th

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

January 27, 2015 Volume 27, Issue 5

CONTENTS

THECountdown

CAMPUS NEWSAquinas Prepares to Renovate: 4-7

Second Semester New Students: 10-11

SPORTSNew Teams in the EKL: 22-24

Hawks and Saints Train Together: 26-27

Winter Break Practices: 26-27

EXTRASThe Best of Social Media: 8-9

Cap That: 12

Tommy Talks: 13

Celebrity Look Alikes: 16-17

Survey Says: 21

Joke of January: 25

Last Look: 30-31

18Days toWPA 114

Days toGraduation

45Days toSpring Break

FEATURESMr. Lamont: 14-15

Annie Toussaint Bakes for Wayside Waifs: 18-20

Front Cover Photo by Katie Ernst | The MedallionThe boys’ basketball team huddles before the game against Gardener.

Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

11411 Pflumm RoadOverland Park, KS 66215

913-319-2460www.stasaints.net/shieldCo-Editors-in-Chief

Janie BachkoraJordan Eberhardy

Centerspread Editor

Anthony George

Social Media Editor

Alex Kinnan

Campus News EditorKatie Bernard

ReportersJordan BartzAlex Kinnan

Jackson McElroyDaniel Petracek

AdviserMatt Hallauer

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

hieldSthe

ADVERTISINGThe Shield sells advertisements to help with publica-tion 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 mhal-lauer@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, provid-ed that they are signed and do not contain libelous statements. The Shield reserves the right to edit the letters for grammar, obscenity, or space consideration, and also reserves the right to not print a letter.

g

g page 4

Campus News

Our school could possibly be embarking on a major renovation,

and the possibilities are endless.

By Alex Kinnan

Aquinas 2020

page 5 g

most of Saint Thomas Aquinas’s renovation plans have focused around one thing: expanding. Now, Aquinas is focused on something else for its next renovation project, improving.

“Every five years, it gets exciting around here,” President Bill Ford said. Aquinas was recently audited by a group of architects who evaluated the school and told the administrators what needed to be done in the next five years.

“[They] figure out what makes sense and what doesn’t.” said Ford.

This year, everything the architects suggested

needed to be taken care of, added Ford. Along with those suggestions, the administration and board of trustees also created a list of facilities they wanted. That list also had virtually nothing that could be left off.

“Our board has been working with this for the past 90 days,” Ford said. He said they know that all the things suggested need to be done. Now it is a matter of how to phase it.

Aquinas’s last five year cycle was around 2009 when the economy was in a recession, Ford said. The stadium was able to be

upgraded in early 2012, once the recession was over.

“In the ideal world we probably could’ve done the locker rooms then,” Ford said, but the Archdiocese was working on their own program. Ford added, “We defer to the Archdiocese because it is their building.”

This upcoming period has the potential of being one of the bigger renovation projects. In 1998, the theater and the University of St. Mary’s building (SMC) was built. In 2000, the auxiliary gym was built, and in 2002 the wireless system was upgraded. Those have been Aquinas’s largest projects to date.

Following those, the science rooms, stadium and chapel were the other major projects.

The five year cycle Aquinas is just beginning has the goal of being completed in 2020, featuring renovation possibilities that range from new locker rooms to

automatic doors for people with disabilities.

“We will try for a rollout in April,” Ford said.

What Saints can anticipate in the coming months: two plans will be finalized, one with the idea that the University of Saint Mary renews its lease, and the other is if it chooses to leave. As of now, its lease expires in December 2016, according to Ford.

Other than that, there will not be any construction at Aquinas in the coming months. Aquinas is at a really good place financially, although the majority of funding for these improvements will have to come from a fundraising program, Ford said.

There isn’t really anything standing in the way of Aquinas’s plans, with the Archbishop’s project finished and the economy strong. For Aquinas, “all the ducks are lined up,” Ford said. “If the dominos fall, it could be a pretty big deal.”

For the past 27 years,

“Every five years, it gets exciting around here.”

President Bill Ford

Campus News

g page 6

What goes where- 1,2,3,4 Entrances made to accomodate those with disabilities.-5 a complete renovation of the Library, “for the 21st century.” -6 This area is currently occupied by SMC, whose lease is set to expire in December 2016.-7,8,9,10 Offices converted to a central office and main entrance to reduce confusion and allow for a more secure building. -11 This is the C-wing which is planned on receiving a full overhaul, including new lockerrooms, weight room, coaches offices and training room.

