Cardinal Gibbons High School - 1401 Edwards Mill Rd Raleigh, N.C. 27607Volume 13 - Issue 3 - November 22, 2013

Check us out online at www.cghsnc.org/newspaper and follow us on Twitter @newspapercghsncCover photo by Rachel Hebert/Gibbons Media

Gibbons wins three state championships

20

Sports

News2 Open House welcomes

prospective studentsJunior Mass marks transition for Class of 2015

3Student artwork personalizes Learning Commons

4

Page design by Arts & Entertainment Editor Caroline Young

The Gibbons varsity volleyball team celebrates after winning its record-setting fifth-straight NCHSAA 3A state championship on Saturday, November 2. Senior captain Cheyenne Wood (right, smiling) was named MVP of the 3A state championship.

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Volleyball caps perfect season with fifth-straight title

Women’s tennis continues winning legacy at states

Women’s XC team victorious

The Crusader 2 News November 22, 2013

Page design by Managing Editor Sean Feick and contributor Rachel Hebert

Open House presents Gibbons to prospective studentsStudent-led tours give middle schoolers a taste of the ‘real’ Gibbons

History teacher and baseball coach John Ferris talks to prospective students and their parents about Gibbons’ baseball team at Open House in the gym, where all the other clubs and sports gathered to present their various activities to the middle schoolers.

Photo by Rachel Hebert/Gibbons Media

Sean FeickManaging Editor

Gibbons opened its doors to pro-spective students and families who were interested in learning more about the school during the annual Open House on Sunday, November 3.

Prospective families could get a personal tour and get information at various areas throughout the school all afternoon. Tours were provided by volunteer upperclassmen, members of the Gibbons National Honor Society (NHS) chapter.

Each tour consisted of a current student showing the prospective new student and his or her family around the school while giving them informa-tion on each individual area and an-swering any questions they might have.

Various sports teams and clubs set up displays in the gym to talk to the prospective students and show them all the different opportunities available at the school, as well as to make connec-tions that would help the new students get involved in different activities right away if they enroll next year.

Some current students who were giving tours used the opportunity to reminisce about their own experience at Gibbons. Many had the same experi-ence a few years ago when they visited Gibbons for the first time.

“I found it really nostalgic to go through the school and show new par-ents places I’ve experienced and what Gibbons has to offer,” said senior Ro-drigue Achu, NHS member.

The tours were especially personal because they were led by the students

themselves, which allowed for the old-er students to share a bit of their expe-rience with the younger generation.

“It’s important because it gives you a real flavor of what the school is really like straight from the students,” said Jose Cortina, father of prospective stu-dent Jonathan Cortina.

For the faculty here at Gibbons, it was an opportunity to interact with the new generation of students and get to know them before they even come to Gibbons.

“I like meeting all the new prospec-tive students because of the diversity and how I get to listen to all their var-ied interests,” said Doug Hudson, The-ology teacher.

The real importance of the event, however, came from the opportunity for the prospective students to experi-ence the culture at Gibbons before they come here.

“It’s important because we can read all about the school on the web, but actual places have a vibe and a feel-ing that’s on another level because of the people involved,” said Bill Bride-son, father of prospective student Emma Brideson.

Open House also gives students who had never been to a Catholic school the opportunity to experience what makes Gibbons different from a public school.

“Open House gives us an opportu-nity to show our Catholicity. It’s also good because it allows families to see that there’s other options beyond the public school system to send their kids. It builds our community,” said Hud-son.

Cross country coach and World Geography teacher Nick Mangum talks to a parent of a prospective student about the program during Open House.

Photo by Rachel Hebert/Gibbons Media

Staff and students representing the Spiritual Life programs at Open House included (from left) Assistant Principal of Spiritual Life Fr. Romen Acero, Theology teacher Joseph Sebik, S. Laura Downing, IHM, senior Connor Battershall, Director of Outreach Agnes Penny, Director of Retreats Crista Anders, seniors Ameila Quigley, John Cunningham, Tim Ballesteros, and sophomores Richie Lee, Valeria Mera, and Jake Curtis.

Photo by Diego Pineda/Gibbons Media

Alumni Coordinator Joseph Hoying ‘99 talks to a younger visitor of the school during Open House.

Photo by Lorenzo Macaisa/The Crusader

Theology teacher Mark DeLaRosa plays guitar with the Gibbons guitar band outside of the school during Open House

Photo by Diego Pineda/Gibbons Media

NHS member junior Alex Miskimon takes a prospective Gibbons family on a tour of the second floor of the new Learning Commons during Open House.

Photo by Lorenzo Macaisa/The Crusader

The Crusader 3November 22, 2013

Page design by News Editors Anthony Palumbo and Stephanie Todd

NEWS

Junior Mass recognizes students as upperclassmenClass of 2015 receives blessed items during special night together

Box-a-thon took place on October 19 and 20. In the span of these two days the 24 students who par-ticipated had a full itinerary that spanned from clean-ing up the Shepherd’s Table to sleeping in boxes.

While sleeping in a box is not typically a high schooler’s idea of a good time, Gibbons students have participated for 11 years now.

“I would consider it important. It gives people a glimpse of being homeless and raises a lot of money to benefit great causes,” said junior Joey Edmond. Edmond saw it as a positive experience due to the great feeling he received whilst benefiting others.

The group, led by Agnes Penny, Director of Out-reach, began the event with a prayer. Immediately af-terwards they cleaned up Shepherd’s Table, the soup kitchen all students go to for their sophomore year of outreach.

“My least favorite part was all the cleaning, but it made me feel better knowing that I was doing it to help someone else,” said Danielle Rozansky, a junior who has participated three times and finds it to be a positive experience each time, saying that she learns a lot from this event and finds it to be of great impor-tance to Cardinal Gibbons High School.

For lunch, the students were fed by Shepherd’s Table. After dining, they headed back to Gibbons where they listened to Shay Bethea’s story. Shay Bethea was a former homeless lady who, with her husband and two sons, had to stay at a shelter. She and three ladies were cramped into a single room with four beds and a box at each end of the bed to hold their belongings. In a bed slightly shorter than

Box-a-thon raises money for charity for 11th year Gibbons charity fundraiser brings $5,050 and money ‘is still rolling in’Stephanie ToddNews Editor queen sized, she slept with her two sons of ages 6 and

8. Bethea heard of the Habitat program and talked to her husband about application. His disinterest in the opportunity and the conversation about it came just prior to him declaring their marriage to be over. Bethea applied without her husband. She worked full time, took home owner’s classes for over a year, and had to volunteer over 300 hours to prove her-self a good and willing candidate. She eventually was granted a habitat home where she lived for 17 years. She received a job at a non- profit organization. With this money she put her sons through school, and bought a real house, one that she is currently living in. Bethea is now saving up to sponsor someone else.

“We were just impressed with that woman,” said Penny.

The troupe of students then went to Cathedral for Mass at 5 and returned to Gibbons.

Junior Joey Edmond settles into his box for the evening.

“Ferg’s drama students performed monologues from homeless teens in New York, and it was bril-liant,” said Penny.

“Our goal was to keep prices low, so we just had bag lunches for dinner,” said Penny.

S’mores were consumed and stories were told over a fire.

“I personally told stories about the way Christ comes to our lives and moves to help others,” said Penny.

After which the students were sent to their box-es, the night time prayer with Penny of the last things

Sophomore Megan Trickett lends a hand at Shepherd’s Table.

One of the many boxes individual participants both cre-ated and then slept in.

on their mind. Those who participated pledged to spend 10

hours in their boxes; this was a better experience for those who brought tarps. For those who did not heed to the warnings, they experienced an unpleasant sur-prise when the dew came and wet down their tempo-rary homes to the point of the boxes caving in.

“It was cold and rainy- besides that it was fantas-tic,” said Edmond.

This is Edmond’s second experience with box-a-thon and he will be doing it again if only because it is “enjoyable and fun” as he said.

This was Box-a-thon’s eleventh year, and yet another success. The group of students raised $300 dollars each with a current total of $5,050 raised to donate to Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen and Habi-tat for Humanity. However money is “still rolling in,” says Penny. As of right now, $1,666 will go to each of the three charities; Shepher’s table, Interfaith food shuttle, and Habitat for Humanity.

Financially, this year was not as much of a suc-cess as years past. Though the participation and pas-sion from the students was just as successful, if not more so.

“With a good participation, I will always consid-er it a success,” said Penny.

For 11 years, Box-a-thon has been of great im-portance to the Gibbons community.

“Anything where young people learn to pay it forward is important,” said Penny.

Junior Anthony Palumbo agrees with Penny. “It is important to expose students to different

phases of life and this experience allows you to do that,” said Palumbo.

Junior Mass took place at St. Mi-chael the Archangel in Cary on No-vember 7. The Mass provided an op-portunity for the Class of 2015 to come together and be recognized for their transition into upperclassmen.

The Mass was celebrated by Assis-tant Principal for Spiritual Life Fr. Ro-men Acero.

Junior Mass helped some students realize they were going to be parting ways with one another all too soon.

“I loved being able to spend a night

with my classmates. This experience really opened my eyes up to the fact that we don’t have much more time together, and you really can’t take any of our time together for granted,” said junior Anna Powers.

After Mass was completed, stu-dents were called to the altar to receive a certificate and their class rings or any other item they provided to blessed. Each student got their time to shine as they walked up onto stage and received their item, their certificate, and a hand-shake from Principal Jason Curtis.

Once students were settled back in the pews, junior class president Tyler

Junior Dillon Abernathy receives his certificate from Principal Jason Curtis at Junior Mass, which was held at St. Michael the Archangel in Cary. Junior Mass recognizes the next generation of upperclasmen.

Photos by Rachel Hebert/Gibbons Media

Pham gave a speech, emphasizing the importance for parents and students to not take for granted their time togeth-er, which is soon coming to an end.

“I was trying to highlight the im-portance of being leaders now, and how it is important for us to recognize that Junior Mass is a checkpoint in our high school lives, because there isn’t much more left,” said Pham.

The speech was greeted with praise from students.

“It was awesome because it was a nice reflection of the year,” said junior Dillon Abernathy. “It inspired me to really step up and make the most of the

time I have left.”For some faculty members, it was

also a time to reflect on the junior class’s time at Gibbons.

“I was just really proud of the ju-niors and everything they have accom-plished in their years here. It was also amazing to see all the people that came together to help put together this Mass and celebration,” said Sr. Laura Down-ing, IHM, junior class moderator.

The night ended with a small re-ception with sweets and treats, and a time for students to take all the pic-tures they wanted to remember this special night together.

Junior class president Tyler Pham addresses students and parents at Junior Mass

Juniors stand as they prepare to line up to recieve their certificate and their blessed items.

Anthony PalumboNews Editor

Contributed photos from Director of Outreach Agnes Penny

The Crusader 4 November 22, 2013

Page design Anthony Palumbo News Editor

NEWS

Most people would immediately head home on a Friday afternoon to relax and decompress after a tough week, but juniors Caroline Czuhai and Morgan Holub have better plans.

Every Friday, Czuhai and Holub stay after school to add a piece of art work to the Learning Commons. When the Learning Commons was outfitted with its furniture, four mobile white boards were included to encourage collaboration. The white boards were rarely touched until one day the girls had an idea: turn those blank boards into a piece of art.

