April 24 2015 hi line

4
Friday, April 24, 2015 Volume 55 Edition 24 Follow us on Twitter at tigerhiline, Facebook at TigerHilineOnline and on our website at www.hiline.cfschools.org The HI-LINE Tiger STORTZ By Staff Writer Sarah Rugby racking up wins Find the story behind the victories/ Page 3 Few opportunities exist for elementary students to explore different art mediums outside of their brief art classes during the school week, but with the help of the na- tion’s largest youth development organiza- tion, 4-H, the CFHS art club has provided these children with opportunities to pursue creative endeavors with more alacrity than ever before. This is the first year the art club has been connected with 4-H, an organization that spans the whole nation, connecting six million students, and has 60 million alumni. Through this system, elementary through high school age students are paired with professionals and volunteers who create hands-on learning environments centering on many different subjects. In this case, the students in art club have donated their time to teach younger students. With the help of science teacher Debbie Paulsen and art teacher Lisa Klen- ske, members of the art club have given their time after school teaching the kids in 4-H about different forms and techniques of art. However, this instruction is equally met with freedom for students to pursue their own creative endeavors. After students learn about specific techniques, they are encour - aged to use them in any way they choose. So far this year, students from the art club have met with 4-H kids three times. Lessons this year include techniques such as pointillism and watercolor and acrylic paints. Current art club member and senior Amme Redington said she enjoys working with 4-H kids and seeing their progress. “I really like getting to see them work together. It’s cool to see their creativity bloom,” and fellow member senior Jordyn Kuehl echoed Red- ington. “It’s so cute to watch the kids work. Every one of them has different styles and artistic abilities.” Despite slashed funding of art programs in recent years, art proves to be an essential part of student’s education. National stud- ies have shown links between involvement in arts and high standardized test scores. In addition to this, independent studies have shown a correlation between involvement in arts and higher SAT scores. Linking students potential success to involvement in arts mag- nifies the importance of programs such as 4-H for children early on in school. Many current members of the art club wish to continue working with 4-H kids in the future, and they expressed hope that strengthening this collaboration between 4-H students and high school artists will re- veal to young students the satisfaction that lies within creative exploration and equip them with skills to craft future success. For fans of the distinctive Japanese car- toon artistry, anime flares alive in the hearts of the members of the CFHS anime club. “We just watch anime and talk,” sopho- more Linzee Harriman said. Members may suggest their own anime features they wish to watch, and in time their suggestions will come to life. They eat popcorn, talk and watch anime. Surprisingly, anime comprises a wide range of styles. Naruto, Yugioh! and Poke- mon are just some examples of a few that some may have watched as children. How- ever, anime is not just children shows. Anime can also be dark, grotesque, mysterious and violent. The CFHS anime club was consider- ing going to Anime Iowa this year. The headliner for this year’s Anime Iowa is that the “convention will celebrate Ninjas and our famous LoDN (League of Disposable Ninja).” Not only are ninjas the subject of the convention, but the organization is also practicing its own ninjutsu. (Ninjutsu is the The traditional Japanese art of stealth, cam- ouflage and sabotage, developed in feudal times for espionage and now practiced as a martial art.) Mailers this year will not be from “Anime Iowa” but rather the “Animation Network for Imaginative Multimedia Enthu- siasts of Iowa.” The building itself and the workers will be dressed in business suits and business galore. All of the organization’s media will be changed as well. They also ask that cosplayers tone it down by wearing their character’s “casual wear” or simply going as someone else. Having been there before, junior Nick Tran, anime club’s president, said he had a great time. “The sheer mass of it. It’s amaz- ing seeing so many people being so pas- sionate about it and getting to enjoy some- thing in common.” He plans on going this year as well, even without the rest of anime club. Next year, Tran said he hopes to make the trip with the rest of the club. Anime Iowa will take place in Coralville from July 24 through 26. Prices are as fol- lows: $45 Pre-registration Jan. 18 – March 14 $50 Late-registration March 15 – May 31 $35 Child Badges for Children ages 6-12 According to the website, “Pre-registra- tion will be open until Sunday June 1, after that you will have to wait until the conven- tion and register at the door for $60.” Teachers shoulder many responsibili- ties. Not only are they the only source of education, but they also need to look out for each individual student in their classes. Some teachers have found a way to share the load. Co-ed classes are not a new thing, but they are slowly making their way at Cedar Falls High School. In some cases, like In- tegrated Science, an extra teacher helps students who need extra attention. Science teacher Brad Baker said that he enjoys this style of teaching because it’s nice for him to have a second pair of eyes. “It also helps to have another point of view.” Baker said, “Sometimes I try to explain something, and [special needs teacher Pat Trampel] notices that maybe kids aren’t following it a certain way. She tries to interject on how she would do it.” Sometimes a co-ed class doesn’t hap- pen intentionally. With one Honors Eng- lish class, English teacher Heather Nichol- son had a free period that coincided with English teacher Jenae Kennedy’s class. Kennedy has had a history of co-teaching for the last four years at her old school. “It helps because we can make small groups within the class of kids who are ready to move on and ones that aren’t ready to move,” Kennedy said. “We each bring different perspectives into the books we read and the discussions we have. We’re able to play off each other well.” Not only does having two teachers in a classroom help students with learning, but it also splits the workload, which makes it easier for the teachers as well. Teachers team up in English, science Double Duty Due to the amount of money it costs and scheduling, it’s very unlikely to see a lot more co-ed classes; however, being in a co-ed can certainly give a unique ex- perience for both teachers and students. “From a teacher’s standpoint, I think that I’m a lot more readily prepared,” Kennedy said. “I do think that it’s beneficial for the students because they have more than one resource. They can get help from two teachers, and they can get advice from two teachers, so I think it would be really beneficial.” Integrated science has been in place for three years as shown by this screen grab from a Hi-Line Online story from episode 22 in the fall of 2012. Art club teaming up on projects with local 4-H Anime club enjoying flicks, considering state conference HYLTON By Staff Writer Taylor DANIELSEN By Staff Writer Sommer

