January 2007

The Oakwood Times
It’s never too early to
start shopping
for Prom,
see page 4
Clayton Thomas, Justin Jones, and Travis Davis
stage what dress shopping is like for the boys. (Photo by
Kimber Hawkins)
Boosters
improve
varsity
room, see
page 2
Oakwood High School
5870 U.S. Route. 150
Fithian, IL 61844
Volume 22
Issue 5
Jan. 26, 2007
Wrestlers ready for
Regionals, see page 10
2The Oakwood Times
February’s best
Pouilliard chosen as
Student of Month
ond in the state in the biology section of
the competition and took fourth the year
following. The competition this year is
still approaching, but Pouilliard hopes to
do well by placing again.
“Being her cross country coach,
and Oakwood Times advisor I am very
excited that
she
was
awarded this
honor,” said
Tim Lee. “She
is an excellent
choice for this
award.”
Pouiliard
is a captain of
the Scholastic Bowl team
and a member
of the International
Club. As a
sophomore,
she visited
Senior Erin Pouilliard is February’s student of the month. Great Britain,
Pouilliard is a co-editor in chief of The Oakwood Times and is on Spain, and
the WYSE and Scholastic Bowl teams. (Photo courtesy of France with
the Europe
Pouilliard)
Club and
Mrs. Norma
“It is very nice to be recognized,”
Anderson. She traveled to Mexico last
said Pouilliard.
Pouilliard has been a member of spring break with another school group
student council for two years. She ran for a week-long biology trip as well.
She was also one of the three
cross country her junior and senior years
and was awarded the spirit award this past named as an Illinois State Scholar for her
achievements in the classroom.
year.
Outside of school, Pouilliard
“I was just in it for the Skittles,”
said Pouilliard about the past cross coun- spends time with her friends and family.
She is also active with the Appalachia
try season.
Pouilliard played basketball for Service Project through the Oakwood
three years and lettered all three years. United Methodist Church, and visited
She loves to take part in Flapjack Fridays Kentucky last summer to help rebuild
and is the Co-Editor in Chief of The houses. She plans to go on ASP again
Oakwood Times.Pouilliard was also a this year.
“The whole experience was a great
member of the Quill and Scroll Honor Society, which is a national society for stu- time. I learned so much, and I got to know
a lot of people that I see around the halldents who excel in journalism.
“I especially enjoyed watching the ways everyday much better. I can’t wait
syrup and milk chugging contests at Flap- to go back,” said Pouilliard.
After high school, Pouilliard plans
jack Fridays,” said Pouilliard.
Pouilliard has been a key member to attend the University of Illinois and is
of the WYSE team since her freshman not sure what she would like to major in,
year. Her sophomore year she placed sec- but will minor in Spanish.
By Brooke Eickhoff
Erin Pouilliard was named the February OHS Student of the Month.
Pouillard is a very active student in the
building, athletics and has an outstanding academic record being first in her senior class with a 4.0 GPA.
2
January 26, 2007
Athletic boosters improve
varsity locker room
By Jena Foley
The Oakwood Athletic Booster Club recently voted to repair the varsity locker room.
The Booster Club will spend no more than
$1000 to repair the room.
“We feel this area that both the boys
and girls basketball teams use as their locker
room for home games has been seriously neglected over the years,” said Booster Club
President Keri Marsh. “We understand there
are no plans by the school to make any
changes in that area. We felt that this would
be a worthwhile project for our club.”
The improvements were also agreed
upon by Superintendent Kevin Forney and
the school’s architect as long as the plans
were in conformity with the school’s building
code.
“I think it’s tremendous that the Booster
Club is improving the room. The room needed
some TLC,” said boys basketball coach Jesse
Johnson. “The kids really appreciate it.”
Work on the room began on Dec. 16
and members completed the project in January. They are currently waiting on shelving
and flooring.
Members installed hooks and rods for
clothing and also put new carpet down. New
stools were also purchased along with a dry
erase board. To finish, they will add a shelf
and are considering purchasing a TV/VCR
for teams to watch game film on.
The Booster Club works year round to
raise money by doing things like advertising
in the athletic programs and the Nostalgia
basketball tournament in the spring. Last year
the Booster Club bought new gym chairs for
the athletes.
“The Booster Club has been making a
positive contribution to Oakwood High
School over the last couple of years and it is
tremendously appreciated,” said Athletic Director Tim Lee. “The basketball teams will really enjoy their new surroundings.”
Teresa Cronk and Staci Klayer paint the varsity locker room at Oakwood High School.
The athletic booster club put down new carpet, painted the walls and ceiling, put up new
shelves and installed a dry erase board for this year’s project. (Photo by Erin Pouilliard)
Seniors to host sock hop
By Laura Lucas
Have you ever heard the saying “put on your dancing shoes”? Well how about putting
on your dancing socks? OHS seniors are hosting a sock hop on Jan. 26 in the OHS gym
immediately following the boys basketball game and will last until 11 p.m. The cost of admission is $3. Students will be asked to take off their shoes and dance in their socks at the dance.
“I think that the sock hop will be fun, because we will dance in socks and the kids will
have fun,” said senior class sponsor, Judy Steffen. “The senior class needs money and it will
break up the monotony of winter and school.”
Miss Ferdinand, OHS French teacher, has her own disc jockey company and will be the
disc jockey for the dance. The sock hop will be for OHS students only. There will be snacks
provided and pop will be sold for fifty cents each.
January 26, 2007
3
The Oakwood Times
Music dept.
to perform
classic
By Erin Pouilliard
The OHS music department will be presenting their annual musical on February 24
and 25 in the OHS gymnasium. This year the
department will be performing Jekyll and
Hyde.
The musical is based on the classic
novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is set in
London where Dr. Jekyll has invented a drug
that will separate the evil out of men. He is
not granted permission by a medical board to
test the drug on humans, so he takes matters
into his own hands and becomes his own
human guinea pig. The drug ends up splitting him into two personalities, the good Dr.
Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde, the latter of the
two seeking revenge on the medical board
members who would not grant him permission to test his drug, and the story continues
from there.
“It’s very intense,” said Mark Moore,
head of the music department.
The musical has three leading roles:
freshman Jacy Miller will be playing the role
of Lucy, a love interest of Jekyll, sophomore
Kayla Corzine will be playing the role of Emma
Carew, Jekyll’s fiancée, and sophomore Ryan
Parker will be playing the title character of
Jekyll/Hyde.
