Scholars Bowl returns 5 varsity players

 

Seniors Jarett Bolinder, Jessica Vanstory, Luke Barber, fourth grader Keaton Mulanax, Dillion Spellman, Sean Dugger and Maddie Alderman pose on Halloween. Mulanax dressed as Bob Ross, the hero and mascot of this year’s team.

Scholars Bowl goes 3-2 at first meet

Scholars Bowl team started the season Thursday with a 3-2 record at the Silver Lake Invitational.

The team defeated Silver Lake, 55-20, Rock Creek, 60-45, and Topeka High, 50-10. The losses were to Burlington, 20-70, and St. James Academy, 40-50. The Chargers were tied for 2nd in the pool, but did not advance to the finals after margin-of-victory was used to break the tie.

The team of Maddie Alderman, Sean Dugger, Luke Barber, Dillon Spellman, Jarrett Bolinder, and Sierra Quathamer includes five returning members of last year’s team which placed 4th at State.

“We had strong first few rounds, they were very close. With five seniors we’re bound to do really well,” senior Maddie Alderman said.

The team will have plenty of practice time before the next varsity meet on November 29.

The JV team traveled to Frankfort on Monday. The team of Emma Alderman, Ryan Grutsch, Reagan Kelley, Mayah Mumpower, Justin Carlson and Grace Spellman finished with a 7-2 record and tied for second in their pool, but also lost due to a tie breaker. Carlson led the team with 250 points followed by Kelley with 100.

“It was an encouraging start,” coach Brendan Praeger said. “We don’t have a lot of varsity opportunities for underclassmen this year, but the JV meets are a great opportunity to learn how the meets work and to start developing strategy. We’ll have to work hard to reload next year.”

— Jayna Keller @whscharger

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National Honor Society inducts 5 new members

Former FCS teacher speaks about high standards during induction ceremony

Former WHS FCS teacher Ashley Weber came back Monday night to address National Honor Society inductees.

Juniors Laurel Barber, Alexis Hafenstine, Kaytlyn Meseke, Sierra Quathamer and Autymn Schreiner were inducted during the ceremony.

Once NHS members were selected, sponsor Laura Delfelder asked who they wanted to speak at their induction ceremony. After little debate they unanimously decided to ask Weber.

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Former WHS FCS teacher Ashley Weber speaks during the NHS induction ceremony Monday evening.

Even though Weber had to travel more than 4 hours round trip, she said it was important to come back. “I just can’t say no to you guys,” Weber said.

Weber stressed the importance of having high standards in her speech. She explained how an individual might not be the best at something but if they set high standards and put the hard work in they will succeed.

“I am not the best FCS teacher or the best FCCLA adviser or the best wife, mother, daughter or sister but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t work hard at each of those roles to be the best that I can be,” Weber said.

NHS 2018 inductees

Laurel Barber

Alexis Hafenstine

Kaytlyn Meseke

Sierra Quathamer

Autymn Schreiner

Along with that she also explained how the NHS members will soon be asking for recommendations to be written about them. She included how teachers would remember the choice students made when they did not complete the assignment, when the teacher would be giving their recommendations.

To wrap up her speech, Weber explained how bad work habits would not change even when a paycheck is coming in. She explained that those bad habits will follow into the work environment and making small changes need to happen now.

“Making small changes in your actions related to your school work will improve your work quality and work ethic that your future self will appreciate,” Weber said.

— Kaytlyn Meseke, @kaytlyn_nelle

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3 WHS students vote for 1st time

Senior Kylie Evans poses with her “I Voted” sticker Tuesday morning outside of the American Legion in Alma. Photo by Abby Oliver.

3 of 8 eligible students registered to vote

Three WHS students voted for the first time Tuesday morning.

Luke Barber, Kylie Evans and Dillon Spellman cast their votes in this weeks election. “I feel like an adult,” Evans said. “I can now say I had a part in the state government.” “I feel like a true American and can now complain like all the old people,” Barber said. Evans cast her vote during first block Tuesday morning, while Barber and Spellman voted before school.

Barber, Evans and Spellman were three out of eight qualified seniors who registered to vote in this year’s election, making the voting percentage 37.5 percent. This is consistent with the national average of registered voters in the last mid-term election in 2014. “I wish the percentage of people voting was higher, people need to do their part,” U.S. Government teacher Jess Rutledge said. “If people want their opinions to be well represented, voting is the only way to do that.”

Barber and Spellman registered unaffiliated. “I dislike the division created by the political parties,” Spellman said. “I feel like there are no good options.” “I wanted to vote on what would be the best for the economy, not a political party,” Barber said. Evans, however registered Republican. “It’s what I grew up around,” Evans said.

Although Rutledge wants students to vote, he doesn’t talk about specific candidates in his classes. “I don’t talk about any candidates in class as I feel that it is important for them to educate themselves on political views,” Rutledge said.

— Sean Dugger, Hannah Mumpower, @seandugger01, @Hlmump01

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Cross Country finishes 6th at State

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Cross Country ends season

The boys Cross Country team ended a successful season with a 6th place finish at State.

In Wamego Saturday, the boys ran hard to place as a team in the top half. Even though they only got 6th place, the team was only 7 points away from third.

Five of the varsity runners ran state last year, all of which improved by more than one minute. Sophomore Alex Warner was the top runner of the team and placed 29th individually. “I feel like I could have done better and it was not the way many of us wanted to end the season,” junior Bryce Tharman said.