description

The Hi-Line is produced weekly by the journalism students at Cedar Falls High School.

Transcript of April 24 2015 hi line

Page 1: April 24 2015 hi line

Friday, April 24, 2015 Volume 55 Edition 24

Follow us on Twitter at tigerhiline,Facebook at TigerHilineOnline and on our websiteat www.hiline.cfschools.org

The

HI-LINETiger

STORTZBy Staff Writer Sarah

Rugby racking up winsFind the story behind the victories/Page 3

Few opportunities exist for elementary students to explore different art mediums outside of their brief art classes during the school week, but with the help of the na-tion’s largest youth development organiza-tion, 4-H, the CFHS art club has provided these children with opportunities to pursue creative endeavors with more alacrity than ever before.

This is the first year the art club has been connected with 4-H, an organization that spans the whole nation, connecting six million students, and has 60 million alumni. Through this system, elementary through high school age students are paired with professionals and volunteers who create hands-on learning environments centering on many different subjects.

In this case, the students in art club have donated their time to teach younger students. With the help of science teacher Debbie Paulsen and art teacher Lisa Klen-ske, members of the art club have given their time after school teaching the kids in 4-H about different forms and techniques of art. However, this instruction is equally met with freedom for students to pursue their own creative endeavors. After students learn about specific techniques, they are encour-aged to use them in any way they choose.

So far this year, students from the art club have met with 4-H kids three times.

Lessons this year include techniques such as pointillism and watercolor and acrylic paints. Current art club member and senior Amme Redington said she enjoys working with 4-H kids and seeing their progress. “I really like getting to see them work together. It’s cool to see their creativity bloom,” and fellow member senior Jordyn Kuehl echoed Red-ington. “It’s so cute to watch the kids work. Every one of them has different styles and artistic abilities.”