All three have been part of previous
OHS musicals, but these are the first major
roles in a musical for Miller and Corzine. Parker
has had a large role in OHS musicals since he
appeared as Schroeder in You’re a Good Man,
Charlie Brown, when he was in seventh
grade. Since the character of Jekyll/Hyde has
two personalities, he will have to switch back
and forth between two different singing
voices.
“The role is very vocally demanding.
I’m belting at the top of my range for most of
the show, and when I sing Hyde’s part I have
to adapt my voice to be rougher and more
sinister,” said Parker.
Jekyll and Hyde also examines facades
that people put on, which can be related to
today’s world. One of the plotlines includes a
corrupt priest and the skeletons that the seemingly immaculate medical board members have
in their closets.
“If we can still cause you to be thinking after the show is over, we’ve succeeded,”
said Moore.
Tickets will be available for purchase
at the door. Student admission is $3 and adult
admission is $5.
Tucker Knight, Joe Lewis, Erin Pouilliard, Sierra Isard and Rosa Shoemaker work on an answer at a scholastic bowl meet.
The team prepares by studying common questions and playing to their strengths. (Photo by Nathan Burke)
It’s not just questions and answers
There’s strategy to scholastic bowl
By Carly Wilson
The scholastic bowl team is well on their way to OHS’ ultimate goal of 600 wins for Mrs. Norma Anderson.
Although some believe that scholastic bowl is just simply
sitting down and answering random questions, there are many
strategies to making a team better and more prepared for the meets.
The questions are broken up into six categories including
science, math, social science, fine arts, literature/grammar, and
miscellaneous. OHS tends to focus on the fine arts category because for many schools, it is a weakness.
“When scholastic bowl started in 1980, we came up with
questions on our own,” said Anderson. “Over the years we have
just taken questions from every tournament that offers them.”
Just as in any other sport, the players who are in at a par-
ticular time must be spread out according to their strengths in the
different categories. Many players stand out in a certain category, while others are good overall.
After answering a toss-up question correctly, the team is
asked a bonus question containing five parts. The strategy for
receiving the maximum number of points is to give each person a
different part to the question, especially when it is concerning
math. Even if the person doesn’t know the answer, it guarantees
that the problem is written down correctly.
The team has been successful in many ways this year, with
a variety of high scorers and 10 wins.
The team will have four conference meets this year and
continue to play in many tournaments.
Post Prom committee continues planning
By Ashley Edington
Participation is very important in almost
everything that needs to be done in life. Post
Prom is not an exception to this.
The Post Prom committee is
still struggling from lack of parent and student participation.
Without help, it will be very difficult to put on Post Prom this
year.
The committee encourages more parents to come to
the meetings so that they can
help come up with new ideas.
More workers are needed for
events at the Assembly Hall
also. It is very important to
have every event filled so the committee does
not get money taken away.
The committee encourages all of OHS’
juniors and seniors to attend Post Prom this
year. So far the Post Prom committee has decided on a theme and has confirmed several
large inflatable activities, but they wish to
be bored.
“We are planning to use every inch of
space that is available to us so that way everyone will be able to constantly
be doing something,” said
Wright.
Students are looking forward to Post Prom this year like
every year before. Many feel that
Prom would not be complete without Post Prom.
“I’ve always looked forward to Post Prom because I’ve
heard a lot about it and it sounds
like it would be fun and exciting,” said junior Caylee Hunt.
“Post Prom is a tradition and
Prom wouldn’t be the same without it.”
If you are interested in helping out with
fundraising, please contact Jenna Hazelbaker.
“We are planning to use every
inch of space that is available to
us so that way everyone will be
able to constantly be doing something.” -- committee member Keri
Wright
keep the details a secret.
Committee member Keri Wright wanted
everyone to know that they would get their
money’s worth and they would definitely not
2The Oakwood Times
4
January 26, 2007
Prom is already on the minds
of juniors and seniors
By Ashley Sermak
Although it is only January, Prom is on the minds of many juniors and seniors.
This year’s prom will take place on Saturday, May 12, 2007 at the Beef House in
Covington Indiana.
It may seem a little crazy, but many girls are already looking for that perfect dress
to make prom night extra special. Even though the boys are not as concerned about the
big night, they may come in handy when the girls are trying to make a final decision
about their favorite dress.
There are many tasks that go into making prom ideal. Not only is a dress an
essential but girls also need: a hair appointment, a pedicure, a manicure, a garter, shoes,
jewelry, and a tan. Girls can pick and choose which of these are most important to you.
Getting the perfect dress is probably high on most girls’ lists. There are many
places to find a dress in the area. M2, Fancy That, and Foxy’s Prom and Tux are all very
popular places to find a dress.
M2 is a division of Michelle’s Bridal and it has an unbelievable variety of dresses,
colors and styles. At M2 you are sure to find a dress for you.
“I like shopping at M2 the best because they have such a big selection,” said
senior Josie Bloomfield.
The dresses at M2 are sorted into straight dresses and ball gown dresses (“poofy”),
by size and color. They carry many different designers such as Flirt, Tiffany, and Jovani.
“I tend to like long straight dresses,” said Bloomfield. “M2 has a lot of different
dresses that you won’t find anywhere else.”
M2 is located at 2210 North Willow Road in Urbana. They are open seven days a
week.
Because buying dresses can get very expensive, girls often borrow a dress. A lot
of girls will buy a $500 dress and wear it once. It is very smart and trendy to borrow a
dress especially if the money to buy one isn’t available.
It may seem crazy, but getting an appointment soon is a must. Salons will soon
become booked for May 12, especially if a lot of other school’s proms in the area are
also on May 12. Salons like Cannon Brothers, Escape, and Salon 909 are all reasonably
priced and also offer other amenities such as manicures and pedicures.
“My favorite part about Prom is getting ready for the dance,” said Bloomfield.
“All the pampering is always a lot of fun.”
Getting a pedicure or manicure is not an essential, but a lot of girls will choose to
do so. It can get a little pricey but remember that they will stay on for quite awhile. US
Nails, Lovely Nails, and Escape, all in Danville, offer both pedicures and manicures.
“Getting my hair and nails done takes some of the stress out of getting ready,”
said Bloomfield. “It’s part of the prom experience.”
Over the years, tanning has become very popular, not only during the prom
season but during every season. There are a lot of options when trying to get that
bronzed look for the special night.
Many junior and senior girls have already began the task of choosing a dress for the Prom.
