The GamutA Jefferson West

student publication

Providing Jefferson West readers a range of newsworthy information and entertainment.

Volume 3 • Fall 2012

2•The Gamut

Tableofcontents

Page 3 -Prairie project: grant allows for educational site

Page 4 - Formal event brings red carpet to commons/Kansas Honor Scholars named

Page 5 - Honor Society welcomes new members/Seniors plan to “graduate” early

Page 6 - Seniors take advantage of voting opportunity for first time

Page 7 - Art students exhibit at Washburn University/Debate team sweeps

Page 8 - Flint earns crown at male beauty pageant

Page 9 - Freshmen outsell in magazine sales/Student-athletes recognized at fall awards.....................OPINION

Page 10 - Do your part to keep school clean/Family + river + kayak = memories

Page 11 - Student masters art of procrastination/Team shows great effort despite tragedy

Page 12 - If you really knew me...you’d know.....................SPORTS

Page 13 - First match of wrestling season sets tone

Page 14 - Athletes in the winter off-season

Page 15 - New coach for boys’ team

The Tiger mascot

works to fire up the crowd at a

September football

game. Photo by Allie Deiter

Letter from the editorHello Readers, Welcome to the third volume of The Gamut! I hope you enjoy reading our publication. If you didn’t already know, The Gamut is now on Twitter. Please follow us to get daily updates on school news and upcoming events. Good luck on this year’s finals. The staff and I would like to wish you a happy holiday season. We look forward to seeing you next semester.

Bethany HeidenEditor

Fall 2012•3

Prairie project

Sophomore Lake Mil-ler’s job during the prairie project was to cut down trees and mulch them. Photo by Chance Kueny

Sophomore Paden Sams said the most memorable part of the prairie project was when he “Tar-zaned” a tree that se-nior Alexander Wick-ersham had been cutting down. Photo by Chance Kueny

Students will get to experience na-ture in new ways, thanks to biology teach-er Rena Kilgore and a grant. Kilgore applied to the Kansas As-sociation of Conservation Education in the spring of 2012, and the Water Quality Grant was awarded as a result. The grant will transform the drain-age area from the high school parking lot into a natural wetland and prairie. “We wanted to turn the drainage area into something teachers and students could use,” Kilgore said. After Kilgore learned she would receive the grant she contacted the We-star Energy Green Team and Bob Zirkle’s heavy equipment company. She also start-ed recruiting students, faculty and com-munity members to help with the project. Friday, Oct. 19 Kilgore’s decade-long dream became a reality. That day was

reserved for the demolition phase, which consisted of clearing the area. Sophomore Allie Deiter and fresh-man Makayla Greene were among the 56 volunteers who participated in the demo-lition stage of the project. “I’m excited to see the project through,” Deiter said. Having the natural prairie grass-land will be beneficial to biology classes and JWHS as a whole according to Deiter, Greene and Kilgore. “I think the Prairie Project will help the biology classes by having an ac-tual prairie they can go to for hands-on learning,” Greene said. Kilgore believes the experience was a valuable one for volunteers. “I think it will be good for the stu-dents to see the transformation. I think it

Volunteers contribute to developmentof educational nature site

Sophomore Lake Miller helps clear brush and trees at the October work day. Students and community members volunteered their time and energy and were rewarded with a free lunch. Photo by Blaine Hawley

PRAIRIE, continued on page 4

This coming spring the next phase will begin - the planting stage. Biology teacher Rena Kilgore will be looking for help planting naturally-occurring grasses and plants during the second stage of the project next semester.

Stage two:Site will be developed in spring

4•The Gamut

KansasHonor

ScholarsNine receive

recognitionIt is a great honor

to know I am in the top 10 percent of seniors in Kansas.