Despite slashed funding of art programs in recent years, art proves to be an essential part of student’s education. National stud-ies have shown links between involvement in arts and high standardized test scores. In addition to this, independent studies have shown a correlation between involvement in arts and higher SAT scores. Linking students potential success to involvement in arts mag-nifies the importance of programs such as 4-H for children early on in school.

Many current members of the art club wish to continue working with 4-H kids in the future, and they expressed hope that strengthening this collaboration between 4-H students and high school artists will re-veal to young students the satisfaction that lies within creative exploration and equip them with skills to craft future success.

For fans of the distinctive Japanese car-toon artistry, anime flares alive in the hearts of the members of the CFHS anime club.

“We just watch anime and talk,” sopho-more Linzee Harriman said. Members may suggest their own anime features they wish to watch, and in time their suggestions will come to life. They eat popcorn, talk and watch anime.

Surprisingly, anime comprises a wide range of styles. Naruto, Yugioh! and Poke-mon are just some examples of a few that some may have watched as children. How-ever, anime is not just children shows.

Anime can also be dark, grotesque, mysterious and violent.

The CFHS anime club was consider-ing going to Anime Iowa this year. The headliner for this year’s Anime Iowa is that the “convention will celebrate Ninjas and our famous LoDN (League of Disposable Ninja).”

Not only are ninjas the subject of the convention, but the organization is also practicing its own ninjutsu. (Ninjutsu is the The traditional Japanese art of stealth, cam-ouflage and sabotage, developed in feudal times for espionage and now practiced as a martial art.) Mailers this year will not be from “Anime Iowa” but rather the “Animation Network for Imaginative Multimedia Enthu-siasts of Iowa.”

The building itself and the workers will be dressed in business suits and business galore.

All of the organization’s media will be changed as well.

They also ask that cosplayers tone it down by wearing their character’s “casual wear” or simply going as someone else.

Having been there before, junior Nick Tran, anime club’s president, said he had a great time. “The sheer mass of it. It’s amaz-ing seeing so many people being so pas-sionate about it and getting to enjoy some-thing in common.” He plans on going this year as well, even without the rest of anime club. Next year, Tran said he hopes to make the trip with the rest of the club.

Anime Iowa will take place in Coralville from July 24 through 26. Prices are as fol-lows:

$45 Pre-registration Jan. 18 – March 14$50 Late-registration March 15 – May

31$35 Child Badges for Children ages

6-12According to the website, “Pre-registra-

tion will be open until Sunday June 1, after that you will have to wait until the conven-tion and register at the door for $60.”

Teachers shoulder many responsibili-ties. Not only are they the only source of education, but they also need to look out for each individual student in their classes. Some teachers have found a way to share the load.

Co-ed classes are not a new thing, but they are slowly making their way at Cedar Falls High School. In some cases, like In-tegrated Science, an extra teacher helps students who need extra attention.

Science teacher Brad Baker said that he enjoys this style of teaching because it’s nice for him to have a second pair of eyes. “It also helps to have another point of view.” Baker said, “Sometimes I try to explain something, and [special needs teacher Pat Trampel] notices that maybe kids aren’t following it a certain way. She

tries to interject on how she would do it.” Sometimes a co-ed class doesn’t hap-

pen intentionally. With one Honors Eng-lish class, English teacher Heather Nichol-son had a free period that coincided with English teacher Jenae Kennedy’s class. Kennedy has had a history of co-teaching for the last four years at her old school. “It helps because we can make small groups within the class of kids who are ready to move on and ones that aren’t ready to move,” Kennedy said. “We each bring different perspectives into the books we read and the discussions we have. We’re able to play off each other well.”

Not only does having two teachers in a classroom help students with learning, but it also splits the workload, which makes it easier for the teachers as well.