Florida Tan and Hollywood Tan in Danville are very popular choices to tan. Much time is put into finding the perfect dress and making sure no one else will have the same
Although tanning can get expensive, they usually have special packages during the style. (Photo by Kimber Hawkins)
season to help out with the costs.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
If you don’t want to drive to Danville every day you may chose to tan at Hair Port
in Oakwood. Tanning there is very reasonable and convenient, and it also saves gas money. are hosting a PostProm that will take place at OHS following the dance. Post Prom will take
Not nearly as much work goes into Prom night for the gentlemen, but some preparation place from 12 AM to 5 AM, and will include inflatables, great food, and a lot of fun activities.
Prom is a fun and special night for everyone involved. In the end, all the hard work
is still involved in the evening. Getting a tuxedo is probably the hardest part. Seno Formal
is
worth
it,
and it’s a night that will never be forgotten.
Wear and Fancy That, both in Danville, have wide selections of tuxedos. Getting a tux to
“I
like
seeing all the kids formally dressed up,” said junior class sponsor Lynn Andermatch your dates dress can be complicated. You might want your date to go with you and
son.
“It’s
the
last time for seniors and it’s an emotional and memorable time for them.”
bring the dress along.
If you are looking for a safe but fun place to go after Prom, the junior and senior parents
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
“My favorite part about Prom is getting ready for the dance. All the pampering is always a lot of fun.”
-- Josie Bloomfield --
January 26, 2007
5
12 angry sophomores
A.J. Paris and Ryan Parker sit at the center of the juror’s table during a production of 12 Angry Men. Mr.
Brian Benck’s sophomore English classes put on the play during school before Christmas. Members of the class
served as either actors, stage crew or directors. (Photo by staff)
A change at the top
Anderson takes over WYSE team
By Jessica Burress
Are you wiser than the WYSE?
Norma Anderson has been teaching biology at OHS
for 37 years and she has been in charge of Scholastic Bowl
along with Janelle Dodge, but Anderson has always wanted
to become the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering
(WYSE) advisor at OHS.
With this being their first year without Mr. Geoff Griffiths,
Anderson saw it as her opportunity to step in. Anderson had
volunteered the thought to Principal Brenda Ludwig before,
but it was never assigned to her until recently.
“I’ve always wanted to do it. I think the kids are neat
and I like the concept,” said Anderson, “plus the first year a
biology student placed.”
Anderson is very pleased with the students nominated
for WYSE this year. To be considered for the team, each student had to be nominated by teachers for two different categories. The categories for the competitions are biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering graphics, English, math,
and physics.
The teachers don’t always nominate the same students
every year. Some kids will return the next year if they have
continued their hard work, but other students won’t. Senior
Erin Pouillard is one of the only students to be on the WYSE
team for all four years. This year she is competing in the
biology and English categories.
To study for the competitions the students don’t have
to read a book or watch countless hours of videos on dolphins, they have to study and review old tests. The tests are
either provided for the team by a teacher or they are found
online. It isn’t fun, but it’s necessary.
The Regional competition is on Feb. 13 at Danville Area
Community College. If the team or a team member places then
they will proceed to the Sectional competition at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston . If they place at that competition then they will go on to the State competition which is at
the University of Illinois.
The OHS WYSE team or a team member have gone to
State for more than 10 years.
The members of this year’s WYSE team are seniors Eric
Brazelton, Travis Davis, Sierra Isard, Tucker Knight, Pouilliard,
and Logan Wilder; juniors Kyle Carnahan, Justin Jones, Joe
Lewis, Aaron O’Neill, Scott Randle, Rosa Shoemaker and Carly
Wilson; and sophomore Stanley Zitello.
The Oakwood Times
Seniors named
Illinois State
Scholars
By Joe Lewis
The numbers are in and the announcement is made,
this year there are three Illinois State Scholars at OHS this
year: Travis Davis, Erin Pouilliard, and Christina Zitello. Davis
and Pouilliard are both seniors in the class of 2007. Zitello
graduated from OHS early, and finished attending classes at
OHS after the first semester.
“It’s great to be recognized,” said Pouilliard after receiving the news.
The Illinois State Scholar Award is an award for seniors
simply given to recognize these students for their academic
hard work, drive, and ambition. Seniors receiving the distinction are given no monetary awards or other prizes after being
named.
“These are the three highest ranking seniors, not a coincidence, which stands to reason,” said school guidance
counselor Terry Goodner.
To receive the award these students had to have held a
high class ranking and received a good ACT score. Typically
recipients rank in the top ten percent of all graduating Illinois
high school seniors. There is no application process, but
there are criteria set before them by the ISAC (Illinois Student
Assistance Commission).
Although class rank is important, it is not necessarily
required to be chosen as an Illinois State Scholar. Students
who score a 30 or higher on the ACT are automatically eligible to be nominated as an Illinois State Scholar by the high
school, regardless of their class ranking.
“I think it’s pretty cool that they are recognizing us for
all our work,” said Davis.
The three seniors were notified in December that they
had been given the honor. Davis and Pouilliard will receive a
certificate of acheivement on awards night, which will be held
on May 7. Zitello, having graduated early, will receive her
certificate through the mail.
Seniors Travis Davis and Erin Pouilliard were recently
named Illinois State Scholars. Christina Zitello was the third
senior named. (Photo by Joe Lewis)
2The Oakwood Times
Editorial
MTV needs
to get back to
the music
We the staff of The Oakwood Times
believe that MTV has not stuck to its true
purpose.
MTV, which stands for Music Television, was started in 1981 in New York City
to become a cable television network that
only played music videos and performances. The first video that was ever
played was appropriately titled “Video
Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
MTV got its start by playing songs off
Top 40 radio. They used a young goodlooking person to host shows and introduce
videos, which was how the name VJ (video
jockey) came to be. There were five main
VJs who eventually became celebrities
themselves. Artist from the 1980s like
Madonna, Culture Club, and “Weird Al”
Yankovic are a few examples of young
stars made famous by MTV.
In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s MTV
started pulling away from their music
theme and began to play shows like Daria,
Beavis and Butthead, Remote Control, and
The Real World. These shows were a hit
with teenagers because of the adult humor.
In the second half of the ‘90s MTV was
primarily a non-music program.
MTV started airing shows like Fear,
which had contestants film themselves in
scary situations. Fear was considered one
of the networks first scary reality shows,
and eventually influenced shows like Fear
Factor. MTV got caught up with reality
TV and has shows like The Osbourne’s
and Newlyweds playing constantly. This
has taken the channel to 98% television
and 2% music.