“One day, Morgan asked me if I wanted to draw [the superhero team] The Avengers in the style of the

Artwork personalizes Learning CommonsStudents work to make Learning Commons more inviting

Anthony Palumbo News Editor Last Supper (an inside joke in our Intro to Sequential

class) on the whiteboards with her after school Fri-day, when both of us do not have any place to be im-mediately after school, so I said yes and that Friday we drew it,” said Czuhai, in an email.

The drawings of the girls have drawn a great deal of notoriety from the students and even faculty mem-bers.

Photos of the drawings have been popping up on school Twitter accounts including Principal Ja-son Curtis’s (@principalcghsnc) and librarian Tripp Reade’s (@library_cghsnc).

Holub and Czuhai have produced seven original drawings, thus far, including one with junior Madi-son Bonavita. All three are classmates in art teacher

Chris Kemple’s Intro to Sequential Arts class.“The Last Schwarma” showed The Avengers eat-

ing together; “To Boldly Go”, a Star Trek-themed piece featuring the starship U.S.S. Enterprise; “Papa? Is That You?” depicting Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel; “Defender of the Night”, an intricately detailed owl; “Man in a Can”, depicting a flying Iron Man; “When you betray me…” featur-ing Thor and his brother Loki and most recently, “So Tight. The Confidence.” featuring a scene from the new Thor: The Dark World film.

These pieces of art work have not only been able to provide as something pleasing to the eye, but it has also been helping build a sense of community.

“The drawings really do complete the Learning Commons. I just love the idea of being able to see these pieces of art every time I walk in there. It re-minds me of all the talent we have at this school,” said junior Meaghan Nedoma.

Czuhai also believes that it provides that one spe-cial touch in place where there isn’t much of those “Only at Gibbons” items.

“The Learning Commons is one of the newest areas in the school and so it doesn’t yet have all of the nuances that make it a place of the Gibbons com-munity. Most of the school’s hallways are lined with pictures displaying students and Gibbons’ life and even art done by students, but the Learning Com-mons doesn’t have anything of the sort yet. People, both students and teachers, enjoy the art and it gives the Learning Commons a more inviting, comforting, and lived-in presence,” said Czuhai.

Holub summed up the reasons for their artwork perfectly, “In the words of Speed Racer: ‘It’s the only thing I know how to do, and I’ve gotta do something.’”

Photos by Dan Jukic/Gibbons Media

Juniors Caroline Czuhai, front, and Morgan Holub work on touch ups for their latest piece of artwork in the Learning Commons. The girls created this artwork in order to relax and spend time with their friends.

“Defender of the Night”

“Papa is that you?”

“To Bodly Go”

“Man in a Can “

“The Last Schwarma”

“So Tight. The Confidence “

Juniors Caroline Czuhai and Morgan Holub started creating artwork on Fridays in the Learning Commons just to relax and enjoy time with each other. The order of the pictures was “The Last Schwarma”, “To Bodly Go”, “Papa is that you?”, “Defender of the Night”, “Man in a Can”, “When you betray me” (not pictured) and “So Tight. The Confidence.” The artwork has brought life into the new hub of student life.

Photos by @library_cghsnc/contributer

The Crusader 5December 18, 2013 Technology

Cardinal Gibbons will be hosting 24 teams on January 25Erik BorchersNews Editor

Browsermark: browser comparisonsCompare features on Gibbon’s three browsers

Robotics prepares to host upcoming qualifier

Extensions

Jim Kelley and Ben Gravel work on their robot design for the upcoming tournament.Photo by Lorenzo Macaisa

Sean Greene works on the robot that will be lifting a flag during the competititon. Photo by Lorenzo Macaisa This years robot design has been built twice: for both testing and the ability to swap

parts quickly.

Photo by Lorenzo Macaisa

Currently@vitaly_babiy @henrymodis

@Pocket

Pocket is a read-it-later service with good browser integration. Pocket has a mobile app and an extension for Google Chrome and Firefox. The ex-tension adds a button to the right of the web address box. Clicking the but-ton automatically adds the webpage to Pocket, letting you read what you just sent to Pocket with larger font, a cleaner interface, and night mode.

Pocket

Erik BorchersNews Editor

Gibbons computers have three web browsers available for use – Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. All three browsers can establish the same tasks, but offer different features.

The SunSpider 1.0.2 JavaScript benchmark was used to measure every day browser performance on the school computers. The most up to date version of the three brows-ers were used. The benchmark was run on the same computer with an i7-3770 and 16gb of DDR3 RAM with both a Microsoft Word and Adobe In-Design document open in order to simulate real world usage. SunSpider was run three times for each browser, alongside possible error percentage. Averages are at the bottom of each column.

Google Chrome and Firefox both have similar speed, but Internet Ex-plorer beats both Google Chrome and Firefox by 50ms.

While Internet Explorer is faster than both Google Chrome and Firefox, it has several disadvantages. Google Chrome and Firefox offer many more options and functions. Google Chrome obviously integrates very well with Google services, and your bookmarks will sync with your ac-count. Chrome also has extensions to increase functionality; Adblock and Pocket are among the best. Firefox is

similar to Chrome as it has extension functions and similar speeds.

Chrome offers extended function-ality through extensions, Google ser-vices, Internet Explorer has raw speed, and Firefox currently sits in a middle spot. With lower speeds, a chunkier interface, and no native Google ser-vices support there is no reason to choose Firefox over Google Chrome or Internet Explorer. Google Chrome stands out as the most complete web browser. With Google account sync and a huge library of extensions, it is the best web browser to use at Gib-bons.

Google Chrome (v. 23)131.6ms +/- 1.0%132.3ms +/- 0.7%133.1ms +/- 0.8%132.3ms +/- 0.83%Firefox (v. 21)129.7ms +/- 1.4%134.5ms +/- 1.4%133.2ms +/- 1.3%132.4ms +/- 1.3%Internet Explorer (v. 11)84.2ms +/- 11.4%81.2ms +/- 8.0%81.0ms +/- 8.2%82.13ms +/- 9.2%

The weather extension “Cur-rently” by Vitaly Babiy and and Henry Snowdisset is a beautiful extension for Google Chrome and Firefox. With slick animations, large fonts, multiple colors, and easy to access information Currently is a no brainer as a new tab screen. Upon opening a new tab you will be greeted by Currently. The new tab displays weather and time, pulled from the weather service wunder-ground for accuracy.

The stats

Internet Explorer beat both Google Chrome and Firefox.

The Gibbons robotics club will be hosting the qualifying robotics FTC Block Party on January 25 in the new building.

“We volunteered for the qualifier really early to show off the great pro-grams at Gibbons,” said co-coach Maryellen Toebes.

“We expect 25 teams from North Carolina. North Carolina is split into three regions; we’ll be hosting one-half of the teams,” said Toebes.

Toebes has been the co-coach of Gibbons robotics since the found-ing of the club in 2009.

“When my daughter was here Gibbons didn’t have anything like this. She asked her parents, me and my husband, Mr. Toebes, to start the club. She graduated a while ago, but we liked it so much,” said Toebes.

Toebes has a degree in electrical engineering and computer science from NC State.

“I mostly work with the program-ming,” said Toebes. Sean McDonald is the lead programmer for the team this year.

The team has been preparing since September for the upcoming qualifier. The team meets on Tues-days, Thursdays, and Saturdays for

three hours. “I think we’re going to do pretty well. More work goes into this than the general public thinks, peo-ple are here (at Gibbons) two to three hours a day, even when we’re off,” said team captain senior Aaron Ruff.

“I’ve spent hours at home working on designs,” said Ruff.

The team always builds two iden-tical robots for both competition and testing purposes.

“We always build two identical, one for the competition and one for the programmers to use. Everyone is al-ways trying to get a working robot, the programmers need a working robot to code on,” said Toebes.

The robotics tournament has pre-viously had a ten member limit, but not anymore and the team is looking to expand.

The team already has new mem-bers, freshman Reade McBride is in robotics this year.

“I joined robotics after shadowing. One of my shadow’s friends (Sean Mc-donald) was in it. It looked really fun,” said McBride.

After the qualifier the robotics team will be heading to the North Car-olina State tournament. The ultimate goal is to go to the national tourna-ment in St. Louis.

The Hubble Telescope’s 20th launch anniversary is celebrated this year. The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990, and continues to take photos today.

The news

This photo by the Hubble Space Telescope is a snapshot of the Eagle Nebula.

Photo by Hubble Space Telescope

The Crusader 6 November 22, 2013

Page design by Op-Ed Editor Kristina Rupp

Op-Ed

The Crusader is the official student newspaper of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina.

As a school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, The Crusader will not purposefully publish any material that contradicts the teachings of the Catholic Church.

The Crusader will endeavour to publish only the truth, to the best of its ability. The Crusader will not purposefully publish any stories that are libelous or disingenuous nor any images which diverge from the essential truth of the captured image. Only images legally obtained or for which permission has been granted will be published.

The Crusader is the product of class work and as such is subject to prior review by the adviser and administration. Regardless, the commentaries contained herein are the opinions of the newspaper staff only, and do not necessarily reflect those of the faculty/staff or administration.

The Crusader editorial board as a whole will be responsible for determining editorial opinions, which represent the opinions of the majority of the editorial board. No single member of The Crusader will be held responsible for editorial content decisions.

All submissions to The Crusader will be considered for publication either in print or online but may be edited for space and content.

Please contact The Crusader by email at newspaper@cghsnc.org.

Editorial Policy

Continuing a tradition of journalistic excellence

Re-established 200110th anniversary 2001-2011

Andrew MihokSports Editor

Sean Feick Managing Editor

Rebecca CamakInside & Out Editor

Caroline Young A&E Editor

Andrew SchnittkerSports Editor

Dan Jukic Adviser

Brennan DohertyEditor-in-Chief

Erik BorchersOnline News Editor

Stephanie ToddNews Editor

Preston MoserSports Editor

Cheyenne WoodProduction Editor

Anthony PalumboNews Editor

Kristina RuppOp-Ed Editor

Lorenzo MacaisaPhoto Editor

‘Why would I want to go on that?’Why I love retreats & why you should go on them, too

Kristina RuppOp-Ed Editor

One of the things I remember most clearly from my freshman year was hearing about retreats. They seemed so mysterious and exciting. All anyone could tell me about them was where they happened; no-body could tell me what went on there.

From the very beginning of my time at Gibbons, I wanted so badly to go on a retreat.

So, my freshman year, I signed up and went on the very first Prism.

In my opinion, freshman retreat is the retreat that hurtles you ungracefully into the midst of your peers. It offers a frank picture of what high school can be like, what you might go through during high school, and reminds you that the coming four years will be anything but easy.

However, it also reminds you that you have one thing to help you through those four years: each oth-er.

I loved that first retreat. Not to sound cliché, but I laughed, I cried, I made new friends and got closer to my old friends.

Prism definitely helped ease some of the fear brought on by the impending four years of high school, and I can honestly say my high school expe-

rience probably wouldn’t have been the way it has been had I not gone on it.

Next came sophomore year, and Mosaic.

I had been pumped to go on another retreat from the second I stepped off the bus the Short Jour-ney Retreat for Prism. As soon as I could, I signed up for the first Mosa-ic, and went eagerly to Camp Chest-nut Ridge that September. Mosaic is nothing like Prism.

