DECEMBER 2021
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TRUE
WADSWORTH HIGH SCHOOL
HISTORY
VOLUME XLVI, ISSUE 3
OF THE BOY
WITH THE LEAKY BOOT
THE BRUIN EDITORIAL
College’s need to pay staff more
College tuition is something that is on a lot of students’ minds today. While applying for college students must consider the price of tuition. A lot of applicants do not understand where their money is going. Most students would believe that their money goes to professors, who, in turn, make a ton of money. Talking to professors at Akron, some believe that their pay is not sustainable.
Some professors are only getting paid around $20,000. If the money were distributed differently and professors could make more, professors would probably be more focused on their classes and students would achieve more. They would not have to indulge their time in other jobs to make a living and would be able to do more with their students. This raise in salary would be an advantage for students,
the professor, and the college. The only disadvantage to this would be that they would have to cut back on other sections that need funding. These cuts would still be more advantageous, especially if they cut back on sports and used some of that money to fund their instructors’ pay.
We would love to hear your feedback! Please send letters to the editor to wadsworthbruin@ gmail.com
Students of the Month
Follow the Bruin on all platforms @Wadswor thBruin
Simeon Schmitt, 12
WHS
Abe Watson, 12
Corrections On page 14 of the November Issue, we put that Dr. Suber used to work at Strongsville, but he in fact worked at Streetsboro Middle School. We have corrected our online story: https://wadsworthbruin.com/2021/11/08/ vincent-suber-makes-his-mark-on-whs/
BRUIN STAFF
ONLINE EDITOR Jackson Kerley
625 Broad Street Wadsworth, OH 44281
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ART EDITOR OPINION EDITOR
Chloe Porter
MANAGING EDITOR
COPY EDITOR
Ari Kaser
Liz Gromofsky
Grace Pantalone Kade Miros
Dylan Heppert
SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Julia Swain
STAFF WRITERS
NEWS & IN DEPTH EDITOR
Katharine Allen Brenden Barlett
Janae Joachim
Brooke Baughman
BUSINESS MANAGER
Mason Burton
Michael Jira
FEATURES EDITOR Ashley Allwood
Lily Chesbro Sydney Daily Katie Griffin Luke Houser Haley Reedy
ADVISOR
Liam Russell Carley Sorent
Eric Heffinger
Gavin Zeiner
Editorial Policy The Bruin is a monthly publication produced by the Newspaper II and Newspaper III students at Wadsworth High School. The Newspaper I class produces the May issue. The staff will do its best to inform
the student body and the community of intra-school, community or national events that affect the student body. This paper provides on-the-job training for the staff members. All decisions are made by the staff members with the advice and suggestions of the adviser. The school administration works closely with the staff to ensure accuracy. We, as the students of journalism, hold the same rights and the same responsibilities as professional journalists as we strive for professional standards. These rights include the right to print any material that is not libelous, obscene or excessively disruptive to the school process. The Bruin will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion, color, creed or sex. The staff members accept full responsibility for everything appearing in this publication. The staff strongly encourages students to express their opinions through the letters to the editor column, which is printed every month. The staff also encourages the members of the community to express their opinion as well. Space permitting, all letters will be printed. We reserve the right to edit or omit any portion of any letter because the staff accepts the responsibility for the contents of the paper. All letters must be signed, but the name will be withheld upon request.
IN-DEPTH THE BRUIN
COLLEGE TUITION: WHERE IT GOES S athletics category. That totals out to be “Most financial aid is funded by the federal government about $580 worth of each student’s tuition and other outside sources,” Boyd said. “We do award tudents often wonder where their money is going towards these athletic programs. The approximately $1,200 per student, per year in scholarships.” Some scholarships available for students are the Akron going when spending at least $10,000 on organizations that receive the lowest amount tuition. These fees go into clubs, teaching, of the tuition is band and theatre at 0.2% of Guarantee Scholarship, the Akron Advantage Award, and the Innovation Generation Scholarship. For and maintenance around campus. these specific scholarships, students are Kent State University tuition is around $11,923 automatically considered after they apply to for an in-state resident in their Tuition Guarantee the university. Program. “Other expenses include several items, “Kent State’s Tuition Guarantee is including: salaries for administrative designed to provide students and their staff, support services for campus, general families a predictable and stable model operations and maintenance expenses for for planning for the cost of a college buildings,” Boyd said. degree,” said Emily Vincent, University Director of Media Relations at Kent State . “It provides all eligible new first-year undergraduates and their families the certainty that resident tuition and room and board charges will not increase during the ensuing four academic College books often add to the expense of tuition. Students can avoid some of the years from their first enrollment as degree- cost by going to a used book store. Photo by Carley Sorrent. seeking students.” The tuition is split up into two categories, the $1,861 in general fees. This totals to be instructional and general. The instructional fee is about $37 for each of these organizations used for things such as faculty costs, scholarships, from every student’s tuition fees. Similarly to Kent, the University of Akron costs $12,078 for a full-time, on-campus student. This does not include room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses. Ms. Christine Boyd, Senior Director of External Communications at the University of Akron. Instructors of the instruction expenses are paid general are“General approximately $1,800 per instruction expense, or student, per year,” Boyd said. The way that the money is split up is very about similar to Kent State University. “We pay faculty, instructors, approximately per student per year. 74% of the general instruction expense, or about $1,500 per student, per year,” Boyd said. If students want to lessen their utilities, safety precautions, etc. The instructional fee takes up about 84.39% of the total tuition cost. instruction fees, they can apply for Out of the $11,923 this would total up to be about financial aid.
E T A T S
31.2% T
INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
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UNIVERSITY OF
KE NT
BY CHLOE PORTER & CARLEY SORRENT
12%
AKRON
74%
RECREATION SERVICES
11%
$1,500
STUDENT SERVICES
$10,061 from the regular tuition cost. The general fees have to do with things such as clubs, athletics, transportation, etc. These fees are approximately 15.61% of the total tuition cost. Out of the yearly cost it is about $1,861 that the general fees get. “The general fee is mainly used to support student services and operations,” Vincent said. “There is also a component that provides funding for facility needs (including bond debt service) and for investment in off-campus and distance learning. Allocations of the general fee revenues are part of the university’s annual budget building process.” Kent State distributes this $1,861 throughout about 18 different categories. The highest category gets 31.2% of this money which is the intercollegiate
9.7%
19.4%
The other is split between
FACILITIES
Band, Flashcard Operations, Distance Learning, Mental Health, Registration Services, Student Leadership, Student Media, Student Organization, eSports, Student Services, Theatre, & Transportation
F E E S
8.8%
FOE BONDS
G E N E R A L
7.9% HEALTH CENTER
WADSWORTHBRUIN.COM 3
THE BRUIN NEWS
ROUNDABOUT TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN PLACE OF INTERSECTION @WadsworthBruin BY DYLAN HEPPERT
BY JANAE JOACHIM
nearing the end of their useful life, and the amount of accidents at this intersection has began to pose a safety concern. “When you have a higher speed limit road like state Route 57 intersecting at a stoplight intersection with Seville Road,
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Number of Accidents
oute 57 and Seville Road’s intersection will be changing from a signalized intersection into a roundabout in order to slow down traffic and make the road safer, with construction starting during spring 2022 and lasting around three months. “We have been gearing up for that project for like the last five years,” said Robert Patrick, Director of Public Service. A change is needed at the The rendered image of the future roundabout has been produced by engineers i n t e r s e c t i o n and shared on the city of Wadsworth’s website. Engineers utilized community because the feedback to help them construct this design. Photo courtesy of Vicky McCauley traffic signals are
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The bar graph shows how many accidents have occurred at the intersection of State Route 57 and Seville Road each year since January 1, 2017. The significant number of accidents in these recent years led to the need for change at the signalized intersection. Created by Janae Joachim
{the number of rear-end accidents] can be pretty significant,” said Jim Bozigar, Project Manager of the Roundabout Project. The team did a study looking at different solutions and concluded that the roundabout was the safest of the options for safety improvements since traffic must slow down to pass through it. However, it is effective because it allows traffic to continuously flow through. “[Roundabouts] are really meant to slow down traffic,” Patrick said. Roundabouts also have generally less severe accidents than stoplight intersections and have proven to be more efficient. “Roundabouts have less conflict points than traditional intersections,” said Vicky McCauley, Wadsworth City Engineer. The project costs around 2.5 to 3 million dollars, but Patrick and his team were able to get about 1.5 million dollars in safety funds from the state to help out. “[This fund] really helps the city’s budget, not having to put that money on 100% of the project, just the smaller portion of the project,” Bozigar said. If they were to do construct a regular stop light, the team may have not gotten such a substantial amount of funds. This fund contributed to making the roundabout the most viable option because it improved the roundabout’s cost effectiveness. The construction was originally scheduled for 2023, but the team was able to move it up so that it will coincide with the Ohio Department of Transportation’s project replacing a bridge about a mile south of the roundabout project. This timing was arranged in effort to minimize traffic interruptions for the general public during the approximate three months the construction will take place.
