hieldSS a i n t T h o m as A q ui n as Hig h S c ho ol

the

November 21, 2013 Volume 26, Issue 4

Tweets of the Month Weekend Weather

Countdown

Friday

2239

Saturday

1231Sunday

2333

29 days until Christmas break

16 school days until Christmas break

34 days untilChristmas

InsideTheology

Teacher To Be Sent to

Afghanistan

Page A2

50 Reasons to Be a Saint

Page A6

Opinions

Page A7

“The Bottom Line” Poll REsults

Page A8

Sports

Pages B1-3

Last Look: Senior Assassins

Page B4

Then and Now: Former

Students Return as Teachers

Page A2

Sophomore Beats

the Odds

Page A3

SAINTS BRING IN

THE STORM

Pages A4-5

IT’S A

TO BE AGREAT WEEK

SAINT

Photo by ANNIE SCHUGART | The ShieldExecutive Student Council member Chris Ernst diligently paints “Canned Food Drive” on one side of several boxes of

food, with “One Team One Family” and “Dare Greatly” painted on the other sides. This year’s canned food drive brought in a national-record-breaking amount of 117,705 cans to benefit Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas.

IN JUST ONE WEEK......Saints broke a national record while serving others, took home two

state titles, and broke a cross country state record.by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

When students claim Aquinas is the best school community, it’s no longer just an opinion. It’s nearly fact. What other school can claim they won two state titles and significantly broke a na-tional record while serving others, all in

one week?

SAINTS BRING IN THE STORMThe Aquinas com-

munity stepped it up once again to bring in a record-breaking amount of 117,705 cans as Cath-olic Charities’s number one provider.

“This school is jam packed with some incredible leaders, upperclassmen and underclassmen alike, and

a faculty and staff and parent communi-ty that never fails to make this week so special year after year,” Student Council President Annie Lind said.

Read more on A4 and A5.

GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY BREAKS STATE RECORD The girls’ cross country team earned

a perfect 15 points at the state champion-ship meet, not only bringing home a 5A state title but also a state record.

“It was so cool standing in the finish shoot surrounded by blue and gold, and I hear could hear the speaker over the intercom screaming that we were making state history,” senior Grace Geiger said.

Senior Bailee Cofer won overall, leading the team with a time of 15:28.34. Junior Emily Downey placed second, and Geiger placed third.

Read more on B1.

SOCCER IS BACK ON TRACKAfter going 4-3 in the league and

playing the number one team in Kansas

during the state finals game, the boys’ soccer team got back on track and brought home another victory for Aquinas.

Although St. James was up by two points, senior Nick Hagenkord was able to score two goals, tying the game. Minutes before the game was over, Hagen-kord scored again, bringing home the 15th state cham-pionship for boys’ soccer at Aquinas.

“You couldn’t write a movie script bet-ter than the way we finished the season,” coach Craig Ewing said. Read more on B1.

A2 The Shield November 21, 2013

Campus NewsBROWN TO BE SENT TO WAR ZONE

The theology teacher will be sent to Afghanistan this spring with the Air Force Reserve.

Every day, American mili-tary members are stationed over-seas in critical areas to protect our freedom. In March, theology teacher Leo Brown will be one of those members.

Brown is a first sergeant in the Air Force Reserve’s 442nd

Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.

“A few months ago, my boss called me and said they we had been activat-ed,” Brown said. “I was surprised, but being in the reserve you always have the mindset you might be called at anytime.”

The Aquinas community will miss Brown.

Theology teacher Phyllis Distler said, “I think he will be missed very much. I know his students love him and he is a very valuable part of Aquinas.”

Students will also miss him, but should not be completely surprised.

“At the beginning of the year, I always tell my students

there is a chance I get deployed,” Brown said.

Aquinas will have to find a new substitute for Brown until he comes back sometime around November 2014.

“The administration has been great with working with me,” Brown said. “A lot of my fellow airmen are not as lucky as I am to have such great people to work with like Dr. [Bill] Ford.”

When war comes to mind, people think of the worst.

“When I tell people I am in the Air Force, people ask me what kind of plane do I fly. They don’t really realize what I do,” Brown said. “If I am flying planes,

you need to move to Canada be-cause we are losing the war.”

Brown’s job is to make sure his troops’ heads are “screwed on straight.” He does not work on any equipment, but he makes sure that the people who are deployed have the right mindset.

“I am like a big brother to the airmen,” he said.

Brown is the link between a commander and that com-mander’ troops. Brown has been

doing this job for four years and said it is by far the hardest job he has ever had. It requires a lot of long hours and hard work. He has had to deal with a lot of sad and tough situations.

“My second day on the job, someone in my unit died and I thought, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’”

Brown had to identify the body and had to tell the family that their loved one was not

coming home. During Brown’s first few months on the job, his reserve unit had an unusual-ly-high three deaths.

This will be the first time Brown has deployed to a war zone in his 16-year military career, but not the first time he has been sent overseas. He spent part of four summers at U.S. air bases in Germany writing stories for military publications. Brown is going to be going to be doing

a lot of training about what to expect in Afghanistan and in a war zone.

“There are certain things you might do in our country that are perfectly acceptable but over in Afghanistan could be very offensive,” he said.