Teachers team up in English, science

Double Duty

Due to the amount of money it costs and scheduling, it’s very unlikely to see a lot more co-ed classes; however, being in a co-ed can certainly give a unique ex-perience for both teachers and students. “From a teacher’s standpoint, I think that I’m a lot more readily prepared,” Kennedy said. “I do think that it’s beneficial for the

students because they have more than one resource. They can get help from two teachers, and they can get advice from two teachers, so I think it would be really beneficial.”

Integrated science has been in place for three years as shown by this screen grab from a Hi-Line Online story from episode 22 in the fall of 2012.

Art club teaming up on projects with local 4-H

Anime club enjoying flicks, considering state conference

HYLTONBy Staff Writer Taylor

DANIELSENBy Staff Writer Sommer

Page 2: April 24 2015 hi line

Friday, April 24, 2015 HI-LINETiger

The

OPINION2Our View

The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes at Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Our website is www.hiline.cfschools.org. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Fridays to read during their fifth period classes.

Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hi-Line staff or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial is present-ed weekly in the editorial labeled Our View, and it is the view of the majority of the editors listed below. Reader opinions on any topic are welcome and should be sent to The Tiger Hi-Line staff or delivered to room 208. All letters must be signed. Letters must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Monday for publication in the following Friday edition. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limita-tions. Writers should include their contact information for verification.

Editor-in-Chief: Austin AndersonOnline Editor: Zuhayr AlamCopy Editor: Annebeth AhrenholzStaff Writers: Sommer Danielsen, Agatha Fenech, Taylor Hylton, Ben Louviere, Mikaela Mallin, Malcolm Musoni, Dino Odobasic, Josie Speltz, Skylar Starbeck and Sarah Stortz

Contact Us

This Saturday morning, at 8 a.m. at Pfeiffer Park, many members of the high school and Cedar Falls communi-ty will turn up to be dosed in color by Student Senate members. Modeled after the Hindu religious festival Holi, color runs have taken the nation by storm. But like many 5k’s, this race has an altruistic purpose.

The money raised from Tiger Trot, through race fees, T-shirt sales and community business donations, goes to help area families around the holiday season. This past year, Student Senate used Tiger Trot funds to buy gift cards to places like Kohl’s and Target, and presents for families in need.

This event represents one of the best attributes of Ce-dar Falls High School and CFHS students. We band to-gether to help each other out and have a good time while doing it. Almost 70 people are signed up for the Tiger Trot right now, but with a school of 1,100, that number should be a lot higher.

Aside from the clear reason to run Tiger Trot because of the people helped with the funds, participants can also get four physical education make-ups by running, so take an hour out of your Saturday morning to bond with your friends, classmates and community by running the Tiger Trot. Get covered with color and know that your participa-tion will help a family around the holiday season.

Tiger Trot

HYLTONBy Staff Writer Taylor

Annual 5K serves CF in many ways

It seemed until now that in Hungary just like in the United States, Germany and England, there would be a big two-party system, but lately another third party has risen to influence poli-tics in Hungary, and maybe there are some lessons for American people in this.

On Sunday, April 12, when Hillary Clinton announced that she would run for president, there was also a local election in a small district in western Hunga-ry. On the same day, 15,000 peo-ple in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, were protesting against anti-semitism and remembering for the Holocaust. Colleen Bell, the new U.S. ambassador to Hungary, was in the event. She is a film producer who became the ambassador because she raised a lot of money in the Obama campaign.

In the local election, the Jobbik party won. This party is a radical, nationalist, extremely right-leaning party. This party is known for its EU-scepticism and opposition to NATO and the United States of America. Some of its leaders are openly against Jews and gypsies.

After the elections, the head of the party said: “We are not Nazis, and we respect all the eth-nicities.”

There are three more years until the next election, and with this victory, the Jobbik party has a chance to win the elections. They are the only party that is growing, and it is really popular among the youth, and they got a lot of supporters from the two ex-governor parties.