Welcome to what’s nextTake a look at what Aquinas wants to see done in the next five years.

Aquinas 2020

5

9

6

7

10

3

4

2

1

8

Not Pictured-A remodel of second floor restrooms-Basement classrooms moved upstairs and basement converted to storage-New lights in sophomore lot-Improved security systems throughout the building

“We have 175 athletes in the fall, with only three taping tables and one Whirlpool. That’s not good for anybody.” President Bill Ford

Aquinas 2020

11

page 7 g

social mediathe best ofAquinas

g page 8

page 9 g

MEET THE NEWSAINTS

gpage 10

Campus News

By Jackson McElroy

Saint Thomas Aquinas welcome five new transfer

students this semester.

ANDREW TRITESJUNIOR

KYLE WALKERJUNIOR

ALEX GUTRICHJUNIOR

VAMSI SEELAMFRESHMAN

SAM SKETERSSOPHOMORE

page 11 g

F r o m : H u t c h i n s o n I n v o l v e m e n t s : F o o t b a l l a n d t h e a t e r. K y l e

w a n t s t o j o i n S t u d e n t C o u n c i l a n d K e y C l u b a s w e l l .

B i g g e s t C h a n g e : “ I h a v e t o s h a v e e v e y -d a y a n d d o n ’ t h a v e t o c a r r y m y b a c k p a c k

a r o u n d a l l d a y. ”F a v o r i t e M u s i c : A l t e r n a t i v e r o c k

P e o p l e W o u l d B e S u r p r i s e d To K n o w :“ I l o v e t h e a t r i c a l a r t s , a n d w a s h e a v i l y i n -

v o l v e d w i t h t h e a t e r a t H u t c h . ”S o m e t h i n g U n i q u e A b o u t K y l e :

H e c a n t i e a k n o t i n a c h e r r y s t e m i n h i s m o u t h .

S o c i a l M e d i a : F o l l o w o n Tw i t t e r @ k y l e a l a n w a l k e rF o l l o w o n I n s t a g r a m k y l e w a l k e r 6 3

F r o m : O l a t h e N o r t h w e s tW h a t d o y o u t h i n k o f A q u i n a s ? “ I a m v e r y e x c i t e d t o b e a S a i n t . T h e

e n v i r o n m e n t a t A q u i n a s h a s b e e n v e r y w e l c o m i n g a n d e v e r y o n e i s r e a l l y n i c e . ”F a v o r i t e F i l m : T h e W o l f o f Wa l l S t r e e t

F a v o r i t e M u s i c : R e g g a eP e o p l e W o u l d B e S u r p r i s e d To K n o w :S a m r a n a 4 : 5 4 m i l e i n 8 t h g r a d e , b u t

h i s m a i n a t h l e t i c f o c u s i s s o c c e r.H o b b i e s : “ I r e a l l y l i k e c o o k i n g p a s t a

a n d f i s h . ”S o c i a l M e d i a :

F o l l o w o n Tw i t t e r @ s a m s k e t e r sF o l l o w o n I n s t a g r a m s a m _ s k e t e r s 7

F r o m : B l u e Va l l e y N o r t hI n v o l v e m e n t s : Tr a c k a n d F i e l d

B i g g e s t C h a n g e : “ M e e t i n g a l o t o f n e w p e o p l e e v e r y d a y. . ”

H o w d o y o u f e e l a b o u t A q u i n a s ?“ I ’ m e x c i t e d b u t a t t h e s a m e t i m e a b i t

n e r v o u s . ”H o b b i e s : v i d e o g a m e s

F a v o r i t e r e s t a u r a n t : O l i v e G a r d e nF a v o r i t e S u p e r h e r o : B a t m a n

F a v o r i t e M u s i c : R a p

F r o m : C a t h e d r a l H i g h S c h o o l I n d i a n a p o l i sH o w d o y o u f e e l a b o u t b e i n g a S a i n t ?

