Tragedy Strikes Close to Home

The
Kiln
Morton High School
A publication of Journalistic Writing
February 16, 2011
Tragedy Strikes Close to Home
By Shannon Aune & Taylor Craven
“My recovery is going very well,” said Brittany.
On Saturday, January 22, there
was a tragic accident on I-74
near Carlock, IL that affected
not only the Tremont community, but also Morton and
other surrounding communities.
There were three Tremont
students in the car as well as
a former MHS student. The
lives of Michael Honan and
Celine Estes were taken in this
accident. Surviving are Briana Estes and Brittany Fair.
Their pick-up truck was in a collision with a bus with the
Tremont High School girls’ basketball team. Slippery road
conditions were likely a cause for the accident.
With the awful weather Illinois has been experiencing this winter, accidents of this nature tend to
occur more often. One of Morton High School’s
driver’s education teachers, Adam Eucker, gives
advice on how to avoid an accident in bad weather
conditions.
“There are two precautions you can take, slow
down and keep a bigger following distance. In
bad weather conditions, increase the following
distance from three seconds to 4-6 seconds,” said
Mr. Eucker
Many Morton students showed their support
for Tremont by joining a Facebook group called
“We’re all Turks for a week!” Students that joined
this group honored Tremont by changing their
profile picture to that of a Tremont Turk.
Brittany Fair, 21, was a former MHS student involved in
this accident. Brittany graduated in 2008. She participated The Morton Key Club organized a day for all
students to wear maroon on Friday, January 28 to
in cheerleading her freshman and sophomore year.
honor those lost in this terrible accident, as maroon is Tremont’s school color..
Brittany is now home, as of Monday, January 31.
Red Quill Award
Lunchtime Limits
By Austin Huntemann
By: Dakota Klein
Good for ‘Business’
The MHS musical is underway
See page 2
Back with Silence
By Jared Minton and Monica Disberger
Before our traditional Pledge of Allegiance, Morton
The biggest dispute in the cafeteria these days are
High School takes a brief, 15 second moment of
the prices, and how are they affecting the students
silence. Most students take the time for reflection or
that don’t have the ability to go out for lunch. For
to say a brief prayer for the school day. MHS Princisome, lunch is the most looked for part of the day.
pal Mr. Johnson sees this as a good way for students
But lately it is becoming the most frustrating part
to start off the morning. “The Silent Reflection and
of the day. With the prices going up and the food
Student
Prayer Act” was passed two years ago by the
being taken away, the students of MHS are becoming
U.S. District Court. At this time, the Act is required
irritated with the program. From a sophomore who
The Red Quill award was established in 2006 to reward cannot leave for lunch and has to stay here gives his
by all Illinois
schools in the Midwest that are taking the extra effort to point of view about the lunch situation. “The prices
schools. “I
improve their score curriculum and also having a steady in lunch are going up and the choices are not what
don’t think
growth in student’s ACT scores for the past five years.
it’s too much
we want,” said Ross Gaunt. From losing most of
Morton’s ACT scores have been steadily rising in the
to ask, we
the soda options and the lunch items becoming more
past few years from an average of 23.5 in 2009 to 23.7
need to
expensive, Ms. Lane does feel like lunch is looking
in 2010 while the national average score was 21.
demonstrate
out for the employees by having the prices go up are
respect for others. It’s important to be respectful,”
because of the suppliers. It’s helping out with gas
Assistant Principal Marjorie Johnson, Counselor Deisaid Principal Johnson. The Moment of Silence was
and the payments of the lunch crew. When comes to
dre Ripka, math teacher Rosie Durand and social scirevoked two years ago due to complaints about stuchange of lunch Ms. Lane says “No, It is the way it
ence teacher Don Sturm were the four staff members
dents
feeling that religion was being pushed on them
should be.” Another question asked to the students
that helped in arranging the presentation of this award.
in public school. It is now seen as a time for either a
was how many of the students like lunch and it came
silent
prayer or reflection. Most students who do not
as
a
surprise
how
many
really
don’t
care
for
it.