It’s a ropes course, a ton of ac-tivities, and less talks and less—how scary—bonding. I mean, of course you get closer to people on Mosaic: you’re responsible to keep them from falling off of a rope in the middle of the woods. But it’s not as intense as Prism; it’s much more relaxed.

I remember having so much more fun on Mosaic, and I met some-one who is now one of my closest friends.

Then came my junior year, and Quest. During your time as a freshman and sopho-more at Gibbons, you will without a doubt hear about Quest multiple times. It’s one of the most discussed, most mysterious retreats.

People come back from Quest with an entirely new group of friends, infinitely closer to the people you went on the retreat with. But why? As per Gib-bons policy concerning retreats, I can’t say.

I can only say that Quest is a bonding experience, but not in the cheesy stand-around-a-fire-and-hold-hands way.

Quest gives you a chance to know people on an entirely new level, and it lets you open yourself up to people--only if you want-- and really get close to the people in your grade. It’s really cool to be able to see what other people are going through or have gone through, and it’s almost inspiring to see that they’ve gotten through it.

Some of the things people share are like a smack in the face-- if they got through that, you can get through high school.

Kairos is the senior retreat, and obviously I haven’t been on it yet. But I definitely want to go. It’s a four day, three night trip--the longest retreat. No-body knows what happens there until they go, and nobody speaks about it. Karios is ten times more mysterious than Quest.

The unique thing about Kairos is that you can’t lead it unless you’ve been on it before, so alums lead the first one, and people who went on that first re-treat help lead the rest.

So why go on retreats at all? For the obvious rea-sons, of course: you get time off of school, to get away from everything and spend time with your friends.

And you don’t have to wear khakis! Some people go on retreats for the religious as-

pects and many parts of each retreat are religious in nature. But while Gibbons retreats are so much more than just religion; they’re also so much more than just hanging out for the weekend with your friends.

Personally, I’m not even Catholic, but I still love Gibbons retreats.

They’re not cheesy or boring; they’re fun for ev-eryone from the most pious Catholic to non-religious students.

I can’t force anyone to go on a retreat, but I can say that I’ve never met anyone who regretted going on one. I can’t generalize why others go on retreats; it’s different for everyone.

Personally, retreats give me a chance to see my-self and my friends in a new light. They’re a refresh-ing break from the monotony and pressure of school, and a chance to reevaluate and work through issues if school or life is getting tough.

So why don’t you find out what retreats are like for yourself? I promise, they’re an experience (as cheesy as it sounds) that you really won’t forget.

Contributed by Gibbons Retreats

Junior students and their senior and adult retreat leaders strike a funny pose on the wall of one of the historic forts at the Fort Caswell Retreat Center in Oak Island, NC to commemorate Quest 23, the first 2013 junior retreat.

Contributed by Gibbons Retreats

Juniors, seniors, and adult leaders on Quest 23 walk down the Oak Island beach in silence. Quest 23 was the only junior retreat during the 2013-2014 school year to go to Oak Island.

The World According to . . .Halloween or

Thanksgiving?

DougRahl

Senior

KatherineCombs

Junior

RileyHough

Sophomore

Favorite Thanksgiving Dish

Favorite Halloween Candy?

JonahSoberano

Freshman

Joleen Smith

Chemistry Teacher

Halloween

StuffingThanksgiving

NickLefevre

Senior

EdgarTorres

Junior

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Stuffing

Turkey with Gravy

Deep Fried Turkey

Pumpkin Pie

Broccoli Casserole

Ham

Junior Mints

Snickers

Snickers

Reese’s

Skittles

Milky Way

Swedish Fish

Kelly Brown A&E Editor

The Crusader 7

Page design by Inside and Out Editor Rebecca Camak

November 22, 2013

Cowgirls, the Grease cast and many Supermen filled the halls of Gib-bons on Thursday, October 31.

The costumes ranged from full on light up jellyfish to full man gorilla suits. Some would say Gibbons went “all out.” The turnout for the costumes this year was great, as well as the intui-tive ideas for the get ups.

The annual Halloween parade was held in the piazza this year.

“The parade worked really well with the new space,” said Michael Rogosich, Assistant Principal of Stu-dent Activities.

Last year’s senior class gift of the portable welcome center worked as an official judges table as the student strutted around the piazza and showed off their creative costumes. More teachers participated than ever before, as well.

The third place finisher in the costume contest was Matt DeGeorge,

Creative costumes fill the halls of Gibbons

Above: Seniors Keaton Grimes, Daniel Miles, Jacob Comello and Alex O’Neill recieved honorable mention in their KISS costumes.

Photo by Darsey Williams/Gibbons Media

dressing up as Aladdin. Second place was given to Connor Battershall, dressing up as Clark Kent/ Superman. Heather Rahl took first place with her jellyfish costume.

When asked about her inspiration and construction of the costume she answered with,“I love bioluminescent things like jellyfish. It’s made with a clear umbrella; there was a clear cov-ering over the umbrella which is filled with translucent plastic sheets. It lights up with battery powered Christmas lights,” said Rahl.

The way the students dress up for Halloween reflects the message of the school which is one of the great things about the contest. Dressing up for Hal-loween really showed how people care about the school and the spirit of Gib-bons. Having to register, pay money, and construct appropriate ideas for their costumes reflected the positive, and fun attitude of the students that help make Gibbons the special place it is.

Rebecca CamakInside and Out Editor

Photo by Dan Jukic/Gibbons Media

Sophomore Heather Rhal in full body jellyfish costume, displays her inovative ideas while walking the hal-loween prade, and during school. Far left: Senior Connor Battershall, win-ning second place for the contest, strolls to school in his Clark Kent/Super-man costume. Middle: Freshman Matt DeGeorge stole 3rd place with his magic carpet and Aladdin costume.

Photo by Darsey Williams/Gibbons Media

Photo by Darsey Williams/Gibbons Media Photo courtesy of Mike Rogosich

Left: Sophomores Erica Schumann, Emmy Allen, Julianna Peters, Samantha Stasze-wski, Amber Smith, Elizabeth Bereswill, Jessalynn King, Elizabeth Pedersen, Kneeling: Kylie Hopkins dressed up as Crayola Crayon’s for the Halloween contest.

Below: Students begin the Halloween parade, non dressed up students watch peers walk the piazza while being judged by faculty and staff on who had the best contest.

Photo by Darsey Williams/Gibbons Media

Photo by Dan Jukic/Gibbons Media

Bottom cartoons: Juniors Morgan Holub (Ghost, cat, monster, bat), Jake Olinger (Haunted house, mummy) and Caroline Czuhai (Gibbons Pumpkin, skull, skeleton) all drew graphic Halloween designs in art teacher Chris Kemple’s Sequential Arts class.

November 22, 2013Inside & OutThe Crusader 8

Page design by Arts & Entertainment Editor Caroline Young

The Green Agenda

The Green Agenda is back for this issue of The Crusader! The Green Agenda features the dates of various events our readers will be involved in, both Gibbons related and outside of school. For more information about the

events on the calendar, either look below or check out the Gibbons website: www.cghsnc.org.

This weeklong toy drive run by the Na-tional Honor Society provides Christ-mas presents for kids at a local pre-school. Each first period class is given a child and encouraged by NHS rep-resentatives to bring in toys or money

for toys for their child.

NHS Toy driveNovember 26: Home against Fuqay

Varina at 7 pmDecember 3: Home against Athens

Drive at 7 pmDecember 4: Home against Jordan

at 7 pmDecember 10: Home against

Ravenscroft at 7 pmDecember 20: Home against

Northwood at 7 pm

Men’s basketball

WoMen’s basketballDecember 3: Home against

Athens Drive 5:30 pmDecember 4: Home against

Jordan at 5:30 pmDecember 10: Home against

Ravenscroft at 6:30 pmDecember 13: Home against

Orange at 7 pm

24 25 26 27 2928 30

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31 1 2 3 4

SaturdayFridayThurdayWednesdayTuesdayMondaySunday

December

November

January

ChristmasDay

ChristmasEve

New Year’sEve

New Year’sDay

Exam Makeup dayExams

7&5Exams 8&4

Exams 1&6

Exams 2&3

NoSchool Thanksgiving

day

quarter 2 ends

Christmasbreak

Chorus Concert 7 pm

NHS Toydrive begins

NHS Toydriveends

Guitar & wind Concert

7 pm

percussion & string Concert

2:30 pm

“our town” 2:30 pm

Men’s b-ball home 7pm

Men’s b-ball home 7pm

Men’s b-ball home 7pm

Men’s b-ball home 7pm

Men’s b-ball home 7pm

woMen’s b-ball home 5:30pm

woMen’s b-ball home 5:30pm

woMen’s b-ball home 6:30pm

woMen’s b-ball home 7pm

NoSchool

The winter play, “Our Town”, closes on November 24 with it’s final show in the

Studio Theater. Tickets are $5.

Fine Arts Events

The Gibbons Percussion & String Ensem-bles have a concert at 2:30 pm on De-cember 8, followed by a concert at 7 pm by the Guitar & Wind Ensembles. Both concerts are held in the main theater and

admission is free.The women’s and mixed choral ensem-bles are performing their “Christmas Choral Extravaganza!” on December 13 in the Studio Theater. Admission is free.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Winter Sports PicturesWednesday, December 4, at 2:30 in

the Crusader Room

Quarter 2 EndsThe second grading period ends on Friday, December 13. This is the last day of the quarter, as well as the end

of the first semester.

Exam make-up DayIf you miss any of your mid-term ex-ams, the exam make-up day is Friday,

December 20.

NHS ToyDrive NHS Toy

Drive

Christmasbreak

Christmasbreak

Christmasbreak

Christmasbreak

Christmasbreak

The Crusader 9November 22, 2013

Page design by Photo Editor Lorenzo Macaisa

Photo Gallery

Insta Gibbons

#RoadToStates

By Lorenzo MacaisaPhoto Editor

Photo by Jessica Airey/Gibbons Media

Junior Jake Olinger works on a collage during an Art II class.

Junior Maggie Allen sprays her AP 2D Art Design project.

Photo by Diego Pineda/Gibbons Media

Photo by Diego Pineda/Gibbons Media

Photo by Lorenzo Macaisa/The Crusader

Students study on the new furniture in the Learning Commons.

Students apply a variety of colors to their shirts during a tie dye event during Spirit Week.

The Gibbons volleyball team won an NCHSAA record fifth straight state championship on Satur-day, November 2 in Reynolds Coliseum.

Photo by Rachel Hebert/Gibbons Media

The Easily Amused club blows bubbles for its guests during Open House on Sunday, November 3.

Photo by Diego Pineda/Gibbons Media

Students from the Photojournalism classes took pictures of various events, and these are some of the best pictures from the first two months of the year as chosen by the photographers.

These pictures show off great composition, cap-ture the emotion of the moment, and also tell the

Photo by Katherine Nanney/Photo Journalism

Senior Tess Benttinsoli does pushups during the WNCN Blitz event on Friday, September 6.

#CGHSRules

story of Gibbons since we first started off the school year in August.

Gibbons photographers show off their best photos

#GoGibbons

The Crusader 10 MAESTRO

Page Design by Production Editor Cheyenne Wood and Inside and Out Editor Rebecca Camak.

Hannah JeffersonUniversity of Alabama

When did you visit?I visited the school last February.