“ I f e e l w e l c o m e d a n d e x c i t e d . ”F a v o r i t e F i l m : B a c k t o t h e F u t u r eF a v o r i t e M u s i c : “ I l i k e a l l t y p e s . ”

B i g g e s t C h a n g e : B l o c k s c h e d u l i n g a n d n o t h a v i n g a b a c k p a c k w i t h y o u

S p o r t : S o c c e rS o c i a l M e d i a :

F o l l o w o n Tw i t t e r @ a l e x g u t r i c h

AndrewTrites

Vamsi Seelam

Kyle Walker Alex Gutrich

Sam Sketers

F r o m : S h a w n e e M i s s i o n S o u t hS p o r t s : F o o t b a l l , b a s k e t b a l l

G o - t o R e s t a u r a n t : C h i p o t l eF a v o r i t e S u p e r h e r o :

S p i d e r m a n S t r a n g e s t t h i n g a b o u t

A q u i n a s : “ W e i r d Tw i t t e r a c c o u n t s . ”

I n t e r e s t i n g F a c t : A n d r e w n e v e r g o e s t o b e d b e f o r e

m i d n i g h t . M o s t p e o p l e w o u l d n ’ t k n o w :

I h a v e O C D .S o c i a l M e d i a :

F o l l o w o n Tw i t t e r a n d I n s t a g r a m @ a t r i t e s 2 5

g page 12

CapThatWinning Caption:

“We brought in cans the way you fall asleep: slowly

and then all at once.”Submitted by:

Senior Emily Lavery

CapThat is The Shield’s monthly caption writing contest. Submit your best

and funniest captions for the above photo to newspaper@stasaints.net. The winning caption will appear in the next issue of The Shield!

Last Issue:

This Issue:

Canned Food Drive

Academy Awards Party

11/6/14

1/17/15

Photo by Michele Gress

Photo by Tiffany Nguyen

page 13 g

TommyTalks

SendiMessage

Happy 2015 Saints! We’ve had a very busy last couple months starting with Santa coming in December! He got me everything I wanted including an A on the math final. I then enjoyed some time away from good ole’ STA over break but was very excited to come back, especially to a very thrilling game against St. James at OUR HOUSE. That win was my favorite gift of all. After that, our debate team made it to octafinals - what an accomplishment! And these past two weeks have been filled with some great dance moves starting with mom prom and then the freshman academy awards party. It was a great turn out and I may have pulled out the Wiggalo a few times! Looking forward to WPA and Spring Break!

Peace and love,Tommy

g page 14

Features

NEWYORKERTHE

By Jordan EberhardyThough the halls of Aquinas are quite a bit different from the neighborhoods of the Bronx and Queens, New Yorker Charlie Lamont has made his home here.

Guided Studies teacher and New Yorker Charlie Lamont is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to helping students succeed. Lamont was born in the Bronx and lived there until he was seven. He then moved to Queens and lived on Rockaway Beach, right on the ocean, until he was 18. He attended Catholic school for both grade school and high school. During high school, Lamont took the subway to school each morning. The entire trip took him about an hour and ten minutes. “The subway probably saved me from poor grades in high school because I hated doing homework but I did a lot of my reading for school when I was riding back and forth,” said Lamont. Lamont recalled how he was always excused from a tardy if the subways were having issues, except for one time, when the attendance officer, Brother Leo, didn’t believe that his tardiness was the subway’s fault. “I eventually won the argument, but Brother Leo was pretty angry with me by the end of the conversation, to say the least.”

After high school, Lamont went to Brooklyn college, and originally wanted to be an electrical engineer. “Electrical engineer didn’t work out because I discovered that it was a lot of work and that it cut into my socializing, so I changed my major twice and wound up with a degree in psychology.”

For the first 14 years of his adult life, Lamont was a computer programmer. However, when he was 37, he came home one night to his wife and told her that he wanted to be a teacher, specifically a special education teacher. “She looked at me like I was crazy but said that if that is what I wanted, I should go for it.” Lamont became a special

education teacher for the New York Board of Education in the Bronx and taught there for two years before moving to Kansas. In Kansas, he taught at De Soto and Blue Valley before coming to Aquinas. “Coming to Aquinas was probably the third best decision I have ever made; the first best was marrying my wife and the second best was leaving the corporate world and becoming a teacher.” His official job title at Aquinas is Director of Special Services, which means he does everything from acting as counselor and trouble-shooting students’ academic issues to helping with scheduling. He advocates for students and goes with them to talk with teachers. “Whatever my students or really any students in this building need, I will do it for them, or at least try my very best.” Lamont also teaches a class called Guided Studies to help kids build their study, organizational, and time-management skills. Fellow teacher and New Yorker Sean Reilly said, “On the academic side of things, Mr. Lamont is a champion for any

“ Whatever my students or really

any students in this building need, I will do it for them, or at

least try.