SANTA AT DOLCE Gelato with Santa is a new event coming to Dolce at the Strand. It includes gelato and unlimited hot chocolate, as well as crafts and pictures with Santa. Tickets must be purchased before attending and are $8-15. Those wishing to go must sign up on the website, dolceatthestrand.com.
Photo courtesy of Laney Jackson
NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETY
Wadsworth High School held its ceremony for the new inductees of National Honors Society in the Performing Arts Center on November 23. Each inductee is being presented with a speech from staff and other inductees. Regan Simpson receives her certificate on stage.
THREE WADSWORTH ATHLETES SIGN COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
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BY KATIE ALLEN
adsworth
Athletics
congratulated three seniors on signing commitments to play college sports on November 10, which is National Signing Day. Signing Day is the first day student athletes can officially sign commitments to play college sports. Once everyone was present, Mr. Musgrave announced the students, then coaches spoke further about each one. Johnathon Allen committed to play baseball at
The University of Akron as a pitcher, and he will major in education. “I liked their athletic resources as well as their academic,” Allen said. They have a really good pitching coach and I felt it was a fit for me.” Matt Thompson committed to play baseball at Youngstown State University as a infielder, where he plans on majoring in business. “It was the best fit for me, I loved the coaches and talking to them,” Thompson said. “I know a few guys
there right now who like it, so that helped me decide.” Mason Brugh committed to wrestle at Ohio University next winter, and he plans on majoring in business. “I thought the campus was great and they are a really good business school there too. I really liked the coaches and the atmosphere of the team,” Brugh said. “It was a tough decision. I think I just felt at home there and when I went to visit there I felt a part of the family.”
Photo courtesy of Liz Gromofsky
SKI CLUB CANCELED
Wadsworth’s Ski Club is canceled for the 2020-2021 season. Administration felt that this Boston Mills/Brandywine ski club was not a good deal for students since the hours were reduced from four to two without a price change.
Find more stories like this on our website: Left to right, the Allen family, the Thompson family and the Brugh family sit together in the media center on National Signing Day. After signing in the media center, the families went to take more pictures in the Grizzly Den. Photo by Katie Allen
4 DECEMBER 2021
wadsworthbruin.com
NEWS THE BRUIN
FAILING MOTORS RESULT BUCK SMASHES INTO IN FAILING VAV SYSTEMS WADSWORTH SUB STATION that we do not have to wait on ordering and delivery times,” Larch said. he VAV(Variable Air Volume) The VAV system at WHS uses a systems at WHS have not been geothermal heating system. This means updated since the construction that the system uses water in the ground of the building 10 years ago. Although to heat and cool the building. When the there is nothing wrong with the system motors give out, the system gives out as itself, the motors that run the system well. are starting to fail. “The High School has geothermal This causes heating, which uses the earth’s some rooms to ground water to heat and cool the not receive a building,” Larch said. “When these comfor table motors fail, the units go into a amount of fail safe mode to protect heat. the units.” “ T h e Some motor failures building is now cause the heat to go out in some close to 10 years parts of the building, making some old,” said classrooms cold. Senior This is one of many motors that are used to Scott Larch, control the VAV system. Variable air volume Gatlin Miller says that supervisor of systems have many advantages over constant the heat occasionally facilities and air systems, including having more precise goes out in Mr. Beery’s temperature control and energy efficiency. Photo grounds. “The Courtesy of Scott Larch room. motors on “Beery’s room and the band room, get our VAV systems are starting to fail and pretty cold sometimes, “Miller said. “It’s need replaced.” not that annoying in the summer, but in The outdated motors are a known the winter it’s pretty annoying.” issue, so the school has been stocking The heating in the school uses a new motors for when the original ones variable air volume system, which means give out. that air or heat is supplied at different “We are stocking motors in house so temperatures and airflow rates.
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BY DYLAN HEPPERT
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BY LIZ GROMOFSKY
n Monday, November 15, something unexpected happened at the local business, Sub Station. A buck had busted through the front door of the business, shattering the front door and creating a wreck throughout the whole business. Carson Bernard, a junior at WHS, had just arrived for the start of his shift. “My shift started at 5 o’clock that afternoon,” Bernard said. “I was walking downtown and noticed my co-workers in the window located at the front of the restaurant.” Bernard said the next thing he noticed was the front door and all the glass on the ground. “My manager was yelling inside and telling everyone to stay calm,” Bernard said. “She told me to run away and go next door.” Once everyone was safely evacuated by the police from the restaurant, the employees waited inside the Mosaic Church next door until the deer left the restaurant. “It took at least 10 minutes until the deer ran out the back door,” Bernard said. “My co-workers told me that the deer had run through the glass door around 4:50 PM.” The deer ran loose around the restaurant and started tearing everything up. After the police escorted everyone out of the restaurant, the deer continued to tear things up.
After the deer incident, The Sub Station had been forced to shut down for that evening to clean up the damage. Customers must use the side entrance of The Sub Station to get in. Photo by Eric Heffinger
“We could hear the deer through the walls, it sounded like an earthquake was occurring,” Bernard said. “Silverware, pizza trays and pots were falling everywhere and you could hear it all through the walls.” Eventually, the deer left out the back doors. The employees were then able to view the damage the deer had caused. “The tables and chairs in the dining room were flipped all around, pots and pans in the back room were all over the place, and our kitchen was a mess,” Bernard said. “We spent from 5:15 to 9:30 cleaning up the entire restaurant.” The managers called in all the employees that work for Sub Station and some fellow neighbors from businesses downtown came to help. The restaurant is still trying to process what happened. The costs to repair the damage are still unknown.