MTV stills try to stick with their
name and have the MTV Video Music
Awards and other various show that have
musical artist perform at, but MTV will
never again be what it was intended to be.
6
January 26, 2007
I’m on the WYSE team, but I have
no common sense whatsoever
If you really know me, then you would know that I can
have moments where it seems like I have no common sense
whatsoever. Believe it or not, I have actually learned from it:
how to drive in Champaign without getting myself killed (I’m
still working with that one), how to get to Wal-Mart without
getting lost, what all those tricky lines on the roads mean
(OK, so I’m not the greatest driver in the world according to
most people, but Mrs. Steffen and I know better), and most
importantly, how to laugh at myself.
Every Christmas night, my entire
family gets together at my
grandparent’s house in Oakwood. This
year was no different; my mom, dad,
brother and myself pulled into my
grandparent’s driveway at around 4
p.m., our last stop of a very full and
tiring day of waking up early, opening
gifts, visiting with relatives, and stuffing ourselves with food until we are
ready to burst or lay down and take a
very long nap.
After a couple hours of catching
up and eating, the kids took up residence on the couch to watch television, football to be more specific. Now,
I didn’t mind watching Tony Romo run
around in his cute little Dallas Cowboys
uniform for awhile, but I had better and
more entertaining things to do, namely
playing Guitar Hero, which I had gotten addicted to the day before.
By Erin
My cousin wanted to play too,
so we decided to drive out to my house
and get the game and Playstation 2 so we could hook it up to
the TV in my grandparent’s basement. Before we left, my
mom gave me the garage door opener so I could get into the
house (my parents had locked all of the outside doors, and
didn’t have any keys on them, so the only way into the house
was through the garage and in through the door that was left
unlocked). My cousin and
I headed out in my aunt’s
car, drove to my house,
and retrieved the goods.
We
returned,
hooked
up
the
Playstation, played Guitar Hero until everything
around us looked like it
was spinning and we had
carpel tunnel, and finished
out the evening of visiting, eating, and gift exchanging. At 9 p.m., it was
time for my family to leave. We were tired and ready to get
home as soon as possible to relax; we didn’t even feel like
stopping to fill up on gas even though we only had about 15
miles left until empty. As we pulled into our driveway, exhausted and ready to put on some pajamas, my mom turned
and asked me where the garage door opener was.
You’ve got to be kidding me, right? I KNEW I had given
it back to her.
It was nowhere to be found in our car, so we had no
other choice but to turn around and stop at my aunt’s house
to look for the opener in her car. I fumbled around in the dark
car for five minutes and managed to scratch up my hand from
pawing around under the seat, but had no luck in finding it. I
trudged back to my tired family, and we drove back toward
Oakwood to my grandparents’.
Before we could go to my grandparents’ we had to stop and get gas,
because at this point we were about
eight miles left until empty and pushing the car down the road. My dad got
out and put the gas nozzle in the tank,
then retreated to the warmth of our car
once the tank had begun filling. We
sat in dead silence for what seemed
something like a year to me. You know
that feeling where everyone in the room
wants to hit you? I’m pretty sure I do
now.
After gassing up, we stopped at
my grandma’s house, and I ran inside
to get a flashlight from my grandpa. My
grandpa and I walked around the
muddy yard for a few minutes, scanning the small patches of ground that
were illuminated by a skinny beam of
light hoping to find the elusive garage
door opener. Again, we encountered no
Pouilliard
such luck.
I trudged back to my family’s car
once again. At this point, we had no
way to get into our house unless my other grandma had a key
to our front door. Luckily she did, so we made yet another
stop on the other side of Oakwood, and I got the key.
On the way home we decided to make just one more
stop at my aunt’s house because I now had a flashlight to aid
me in my search. I got into the car and searched it high and
low one more time, and
once again did not see the
garage door opener anywhere. As I was getting
ready to get out of the car,
I happened to look up and
saw my aunt’s garage door
opener clipped to her visor. I slowly directed my
eyes a foot to the right, and
lo and behold, there was
our garage door opener, in
plain sight on the
passenger’s side visor.
Apparently I had clipped it there so I wouldn’t lose it.
I grabbed the opener, got out of the car, and slowly
made my way back to my waiting family in the idling car with
a sheepish grin across my face. I endured the rest of my
family’s teasing me for the rest of the night, but I had to laugh
at myself, which is something everyone should know how to
do.
Poo’
oo’ss
News
“You know that feeling where everyone in
the room wants to hit
you? I’m pretty sure I do
now.”
January 26, 2007
7
The Oakwood Times
The doctor is in
I’ve got my degree to prove it
I recently received a doctorate in a field of philosophy of ‘Dr. Joe Lewis’, then you should write your congressmen
called metaphysics, a degree for which I am particularly proud and ask to have Mr. Lee removed from being advisor of The
of. The doctorate not only proves me as an authority on the Oakwood Times for not keeping his end of the bargain and
subject of metaphysics but it also allows me to call my self conspiring to keep the truth of Oakwood, Illinois’, first meta‘Dr. Joseph Lewis’, which is pretty cool in itself.
physician a secret.
For those who don’t know what metaphysics is, metaThe why behind the degree is simply the concept of
physics is a branch of philosophy created by Greek philoso- “lifetime learning”, a kind of adopted lifestyle where you go
pher Aristotle. It deals with subjects like: being, reality, why through your life in a constant pursuit of knowledge outside
we are here, higher beings, and our place in the universe...The of the everyday life.
typical subject matter that intrigues the average 16-year-old.
Metaphysics was uncovered to me while I was reading
Now, don’t worry, this isn’t
some books on philosophy. It seemed
going to be a long-winded piece conto me that it wasn’t one of those subtaining theories and insights in dejects that you learn in school or you
terminism or metaphysical mathematsee on TV. So I found an accredited
ics. This column is something that
school online that offered a class on
ranges much deeper than that. This
metaphysics. It turned out, after the
is the result of a deal I struck up with
class is completed, you receive a docThe Oakwood Times advisor Mr.
torate, an added bonus.
Timothy Lee.
So I signed up, got the course
Mr. Lee wouldn’t let me put my
work, and in a swirl of brilliant ecstasy
title of ‘Doctor’ in front of my name
I consumed as much knowledge as I
every time it appeared in the paper
could and finished with an official,
because he refused to accept the fact
signed, accredited doctorate in metathat I am a doctor at such a young
physics.
age. Is that jealousy on his part? I
As for now, I haven’t sought to
can only speculate.
teach metaphysics to anyone. I am
So taking Mr. Lee’s disbeliefs
currently trying to gather as knowland refusal to recognize me for my
edge as I can, either by reading large
genius and for who I truly am, I walked
amounts of books and magazines, or
By Dr. Joseph Lewis
away in a defeated sulk and tried to
by having long thought provoking
uncover and tell the world of his evil
conversations with other local metaand inhumane whaling tendencies.
physicians for hours on end.