CHARLIE LAMONTGuided Studies Teacher

”

page 15 g

Photo by Jordan Eberhardy | The ShieldMr. Lamont discusses the importance of good listening skills in school with his first hour Guided Studies class.

“ I am a better person for knowing [Mr.

Lamont].

Sean ReillySocial Studies Teacher

”students who give a fair and honest effort. He is an advocate without enabling them.” Lamont said there is not a thing he doesn’t like about his job. He said the kids here are kind and polite and respect their teachers, something he really appreciates because of his background working with inner-city kids. One of his students in his STA period, Junior Haley Dietsch, transferred to Aquinas in 2013 for her sophomore year. “He was the most welcoming teacher when

I transferred schools. I don’t think my transition would have been as smooth wtihout him,” said

Dietsch. As for today, Mr. Lamont is still a huge Yankees and Giants fan, he drives a 69 Camaro, he loves the relatively little amount of traffic that Kansas has compared to New York, and he is proud of his New York accent.

Reilly said, “He is really a wonderful human being and I am a better person for knowing him.”

g page 18

Features

Pupcake WarsFreshman Annie Toussaint bakes cupcakes

to raise funds for Wayside WaifsPhoto courtesy of Annie Toussaint

Annie is interviewed by KMBC 9 at the Strut with your Mutt walk. Annie has been raising money

for the walk for six years

page 19 g

Six years ago, freshman Annie Toussaint adopted a dog from Wayside Waifs. 5,000 cupcakes and $17,000 in

donations later, Toussaint has become one of Wayside’s biggest fundraisers. An animal lover all her life, Toussaint became involved with Wayside Waifs after adopting a husky/lab mix at the shelter. She wanted to help the charity and started with a birthday party, meant to benefit the charity. After the party she still wanted to do more. Inspired by watching the show Cupcake Wars, she began baking and selling cupcakes and

donating the proceeds to Wayside Waifs. Last year alone Toussaint raised more than $3,000, this was slightly less than the $4,000

she raised the previous year. All the money is donated through the “Strut for your Mutt!” 5k and 3k walk put on by the shelter. As a result of the fundraising Toussaint has been featured in commercials and print ads as a part of the shelter’s publicity. She appears in commercials with KMBC 9 anchors Lara Moritz and Len Jennings. Toussaint loves being able to see the results of her work both in inspiring others to get involved and

physical results of the shelter benefitting from her fundraising. “It’s so cool when a little girl tells you that she asked for donations for a charity for her birthday instead of presents, because I inspired her to help others,” Toussaint said Toussaint’s donations contributed to the shelter remodelling its vvetirnary clinic a couple years ago. “It was a really cool experience to go to the

grand opening because I got to see where all of the money I raised went, and it went to help perform life-saving operations and day-to-day checkups on all

of the animals at the shelter,” Toussaint said. Despite her work in fundraising Toussaint is unable to work with the dogs without parental supervision. Wayside policy prohibits anyone under the age of 16 from volunteering at the shelter without an adult. Toussaint has taken matters into her own hands with this policy. She is starting a new program at the shelter called Enter-PAW-neuers. The program will be designed to

provide a way for kids under 16 to volunteer with the shelter. The program is still a work in progress.

“ I inspired her to help others

Annie ToussaintClass of 2018 ”

“ I got to see where all of the money I

raised went

Annie ToussaintClass of 2018 ”

Features

Features

Get InvolvedGo to

waysidewaifs.org and c l ick the tab

“Become a Volunteer” to apply and sign up!

Photo courtesy of Annie ToussaintAnnie and her dog Maya. Adopting Maya led Annie to volunteering and fundraising for Wayside Waifs

g page 20

YOUR NAME HEREDiscount Card for Students and Teachers

IT’S FREE

• 10¢ Off Every Gallon of Gas• Discounts on all washes

Waterway.com/thePerk

Waterway gives Students & Teachers THE PERK!

All you need is a valid Drivers License and School ID.

PLUS it’s a great place to work!

Find a location near you www.waterway.com

Sur ey SaysLayout by Anthony George

page 21 g

What was your favorite winter break activity?

Netflix

Eating

Going to Movies1% Going Outside

Sleeping

58%

7%

25%

2%

3% Eating

Social Media4%

How many snow days do you think Jesus will allow this winter?

What TV show did you unhealthily binge watch over break?