NORTHEAST OHIO DANCE GETS INTO HOLIDAY SPIRIT
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BY LILY CHESBRO
very year for the past 25 years Northeast Ohio Dance run by Christopher and Brenda Stygar performs the Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. In the past NEOD has had the other two shows at Haddad Theater in Medina but NEOD was unable to get this theater this year. This year it will only take place at OJ Work Auditorium December 18 at 7 p.m. and December 19 at 2 p.m. Northeast Ohio Dance is a non-profit organization that teaches dancers the art of all different types of dancing including ballet, modern, jazz, tap and hip-hop. Each year auditions for younger dancers at the studio take place, usually around the middle of September to give plenty of time for show preparations. Senior and junior company members are the most advanced level at the studio and they get their casting even before the auditions from the Stygars. Rehearsals for Junior and Senior Company members take place throughout the week and the younger dancers rehearse on Sundays. Full cast rehearsals then take place on Sundays a few weeks in a row before the show. In years past, four Nutcracker shows have taken place, two in November and
two in December. This year only two shows in the beginning of the play due to the will be held. considerable amount of acting in Act I. Stygar has performed as drosselmeyer “Someone that people can find for years and Simeon Schmitt i s relatable,” Christopher said. now taking on the role. To If the audience is unable to relate effectively portray the to the character, it decreases the character of Drosselmeyer, efficiency of the show’s flow and it takes both acting and is more confusing to watch. dancing. Junior Grace Swain is “I am most excited performing a few different to see Simeon do roles this year, including D ro s s e l m eye r, ” the Dew Drop fairy,part Christopher said. of the snow corps,Waltz Choosing who fits of the Flowers corps, and best for casting is an Arabian. aspect that will make “Nutcracker time is the show really come such an exciting part of to life as close to the the year,” Swain said. original as possible. We rehearse for months “They have leading up to the actual to have a sense performance and in those of themselves,” months we go through Christopher said. a lot: people quitting, To get into injuries, illness and the character it literally any other thing you requires not only the can think of.” personality of the Lillian Morgret finishes her solo at a The two show that will character, but also Monday night rehearsal. She is starring be happening are what being able to change as the sugar plum this year. Photo by Lily will be showing off all Chesbro the individual’s traits of the dancers’ talent, to correspond with the character, especially making every bit of rehearsal time count.
“Every year we manage to pull it off though and it feels so good when we do,” Swain said. The end product is a proud moment for members of the cast. Rehearsals for Junior and Senior Company members take place throughout the week and the younger dancers rehearse on Sundays. Full cast rehearsals then take place on Sundays a few weeks in a row before the show. “The most important thing is to remember you’re there for the audience,” Stygar said. Performing is not only for the heart of the dancer, but for the audience as well. Stygar explains that this could be a show done multiple times for the dancer but the first time a person in the audience is seeing it. Riley Wenger, sophomore at WHS, is a new Sr. company member and this is her first show as a company member. “Well throughout the years, I’ve always enjoyed watching the parts of the show I wasn’t in, and seeing the changes made and how different people portrayed the same roles totally different,” Wenger said. Some dancers will have the same role multiple years in a row and over a year span, their personality and skill changes.
WADSWORTHBRUIN.COM 5
THE BRUIN OPINION
SHOULD SENIOR CITIZENS HAVE TO RETAKE THEIR DRIVERS TEST? slow down and their reaction time throughout their life can become poor. OPINION BY KADE MIROS This leads to an increase in nce a licensed driver reaches 70 accidents on roads. “Although it sucks, I think years of age, it is required for them to retake their driving test in order that a retake should be to get back on the road. This assures that required to ensure safety,” elders are still sharp on their driving skills said Carol Schweitzer, in order to keep a safe environment for Wadsworth citizen. When it comes to other drivers. “I do not think that they should have people’s safety, this law was set in place to retake their driving test,” said Meagan to assure minimal accidents. “Over time, I have definitely felt a Figuray, senior. Most people are able to get their license change in my reaction times and if a in high school starting at the age of sixteen. simple retake will determine if I get Not only do minors have to pass the drivers back on the roads or not, then I am okay with that,” said Carol, test, but they also have Wadsworth citizen. to participate in four I think that it is separate in-cars with necessary for citizens to an instructor that last retake the test because for two hours each time at the end of the day, they schedule. An online all they have to do is course and final exam is something they already required as well. do every day and be “If someone had not tested on it. It is not too only passed their driving much of a hassle and if test but also the in-cars it can keep the number and online courses, then Figuray, senior thinks that of accidents caused there is no reason for Meagan senior citizens should not be required them to retake it,” said to take their drivers test. She believes by senior citizens low, that if someone has already passed the then it makes sense to Figuray, senior. On the other hand, test, then it does not make sense for retake. them to take it again. Photo by Kade people’s reflexes can Miros
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ROUNDABOUTS LEAD TO LESS ACCIDENTS
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OPINION BY MICHAEL JIRA
oundabouts are needed in high traffic and high collision areas. Roundabouts lead to less accidents on the road and less fatalities as well. Roundabouts are much safer than traffic lights and stop signs. However, they are misused a lot. When roundabouts are misused they create accidents. They are not serious accidents though and that is what they are trying to accomplish. The United States Department of Transportation has said that roundabouts are significantly safer than stop sign and stop light intersections. However, a large percentage of the population thinks roundabouts are not needed, and sometimes worsen traffic. In roundabouts all traffic is moving the same way. So this prevents head to head collisions to happen. Collisions are often not severe in roundabouts, due to lack of speed. This means that the total number of accidents that are severe go down compared to stop sign and stop light intersections. Not only do they reduce the number of fatalities, they also reduce the number of injury accidents. Since the speed on
6 DECEMBER 2021
roundabouts is low it is hard to drive fast enough to get in a bad accident unless you are not paying attention. Roundabouts are often misused. People will get to a stop before entering when they do not need to. They will stop in the middle of the roundabout thinking they have to let the cars yielding in. All of these can result in accidents. However, roundabouts are very expensive to make. Roundabouts costs can range from $1.2 million dollars to $2.4 million dollars. While a stop light intersection can range from $250,000 to $500,000. Stop light intersections also have more maintenance costs than roundabouts, but they are only about $8,000 a year. However a new roundabout is being built on the intersection between Seville Road and Route 57. “People are not getting hit by cars very often,” said Noah Knierien. “There are a fair amount of car accidents, but I’ve never heard of someone (pedestrian) getting hit.” Roundabouts are also environmentally friendly. Cars are not sitting and idling so they are using less gas. In the big picture it will help the environment in areas where there are not as many large buildings and lots of cars.
Carol Schweitzer agrees with the laws set in place. In the state of Ohio, it is required for all licensed drivers to retake their drivers test once they reach the age of 70. This law is put in place to assure that senior citizens are sharp on their skills and to keep a calm and safe environment on the roads.
Rate of fatal crash involvements among passenger vehicle drivers 70 and older per 100,000 people. 4 3 2
Carol Schweitzer and her husband Jim Schweitzer pose for a photo. They both agree that retaking the driver’s test at age 70 years old should be required. Photo by Kade Miros
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SHOULD TEACHERS GIVE EXTRA CREDIT FOR NON-ACADEMICS OPINION BY JACKSON KERLEY
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iving students opportunities to boost their grades through extra credit assignments is a great thing that most teachers will offer by completing extra assignments or doing corrections on tests. However, handing out extra credit points for non- academic related items should not be allowed. This creates unfair opportunities to the students who have teachers that don’t give out points for certain events such as donating to the united way drive or bringing in x amount of cans for the canned food drive. “At the end of the day, the student is going out of their way to help someone in need,” said senior Laney Jackson. While these types of extra credit do encourage students to help out their communities, it should not need to be incentivized by bonus points. Having small gifts for the best class such as donuts or
candy is a better way to reward students. Some families might not be able to donate as well due to their own struggles. They might not be able to afford extra cans of food to donate and might not be able to spare a couple extra dollars to the United Way drive. Another way that these bonus points are unfair is that the students that have late arrival do not have the opportunity to get these points. As most of these events are collected in the first period, the students without a first period class do not have the opportunities as they do not have a teacher to give them points as it is. Some teachers will also give out points to people that wear Ohio state gear or Browns gear. Which is not the best if you are a fan of another team, especially a rival team. Overall giving out extra credit for nonacademic activities is not fair to those that do not have the opportunities to receive the extra credit due to the schedule, personal at home situations, and sports allegiances.