Why did you visit?A lot of my camp counselors over the summer go to Alabama and they loved it so I decided to make the nine hour drive to see what it was all about! Along with everyone saying what a welcoming southern school it is.

What was your favorite part?The size of the school, but it had a lot of small qualities and I loved the Greek system.

Could you see yourself going there next year?Yes, I’ve already been accepted and I can’t wait to attend next fall!

Bianca Gartner University of Texas

When did you visit?This summer in June.

Why did you visit?It is one of the schools I would love to go to and it looked awesome.

What was your favorite part?I loved the size and real-world feeling and all the opportunities they had for their students. The social atmosphere also looked fun.

Could you see yourself going there next year?Yes, I would love to see myself going there next year.

Sam RossoStanford University

When did you visit?I visited sophomore year.

Why did you visit?I always heard it was a great school and my family was on vacation in San Francisco so I decided to take a look.

What was your favorite part?It has the best campus of any school I’ve ever seen and there’s a great combination of academics and school spirit.

Could you see yourself going there next year?I could definitely see myself there next year and I hope to get in!

Matt Fitzgerald Fort Lewis College

When did you visit?I took a visit on October 10-13 last year.

Why did you visit?I went on the visit to meet with the cycling team and to get a feel for the atmosphere around the school.

What was your favorite part?My favorite part is the school lo-cation. It’s in a small town in the Rocky Mountains.

Could you see yourself going there next year?Yes, I could see myself going there.

Gabby HernandezUniversity of Notre Dame

When did you visit?I visited the weekend of September 29th.

Why did you visit?It’s one of my top choices for college. My dad is an alumni and we went to a football game.

What was your favorite part?I love the campus because it’s not too big and it’s easy to walk from place to place. It also has a church on campus which is really convenient.

Could you see yourself going there next year?Yes! I think it would be the best college experience and environment for me.

Shawn Stankavage Univeristy of Wyoming

When did you visit?The weekend of October 24th.

Why did you visit?I visited Wyoming because I got my first legit divison one offer for foot-ball.

What was your favorite part?My favorite part was the atmo-sphere in the town of Laramie and that everyone was at the game because football means so much to the people.

Could you see yourself going there next year?I’m not sure yet where I see myself in the future but the University of Wyoming is definitely an option.

John CunninghamUniversity of Tulsa

When did you visit?I lived in Tulsa for seven years from 2005 to 2012 and I constantly visited the school.

Why did you visit?My dad worked at Tulsa in the athletic department so I got a lot of chances to see the school.

What was your favorite part?Tulsa has 4,000 students so the campus size was something I liked a lot. Also, there were a lot of renovations done that made the campus very nice.

Could you see yourself going there next year?Tulsa is a school that I would consider because that’s where I’m from but at the same time, I have already seen and experienced the campus life while I was living there.

College Road Trip?The class of 2014 gives an inside look on college visits

For more information about colleges and education after high school, visit the College Counseling department

The Crusader 11MAESTRO November 22, 2013

Hannah JeffersonUniversity of Alabama

When did you visit?I visited the school last February.

Why did you visit?A lot of my camp counselors over the summer go to Alabama and they loved it so I decided to make the nine hour drive to see what it was all about! Along with everyone saying what a welcoming southern school it is.

What was your favorite part?The size of the school, but it had a lot of small qualities and I loved the Greek system.

Could you see yourself going there next year?Yes, I’ve already been accepted and I can’t wait to attend next fall!

Morgan Reid University of Virgina

When did you visit?I went to Virginia my sophomore year. Why did you visit?I took the visit to look at the soccer pro-gram to see if I wanted to play there.

What was your favorite part?My favorite part was the surrounding mountains. It really made the place beauti-ful. Could you see yourself going there next year?I loved the school and what it had to offer but it wasn’t my first choice. I decided to go to Duke and will be playing soccer there next year.

Robert Kelly University of North Carolina

When did you visit?I took three unofficial visits in April of my junior year to get to know the tennis team.

Why did you visit?Both my parents went to UNC so it’s al-ways been my number one choice and when the coach said he was really interest-ed, I wanted to visit as soon as possible.

What was your favorite part?Everybody who I talked to on my visit loved the school. I didn’t talk to one person who didn’t say “I love it here you should definitely come.” All the athletes get a lot of attention at UNC because sports are a big deal so that was another plus.

Could you see yourself going there next year?It’s an amazing place where academics are combined with amazing athletes plus it’s always been my number one choice. So when the coaches sat me down and offered me I said yes right away and I can’t wait to be there next fall.

Chase Rhode Wake Forest University

When did you visit?I visited in September of this year, but I have seen the school a lot because the high school soccer team does a pre-season soc-cer camp there.

Why did you visit? The soccer coaches asked me to come down and shadow a few of the players, just to get a day in the life of a Wake Forest stu-dent athlete.

What was your favorite part?My favorite part was that it was a small enough campus where you knew a lot of people but you didn’t see the same people all the time. Also, I liked how they have a top five rated business school in the coun-try and that their soccer team is ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Could you see yoursef going there next year?Yes, I am verbally commited to play soccer there and I am really excited to do so.

John CunninghamUniversity of Tulsa

When did you visit?I lived in Tulsa for seven years from 2005 to 2012 and I constantly visited the school.

Why did you visit?My dad worked at Tulsa in the athletic department so I got a lot of chances to see the school.

What was your favorite part?Tulsa has 4,000 students so the campus size was something I liked a lot. Also, there were a lot of renovations done that made the campus very nice.

Could you see yourself going there next year?Tulsa is a school that I would consider because that’s where I’m from but at the same time, I have already seen and experienced the campus life while I was living there.

College Road Trip?The class of 2014 gives an inside look on college visits

The Crusader 12 CLUB HUB

Page design and profiles by Media I students.

Gibbons Club HubHealth ClubModerator: Terri Ingraham

Health Club promotes healthy choicesKylie Hopkins Media I

The Gibbons Health Club hosted a healthy food taste testing in the main lobby, open to all students, after school on Monday, November 18. This was the first event that the Health Club hosted for the Gibbons community this year.

Health club members brought in various food items including Diet Coke cake, peanut butter-covered Chex Mix, apples and Nutella, protein bars and homemade banana bread.

The second year for the Gibbons Health Club was started with the first meeting on October 15, in which fifteen students attended and ideas and plans were formulated for the rest of the

Photo by Kylie Hopkins/Gibbons Media

Co-presidents Veronica O’Neill (left) and Joey Edmund welcomed students at the Health Club taste testing of healthy foods in the main lobby.

school year. According to club moderator Terri

Ingraham, Assistant Media Specialist, some possible ideas for events happening within the Health Club this year are a zumba class, a health fair, a taste testing of healthy foods; maybe even evaluating healthier choices in the cafeteria (like gluten free items), and TED talks in the library. The Health Club may also have a few guest speakers, including a freshman parent who is a health professional.

Students of all grade levels are welcome to join the Health Club. For more information, email club moderator Terri Ingraham at tingraham@cghsnc.org, or contact one of the Health Club’s two co-presidents, junior Veronica O’Neill and junior Joey Edmond.

CHESS CLUB!Chess ClubModerator: Dan Jukic

Photo by Tori Canada/Gibbons MediaSophomore Connor Francis (left) enjoys a game of chess at lunch with juniors Christopher Williams (center) and Francesca Rocco.

Gibbons Chess Club’s objective is to show members how to play and nurture the art of chess, according to its club web page.

Any Gibbons student can join Chess Club and they can learn the game and strate-gy of chess just by being willing to play and have fun, according to moderator Dan Jukic.

Jukic encourages all students to get involved in Chess Club, regardless of their level of ability or even if they’ve never played before, because the point of chess and Chess Club is to have a good time.

“I would say that chess is a game, first and foremost, that’s fun to play. So students have to want to play the game and have fun. And who doesn’t want to have fun?” said Jukic.

Chess Club usually meets Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school but this year, Chess Club made a point of putting chess boards out throughout the school for use all day long. Chess is often played during lunch and after school, in the new Learning Com-mons, the new lobby and in the cafeteria, by all types of students, whether in Chess Club or just having fun.

Students with any questions can contact moderator Dan Jukic at djukic@cghsnc.org or in room 107.

Students have fun, learn art of chessTori Canada Media 1

November 22, 2013

STAR ClubModerators: David Bierlein, Susan Ellis, Lesley Coe, Jon Armfield

Photo by Sami Tubolino/Gibbons Media

Club moderator David Bierlein along with members senior Kevin Bartushak and sophomore Ryan Parker work to create badges for STAR club.

The new STAR club, started in September, allows students interested in tech to incorporate their knowledge into projects.

STAR club stands for “Student Techni-cal Assistance Resource” and according to the moderators, members are very excited to share their knowledge with students and staff members in the area of technology.

The club meets on Thursdays at 3:15 in room 119. Moderators include com-puter science teachers Jon Armfield and David Bierlein; Lesley Coe, director of IT and Susan Ellis, college counselor. Assisting the moderators are seniors Joe Collins and Timmy Coughlin.

STAR club currently has 15 members but moderators are open to more.

“Anyone who has an interest at all about learning about technology [can join and] no experience is required,” said Ellis.

In an email, moderator David Bierlein said club members look forward to assist-ing others in the technology field.

“The fundamental principle of this club is to develop a cadre of knowledge-able students who can provide any kind of technical assistance and have this body of knowledge handed down to future students,” said Bierlein.

“I wanted to learn about technol-ogy,” said member, sophomore Ryan Parker.

STAR club is now helping teachers with Sympodium issues and currently assisting with PowerSchool grade book issues, according to Bierlein. Other projects that members are also work-ing on are coming up with logos for the club. A project they are planning to work on is to create an app for the school website and build instructional videos for students.

“It’s cool to be involved in a way that we’ve never been involved here at

Gibbons,” said member, senior

Students provide tech support to schoolSami TubolinoMedia I

Kevin Bartushak. This is the first year of STAR club but

it continues the work of Smart Guys club: Smart Guys was started by media teacher Dan Jukic for students interested in help-ing with the website.

“STAR club is a new club with new leadership, picking up where Smart Guys left off,” said Jukic.

“Smart Guys was created specifically with the Gibbons’ website in mind. STARs is more tech-oriented. They help with anything people need [like] printers, wire-less access, different software,” said Jukic.

If you are interested in an oppor-tunity in expanding your knowledge of technology, this may be the club for you.

For further information about this club visit www.cghsnc.org/STARclub or e-mail moderators: David Bierlein, dbierlein@cghsnc.org, Lesley Coe, lcoe@cghsnc.org, Susan Ellis, sellis@cghsnc.org, or Jon Armfield, jarmfield@cghsnc.org.

Bocce ClubModerator: Diane Ripollone

Students may not realize that for the past six years there has been a charity bocce tournament at Gibbons which led to the creation of the bocce club, new to Gibbons this year.

“The Bocce Club started this year after [math teacher Andrew] Tuttle, [theology teacher Gary] Meyerl, Ms. Rip and myself all played together in the Joey O’ Bocce Tournament that is held here at Cardinal Gibbons,” said Alumni Coordinator Joey Hoying ’99, co-moderator of the club with science teacher Diane Ripollone, in an email interview.

The bocce club usually plays in the Campus Green in the front of the school on Wednesdays right after school. The first bocce tournament of the year was scheduled for Wednesday, November 13 but had to cancelled due to cold weather.

