The epitome of Panther pride
By Daniel Stackhouse, Starr's Mill High School
April 7, 2020
Panther alumni Drew and senior Alice Anne Hudson are two siblings that have set the bar for Starr’s Mill basketball. They have both accumulated incomparable stats and earned All-State status. All of this success, though, came from their competition against each other. The Hudsons began compet...
All sports are team sports
By Emma Scott, Carlmont High School
April 7, 2020
All alone. Standing alone on the floor, on the diving board, on the track. No one else is there except the eyes of the audience. This notion of being all alone is the common perception of individual sports and, as suggested by the name itself, it would seem to be that individual sports are...
Proposed Legislation Threatens Transgender Rights
By Ivy Reed, Clayton High School
April 6, 2020
“It basically affirmed my sense of belonging. Playing on the boys’ team, I never really felt like I belonged,” Nicky Taghert, 2019 CHS graduate, said about her experience playing on the girls’ soccer team as a transgender athlete. But if proposed state legislation is passed, other trans stude...
Refereeing done right: Student, teacher collaborate over calling signals
By Madeline Welch, University of Chicago Laboratory High School
April 6, 2020
Students run up and down the court of Upper Kovler Gymnasium, dribbling and passing the basketball. Kennedy Coats runs alongside with a whistle in hand, carefully watching the game as the referee. Physical education teacher and longtime referee, Daniel Dyra, pulls Kennedy aside from time to time, gesturing...
Pride of the ride
By Lukas Goodwin, Hagerty High School
April 3, 2020
When he was still in middle school, sophomore Vincent Connelly often hung out with his older brother and his skater friends. Spending so much time with them, and being an impressionable younger sibling that looked up to his brother, Connelly quickly picked up skateboarding as well. Since then, it has...
A farewell to Coach Bethany
By Drew Boone and Tre Bell
April 2, 2020
This story was originally published on Pathfinder on April 1, 2020....
Davies competes on Team USA in sport stacking
By Grace Kirtley, Lafayette High School
April 1, 2020
He starts with two hands on the timer. When he’s ready, his hands fly to a stack of 9 speed-stacking cups. First is the 3-3-3, named for the three stacks of three cups. Up-stack, then down-stack, this takes him 1.822 seconds. Next, is the 3-6-3. Up-stack, then down-stack once again. This takes him...
Female Athletes Still Struggling for Equality
By Teagan Garrison, Mike Marshall, and Allison O'Hara
March 31, 2020
Male and female athletes have yet to maintain an equal playing field. Whether these biases come from expectations, familial roles, or physical and verbal treatment, it's clear that men and women are held to different standards. The conflict was temporarily leveled when Bobby Riggs, who according...
Hidden Helpers: managers talk about their jobs assisting sports teams
By Siri Chevuru, Blue Valley Southwest
March 30, 2020
Sports teams make up a large part of a school’s identity. Banners hang in the gym recognizing athletes’ achievements and ice cream is passed out after each state victory. However, some people who spend hours helping the team are sometimes left out of the spotlight. Senior Ashley Schuler has been a girls...
Peril to prosperity: How David Stern’s NBA transformed athletics forever
By Mitch Fink and Sophie Grand
March 27, 2020
Andrew Ross Sorkin stepped out of his father’s car, legal pad and tape recorder in hand. Sorkin, a 15-year-old student at Scarsdale High School at the time, had scored the biggest coup of his young journalistic life: an interview with National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern. ...
Dash down the lane: junior Yaseen El-Demerdash qualifies for Paralympic trials in Singapore
By Sahar Baha, Blue Valley Southwest
March 27, 2020
From joining the Kansas City Blazers swimming team nine years ago, to being invited to the Worlds Series swim meet in Singapore, junior Yaseen El- Demerdash has had a huge impact on the school’s swimming program. After recently being classified as a para athlete due to his rare condition, Poland’...
Dance proves to be both art and sport
By Katie Dwyer, Henry W Grady High School - Nexus
March 26, 2020
When junior Zoey Phillips takes the stage, her hours of hard work, training and rehearsal are shown in her performance. Everything about her performance is perfect, from her movements to how her fingers are pointed. The spotlight shines, the music plays and she begins her dance. The argument of...
Pushed to the sidelines
By Sally Parampottil, Coppell High School
March 26, 2020
Google “female sports journalists” and look at the first page of results. Of the nine results, four of them are about the struggles of being a woman in sports journalism. Two showcased female reporters who had made great strides for their gender in the world of sports, though each inevitably ...