Ross
“I was kind of surprised because it was during the
want
to
participate in these stand and silently wait for
Gaunt
and
Quinton
Peterson
both
agreed
that
lunch
middle of class,” said Mr. Sturm.
the Pledge. Students like senior Ashley Miller take the
just isn’t the same. And they would like to see the
time to reflect on what’s happening in the world and
prices drop a little and have more options of what
Mr. Sturm along with the others was excited to be a
in
the news. She feels that this is good for the school
they want. So lunch to some is not the most look for
part of this event.
and exercises a time to be respectful. The reflection
part of the day because it makes a pretty hefty hole
There have been only 26 schools in the Midwest to
in the pocket and they don’t quite get what they want. time is appreciated and respected by some but ignored
be presented with this award and MHS is one of the
or apathetically treated by other students. “It’s like the
Some also say that after spending their money they
four schools in Illinois to receive the Red Quill award.
Pledge. It’s just something we have to do,” said senior
are not quite full and would like bigger proportions.
Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, Tri-Valley
Tanner Gardner. It is undetermined as to whether or
But all this is up the main sponsor of our lunch and
High School in Downs and Huntley High School in
not
the moment of silence will be a permanent act in
so far it doesn’t look like to many changes for the
Huntley were the other schools in Illinois to be present- better of the student will happen anytime soon. For
Illinois. “There’s obviously going to be protest. People
ed with the Red Quill award.
generally don’t like what schools and the government
the students lunch is unfair and unfilling but to the
do,” said Ashley Miller. The Moment of Silence is repoint of view of the lunch staff says it is very apMorton High School has always been a high ranked
spected or ignored by MHS’s students. Everybody has
propriate for the benefit of the high school. For the
school district and will continue to try its best to excel
different views but it looks like the Moment of Silence
future who knows what lunch will have in store for
academically.
is here to stay.
MHS
Morton High School was recently honored with the
Red Quill award which is the first time for Morton High
School to receive this award since the Red Quill was
established in 2006. MHS received this award near the
beginning of this school year. Upon receiving the award
four staff members were honored for their contribution
to MHS receiving this award.
The Moment of
Silence is back
after two years.
Senior Spotlights page 3/Sports and Activities page 4
Pg. 1
The Kiln
Getting Down to
‘Business’ with the
Musical
Features
What is Love?
By:Lily Johnson
The month of February always seems to bring
a love to the air. In recent years 141 Valentine’s Day cards have been exchanged annually, making V-Day the second most popular
By: Ashley Legel
card giving holiday of the year. Hallmark
alone has over 1330 different cards for this
On April 7 through the 10, the Broadway musical “How day. Celebration for February 14th has been
to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” will be
growing in popularity for decades.
held in the Bertha Frank. This musical is about a window
Being slightly distorted over time, the origin
washer man who finds a book giving him guidance on
of Valentine’s Day has commonly become
how to get a job and climb the ladder to the top at a busioverlooked.
ness company.
In the Middle Ages a priest by the name of
“It’s definitely a comedy which we haven’t had just a
Valentine served in Rome. Story has it that
funny, enjoyable musical for a while,” said the play direc- the emperor Claudius II of this time outlawed
tor Mrs. Rebmann. Junior Grant Klobuchar is playing the marriages so that men of youth would become
leading role of J. Pierrepoint Finch alongside senior Jillian better soldiers, free of ties. Valentine saw this
Risinger who is playing Rosemary Pilkington.
as unlawful and continued to perform wedHowever much work is put into the production well
ding ceremonies in secrecy.
before the curtain is pulled up on opening night. Mrs. Reb- Another story tells us that Valentine was
mann and music director Mrs. Berger start to look at musi- imprisoned and fell in love with his jailor’s
cals right after and even during the fall play. An estimation daughter. He wrote her a letter expressing his
comes to about six months before students get involved at love on this day and when his actions were
auditions to adapt and prepare the musical.
discovered he was put to death.
