seniors signing away

The
Kiln
Morton High School
A publication of Journalistic Writing
March 8, 2011
SENIORS SIGNING AWAY
Siera The Saluki
By: Taylor Hartmann
Holly Bennett:
Soccer Player
with ‘Grace’
By: Katelyn Ifft and Riley Rummel
Holly Bennett has been playing soccer for a
long time. In fact, her love for the game started
when she was 5 years old.
“I had just told my mom that I did not want to
play soccer when she asked me about it. Then I
saw a game on TV, and was like, ‘Whoa mom!
I want to play soccer!’” said Holly.
Soccer has given Holly confidence, and a
passion that has followed her into high school,
and next year, college. She signed with Grace
College in Winona Lake, Indiana, last year.
For Holly, it felt amazing to be signed with
this college. “It was a good feeling last year
when I signed, because I didn’t have to worry
about where I was going to college. I could just
relax,” she said.
Grace College is a small, Christian college located on a lake in Indiana. According to Holly,
it has an awesome campus and everyone is really nice there. She is really looking forward to
being a part of the soccer team there, because
all of her teammates love Jesus, and both they
and the coach are really nice.
Holly’s time on the team begins before school
resumes in the fall. The Grace College soccer
team is going on a mission’s trip to Japan this
summer. Holly is really looking forward to this
trip as well as the team aspect.
Over the years, Holly has played for numerous rec soccer teams, Morton Blaze, and the
MHS soccer team. She has enjoyed everything
about being on the high school soccer team,
especially all of the new friends she has made.
She is going to miss these friends dearly, because she loved them a lot!
Holly is not the only one proud of her accomplishment. The MHS varsity soccer coach, Mr.
Deters, has seen Holly play for four years now,
and is very pleased by what he has seen.
“Holly is a very accomplished player. She
seems to be content, and the college fits her
future plans,” said Mr. Deters.
Siera Hasler committed herself to playing
tennis at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale next year. She made her decision
on going there over Thanksgiving break.
“I chose Southern because they have a
really good tennis program and I can get a
good education there,” said Siera. Siera is
planning on majoring in business.
She started taking tennis lessons the
summer before 8th grade and has kept up
with it since. Siera’s mom and grandma
are both great cheerleaders to her and they
also play tennis. The reason why Siera
started playing tennis was because her
family played in high school.
She went to state both her junior and senior year. Her double’s partner was Kelli
Martin her junior year and Jessica Martin
her senior year.
“My favorite memory was playing doubles
at state against the team that finished 2nd
overall,” said Siera.
Also her senior year of tennis she was a
captain along with; Ashley Bohnker, Jessica Martin, and Paige Maurer. She really
enjoyed the season and especially looking
forward to next year’s tennis season.
The Saluki team has a lot of young girls
with no one graduating and the coach
picks two freshman players from the
country to get a full ride for the next three
years.
Seira said that she’s really excited for the
Missouri Valley Conference and to meet
new people. She’s already been to some of
the practices to watch and there are a total
of ten girls on the Southern tennis team.
“I love all the girls and the coach, they’re
all very nice,” Siera said.
Siera will go down early this summer to
start practicing with the team. The season
is all year around and the beginning of the
season is tournaments, and the spring is
matches against other schools.
It’s exciting that someone from Morton
High School will be playing at a division
one school and how hard work really pays
off.
Siera has been practicing a lot and has
been playing in tournaments; also she’s
been training at Eastside. Siera is excited
to be a Saluki!
Senior Spotlights page 3/Sports and Activities page 4
Tyler Weber joins
the Lancers
By: Cole Brunton
Yet another Morton High School athlete is
choosing to take their sport to the next level.
Senior Tyler Weber signed a national letter of
intent to play college baseball for the Grace
Lancers.
The Lancers are a NCCAA program and play
in the Mid-Central College conference. Tyler
is planning on pitching, competing for a starting second base spot, and also might get the
chance to be a catcher for the Lancers who had
a 21 win season last year, which was the tied
for most in schools history.