Allen sets sights on college, Olympic success
By Gabby Norman, Kingwood Park High School
March 26, 2020
Senior Jacob Allen has crossed the sea in order to compete in races all over the world, and he credits his success to one thing - his pre-race meal of chocolate cake. “I eat chocolate cake every time,” Jacob laughed. “Before races, just eat chocolate cake. It works.” In reality, Allen credits...
Baylor bound: Equestrian Tatum Mitchell commits to division I university
By Sarah Barber, Downers Grove South High School
March 26, 2020
The horse begins at a trot, approaching the first jump before clearing it with ease, as senior rider Tatum Mitchell is confidently in control -- making it clear to the judges and spectators why she is one of four class of 2020 students in the country committed to Baylor University as a division I equestrian. “I'm...
How a positive mindset can empower female athletes
By Nanette Pottoore, Coppell High School
March 25, 2020
During winter break, my brother and I attended a sports tournament my local church held every two years. I played volleyball, while my brother played basketball. It was a tournament where high schoolers came from all over the nation to compete for the championship. Both the volleyball and basketball...
CrossFit helps teen girls gain confidence
By Kamryn Harty, Henry W. Grady High School
March 25, 2020
Feet shoulder-width apart. Hips back, head up. Remember to breathe. Bend knees. Gritted teeth. Trembling legs. A 16 year-old-girl squatting 185 pounds. The gym goes wild. Flash-forward two years and senior Amelia Kushner says that four years ago, she never would have imagined she could be where she...
Sports apparel prices lead to student doubt
By Adam Gips and Tenzin Gyaldatsang
March 24, 2020
Recently, student athletes have had to contemplate whether to buy overpriced apparel to show support for their teams. Sophomore Danny Shope said sports apparel is beneficial for team bonding, but is sometimes overpriced. “One of the main objectives of sports apparel is to unify the team, and if...
A few cards short of a full deck
By Yash Ravula, Coppell High School
March 24, 2020
**Disclaimer: the following article includes discussions about sexual assault, which may be sensitive to some readers** With the rise in movements such as #MeToo in 2017, many women have come forward talking about their experiences with sexual harassment and abuse. Since, numerous popular sports figures...
Leinart reigns supreme: Legally blind swimmer wins state, breaks records
By Sarah Barber, Downers Grove South High School
March 19, 2020
A tennis ball tapped the head of junior Matthew Leinart as he flew through the pool, executing a flip turn before speeding toward the end of his lane -- he was about to shatter the IHSA and pool records in the state final of the 100-yard breaststroke in Athletes with Disabilities class B. As a legally...
Michael Schneider: a Bohemian ultrarunner in the making
By Eva Shen and Harshita Neralla
March 19, 2020
It was mile 17, and Michael Schneider wanted to throw up. The running-crazed DV senior and aspiring ultrarunner was taking on the California International Marathon, his first ever. By mile 13 he was already feeling the strain in his legs, far too early, and the unshakable notion that the next half...
USWNT president resigns over sexist comments
By Olivia Ostrowski, Lia Reichmann, Editor-in-Chief, and Saba Ali, Editor-in-Chief
March 19, 2020
On Thursday, March 12, United States Soccer formerPresident Carlos Cordeiro resigned in the midst of a contentious battle between the United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) and the U.S. Soccer Federation over pay disputes. Cordeiro’s resignation resulted from the public backlash he faced fro...
#SJW2020: The brain behind the game
By Karen Lu, Coppell High School
March 18, 2020
In a split second, a soccer player kicks the ball into the goal. Cheers erupt from the stands; grins spread across the coach’s face. But how exactly did they score? What was the strategy behind the play? Coppell High School senior Abhishek Mishra is a match analyst for soccer matches on Total Football Analysis, originally writing for Fo...
Martial Arts Madness
By Kana Chung, Francis Howell Central High School
March 18, 2020
A bead of sweat rolls down freshman Sophia Miller’s temple. Her breathing is sporadic and heavy. She and her opponent have passed the upper hand back and forth for nearly six grueling minutes. Before she knows it, her opponent knocks her onto her back, trapping her in a straight arm lock. As her ar...
Juniors step up as little league coaches
By Izzie May, James Bowie High School
March 17, 2020
Around the school, he is known as Atticus Kohler but to his young baseball team the kids know him as Coach Kohler Attending after school practices and traveling on Saturdays for games are all part of this junior’s regular routine. Kohler got into baseball at age six which is when he discovered his...