Work is not only being put in by the directors and cast
Whatever the story may be this romantic
member, but also by many teachers and other students
figure has brought upon a historic day for
here at Morton High School. Teachers include science
sharing love.
teacher Ms. Sorenson who teaches the cast choreography
With the growing world, there is also more
and language arts teacher Mr. Feleccia who works in the
love to be shared! More than 6,000 marriages
technical booth above the stage. As for the students there
take place each day in the United States.
are some who work with Mr. Feleccia in the technical
However, some single women also want to
booth, but the cast members are actually the ones who
feel the love and about 15% of them buy
move the props and set during the show.
themselves flowers on this romantic day.
Many musicals have been included over the years from
lesser known works to big name productions, like this
year’s musical which is now going to be on Broadway
again starring Daniel Radcliffe. Many productions tend
to have the lead as a girl, and Mrs. Rebmann and Mrs.
Berger wanted to change that when they were looking for
a play this year.
“…We know we have a lot of talented guys, and we
by: Nathan Austin
thought it was time to highlight the guys a little bit; take
advantage of that talent,” said Mrs. Rebmann. Through all
You might have
this grueling work, Mrs. Rebmann always seems to come
seen
her walking
out on top since she has become director. Some would
around
during passback down from this immense responsibility, but Mrs.
ing period, or you
Rebmann tackles it with full force.
may have her for a
“I started performing in theater back when I was seven,
class, or you might
eight years old…so I’ve always had that love for theater.
have never seen
It’s always been a huge love of mine,” said Mrs. Rebher before. Mrs.
mann.
McNulty is the new
Students also seem to accept the responsibility as
physics teacher that
many cast members have been in other plays in the years
took the place of Mrs. Moss.
past. Senior Jacob Hagaman has been in “South Pacific,”
At age 22, fresh out of Illinois State Univerbut his favorite play he has seen was last year’s “Arsenic
sities
Teaching Program, this is her first paid
and Old Lace,” because he thinks it was funny and the cast
teaching job, however, she did student teach
did a great job. Jacob is playing Chairman of the Board
at LaSalle Peru last year. She teaches Physics
Wally Womper this year. For senior Alyssa Lauer it’s beand Honors Physics. She became interested
tween “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “South Pacific,”
both of which she has been in along with “Cinderella” and in teaching science when she was in high
school.
“The Death and Life of Larry Benson.” This year Alyssa
“I like science and I like math,” she said.
is playing the part of Miss Krumholtz.
If
she didn’t teach science she would go into
Students of all kinds get involved in the plays
engineering.
from shy people coming out of their shell to natural per“Engineering, if I hadn’t taught, totally
formers.
engineering.”
“I love singing and acting on stage, and so joining
She loves to read books, hang out, and has
the musical was a natural thing to do,” said Alyssa. Jacob
recently
become addicted to Super Mario
was in the musical pit for the performance of “Thoroughly
Bros.
She
just got married right out of colModern Millie” and decided to join the cast for “South
lege.
Pacific.”
Having Spring Break late this year and having the end of So far, she is really enjoying her Morton exschool earlier has led to the musical date being earlier than perience so far. She described it as “awesome
so far.” So if you don’t have her as a teacher
normal, but Mrs. Rebmann hopes this doesn’t affect the
now, look forward to it in the future.
amount in audience since she believes this show is truly
enjoyable.
Who’s your valentine?
By: Brent Rassi and Marissa McKelvey
Amber Bond (Sr.): “My valentines are Meagan
Andrews and B-Rass!”
P.J. Madison (Sr.): “Mom.”
Kayla Gray (Sr.): “Tyler Sniff.”
Jon Losen (Sr.): “Shelbi Ummel.”
Ferah Bakirdan (Sr.): “Devan Donath.”