“Some kids struggle with school, and those few extra points might be all they need sometimes to give them some hope.” - Laney Jackson
“Teachers should not give extra credit to students who do better than others in non-academic related activities, because it is unfair to others, messes with grades, and defeats the purpose of extra credit itself” -Jade Wilcox
FEATURES THE BRUIN
RHYTHM IN RED PERFORMS FOR THE WADSWORTH COMMUNITY
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BY GAVIN ZEINER
hythm in Red, the top ensemble for Wadsworth High School’s choir department, is approaching their annual Holiday Tour. The group performs holiday themed music for the Wadsworth Elementary Schools and Sacred Heart to celebrate the Christmas and holiday season to give an opportunity to the kids to experience a live
performance. The Rhythm in Red goes around town going to nursing homes, The Galaxy, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Lions Club. When the high school goes to perform, they perform holiday music they’ve been practicing with the
Snowman to baby Jesus,” said Davis. The show choir does about 15 to 18, 20-minute shows but this year is different due to COVID-19 restrictions. The schools are still allowing the Rhythm in Red to come and perform their show but they are only allowing half capacity audiences so that means they have to perform the show twice. “I think it will be different, not necessarily difficult,” said Karlee Adams, senior The womens Wadsworth show choir practicing their in the choreography for their upcoming concert and show. The girls have been practicing for months for their show. Photo by Kade Miros
guidance of their director, Mrs. Davis. The high school covers a variety of Christmas songs that are different from the year before. When performing the songs the group has one featured character. “We do anything from Wadsworth choir department practices singing the songs Santa to Frosty the for the holiday concert. The choir is required to have at least one song of dancing and at least one of just singing. Photo by Kade Miros
performing for all the elementary schools, the whole choir department has a concert for the community on December ninth and tenth at Wadsworth High School. Tickets go on sale for the community after Thanksgiving. The entire choir department contains about 220 students within five groups. The choirs work in class everyday rehearsing and learning the choreography. Mrs. Davis teaches the songs to the students and the choir department hired paid choreographers Philip Crawshaw,Tara Tober, and J. Jones. The students spend the entire period plus their academic lab occasionally to dedicate time to learn the performance.
Wadsworth choir department. “Yes, we dance and move a lot, on top of having to sing, but it’s also really fun! So performing twice as much will be an exciting adjustment.” On top of
Both the boys and girls show choirs performing together for preparation of their shows. The choir practices different vocal parts called sectionals where they go over every song that is specific to their part . Photo by Kade Miros
WADSWORTH COPS AND KIDS EVENT RETURNS TO NORMAL AFTER COVID-19
shared that he is still in contact with some Wadsworth High School. officers. EMT, and firefighters of the families he had previously. Smith also Wadsworth police officers from Wadsworth, shared that some of the kids that he had in BY ASHLEY ALLWOOD along with fire and EMS Doylestown, Rittman the past wanted to spend their money on were selling raffle and Ohio State their siblings. ops and Kids is a program Highway Patrol. tickets for the “Seeing the kids’ eyes light up when they throughout the city of Wadsworth Every year the community to realize they can buy whatever they want is that is designed to take event is held be entered into incredible. But my absolute favorite thing to underprivileged kids shopping to brighten at the Grace a drawing to see is when kids use some of their money to their holiday for their whole family. The Cops L u t h e r a n win different buy gifts for siblings and parents. It really and Kids event used to be called Shop with Church. prizes such makes you emotional and reminds you how a Cop but the State Fraternal Order of Police as a Nintendo Ever yone pure a child’s heart is,” said Officer Daniel Lodge changed the name. They changed the starts with Switch, a “Tour Shonk, a resource officer for Wadsworth name to match what the state was doing. b r e a k f a s t of Wadsworth” schools. Typically, there are 20 or more kids that are that basket, and an was This event will be held on December 4, submitted and selected by the Wadsworth made by the Advanced Winter 2021. Police department to get paired up with firefighters and Driving t h e n everyone Experience t a k e s from Drive pictures. After Team. The ever yone is done Wadsworth Police Officers shop at target m o n e y e a t i n g with a full cart of toys for the holiday season. r a i s e d Many of the kids parents go with the child by ticket and taking when they shop. Photo by Daniel Shonk. sales and pictures, donations ever yone jumps into a convoy of safety are used to purchase the gift vehicles where they turn on for the children that were the lights and the sirens to go selected for the Cops and Kids event. shopping. Ben Smith, a resource officer “The kids and the safety forces love it, it’s the best event at Wadsworth High School, has of the year,” said Ben been a part of this event for Wadsworth Police Officers smile with some of the kids chosen to Smith, resource officer in the past three years. Smith Wadsworth Police Officers shop at target with the kids that were chosen. Each kid gets a police badge sticker to wear when they are
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shop with a cop. The kids chosen attend the elementary schools in Wadsworth. Photo by Ben Smith.
shopping. Photo by Daniel Shonk.
WADSWORTHBRUIN.COM 7
THE BRUIN IN-DEPTH
T H E BY ARI KASER
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HISTORY
STATUE LOCATIONS
ne statue. Three stories. Five countries. The Boy with the Leaky Boot stands in over 20 cities in the United States alone, carrying his story with him, but it is an urban legend. The statue was only intended to be a fountain, but it has become the symbol of many towns across the world. According to RoadsideAmerica.com, the statue was originally created and made its first appearance in a company catalogue, believed to be J.L. Mott Iron Works of New York City, in the late 1800s. J.L. Mott Iron Works was a company that specialized in plumbing parts and fixtures. Fountains were one of these things. The original name of the fountain was The Unfortunate Boot, which continues to be used today by some of the towns located across the US. There are multiple stories that surround the statue of the boy. Wadsworth’s story focuses on a young boy being hailed as a hero during the time of the Civil War. According to Roger Havens, president of the Wadsworth Historical Society, the boy was searching for his older brother, and in doing so, ended up bringing dying soldiers water through his boot. There are other accounts of his story in multiple towns. One legend, as stated in RoadsideAmerica. com says that he was a newspaper boy that drowned while fishing. Another legend that is noted in RoadsideAmerica.com states that he was a little fireman that used his boot to transport water in a bucket brigade. There are still towns that have no story attached to the boy. Sandusky, Ohio is one of these cities. “We actually do not have a story to my knowledge,”
There are 20 locations in the United States that have this statue in their town. There are more locations around the world, including towns in Canada, Venezuela and Cuba. Graphic by Ari Kaser.
