks.”
Sophia Dominguez-Heithhoff
Miss Teen USA 2017 and Green Ribbon Champion
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