“I chose Grace College because it has everything I was looking for. The Christian atmosphere there is exactly what I want, they have
an extremely respectable pre-physical therapy
program, and my best opportunities in baseball
lie with the Lancers.” Tyler said.
Even though Tyler is very busy with baseball
he still finds time to be the president of FCA
(Fellowship of Christian Athletes), and he also
plans on majoring in biology with a pre-physical therapy track at Grace.
Last year Tyler had a very good season with a
record of 4-2 with a 2.33 ERA and only allowing 39 hits in 42 innings, but Tyler is hoping to
have an even better upcoming baseball season.
“My goals for the upcoming season are an undefeated conference record, regional and sectional title, and a solid state run.” Tyler said.
So, if you want to see Tyler and the Potters
play their first home game, it is March 24
against Normal West High School at 4:00 p.m.
DJ Zahn sprinting
to U of I
By: Russell Lindell
From Barry Allen to Wally West, DC Comics’
character The Flash bolted past city buildings at
no notice to anyone. He was just that fast.
When we need someone to be a Flash on the
track team, we call on senior DJ Zahn.
Zahn will be going to the University of Illinois
in Champaign/Urbana. He signed a scholarship
with them for track as a sprinter.
If he did not accept the scholarship to U of I,
he would have decided to go to Eastern Illinois.
When asked what he was going to major in
while at college, he said he was still indecisive
in what he was going to major in.
When he goes off to college, some things that
he will miss will be his friends and the high
school drama there is around this place.
Pg. 1
The Kiln
Features
This tattoo is not so taboo
By: Lauren Wirth and Jonathan Bobo
Tattoos are a major, permanent way to express oneself with art or quotes. Some people,
however, get tattoos to symbolize a person they lost or admire. Stacy Simmons, a senior, falls into this category. Stacy got her tattoo on August 16, 2010, four days after she
turned eighteen. Don’t be alarmed though, she had a very good reason to get it so soon.
“My tattoo is a June bug with the word ‘June’ in the middle of it to symbolize my mother’s name and the June bug represents what all of her friends called her,” Stacy said.
Stacy’s mother, June Simmons, tragically died of leukemia on August 2, 2007 at the
University of Chicago Hospital. She was only 44 years old.
Stacy admits she had always wanted to get a tattoo, but after her mother’s passing, she
knew she had to get something to represent her life. Stacy got her tattoo on the top of her
foot.
“I got my tattoo on the top of my foot because I wanted to feel like my mom is with me
with every step I take, and it does feel like that sometimes, which is nice to have,” Stacy
commented.
With tattoos comes negative feedback, as many people know. Tattoos are still not totally acceptable in today’s society, but they are seen
more these days than they ever have been before.
“No one has given me negative feedback when they understand the story behind it, but some people ask ‘Why a bug?’ So, then I have to
explain, but all in all, it has mostly been positive feedback,” Stacy said.
Even though tattoos can be viewed disapprovingly, they are a key part of culture today and can be very meaningful.
The ladies behind the desks
By: Alex Burian and Ksenia Efimova
Almost every day you walk by the main office and counseling office and don’t even think about what hard work is done. Mrs. Zehr and Mrs. Wilkerson were kind enough to let us into their world.
These hard working ladies are a part of the team of receptionists who keep things running smoothly at MHS for a total of about 18 years combined.
Mrs. Zehr, pictured at left, is one of the nicest yet one of the hardest workers at MHS. She gets to school at 8 a.m. and stays until 4 p.m. She works
all year round, which many might find surprising.
“My favorite part of the job would probably be the diversity, something different every day,” said Mrs. Zehr. The main duties she does are assisting the principal, collecting fees, and supporting the faculty. Mrs. Zehr. isn’t all work though, some of her favorite things to do outside of school are
read, help with the farm, spend time with her husband, and babysit her grandchildren.