Brown hopes to return to Aquinas in late November and perhaps start teaching by the beg-ginning of second semester. g

by BRYAN ZACKCampus News Editor

Photo by BRYAN ZACK | The ShieldThelology teacher Leo Brown will be deployed to Afganistan in late March. It will be his first tiime being

deployed in a war zone in his military career. His classroom has a dozen posters of fighter jets.

“When I tell people that I am in the Air Force, people ask me what kind of plane

I fly. They don’t really realize what I do.”

LEO BROWNtheology teacher

STUDENTS RETURN HOMEAquinas alums Bryan

Thelen and Emily Majerle returned to their old high school and became foreign language teachers less than five years after graduating.

As students, both Herr Thelen and Mademoiselle Ma-jerle took Latin their freshman year and then took the language that they now teach for the last three years of high school.

“One of my favorite mem-ories from my Aquinas days was freshman year when we did Mr. (Greg) Wilson’s Latin project,” Thelen said. “It was kind of

crazy but it was a lot of fun in the end.”

Thelen even finished four years of German in just three years because the German program used to be self-paced under Frau Nickum. He started his sophomore year and finished German IV by his senior year. Thelen was also involved in cross country, track, German Club, co-captain of ICAN (now Touching Tiny Lives) and was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper.

Majerle was involved in French Club, STAPLES, National Honor Society and Teens for Life before graduating from Aquinas in 2008. Majerle enjoyed these clubs because

they brought her closer to her friends.

Majerle and Thelen won the French and German department awards at Senior Mass.

Both enjoyed hanging out with friends in the com-mons af-ter school when they were students. Thelen also remembers fun times during trying moments, like when he was running with friends during cross country and track seasons or working

on The Shield.“All of the long nights

spent preparing the newspaper were always fun and are one

of my favorite memo-ries from Aquinas,” Thelen said.

Ma-jerle has noticed a major

change at Aquinas in a short time.“The big difference be-

tween then and now that I see is the increase in faith,” she said. “When I was here there was Mass offered maybe once or

twice a week. Now it’s offered every day. We even have adora-tion with the Archbishop now.”

After high school, both teachers went to the University of Kansas and earned their teaching degree before returning to Aquinas. They got to know each other better at KU.

Majerle is still adjusting to her new role at Aquinas.

“Coming back and teaching with your former teachers has been kind of crazy,” she said. “It’s pretty weird to be calling all of them by their first names. Especially because some of them were the ones that first got me thinking about teaching in the first place.” g

Majerle and Thelen return as teachers after being students at Aquinas.by JORDAN BARTZOpinions Editor

“The big difference between then and now that I see is the increase in faith [at Aquinas].”

EMILY MAJERLEFrench/English teacher

Then and Now

Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The ShieldHerr Thelen goes over homework with his first hour German I class. Thelen, who graduated from Aquinas in 2008, has returned as a German teacher.

The Shield A3November 21, 2013Features

Beating

ODDSthe

Sophomore Nick Battaglia beat the unpromising survival odds for his grade four brain tumor, a near-miracle he credits to God.

Photo courtesy Nicolas BattagliaPhoto courtesy Nicolas Battaglia

Nicolas Battaglia, far left, celebrates Christmas with his dad’s family the year before he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Battaglia, second from left, poses for a photo last year when he was sick during Christmas.

Now every day I thank God for savingmy life and giving me another chance.

- Nicolas Battaglia, sophomore

The doctors said there was a high chance he wouldn’t wake up from surgery.

But sophomore Nick Battaglia fought the odds and lived through it, thankful that God had saved his life.

Battaglia was attending Barstow his fresh-man year when he started passing out in the hallways, throwing up, and getting dizzy, all causing him to ultimately miss about half of his freshman year. He knew something was wrong, but his doctors declared it only a virus.

Eventually, in April of 2012, an MRI deter-mined he had a brain tumor.

“When [the doctors] told me that I had a brain tumor, I knew everything was going to be okay,” Battaglia said. “I was really calm about it.”

In May, treatment started. For the first six weeks, he received treatment once a week, and later began radiation on his head and spine. After a brief break from treatment, he started nine months of chemotherapy and staying in the hospital.

“There were a few times when I started hav-ing doubts, like right when I started chemother-apy,” he said. “That really took my energy level down, and that’s when I started having doubts about being able to be a normal kid again.”

He ultimately underwent surgery to remove the brain tumor. This was when the doctors told him there was a slim chance of survival.

Yet, against nearly all odds, he survived.“I was so relieved,” he said, “because I didn’t

know if I was going to wake up after surgery or not.”But just because he beat the odds didn’t

mean it was going to be an easy road to recovery. He had to rest for fourteen days after the surgery and “literally did not move one muscle for all those days.” He had to relearn how to walk, re-gain strength, and rebuild motor skills he had lost during the surgery. Even after some recovery, it was difficult to walk across the room. He had to regain his sense of balance and perception. Even now, he has to be monitered very close for the next several years and possibly the rest of his life.

Yet he remains positive.“I was like, why did—of all people—this

have to happen to me?” he said. “And I still ask that question. But I think that God has a plan for everybody, and this wouldn’t have happened if He didn’t want it to happen for a special reason.”

And it certainly must’ve been for a special reason. It is evident in the eyes of Aquinas staff and students that Battaglia is truly a Saint.