Nicole Lockwood (Jr.): “Macaela Bennett.”
Will Headen (Jr.): “Abbey Rodeghiero!”
Justina Risinger (Jr.): “Tanner Ridings.”
Grant Klobuchar (Jr.): “Kristin Hoecker.”
Gabe Meiss (Jr.): “I’m AC, I’m not allowed to have
a valentine.”
Shelby Zbinden (Soph.): “Brittany Stamm<3”
Kayla Kniep (Soph.): “Hannah Grow!”
Alyssa Reitz (Soph): “My valentine is Erica Vedas.”
David Rossi (Soph): “My cougar Tabitha”
Gerald Wagner (Soph): “I have too many girls to
name.”
Trent Reiman (Fr.): “Abby Marks.”
Grant Reiman (Fr.): “Rachael Meyer.”
Tara Kickert (Fr.): “Christofer Drew”
Emilie Imig (Fr.): “Justin Bieber!”
Dominic Rowley (Fr.): “Kennedi Barker”
Teacher Feature:
Mrs. McNulty
Teacher Feature:
Mrs. McCoy
By: Kaleb Cottingham
“If you can dream it, you can do it,” once said by
Walt Disney, also happens to be the favorite quote
of Morton High School’s newest Language Arts
teacher, Mrs. McCoy.
Mrs. McCoy attended Lincoln Way High School
during her high school career, and just graduated
from Illinois State University.
As she was growing up she was not big into athletics, but much more into reading and writing. Also,
as a child she didn’t necessarily want to be a teacher,
but with her passion for reading it eventually narrowed to teaching Language Arts. “I love to read
and write and I wanted to help others with those
subjects,” said Mrs. McCoy.
Besides a love for language arts, she also has a passion for the Victorian Era.
She came to Morton High School to be a long term
sub for Mrs. Mettelmann, but before teaching in
Morton she student taught at Bloomington High
School.
Mrs. McCoy currently has two children, a boy and
a girl, and she also has the love for dogs which she
currently has two of.
If you want to learn more about her you can find her
in room 210 or Mrs. Mettelmann’s old room.
Page 2
The Kiln
Melissa Doan
By: Lauren Wirth
Senior
Spotlights
On December 17, 1992, a
new addition to the Doan
family was born in Peoria, Illinois. Her name was
Melissa KieuMai Doan and
she definitely came out
with a bang. Melissa does
not have the normal family
dynamic, considering her
grandma and grandpa live
with her. Melissa’s grandma,
Linh Nguyen, is her biggest
inspiration because she has
gone through a lot in her
life. Linh immigrated to the
United States directly from
Vietnam and Melissa admires
her strength.
“I look up to my grandma
because she is religious and
she’s also very cute,” Melissa
commented.
Melissa started her academic career at the private Catholic school, Blessed
Sacrament, which she attended kindergarten through eighth grade. Her favorite
teacher ever, Mrs. Hesselberth, resides there. Mrs. Hesselberth is her favorite
teacher because she engraved the importance of good grammatical skills in her
mind, and she still knows the rules that her beloved teacher taught her.
Ashleigh Terviel
By Ksenia Efimova
Ashleigh Terviel was born and raised
here in Peoria, Illinois in the Methodist hospital. She has four siblings, two
brothers and two sisters. Their names
are Angie, Aaron, Hope, and Chad. She
also has four pets, three dogs and one
cat. Ashleigh loves them all equally, her
siblings and her pets.
She also loves her boyfriend, Cody
Lampton, who graduated from Morton
High School last year. They have been
together for one year, and thus all the
fights and misunderstandings, which
every normal couple will experience
throughout their relationship, they still
hold on to each other and even plan on
living together later in life.
Keeping Mrs. Hesselberth in mind, Melissa said the quote she lives by is “funner, not more fun.”
Ashleigh is planning on going to ICC
in East Peoria for two years, “it is affordable and close to home,” she said. Ash wants to study Photography as her
major and is planning on to become a professional photographer.