Hungary from 1948 until 1989 was a communist country led by the Soviet Union, and

Hungarian voters endorse extremists after decades of dissatisfaction with two established parties

AMERICA?

TOROKBy Staff Writer Gaspar

LESSONin this forIs there a since ’89, the fall of communism

led to mainly two party-ruled Hungarian politics: the socialist party (Left) and Fidesz (Right), who have been governing with Prime Minister Viktor Orban since 2010.

In the United States, the two big parties exist, and it seems they will prevail under the influ-ence of the Clinton and the Bush family, but in Hungary, people are so disappointed that not much has changed since the 26 years after democracy started with multiple party system, and they are not wealthier and the political elite is corrupt despite the fact that we are part of the EU and NATO.

As poverty rises, the extrem-ists rise too.

But until we live in a coun-try which is called democratic, we can not blame it on anyone except ourselves. Democracy is what the majority of the popula-tion wants, but if they are leaning intolerant after the recent elec-tions, then they will have to face the consequences.

Everyone is afraid the stu-dents are not making the grade, but how about a role reversal? Students should be able to eval-uate their teachers. Why? Simply because students spend over 30 minutes with each of their teachers per day, all semester long. Other teachers come in and watch teachers teach for a few minutes each class period multiple times a school year, but if one were to be considered an expert on a teacher, which would it be? The student or the snapshots from other teachers?

“Only recently have many policymakers and practitioners come to recognize that, when asked the right questions, in the right ways, students can be an important source of information on the quality of teaching and the learning environment in indi-vidual classrooms,” said Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation’s offi-cial study of the survey.

An argument against evalu-ating teachers is that students will take advantage of the situa-tion and attack teachers due to grudges and the like. However, even if a few students respond negatively due to personal ven-dettas, it does not truly put a dent in a teacher’s evaluation un-

less the rest of the class responds negatively as well.

Some people say that stu-dents are not qualified to do evaluations. Of course they do not have the degree a teacher has in teaching, but who spends more time with the teacher, and who understands his or her own growth better?

Other critics of student evalu-ations are concerned the infor-mation would be used to get rid of or reprimand teachers. The an-swer to that is: perhaps. Should a teacher be allowed to teach if he or she does something worthy of firing or reprimanding?

It is a fear that the evalua-tions would become a popular-ity contest. My question is this: would you rather adults try to be the best teacher rather than have incompetent teachers stay in class?

Another argument I have heard is that teachers do not want to be evaluated. They already are, though. Is it so dif-ferent? And do they have some-thing to hide?

The teachers who teach courses with a link to Hawkeye Community College are required to provide student evaluations at the end of each class. Two who

teach these courses are English teacher Diane Flaherty and social studies teacher Chad VanCleve.

“Some [evaluations] are too vague to make coherent re-sponses,” like when a student re-sponds with “good class,” Van-Cleve said. “Students that make in-depth responses help.”

“I look at patterns and trends,” Flaherty said, and if there’s a dip in the data, she said, “I look to make sure it’s an isolat-ed incident. They confirm what I know.” In the end, though, it should hardly put a dent in the teacher’s evaluation.

“The advent of student feedback in teacher evaluations is among the most significant developments for education reform in the last decade,” said Timothy Daly, president of The New Teacher Project, that uses the survey to recruit and teach new teachers.

Teaching quality would im-prove; test scores only reveal so much about a student or class and a “right” answer is not al-ways what it appears to be.

But, most of all, I think stu-dents like the right to have a voice. And they should.