Changing tides
By Madi Olivier, Marcus High School
March 13, 2020
Every day at 4:45 a.m., swim coach and natatorium manager Shannon Gillespy is greeted by the smell of chlorine as she steps into her office at the LISD Westside Aquatic Center. A large window takes up the back wall, looking out to the pools that swimmers will be diving into at 6 a.m. sharp. Binders w...
Alumna Griffith finishes top 100 at U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon
By Kaitlin Palaian and Elias Podber
March 13, 2020
When Gracie Griffith ran her first marathon as a sophomore at Clemson University, she immediately fell in love with the distance. Two years later on Oct. 13, 2019, she ran 2:44:52 at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, putting her eight seconds clear of the Olympic Trials standard. “In April (2019),...
Friends before enemies
By Alexis Madlang, Hagerty High School
March 13, 2020
During one of the most attended rivalry week events, a parade of orange and blue fills the stadium, while each football team fights it out for only one school to come out on top. Rival friends are not seen sitting in the opposing student sections, they are usually with their school friends in their sands....
On the Road Again
By Cameron Levasseur, PRESQUE ISLE HIGH SCHOOL
March 12, 2020
It’s 7:45 am on a chilly Saturday morning. Twenty-one groggy teenagers stare blankly around at their peers as the inside of the school bus windows become as foggy as their sleepy minds. Such is the life of a Wildcat high school athlete. In high school sports, the biggest event of a team’s season...
Emma Sheehan wrestles in girls all-states over boys sectionals
By Atharva Weling and Dante Coppola
March 12, 2020
The WHS wrestling team was forced to compete at sectionals without its third seed, as senior Emma Sheehan made the decision to participate in girls all-states instead. Wrestling has historically been a sport WHS has dominated. Its Dual County League (DCL) title this past January marks the 39th in the...
Auto-racing community hits the track close to home
By Sean Turner, Granite Bay High School
March 12, 2020
Racing has always been a unique choice in the sporting world. In comparison to other sports and hobbies, motorsports has differentiated itself with the thrill of pushing far past the limits of the human body. However, along with the competition aspect, what truly distinguishes motoring from other...
Boys varsity swim wins fourth state title after an undefeated season
By Sidney O'Rourke, Wayland High School
March 11, 2020
The WHS boy’s swim and dive team secured its fourth state title in a row at the Division 2 state meet on Feb. 16. This year, it went 18-0 in the regular season before going on to win sectionals and states. Over the three previous seasons, the swim and dive team has had relatively the same team,...
Transfers on the rise for West athletics
By Joe Goodman, West High School
March 10, 2020
It’s almost an unspeakable phrase in Iowa high school sports: transfer. Whenever a student-athlete transfers to a new school, particularly without changing their residence, rumors and speculations inevitably begin to circulate. The word “transfer” itself conjures up accusations of recruiting and misconduct that can blemish the reputation of an athlete ...
Step by step: Olympian spreads her wisdom to make young athletes greater
By Lena Ahrens, Pleasant Valley High School - IA
March 10, 2020
A two-time olympian and three-time olympic gold medalist can provide a lot of insight, wisdom and advice to athletes training to be something greater. It’s not everyday that anyone gets to meet an athlete as successful and experienced as Tianna Bartoletta. Bartoletta currently co-holds the women’s world record and recei...
Let’s get ready to tumble
By Adriana Pueskens, Marcus High School
March 9, 2020
The arena is half-full with spectators there to see the tumblers. The place is filled with the sound of feet hitting the trampolines, and competitors practicing their routines on the floor. Senior Quinn Maguire has to focus on his routine and block out the noise. He’s done this routine a thousand...
Athletes create new possibilities for women in sports
By Bobby Keegan, Walnut Hills High School
March 9, 2020
Typically when one thinks of girls’ sports at WHHS, many think soccer, volleyball, lacrosse or basketball, but very few will think of one of the heaviest contact sports: wrestling. At WHHS, there isn’t a girls wrestling team, there’s only a junior high boys team and a high school boys team. ...
Last coach standing
By Ben Hobbs, BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL
March 9, 2020
Head wrestling coach Tim Serbousek remains as the only coach left from 1993, when the school opened. Starting his coaching career in Iowa with a youth league, Serbousek moved on to utilize his coaching talents at Northwest Missouri State University before moving to Blue Valley High School in 1985....
Catching a break
By Andrea Plascencia, Lewisville High School - TX
March 9, 2020
On the surface, they are stars. They are the popular kids. They exude perfection on and off the field. Every game day, these athletes are expected to be flawless; to play immaculately. Stepping onto the field, they know they are part of something larger than themselves. They don’t play for themselves;...
