![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
During the ice breaker meet on March 13, Hayden Williams-Downing, junior, won and broke the school record for womens varsity javelin at Wilsonville High School to start off the 2024 track season. Out of the six total throws, her third throw of 155 feet and 6 inches exceeded the previous school record from 2007. However, Williams-Downing ended with her final throw of 162 feet and 9 inches, outdoing her own personal record (PR).
She is also the current national record-holder among active throwers.
“I popped [the javelin] out and I was in shock. Honestly, I was crying after each time they’d announce it,” Williams-Downing said. “It was surreal. I could not believe it. I still can’t believe it. I’m number one in the nation right now. It’s incredible.”
During the school’s track season, Williams-Downing participates in a wide variety of events. Her events from the ice breaker meet consisted of javelin (600 grams), long jump, 4×100 relay, and 4×400 relay.
As with any sport, adrenaline rushed through as she prepared for javelin. But during the event, she saw familiar faces and this support helped ready her for the event.
“I was relaxed. I was happy. I knew a lot of the girls that I was throwing against so it was fun to just be supported— one of them’s on my club team,” Williams-Downing said. “But I was really relaxed and I had a good warm up throw. So I was feeling pretty confident.”
After warming up, Williams-Downing’s first throw reached 138 feet, only two feet below her previous PR. Her series of throws consistently increased, ending with her final throw, at 162 feet and 9 inches, which became her newest PR and already surpassed her expectations.
“160 feet was my goal, like for this entire season. I was like, ‘Okay, by the end of the school year or by the end of the spring season for track, I need to have thrown 160 feet,’” Williams-Downing said.
Williams-Downing has also been a part of multiple track and field groups outside of the school’s program.
She began her track experience in fifth grade. At a young age, she broke the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) record for the FinnFlier. In middle school, she qualified for state in sixth grade. Currently, she is a part of a club track team, Super Thrower Track Club, where she trains her javelin and shot put skills throughout the off-season.
I popped [the javelin] out and I was in shock. Honestly, I was crying after each time they’d announce it. It was surreal. I could not believe it. I still can’t believe it. I’m number one in the nation right now. It’s incredible.”
— Hayden Williams-Downing
“In fifth grade, I was definitely doing [track] just more for fun. I didn’t really know where I could go with it,” Williams-Downing said. “But definitely freshman year was when I was like, ‘Okay, like, I’m doing pretty good.’ My freshman year was [somewhere] in the 120s. But I had a throw of 131 feet and 11 inches, and after that I [realized] I need to start taking this seriously, like I can go somewhere with this.”
With it being early in the season, there is the possibility of other schools’ athletes challenging her national PR. But despite that, Williams-Downing expects to continue her path in a successful direction.
“I am confident in myself, but someone’s probably gonna pop a big throw out there,” Williams-Downing said. “So I’m not sure that I’ll be first in the nation for very long, but I do have goals to win state this year. And I think that’s definitely in the cards for me.”
Williams-Downing plans on continuing to train and attend meets to get an understanding of other athletes’ throws, as well as work on her own.
“I’m feeling really optimistic. The fact that I got my goal and it was like an easy throw and I felt really good— that gives me a lot of hope,” Williams-Downing said. “I’m just gonna set a higher goal. I don’t know what to set for that now, but I’m definitely just gonna try to stay as consistent as I can.”
This story was originally published on wlhsNOW on March 14, 2024.