In evaluating teacher effectiveness, students should give the grade

Page 3: April 24 2015 hi line

Friday, April 24, 2015HI-LINETiger

The 3SPORTS

ALAM By Online Editor Zuhayr

ANDERSON By Editor-in-Chief Austin

The tennis courts at Rob-inson Dresser aren’t home to screaming fans decked out in body paint, legendary coaches patrolling the sidelines or na-tionally ranked recruits dripping with success. If one watched the members of the CFHS men’s tennis team get off their bus, in-timidation wouldn’t immediately creep down their spines like an intense scene from Friday Night Lights. The Tigers men’s ten-nis team is led by a freshman, sophomore, the school treasurer, guys named Dekutoski and Mal-lavarapu, and one lone senior. In other words, these guys prob-ably wouldn’t be the first pick in a game of pick up basketball at the local rec center, but quite frankly they don’t really care.

Fear may not be the ini-tial reaction to this team, but it might be the last. Just ask No. 10 ranked Iowa City High. The Tigers (4-2), the seventh ranked team in the state in class 2A, took care of the Little Hawks by win-ning eight of the nine matches played last Tuesday and sweep-ing the singles matches 6-0.

“To be honest, I would say we didn’t expect to beat City High 8-1. We knew we had a good chance of winning. We knew they were a good team, but you never go in thinking you’re going to sweep singles,” assistant coach Josh Wilkinson said.

In high school tennis, each team consists of six guys ranked in order of skill level from 1-6 and then three doubles teams ranked 1-3. The top ranked player on each team plays each other and then the No. 2 ranked players play each other and so on. The team gets a win by be-ing the first team to record five victories like a playoff series in the NBA or MLB.

Cedar Falls is led by its No. 1 player, junior Vineel Mallavarapu and No. 2 player, senior Andy Mong. Last season, Mallavarapu played as the No. 3 and only lost to one opponent in his previous two years on the varsity squad heading into the season. He’s gotten off to a 3-2 start to this season, his first in the Tiger’s top spot. “It’s a lot more challenging

to play as the No.1,” Mallavar-apu said. “I go up against the other team’s best player every match, so there’s never an easy match.”

Mong spent some time as the No. 1 last season but was jumped by Mallavarapu for this season, which may have created a competitive rivalry between the two team leaders. “There’s always a little rivalry when you compete,” Wilkinson said. “So the fact that they are compet-ing for a position on the team, there’s always going to be a little bit of a rivalry going. I think that they handle it really well because they do have to get along to play doubles together.”

As doubles partners, Mal-lavarapu and Mong are doing more than just getting along. The duo currently posts a record of 4-1 with the only loss coming in a super tie break 14-12 against the top ranked team in the state, Linn-Mar. “They’ve shown that they can play really well togeth-er. They communicate well, and they’ve got each other’s backs in doubles,” Wilkinson added.

Mallavarapu and Mong have led by example with their strong work ethic and success, but with Mong being the only senior on the varsity team, the rest of the team looks to the best players for leadership. “[Mallavarapu and Mong] understand what it takes to win in tennis,” sopho-more No. 6 Daniel Licari said. “They understand how to help others. Sometimes it takes a pat on the back, and sometimes it takes some tough love.”

Wilkinson knows he can coach his players as hard as he can and give them the best ad-vice he’s got, but sometimes hearing things from a fellow player is what clicks the best. “Andy has really done a good job stepping up this year. He came in to the year knowing that was a responsibility he needed to take on himself. It wasn’t us pushing him to do that. He saw what some of the other seniors have done in previous years in terms of challenging the guys that are younger than them and getting them to step up.”

During changeovers, players

can go out and talk to other play-ers, and that is something Mong has done effectively as a senior. “The players hear a lot of mes-sages from [the coaches] a lot of the time, but when it comes from an upperclassmen, it carries a bit more weight,” Wilkinson said.

The No. 7 ranking in the state that the Tigers currently carry comes from the new coaches poll, which is in its inau-gural season. The poll provides teams with more of an ability to see where they rank up against others and provide some hype around potential top 10 match-ups like the recent victory over Iowa City High.

Regardless of the fear and intimidation that may or may not exist when the Tigers roll into town, Cedar Falls has the confi-dence to believe it is a force to be reckoned with. ”It’s a good confidence boost to know we can play with some of the good teams in the state,” Wilkinson said. “We feel like we belong in the top 10.”