As time passed, more and more people heard about my
Although, if a position were proposed by the school
doctorate, but like Mr. Lee, refused to believe it. Everyone board for me to teach a class of metaphysics to students at
thought that a kid at my age couldn’t receive such an amaz- OHS, I would gladly accept.
ing academic achievement. No matter how much I tried to
So there you have it, my latest academic achievement
reassure them that I was a doctor and truly am brilliant, they in a nutshell. I will tell you though, metaphysics, despite popuwould either laugh at me or yell at me saying, “NO!”, “Why, lar scientific belief, is a wonderful thought provoking subject
would you want to?” or “Nuh-uh!”
that I encourage everyone to indulge in at some point of their
In efforts to settle confusion, Mr. Lee approached me life. It can help you understand everything on a cosmic abwith a deal. He simply said if I were to write a column explain- stract level, but sometimes also make you question certain
ing my new degree and my motives behind it, then he would truths you have been taught that may not be right at all.
officially recognize me as ‘Dr. Joseph Lewis’ and allow me to
And even if you don’t choose to explore the world of
sign it on all of my school papers including stories and col- metaphysics, at least continue with the concept of lifetime
umns in The Oakwood Times.
learning. Make it a conscious effort to go out there and exSo, naturally, I agreed and this is the result. But I would plore different worlds of knowledge that you would never
like to ask this of you the reader. If you pick up next month’s learn about in your everyday life. There is a lot out there, go
paper and it turns out that they only put ‘Joe Lewis’ instead for it.
Cup o’ J
oe
Joe
By Kimber Hawkins
Rock out with
Guitar Hero
Ever wanted to be a Rock Star? Yeah, you have
… but you, like most people, have no way to unleash
your unbridled passion for music. Well now you do,
and in two simple words -- Guitar Hero. Say good-bye
to the air guitar solos in your living room and the “jamming on a broomstick thing” we all seem to do at some
point in our lives; Guitar Hero is here to stay.
Every rock star fantasy you’ve ever had can be
lived at home, through your television set. Sure, there
has always been a real musical instrument somewhere
close by, but let’s be honest: that kind of thing is hard
work, and who has the time for hard work nowadays?
Guitar
Hero (and Guitar Hero II) is
the kind of game
you want to
play and play
until your fingers bleed. The
only drawback
to the game that
I have noticed is the price tag which is around $70, the
number and notoriety of the songs available on the
game, and the occasional hand cramp from playing
hours at a time.
There is a ton of replay value in Guitar Hero as
well as 100’s of unlockables, and a multiplayer feature
so you can challenge or play along with your friends.
You may not know all of the songs, but it is a guaranteed good time regardless.
Realistically speaking, Guitar Hero is a great
game. Its lack of song selection is not so much a big
disappointment as it is as if someone gives you a big
delicious pie and says you can only have one piece. It
is still a really good piece; you just wish you could
have more.
Guitar Hero gets a ten out of ten on my own
personal game quality scale, due mostly to its simplicity and appeal to people of all ages, genders, and social statuses.
The Guitar Hero series is classified as a rhythm
action game. This type of game was made popular in
Japan in 1998 by Dance Dance Revolution or more
commonly called DDR.
The side effects of the game include but are not
exclusive to: public displays of affection for Guitar
Hero, (i.e. screaming “I love Guitar Hero!” in a large
group of people), ending of relationships with significant others to have more time for Guitar Hero, and
after abruptly stopping a game a sensation in which
everything appears as if it is moving downward, (this
really happens).
The real question you must ask yourself is a
very important one: “Why haven’t I played Guitar
Hero?”, or if you have already “Why aren’t I playing it
right now?”
My 2 cents
By
Eric Brazelton
2The Oakwood Times
5 in the Hall
Willy’s weasels went
wild when ...
By Carly Wilson
Maekenzie Ellis, Freshman
“Mr. Johnson lost his hair”
Codey Amos, Sophomore
“Wendy’s wedding went wacky.”
8
January 26, 2007
This is going to be an emotional few months
A semester full of “last times”
Going into January, there was only one thing on my
mind – the Vermilion County Cheerleading Competition. We
practice everyday we don’t have games, and it is all I can
think about. Will my squad, my senior year, live up to expectations from the past? Will any of the stunts fall? Will it all
come together in time for the competition?
OK, you are probably thinking geez, she is writing about
cheerleading again. That isn’t my point though. My point is
this is my LAST County. These are my LAST basketball
games. This is my LAST semester
of high school. It will be my LAST
Prom.
Some of you are probably
thinking, isn’t this great I can’t wait
to get out of here and these four
years have taken forever. Not me! I
am horrified by the idea of not going to school with the friends I have
loved since I was six years old and
the same old teachers that have
been in the district for decades.
It seems like everything I do,
in the back of my head I’m always
wondering if it will be the last time.
An example of this is, last Saturday,
I went to M2 in Champaign. I found
myself being WAY too picky on
what dresses I liked or even tried
on. I want this dress to beat all of
my past dresses and for it to fit perfectly. I simply want my senior Prom
night to be perfect since it will be
one of the last times where our entire class is all dressed up and having fun together before we all leave
to start new lives on our own.
On Friday nights, when I’m getting ready for the basketball games, it’s kind of sad to think that I only have a few
more times to wear a cheerleading skirt or jump around at
games. I know that sometimes our teams haven’t always
been the best, but I wouldn’t change any of those memories
because I have loved every minute of it.
Every night at cheerleading practice, our squad worked
on the new County cheers. It makes me sad to think that it is
my last time making the cheers up, trying to stick impossible
stunts, and all the stupid laughs we have along the way. You
may think cheerleading doesn’t look like too much fun just
standing there yelling, but after awhile all of the girls become
some of the best and closest friends you could have.
This year my goal in cheerleading was to get along
better than years past (which isn’t hard to do). I got more
than I bargained for when underclassmen stepped up and
became really awesome people to get to know. These girls
have been there for me when no one else has even if that
means bringing me Subway when I’m down in the dumps.