Abbie Thelen, 12

“”

Nine JW seniors were cho-sen to be Kansas Honors Scholars. To be eligible for the honor of be-ing a scholar students have to be in the top 10 percent of their class aca-demically. This means having high grades throughout their whole high school career. Erika Essman, Nichole Gartner, Quentin Hahn, Bethany Heiden, Kendal Holloman, Jor-dan Korb, Ashton Symonds, Abbie Thelen and Alexander Wickersham earned the honor of being named scholars this year. “Kansas Honors Scholars is a good thing to be involved in be-cause it shows you’re a good student and school is important to you,” counselor Amanda Rush said. The title of being a Kansas

Honor Scholar also offers other ben-efits. “You get an award,” said senior recipient Bethany Heiden. “Being an honor scholar also looks good on college and scholarship ap-plications.” Senior Abbie Thelen feels strongly about being an honor scholar. “It is a great honor to know I am in the top 10 percent of seniors in Kansas,” Thelen said. The recipients of Kansas Honor Scholar awards were rec-ognized Oct. 3 at Kansas Univer-sity among other northeast Kan-sas schools. Each recipient got a dictionary and listened to a guest speaker. Story by Jenna Blad

was and will be a great learning ex-perience for those who helped out,” Kilgore said. Greene helped out for a cou-

ple of reasons. “I love to be outdoors, and I needed extra credit,” she said. Kilgore appreciates volun-

PRAIRIE, continued from page 3teers’ help. “Thank you to everybody who has helped,” Kilgore said.

Story by Jenna Blad and Chance Kueny

With the spirit of the holiday season setting the tone, students will get to experience the annual Winter Formal dance Dec. 15, sponsored by FCCLA. Themed Red Carpet Affair, the dance will begin at 8 p.m. and end at 11. All JW students who are in good standing are eligible to at-tend. The theme was chosen last summer at an FCCLA meeting. Stu-dents have been planning since then to make the night unforgettable. Red Carpet Affair will be the third dance juniors Sarah Alli-son and Kailee Gibson have orga-nized.

“It’s a formal dance that sophomores and freshman are able to attend since they are not (eligi-ble) to attend prom (without being asked),” Allison said. “It’s a fun night, and we also crown our winter formal royalty.” According to Gibson, funds are raised to host the dance through football concessions and FCCLA meals. FCCLA got some decora-tions for free this year. Allison’s uncle is the CEO of Hollywood Theaters, which donated props and popcorn. “He’s the reason we are go-ing to have an awesome Winter For-

mal this year,” Allison said. The money raised from the dance helps support FCCLA throughout the year. “It helps fund FCCLA na-tionals, extra stuff the kids want to participate in during the year, and also adopting a family at Christmas time,” said FCCLA sponsor Leslie Abbott. Abbott enjoys many things during the night and reliving memo-ries when she was in high school. “Seeing the kids have fun and being dressed up is the biggest reward for me,” Abbott said.

Story by Jenna Blad

Formal event brings red carpet to commons

Fall 2012•5

National Honor Society

New members inducted Fifteen new National Honor Society members were inducted Nov. 6. There are now 27 members in the JW chapter. “These represent our best and brightest kids,” said sponsor Rena Kilgore. “History shows that NHS members have a higher success rate in college.” In order to become a member, students had to be at least a junior,

have a 3.6 GPA, 25 community service hours, and be selected by teachers and administration. Inductees also wrote a two-page essay on the six pillars of character. Some students made this a goal in their high school career. “It means a lot to me to be a part of NHS,” said junior Kailee Gibson. “It shows my hard work to keep my grades up and give back to my community.”

Story by Chance Gardner

National Honor Society sponsor Rena Kilgore speaks at the induction cer-emony. Fifteen new mem-bers were inducted. “I am very proud of these students and wish them good luck in the future,” she said. Photo by

Allie Deiter

New members receive recognition Nov. 6. Front row: Sarah Grose, Sarah Allison, Victoria Johnson, Danelle Snodgrass, Kailee Gibson. Middle row: Nathan Holloman, Drew Slimmer, Aaron Brooks, Dalton Hahn, Josh Becker, Taylor Bahm. Back row: Ian Mullins, Brad Kahler, Josiah Dowding, Sean McMahon. Photo by Allie Deiter

Seniors Whitney Payne, Ja-cob Best, Shelby Johnson, Shelby Sage, Kristen Dalrymple and Ash-ley Neighberger plan to complete their high school requirements for graduation Nov. 20. There are advantages and disadvantages to getting done ear-ly, according to counselor Amanda Rush. “Advantages are for stu-

dents who don’t like school, want to start college early, or just want to earn money early, but these stu-dents also miss out on all of the so-cial parts of school in the spring like prom,” Rush said. Plans vary for life after high school. Sage plans to go to the mili-tary. Best and Neighberger plan to work to save up money. Dalrymple plans to start taking her pre-requi-

sites at Washburn Tech for the LPN program. “Starting in the fall, I plan to go to Highland Community Col-lege to receive my degree in nursing to work in a hospital with kids that have cancer or work in the neona-tal center with babies that are in the NICV,” Neighberger said.