#1

#2

#2

#3

#4

#4

#5

#6

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

0

0

5

0

2

7

23

62

85

40

28

g page 22

Sports

Jaguars, Thunder to Join EKL By Daniel Petracek

The Eastern Kansas League will welcome two new members—St. James and Mill Valley—in the fall of 2016.

Conference realignment is not only relevant to college athletics. Local high schools are also shifting leagues, as St. James Academy and Mill Valley prepare to join the Eastern Kansas League in the fall of 2016.

The Process In order to be granted membership into the EKL, a school must formally submit a letter of application to the president of the league. Then, school presidents and principals must unanimously vote them into the league. St. James is an independent school, while Mill Valley is a member of the Kaw Valley League. St. James has been seeking acceptance into the EKL ever since it opened.

There are a couple of big reasons, however, as to why it has not joined sooner. St. James does not have its own football stadium, but it instead

rents out the Saint Thomas Aquinas stadium for its home games. The school also lacks a second gymnasium. Athletic Director Sarah Burgess said,

“Their facilities have to be comparable to what the rest of us have, and that was a little bit of a hang up for St. James.” Another issue of allowing just one additional team into the league is scheduling. The EKL has a convenient, even number of eight teams right now. Burgess said, “It is very difficult to schedule when you have an odd number of teams in the league. Bringing in a ninth

would have been horrible, for football, especially.

“When Mill Valley expressed an interest to join a new league, it started to become a reality that maybe we should vote

and bring St. James in, instead of having them forced on us. If they petitioned to KSHSAA and KSHSAA threw them in on us, then we

may have been stuck with nine.” The EKL does not only look for strong athletic programs. The interested schools were expected to present well-rounded applications, proving to be adequate in areas besides athletics, such as academics and practical arts.

Scheduling Complexity

While bringing new members into the EKL is exciting, it may be giving coaches and athletic directors headaches in the upcoming years, due to the difficulty of scheduling. The general consensus is that an eight team league is ideal. Becoming a ten-team league, however, brings about potential issues. Basketball is an example of an Aquinas sport that will greatly be affected by the additions. The boys currently play all the other teams in the league twice, which already accounts for 14 games. Although most states allow teams to play 25 or more games, Kansas

only allows its teams to play 20 games all season. Head Boys Basketball Coach Sean Reilly said, “It’s nothing against the schools. I just don’t think it’s good for our league.” Reilly, who was actually the first athletic director at Mill Valley, is more concerned about the impact it will have on scheduling, rather than competition. “We have a perfect schedule where we play seven home games and seven away games in the league. If we have to play 18 league games, that means no tournaments,” Reilly said. “They will have to develop some form of hybrid scheduling for it to work.” Reilly explained he would be more accepting of the additions if they were allowed to play more games. Boys and Girls Soccer Head Coach Craig Ewing mentioned that while an eight-team league was better, the new teams will not completely ruin the soccer teams’ schedules. Ewing said, “It’s not going to work out well for sports like basketball,

History of the EKL

The Eastern Kansas League was officially organized in the fall of 1938. The four original members were Turner, Bonner Springs, Washington and Paola.

Other teams that were once in the league include Osawatomie, Rosedale and Argentine (later combined into Harmon), Ottawa, and Olathe (later divided into Olathe North and Olathe South).

Below are the current members and when they began competing in the league:

Bishop Miege - 1973

Blue Valley - 1979

Blue Valley North - 1986

St. Thomas Aquinas - 1988

Blue Valley Northwest - 1993

Blue Valley West - 2001

Blue Valley Southwest - 2010

Gardner-Edgerton - 2010page 23 g

g page 24

Sports

Photo by Isabel Kemp | The MedallionJunior Allie Koster puts up a shot in a game against St. James. Aquinas and St. James will play each other as EKL foes, beginning in the fall of 2016.

baseball and softball. They play every team twice. How will they schedule so many games?” Ewing talked about ideas for organizing the league that have been thrown around among EKL coaches and athletic directors. One idea was to divide the ten-team league into two divisions—one with the five Blue Valley public schools and another with Aquinas, Bishop Miege, Gardner-Edgerton, Mill Valley and St. James.

Implications

The Aquinas-St. James rivalry may intensify even more when St. James joins the EKL. In many sports, the Saints and Thunder already compete against each other, but the meetings will become even more frequent. Recent memories of basketball and volleyball games between the two schools are promising of even more solid competition in the rivalry.