Speaking of grandchildren, Mrs. Wilkerson, pictured at right, is anxiously awaiting the birth of her
second grandchild. Odds are you have seen Mrs. Wilkerson multiple times throughout your MHS career
in the counseling office. Mrs. Wilkerson has many duties some of which are registrar, helping counselors, and helping with transcripts. “My favorite part of the job is getting to see the students every day,
and seeing them grow up.” Mrs. Wilkerson always tries to stay fit, and one of the ways she does this is
doing laps with Mrs. Shaffer.
“I’d say we walk about a mile,” said Mrs. Wilkerson with a big smile. Now when you see these wonderful ladies in the main office or counseling office, remember all of the hard work that they have to do
to make everyone’s lives easier, because as a lot of people know high school is already difficult enough
as it is.
Mr. Eucker’s other drive
By: Austin Sherwood and Jacob Sullivan
There are a lot of titles that Adam Eucker has. Father, husband, teacher, and coach. But one of the most important is Staff Sergeant.
He has been in the Army National Guard since his senior year of high school in 2000.
“The reason I joined the Army was because that was the only option I had to fund my college education," said Mr. Eucker.
He also joined because his grandfather fought in the Pacific during World War II and his father
served in Vietnam for the National Guard. He felt obligated to help serve his country.
The first job he did in the Army was with the 135 Chemical Company from 2000-2007. He went
in as a mechanic to help with the water purification in a case of a national security threat. He also
worked on Humvee's and other big trucks. He is currently in the 129 RTI regiment.
Mr. Eucker is still involved quite a lot with it. He teaches a leadership course in Springfield, IL. His
title there is an Army Basic Instructor where he teaches the officers how to operate and drive Humvee's and trucks. They teach field artillery safety, and Army combatives similar to what they do in the
UFC. (Picture: Mr. Eucker, far right)
He is currently teaching a ten day course. He teaches the classes on account of how many people
need to take the course at the time. The Army pushes the class a lot more because it helps having the
training. In Springfield they get certified by the Army during ten day courses and they also do a weekend a month, for four months.
The class is very similar and different at the same time. He teaches adults in the Army course and at school he teaches teenagers. It’s similar because it is very hands on learning like in both classrooms. In both cases he learns class management as well as time management. The leadership
aspect is also very similar because he has to be a leader to the young students at school and also to the soldiers.
One of his most memorable things in the Army was when they went to Poland in 2009, where they taught the Polish Army their leadership training
which is named BNCOC, Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Coarse. He likes the fact that they get to meet a lot of different people and there is a lot
of diversity in the Army.
He has never been to Afghanistan or any of the other countries the U.S. was recently at war with. It conflicts with all aspects of life.
He missed his first anniversary with his wife and he also missed his birthday with her.
"There is no way around that. I volunteered for this and I knew that from the start," said Mr. Eucker.
It helps with commitment because when the Army calls on you, you have to drop what you’re doing. It also helps with integrity.
"It's a balancing act being a father, a husband, a friend, a coach, a teacher, and a Staff Sergeant." said Mr. Eucker.
Page 2
The Kiln
Vince Hill
By: Austin Sherwood
On October 9, 1992 at
6:09 a.m. in Tucson,
Arizona, Vincent Hill
was born. He moved
here part way thru fifth
grade and has live here
since then. He has a 19
year old brother that still
lives in Tucson, and has
a younger brother and
younger sister that live
here in Morton with him.
He has been a very active
person in high school.
He has done football and track only his freshman
and sophomore year, and he has wrestled for all four
years in high school. “You’ll pass out before you
die,” is a quote that Coach Henderson always tells
the wrestlers. He has had a very successful wrestling career, and he has just recently become a state
qualifier in Champaign. He has a very strong work
ethic and he is a very good teammate,” said senior
Dakota Klein. He likes to listen to rock music
mostly, but he does like some Eminem also. He currently doesn’t have a job but said he wants to pursue
something in the medical field. He also wants to
go to college to study medicine, but is not sure
as to where yet. His favorite subjects are science
and math. He is very interested in the science part
because he thinks it is very interesting. His favorite
teachers are Mr. Tierney, Mrs. Holmgren, and Mr.