U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon conclude with unlikely qualifiers
By Kaitlin Palaian and Elias Podber
March 9, 2020
Atlanta is known as “Running City USA,” and for having a large, dedicated running community that takes to the Peachtree Street, Piedmont Avenue and surrounding streets to run every day. When the Olympic Team Trials – Marathon took place Feb. 29, the city turned out in droves to support the record...
The underlying price of high school sports
By Michael Lolley, Parkway West High School
March 5, 2020
Whether it is fees for a club team, equipment, travel, event admission or other sports costs, families can spend thousands of dollars on athletics. In addition to the cost of club sports, when kids reach high school, parents must pay what is required to participate in high school athletics. “We...
JV hockey reclaims Scholastic Hockey League title in double overtime
By Murphy McFarlane, York Community High School
March 4, 2020
Last Wednesday night, York JV hockey competed against Glenbrook North in the Scholastic Hockey League Championship. With the best of three series tied 1-1 and the SHL trophy on the line, both teams hit the ice not willing to let up. At the end of regulation, the score remained 0-0, and it wasn’t until...
A day in the life: Justyne Wright
By Mya Copeland, Kirkwood High School
March 3, 2020
When Justyne Wright, sophomore, gets up at 5:10 a.m., she needs to be dressed and in the car by 5:25 a.m. She drinks Gatorade on the way to school, then practices until 7 a.m. After practice, she grabs a donut before getting dressed for school. This is routine for Wright and the rest of the KHS JV girl...
A Little Hawk in Green
By Alison Kenaston and Julianne Berry-Stoelzle
March 3, 2020
The shrill sound of a whistle filled the room, signaling the end of the match. Sophia Strathearn ‘21 released her opponent and rose to her feet. This was only her second official wrestling match, but she had won. She turned to the other girl and they shook hands, smiles on both of their faces. ...
Coach Inspires Players Both On and Off the Court
By Jack O'Connor, San Juan Hills High School
March 3, 2020
He started to feel pain in his back and hips in January of 2019. March and February came around and the pain increased dramatically throughout his lower body. In April, the pain had spread to the rest of his body. It had gotten so bad that he got a buzz cut because brushing his hair had become too painful....
USA developmental sled hockey team: How PV aide is shining a light on females in sports
By Sunny Wolfe, Pleasant Valley High School - IA
March 3, 2020
Pleasant Valley High School’s aide Erica Mitchell recently had the opportunity to lead her sled hockey team to Canada to compete, while also addressing gender inequality in sports. Mitchell first started racing twenty-three years ago in Chicago. “I had tried out for the men’s Development team...
NFL 101 Awards recap
By Jonny Isaacson, BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL
March 3, 2020
The 101 Awards, which recognizes the top NFL players and coaches each year, occurred earlier Saturday at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. This was the 50 anniversary of the event. The players and coaches who received the awards and attended the event are as follows: AFC Offensive Player of the Year...
Equestrian jumps to new heights
By Naya Tillisch, James Bowie High School
March 2, 2020
She gracefully bounces up and down while trotting through the course before flying through the air in the perfect position to help her horse jump as high as it possibly can. Junior equestrian Juliane Payne and her beloved horse, Bee, clear the jump by a mile to win the approval of the crowd as applause f...
Q&A with top qualifiers, U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon
By Kaitlin Palaian and Elias Podber
February 28, 2020
Southerner sports editors Kaitlin Palaian and Elias Podber attended a Feb. 27 press conference and conducted a Q&A during a media round table with the top-seeded athletes gearing up to run in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon on Saturday, Feb. 29 in Atlanta. Athlete Round Table Leonard Korir South...
Monte Vista community mourns loss of basketball coach
By Claire Chu, Monte Vista High School - Danville, CA
February 28, 2020
“Lemmon Strong.” That was the slogan for the Monte Vista women’s varsity basketball team and fellow community as they remembered beloved coach Jim Lemmon, who died Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. He battled with cancer that began in the summer of 2019. Lemmon was 58. The players’ parents found...
Ben Carpenter: The trail to the 2026 Olympics
By Allie Nunn, Wayland High School
February 28, 2020
As he nears the frosted drop-off, the snowboarder finalizes the adjustments to his board and fixes goggles to his eyes. Seconds later, he plows down the mountain, gliding on the snow as he races to the bottom. Former WHS student Ben Carpenter, who is now a junior at Steamboat Mountain School in Colorado,...