According to Hoying, the club started as a sort of tryout for students who want to participate in the Joey O’ tournament. Three or four mini-tournaments will decide who will play in the spots reserved for the club by the Joey O’ Bocce Classic.

Bocce Club is open to any student who with interest in joining the club. “We have a couple great kids who have taken the bull by the horns,” said Hoying.This year’s Joey O’ Bocce Tournament will be the seventh annual and will be held

at Gibbons’s stadium sometime in the spring, though a date has yet to be set, accord-ing to Hoying.

“Joey was an alumnus who died of Cystic Fibrosis and his family started the an-nual Joey O’Connell Bocce Ball Tournament [in his honor]” said Ripollone.

For more information concerning the club please contact science teacher Ripol-lone at dripollone@cghsnc.org or Hoying at jhoying@cghsnc.org.

Bocce Club helps remember alumPaul Todd Media 1

Moderators Joey Hoying ‘99 and Diane Ripollone help determine a point.Photo by E.J. Walsh/Gibbons Media

new CLUB!

The Crusader 13CLUB HUB

Page design and profiles by Media I students.

Club Hub is back! Media I students are covering a club of their choice every issue.See all the club coverage at Gibbons in the paper and on each club’s website page at www.cghsnc.org/clubs.

Club for the Easily AmusedModerator: Patrick Dmytriw

All are welcome to relax at Easily AmusedMarc Todd Media I

The Club for the Easily Amused was formed to help students chill and forget about school stresses, according to the club web page.

The club meets most Wednesdays in room 220 after school. Meetings consist of various fun activities and students bring snacks to share.

The club was created for a very spe-cific purpose, according to club modera-tor Patrick Dmytriw.

“[The club is for] people to be able to come and have fun with games that remind them of their childhood. It is an easy club to be a part of,” said Dmytriw.

According to students, the reasons behind for people attending the club are simple.

“The club is a way for anyone to get a nice stress relief in the middle of the week,” said club president Dianne Scardino.

The fun games and activities vary per meeting.

“Each week is different, depending on who comes and what they decide to do,” said Scardino.

To join the Club for the Easily Amused contact Patrick Dmytriw in person at room 117, or via email pdmy-triw@cghsnc.org.

November 22, 2013

Bocce ClubModerator: Diane Ripollone

new CLUB!

Juggling CLUB!

NHS CLUB!National Honor Society Moderator: Jen Cipriano

Photo by Mike Koppinger /Gibbons Media

New NHS members gather in the school gymnasium and listen to club President, Isabela Zawistowska, make a speech on Sunday, September 29.

The National Honor Society held its Induction Ceremony for new members on Sunday, September 29 at 3 p.m. Parents and families were invited to attend the ceremony which took place in the main gym.

The National Honor Society (NHS) does service projects throughout the school year. Each member is required to do two service projects, benefiting the school and the community, per semester.

NHS has one meeting a month after school. The major service project that NHS organizes is the Toy Drive at Christmas for under-privileged children, according to math teacher and NHS moderator Jen Cipriano.

In order to become a member of NHS you must be a junior or senior, and can join by filling out an application in which you write an essay and are evaluated in the areas of leadership, character, and service by faculty members. Any junior or senior with a 3.5 GPA or above can apply. NHS not only tries to build the academic charac-ter of students, but also “To promote scholarship, leadership, character, and service,” said Cipriano.

“It is a very fulfilling experience,” said Gabby Wells, senior member of NHS. Interested in NHS? Contact club moderator Jen Cipriano at jcipriano@cghsnc.

org.

NHS focuses on service to communityJackie KirschMedia 1

Juggling Club Moderator: Gary Meyerl

Juggling Club promotes art of juggling

Jackie KirschMedia 1

Juggling Club is devoted to promoting the art of juggling. Both students and faculty members can participate no matter what their skill level is.

“We are willing to teach students and faculty members how to juggle,” said Gary Meyerl, club moderator and Theology teacher.

If you are interested in learning how to juggle, then come to Juggling Club. Meet-ings are on Fridays after school on the Campus Green.

Through the club, members can have fun while doing what they love- juggling! “Our purpose is to teach people how to juggle and have fun while doing it!” said

sophomore Pete Morello.The club hopes to do more service in the community this year. “This year’s goal for the Juggling Club is to become more service-oriented,” said

Meyerl.The club is hoping to do a show for the students at St. Raphael’s school, and

eventually to perform for children at Rex Hospital. Juggling club exists to teach the art of juggling to anyone who is interested. “To give some of the basic skills of juggling and to develop their skills further,”

said Meyerl.Juggling Club’s last meeting was Friday October 25 on the campus green.Contact senior Thomas Zeleskey, junior David Cairn, sophomore Pete Morello

or club moderator Gary Meyerl at gmeyerl@cghsnc.org with questions.

Photo by Dan Jukic /Gibbons Media

Students juggle on the Campus Green with club moderator and theology teacher Gary Meyerl (pictured right).

Photo By Nicole Howren/Gibbons Media

Senior Dianne Scardino, president of Club For the Easily Amused, makes bubbles near the club display table at Open House on November 3.

Media ClubModerators: Dan Jukic, Darsey Williams

Photo by Shane Humphrey/Gibbons Media

Daniel Diehl experiments with cameras during a Media Club meeting. Students who are member of Media Club have the op-purtunity to learn photo taking basics.

The new Gibbons Media Club is for any student who is interested in being a part of Gibbons yearbook, newspaper, photojournalism, literary magazine, and creative video.

“Students who are interested in any of our media programs will learn more about all of them by coming to Media Club,” said club moderator and media/newspaper teacher Dan Jukic.

Students who are members of the Media Club can expect to learn both how to cover school events for Gibbons media and also about the use of social media tools.

“Media Club can be for anybody who is interested in learning how to cover events,” said Jukic.

According to Jukic, one hope for the club is that media coverage will become more efficient by having media students report one event for multiple Gibbons Media programs. Also, Jukic is working with the drama program to have freshmen and sopho-more drama students who are willing to report on their own projects also be a part of the Gibbons Media Club so that better information can be shared about drama productions.

The club meets every Wednesday after school in room 107 but interested students can stop by room 107 any time. Contact Dan Jukic with any questions at djukic@cghsnc.org.

Cover school events in Media ClubMargaret McFarlandMedia I

FUN CLUB!

The Crusader 14

Page design by Arts & Entertainment Editor Caroline Young

November 22, 2013

Gibbons says goodbye to GreaseFirst production of the year comes to a ‘bittersweet’ close

In the words of the finale song, “We Go Together”, the cast of Grease will always be together after forming a family bond through the show. Af-ter months of working together on the show, the cast felt “bittersweet” about parting ways at the end of the show.

The JV Drama production of Grease wrapped at the end of October, with the final show on Wednesday, Oc-tober 30. The cast put on five shows, opening on Thursday, October 23 in the main theater. Every show was close to being sold out, if not complete-ly sold out.

The whole cast had been waiting anxiously for opening night since the show was cast in early September, and all of their hard work paid off when the show opened.

“Opening night was great. I thought we got a lot of really great en-ergy from the audience. We had a re-ally great crowd with good energy and it helped us give that energy back,” said sophomore Riley Hough, who played the male lead Danny Zuko.

“Opening night was a lot of fun. It was fun to perform in front of an audi-

ence for the first time and to mix our energy with theirs. It was awesome,” said sophomore Samantha Rahn, who portrayed Patty Simcox in the show.

“Opening night was really high en-ergy. Everyone was really excited and really nervous at the same time. We didn’t know what to expect, which is why we were so excited,” said sopho-more Meg Johnson, who was Jan.

“Opening night was a really memo-rable experience. We had a lot of en-ergy going into it and that rush was never really replicated again,” said sophomore Penn Harrison, who played Doody in the show.

This was the first time the fresh-men in the show experienced perform-ing as part of Gibbons drama.

“It was really nerve wracking be-cause I’d never been a major lead of a show before and everyone I knew was coming. Once you get through the first scene it’s just an amazing feeling,” said freshman Cathryn Zachary, who played Rizzo.

There were many aspects to the show and Michelle Giannini, dra-ma teacher and the show’s director, couldn’t have been prouder of her cast.

“The energy was amazing. The audience was incredible. They loved

Caroline YoungArts & Entertainment Editor

the live band. There’s a certain energy you can only get with a live band and the audience loved it. Some of them were singing along,” said Giannini. “I’m incredibly pleased with it. It exceeded my expectations. The production is half of it. They pulled off the produc-tion and also formed lasting friendships and grew as performers and as men and women, and that’s the other half of it.”

The show coming to an end was bit-tersweet for the entire cast.

“Closing night was very emotional because we had been working for so long and it was over. Things were great and it was a good note to end on,” said Johnson.

“It was a really emotional experi-ence for a lot of people. It was sad to part ways but at the same time we’re like a family and that’s not going away. We channeled that and put it into our last show,” said Harrison.

“Bittersweet. We ended on an out-standing note, but it’s always sad to say goodbye to a good show. I’m very, very proud of them,” said Giannini.

“It was really sad because we grew so close, like a family. We just went out there and sang our hearts out. It was incredible. We’re all still really close,” said Zachary.

“Closing night was sad because it was the end of a really great process, but it was still good to do that one last show and reflect on all the fun we had,” said Rahn.

“It was sad because the Grease cast became one big family and it was the end of all the fun we had,” said sophomore Rullaman Wellington, who was Knicky.

Like many of the shows before them, the cast of Grease consider themselves a family and will miss the bonds and friendships formed through working together on the show.

“I will miss the really close bond that the cast had and seeing all my friends from the show every day,” said Johnson.

“The cast members, we were all like a family,” said Wellington.

“They loved each other so much. They learned from each other, supported each other. They didn’t want it to end. They were definite-ly the closest cast I’ve ever worked with. I’m going to miss watching them grow,” said Giannini.

All photos by Diane Ripollone/Gibbons Media

The entire cast of Grease performing the final musical number and one of the most iconic songs from the show, “We Go Together”, in their last dress rehersal before the show opened on October 23. “My favorite memory was the final song. I really enjoyed the whole cast singing and dancing together onstage together. The song has a lot of energy,” said sophomore Samantha Rahn.

Members of the ensemble per-forming the musical number “Beauty School Drop Out”.

Sophomores Penn Harrison and Rullaman Wellington portraying the iconic Greasers.

Sophomores Cristina Duchesne and Riley Hough playing the lead roles of Sandy and Danny in Grease. The cast was very excited to have an actual car to use as a prop for “Grease Lightning” and other scenes in the show.

November 22, 2013 Arts & Entertainment The Crusader 15

This is Our TownGibbons production of American classic emphasizes community

Kelly BrownArts and Entertainment Editor

The Gibbons Drama production of Thornton Wilder’s American classic Our Town is currently in full swing in the main theater.

“I’m very excited to show one of my favorite plays to the Gibbons com-munity. Our Town is a very fantastic production, and with a cast that has worked this seamlessly together, [au-diences can] anticipate a great show,” said Kevin Ferguson, Gibbons Drama Creative Director.

The production opened on Friday, November 15 and has three more per-formances tonight, Saturday and Sun-day.

According to cast members, open-ing night went very well. A sold-out house provided a lot of energy and many in the cast say this was one of their best productions yet.