Seniors plan to finish requirements by semester’s end

GRADUATES, continued on page 12

6•The Gamut

The 2012 presidential elec-tion afforded many Jeff West students a new opportunity - the opportunity to vote. Citizens 18 years and older flocked to the polls Nov. 9, includ-ing seniors Nichole Gartner and Erik Homewood and social science teacher Shawn Dolezilek. Dolezilek has voted in six dif-ferent presidential elections and votes regularly in every primary election he can. Dolezilek has taught govern-ment classes at JWHS for the past 13 years and A.P. government for the past seven. Both Homewood and Gartner are currently taking A.P. government. “The earlier you start voting, the easier it makes it for you to contin-ue voting,” Dolezilek said. “When you make it habit-ual then it becomes easier to get it done and out of the way.” According to Gartner, who self-identifies as republican, her par-ents and older sister are really into politics, and they have helped shape how she views politics. “A.P. government has helped,” Gartner said. “Dolezilek explained some issues and the candidates’ views and positions on certain things.” In Dolezilek’s opinion, the process for voting could be stream-lined quite a bit. If it were simplified, then voter turnout would reflect the change because some people think

voting is impossibly hard; they choose to not even try. Dolezilek also stated that it is a bad idea to register as independent. If you do so, you can vote in the dem-ocratic primary but are unable to vote in the republican primary. “People who are registered as independent give away their voting privilege,” Dolezilek said. Dolezilek also believes that there are many things that keep people from voting. “Some college-bound students

who go to school out of state do not drive home to vote because their home address is still at their par-ents’ house even though they do not live at home,” Dolezilek said. “They are not aware that they can ob-tain an absentee ballot and vote.” “People get busy, and a lot of people are afraid of making the wrong choice

or they have lives and just forget about it,” Dolezilek said. Homewood, who voted for the first time in 2012, believes that the voting process and our government should have less focus on racial diver-sity, and more focus on economic is-sues. “Voting gives a peaceful calm and a second nature sense of fulfill-ment and importance,” Homewood said.

Story and photos by Olivia Keller

“I think everyone that can vote, should. If they don’t then they shouldn’t complain about elected officials.” -Bethany Heiden-

“I don’t understand (voting), and I don’t want to under-stand it. I have better things to do. -Ally West-

“Voting is a good thing. It’s a service to your state/country.” -Drake Byrd-

Some seniors take advantageof voting opportunity

Seniors on voting

“The earlier you start voting, the easier it makes it for you to continue voting.”

-government teacher Shawn

Dolezilek

Fall 2012•7

Earning first place for the second year in a row, senior Ally West was among students who at-tended art day at Washburn Univer-sity Nov. 16. West earned first for her ceramics piece. Senior Cole Woodyard earned second place in ceramics at the student exhibition that was set up three weeks before the event. Other students who attended art day were Rose Riley, Darian Housworth, Whitney Payne, Molly Hothan and Corbin Rouse. Students attended work-shops taught by WU professors and BFA students. Art teacher Mark Ralston accompanied the students. “I think it’s a great oppor-tunity for students to be taught by professors,” Ralston said.

Washburn has been doing an art day the past five years. “It’s nice Washburn is reach-ing out to high schools,” Ralston said. For some students, includ-ing Housworth, this was their first time attending art day. “Pumpkin pinhole photogra-phy was my favorite part of art day,” Housworth said. “It was creative, and I love the Washburn darkroom.” Besides workshops, other activities were available. “The workshop on encaustic was really cool,” Ralston said. “I really enjoyed that, and I think the students did too.” Housworth said she hopes to go again next year.