Treatment ended for him in February of this year, but he missed his entire sophomore year at Barstow. He transferred to Aquinas this year as a sophomore, although he knew some juniors at Aquinas. Theology teacher Leo Brown, who has Battaglia in his sophomore theology class, said there is a huge amount of admiration and respect

for Battaglia. Brown even asked if Battaglia would like to speak in front of the class about his experience. Battaglia did, and during this time, Brown said anyone could’ve heard a pin drop for those ten to fifteen minutes.

“The thing I admire most about Nick is he is a great example of ‘I’m in class for the good of other people,’” Brown said. “He’s always willing to participate and pitch in his two cents worth for the good of the class. The kids have loved having him in class.”

The experience has been an eye-opening one

for Nick as well. He said his experiences have strengthened his faith.

“Now every night I thank God for saving my life and giving me another chance,” he said. “Every day is a blessing, and we don’t know how long we have on this Earth. It could just be gone in a minute.”

Battaglia believes God gave his doctors the knowledge to treat his disease and truly believes God saved his life. He also remembers how sup-portive his family and friends were and how they all prayed for him to beat the odds as well.

“Nicolas is a remarkable young man who never complained and never questioned why and always believed that God would see him through,” said his father, Marion Battaglia.”He has always had tremendous faith and knew that it was in Gods hands.”

His father said the generous care at Children’s Mercy Hospital and the support and prayers from family and friends made all the difference.

When asked if he believes those prayers helped him, Battaglia answered immediately and said they absolutely did.

“When I got sick, some people like family friends didn’t really have much of a relation-

ship with God, and from what I’ve heard, those people started praying for me and started going to church,” he said. “Like my great-uncle was an atheist, and now he is totally involved with God because of my experience.”

He continued, “Maybe it was a good thing this happened to me. I really wish this wouldn’t have happened to me,” Battaglia said, “but then I think now I can just tell everybody about how God saved my life.”

If that isn’t evidence of a true Saint, then who knows what is. g

by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

A6 The Shield November 21, 2013Opinions

50 REASONS TO BE A SAINTby ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

Saints for a Day: Here’s why you should come to Saint Thomas Aquinas.

We are truly a Communion of Saints.

We are a Blue Ribbon School and succeed academically.

The actions of your fellow classmates will inspire you each and every day to be like the Saints in heaven.

You’ll bleed gold and blue forever.

We enjoy breaking records: what other school collects 117,000 cans for the less fortunate?

You’ll find that the Alma Mater gets stuck in your head often.

What other school has an all-school huddle with their chaplain?

We are faith-focused, even in sports and extracurriculars. There

is nothing more amazing than seeing a sports team gather in the chapel for Mass before a big game.

Aquinas will become your home.

We succeed in all as-pects: academics, arts, sports, etc.

You’ll love Aquinas so much that you’ll never want to graduate.

Teachers teach not only academics but also faith.

You’ll see God in the peo-ple surrounding you.

From the moment you walk in the door, you’ll be a member of a new family.

Friday night football games are amazing, and there’s no better team to cheer for.

There are opportunities with honors courses, col-lege credit, and AP tests.

You’ll have the opportu-nity to attend Kairos your senior year and it will change your life.

You’ll have the opportunity to go on mission trips.

You’ll be a part of class competition which brings students together.

You’ll gather an un-natural collection of Saints spirit wear and absolutely love it.

Daily Mass in the chapel is incredible.

The cafeteria has the best cookies ever.

We are always winning state titles.

The courtyard is beautiful.

You’ll love it when people ask you where you go to school.

You’ll establish a lifelong desire to serve others.

No matter how tired you are, you’ll probably find yourself looking forward to

school as you walk in the doors in the morning.

You’ll never experience a dull day in your time here.

It’s awesome to see students gathered for the decade of the rosary after school.

Our student-to-faculty ratio is 14:1.

We have the chapel as the cornerstone of our school.

Class service projects are an incredible opportunity to bond with your classmates.

You’ll be a part of 26 years of tradition and of excellence.

There are several sports and activities for every-one to get involved in.

Aquinas provides a world full of opportunities; you’ll have opportunities you could never imagine.

You’ll be challenged each and every day to be the best you can be.

Aquinas has had many successful alumni.

81% of faculty hold a Master’s degree.

There is just an incredible feeling of walking through the halls at Aquinas being surrounded by true Saints.

You’ll find yourself well-prepared for the future, not only aca-

demically but also spiritually.

Father Schmitz offers Bible study.

99% of our graduates pursue higher educa-tion. The rest jump straight to a career.

The teachers put every-thing into their job and help students both in and out of the classroom.

They’re always willing to give up their time to help you; they’re not just doing it for the money.

It’s nice to be able to wear a uniform every day.

You’ll make life-long memories.

We have great resources for sports and activities, such as the turf field.

You’ll never regret being a Saint.

You’ll meet so many different people who will impact your life every day.

You’ll find yourself constantly striving to dare greatly and become legendary like those who have gone before us in the Communion of Saints.

We’re always aiming for the best in every-thing we do, but we do it for God alone.

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Photo by TROY HILDERHOF | The Shield

The Shield A7 November 21, 2013Opinions

Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

hieldSthe

11411 Pflumm RoadOverland Park, KS 66215

913-319-2460www.stasaints.net/shield

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAnnie Schugart

CAMPUS NEWS EDITORBryan Zack

OPINIONS EDITORJordan Bartz

SPORTS EDITORTroy Hilderhof

LAST LOOK EDITORAnnie Schugart

CENTERSPREAD/FEATURES EDITOR

Annie Schugart

ADVISERMatt Hallauer

MISSION STATEMENTThe Shield is a newspaper sponsored by Saint Thomas Aquinas High School and produced by its students to provide information, enter-tainment, and open forum, as well as a learning experi-ence for its staff members. The goal of The Shield’s staff is to meet professional journalism standards. Staff members are responsible for the content of the news-paper and strive to report news accurately, objectively, and completely. The Shield is an open forum for stu-dent expression and aims to communicate the concerns of the student body as well as the faculty, staff, and Aquinas community.