After starting the season with a new head coach, the women’s soccer team finds itself with three wins and two losses in the early goings of the season. The Tigers’ sixth game took place after dead-line, so the results could not be printed.

Head coach Chris Kowal-ski took over the head coach-ing after former coach Beth Huber moved schools to coach at East High School in Waterloo. Prior to the head coaching job, Kowalski was JV coach for two seasons, and was the boys soccer coach at NU High School from 2007-2010.

“I am enjoying the oppor-tunity to work for the school as the head coach of the women’s soccer program,” Kowalski said.

Junior Kelcie Loughren, who has registered two goals and two assists after starting all five games so far, likes the way Kowalski is handling the team.

“Coach Chris does a really good job of bringing the team together and makes us all feel like a family,” Loughren said.

“He likes to have fun with the team, but we all know when we have to get serious.”

Loughren has high ex-pectations for the season but knows that the team must work hard to achieve those goals.

“This season, the team really wants to have a good record and make it to State,” Loughren said. “We are work-ing on connecting on the field, hitting good shots and talking more on the field to help each other out.”

Kowalski shares similar ambitions.

“We will achieve our goals this season by working to-gether. It’s part of an ongoing process that requires maxi-mum involvement and focus of players and coaches,” Kowalski said. “We’ll contin-ue to refine our tactics along with making sure that as we move forward this season, we build success as a whole team. Every player matters on this team.”

The Tigers’ next game is Tuesday, April 28 at home against Dubuque Wahlert.

With the season already underway, the rugby team has been able to lock down five wins already, only having lost one game.

The games played so far have been against East, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Ankeny, Des Moines Roosevelt and Iowa City West, whom they played against twice.

This year’s team has been practicing at Birdsall Park every day after school with an excep-tion for Fridays, which are re-served as game days. The team consists of 15 boys, including seven returning members.

Two of the returning mem-bers, senior Sam Lindaman and junior Ben Terrell, have been appointed the captains of the team for the year. The boys are coached by Niko Felice and Casey Hansen, who also hap-pened to coach the team last year.

With their strong start to the season, the team is looking for-ward to a great season. Linda-man said he is happy with how the season is going so far. “We are all winners in my heart,” he said. Returning member Senior Eric Poe agreed. “We are going to take it to the ship baby.” First year member of the team An-drew Reuter said he feels confi-dent about how the team is look-

Emily Barth Photo

ing so far. “It’s expected to be a tough, but good season. We have good form, and we really like to lay the other teams out.”

The team has its next game

Rugby team racking up wins New soccer coach inspiring wins

this Friday against Southeast Polk at Southeast Polk.

Senior Eric Poe breaks for open field in a recent win.

SPELTZ By Staff Writer Josie

Men’s tennis netting intimidating victories

Page 4: April 24 2015 hi line

Senior Josh Jamison patiently waited his turn on the 4x400 after being the “best alternate in the state” last year ac-cording to his head coach. He watched last year’s relay team led by Sam Ahren-holz and Zach Shippy break the school and Drake stadium record. Now he’s lead-ing the charge into the legendary Drake Relays this weekend in Des Moines.

Do you feel pressure trying to live up to last year’s school record-holding team?

Not really. Every year obvi-ously people graduate from each team, and this year while we had three graduate, we’re filling in with three more guys who can run at the highest level.

Was it a good experience being the alternate last year?

Definitely. When you’re one of the best on the team, you have to constantly make sure you’re working as hard as you can because the other guys look up to you, and if you’re not work-ing hard, then you’re obviously not getting better yourself, but it’s telling them they don’t need to work hard as a varsity runner.

What’s the experience like at Drake?

It’s a lot different than a regu-lar track meet. You’re there for three days, basically the entire time. Warming up, the intensity is a lot higher, and the adrenaline is pumping even more.