8 DECEMBER 2021
OF THE BOY
said Thomas Horsman, communications manager of Sandusky. Despite not having a legend attached to their statue, Sandusky has made the boy the symbol of the city. “At one point, I forget the year, the city commission of Sandusky voted to make it the symbol of Sandusky,” said Horsman. Sandusky has two statues that are on display to the public. According to Horsman, the original statue was bought by a hotel owner in downtown Sandusky in 1895 for the intent of furnishing the park that was right next to his hotel. This statue is now in the lobby of the Sandusky City Hall. The second is a bronze cast replica of the original statue that was created in the early 1990s. This version stands in a fountain in Sandusky’s Washington Park. Salida, Colorado is a town that can be considered to be unusual in a sense that they still display their original statue outdoors. Salida has had their statue for over 131 years and according to Bob Campbell, a volunteer at the Salida Museum, the statue went under major restoration in 1994. Restoration of the Salida statue included taking out the rusted insides of the statue and replacing it with stainless steel as well as repainting the statue of the boy. According to Campbell, Salida’s statue stands on the grounds of an old railroad hospital, which is now the town’s city and county building. Other towns have had to make copies of their statues as well due to vandalism. Stevens Point, Wisconsin has three versions of their statue. Stevens Point is a college town and because of this, incidents of severe vandalism have occurred over the years. “In a college town like this, our statue was getting
WITH THE
vandalized every five years or so,” said Lieutenant Travis Koch, a firefighter for Stevens Point. “Someone would come and try to steal it, or at one point it was decapitated.” In 1988, Stevens Point’s original statue of the boy was decapitated, a hole punched through its chest as well as the base was broken. After this incident, a concrete replica was made, but after a while, weathering began to affect the look of the boy. In 2013, a fiberglass mold was made and it is this version that stands in front of the fire station at Stevens Point. Wadsworth regained their statue in 2014 after not having him for about seventy years. Sandusky lent Wadsworth their bronze cast statue nine years ago to be used as a model for the statue that is now in downtown Wadsworth. Wadsworth purchased a statue from the original catalogue in the late 1800s and it stood in the strip that separated the traffic lanes High Street, or more commonly known as Route 94. According to Havens, the original statue was taken down at the beginning of World War II when scrap metal was needed to fuel the war effort. According to Havens, the statue is a visual reminder of the people who made the utmost sacrifice for the United States. Although the story is an urban legend for the city, the statue and his story has and will remain a part of Wadsworth’s history as well as a symbol of the city. “It will provide an area where locals and visitors can reflect and remember all the soldiers that once served, or who currently serve, in our military forces,” Havens said to the Akron Beacon Journal in an article about the Boy with the Leaky Boot.
This photo was taken in the 1920s in Wadsworth, Ohio when the statue stood in the strip across from Ann’s Bakery in downtown Wadsworth. This is the original statue that was purchased in the late 1800s from J.L. Motts Iron Works. Photo courtesy of Roger Havens.
IN-DEPTH THE BRUIN
T h i s statue stands in front of the fire station at Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It has stood in front of the fire station since the original statue was hit by a carriage around the 1920s. Photo courtesy of Lieutenant Travis Koch.
The B o y with the Leaky Boot statue in Salida, Colorado taken around the turn of the twentieth century. Photo courtesy of Bob Campbell.
This is an original catalogue from J.L. Mott Iron Works in 1889. The iron company has not made anything since the early years of the 1900s. Before its closing, the company specialized in fountains and other plumbing fixtures. Drawing by J.L. Mott Iron Works company.
This is Sandusky’s original statue that stands in the lobby of the Sandusky City Hall. A copy of this statue was made in the 1990s and now stands in a fountain in Washington Park. Photo courtesy of Thomas Horsman.
THE LEGEND OF THE BOY WITH THE LEAKY BOOT STORY BY ROGER HAVENS, PRESIDENT OF WADSWORTH HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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popular legend about the Boy with the Leaky Boot started during the American Civil War. There were many fierce and bloody battles during this war that killed and wounded thousands of men and boys. Many of these conflicts took place in open fields and meadows. Lines of people faced off in these pitched battles and fired their rifles in close proximity toward their ‘enemy’, which ironically, may have been a blood relative. Their rifles were of the one-shot variety that used a lead ball and needed to be reloaded after each shot. These rifles were not accurate in their shooting range which meant the shooters had to advance closely in relation to their target. After each battle, the troops retreated and left the dead and wounded behind for the medics and clean up patrol to deal with the victims. According to one legend, a young boy witnessed one of these battles due to the fact that his brother was a participant. It was not unusual for family members to ‘follow’ troops to observe battles and such. The child watched as the troops from the North and the South collided on an open rolling hill and valley setting. The boy
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observed from a wooded area atop a hill. After several hours of thundering explosions and rifle shots, the opposing forces retreated in opposite directions and left the scene. The boy was numb and bewildered after observing such an event; the bloodiest and longest one he had ever witnessed. His first instinct was to look for his brother, not knowing whether he was a victim or retreating off the field with the other weary soldiers. He moved cautiously through the sea of bloodied bodies trying in vain to find his sibling. At one point, he was grabbed by his ankle by a fallen soldier. He directed his attention downward to see a suffering individual gasping for his last breath. In agony, he asked the boy for a drink of water. The startled boy stated he had no water upon him to give him. The soldier pointed to the boy’s boots and said, “You have boots and there is a creek running along the bottom of the hill, you can scoop up some water for me!” The boy, feeling sorry for the struggling troop, trotted down to the creek. He quickly removed both of his boots and filled them to the brim. He immediately trudged back up the hill to the dying soldier. By the time he arrived, the holes in his boots had totally drained the water contained within.
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The soldier offered up a practical solution: fill just one boot and use his free hand to cover the gaping hole at the toe of the better boot. The boy did as he was instructed and was able to serve the soldier his last sip of water. The soldier smiled, and his life slipped away. Other soldiers in the field witnessed this act and begged the boy to bring them water. The boy continued to trot down to the creek and retrieve water for others. He continued this process for the remainder of the day until the recovery parties arrived. For the survivors, he became a hero who they affectionately named, the Boy with a Leaky Boot. The boy did not find his brother that day. He moved on searching through companies of soldiers and visiting new battlefields. He continued to use his boot to deliver water to fallen soldiers. The boy eventually returned home and his family erected a monument that was placed in a local cemetery to memorialize his missing brother. The name of this child, his brother and family continue to be a mystery; however, hundreds of monuments were placed in cemeteries throughout the North under similar circumstances. Woodlawn Cemetery in Wadsworth has several such monuments and headstones. Could one of them be the Boy with a Leaky Boot’s brother? Possibly…
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WADSWORTHBRUIN.COM 9
SPEAKOUT THE BRUIN
WHS HOLIDAY TRADITIONS W
BY HALEY REEDY
adsworth High School’s Winter Break starts December 17 and ends on January 3. WHS has a lot of different traditions during the holiday season, from visiting relatives to traveling, both staff and students have lots of plans for their winter break. Some students’ and staffs’ traditions include time with family and good food.
Grace Barrett, 10 “My family makes cinnamon rolls every year so when we wake up on Christmas we always have them. I really love to wake up in the morning to that smell.” Mrs. Rohrer, Biology Teacher “Every year, a day or two after Christmas, we rent a cabin somewhere in the mountains and take our boys there for a few days.”
Mr. Callaghan, English Teacher “My family and I spend the day with my wife’s family, there’s always a lot of games we play, food we eat, and laughing.”
Drew Bowerman, 10 “The atmosphere in general is my favorite. It’s not really a tradition it’s just the over all feeling that you have with your family. The togetherness is my favorite part.”
Patrick Bowman, 10 “Eating good food and hanging out with family and friends.” Ollie Smith, 9 “I like looking for the pickle ornament on Christmas and making gingerbread houses.”