Stauffer. He is a member of the Red Tide and during the home football games he would paint himself
up to help support the football team. He is a very
energetic person and he isn’t afraid to show it. During the Homecoming Pep Rally, he was chosen to do
the frozen T-shirt game where you break it against
the wall and whoever breaks it first and puts it on is
the winner. He quickly shattered the T-shirt and put
it on. Soon after, a confrontation occurred and Vince
was kicked out, making that his most favorite high
school memory.
Luke Starkey
By: Jonathan Bobo
On October 4, 1992 in Peoria, Illinois a bright
young baby was born. And that baby was Luke Starkey. He has a twin brother named Andrew Starkey
who was born thirteen minutes before Luke was.
Luke started grade school at Blessed Sacrament. His
hobbies consist of fishing, playing video games, and
hanging out with friends during his spare time. He’s
been an active athlete for Morton High School for
four years now. Luke’s been involved in football,
baseball, and track and field. He was a safety and a
running back for football, played outfield for baseball, and ran the 400 meter, 4x100 meter, 4x200,
and the 200 meter for track. His favorite thing to
eat is spicy garlic and parmesan wing s from Buffalo Wild Wings. “Because they have the best hot
wings,” he said. Luke plans on going to college and
getting a degree but is undecided for what he wants
to do with his life. Luke loves to watch comedy on
television so he watches “Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” His favorite quote is “do work” which is
quoted by Christopher “big black” Boykin from one
of his favorite television shows, “Rob & Big.” Luke
enjoys listening to music and has Kanye West as his
top favorite rappers. He enjoyed his newest album,
“My Beautiful”. “It’s because his songs sounds like
no one else’s and his beats and lyrics are amazing,”
he says. Luke is a senior at Morton High School
who plans to have a bright future from the class of
2011.
Seniors
Ian Hoby
Nick Austin
On March 7, 1993 a
great, athletic, and handsome guy was born. His
name is Ian Hoby. Ian was
born and raised in Peoria,
Illinois. He has two brothers Theo and Zach, one
sister, Hannah, and his
parents Craig and Claudius Hoby. Ian is happily
in a relationship with Tori
Nimmo. So stay away
ladies, he is taken.
He has been involved
in baseball, hockey, and water polo. Ian has played
hockey and baseball pretty much his whole life. His positions in baseball are the starting pitcher, relief pitcher,
and the closing pitcher. He has had many great memories throughout his baseball career.
“Hitting an inside the park homerun during mustang is
my favorite memory of baseball,” Ian said.
As a lot of people know, Ian has a very loud voice. He
uses this spectacular voice in the red tide. He has been
a member since last year, and holds the record for having the loudest red tide voice ever.
His idol is his dad, Craig Hoby.
Ian has many interesting characteristics and features.
“My mole in the middle of my forehead is probably my
favorite feature.”
He has had a fun filled high school career. His favorite
high school memory was when the basketball team beat
Washington, at Washington, for the regional championship.
Ian has a bright future ahead of him and plans on going to the University of Iowa. He will be rooming with
his bro Jake Marks. He is planning on studying prepharmacy.
Ian enjoys going on vacation where he can GTL
throughout the day. He compares himself to Vinny of
“Jersey Shore”, because of the good looks, the stylish
dance moves, and he is Italian as well.
His favorite quote is “Everybody has a photographic
memory, some just don’t have film.”
Nick is like most high school boys he enjoys
playing video games and hanging out with
all of his friends. Nick was born on June 25,
1992 to his two wonderful parents John and
Deb and is an only child. Nick has been involved with a lot in school and out of school.