Story by Francesca Tafanelli and Gamut staff

Art students exhibit at Washburn UniversitySeniors recognized for ceramics pieces, earning first and second places

Seniors Cole Woodyard and Ally West earned second and first places, re-spectively, at the Washburn University exhibit. Photo by Chance Gardner

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Winning sweepstakes Nov. 17 at Basehor-Linwood, the debate team presented an affirmative case on how the United States govern-ment will substantially increase its funding in transportation infra-structure. Led by sixth-year coach Mary Naumann, teams for the Basehor-Linwood meet were soph-omores Zach Surritt and Josh Mc-Garity, senior Ty Buschbom and junior Christian Fast, and sopho-mores Paden Sams and Austin Ir-vine.

“I was feeling pretty good throughout the argument,” Fast said. “A few times I got doubtful of myself but we ended up pulling through.” Fast has been participating in debate since his freshman year, and so has Irvine. “I was pretty happy during the argument,” Irvine said. “All the other teams were clueless.” Other teams at the meet were Free State, Bishop Ward, Lan-sing, Leavenworth, Mill Valley,

Debate team sweeps with affirmative case

DEBATE, continued on page 9

After all the votes were counted Sept. 15, it was time to crown a champion. Seniors Jordan Korb and Derek Miller were named third and second place winners, respectively, and the title of Mr. Jeff West went to senior Tanner Flint. The event was arranged by StuCo. “The goal of Mr. Jeff West is to create a fabulous senior memory and raise funds for StuCo,” said Stu-Co sponsor Blanche Wulfekoetter. “StuCo was very successful on both levels.” StuCo has over 30 members, and a majority helped organize the event. There were many differ-ent jobs to be filled that night, and everybody who volunteered really stepped up to fill these positions, ac-cording to Wulfekoetter. There were sound positions, spotlight opera-tors, behind the scenes crew, props,

ads and posters to be made, escorts were needed to show the partici-pants where to go, an organization crew, money takers and ballot coun-ters. Commitment was needed both during the show and at prac-tice. “I liked the playfulness of the practice compared to what the

public gets to see,” Wulfekoetter said. Senior Olivia Keller, first-year StuCo representative, made posters and advertisements with se-nior Bethany Heiden. “I enjoyed the creative as-pect of the job,” Keller said.

Story by Chance Kueny

8•The Gamut

Flint earns crown at male beauty pageant

Senior Derek Miller answers a question for masters of ceremony Caitlyn Ross (left) and Madison Tucker. The Sept. 15 contest featured several categories, in-cluding a question and answer event. Photo by Haley Siess

Senior Tanner Flint accepts his prize. Also pictured: senior Tanner Graven-stein. Photo by Danielle Slimmer

Fall 2012•9

Freshmen outsellin school-widemagazine sales

Funds raised by magazine sales contribute to prom and other school activities, and this year there were nearly 700 different maga-zines for patrons to choose from. Magazine sales were down 30 percent from last year according to librarian Billie Esser, who orga-nizes the yearly event. “I believe the economy has taken its toll on us,” Esser said. “Families view this as just another fund-raiser.” Magazine sales have been going on for almost 30 years, and it used to be the only fundraiser al-lowed, according to Esser. This year’s top sellers were senior Nichole Gartner and sopho-more Bailee Steffey. The freshman class sold more magazines than any other class. Steffey sold magazines “to do good for the school.” Students who sold maga-zines got the chance to pull money from a cash box for every magazine they sold. One student got $37 out of the cash box, according to Esser. Gartner sold 13 magazines and was this year’s top seller. Her rewards for selling so many maga-zines were that she got to pull from the cash box, and she got two free prom tickets. “Go door to door,” Gartner said. “If people are uncomfortable enough they will buy from you.”

Story by Chance Kueny

Fall sports awards for girls’ golf, cross country, football and vol-leyball were distributed the evening of Nov. 8. “We hold this awards night to recognize our fall sports partici-pants,” said athletic director John Riley. Highlight videos were viewed, and for seniors, it was es-pecially memorable. “It was really bittersweet,” said senior golf player Abbie Thel-en. “It was sad knowing that it would be my last time at the fall sports awards, but rewarding hear-ing all of our accomplishments

from the year.” Thelen is undecided on where she is going to college but plans to play golf after playing on the varsity team all four years of high school. Senior Haley Siess is going to miss many things about the vol-leyball season but one thing in par-ticular. “I will miss playing with the girls I have played with forever, and knowing how weird I could be around them all,” Siess said. “Vol-leyball helped me become more of a leader and helped my working to-gether skills.”