Ian Clark-Kelly, 11 “I really like spending time with my grandparents and my family, plus Christmas lights.”
10 DECEMBER 2021
THE BRUIN ENTERTAINMENT
HOLIDAY PHOTOS THEN & NOW BY GRACE PANTALONE & MASON BURTON
LAYOUT BY HALEY REEDY
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hether it be with friends or family, holiday photos are one of the best ways to capture memories. WHS students have submitted their photos from past years and current years to show their “then and now” transformations with family and friends. This collection of photos includes current students and future students, do you recognize any of them?
Happy Holidays
Regan, senior and Reese Simpson, freshman, pose for a photo in front of their Christmas tree. First taken in 2012, the sisters recreated the photo before going to school in 2021. Photo courtesy of Regan Simpson.
Happy Holidays
from the Simpsons
Joe, Tyler and Kiera MacDowell pose for a photo in front of the wreath on the MacDowell’s front porch. Photo courtesy of Kristen MacDowell
Happy Holidays The photo above was taken in 2012, Carson, 7 years old, and Drew Bernard, 4 years old, pose for a photo with cookies and milk left out for Santa. Now the brothers, Carson a junior and Drew an eighth grader, recreated the photo in 2021. Photo courtesy of Carson Bernard
from the Bernards
THE BEST & WORST CHRISTMAS MOVIES
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BY SYDNEY DAILY
he students at Wadsworth High School voted on the best and worst Christmas movies to watch during the “Elf will always be holiday season. 26% of the a classic, and I love students voted Elf as the best film to watch. National the humor and how Lampoon’s Christmas it can be for all ages” Vacation came in a close second with 20% of the -Julia Fortner, Junior votes. 34% of the students voted any Lifetime movie as the worst Christmas movies to watch during the holidays. Jack Frost came in at a close second with 23% of the votes as the worst movie. As of 2021 Lifetime has produced about 88 movies. Their movies started playing on November 12 and they will continue to play until December 25.
“Elf is a wholesome and super funny movie even after the first time you watch it.” - Brianna Perkins, Sophomore
“Lifetime movies are all the same” - Kyleigh Johnson, Sophomore
“Lifetime movies are boring and not very funny” - Ethan Green, Sophomore
THE FINAL RESULTS NICE
1. Elf 2.Christmas Vacation 3. Home Alone 4. The Polar Express 5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
NAUGHTY
1. Lifetime Movies 2. Jack Frost 3. A Christmas Story 4.The Polar Express 5. Elf These results are based off a survey that was sent out to the students of WHS.
WADSWORTHBRUIN.COM 11
FEATURE THE BRUIN
NOAH REEVES: COMPETITIVE TRAPSHOOTER BY LUKE HOUSER
Shooters will move from station to station and shoot targets from 16 yards behind oah Reeves, a senior at the target launcher. If the shooter hits Wadsworth High School, the target as it flies through the air, takes part in a sport known the shooter will get a point. The goal as trapshooting. Reeves has been is for the squad to hit every clay taking part in trapshooting since he that is launched in order to earn the was in the seventh grade. highest possible “We went to [the Copley Trap score. Range] and we tried it and Most I liked it,” said competitions Reeves. consist of the T h e competitors Copley shooting 25 shots T r a p in a round, and Range is a then shooting eight trapshooting center separate rounds. where shooters of This means that at all ages can take each competition, part in recreational competitors will shoot trapshooting. It is 200 times. also the home of the “[Being considered] good Buckeye Chippewa for varsity would probably be Trapshooting Team, which [shooting] a 197 [out of 200] and is a youth team that competes on above,” said Reeves. “Once you a national level. miss about five [shots] you’re out “[My step dad] had already done of the competition for first place.” it before so we just started In order to achieve going every weekend,” Noah Reeves stands with his gun and his a high score, Reeves said. must medals. This is his last year playing as a competitors Trapshooting is a form high schooler before joining a collegiate practice a lot. of target shooting where team. Photo courtesy of Noah Reeves. “I shoot at least the shooter attempts a hundred rounds to hit flying clay targets before they get every weekend, so that’s about 4 rounds too far away. There are five shooters in a of trap every weekend,” said Reeves. “[And squad, and each shooter will take turns that’s] for the whole year, even right now attempting to shoot a moving clay target. when it’s freezing cold out, every week. In
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the regular season it’s way more, it’s like 198.” said Reeves. “Haven’t shot a perfect 300 rounds a week at least.” hundred yet but that’s kinda the hope this After some time shooting recreationally, coming year.” Reeves was invited by the Because Reeves is a senior in Buckeye Chippewa Trapshooting “Haven’t shot a high school, he will have one more Team to shoot competitively. season of youth trapshooting. perfect hundred “So we started shooting After that, he plans to shoot for a yet, but that’’s recreationally and it was fun and college team. then I loved it and the coaches kinda the hope “[This season] will be my last were like, ‘hey, we have a for this coming season for high school and then competition team, you wanna be year.” next fall I plan to shoot for a on it?’” said Reeves. collegiate team,” said Reeves. -NOAH REEVES Nowadays Reeves focuses on Reeves has been invited to four trapshooting as his primary sport. separate colleges specifically to “The best out of a hundred for trap shoot on their teams. Reeves me is a 99, and the best out of 200 is a is currently deciding between two of these schools; Lindenwood and Drury University. Both schools have teams that Reeves would be interested in shooting for. Of the two, however, Reeves states that he prefers Drury over Lindenwood because Drury has more well rounded shooters as opposed to Lindenwood, which focuses on having shooters specialized to just one type of trapshooting. As for his current team, Reeves has been shooting for Buckeye Chippewa for a while now. According to Reeves, Buckeye Chippewa usually does well as a team and last year placed for several national titles. Reeves said that he plans on continuing to shoot trap competitively for the Noah Reeves stands at a station while preparing to shoot. rest of his life. After graduating There are five of these stations that he must shoot at to from college there are still several complete his round of 25 shots. Photo courtesy of Noah opportunities such as collegiate Reeves. shooting or recreational shooting.
TANDEM COUPLE TAKES ON WADSWORTH BY LIZ GROMOFSKY
little show for the kids,” said Patrick. “That hit Facebook and people started hether you have seen them contacting us to come and see their downtown or dressed up families. We took advantage of all those spreading holiday cheer, the requests and we visited many places tandem biking couple is very popular and neighborhoods.” Visiting these people took lots of within the city of Wadsworth. Sue and Patrick Wemmer are the faces who ride logistical work in order to figure out when tandem throughout the community and and where the Wemmer’s needed to be often can be found spreading joy and and on what day. The Wemmer’s have been biking kindness to kids and adults alike. “It briefly started last Halloween,” said together since they first started dating. “We started biking together on the Wemmer’s. “But that got so much attention that people started telling us to individual bikes when we met 27 years ago,” said the Wemmers. “We enjoyed come back as Santa.” The Wemmer’s love to see the joy it that but it is not conducive to carrying on brings to everyone when they dress up a conversation.” Before purchasing a tandem bike, and bike around town. “One person asked us to come visit the Wemmer’s had never tried tandem their quarantined kids and we put on a biking. “We both retired in 2015 on the same day from separate places,” said the Wemmers. “The next day we woke up and said ‘Let’s go buy a tandem bike’. We ironically went down to Pete’s in Massillon and told the people at the store that we wanted to buy the tandem bike.” When telling the salespeople that they wanted to purchase the bike, the people in the store laughed. “They said we can’t sell you one until Patrick and Sue Wemmer are dressed up as Santa you ride one,” said the Wemmers. “They told us that buying this bike was either Clause and Frosty the Snowman last Christmas. The couple enjoys dressing up for holidays and going to make our marriage stronger spreading cheer around the community. Photo or weaker. We have come to find out courtesy of Sue and Patrick Wemmer. that when riding a tandem we must
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12 DECEMBER 2021
Patrick and Sue Wemmer pose in front of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The couple biked to Washington D.C. from Pittsburgh on their 400 mile bike trip they took earlier in November. Photo courtesy of Sue and Patrick Wemmer.