ADVERTISINGThe Shield sells advertisements to help with publication costs. All ads will be subject to the same scrutiny as stories. The Shield will not print any obscenities or any ads promoting products illegal to those under the age of 18. For advertising, please call (913) 319-2460, send an email to mhallauer@stasaints.net, or visit www.stasaints.net/shield

SUBSCRIPTIONSSubscriptions to The Shield are $2 per issue. Subscriptions can be sent to Saint Thomas Aquinas High School c/o Matt Hallauer.

LETTER POLICYLetters may be accepted by The Shield, provided that they are signed and do not containt libel-ous statements. The Shield re-serves the right to edit the letters for grammar, obscenity, or space consideration, and also reserves the right to not print a letter.

When I arrived home from my Kairos retreat this past summer, I made a promise to myself and to everyone else on that retreat: to love every single person in the entire world the way I loved those people during the four amazing days.

Sometimes I sit and won-der, why? Why would I ever sub-ject myself to such a hard task?

But then I remember how beautiful people can be and how much they deserve to be loved. My vision is to be an inspiration to others through every action that I do. This last summer was so hard for me. I went through a lot of pain, with my best friend

moving away and my grandma dying, yet this made the timing of my retreat perfect, for my heart was so vulnerable that the love I received completely filled it.

I completely understand what Theodore M. Hesburgh meant when he said “you can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” The amount of heart and faith it takes to give something your all is so hard—and blows can hit you at the worst times—but I also understand that if you don’t give your entire self into your vision, then your vision will fade away. That’s how visions work.

I am the queen of wanting to push things aside until I have time later, but I know in my heart that I can’t. No, in order

to live out my promise, I’m constantly doing more. I say yes when opportunities are handed to me. When I didn’t make it into the musical, I worked so much harder to make myself better. Failure isn’t an option. When I see a person with tears pouring down their face, and I’m in a hurry to get somewhere, I have to stop to help them.

The amount of fear of being rejected or mocked that I feel during times like this where I am drawn to take action is unbelievable, but I know that

God places people in my life for special reasons. He wouldn’t let me see pain if He didn’t want me to fix it. I can’t see my way of living as trying to be a leader. I have to see it as an opportu-nity to live out God’s

love because I know that that God is the Ultimate Leader, and that only through Him can we do great things. This mindset

confuses some people, it stress-es out my parents, and it has caused me to lose some friends, but I know that in the end it is so worth it. The promise that I made after my Kairos retreat has changed my life for the better. It’s shown me how challenging life can be, but it’s also shown me that God will step in when we can’t handle something, and that if He knows that we can handle it, He’ll stand right beside us and give us strength to do it on our own. g

by MAGGIE BOONEGuest of The Shield

“I understand that if you don’t give your entire self into your

vision, then your vision will fade away. That’s how visions work.”

When I was in middle school, I didn’t have a whole lot of friends or a whole lot of self-confidence. I was desperate for the popular kids to like me, for people to think that I was “cool”. Obviously, that never hap-pened—I was a skin-ny, low-voiced nerd with wonky teeth and “Peter Pan hair” (as my sisters so lovingly put it). When the time came, I was eager to enter high school and maybe escape from my life of insecurity.

I walked into Aquinas freshman year with a whole lot of false trails set up for me. I have three older siblings that went here before me—two were cheerleaders, one was an athlete. Everyone assumed I would follow in their foot-steps. However, I was about to choose a completely different

path, and become... dare I say it... a theatre geek.

When I auditioned for my first musical here (West Side Story), I was so scared I blacked out. Yup, all I can remember from that audition was hitting the high C at the end of the au-dition song and thanking baby Jesus that I didn’t crack. I also remember a whole lot of upper classmen asking me, “Was that you?!” After that, I got called back for the lead role and began to see that I wasn’t so bad at this theatre thing after all. I end-ed up being cast in a featured role (not to the delight of many former seniors). Suddenly, peo-

ple weren’t looking at me as “Emily and Elise’s little sister”—they were seeing me as Kathleen. I

finally had an entity outside of my siblings’ shadow.

When the musical was announced for the next year (“Aida”), it brought a whole new set of challenges. A friend and I began extensively researching the show, and I felt myself drawn to the title role. Against the slew of people telling me that a lead role for an underclassman was simply impossible, I decided to go for it. I holed myself in my room all summer (with the company of Catherine Kluempers) and

practiced the songs, analyzed the characters, and memorized the lines for hours at a time. Our hard work paid off, and when the moment of truth came, we saw our names at the top of the cast list.

After two years of being in the spotlight, junior year came (“Anything Goes”). I was given a chorus role, and still had a great time tapping away in the background while Sarah Gabriel belted her face off.

This year, “All Shook Up” gave me a unique, time-of-my-life-so-much-fun-I-can’t-stand-it experience. I had the opportu-nity to make people laugh as I embraced my inner awkwardness and unleashed my inner man. My character was so much like me that I just got to have fun being myself onstage (except for, you know, when I was a boy. I AM NOT A BOY.).