The moral to all of this is love the ones you are around
and what you are doing so that nothing passes you by without you realizing how great it really is. I know I will miss tying
that bow in my hair and zipping up my skirt to go cheer with
some of the best friends I have ever known.
Sitting in Journalism class, I realized I only have four
more papers to work on. I thought at the beginning of the
year I had so much time to figure the paper out, and now that
I am finally catching on to everything, we are nearing the end.
I only have one more set of finals to take (not that I’ll
miss them), but I will miss seeing everyone in the halls everyday. This will be the last locker I have to remember the combination for, and that even saddens me.
When I get to college, I know I will miss being at a small
high school with teachers that will
bend over backwards for me. I know
some of you are thinking yeah right,
but I’m serious. I will always remember geometry my freshman year
when I was struggling, I met Mr.
Griffiths at 7:30 so that I could get
some help. I will never forget some
of the things teachers in this school
have done for me along the way, and
it scares me that maybe it won’t happen once I reach a huge, scary four
year university.
The parts I’m going to miss
the most are all of the great times
with my friends. I’ll never forget
those nights sitting around playing
Tiger Woods on Xbox, the movie
nights, the Prom and Homecoming
memories, and all of the other inside jokes that we all have together.
My friends and I have known
each other for practically 12 years
and to be leaving them forever is a
scary thought. I mean who knows
if we will even keep in touch after
we leave little old Oakwood.
The thought going through my head is I want to be as
close as I can with all of my Oakwood friends. I also hope to
get along with everyone and really enjoy my every “last”
memory I can. I don’t want to miss out on anything and want
to go out having fun, being close with my great group of
friends, and when I look back to be proud of how and what I
did while here at OHS.
My message is mainly to the seniors. I want you all to
cherish every “last” memory and go out with a bang. Stay
close to your friends and don’t waste a minute of your time
wishing it would end sooner. Graduation will come soon
enough, believe me. I can definately remember coming to my
older cousin’s basketball games and worshipping the cheerleaders and Comettes. I felt that I’d never get the chance to
be out there doing what they were doing. Now look at me, I
am about to graduate!
To the underclassmen, I hope you all love your years
here as much as I have and don’t let anything pass you by.
Your senior year will come so fast you won’t know how you
got to be one. I still find it hard to categorize myself as a
senior and it’s almost over. Don’t let graduation sneak up on
you like it did me. Remember to be someone that in later years
you will be proud to be known as.
Babbling
Br
ook
e
Brook
ooke
By Brooke Eickhoff
Kristen Picklap, Junior
“Jacob Duncheon shaved his
beard.”
Trent Lustig, Senior
“The winded wild man spoke.”
Mr. Brian Benck, Teacher
“That whacky Wally the walrus ran
them over with a white Winnebago.”
9
January 26, 2007
The Oakwood Times
Give something cheap for Valentine’s Day
The best present is three little words
For most people Valentine’s Day is a other or die.” I like this quote, not so much
time to buy gifts for your boyfriend or girl- about the dying part, but in that we must love
friend. For others, it is just another day on each other to live. After all, what would this
the calendar.
world be without love? Morrie, who is dying
So why on this day do so many people from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, wants the world
focus on love, when, if you’re with a person, to hear his words of wisdom that his long, full
they should hear you say those words all of life has given him. Now that he is dying he
the time?
wants to show people the power of love and
Everyone seems to declare that they life.
think you SHOULD have a boyfriend, beDon’t get me wrong, I don’t hate
cause it’s not “cool” to be single. I’m here to Valentine’s Day, because I LOVE chocolate
say that I am single and I’m happy without a and receiving gifts. Who doesn’t? But, if we
boyfriend.
really think about it, isn’t there someone this
Since when
day could be deshould I rely on
voted to?
someone else to
Surely
make me happy? I
there
is
someone
“There are some chil- that deserves
think girls more
than boys need
dren, and even adults, their own day,
someone to be
Jane Goodall,
who have never heard like
there for them, and
which I’m sure
they feel pressomeone say ‘I love you’ would make one
sured to conteacher here at
and truly mean it.”
stantly have a
OHS especially
boyfriend.
happy. Or what
I’ve been
about a famous
one of those
writer; I would
people who think that Valentine’s Day is just like to nominate Mitch Albom for that one,
another day. I have not always had a boy- who is the author of Tuesdays with Morrie or
friend on Valentine’s Day, and I am happy Jodi Picoult, author of My Sister’s Keeper.
with not having one this year. It doesn’t make
The thing that I’m really excited about
me sad or mad to see couples giving gifts, for Valentine’s Day this year is that I don’t
but I think it just makes me question why we have to worry about if my boyfriend will like
have a day devoted to loving each other.
what I got him.
After recently reading a book called
It seems that Valentine’s Day is an unTuesdays with Morrie, I have realized that needed stress, as if students or adults for
love is very important in this world, and that matter don’t have enough things to do.
shouldn’t we love each other everyday?
This stress seems to fall more on the girls
One passage in the book that caught than the guys. It is almost as if the girls try to
my attention was when, Morrie the main char- out do their friends, instead of picking someacter in the book said, “We must love each thing out that has meaning.
The Oakwood Times is a student-produced medium of
information published by the OHS journalism class. The
Oakwood Times will not be reviewed or restrained by school
administrators prior to publication. Advisers may coach and
discuss content during the writing process.
Because school officials do not engage in prior review,
the content is determined by and reflects only the views of the
student staff and not school officials or the school itself. The
editorial board and responsible student staff members assume
complete legal and financial liability for the content of the
publication.
The Oakwood Times will not publish any material determined by student editors or the editorial board to be unprotected, that is, material that is libelous, obscene, disruptive of
the school process, an unwarranted invasion of privacy, a violation of copyright law or services unlawful to minors. Letters
to the editor should be 300 words or less and contain the
author’s name and signature. All submissions may be checked
for verification.
That, of course, is not all girls, because greediness in this world? What would hapsome of my friends are really good at picking pen if we stopped giving gifts on Valentine’s
gifts out, and I would be more than happy as Day?
their boyfriend to reI would alceive some of the
most guarantee
things their girlfriends
someone would
get them. TRUST ME
complain about not
they go all out!
getting something.
But who says
Why can’t somethat you have to have
one be happy with
a boyfriend in high
being told “I love
school? Absolutely
you”?
NO ONE! It seems like
There
are
there’s some high
some children, and
school rule that you
even adults, who
have to have a boyhave never heard
friend. I guess I am
someone say “I love
breaking that rule this
you” and truly mean
year.
it. I can’t imagine
As I was entergoing to bed not
ing high school, my
hearing someone
mom gave me some
say those words.