Burgess said, “Bringing in St. James will be fun because of the Catholic school rivalry. It’ll be almost like a Miege thing. A lot of kids decide between the three schools, so those games will be fun.” Ewing shared similar thoughts. Although Aquinas already plays St. James in soccer every year, he believes that the students will like the rival in the EKL. “It’s a great rivalry. It’s healthy. It should boost school spirit and attendance at games.”

Mill Valley may not be a bitter rival like St. James, but they are a fellow 5A competitor. They have been competitive in many sports and also have solid facilities, according to Burgess. From a competition standpoint, a few sports that are expected to be impacted greatly are volleyball, wrestling and girls track. St. James has been state champions in all three recently, and will most likely continue to be state, and soon EKL, title contenders.

CLEAN JOKE OF JANUARY

Submit your school-appropriate joke to newspaper@stasaints.net for a chance

for your joke to be featured in the next issue of The Shield

page 25 g

What do you call a girl with a frog on her head?

Lily

Submitted by Senior Julia Jenkins

g page 26

Sports

Boys Swim Team Trains Alongside Olathe EastTo avoid having their program cut, the boys swim team trains with Olathe East’s team and six time Kansas High School swim coach of the year Dave Youker. By Janie Bachkora Saint Thomas Aquinas is a place that celebrates athletics, a place where cutting a sports program with students still showing interest is not an option. That’s why this year, with only six boys swimming for Aquinas, Activities Director Sarah Burgess found a way to keep the program alive. When science teacher Samantha Donald first arrived to Aquinas from Hayden this year, she saw there was an opening to coach the boys swim team. Having swum throughout high school, lifeguarded for five summers, and taught swim lessons for a few years, Donald approached Burgess about the position. She had always been interested in coaching swim at Hayden, but it had never worked out. Donald said, “I was excited to see the opening, so I talked to Ms. Burgess about coaching. She said that there were only about five or 10 boys interested.” Burgess didn’t want to cancel the program, but also didn’t want to spend money on pool rental fees or coaching for a team so small. She contacted Dave Youker, Olathe East’s head boys and girls swim coach with over 20 years of experience, to discuss a way for Aquinas’ team to train alongside

Olathe East’s team. Youker jumped in. Donald acts as an assistant coach to Youker. She is at every practice and every meet to support,

to coach, and to give advice. Donald said, “We are still our own separate school, our

own separate team. We compete as Aquinas, and they [Youker’s team] compete

as East. But we train together. The boys are getting the wonderful benefit of having a coach like Dave Youker and also feeling the teamaspect that would be hard to have with just six boys.” Team captain junior Derek Ecklund is in his third season swimming for Aquinas. He said, “I absolutely love training with Olathe East. Our practices are far more intense (than previous years) but also more fun. They [Olathe East’s team] welcomed us all and made us a part of their team.” Donald said, “The relationships with the Olathe East boys and the Aquinas boys have gotten really strong.” The boys not only like the

team; they also like the coaches. Sophomore Grayson Dunst has

swum for Aquinas both years of high school. He said, “I like the coaching staff. They are

very easy to get in contact with and are making it

obvious that they want to make me better and faster.”

The boys are getting the

wonderful benefit of having a coach like Dave Youker.

SAMANTHA DONALDSwim Coach

”“

Photo by Janie Bachkora | The ShieldHead Swim Coach Dave Youker gives instructions to the swimmers. He has more than 20 years of experi-ence as a swim coach.

They welcomed us all and made

us a part of their team.

Derek EcklundTeam Captain

”“

The team is doing more than making friends and enjoying their coaches; they are improving. The team practices twice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and once on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, totaling eight practices a week. They have more practices per week this season, and they also do more dry-land exercises. The extra practice is definitely paying off. Dunst said, “I enjoy swimming with Olathe East so much more than last year. I feel like I have gotten better as a swimmer over the past few months.” Ecklund agrees that the six of them are benefiting from training with Youker and his team. “I would like to see everyone on the team go to state in a relay or as an alternate, and with how well we’ve been doing lately, I don’t think it’s an unrealistic goal,” he said. Donald said the ultimate goal is to grow Aquinas’ program. Hopefully as the team grows, Donald will completely take over, and the team will practice alone. She will be able to coach the team using the training techniques that she has seen Youker use.

Photo by Janie Bachkora | The ShieldJunior Sam Clark (right) prepares to dive into the pool. This is Sam’s third year swimming for Aquinas.