After Melissa successfully graduated from Blessed Sacrament, she went on to
Morton High School. She has had a lot of memorable moments, but her favorite was a specific football game with PJ Madison. Staying true to her roots, she
enjoys math, especially Algebra, more than any other subject.
Currently Ashleigh does not have a job, but used to work at McDonald’s here in
Morton, which she had to leave because of a misunderstanding with one of the
managers. “I don’t have time for a job anyway, my softball meets and practices will
get in the way,” she said.
As many students know, Melissa is 100% Vietnamese.
Ashleigh is in love with her boyfriend’s car, 96 GST eclipse, but sadly she does
not own one herself. Her last car broke down and with a lack of a job she can’t
afford one right now. She hopes that her parents will be kind enough and will buy
her one when she goes off to college. Or she will get one herself as soon as she
finds a job and the softball season is over.
“I like being Vietnamese because I like being a minority,” Melissa said with a
chuckle.
Melissa has two celebrity crushes. The first is Grammy winning rap artist Lil’
Wayne because of his music skills, and the second is female rap artist Nicki
Minaj because of her confidence.
Making her parents proud, Melissa is continuing her studies post-high school
at Illinois State University and has dreams of becoming a dentist. Don’t ask to
room with her, she already has a roommate.
For hobbies she likes to hang out with her friends and take pictures of anything
and anybody. She always loved to take pictures even before she knew that she
wanted to become a professional photographer. And when there is absolutely
nothing to do she will listen to music, mostly rock and alternative.
KayeLee Ridings
By: Alex Burian
On May
23, 1992 in
Springfield,
IL KayeLee
Ridings was
brought into
this world by
Bart and Roberta Ridings.
The odds are
you’ve probably seen KayeLee dancing
at the football
and basketball games.
She’s been on the dance team for 2 years, and is a
team captain this year. KayeLee has been dancing for
eleven years, and has loved every step of it. Oh, what
was that? You would like to know where KayeLee is
going to college, and what she would like to be? I’d
be happy to tell you! Kayelee is either going to go to
Saint Louis University or Maryville University, which
is near St. Louis. She would like to be an occupational
therapist. “It’s a career that’s exciting and allows me
to help people every day,” said KayeLee. Most of us
have a favorite class or teacher of high school, and
KayeLee was no different. With no hesitation KayeLee stated, “My favorite class I’ve taken is Advanced
Bio with Mr. Lynn. It’s challenging, but fun at the
same time. I know it will make me more prepared for
college science classes, and Mr. Lynn has great college
stories,” KayeLee said with a grin. As most humans,
KayeLee watches movies! Her top two favorites are
“The Sandlot” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron
Burgundy.” You can always count on KayeLee to have
the right “Anchorman” quotes for any situation. As
I’m sure you’re starting to realize, KayeLee is a lot like
you and me. So it’s no surprise that KayeLee also has
a family! Quite a large family actually. She has over
25 cousins, one of which is a freshman at MHS, Allie
LaHood is her name. Allie is also on the dance team.
KayeLee also has two younger siblings, Tanner who is
a junior and just turned 17, and Amanda who is in 7th
grade at the junior high. You have probably seen her
aunt running study hall, Mrs. Goggins. She also has
the greatest grandparents in the whole world. Now
take a moment and think about what would you do if
you had $1 million dollars, done? Cool beans. KayeLee responded to this million dollar question with
a million dollar answer. “If I had a million dollars I
would pay off college expenses, buy a blue 2011 Ford
Fiesta, take Alex Burian to a Celine Dion concert,
and the rest I’d want to go to charity.” Definition of
a great lady. Is there a quote or saying you live by?