“There was a lot of energy from the crowd and the cast alike,” said senior Conor Smith, who plays the male lead of George Gibbs. “The crowd was really supporting and full of energy, which gave the rest of [the cast] even more positive energy.”

“I was very anxious, but as soon as I stepped out I was just filled with ex-citement,” said senior Ryan Wangen, who plays Constable Warren.

Our Town is like the It’s a Wonder-ful Life of theatre. It’s a very moving, meaningful, and serious play, where audiences get a look into the life of the people of the small town of Grover’s Corners. Audiences are introduced to this quaint town and then throughout play little nuggets of the town and its people’s history are revealed. The show is full of great actors, so you will really feel connected to Grover’s Corners and its people.

Our Town is a play about com-munity, a theme that is appropriate for Gibbons, with its emphasis on the school community. The fictional town Grover’s Corners is a close-knit com-munity, full of people who genuinely like one another.

Similarly, the cast is a mix of se-niors, juniors, and even freshmen. The sense of community in the play also connected the cast as a whole.

“It was fun to be able to have so many people from different grades be-cause I was able to talk to people I had not normally talked to,” said Wangen.

Seniors Christina Donovan and Alexa Pursley agree this play resonates with the cast in a special way.

“We have a good, trusting cast and we’re all close. We are all working hard to make this show the best it can be,

making small tweaks here and there,” said Donovan, who plays one of the citizens of the town. “It’s important to show a sense of community and friend-ship, and how to value that because it can lead to better life experiences.”

“This play is a great for senior year. It has a lot of resolving elements, and to me that’s what senior is about. It’s closing this year nicely,” said Pursley, who plays the female lead of Emily Webb.

Seniors Conor Smith and Alexa Pursley are in character during an “Our Town” rehearsal. Smith plays George Gibbs and Pursley plays Emily Webb, a couple in love.

Photo by Nicole Howren/Gibbons Media

The Repeater hosts art and literary contestThe art and literary magazine gets the word out on Repeater.Stephanie ToddNews Editor

The Repeater, Gibbons’ art and literary magazine, like many of Gibbons’ media productions, is tradition. It has come out with an issue annually since 1997. And while The Repeater is still to be published and avail-able by spring-time as per usual, this year will be dif-ferent.

For the first time ever, The Repeater will be hold-ing an art and literary contest, designed to spark a n interest in the publication as well as to unite the school community in excitement.

“Holding the contest will help integrate The Re-peater in the life of the school because it emphasizes that all students in all classes can help produce a qual-ity magazine that showcases the talents, hard work and dedication of the student body. It also emphasizes that The Repeater is about more than producing an annual publication –that it is about frequently sharing students’ literary and artistic talents with others,” says Rachelle Garbarine, moderator of The Repeater.

Works of all kinds, short stories, poems, artwork, photographs, can be submitted up until December 1, The Repeater staff will judge these and the winners will be announced Friday, December 13.

Those who place first and second in the overall category are to receive prizes. However, in addition to having the overall contest, a special category is also to take place this year.

Some may recall The New York Times’ contest that was open to students around the country, encouraging them to send in photos of their hometown. Similar to

this, The Repeater now offers a new prompt to be en-titled “My Gibbons”.

“What that means is that we are asking students to submit short stories, essays, photographs and/or artwork that reflect what Gibbons means to them,” said Garbarine.

The winners of this will be having what Garbarine describes as “a highly visible section of the magazine devoted to the winners of this special contest catego-ry”.

In addition to the annual production, which high-lights the artistic abilities of our school, this year’s Repeater offers up the opportunity to make students’ work more available throughout the year through the magazine’s website www.cghsnc.org/litmag created by last year’s staff as well as planning The Repeater Box.

A Raleigh poet’s attempt to spread her poetry throughout her neighborhood by employing the boxes most usually seen outside of “for sale” houses inspired the Repeater.

“Basically, The Repeater boxes, will be filled week-ly with copies of a different poem, short story, essay, photograph, or artwork, that students, teachers, staff members can take and read,” said Garbarine.

In addition, a panel discussion with three profes-sional writers took place on November 20, sponsored by The Repeater

Seniors Conor Smith, Cameron Hahn, and soph-more Melanie Lopes rehearsing for Our Town.

Photo by Nicole Howren/Gibbons Media

Page design by Arts and Entertainment Editors Caroline Young and Kelly Brown and News Editor Stephanie Todd.

Our Town’s chorus consisting of many of the citizens from the town in New Hampshire.

Senior Alexa Pursley and Madeline Cooke as mother and daughter.

Senior Conor Smith and junior Tim Kowalczyk.

The 2012-2013 cover of The Repeater by current junior Laura Hart. This year’s issue will hopefully see many ad-ditional artworks submitted by students, encouraged by the contest and the “The Repeater Box”

Cover art by Laura Hart

Photo by Nicole Howren/Gibbons Media Photo by Nicole Howren/Gibbons Media Photo by Diane Ripollone/Gibbons Media

Page design by Sports Editor Andrew Schnittker, Sports Editor Preston Moser and Editor-In-Chief Brennan Doherty

Men’s basketball focuses on team goals

Brennan DohertyEditor-In-Chief

Photo by Jordan Watkins ‘13

Senior captain Moses Romocki, seen above in action against Cary from last season, will take on an increased role on and off the court for Gibbons this season.

Gibbons men’s basketball coach Marque Carrington led Gibbons to back to back winning seasons in 2011-2012 (15-12) and 2012-2013 (14-10), but in order to duplicate that same suc-cess in 2013-2014, Carrington needs many new faces to step up.

Gibbons loses four seniors from last year’s team and the Crusaders only bring back five returning players.

Despite the team’s youth, Car-rington believes that this year’s team is talented and he said that he and his team still have many of goals that they find achievable.

“We always want to finish above .500 in the regular season and we want to win our Christmas tournament. We want to finish top three in our league [Big Eight conference], we want to get to the conference tournament champi-onship and we want to make the play-offs,” said Carrington.

One of the key seniors Gibbons

brings back is captain Moses Romocki.Romocki possesses great athletic

ability, is a capable ball-handler with a good jump shot and he has enough height to play center and that’s where Carrington plans on utilizing him this season.

“He brings a lot of athletic ability. Moses has another gear that we’re still trying to get out of him. On offense, he’s a mismatch because he’s either going to have a four guy or a five guy guarding him and in our offense he’s a five. On defense, he can guard every position on the floor. The one thing he’s worked on is shooting so he’s be-come more of a threat outside. He can get to the hole very easily, too,” said Carrington.

Romocki believes that he can use his guard-like skills to his advantage against slower and more traditional centers.

“With some bigger guys, I know I’ll be a lot quicker than them. I can stretch them out so I’ll have to knock down some shots so they’ll respect me

and then I can use my quickness to get around them,” said Romocki.

Senior shooting guard John Cun-ningham and junior small forward Justin Reid are also captains alongside Romocki.

Carrington described Cunningham as a player who puts the betterment of the team before himself.

“He’s [Cunningham] a coach’s dream. John is a defensive guy, but he’s a team guy. He’s going to do all the little things to help the team and he’s a hustle guy. He’s just a great leader,” said Carrington.

Besides Romocki and Cunning-ham, the only other senior is power forward Thomas Morgan, so many ju-nior and sophomore players will need to take on bigger roles for Gibbons.

Junior point guard Nick Forbes, junior shooting guard Logan Bugg and Reid all gained valuable experience as all three played on the team a year ago.

New to the team this year are ju-nior point guard Blane Beason and ju-nior center Alex Lai.

Both of those guys have stood out thus far in practices according to Ro-mocki.

“At point guard, I think Blane Bea-son will be able to help out a lot. He’s been playing well,” said Romocki.

Lai is the tallest player on the team and Romocki thinks his size will help Gibbons down low.

“He’s [Lai] about 6’8” so he’ll be able to provide some solid minutes for us. The thing about him is he gets the job done. He can finish well around the rim and he’ll get the tough baskets by doing the dirty work,” said Romocki.

Ultimately, in order for Gibbons to have a successful season, they must be solid on defense according to Romocki.

“I think we need to really defend the ball. We’re going to have to stay in front of our men and box out. Since we’re not the biggest team we’re going to need to fight for rebounds,” said Ro-mocki.

The team got off to a good start to-wards achieving its goals by opening the regular season with a 62-56 victory at Union Pines on Tuesday, November 19.

Sports BriefsWinter track and field Andrew SchnittkerSports Editor

The winter track season for the Gibbons men’s and women’s teams begins with the first practice on January 6, 2014.

According to head coach Nick Mangum, the season is largely based on preparation for the upcoming spring season.

“The idea is that we want to build fitness and prepare for the spring sea-son,” said Mangum.

Mangum identified runners like senior Mary Grace Doggett and sopho-more Sophie Ebihara as ones to keep an eye on.

Doggett and Ehihara finished first and second in the NCHSAA 3A cross country championship. Mangum also mentioned pole-vaulters junior Sofia San Miguel and senior Megan Comstock as key players on the girls side.

He identified runners freshman Connor Lane and sophomore Connor Peeples as key players on the boys side.

The team currently has three meets scheduled for the winter season, the Durham Striders Invitational at Eddie Smith Field House at the University of North Carolina on January 11, a home meet on January 18, and the Eastern High School Challenge at Eddie Smith Field House.

The NCHSAA 3A Indoor Track State Championship at the JDL Fast Track in Kernersville, NC is scheduled for February 8, 2014.

Swimming and divingAndrew MihokSports Editor

The Gibbons men’s and women’s swimming teams are looking to continue their dominance in the pool.

The men’s team is coming off their sixth straight 3A swimming title.

The women’s team is looking to win their first title since 2009, the end of a stretch in which they won nine straight championships.

“I think for the girl’s team last year we got in the mix for a state champion-ship and this year our goal is to be in the top three. For the guys we have to replace the seniors from last year who scored about 85 percent of the points,” said assistant coach Taylor Blanton.

The men’s team is led by senior Andy Lui and junior Noah Cairns.

Lui was a part of the 200 freestyle relay team that captured the state record time of 1:27.51.

For the women’s squad, returning sophomore Emily Dykstra holds the state record for 500 freestyle with a time of 5:09.89.

Blanton is looking forward to the season due to the team having to work hard to gain to accomplish their goals.

“I am excited, because I think this year’s group will have to earn their place at states,” said Blanton.

The teams open up the season on November 20 at the Triangle Aquatic Center in a match against Athens Drive, Fuquay-Varina, and Holly Springs.

For the Crusaders, the top in state foes will be rival Chapel Hill, Marvin Ridge, and J.M. Robinson.

Women’s basketballBrennan DohertyEditor-In-Chief

A year following an 18-7 season that ended with a first round playoff loss to Walter M. Williams, the Gibbons women’s basketball team began its 2013 season with a 53-45 victory on at Union Pines Tuesday, November 19.

The Crusaders are very experienced as they return 11 players from last year’s team.

Among those 11, six are seniors including point guard Morgan Reid.

A two-sport athlete, Reid is currently committed to Duke for soccer.

Reid was named the Carolina 3A conference women’s basketball player of the year for the 2011-2012 season and has earned all-conference honors each of her three seasons.

Senior center Madison Beuris will play a big role for Gibbons this year as she averaged a double-double last year (10.8 points, 11.2 rebounds.)