Pittsburg State Universitywww.pittstate.edu • Pittsburg, Kansas

Flat-rate tuition.Less than two hours away.

page 27 g

“ I have gotten better as a swimmer over

the past few months.

Grayson DunstClass of 2017

”

g page 28

Sports

By Jordan Bartz

Winter sport athletes used the time over break to help perfect their craft while also enjoying the time that they spend time with friends during break practices.

Christmas Break is the time for relaxing in a warm house watching Netflix or being with family and friends with no stress. Not for winter athletes. Christmas Break is filled with both runners and basketball players working on their sport over the break. The Girl’s Basket-ball team practiced everyday other then the days KAHSAA wouldn’t let them and sundays. These practices lasted for roughly a little more the two hours according to Senior Claire Fergu-son. Ferguson said, “It’s a little known thing

among the Lady Saint’s that the practices over break will be the tough-est ones. They are the ones with the most con-ditioning involved and longest drills. These practices, though, are the ones that I think set us apart from other teams and is one of the many reasons we have continuous success here at Aquinas. These practices kind of suck and we are here all the time but those are the times that we really bond as a team”. Game days also felt different Ferguson said, “Game days just have a special charm. Usually

we have a shootaround before the game and then just kinda waste time before a game. Not having school gives you a longer time to think about the game and sometimes too much of that can make you overthink it”. “All our practices are mandatory however if you miss for family then its alright. Its not a good idea to miss though because we run a lot during these and if you miss you basically start over with condi-tioning” said Ferguson. The Boy’s Basket-ball team had roughly the same practice schedule but senior

guard James Pyle said they had two games over break so their practices were not as intense as they have been in past years. They were all mandato-ry practices because of the two big games over break. Pyle said, “The first game against Lee’s Summit West was ba-sically the same game day as normal because most of us had at least one final that day. The St. James game was different though be-cause we couldn’t have our normal shootaround and the hype of the game kinda got to all of us. Luckily with gritty

Photo by Jordan Bartz | The ShieldThe boys track team running together in the cold weather over Christmas break preparing for their upcoming season. The team consists of many of the boys who just won the Boys Cross Country 5A Championship.

Christmas No Break

g page 29

determination and the help of our amazing fans we were able to overcome foul trouble and poor shooting”. Pyle continued, “I think it was a great lesson for us as a team because we needed to learn the importance of playing each game the same and not putting extra importance on games like St. James or Meige”. Even though the track season is still months away both the boys and girls teams are braving the cold weather and training during the winter months. Senior distance runner Emily Downey

said, “We ran as a team almost everyday over break except the few days in which we can’t

because of state rules around Christmas and New Years day”. The practices that the runners held over break were all voluntary. Still many student athletes attended these practices to stay in their running shape. Senior distance runner Mike Grasing said, “ This time of year we are still practicing 5 days a week but its not as intense as it will be in May. Around this time of year it is a little more relaxed feeling during practice because they are not mandatory but its a good time to stay in shape and burn off the calories from Christmas”. Downey said, “The running practices

which are held at 9 and student led tend to draw less of a crowd because of the early time and optionality”. Grasing said, “The early practice time isn’t super fun over break but its optional practice and we all still have the same mentality while doing it because we still love to run”. Downey said, “In all honesty, running over break probably sounds horrible to a lot of people, but for me it was kind of a nice break from just being at home and get to go see your friends for awhile. It would also be really weird for me if I did not run because I am just used to the lifestyle of running everyday”.

Photo by Katie Ernst | The MedallionSenior Cole Friedman dribbles past a defender in the Girls’ Basketball win over St. James on January 3rd.

Photo by Jordan Bartz | The ShieldThe Girls track team braces against the cold as they start their daily training for the upcoming season.

Last Look21

3

4

g page 30

Photo by Abby Pope | The Medallion1) Landon Delaney poses with his mom in the photo booth.2) Kyle Bollig and his mom smiile big for the camera at mom prom.3) The Holland brothers sway with their mom.4) The Bollig brothers dance together at the Mother-Son dance.

5 7

6

7

8

page 31 g

Photo by Tiffany Nguyen | The Medallion5) Grace Elbrader and Dan Bollig dance togeth-er at the freshman Academy Awards party.6) Camron McMillan’s dance moves attract the attention of a crowd.7) Katie Hill and friends tear up the dance floor in their costumes.8) Sean Roppe rocks the mustache as part of his pizza man costume.

Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

hieldSthe g

g