KayeLee’s motto is “Live life with no regrets, because
you only live once and you might as well make the
most of it. Don’t be stupid.” Wise words from a wise
soul. Alright guys home stretch now, the last thing
KayeLee was asked was who does she in fact look
up to? You might think her dad, mom, or Abraham
Lincoln. Nope she stated, “I actually look up to Alex
Burian, considering I am at the average stature of 5
feet 5 inches, and she is an impressively overwhelming 6 feet tall.” Let it be written! Well I hope you feel
like you know KayeLee a little better now. So, if you
see her in the hallway give her a “Hey!” or a high five,
because KayeLee is one of the nicest and greatest
people I know. I don’t really know how to put this, but
she’s kind of a big deal.
Pg. 3
The Kiln
Sports &Activities
‘Bowl’-ing the Scholastic Way
By: Riley Rummel
“In what Charles Kingsley novel
would you find Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby?” is an example question
for the Scholastic Bowl.
The Morton High School Scholastic
Bowl
team is
representing
Morton
proudly.
As of
February
4, the
varsity team is 17 -5 and the junior
varsity team is doing well and just
hosted a home match not too long
ago.
“The kids are competitive but still
like to have a good time,” said junior
varsity coach, Mrs. Bally.
Both teams are made up of 10-12
members, but during meets only
five members play at a time. The
Scholastic Bowl season started at
the beginning of October, and the
first meets were in the beginning of
November.
There isn’t an official pre-season
plan, but it is up to the members to
do their studying. “The more they
put into the better they will be,” said
varsity coach Mr. Sturm.
The team practices every Tuesday
and Thursday, but often has meets
on Tuesdays.
The Scholastic Bowl regional is on
March 7. The state meet will be in
the middle of March. Mr. Strum
believes teams will do well in the
regional meets, but no one ever really knows until the competition is
underway. Morton’s biggest Scholastic Bowl competitor is Dunlap.
Getting to state is always the goal
for any team, even the Scholastic
Bowl.
“We went to state last year, and it’d
be nice to go back again this year,”
said Mr. Sturm.
Scholastic Bowl meets have both
team and individual aspects to them.
The team can consult on bonus
questions which are typically multiple choice. The team members must
answer toss-up questions by themselves depending on which categories they are strong in. There are six
main categories: science, math, social
studies, fine arts, Language Arts, and
miscellaneous.
The Scholastic Bowl season is about
six months long. The end of the season will be around the middle to late
March depending on how well the
teams do. The busy months of the
season are January through March.
To answer the example question, the
novel Charles Kingsley wrote was
“The Water- Babies.”
Allie Hufford:
Dance Team Captain Full of Spirit
By: Katelyn Ifft
The Morton High School dance team
brings a lot of entertainment and energy to
the halftimes of varsity football and basketball games. The girl at the head of all of
this spirit is senior captain Allie Hufford.
Dancing is a way of life for Allie, who
has been doing so since she was four years
old. Her family moved a lot, which meant
constantly changing dance studios, but Allie
never let this affect her passion for dance.
She decided to try out for the Morton High
School dance team her sophomore year
after being a member of the Morton Junior
High School dance team and enjoying her
time on the squad.
This is Allie’s third year on the team, and
this year she has the honor of being the
captain. She said she enjoys leading the
team through new experiences that will
make them better dancers. Being captain
isn’t always easy, though.
“The hardest part is probably making time
to get together with other members and
making up dances,” said Allie.
The dance team’s hard work sure has
paid off though. Coming up is the senior
night dance, which will take place at the last
home basketball game. Combining dances
from the past, it is the longest dance the
team performs all season, clocking in at
about four and a half minutes. Allie’s favorite dance from high school is “By the Way”
from her sophomore year.
Allie has gained a lot from her time on the
dance team, like more school spirit from
her time spent at the games and the friendship of her teammates. It’s going to be
hard for Allie when her time on the team is
finished. She has hated watching seniors in
past years leave, and she’s going to miss her
underclass teammates and friends.
Allie’s not sure if she will continue dancing in the future, but if she does, it will be
on the Bradley dance team.