By Jena Foley
great advice, and that
Even my dad
was to worry about
whom I’ve always
the things that matter
thought was so
and not whether you have a boyfriend. She tough and strong says “I love you,” and so
also said that all you need in the life is to does my papa who is the most composed man
make yourself happy. Just like my mom did, I’ve ever met.
I’ve seen people spend their whole high
I think Valentine’s Day should be more
school years with the same person. That’s about knowing you’re loved than whether or
just not me.
not you get a present and who it’s from.
I would tell all the people who don’t
So to all you who do have boyfriends/
have a significant other on Valentine’s Day girlfriends I hope that this Valentine’s Day
to focus on the more important things in life you put a little more thought into why you
rather that receiving a gift. The tragedy is are giving. Does it have to be in the form of a
that we get lost in the process of giving and present or could it be something much more
receiving, and we lose the meaning of why than that?
we are giving.
Just three simple words with so much
Maybe I am the only person that thinks meaning, and there isn’t even a need for a
Valentine’s Day could be used for something present.
else, but wouldn’t we be eliminating some
Off to the
Rodeo
Editors in Chief
Oakwood High School
5870 U.S. Route. 150
Fithian, IL 61844
Volume 22
Issue 5
January 26, 2007
Managing Editor
Copy Editor
Business Manager
Photo Editor
Editorial Director
Reporters
Advisor
Jenna Hazelbaker
Erin Pouilliard
Kimber Hawkins
Brooke Eickhoff
Ashley Sermak
Jena Foley
Laura Lucas
Jessica Burress
Eric Brazelton
Ashley Edington
Meghan Hohn
Tucker Knight
Joe Lewis
Carly Wilson
Mr. Tim Lee
2The Oakwood Times
Grossman is
the key for
the Bears
Rex Grossman. What more can be said? He is the
starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears. He led his
high school team to a 5A championship title and set
about every record he could while he was there. After
high school he attended the
University of Florida and was
one of the most highly recognized quarterbacks in Gator
history. So what else could I
possibly write about Rex
Grossman? There are a few
things I can think of .
To start my Rex
Grossman rant, I think we all
have to think back to the Monday night game against the
ARIZONA CARDINALS. I say
ARIZONA CARDINALS like
By Tucker
this because they are the ARIKnight
ZONA CARDINALS. So the
weeks leading up to this game,
Grossman was in the MVP race. Yeah, that is what I
said. People were convinced Chicago had finally found
their golden boy quarterback. What was about to happen that night would end up diminishing all of those
thoughts.
Summing up the game in one word would be
impossible. Grossman ended up having four interceptions and two fumbles. You could say that the Bears
were probably blown out in this one when you look at
those stats. Any good Bears fan would know though
that the Bears defense and special teams is the best in
the NFL. ‘Da Bears’ ended up winning in a miraculous
fashion.
So this game should have been the first warning
sign in the Grossman era. He continued his lackluster
play in games between the Dolphins, Patriots, Vikings,
and the Packers. He didn’t necessarily lose a lot of
games for the Bears, but that isn’t the point when you
get in the playoffs.
The Bears record is good, but I don’t know how
much faith I can put in old Rex. His inconsistent play
leads me to believe he may choke at the wrong time. If
that time comes when everyone is watching him on the
greatest stage of all-time, you can be sure there will be
a riot in Chicago.
Grossman may be a concern to say the least, but
the bears must be playing like ‘DA BEARS’ to win.
Lately it seems our defense is a little out of sync and
our special team isn’t appearing so special. What happened to the amazing Devin Hester? A few more touchdowns and he was a shoo-in for mayor of Chicago.
Overall the Bears need a dynamite defense and a calm
quarterback to win the Super Bowl. It will be interesting to sit back and watch how it all unfolds.
10
January 26, 2007
Girls take second at County tourney
By Laura Lucas
The Lady Comets ended the Vermilion County Tourna- Martin, “But I knew we could do it, and we did.”
ment by receiving second place against the Westville Tigers.
Coach Rick Bough is very proud of his team and is
The final score of the game was 51excited to see what’s next for the girls.
40.
“I’m absolutely proud of the
“I expected that we would do
girls,” said Bough, “To even make it
well in the tournament, but it still came
to the championship for the first time
as a big surprise, it was good to prove
in 12 years, I think it was a building
that we are a good team,” said senior
block for next year.”
Megan Knoblach.
Altough the Comets will lose
Junior Stephanie Denius and
four seniors (Megan Knoblach,
Freshman Amy Martin were both
Coutrney Keagle, Kimber Hawkins
named to the All Tournament team.
and Erin Pouilliard) next year, they still
Denuis leads the Comets in
plan to return to the championship
scoring averaging 17.4 points a game
game.
followed by Amy Martin averaging
The Comets have also been
14.6.
ranked sixth on the News Gazettes top
Martin also leads the Comets
ten teams of the week. With Westville
with 9.5 rebouds a game.
and St. Joe both ahead of them being
Unlike the Tigers, who won their
ranked high in the State poll.
third County title this year, this was
Stephanie Denius was also
the first time since 1995 that the Lady
named the News Gazette Athlete of
Comets have made an appearance in
the Week for the week of Jan. 18.
the championship game, and their last
“There’s no telling how far we
title being in 1987.
can go in Regionals if we continue to
The Comets started off the
play like we have been playing,” said
Megan Knoblauch dribbles past a Bough.
County by winning against Milford in
overtime with the final score of 68-62. defender during a game at the David S.
The Lady Comets are the numThey then continued their winning Palmer Arena. The girls played in the ber two seed in the St. Joe Regional.
streak by beating the number one championship game for the first time since They will play University High of Urranked team, the Bismarck-Henning 1995. (Photo by Tucker Knight)
bana on Feb. 7 at St. Joseph-Ogden
Blue Devils with the score of 59-31.
High School. The Comets beat the
“I didn’t expect to beat Bismarck,” said freshman Amy Illineks earlier in the season, 72-39.
Boys continue up and down season
By Meghan Hohn
The boys basketball team had
high hopes entering the Vermilion
County Tournament with a record of 88. Head Coach Jesse Johnson started
the season with a goal of reaching at
least 500 (having just as many wins, as
losses).
“That was an early goal, now that
we have reached 500, I want to win them
all,” said Johnson.
The team has greatly improved
over the last couple of weeks.