Story by Jenna Blad

Student-athletes recognized

Assistant coach Rod Smith shakes senior Austin Eckhardt’s hand during the cross country awards Nov. 8. Also pictured: Michaela Jernberg and Dalton Hahn. Photo by Mitchell Beal

Senior named top seller overall

Olathe East, Ottawa, Piper, Ton-ganoxie, Spring Hill, St. James and Turner. JW faced Free State and Leavenworth. “We won sweeps by win-

ning the most rounds of all the teams there and beat Free State by one round,” Nauman said.

Story by Chance Kueny and staff

DEBATE, continued from page 7

10•The Gamut Opinion

Editorial Do your part to keep school clean

My family loves to kayak. I don’t know why, and I don’t know how we got hooked. But we did, so now, about four times every sum-mer, we go kayaking down some murky muddy river in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn’t mind it so much if the water were not filled with bac-teria, ancient mud and fish pee. The water is pretty much a spring-fed 30 degree bath tub. Not the light blue kind or the turquoise salt water. No, the rivers I kayak in have a visibility of about three centimeters. Occasionally, if you’re lucky, you get to float by a snake that could dart toward you and inject its ven-om in your arms any minute. The worst part is knowing that you are about 50 miles north, south, east and west from any build-

ing or any place that has cell phone service. That is why it is good to bring some kind of doctor along. But of course that will not happen because doctors will not go anywhere near a river. Even if you visit the ER regularly and know the doctor’s middle name because you spend so much time together, you will not be able to convince them to come. So, just to be clear, you are dying in a little kayak with a water moccasin stuck to your arm. When most people hear the word “tubing” they think of maybe YouTube or being in a tube dragged behind a boat. Both, don’t get me wrong, are very fun! But not as fun as being in a plastic inflatable tire tied to the back of a kayak with a cooler tied behind you. The best

part about kayaking is when you try to stand up, the only part of your body that is wet is your calves and your “dairy air.” There is actually a kind of awkward art to kayaking. I have not yet found out what it is, but I know there is one, because I have seen old men kayak 12 miles…just sitting there…staring at the water ahead of them. I did not meet them. Frankly I do not want to. If you still want to kayak af-ter reading this, then I know four things about you. One: you are not a doctor. Two: you are reading this column. Three: you are a true redneck and will never be turned back to normal. And Four: you and I have something in common.

Commentary by Olivia Neuenswander

Walking to first hour, it’s not uncommon to see an empty milk container or remnants of someone’s hastily chewed but tasty biscuits and gravy on the hall benches. Not only is this disgusting, but it could potentially ruin “things” for a lot of people. We have it good at Jeff West. We shouldn’t take ad-vantage of the janitors, teachers or the Good Samaritan who happens along. As members of our school community each person has a duty to keep our environment looking nice and presentable. In other words - pick up after yourself, and if you

see trash lying around, do the right thing. Having a daily morning break is a privilege, not a right. Please do the right thing so we can continue to feast on cookies and so-cialize. It only takes one person to be leader and do the right thing. Maybe you can be that leader? One wise senior says: “Leave it the way you found it or better than you found it.” You wouldn’t leave trash around at your house; don’t do it here.