What are you expecting?I don’t like to make predic-

tions, but we are the No.1 seed, so, hopefully, we can hold true to that.

Friday, April 24, 2015 HI-LINETiger

The4SPORTS

Josh JamisonTrack

MALLIN By Staff Writer Mikaela

Weekofthe

Athlete

TigersActionin

Women’s TrackApril 23-25 Drake Relays

Men’s TrackApril 23-25 Drake Relays

Women’s SoccerApril 28 vs Dubuque Wahlert 5 p.m.

Men’s SoccerApril 28 @ Dubuque Wahlert 4:15 p.m.

Women’s GolfApril 28 Linn-Mar Invite @

Hunter’s Ridge 12:30 p.m.Women’s Tennis

April 25 @ CR Jeff 8 a.m.@ CR Prarie 12 p.m.

Men’s TennisApril 25 vs CR Jeff 8 a.m.

vs CR Prarie 12 p.m.

There I stood in the cen-ter of Carver Hawkeye Arena, number 524 pinned to my sports bra, looking up at the thousands of seats surround-ing me. I felt miniscule, and the three judges staring me down weren’t helping.

I didn’t know how else to feel. Half of me was excited and confident. How awesome is it to say that I made to the final round of a college dance team audition, especially at a D-I school? My other half was ter-ribly afraid. What if I don’t make it? I’d spent the past 18 years of life dreaming of this moment. What if I mess it all up?

This past weekend, April 17-19, I auditioned to be a part of the University of Iowa’s dance team. The team performs at all home football and basket-ball games, and some home volleyball games and wrestling meets. They travel to a few away events a year and com-pete annually at UDA’s cheer and dance National Champi-onships. They also have almost weekly public appearances and volunteer at local events throughout the year.

The audition consisted of two preliminary cuts Friday and Saturday night, before a final cut Sunday morning. Forty-five dancers showed up the first day. Eight were cut after the first night; 11 more were dismissed the second night, and 26 of us moved on to the final audition, held center court of Carver Hawkeye Arena. After per-forming the required interview, technique elements, pom and jazz routines, and solo freestyle, I sat waiting while the judges deliberated. I’d never been more nervous in my life. In a few short moments I’d discover if those hundreds of late nights in the dance studio would pay off; if I’d worked hard enough to achieve my biggest dream.

Forty-five nerve-wracking minutes later, they took the floor and announced the 2015-16 team. My heart shattered. Twenty dancers had been ac-cepted on to the team. I wasn’t one of them. I felt devastated, demolished, destroyed. For the next 48 hours I couldn’t eat or sleep. I could barely speak.

Eventually, encouraging texts and tweets from friends and family members turned my feelings around. Hearing how proud everyone was, how much they loved me and how much

they still believed in me helped enormously. They helped me realize my world was not, in fact, over. That the sun was still going to rise and fall each day, and that all I needed was to pick myself up and try again.

That’s why I tell you this story. Not to tell you how sad it is, but instead to share with you the lesson I learned. That day, 20 other girls worked harder than I did. I’m never going to let that happen again. I’m go-ing to work harder than I ever

have before, always keeping in mind how I felt when number 524 wasn’t called. I’m going to do everything I can to improve, so I never have to feel that way again. I plan to take non-major ballet, jazz and modern dance classes at Iowa, as well as join their growing dance club, which offers studio-like jazz, hip hop and contemporary classes. If you go to Iowa, you’ll see me at the gym, working out along-side the dance team members, attending their daily lifting

programs. I’m greatly inspired, invigorated, to push myself to new limits so that next year I can put on that black and gold uniform and dance for thou-sands of Iowa fans.

This is not the end. This is only the beginning. I’m never going to stop dancing. I’m never going to give up on my dreams. And neither should you.

Submitted Photo

Dance team captain Mikaela Mallin recently learned one last lesson in her senior year at Cedar Falls.

Last Dancer shares take away from recent U of I tryoutsLesson