As the curtain closes on my time here at Aquinas, I look back at the person I was four years ago and smile. Before theatre became a part of my life, I wore a mask constantly. I so des-perately wanted to be like everyone else that I forgot how to be me. I now have no fear of being myself with oth-ers—because let’s face it, after

you sexually harass someone onstage dressed in drag, being yourself is an easier task. I al-

ways thought I would be sad when all my Aquinas musicals were over, but I am strangely at peace. I know that I have gotten

more out of these experiences than I could have ever hoped

for, and I don’t have a single regret. I made some of the best friends I’ve ever head, and I have learned how to break out of others’ expectations of me, how to work hard and persevere, how to accept defeat and victory. And most importantly, by wearing the theatrical masks of a sullen Puerto Rican, a Nubian princess, a wealthy snob, and an awkward, love-struck mechanic, I have learned how to take off my own mask and play the role I was born to play—my own. g

by KATHLEEN MITCHELLGuest of The Shield

PROMISING TO LOVE

“UNMASKED”:

“As the curtain closes on my time here at Aquinas, I look back at the person I was four

years ago and smile.”

“I always thought I would be sad when all my STA musicals were over, but I am strangely at peace.”

Senior reflects on her past four years participating in the musicals at Aquinas.

Living a life of love is a vision and way of life for this Aquinas student.

“I thought it was really good. Very talented singers, dancers and actors.” - Caroline Backs, junior

“I thought some interactions were a bit stilted, but the singing was very nice.” - Shannon Becker, senior

“I really enjoyed it! “All Shook Up” had the right amount of comedy and drama—not to mention I’m a closeted Elvis buff and loved the songs that were used.”

- Alexis Gulbransen, junior

“It was amazing! Funny and good singing!”- Dugan Hult, freshman

“It was so good and the seniors were mighty fine!” - Sarah Brekke, senior

“I was in it and the support that came out was amazing. I know everyone in tthe cast really appre-ciated everyone’s time to see our hard work.”

- John Viso, sophomore

“There is some major talent at this school!”- Ellie Boring, senior

W

hat d

id y

ou th

ink

of th

is ye

ar’s

mus

ical?

Want to see your opinion published on

this page?

The Shield wel-comes opinion

articles from any Aquinas student

or faculty member as we seek to be

the voice of Aqui-nas, and approved

opinion articles will be published

on this page.

If you are interest-ed in writing an

opinion article or helping out in any way, please con-

tact editor-in-chief Annie Schugart

at ASchugart14@stasaints.net

A8 The Shield November 21, 2013

Polls

THE BOTTOM LINE: Opinions of Aquinas students, based off 256 student responses to

an email survey.

hieldStheHow to view video in

STEP ONE: Download the free “Aurasma” app.

The Shield is excited to announce that we are one of the first schools in the nation to bring pictures to life, effectively merging print jour-nalism with broadcast journalism using the

Aurasma app. Here’s how to get started!

If you don’t have a smartphone or similar device, check out our videos on the Saint Thomas Aquinas Shield Youtube account.

STEP THREE: Click the search button (magnifying glass) on the bottom of the screen. Search “Saint Thom-as Aquinas HS.” Click the one above.

STEP FOUR: Click “Follow.”STEP FIVE: Click this (bottom) to return to the cam-era. Hover over an image and watch the picture come alive!

STEP TWO: Open the app and click this button at the bottom of the screen:

This symbol means there is a video that goes along with the picture.

33%

44%

7%

16%

Which class do you think is the best Saint for a Day Host?

What is your favorite game theme?What are your suggestions for new game themes?

Why would that grade be the best host?

When choosing a college, what is the most important factor for you?

SENIORS’ Opinions (based off 75 email responses)

To how many colleges will you be applying?

If you had to decide today, where would you go?

Freshmen

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

Christmas

White Out/Black Out

Blue & Gold

Neon

Camo/Open Season

SuperheroesW

estern

“Toga.”

“Thrift shop.” “Favorite jersey.”

“Tie-dye.” “Clash.”

“Twins.”

Madison Holmes, junior

Brendan Sweetman, senior

Melanie Murray, sophomore

Paige Klimas, junior

“Glow in the dark.”Taylor Limoges, junior

Natalie Gartland, junior

Kyle Bollig, junior

“Duck Dynasty.”Savannah Miller, junior

Other popular ideas:Hawaiian DenimPink out Disney

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Arkansas (4)BakerBaylor

BenedictineCentral Missouri

CreightonDuquense

George Washington

K-State (11)KU (9)

Loyola ChicagoMissouri (2)

NebraskaNorthwestern (3)Notre Dame (3)

Portland (2)

Rockhurst (2)San DiegoSimpsonSt. Louis

Texas A&MTexas Christia

UMKCVanderbilt

Freshmen“They can relate with Saints for a Day the most.”

- Reagan Ebert, freshman

“[It] gives Saint for a Days the experience that they will get their first year on campus.”

- Garrett Maltby, senior

Sophomores“They know more about the traditions of Aquinas, but aren’t too old to where the Saints For a Days would feel intimidated.”

- A.J. Meyers, junior“Sophomores have more experience than freshmen, and we know the ways of the school. Freshmen have not experienced Aquinas enough by that time to be able to convince an eighth grader to come here.”