Gamut staff

Family + river + kayak = memoriesMuddy waters bond everyone who likes adventure

Art

by O

livia

Neu

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Opinion Fall 2012•11

Balancing equations, balancing on your feet, balancing weight may be a chal-lenge, but one of the hardest things to do is balance school work and memorize a 100-page book full of lines in a month. Sounds crazy right?!? I am one of the few crazy people who try this, and for the most part succeed, with a little procrastinating on the side. Okay I lied. There’s a lot of procras-tinating, especially when you only have a month. One month that goes by faster than Grady Middendorf running through the house 10 times after the Chiefs win a game this sea-son. Trust me; that’s fast. You have to make lots of decisions when balancing these things. After you get home from work at 10 p.m. do you... a) go to bed, b) study lines, c) do homework, or d) all of the above? If you chose d, then you are correct. Cast members did this night after night for at least two weeks. AT LEAST. You want to know how we do it? Number one: drink lots of water, 2) do lots of pushups, 3) spin around three times then balance on one foot, 4) read your lines, 5) stare at a picture of the number 12. Just kidding. 1) Drink lots of water (like you al-ways should). 2) Get as much done at school as you can. Time cannot be wasted when you have so much to do. 3) Get your homework done first, (you can’t have bad grades), but make sure to have your lines memorized. 4) Stay out of trouble and be at practice. 5) Get the memorizing done early. Theater is for everybody. Anyone can do this, if the person is willing to put in the time to memorize all of these lines.

Commentary by Chance Gardner

Theater student masters art of procrastination The Kansas City Chiefs football team may not be an

elite force in the NFL, but this team showed great composure and effort in its 27 to 21 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Tragedy struck the Kansas City Chiefs organization recently. Around 6:45 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, starting line-backer Jovan Belcher took the life of his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins in the home the two shared, then took his own life. This season did not go as planned with the Chiefs get-ting off to the worst start in franchise history - one win and 10 losses. Belcher had 33 tackles so far this season. But tackles seem like such a meaningless statistic when two lives are lost and a three-month old daughter is left without a mom or dad. It’s difficult to imagine why such a terrible tragedy has taken place. Imagine having to coach and play a game 24 hours af-ter seeing one of your family members, one of your brothers, one of your teammates take his own life. Someone they were with almost every day for the last four years was suddenly not there. Someone who they trusted and cared about had van-ished from their locker room. Their defensive leader did the most unexpected thing, and they all saw it unfold at a place that they will have to walk by for years to come. They will be reminded of that event every time they enter the stadium. The way the team pulled together in a time that they were grieving showed that this team is full of character, and it showed that they really cared about their fallen teammate. The way this fan base rallied around and supported the team shows that the Kansas City Chiefs fans are the best in the NFL.

Commentary by Grady Middendorf

Team shows great effortdespite tragedy

The Gamut• Jefferson West StuPub special edition •

Editorial Policy: The Gamut does not necessarily represent the views of the entire staff, student body, administration or school board. The material is the research and responsibility of the individual writer.

Staff Members:Editor: Bethany HeidenOnline Editor: Olivia KellerWriters: Jenna Blad, Mitchell Beal, Chance Gardner, Chance Kueny, Grady Middendorf, Francesca TafanelliAdviser: Lisa Sage

12•The Gamut Opinion

You would know. . . Many of us don’t really know one another. You may go to class with a group of people, but re-ally only know a small handful on a personal level. Students in this school and others often carry heavy burdens on their shoulders while still com-ing to class, having friends and participating in sports, clubs and activities. If you were to share some-thing with someone that only your family and closest friends knew, what would it be? I asked a small group to answer my question “if you re-ally knew me, you would know...”, and I was really surprised by how some people were willing to share such painful and difficult things with me. You would have never guessed who they are on the inside. A lot of times people who hurt on the inside

don’t always reflect it on the outside. Working on this project was an eye-opener for me. So many of my fellow students have gone through so much and suf-

fered through things that I wasn’t even aware of. People often hide things. They learn to hide from others how certain situations are affecting them. Losing a parent can turn your life upside down. Having a parent not speak to you can be extremely hard as well. Teens sometimes have to deal with tough things. People should be more under-

standing of one another. Try to not judge someone before you know their whole story. This assignment taught me that sometimes people are a completely different person than what it seems on the surface.

Commentary by Oliva Keller

Quick Facts: • 20 percent of the population will have had depression by the end of their teen years.• Of all children born to married parents this year, 50 percent will experience the divorce of their parents before they reach their 18th birthday. *

* Source: teenshealth.org

Students who chose to “graduate” early had to prepare in advance. “I think it is a great opportunity for people who aren’t into the whole ‘high school is the best time of

your life’ kinda thing, and you can get a head start on your future,” Dalrymple said.

