![With the AISD rank and GPA discrepancies, some students had significant changes to their stats. College and career counselor Camille Nix worked with students to appeal their college decisions if they got rejected from schools depending on their previous stats before getting updated. Students worked with Nix to update schools on their new stats in order to fully get their appropriate decisions. “Those who already were accepted [won’t be affected], but it could factor in if a student appeals their initial decision,” Principal Andy Baxa said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53674616658_18d367e00f_o-1200x676.jpg)
![Junior Mia Milicevic practices her forehand at tennis practice with the WJ girls tennis team. “Sometimes I don’t like [tennis] because you’re alone but most of the time, I do like it for that reason because it really is just you out there. I do experience being part of a team at WJ but in tournaments and when I’m playing outside of school, I like that rush when I win a point because I did it all by myself, Milicevic said. (Courtesy Mia Milicevic)](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/c54807e1-6ab6-4b0b-9c65-bfa256bc7587.jpg)
![The Jaguar student section sits down while the girls basketball team plays in the Great Eight game at the Denver Coliseum against Valor Christian High School Feb. 29. Many students who participated in the boys basketball student section prior to the girls basketball game left before half-time. I think it [the student section] plays a huge role because we actually had a decent crowd at a ranch game. I think that was the only time we had like a student section. And the energy was just awesome, varsity pointing and shooting guard Brooke Harding ‘25 said. I dont expect much from them [the Golden Boys] at all. But the fact that they left at the Elite Eight game when they were already there is honestly mind blowing to me.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_7517-e1716250578550-900x1200.jpeg)
![BACKGROUND IN THE BUSINESS: Dressed by junior designer Kaitlyn Gerrie, senior Chamila Muñoz took to the “Dreamland” runway this past weekend. While it was her first time participating in the McCallum fashion show, Muñoz isn’t new to the modeling world.
I modeled here and there when I was a lot younger, maybe five or six [years old] for some jewelry brands and small businesses, but not much in recent years,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz had hoped to participate in last year’s show but couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts. For her senior year, though, she couldn’t let the opportunity pass her by.
“It’s [modeling] something I haven’t done in a while so I was excited to step out of my comfort zone in a way,” Muñoz said. “I always love trying new things and being able to show off designs of my schoolmates is such an honor.”
The preparation process for the show was hectic, leaving the final reveal of Gerrie’s design until days before the show, but the moment Muñoz tried on the outfit, all the stress for both designer and model melted away.
“I didn’t get to try on my outfit until the day before, but the look on Kaitlyn’s face when she saw what she had worked so hard to make actually on a model was just so special,” Muñoz said. “I know it meant so much to her. But then she handed me a blindfold and told me I’d be walking with it on, so that was pretty wild.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53535098892_130167352f_o-1200x800.jpg)
Head baseball coach and PE teacher Bryan Resnick created his YouTube channel Domingo Ayala in 2009 as a casual hobby with friends in the dugout. Now, with over 223,000 subscribers and a total of 42 million views, his lighthearted pastime has become a thriving community.
The idea for his channel emerged when Resnick was in college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas after he was inspired by jokes between his baseball teammates to create exaggerated baseball parodies. As his channel developed, Resnick created over 200 videos with a humorous twist, all starring his alter ego: Domingo Ayala.
“Playing baseball and being around your baseball teammates is kind of like a family,” Resnick said. “You’re having fun with them, and you goof around with them. [The channel] just came out of being around those guys every day and just having fun with my teammates.”
The channel first gained popularity in 2011 after Resnick posted a viral parody video of over 3 million views titled “How to Hit a Home Run.” Since then, his content has expanded to other platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook. While his channel occasionally features guest appearances of his friends or MLB players, Resnick remains the driving force behind his channel, dedicating hours to filming and editing each video.
Renick’s humor allows viewers to connect with his content and brings levity to baseball so viewers of all ages can enjoy his videos.
“I found [his channel] when I was eight, and it was really funny,” baseball player and junior Cooper Marinelli said. “He brings the funny side of baseball because I feel like baseball is too serious now, and he brings the fun back.”
While this popularity has allowed Resnick to collaborate with big names in baseball, such as former MLB player and current coach Troy Percival, his channel also allows the Portola High baseball team to bond with each other through inside jokes and references, according to baseball player and senior Rider Cooper.
“We always like to take quotes and say it during practice and just yell out funny things when someone does something that relates to the quote,” Cooper said. “The team loves it, and we all know about it and can crack jokes.”
Over the summer, Resnick plans on creating more videos and traveling to different batting facilities in places such as Portland, Nashville and Seattle to perform as Domingo Ayala live for children. His channel is a platform to connect with people who enjoy the game of baseball, being a way to find the humor within the sport and express his passion for content creation.
“It makes me feel good about what I do because, at the end of the day, that’s why it was created,” Resnick said. “It was me and my teammates, having fun on the baseball field and our downtime and making fun of the things that sometimes are stressful in the game of failure. It can be stressful, but you sometimes have to sit back and make fun of yourself.”
This story was originally published on Portola Pilot on May 30, 2024.