For all the aspiring dancers at MHS that
want to try out for next year’s dance team,
Allie has this advice, “Try out! The dance
team is such a blast and a wonderful experience if you love to dance. So go out there
and give it your all!”
Boys Basketball Title Contenders
20 New Members on the Cheer Squad
By: Cole Brunton
The boys basketball
team is contenders for
the Mid-Illini conference championship,
By: Taylor Hartmann
as of February 7 the
basketball team is 15
and seven with eight
wins and two loses in
conference play. The
Potters have played in
two tournaments this
year, going four and
one in the Lincoln
Thanksgiving Tournament and getting fourth
place in the Pekin Holiday Tournament.
“One of the most
memorable games so
far this season has had
to been at Limestone,
because we played
more like a team,”
said Junior Christian
Dullard.
While the Potters still
have a tough schedule
to finish off the
season they are
still looking for
a conference
championship and
also are hoping
to get a regional
championship for
the third year in
a row.
This year the team is
experiencing a lot of
changes from last year.
One change is that the
potters will be going
to the Lincoln regional
this year instead of
playing conference
teams in regional play
like it was in recent
years.
This year the Potters
will be having Lincoln, Springfield High
School, Springfield
Lanphier, and Springfield Sacred Heart-Grif-
fin in their regional.
While another change
is the new defensive
and offensive principles Coach Brown
has brought into the
basketball program.
One of those changes
is putting in a new
man defensive that
the potters have never
played in the past.
“The goals for the
team this year are to
be the hardest working team in the state
and to get better each
day,” said Junior Will
Headean
Even though the
season is almost over
you can still come out
to support the Potters. The team plays at
Metamora on February 18, then Senior
Night is February 19
when the potters host
Canton, and to finish
off the regular season
Morton travels to East
Peoria.
Go Big Red! Cheerleading
has had a great season so
far with keeping the crowd
loud. They’ve been cheering at all the boy’s basketball games and also cheered
at the girl’s game where
proceeds went to breast
cancer.
There are ten girls on
the varsity squad: Amber
Bond, Brittany Ryva, Taylor
Hartmann, Laura Howard, Karson Taphorn, Tori
Nimmo, Anna Krumholz,
Janie Backs, Macy Grimm,
and Megan Huschen. The
captains are Amber Bond
and Brittany Ryva. Amber
has been on the squad since
freshman year .
“Cheerleading has been a
good overall experience,
we’ve had some great times
and amazing memories,”
Amber said.
The junior varsity squad
also has ten girls consisting of: Alyssa Reitz, Shelby
Zbinden, Kayla Kniep, Cara
Luchtefeld, Amy Hanson,
Haley Shoemaker, Lyndi
Roecker, Anna Johnson,
Abby Marks, and Peyton
Silverthorn. The captains
for their squad are Alyssa
Retiz, Shelby Zbinden, and
Kayla Kniep.
When cheering at games
Amber said, “We try to do
cheers that the crowd can
interact with the easiest and
we also use signs so they
can yell with us.”
Besides cheering on the
sidelines, the cheerleaders
also performed a co-ed
routine February 11. The
practices were after school
either at Cheer Time or
Lettie Brown on Tuesday,
Wednesday, or Thursdays.
This is the third year Mor-
ton has performed a co-ed
routine.
There were twenty boys involved in the co-ed routine
and when asked what DJ
Zahn’s favorite part about it
he said, “Everything about
it is amazing, going crazy at
cheer time just jumping and
running off everything.”
The routine consisted of
stunts, jumps, bottle rockets, dance, and tumbling.
The boys all worked hard
and did a great job, DJ said,
“I will cry knowing I’ll never be able to cheer again. I’ll
definitely miss it.”
Now that co-ed cheer is
over the cheerleaders have
been keeping busy with
practicing for senior night
and cheering at the games.
Senior night is February 19 against Canton, so
come out and support your
potters and also watch the
cheerleaders perform at
half time.
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