Story by Chance Gardner

GRADUATES, continued from page 5

Sports Fall 2012•13

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Senior Tanner Flint tries to pin his opponent at the Nov. 29 dual. Flint won both his matches that night. Photo by Sydnee Mundhenke

wrestling

First matchof season sets tone Tiger wrestlers started off their season Nov. 29 with eight plac-ing at the first home dual. Senior wrestler Tanner Flint achieved third place. Other wrestlers who finished in the top four were senior Chase Branson who finished fourth, junior Josiah Dowding who finished fourth, juniors Nate Hol-loman and Justin Scott who placed second and first, respectively, and freshman Tucker Schreiner also got first. The Tigers continued their success at the Mission Valley Invita-tional Dec. 1, taking fourth out of 16 teams. Eight wrestlers traveled to the tournament and all of them placed.

Story by Grady Middendorf

14•The Gamut Sports

Sophomore Jacob Kahler comes off the field after a kickoff. Kahler re-ceived his first varsity football letter this season. Photo by Molly Hothan

The off-season

Some student athletes at Jeff West only play sports during the spring and fall. They use their time during the winter to train, prepare and have fun while they get ready for their next sport. “I go to winter weights and hunt,” said sophomore Jacob Kahler. Kahler plays football during the fall and baseball during the spring. Freshman Jared Ice also plays baseball and football but said he enjoys the break over the winter. “I don’t like wrestling or basketball,” Ice said. “I go hunting.” Kahler and Ice work on baseball lifts and exercises during the winter. They also stretch out their pitching arms. “In winter weights we do baseball workouts to strenghten our throw-ing shoulders,” Kahler said. Junior Taylor Bahm participates in cross country during the fall and track during the spring. Bahm said he enjoys the break, and he enjoys sup-porting the winter sports teams. “I enjoy watching other sports,” Bahm said. Kahler and Ice like the free time they get after school. Ice said he likes the freedom he gets by not having practice.

Story by Grady Middendorf

Junior Taylor Bahm stretches before cross country practice. Bahm reflects fondly on his fall experience: “I ran a P.R. I finally got under 19 min-utes, and I never thought I could have done that.”Photo by Jenna Blad

Some students stay on sidelines during winter

Freshman Jared Ice blocks up front during a freshman game at Perry. Ice played freshman and junior varsity football. Photo by Caitlin Scott

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Sports Fall 2012•15

The Tigers started their new season with a new head coach: Mitch Loomis. Loomis has been the freshman basketball coach at Jeff West for three years and has been coaching baseball for five years. Loomis said that the com-munity at Jeff West led him to take the job. “I love the community at Jeff West. I have grown up in the area and followed the athletics here for a while, and I know that there is great support in the area for our athletic programs,” Loomis said. “There is a solid tradition of suc-cess, and I know that it is expected of me.” Loomis looks forward to a competitve season in the Big Seven. He wants to be the top rebounding team in the league. Loomis said he looks for senior Cory Brown to be a leader for the team. “I’m very excited,” Brown said. “Hopefully we can have a good record.” He also believes that se-niors Jordan Korb and Avery Far-rent know what it takes to be suc-cessful.

“I want to be in the hunt come late January,” Loomis said. Loomis said that he feels very good about the team’s oppor-tunities. He knows that it will take time for the players to adjust to the new system. “I feel very good about our

opportunity for improvement,” Loomis said. “How well the play-ers cope with the system and how well we can gel as a team will play a large role in our ability to be suc-cessful this season.”

New coach for boys’ team hopesplayers ‘gel’ as team, find success

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Two of the seniors participating in bas-ketball this season are Cory Brown and Jordan Korb. These two seniors will try to make their last basketball season at Jeff West a successful one. “I want to compete in league and try to make it past the first round in regionals,” Brown said. Korb talked about the toughness of the team. “I want us to be a hard-nosed basketball team,” Korb said. Brown believes that if the players are confident in each other and give it their all, they will be a good team. “We need to be confident in each other and work hard in practice and be ready for games,” Brown said.

Senior leadership

Jordan Korb

Cory Brown

Stories and photos by Grady Middendorf

PracticemakesperfectWeststeppers rehearse after school in October. Photo by Grady Middendorf

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