Five students sign National Letters of Intent

Five Gibbons senior athletes took the next step in their playing careers on November 13 as they signed their letters of intent to play next year in col-lege.

Ade Taiwo will play soccer at North Carolina State University, Shelby Scan-lin will play lacrosse at the University of Maryland, Gannon Morrison will play lacrosse at Marist College, and Maria Annunziata will play softball at Meredith College.

For sports information director Alex Bass, the focus is on all of the con-tributions these students have made to the Gibbons community, not just ath-letically.

“We can’t label our students with any one title, that’s what makes them all so special. Athletics was just one of the venues in which they shared their gifts and talents,” said Bass.

Athletic director Todd Schuler echoed those sentiments.

“I think it’s a testament to the hard work that our teachers, our students, coaches, and families put into all our programs, it’s a school accomplish-ment, not just an athletic accomplish-ment,” said Schuler.

Schuler feels the accomplishment for these students reflects well on Gib-bons both academically and athleti-cally.

“It’s an honor for these individuals and for our school; their accomplish-ments athletically have opened the door for them academically. I think it reflects very well on Cardinal Gibbons, it shows we attract athletically gifted students and that we prepare them to be successful going forward,” said Schuler.

Character was also a big focus of the ceremony.

“We know and love [these stu-

dents] because of the people who they are. It’s the character quality and char-acteristics that define these students, and that’s what I’ll remember about them,” said Bass.

For the signees, this is another step on their journey, one that Taiwo in particular feels his time at Gibbons prepared him for.

“It means that hard work and dedication has paid off, and everything that my coaches have taught me has paid off. I hope to continue improving. [I’ve learned] to show respect to your coaches, to your players, and to the staff, because they’re the ones that will get you to the next level,” said Taiwo.

Taiwo won’t be going far from Gib-bons, taking his game to N.C. State next year.

“I want to be a home town hero, to just show that soccer in Raleigh has expanded, that soccer in America has expanded, and there’s a lot of talent coming out of Gibbons,” said Taiwo.

Andrew SchnittkerSports Editor

Gibbons senior athletes, from left to right, Maria Annunziata, Gannon Morrison, Erin Quinn, Shelby Scanlin, and Ade Taiwo, all signed their National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, November 13.

Photo by Darsey Williams/Gibbons Media

The Crusader 16 November 22, 2013

The Crusader 17November 22, 2013

Page Design by Editor-In-Chief Brennan Doherty, and Sports Editors Preston Moser and Andrew Schnittker

Sports

Photo contributed by Greg Greksa

The Gibbons men’s cross country team finished their season with a sec-ond place finish at the NCHSAA 3A state championship on Saturday, No-vember 2, 2013.

According to head coach Nick Mangum, the team finished a close second to first place Weddington, with many of the times between runners of

Men’s XC ends season second best in stateAndrew SchnittkerSports Editor

the two teams being very close.“It was all I could ask for, I was

proud of the effort,” said Mangum.The team did not have any top 10

finishers, but freshman Connor Lane finished 23rd overall with a time of 16:25. Lane also won the sportsman-ship award, which according to Mang-um is a huge accomplishment, even more so for a freshman.

Contributed Photo

The Gibbons women’s golf team completed what was a great season, according the first-year head coach Greg Greksa.

Gibbons’ only loss in the regular season came against St. Mary’s on October 8.

“We lost by three overall. It was bad,” said junior captain Ellen Smith.

The Crusaders also tied St. Mary’s earlier on dur-ing the season.

The squad is composed of 11 members, down from 21 last year.

According to Smith, the year has been a success not just because of good play on the course, but be-cause of the way the team has bonded together.

“I felt like the regular season went very well. I’ve

Erik BorchersOnline News Editor

Gibbons junior Ellen Smith prepares to drive the ball during a conference match versus Carrboro, Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Northwood at Chapel Ridge Golf Club on Tuesday, September 24.

Photo countributed by Greg Greksa

created bonds with the team. We are all friends out-side of golf. We text and hang out like a family,” said Smith.

Despite having a smaller roster this season, Gib-bons was still very talented.

“We have three consistent players: captains El-len Smith and Caroline O’Neil, and Liesl Miranda. Caroline O’Neil has been a medalist two times this season and is in position to be selected as player of the year,” said Greksa.

Gibbons played in the conference tournament on Tuesday, October 15 against Carrboro, Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Northwood. Cardinal Gibbons beat out Northwood and East Chapel Hill high school with a team score of 253. O’Neil led Gibbons with a score of 77, while Smith had a score of 86, and Mi-randa finished with a 90.

Smith, O’Neil, and Miranda went to regional championships at Meadowlands in Winston Salem on Monday, October 21st and the group finished third out of fourteen, which qualified them for a state tournament.

Those three placed fourth at the NCHSAA 3A state tournament on Tuesday, October 29.

“There was rough conditions at states. It was raining so it was harder to put up low scores,” said Smith.

Recapping, Gibbons won the conference cham-pionship, placed third in the regional tournament, and fourth in the state tournament.

“We finished the season pretty well, but not where we wanted to. We played really well during the regular season,” said Smith.

Women’s Golf excels in first year with new coachCrusaders finish fourth at NCHSAA 3A state tournament

Field Hockey builds pro-gram in historic seasonPreston MoserSports Editor

Despite suffering a 1-0 defeat in the first round of the state playoffs to Northwest Guilford on Wednesday, October 30, the Gibbons varsity field hockey team took a step in the right di-rection for the future this season.

The team finished the season 5-8-1, and also finished second in the con-ference in their first season as a varsity sport.

The year started out badly for Gib-bons, but the Crusaders rebounded to cap off the season with strong effort.

“This season was rough at first, but

that was because we were still learning. Bulding a program from the bottom up is a huge challenge, but for what we have done so far and how hard we have worked, it’s amazing” said junior cap-tain Taylor Adams.

All things considered, head coach Amy Adams is very pleased with the way her squad performed down the stretch to help improve the young pro-gram.

“I am very proud of the entire team and the effort they put forth in building this program.” Said head coach Amy Adams.

Photo by Kelley Murren/Landmark YearbookContributed Photo

Gibbons junior Sarah Comstock battles for the ball with Cary Academy junior Annie McDarris during a game on Friday, October 4. Gibbons lost 5-0.

Gibbons junior Caroline O’Neil takes a swing during a non-conference match versus Ravenscroft at North Ridge Country Club on Wednesday, September 25.

Gibbons freshman Connor Lane accepts the NCHSAA sportsmanship award after the NCHSAA 3A championship on Satur-day, November 2.

Gibbons junior David Edwards runs dur-ing the NCHAA 3A state championship on Saturday, November 2. Edwards finished 28th.

The Crusader 18

Page design by Sports Editor Andrew Mihok and Editor-In-Chief Brennan Doherty

SPORTS November 22, 2013

The Gibbons men’s soccer team’s season came to end in the second round of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs with a 4-2 loss to the Jacksonville Cardi-nals, a common foe come playoff time for the squad. The Crusaders finish the year 16-7-1 and 12-2 in conference play with both losses coming against rival Chapel Hill.

Jacksonville was able to gain con-trol of the lead early and led 2-1 at the half. The Cardinals then scored two unanswered goals in the second half to increase the lead to 4-1.

Senior Warren Washington led the way for Jacksonville with a team-high two goals while also adding an assist.

Junior Clayton Sparks and senior Tyler Moore each added a goal as well for the Cardinals.

“I think they [Jacksonville] fin-ished their chances and we were un-lucky to finish ours. It was a tough sec-ond round draw and we had to make those chances if we wanted to win,” said head coach Tim Healy.

Before the season-ending loss to Jacksonville, Gibbons defeated East-ern Guilford 9-0 at home in the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday, October 30.

For Healy, the effort brought to the team by the players was the most en-joyable part of this year’s squad.

“The amount of work that these seniors lead this group to do without complaining and working together as a team was great to see,” said Healy.

Gibbons opens playoffs with 44-28 win on the road over Triton in the first roundCrusaders now face Southern Durham in second round of NCHSAA playoffs

Brennan DohertyEditor-In-Chief

Photo by Sean Feick/The CrusaderSenior safety Jackson O’Korn leads Gibbons through the stands and onto the field prior to Gibbons’ season opening 14-12 win over Green Hope on Friday, August 23rd

Senior quarterback Shawn Stanka-vage continued his hot streak and the Gibbons defense held a usually high-scoring Triton offense in check as Gib-bons defeated Triton 44-28 in the first round of the NCHSAA 3AA state play-offs.

After Triton took an early 7-0 lead on a nine-yard touchdown run by ju-nior running back D’angelo Harris, Gibbons scored 31 unanswered points of their own and never looked back.

While the Gibbons offense was putting up points, the Crusader de-fense made things difficult for Triton as the Hawks turned the ball over once and were forced to punt five times.

Gibbons head coach Steven Wright sees the win as a total team effort and he said that they played as well as pos-sible.

“The offense and defense both played as good as we could have hoped for. The kids were prepared, they played hard and I’m just really proud of their effort and execution.

Gibbons went ahead 8-7 in the first

quarter following a 19-yard touchdown catch by junior wide receiver James Sriraman and a successful two-point conversion try.

The touchdown pass to Sriraman was one of five Stankavage threw and he also added a rushing touchdown as well.

Wright knows that his quarterback is heating up just at the right time.

“He’s on fire. He’s playing some great football and it’s fun to scheme and gameplan and to take advantage of his God given ability,” said Wright.

In his past three games, Stankav-age has 14 passing touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns and just two in-terceptions.

Junior wide receiver Earl Gill caught his first of two touchdown re-ceptions of the game on the last play of the first quarter as Stankavage found him in the end zone from 17-yards out.

Gibbons caught Triton off guard as the Crusaders recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff.

Gibbons capitalized off that as ju-

nior kicker Brandon Loy made a 27-yard field goal to make the score 18-7.

Stankavage closed out his magnifi-cent first half performance with touch-down passes to senior wide receiver Dante DiMaggio and Gill to give Gib-bons a 31-7 at halftime.

Stankavage completed passes to five of his wide receivers and Wright knows how valuable it is to have such a deep group of receivers.

“It’s outstanding to be able to have five targets on the field that we can always count on and a couple back-ing them up. Shawn settled into his rhythm and he’s got a lot of confidence in his wide receivers,” said Wright.

Gill’s second touchdown of the game was set up by an interception by senior safety Jackson O’Korn.

O’Korn now has eight intercep-tions on the year.

The Gibbons defense held Triton to only 218 rushing yards, about 56 yards less than what the Hawks were averaging entering tonight’s game.

While Triton did add three touch-downs in the second half, all of those scores came with the game close to be-ing out of reach.

Wright contributes the defense’s success to defensive coordinator Okesa Smith and the players’ ability to re-main disciplined.

“One, it was a great game plan there by Coach O [Okesa Smith] and we talked all week about playing dis-ciplined defense and those kids did that,” said Wright.

Triton came out swinging on of-fense in the second half as they scored on their first two drives of the third quarter.

Senior quarterback Jeremy Leggett ran three yards for a touchdown but Stankavage answered back with a 28-yard touchdown scramble of his own.

A few minutes later, Leggett threw a five-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Chris Eason.

Gibbons scored its last touchdown of the game less than a minute into the fourth quarter on a 13-yard catch by DiMaggio.