- Caroline Shaw, sophomore

Seniors“They know all the ropes of the school.” - Megan Bartolac, junior

hieldStheNovember 21, 2013 Volume 26, Issue 4

SPORTS

Photo by TROY HILDERHOF | The Shield Photo by TROY HILDERHOF | The Shield Photo courtesy MICHELE GRESS Seniors Bryan Zack and Matthew Wilderson run side-by-side during the first mile of the state championship at Rim Rock on Nov. 2. Seniors Bailee Cofer and Grace Geiger pushed the pace and eventually broke the competition en route to a perfect score of 15 points to win state. Nick Hagenkord controls the ball in the first half against St. James in the championship game in Goddard. After being down 2-0, Hagenkord scored a hat trick to bring home the state trophy.

The Saint Thomas Aquinas girls’ cross country team earned a perfect 15 points at the 2013 5A Cross Country State Champi-onship meet at Rimrock Farm on Nov. 2.

The girls’ team was lead by senior Bailee Cofer, who won individually with a time of 15:28. She was closely followed by junior Emily Downey and senior Grace Geiger in second and third.

This path to this incredible achieve-ment, however, didn’t start in the fall. The team started their ambigous training during the summer mornings.

“We have been training since the end

of May, two weeks after track ended,” Gei-ger said. “We didn’t take any breaks until now, which is our two week break before winter runs start. In the summer we racked up over 500 miles running.”

The summer runs the team started at

7 a.m. weekdays at Aquinas. Anyone could show up and run for fun if they wished, but the committed runners got down to

business early. The varsity would start run-ning as early as 6:30 a.m.

The preseason coaches poll ranked the Saints second behind Bishop Carroll.

“No one really knew we were coming since we had lost six seniors,” Geiger said. “We knew we would have to fill in the spots because there was only two returning varsity runners (Cofer and Downey). But a lot of people stepped up, and we were sur-prised when we started to beat a lot of the Aquinas girls’ cross country times from last year’s races. It was a great feeling to know all the hard work was paying off!”

However, the path to state was just beginning.

Continued on B3.

For Nick Hagenkord, it was the best yellow card penalty he could have received.

As he ripped off his shirt in celebration of scoring his final goal for Aquinas, winning 5A state for the 15th state boys’ soc-cer title in Aquinas history, coach Craig Ewing and the rest of the team and fans were in awe.

“It was a remarkable goal. And we combine a remarkable goal, which required all this other stuff to happen first,” Ewing said, “with the time it happened and the game it happened makes it a legendary goal as opposed to just remarkable.”

ROUGH STARTThe team had state as their

goal throughout as seasons, just as it is always their expectation. But they went 4-3 in the league and had a lot of injuries and sickness. Their season contained one of the highest loss totals in 20 years.

But Ewing praised the team for resiliency, having to change the lineup several times because of injury and sickness.

“There’s something special about a bunch of guys who, even though things don’t go well, still think they can succeed,” Ewing said.

The team knew they would get some players back from injury and sickness and knew they had a chance.

“When you’re not expected to win, even though we make it a goal to win, but you have six loss-es limping into state you’re not

thinking it’s a guarantee,” Ewing said. “In fact, it looks like you may not [win]. I think when you succeed against the odds like that, it makes it more special.”

RESURRECTIONThe team had a great

five- game run going into state finals. But going into the final game against St. James, the team realized they were about to play the No. 1 team in Kansas--a team who had even beat the 6A state champions.

When St. James was leading 2-0 early in the game, Ewing explained that the team knew they were OK as long as they didn’t score a third goal before Aquinas scored. Ewing said that not many games are won when a team is down 2-0.

“We started off the game slow. St. James looked like the bet-ter team and quickly scored,” said Hagenkord, a senior and captain. “After that, I was really impressed with how we handled ourselves. We didn’t just quit like they want-

ed us to. We fought back.”Just before halftime, Ha-

genkord scored after a header from Nick D’Adamo’s kick. Five minutes after halftime, Hagenkord scored again.

Soon before the end of the game, Michael Velasco sent a high-traveling ball toward Hagen-kord, who scored again--ultimate-ly declaring Aquinas the 5A state champions.

“Honestly I’m still in shock,” Hagenkord said. “I still don’t real-ize just how big of a goal that was.

It’s the kind of opportunities you have once in your life. There have been much better teams come be-fore us, but we proved we belong with them. We finally brought that title back to its home.”

Ewing said this is a moment that will go down in history.

“25 years from now, they’ll be remembering Nick Hagenkord’s goal and his feats in the state championship game,” Ewing said. “You couldn’t write a movie script better than the way we finished the season.” g

CROSS COUNTRY MAKES HISTORY

BOYS’ SOCCER IS BACK ON TRACK

The Saint Thomas Aquinas girls’ cross country team finished with a perfect 15 points at state.

Hagenkord’s hat trick defeats St. James 3-2, bringing home the 15th boys’ soccer state championship.

by TROY HILDERHOFSports Editor

Photo by TROY HILDERHOF | The ShieldEmily Downey, Bailee Cofer and Grace Geiger hold the state trophy.

by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-In-Chief

“No one really knew we were com-ing since we had lost six seniors.”

GRACE GEIGERCo-captain

“With the time it hap-pened and the game it happened makes it a

legendary goal as opposed to just remarkable.”