The team already begins to look at next year in the hope of placing even higher at the state. They will only graduate one member from the boys and girls team, seniors Sean Dugger and Jessica Vanstory.

“We’re going to miss our two seniors,” coach Roger Alderman said, “But are excited about all of the talent we are returning.”

The boys team ends its season as league and regional runners-up with an overall record of 54-9.

“I appreciate all the work our whole team has put in throughout the year,” Alderman said. “We had a great effort to finish the year.”

Sean Dugger, @seandugger

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Volleyball finishes 2nd at state

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WHS ADVANCES TO STATE FINAL

WHS volleyball placed second at the 2A State Volleyball Tournament Saturday, ending the season with a 32-12 record.

The state tournament began pool play on Friday, with the Chargers as the sixth seed. The team went 2-1 for the day, making them the 2nd seed in their pool and qualifying them for Saturday’s bracket play.

The Chargers didn’t go out without a fight Saturday, knocking off the 1st seed in tournament, undefeated St. Mary’s Colgan. The team won the semifinals in two sets, 27-25, 25-22.

“We came together and really played like a team,” junior Alexis Hafenstine said. “We keep each other positive, and didn’t let anyone get in our way.”

The Chargers were set to play Garden Plain, the fifth seed in the tournament, for the championship. The team controlled most of the first set, but lost 27-25. They struggled to find their rhythm in the second set, losing 25-11.

“Going into the tournament we were the sixth seed,” senior Alyssa Lohmeyer said. Lohmeyer received postseason honors of KVA 2018 State All Tournament Team, along with teammate Laurel Barber. “ We were never expected to make it where we did, and I’m proud of my team for that.”

— Abby Oliver, @AbbyOliver27

 

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Infamous 3-minute quizzes test math skills

Functions, stats and trig students take a 3-minute quiz Monday afternoon. Students have three minutes to do five problems without a calculator, receiving extra credit for finishing in less than a minute. Photo by Sarah Vanstory.

Quizzes show students can work without calculators

The six words every Wabaunsee student dreads. “Put away calculators, three-minute quiz” has struck fear into the hearts of high schoolers for years.

A three-minute quiz is a no calculator quiz that includes a combination of five math questions that relate to different areas taught in Roger Alderman’s math classes. Students are given three minutes to solve these problems. If all problems are solved correctly and the quiz is finished within the first minute, students can earn extra credit.

The problems put on the quiz are usually simple and can be solved with mental math and a little effort, but the time constraint means not every student is a fan. “I don’t like three minute quizzes,” sophomore Jordan Magette said, “they stress me out because I’m always trying to finish in the first minute.” Other students, however, enjoy them because they don’t often require much effort. “I actually like them because they’re easy,” sophomore Raegan Feyh said.

Three-minute quizzes originated when Alderman ran into the issue of students depending entirely on calculators. “It was kind of frustrating always hearing the complaint that kids can’t do anything without a calculator,” said Alderman, “I decided to come up with something to test and show that, yes, our kids can still work without a calculator when they need to.” The three-minute quiz gives students a chance to use their brain and exercise skills that they have learned throughout their years in school without the aid of a calculator or iPad.

The three-minute quiz has become so infamous at Wabaunsee that it has become synonymous with all things relating to Alderman’s class. It even lead to a practical joke pulled on Alderman a few years ago. “Some kids wrote a three minute quiz on my driveway so I went ahead and solved it,” Alderman said, “I don’t know for sure who it was, you’d have to ask around.”

The culprit, in fact, was Wabaunsee’s very own Kyle Schmitz, Josh Wurtz, and Maddy Michaelis. “I was just cruising through the neighborhood, thinking about three-minute quizzes, and I thought I might as well write one on his driveway,” 2018 graduate Kyle Schmitz said.

It is often included in graduation speeches and has become a common memory between Wabaunsee Alumni. “I don’t know exactly how it’s taken on a life of it’s own the way it has. Over the years I developed the delivery for how I introduced them and suddenly that, for some reason, caught on,” Alderman said. They seem to get mentioned all over the place when they were just this little simple thing I came up with years ago.”

— Emma Frey, @_emmafrey_

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Football ends season in first round of playoffs

The football team ended its season with a 1-7 record.

The team made it to the playoffs, and played it’s final game Thursday vs. Troy, losing 54-21. The team’s only win came against Northern Heights, with a score of 16-7.

The team graduates several seniors: Tanner Imthurn, Travis McCall, Conner Brown, Austin Magette, Jarett Bolinder, Austen Bonnette, Logan Brown and Noah Mills.

“We didn’t have the year we expected, but we’re excited for the direction that the program is going,” senior Tanner Imthurn said.

The team gained four freshmen, many of which played some varsity. Cade Oliver played an especially big role, taking on the quarterback position.

“It’s good to see us younger kids playing, and we’re excited for the future,” freshman Brayden Meseke said.

While they will lose several valuable players, the team will also have players returning with experience, and can build off of what they did well this season, or get rid of the things that didn’t work for them.

A high point of the season was all the changes in the football program, which helped get the team on track, setting future teams up for success.

Although the boys didn’t end up with the good record they hoped to have, they accomplished a lot this year.

“I’m really proud of them this season. It may not always show up in the win-loss column, but they definitely fought hard and helped change a lot of things about the football program at Wabaunsee that people will start to see payoff in upcoming seasons,” head coach Rutledge said.

— Kendyl Bolinder, @BolinderKendyl

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