communicate.” Patrick is the captain, because he sits in the front and steers the bike. Sue is the stoker because she sits in the back. “I can’t see in front of me,” said Sue. “I can only see side to side or his back so we must communicate when he is turning or when there is a bump because otherwise I will go flying off the bike.” The Wemmer’s have traveled many miles on their bike. Their most recent trip, however, was nothing like they had ever done before. “We have done lots of 50 and 60 mile trips on our bikes,” said Patrick. “We will ride to Cleveland and back but we had never strung two or three of these trips together in a row. We were curious to see how our endurance was.”
The couple packed up their tandem bike and drove to Pittsburgh, where they then rode from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. This trip was a total of 400 miles on the tandem bike. “These two trails are marked as some of the best in the world,” said the Wemmer’s. “We were both so sad when it ended because we were with nature and with the one we loved.” The couple stayed in bed and breakfasts along the way. “We have found that touring cities like Washington D.C. is much more convenient on two wheels,” said Sue. The Wemmer’s are pretty safe while riding, always wearing their helmets. However, last year on Christmas Eve the couple almost had an accident. “While dressed in our Santa and Frosty costumes, we were peddling by the open field on Johnson road when several deer almost ran us over as they crossed the street,” said the Wemmers. “It was super dark so we did not see them.” Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the couple has biked close to 6,000 miles. “We want to thank our fine neighbors of Wadsworth for responding so well to our antics,” said the Wemmer’s. “We often find when we ride through different neighborhoods we are met with warm greetings, frantic waves and well wishes.” The main purpose of the tandem biking couple is to spread cheer throughout the community, and everyday the Wemmer’s strive to achieve their goal.
ADS THE BRUIN
WADSWORTHBRUIN.COM 13
THE BRUIN SPORTS
UPCOMING BOWLING SEASON STRIKES AHEAD BY KATIE ALLEN
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fter three weeks of open lanes and two days of tryouts, Wadsworth’s bowling team is set to start the season with a strike. Not long after the team’s first few practices they will go into the Pre-Season Suburban League Tournament. This year, Wadsworth will be hosting this tournament at T&M Lanes in Brunswick. Then, the tournament will count as 20 percent as each team’s score at the end of the season. Returning bowlers such as Jade Moehring, a sophomore at Wadsworth High School, can not wait to get back for another year. She talked about how she is ready to get back to her favorite parts of the team. “I most look forward to hanging out with my friends, getting to know the game better and improving my score this year,”
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Moehring said. The bowling team is coached by the brother and sister duo, George Steele and Heidi Steele. George coaching the boys team and Heidi coaching the girls team. “I’m looking forward to making a run at the Suburban League Championship this season, for both boys and girls,”George said. “Along with a successful season, that’s what I’m looking forward to.” After a year of shortened numbers, due to COVID-19, the team is back to the normal number of bowlers. “I think on the girls’ side we have a lot of experience and a lot of youth, but it’s a good combination, so it just depends on how much the newer bowlers can catch on to the swing with the older ones,” George said. “We have some great mentors though, so I think good with the girls. The boys team, we got numbers, we got really solid bowlers. The boys team looks strong, I don’t want to put a prediction on it, but it could be a great season for the boys.” This season being George’s ninth season as a coach and Heidi’s eighth. “We are very young, but so far in practice we are doing really well,” Heidi said. “I’m really excited for this season to see how it goes.”
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3 1. Casey Hagenbaugh, senior prepares for preseason tournament during practice. Hagenbaugh is one of the two seniors on the girls team, along with one of the captains for the girls. Photo by Katie Allen 2. The bowling team practices at Kolony Bowling Alley after two weekend tournaments. On Saturday in the Pre-season Tournament the boys scored 3,538 pinsand the girls scored 2,327 pins. On Sunday in the Medina County Tournament the boys scored 3,596 pins and the girls scored 2,484 pins. Photo by Katie Allen 3. Justin Sisouphanh, a senior and bowler of four years. Over the Pre-season Tournament and Medina County Tournament he scored a average of 283 pins. Photo by Katie Allen
14 DECEMBER 2021
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SWIMMER BY LIAM RUSSEL
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hen looking at high school sports, people tend to look past swimming. What people do not realize is that swimmers are amongst the hardest working athletes. Swim season takes place during the winter sports season and all practices are held in the Wadsworth YMCA pool. Autumn Reeves is the head coach of both the boys and the girls team. Matt Pavlak and Cindy Beeman are the assistant coaches. Swim practices are held both before and after school Monday through Saturday. Morning practices are held 6am-7am and 3pm-5pm after school. The team is split into three groups, the Red group, the Pink group and the White group. The red group practices every morning and every day after school as well as Saturday mornings. The pink group practices Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, every day after school and Saturday morning; the white group only practices after school and Saturday mornings. “For an average workout after school we will start with a warm-up which consists of normally 1,000 yards, then we go into our main sets and it’s roughly 3,000 yards,” said
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Mary Dean, sophomore. “When practicing, it is important to think of stroke technique,” Reeves said. “In order to get stronger in the pool, you need to work on being efficient with your stroke. This includes working on DPS [distance per stroke]. We also work on turns and start to help with our performance in the pool.” The swim team must work to maximize their distance per stroke in order to get better times. They also have to know how to control their breathing so that they do not have to slow down to take a breath. “We do many breathing exercises to build lung capacitys,” Reeves said. “We call it breath control.” Zefrum Sykora, senior, has been swimming since freshman year. “We do breath control about once a week, that’s basically swimming 25 meters without breathing,” Sykora said. Unfortunately, people do not seem to realize how hard swimmers work. The team has a total of 9 dual meets, 2 Invitationals, Suburban League and then they start tournaments of Sectional, Districts and States in February. They are also practicing almost every day of the week multiple times a day, while maintaining good enough grades in order to be eligible.
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1. Swimmers prepare to start their dives. Practicing these often helps the swimmers perfect their technique. Photo courtesy of Janae Joachim. 2. Swimmers take off out of their dive. A strong start can make or break a race. Photo courtesy of Janae Joachim. 3. Coach Beeman works with the swim team. The team had just finished a workout. Photo courtesy of Janae Joachim.
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SPORTS THE BRUIN
REIMER ROAD SPORTS TAKE THE UPPER-HAND Christian Schools of Ohio (ICSO) Athletic Conference and uses OHSAA eimer Road Church started a rules as a reference. sports program in 2010 and is Katie Demiter, a junior at continuously adding new sports Wadsworth High School, has been and creating opportunities for student playing volleyball at Reimer Road for athletes. The program’s mascot is five years. Demiter learned about the the Golden Eagles and it is run like program through church. a regular school team except it has “I began going to church at Reimer Road at age ten,” Demiter said. “The volleyball coach was my Sunday School teacher and talked me into going to an open gym.” The Golden Eagles volleyball program was successful this year with a record of 9-4 in their league Alex Lazzaretti, number 22, poses with his teammates from the 2020- and 20-9 overall. 2021 basketball season. The Golden Eagles went 15-8 last season. At the beginning of Photo courtesy of Alex Lazaretti. the 2021 season, the Golden Eagles won the athletes from various cities, including Summer Slam Tournament and then Wadsworth, Norton, Highland, and went on to place fourth at the league other surrounding communities. championships. Reimer Road offers basketball, Another successful program soccer, and volleyball for high school that many Wadsworth High School and junior high athletes. Each students are involved in is Reimer team competes in the Independent Road Church’s basketball program.