In school he is involved with orchestra and
key club. In orchestra he plays the bass and he
is very good at it since is mom is very musical
talented he thought it would be cool to learn
and instrument. Outside of school he enjoys
working out so he can stay in tip top condition
also playing pickup basketball games, doing
homework, hanging out with his friends and
attending youth group.
Nick is a senior so for most that means college next year. Just recently Nick was accepted into the University of Bradley and is
thinking about going into architecture or some
field of engineering.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to
attend such a great university.” said Nick
At a young age at Lincoln grade school is
where he developed his love for the game of
basketball. Nick has always been tall so he
was a perfect fit for the game of basketball.
He played his freshman and sophomore years
but as junior year approached he decided
not to try out and just play church league for
Bethel. Now he currently not playing in any
organized leagues but still plays pickup games
whenever he gets the chance.
“My favorite team is Bradley University, because that’s where I am attending and I enjoy
going to most of the games.” said Nick
When he looks at his life to him his Dad is his
role model.
“It’s because he is very successful and has
taught me a lot in my life.” said Nick
Nick is currently unemployed but he does
referee upward basketball and soccer. As the
future approaches he is hoping to get a job at
Great Harvest Bread Company.
“Where they have the best bread ever.” said
Nick.
There is a quote he lives his life by: “If you
never try you will never succeed.”
By: Brent Rassi
Kayla Gray
By: Jacob Sullivan
By: Marissa McKelvey
One of Senior Kayla Gray’s first memories was running around the
Morton High School track. Little did parents Greg and Leslie Gray
know their daughter would have many more memories on the Morton
High School track. A star was born April 25, 1993.
Throughout Kayla’s childhood she went to Grundy Elementary school
where she enjoyed playing kick ball with the boys at recess. This is
also where she met her best friend still till this day Senior Ferah Bakirdan. As the years went on Kayla attended Morton Junior High School
and enjoyed playing volleyball, and running track. Kayla’s determination to the hurdles and running would help out later at a home meet
when she took the record for the one hundred hurdles.
“It was exciting to follow in my mom’s footsteps and to achieve getting a record,” said Kayla.
She continued playing volleyball throughout her high school years. Track season is approaching quickly!
Unfortunately this is Kayla’s last year of track.
“Being a captain my junior and senior year I have gotten to know a lot of underclassman and I will miss
the friendships I have made with all of them, I also hope I can come back and cheer on the Morton girls
track team, and help my mom coach!” said Kayla.
Aside from all the sports she has participated in Kayla said she would not be the person she is today without her mom. After graduation her plan is to go to Illinois State University to get a degree in elementary
education, and to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
“She is my biggest influence and I have always gone to her for advice,” said Kayla.
This fun loving determined senior will be missed at MHS. The future looks promising for Miss Kayla
Gray.
Page 3
The Kiln
Sports &Activities
From Biddy to Bethel,
Bisping is basketball
Music Spotlight: Beat
of a different drummer
At six feet eight inches, junior Brett
Bisping is easy to spot on and off the
basketball court, but there’s more to
him than just his height.
Brett was introduced to basketball
when he was in first grade through the
Biddy Basketball program in Morton,
and he hasn’t stopped playing since.
His father encouraged him to play, and
he has never stopped loving it.
A favorite basketball memory of
Brett’s was when his eighth grade
basketball team at Bethel placed second in the Lutheran State Tournament
and third in the Lutheran National
Tournament.
Brett has been on the boy’s varsity
basketball team since his freshmen
year at MHS. He is currently a starter
and plays either forward or center. His
contributions to the team are immeasurable.
“This year we got off to kind of a
slow start, but we are starting to pick it up now. I’m looking forward to the rest of
the season,” said Brett.
Brett has definitely gained a lot from being on the basketball team.
“I’m in great shape and I’ve learned how to work hard,” said Brett.
Prior to this year, Brett also played baseball and football. On the baseball team,
he played third base and was also a pitcher. In football, he tried many different
positions, but his most vital role was as team punter.
“I really enjoyed punting and received great guidance from senior Brent Rassi. I
learned everything I know about punting from him,” said Brett.