CRAIG EWINGHead coach

Photo courtesy of MICHELLE GRESSThe Saints celebrate with a dog pile after winning the championship.

B2 The Shield November 21, 2013

Sports

SENIORS COMMIT TO COLLEGESEight seniors participated in the National Letter of Intent signing ceremony.

Photo by ANNIE SCHUGART | The ShieldThe eight seniors were honored at a ceremony after school in the theater on Nov. 13. Coaches spoke about their work

ethic, leadership and talent, then parents, friends and coaches shared cake.

VOLLEYBALL TAKES SECOND

Nick Pascuzzibaseball at Rockhurst

Trey Grindingerbaseball at Benedictine

Alex Van Peltbaseball at Wichita State

Ellie Boringrowing at Kansas State

Brooklin Hinzsoftball at Kentucky

Makenzie Eldervolleyball at Chicago

Alexis Murphyvolleyball at Fort Hays State

Brittany Thomasvolleyball at Lipscomb

Photo by KATIE ERNST | The MedallionThe Saints celebrate after a kill by Murphy against St. James in the 5A State Championship. Those celebrating are Thomas, junior Carlyle Nus-

baum, Rheinberger, Murphy, junior Shelby Jackson and junior Kristen Hornung.

Photos by KATIE ERNST | The Medallion

Senior Brittany Thomas jumps into

the arms of head coach Kim Bogart

before receiving her medal. Seniors Erin Rheinberger, Thom-

as, Kelsey Beasley, Makenzie Elder, Alexis Murphy,

manager Luke Henes and manager Alex Van Pelt pose with

the trophy for their fans.

The Saint Thomas Aquinas Volleyball team was a season full of hope and optimism. The season started out very well for the girls. “We played in the Lee Summit West on Sept. 14 and got sec-ond place, losing to St. James but holding our ground,” senior Kelsey Beasley said. “The team grew well, all the girls love each other, and ev-ery practice was full of laughs. Of course we have our practices that aren’t fun - running and condition-ing - but we are built a team and we are all close friends.” The season went on and the team had many great finishes throughout the year. By the time state rolled around, the team was up to the challenge. The team beat Mill Valley and Bishop Carroll in pool play on Nov 1, but lost to St. James, one of the best teams in the country. On Saturday, the Saints beat Andover and played St. James again for the state championship. The team to win two out of three sets wins the 5A State Championship. The Thunder took the first set 25-11, but the Saints bounced back to win the second set 25-19. It was the only set loss for St. James all season. However, St. James took the final set 25-17 to win the state championship. For the five seniors, it was the first trip to the volleyball state championship game since their freshmen year. g

The Saints hand St. James its first set defeat of the season at championship

Photos by KATIE ERNST | The Medallion

Nusbaum’s spike bounces off a Thunder hitter’s head. Hornung leaps for another kill. The team celebrates a

point in the final set of the championship.

Jackson dives for a dig in the final set.

by TROY HILDERHOFSports Editor

The Shield B3November 21, 2013Sports

The CatchIt Kansas All-Class All-Sports Award has only known two homes in its life, and this year is shaping up to be yet another battle between Wichita’s Bishop Carroll and Saint Thomas Aquinas. The sports website created the award during the 2007-2008 year to measure the all-around success of a school’s athletics program. It awards eight points for a KSH-SAA team championship, seven points for finishing second, six points for third, and so on. Only the top eight teams in a KSHSAA championship receive points. Teams that tie, for example the four teams eliminated in quarterfinals, split the points evenly. Aquinas owned the award for its first three years, but Bishop Carroll edged closer each year. When this year’s seniors

were freshmen, Bishop Carroll broke the 100-point mark for the first time and took the title away. The Eagles have had it since. Last year was the worst for the Saints. After six years of scoring at least 85 points, Aquinas scored 58.5 points and fell to third place for the first time. Shawnee Mission East took second by half a point.

November Boost The Saints were not in the Top 10 on All Saints Day. Bishop Carroll and Kapaun Mt. Carmel shot to lead with strong perfor-mances in girls’ tennis and girls’ golf. The first Saturday of November put the Saints back in the hunt. The Saints racked up 22 points in just a few hours by winning girls’ cross country and placing second in boys’ cross country and volley-ball. No school had a better day. But Carroll pulled in 17.5 points by finishing first and second in cross country and making it to the volleyball quarterfinals.

The Saints boys’ soccer team earned another eight points a week later by winning a 5A title. However, it barely narrowed the gap on Carroll as the Golden Eagles placed fourth in soccer and made the state quar-terfinals in football for a total of 7.5 points. Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s football team made the semifinals, which pulled them within two points of Aquinas. Football is the only fall sport still in

action. Of the all-sport leading schools, only Kapaun and Shawnee Mission East have football teams in the semifinals. Since CatchIt Kansas does not count debate and scholars bowl, there are six winter sports and nine spring sports left to determine the All-Sports All-Class Championship. g

CARROLL NARROWLY LEADING ALL-SPORTS RACETop 8 finishes in every

sport is driving the state’s largest private school

All-Class All-Sports Awardas of Nov. 21

39.0 Bishop Carroll (5A)36.0 Saint Thomas Aquinas (5A)34.5 Kapaun Mt. Carmel (5A)29.5 Olathe East (6A)26.5 Manhattan (6A)24.0 Shawnee Mission East (6A)23.5 Free State (6A)22.0 St. James (5A)19.0 Winfield (4A)18.5 Bishop Miege (4A)18.5 Hayden (4A)

Photo by ABBY POPE | The MedallionSeniors Bailee Cofer and Grace Geiger hold up the 5A State Champions trophy after their Saints dominated 5A with a perfect score. But the CatchItKansas.com All-Sports point

system simply gives eight points for first place and seven points to rival Bishop Carroll for second. Mill Valley, which lost by more than 100 points on the course, received six points.