“Our defense has immensely improved and our rebounding is slowly
getting better,” said Johnson.
In the first round of the tournament the boys lost, 64-54, to Milford.
“We didn’t have much intensity,”
said senior Bryce Leeman. “We came
out flat.”
By intensifying their game, they
were able to defeat Georgetown-Ridge
Farm, 57-46, in the second round of the
tournament.
“We changed our defense and
played zone,” said Leeman.
The boys ended the tournament
with a loss to Armstrong-Potomac, 5841. In the last Vermilion Valley Conference game before the tournament, the
boys beat Armstrong-Potomac by 28
points, making the loss in the County
tournament that much more painful.
“We think we can win sometimes
if we just show up,” said Johnson. “You
can’t.”
The team ended up placing seventh in the tournament.
“We need to work on attitude,
how to want the ball, and leadership,”
said Johnson.
With five seniors Johnson is waiting for someone to step up and take
charge.
“I know they’ve had a different
coach for the past five years, but I’m
Senior Bryce Leeman shoots a
trying to build this program the best I
layup at the Vermilion County
can and that starts with a winning attiTournament. The boys went 1-2 in the
tude,” said Johnson.
tourney. (Photo by Ashley Sermak)
January 26, 2007
11
The Oakwood Times
Wrestlers look to finish season strong
By Jenna Hazelbaker
The OAP wrestlers are well on their way
to yet another successful season this year.
With a record of 15-3 and the end of the season quickly approaching, the wrestling team
has much to brag about.
Their only three losses came from
Vandalia, who is ranked fourth in the state,
St. Joe, who is ranked fifth in the state, and
Belleville West, who is an AA team.
Over Christmas break the wresters traveled to Argenta to compete in the annual
Bomber Classic. The team earned fourth place
out of 20 teams from across the state.
Recently the team overcame AA school,
Urbana 32-38 and also beat Unity.
“Our team has really competed well this
season,” said Captain Brendan Hafner.
Coach Dave Markwell has high hopes
for his wrestlers as well.
“I hope our kids do well, and compete
well,” said Markwell. “The kids have really
stepped up and really worked hard. It will just
take good match ups in Regionals and
Sectionals and a little luck.”
Last year the OAP wrestling team ended
their season 14-6.
“I think we will be somewhere in that
range this year as well,” said Markwell. “We
are younger this year than we were last year
and I wasn’t sure how the kids would compete, but they have really proved themselves.”
Leaders are also a major improvement
for this season.
“Our captains have provided great leadership and the younger wresters look up to
them,” said Markwell. “Having Nathan Davis
move to our district was a big help as well.”
Having a large number of wrestlers is
very important. If a team is unable to fill a
weight class the team has to forfeit that match
and their opponent is rewarded 6 points.
The team also took third place at the
Leroy Invitational on January 20.
“I thought we’d make top four,” said
Markwell.
At Leroy, Evan Davis and Brendan
Hafner took home first place, while Nathan
Davis and Corey Pankow took second place.
The team is young, but with each match
comes more experience.
“There was good competition for a lot
of individuals,” said Markwell.
“I am very pleased with how the team
wrestled.”
The IHSA Regional will be held at OHS
on February 3.
“I hope that our wrestlers do well, but
Sophomore Rayse Clendenen wraps up an opponent in a recent match. The Comets
will be hosting the Regional on February 3. (Photo by Jenna Hazelbaker)
you just never know how the matches will
work out,” said Markwell.
The top three wresters from each
weight class at Regionals then moves on to
Sectionals, which are held at Olympia on February 9-10.
The top three from Sectionals from each
weight class then move on to State, which is
the ultimate goal for some this season.
A day in the life of a high school wrestler
By Jenna Hazelbaker
A day in the life of a wrestler is unlike any other
sport of which you could participate. Wrestling is not
only physically demanding but mentally as well. Have
you ever wondered what it would be like living the life of
a wrester?
Wrestling has weight classes in which each wrestler competes in, depending how much the wrestler
weighs. This is one of the biggest challenges for most
wrestlers, including senior Nathan Davis.
Davis wrestles in the 140 lbs weight class. At the
beginning of the season, Davis weighed 155 lbs but as
soon as his wrestling season began he started “cutting
weight.”
“I even had to eat healthy on my birthday. I couldn’t
go out to eat, because I had to weigh in the next week for
wrestling,” said Davis.
Being at the correct weight will make or break your
season. Wrestlers often feel as though they can compete
better in a lower weight class. Being stronger than your
opponent, but weighing less is essential in this sport.
The Oakwood Times followed Davis to experience
a day being in the sport of wrestling.
Davis begins his day early, getting up for school.
He can’t eat breakfast because it is a day he has a meet.
He is rather tired because he ran two miles before he went
to bed last night. The night before he weighed in at 141.3 so
he won’t be able to eat much today. Davis then goes to school
and attends all his classes, hungry. Davis then goes to lunch
where he has to watch everyone around him eat. The menu
for lunch is barbecue on bun. Davis eats only the barbecue
not the bun. The bun has too much fat in it.
“It is hard to sit a watch everyone else eat, but I know
that I need to make weight,” said Davis.
Davis then attends his afternoon classes still tired. After school Davis heads to the weight room to check his weight.
Senior Nathan Davis has to maintain a steady weight
throughout the season while eating healthy to keep his
strength. (Photo by Jenna Hazelbaker)
He weighs 139.4. He sighs in relief knowing that he will
make weight for his match. After he checks his weight he
heads home to rest up for his match.
“I eat healthy all week so I can make weight, but I
slip once and a while and eat junk food,” said Davis.
Davis returns to the school to set up for the meet.
The other team arrives and the weigh-ins begin. Davis
weighs 139.0. He will wrestle in the 140-lb weight class.
After Davis weighs in he eats his favorite pre-match
meal, a Subway sandwich. Getting to eat before his match
will give him the extra energy to compete well.
It is now time for Davis to wrestle. He goes out on
the mat to shake hands with his opponent. The match
begins. Davis must now where a mask to protect his nose
because it was broken in an early meet. Davis ends up
winning his match, pinning his opponent.
Although wrestlers have to compete with their
weight, as well as actually competing in the sport, they
are smart about their eating habits.
“I eat a lot of salads and fruit, they are good for you
and they don’t have much fat in them. I try to eat healthy
so that I make sure I am losing weight the right way,” said
Davis.
Being a wrestler is hard work for an athlete who
wants to succeed. Hard work, dedication, and heart for
the sport is what makes an athlete successful.
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