Brett no longer plays these sports so that he can focus solely on basketball, which
he now plays year-round.
Pursuing a basketball career in college is definitely something Brett would like
to do. He has already received one scholarship offer from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.
“I’m not sure where I want to play yet, but I know I want to,” said Brett.
Morton High School is very fortunate to have such a talented athlete on their
basketball team such as Brett Bisping, whose love of the game is more than apparent on and off the court.
On October 27 a new musician was born, he started playing the drums in the
5th grade at the age of 11 and by the time 6th grade came around he joined band
which he has followed with all up until now, junior year. His big influence on
deciding to play has a lot to do with music.
“When I watched a music video by Avenged Sevenfold,” said Seth Kehres. It
really got him into the drums.
Throughout the year he plays a variety of instruments within the whole year
between in the fall marching band and over the course of the winter and the rest
of the school year concert band.
Starting from the middle of the summer when the band starts practicing and
throughout marching band season he plays mostly the drum set, the timpani,
and other pit related instruments. Followed by concert band starting he plays
symphonic style drums like the timpani.
Through his years of playing in the high school band he has participated in a
number of competitions and concerts that Morton has proudly won over the past
couple of years for winning; the show The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, four
class championships, Illinois State Class 2A Champions, and 3rd in the nation
all in the course of a year. Yet his biggest accomplishment overall the years he
has been here was when Morton won 3rd in the nation for class AA Bands.
“Out of all the different types of drums I get to play within the year I enjoy
playing the drum set the most by far but I still do like playing the other drums,”
said Seth.
His favorite part of being in band is “performing in front of a lot of people.”
Being in band is just as hard as playing a sport from all of the long hours spent
practicing and the dedication to playing an instrument is a really hard thing to
accomplish.
After this year being over as a junior he plans on graduating early and starting
college to study his major in music possibly at ICC. Having accomplished winning all of the awards and more to come is a good way to end the year.
By: Shannon Aune
Finding Nimmo
By: Jared Minton
Just around the corner
By: Dakota Klein
Varsity Boys Baseball Home Games:
Thursday
3/22 4:00 PM vs. Normal West High School
Monday
3/28 4:00 PM vs. Notre Dame
Wednesday 3/30 4:15 PM vs. Richwoods High School
Varsity Boys Tennis Home Games:
By: Monica Disberger
Thursday
3/31 3:30 PM vs. Pekin High School
Ever since Mariah was five-years-old, basketball has been a large part of her life.
She grew up learning her skill at basketball from playing with her older siblings
who she has learned a lot from. “My dad has also helped a lot throughout the
years,” said Mariah.
Her favorite parts of being on the Morton Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team are the
people she’s met and the friendships that have developed.
As a senior, Mariah’s favorite basketball teams are the University of Tennessee
Lady Vols and the University of Connecticut Huskies. Her inspiration and drive
for basketball come from UConn’s Maya Moore and her pure love for the sport.
Mariah trains at Eastside in the off season to keep her skills from getting rusty.
After high school, she plans to
attend the University of Southern Indiana.
“Although it would be cool to
go pro, I don’t plan on it,” she
said.
Her most memorable win of
high school basketball was defeating Richwoods last year. To
celebrate their common victory,
the girls of the team go out for
dinner after games.
Tuesday
4/5 3:30 PM vs. Limestone High School
Thursday
4/14 4:30 PM vs. Galesburg High School
Varsity Boys Track and Field Home Meets:
Monday
3/28 4:00 PM vs. Peoria High School
Tuesday
4/5 4:00 PM vs. TBA
Thursday
4/21 4:00 PM vs. TBA
Correction: Quoted and author-stated information from the article “Lunchtime Limits” was incorrect. Regarding prices of lunches, the rise in cost is
due to rise in suppliers’ prices and do not go toward the pay of the lunch staff.
Regarding lunch options, all suggestions for menu items would be welcome
and put into consideration.
Pg. 4