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BY BROOKE BAUGHMAN
Alex Lazzaretti, a senior at Wadsworth going to our championship game but High School, is getting ready to play we couldn’t because of COVID-19,” his fourth season with Reimer Road. Zupan said, “so, I am looking forward He was introduced to the program by to this year.” To join any of the sports teams, one his friend Adam Rydarowicz. “Lots of cool guys have come would contact the head coach and through, some from Wadsworth, eventually try out for the team or go and some from around the area,” to a few practices to get a taste of the environment. Lazzaretti said. “The team has consistently won games since my freshman year and I think this year we will be able to do the same thing. It’s a good environment and Coach Turner is a great guy.” Jesaray Zupan, a junior at Wadsworth High School, also plays basketball for Reimer Road. Zupan plays softball for the high school and heard about the basketball program from a few of her teammates. This upcoming season will be her second year and she believes the team is going Katie Demiter, number 15, and her volleyball teammates from the most recent 2021 season huddle up before the next set to be good. begins. The Golden eagles had a record of 20-9 overall. Photo “Last year near the end courtesy of Katie Demiter. of our season we were
GYMNASTICS TEAM STRIVES FOR PERFECTION
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BY JULIA SWAIN
to prevent injuries,” Goodson said. “If someone is hurting we try to modify things so they can still work out but hopefully won’t further their injuries.” Last season, the gymnastics team graduated three seniors, leaving a gap that the rest of the team has had to step up and fill. “With the loss of last year’s seniors who greatly helped lead our team, we are trying to incorporate our very talented incoming freshmen into what we hope to be another very successful season.” Goodson shared similar sentiments. “After last year we lost some talent with the seniors that left, but we are hopeful that with all the new girls that came out this year that we will be able to have another great season,” Goodson said. In addition to
enacity. Skill. Endurance. Coordination. These are all words that can be used to describe a sport that few know a lot about. The perseverance and mental toughness required for the sport can seem daunting, but the gymnasts of Wadsworth High School embrace this idea. “I deal best with the intensity of the sport through my teammates,” said Addie Beck, junior on the Wadsworth High School gymnastics team that went 7-0 last season.“They are like family to me and are so supportive and helpful when I’m having an off day.” Additionally, doing such a demanding sport comes with risks. The high level of demand that the sport puts on the gymnasts bodies lends itself to a high chance of injuries, as around 100,000 gymnasts are injured a year, making it one of the highest injury rates among girls’ sports. Beck shared her experience with injuries. “Luckily I have not encountered any major injuries but others on the team have and it Wadsworth gymnastics poses for a team picture. The team is looking to is definitely a hard continue their success this season following an undefeated 7-0 record last thing to come back season. Photo courtesy of Addie Beck from,” Beck said. Sydney Goodson, senior, shared how having good technique and athleticism, she and her teammates try to prevent having an ample amount of experience injuries. can provide a very valuable asset to a “We stretch and condition at the team. beginning and end of every practice As a senior, Goodson shared how she has
tried to incorporate her experience into her gymnastics. “Having previous gymnastics experience is really helpful, as there is specific gym etiquette that you need to have in the gym at practice and at meets,” Goodson said, “It’s hard to explain this to people that have never competed.” Beck also shared how helpful it is to come in with a lot of experience with the sport. “A l t h o u g h many come Addie Beck, Sydney Goodson and Jensen Heppner flash a thumbs up as they hang in with no upside down from the bar. The gymnastics team will host Sandy Valley Jr/Sr High experience at School on December 13 for their first meet of the season. Photo courtesy of Addie Beck all, having some has helped me immensely by giving me a attitude and have fun.” Beck shared similar goals. good foundation of skills to be able “For this season I personally am to help the team to do well as well as allowing me to better understand the trying to compete all [of my] upgraded complicated scoring and skill values,” routines from last year as well as trying to get over some mental blocks to score Beck said. Goodson shared her goals for the better overall,” Beck said. “As for the season, both for herself and for the team team, we are definitely hoping to have another undefeated season like last as a whole. “Some goals I have for myself is year as well as bonding overall as a to continue to work hard to get new team.” The Wadsworth gymnastics team will upgrades and skills. One of our goals for the team is to just have fun and work compete in their first meet on December 13 at home against Sandy Valley Jr/Sr hard,” Goodson said. “The competition changes every year High School. so you never know what to expect, so we are just trying to go into it with a positive
WADSWORTHBRUIN.COM 15
WHAT’S TRENDING THE BRUIN
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE FOR ANYONE
FOR FRIENDS
BY KATIE GRIFFIN
“Blankets are my go to gift idea. You can never have too many of them. You can buy them at Target for around $5 and you can even pick out a pattern that the person would like.” - Abigail Kissinger, sophomore.
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ith the holidays right around the corner, gift buying is currently at its peak. An important part of gift giving is making sure you have the perfect gift for its intended recipient. Students and staff around Wadsworth High School have given their opinions on what the best gifts are. From friends to grandparents, WHS has you covered with their unique ideas.
“Fuzzy socks are great. They don’t cost very much, but they are enough to show that you care, and you can never have too many. ” - Brynne McAllister, sophomore.
FOR ART LOVERS FOR GRANDPARENTS
FOR MOMS, FRIENDS, & SISTERS
“An art set could be fun. Even just art supplies are perfect for your friends or anyone who likes art.” - Madeline Kinch, junior.
“I love receiving homemade gifts. I think making homemade hot chocolate jars would be perfect for the holiday season. You can even pair it with a new mug, They sell them at Target for only a couple of dollars. Grandparents love homemade gifts, so this is perfect for them.” - Ellie Heckler, sophomore.
FOR THE “I DON’T NEED ANYTHING” PERSON “I think bath bombs are a great gift. They will work for your friends, sisters, or even your mom. They’re a useful gift and can inspire a relaxing night for the people in your life.” - Haley Keith, sophomore.
FOR MOMS “Candles could be a really good gift for your mom.” Bath & Body Works has winter and holiday candles that are perfect for the holiday season.” - Jeremy Barnes, Senior.
FOR PARENTS “Surprise your parents with something helpful. Clean the house, do the laundry, make dinner. Anything that gives them some free time.” - Jason Jurey, WHS science teacher.
FOR FRIENDS & SISTERS FOR ANYONE “Candy is one of my favorite gifts to give around the holiday season. It’s easy to get and everyone likes it. With holiday candy in season, you can buy your friends more unique kinds of candy too.” - Lezlie Tinney, freshman.
All photos by Katie Griffin.
“Nike products are a good present idea. They are universal to everyone, but they’re always a good present for the people who say they don’t need anything.” - Hailey Harris, sophomore.
FOR GIRLFRIENDS “I think initial necklaces are really cute. They are a perfect gift for your significant other or even just your friends.” - Anna Wallace, sophomore.
“Frog hats are a really cute gift. They’re super trendy and perfect for friends or sisters.” - Kat Wilkinson, junior.
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