St. James wins rivalry survey

St. James52%

Bishop Carroll11%

Bishop Miege30%

Rockhurst2%

Other EKL4%

The juniors and seniors prepared for state by running up to 55 miles per week. A practice run may contain a 13-mile long run to Corporate Woods.

After months of arduous training, state was already here. The team was ready.

“The night before state I wasn’t too nervous because I knew all the hard work would pay off,” Geiger said. “I felt so con-fident, and I just kept picturing in my mind crossing the finish line right next to my teammates. Mental picturing really works for us the night before meets.”

And crossing the finish line was next to her teammates is exactly what they did.

“Crossing the finish line at state was the best feeling ever,” Geiger said. “I was five seconds behind Bailee and only a couple behind Emily, and it was amazing to know that our dreams and goals had come true.”

When Cofer crossed the finish line, she said it all happened so fast, and it seemed surreal at first.

“It still doesn’t seem like I crossed the finish line,” Cofer said right after the race. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Cofer, Downey, Geiger and sophomore Monica Sneed placed 1st through 4th, fol-lowed by a 7th place finish by sophomore Abbey Hopfinger. But since the 5th and 6th place girls were individuals from Andover and Kapaun, they didn’t count for team scores. That bumped Hopfinger to 5th, making it a perfect score: 15.

“It was so cool standing in the finish shoot surrounded by blue and gold, and I could hear the speaker over the intercom screaming that we were making state histo-ry,” Geiger said. “It was the best day ever, and I wish I could relive that day over and over again.”

Boys fight injuries For the boys’ cross country team, the season went a little bit different.

“We were competing with some of the best teams in the metro area,” senior runner Bryan Zack said. “We began the season beating and almost beating some of the best teams in the state like Manhattan, who won the 6A state championship.”

But as the season went on, the team started to encounter some unavoidable

problems. KC Metro, one of the bigger meets of the season, is where the team started to really see some health problems. Junior Cole Friedman, a key runner to the team, couldn’t run the race due to a leg injury.

“That was the first time it really felt like we were missing somebody,” Zack said. “By this time the meets were really starting to get important.”

The injuries didn’t end there. A week later, senior Matthew Wilderson unex-pectedly starting experiencing breathing problems. On the team’s long practice runs, Wilderson began breathing harder. He started to fall behind the rest of the varsity team. A week prior, he was cruising among the elite runners in the area.

“I first found some initial pain about a month before state and just thought it was sickness or something,” Wilderson said. ”It still could have been, but I didn’t visit the doctor until about two weeks later, and that’s when the lung collapse was found. I was on my way back from a haunted house, and the doctor called me saying ‘Yeah, um, you have a collapsed lung and need to go to the E.R. right now.’”

Before the phone call from his doctor, Wilderson still ran at EKL despite these breathing problems. Amazingly, he finished 7th.

“The Wilderson lung situation was devastating because he was an individual state champion contender this year, and it took him out completely,” Head Coach Justin Wrigley said. “In doing so, it also crushed our realistic chances of winning a team title.”

Wilderson received surgery on the collapsed lung the week before state and decided to run at state.

More unfortunate events happened at state. Besides Friedman’s stress fracture and Wilderson’s collapsed lung, junior Austin Lucas lost his shoe during the first legs of the race and Zack was suffering from the flu. Despite these problems, the team bat-tled and finished runner-up at state behind Bishop Carroll.

“The race didn’t go as we wanted to, but I couldn’t imagine running with any other guys.” Zack said. “They were like family to me.” g

CROSS COUNTRY MAKES HISTORYContinued from Page 1

All students were sent a poll on Nov. 12 asking “Who is our greatest sports rival?” At least half in each grade chose St. James

Tyler Watson

Ali WolteringBrittany Thomas

Alex VanPelt

Paige Hopfinger

Elizabeth Navickas

26%

12%

8%

7%

20%

28%

B4 The Shield November 21, 2013

Last Look

SENIOR ASSASSINS

THE FINAL SIX:

THE BEST OF ASSASSINS 2013

Brittany ThomasPaige Hopfinger Elizabeth Navickas“Paige will win because cross country run-ners are sneaky and she’s got a lot of allies.”

“Underdog!!! “She is very careful and won’t let her guard down but also is a ruthless killer.”

Alex VanPelt Ali Woltering Tyler Watson“He is passionately dedicated to this game.” “Ali is cute and not even remotely suspicious,

allowing her to get close to her targets.”“He is pretty much equivalent to the Batman.”

WINNER

WINNER

Who

will

win

assa

ssins

?The senior assassins game has come to a close with Elizabeth Navickas and Ali Woltering tying as winners. The game, which

began on Oct. 7, is a senior tradition that is organized outside of school and consists of “assassinating” a person’s assigned target

with water. The winners will split half of the money received from all of the participants who paid to participate in the game.

Pictures are from “The Godfather” Assassins Twitter account. Poll results are based off 75 responses from The Shield’s senior poll.