Triton would score one more time with under four minutes remaining on

another five-yard catch by Eason from Leggett.

With the victory, Gibbons (9-3) moves on to the second round of the playoffs and will face Big Eight confer-ence foe Southern Durham.

The Spartans have lost just two games all season and beat Gibbons 45-28 earlier on this season.

Wright understands that it’ll take a near perfect game from his team to beat Southern Durham, but he thinks that playing them previously helps.

“Fortunately we’ve seen them. Their speed isn’t going to be a surprise this time. They’re incredibly talented. We’ll certainly have our hands full and we’re going to have to develop a game plan that puts our kids in a place where they can succeed,” said Wright.

Southern Durham defeated Chapel Hill 40-6 in the first round of the play-offs.

Soccer ends season with 4-2 loss to JacksonvilleSenior-led Crusaders finish season with 16-7-1 record after playoff lossAndrew MihokSports Editor

Photo by Kathleen Larson/Landmark YearbookSenior wide reciever Dante Dimaggio runs away from a Green Hope defender during Gibbons’ 14-12 win on Friday, August 23

Photo contributed by Mike Vorobiov

Senior Cameron Steele controls the ball during Gibboons’ 4-1 over Northern Durham.

Senior Chase Rhode looks for the ball during Gibbons’ 2-0 win over Orange.

Photo by Kathleen Larson/Gibbons Media

As part of a new tradition this year thought of by senior captains Chase Rhode, Cameron Steele, and Bryan Hall, the team went to chapel before each home game.

“The senior captains added a small pre-game ritual of going to the chapel before each home game for a quick mo-ment of reflection. I think it fits with the mission of our school and always

reminded me that I am lucky to work with Gibbons students,” said Healy.

Over the course of the season the team bonded and kept growing as the season progressed according to Rhode.

“Everyone became good friends and we bonded and everyone was very close at the end of the year,” said Rhode.

According to Rhode, there are a

few things that he is going to really miss about playing soccer for Gibbons.

“I will miss putting on my jersey and getting my name called out under the lights and going to battle with my best friends,” said Rhode.

Page design by Editor-In-Chief Brennan Doherty, and Sports Editors Andrew Mihok and Preston Moser

Doggett, Ebihara pace Crusaders to fourth straight state titleAndrew SchnittkerSports Editor

The Gibbons women’s cross coun-try team finished their excellent sea-son with a first place finish at the 2013 NCHSAA 3A state championship, win-ning the team’s fourth straight title.

“I thought across the board, they [the runners] were very solid. The kids ran tough,” said head coach Nick Mangum.

Mangum was named the Big Eight conference Girls’ Coach of the Year.

Gibbons had four runners finish in the top eight.

For the second year in a row, se-nior Mary Grace Doggett, the Big Eight conference Female Runner of the Year, finished first overall, with a time of 17:57.

Also for the second straight sea-son, sophomore Sophie Ebihara fin-ished second overall, with a time of 18:22.

Junior Megan Vaughn placed sixth with a time of 18:46.18. Vaughn also won the NCHSAA sportsmanship award.

Rounding out the Gibbons group of top runners was senior Rachel Bar-tolomeo, who has already committed to run at North Carolina State next year, with a time of 18:46.66.

The team had one more runner

Contributed photo

(L-R) Junior Laura Hart, junior Megan Vaughn, assistant coach Patrick Dmytriw, senior Rachel Bartolomeo, sophomore Sophie Ebihara, freshman Anna Pierce, senior Mary Grace Doggett, junior Amanda Wiggenhorn, junior Abby Doyle, sophomore Nicole Davis, junior Kathryn Baker, senior Kitty Gibbons, sophomore Rachel Harris and head coach Nick Mangum after winning the NCHSAA 3A women’s cross country state cham-pionship on Saturday, November 2.

finish in the top 20, with junior Aman-da Wiggenhorn clocking in at 19:40.

The fourth straight title concludes what Mangum viewed as a very suc-cessful season.

“We learned a lot, a few athletes had tremendous breakthroughs, it

makes me look forward to next year,” said Mangum.

At the end of the season, Doggett, Ebihara, Vaughn, Bartolomeo, Wiggen-horn, junior Laura Hart and freshman Annie Pierce were all named the Big Eight All-Conference team.

Contributed photo

Gibbons senior Mary Grace Doggett (left) runs during the NCHSAA 3A state championship on Saturday, November 2. Doggett finished in first place for the third year in a row. Gibbons sophomore Sophie Ebihara (back) finished in second place.

LEGACYCrusaders defeat Weddington 5-1 to bring home second title in three yearsCheyenne WoodProduction Editor

Contributed photo

The Gibbons women’s tennis team defeated Weddington 5-1 to win the NCHSAA 3A state championship on Saturday, November 2 in Burlington, North Carolina.

Gibbons has now won two state championships in the last three years.

Juniors Devin Knors, Natalie Freeman, Maggie Reilly and senior Andie Fitzgerald were also members of the 2011 championship team.

Freshman Lizzie Galush was se-lected as the MVP of the state cham-pionship.

“She [Galush] played well all season, but particularly in the play-offs when she went undefeated and was the first player to win her singles match in the finals to get the momen-

tum started for the team,” said Andrew Tuttle, head coach.

Junior Maggie Reilly also received the NCHSAA Sportsmanship award.

Junior Devin Knors added to the honors as she was named the Big Eight conference player of the year.

Gibbons finished the season 28-1 with their only loss coming to Lake No-man in the Port City Invitational early on in August.

The 28 victories are the most in a season in school history.

Gibbons went undefeated in con-ference play and swept the conference tournament hosted by Orange High School.

According to Tuttle, tough compe-tition helped prepare the team for such a successful season.

“We played a challenging non-con-ference schedule this season, including

many 4A opponents, and I feel like that got us prepared for the competition of the state playoffs. We had very com-petitive matches against Green Hope, East Chapel Hill, Grimsley and Lake Norman, all of whom were ranked in the top ten in the state in 4A. When we faced a difficult test in the semifi-nals against Terry Sanford, our play-ers were ready to compete in the close matches and kept playing hard and never gave up, even when they were behind,” said Tuttle.

Gibbons defeated Terry Stanford 5-4 on Wednesday, October 30 to win the 3A East Regional Championship thanks to a huge tie breaker win by the doubles pair Freeman and sophomore Summer Jacobs.

The marathon match took around 5 hours.

Knors and Galush also won the

VICTORIOUS

state championship in doubles at the individual tournament held in Burling-ton on Saturday, October 26 when they defeated their teammates, Freeman and Jacobs.

Both Knors and Galush were named to the News & Observer all-Metro team, a list comprising of just eight players.

Knors finished the season with a singles record of 19-7 while Galush went 24-1.

On Monday, November 11, Tuttle was named the North Carolina High School Coach of the Year by the USTA.

Since arriving at Gibbons in the fall of 2008, Tuttle has won two state championships as the head coach of the women’s team and four state cham-pionships as the head coach of the men’s team.

Contributed photo

(L-R): Junior Natalie Freeman, sophomore Summer Jacobs, freshman Lizzie Galush and junior Devin Knors pose after the NCHSAA 3A individual tournament on Saturday, October 26. Galush and Knors defeated Freeman and Jacobs.

(L-R), Top row: Assistant coach Krista Reagan, freshman Lizzie Galush, sophomore Camille Latour, freshman Kristen Fitzgerald, sophomore Sarah Cunningham, freshman Caroline Igo, sophomore Abby Chilman, senior Catherine Monaco, senior Millie Piggott and head coach Andrew Tuttle. Bottom row: Junior Maggie Reilly, senior Andie Fitzgerald, sophomore Summer Ja-cobs, junior Natalie Freeman and freshman Kate Freed.

Women’s cross country

Women’s tennis

The Crusader 19SPORTSNovember 22, 2013

The Crusader 20

Page design by Editor-In-Chief Brennan Doherty

SPORTS November 22, 2013

PERFECT

Perfect season: 28-0

Photo by Rachel Hebert/Gibbons Media

Senior outside hitter Amy Robertson spikes the ball during the NCHSAA 3A state championship against Jesse Carson on Saturday, November 2, 2013. Gibbons defeated Jesse Carson in three sets 25-16, 25-13 and 26-24 to capture the school’s NCHSAA-record fifth-straight state championship.

Brennan DohertyEditor-In-Chief

There aren’t many things that the Gibbons volleyball program hasn’t done before but the Crusaders added to their legacy on Saturday, Novem-ber 2 as they won an NCHSAA-record fifth-straight state championship, de-feating Jesse Carson in three sets.

“I’m very proud. I guess not many people can say that they were a part of [a program that won five straight state championships] but being able to is really good,” said senior setter Erin Quinn.

Gibbons completed the school’s first undefeated season as an NCH-SAA school at a perfect 28-0.

After trailing 7-2 early on in the first set, Gibbons rallied for a 23-12 run to win 25-19.

With the second set tied at 9-9, Gibbons outscored Carson 16-4 from that point on to win 25-13 behind strong performances by players such as sophomore outside hitter Briley Brind’Amour, senior outside hitter Amy Robertson, senior setter Chey-enne Wood and Quinn.

Wood was named the NCHSAA 3A volleyball championship MVP during the post-game ceremony.

Facing elimination, Jesse Carson played its best in the third set and the Cougars led 17-14 and later 23-22 be-fore Gibbons came back to win 26-24, clinching the state title in dramatic

8th NCHSAA championship in program history

2nd most all-time

First school in NCHSAA history to win five straight volleyball state

championsips

5th straight NCHSAA championship

First undefeated season as anNCHSAA school

fashion. Despite trailing well into the final

set, Robertson said that she was never worried about her team’s ability to pull out the victory.

“I’m always confident that we can pull through. We trust each other,” said Robertson.

According to Jesse Carson head coach Kelan Rogers, his team did not play its best all match.

“That’s not the same team we’ve been all year. Not to take anything away from the team we just played, be-cause they’re the dominant team, too, but it should have been like game three the whole time,” said Rogers.

Gibbons head coach Logan Barber explained that every year he and his

team focus solely on the season at hand and tend not to think too much about past accomplishments.

“Every year, on practice the first day, we talk about how we’re going to win a state championship this year and that’s the goal. The goal is to find a way to win with this group of kids this year and do that job,” said Barber.

Barber also said that he is extreme-ly proud of the way his squad handled the challenge of being one of the state’s top programs this season.

“They handled it fantastically. It’s great to see these girls go into that, not panic when they could have panicked, not think about how big of a situation it is and just do their job,” said Barber.

Photo by Sean Biette/Gibbons Media

Clockwise from center: Senior Amy Robertson, sophomore Emma Longley, senior Erin Quinn, senior Cheyenne Wood, junior Carmen Sigmon and senior Bianca Gartner (in white) react after the state championship-clinching final point as coach Logan Barber (left) applauds. Gibbons won the third set 26-24, defeating Jesse Carson.

Photo by Rachel Hebert/Gibbons Media

Gibbons senior captains Erin Quinn (far left), Amy Robertson (kneeling left of ban-ner), Bianca Gartner (kneeling right of banner) and Cheyenne Wood (rigth of Gartner) helped lead the team to the championship on Saturday, November 2, 2013. The win marks Gibbons’ fifth straight and eighth total NCHSAA championship.