MORGAN PLANK @momoplank

One family, one destination. This motto was the driving force this season for the varsity football

team. They were more than just a team; they were a family. They set their goals high and knew they were going to go far.

“I think what is different with this team is the team chemistry. I think these guys truly like each other and they play hard for each other,” Head Coach Tom Nickelson said. “I think they put their team ahead of themselves, and that is pretty uncommon, especially in this day and age, to put your goals second and somebody else’s goals first.”

Junior Captain Will Mengarelli agrees this year’s team had a true bond.

“We are family. Everybody is fighting for each other,” Mengarelli said. “Everybody wants the other person to succeed, and we are willing to do our job as absolutely as hard as we can to help the guy next to us. We play for the guy next to us.”

This year’s team, because of their commitment to one another,

worked toward their goals one at a time. With an 8-1 regular-season record they earned a playoff appearance.

“You always have a feeling of satisfaction knowing that the hard work of the players and coaches paid off with a playoff berth,” Assistant Coach Merle Clark said.

What made this playoff appearance special is that it was the first since 2007. Clark believes the difficulty in progressing in post-season play in prior years was due to a tough district schedule plus some untimely injuries.

“Blue Valley, Blue Valley West, Blue Valley Southwest, Gardner and St.Thomas Aquinas are always among the best teams on this side of the state. Those are the schools that we have been paired with in district play,” Clark said. “More often than

not, the two qualifiers from our district play again in the semi finals to go to the championship game.”

This year’s win against St. Thomas Aquinas advanced the team to the playoffs.

“I was excited because we beat St. Thomas, and beating a team that was that good was just awesome. Especially because we were picked to lose that game,” Mengarelli said.

Even though the team was considered the underdog, it still continued to demand the best from each athlete.

“The difference is our players expect to win each game not just hope to win,” Clark said.

The upperclassmen were a big part of the team motivation.

“We have had great senior leadership from all our seniors, not just the captains, and they are a very

unselfish group,” Clark said. One of these seniors was Jaden

Patterson. “Our class got us to [the playoffs]

and we will be remembered for that and more,” Patterson said. “[Our biggest motivation was] just proving people wrong because a lot of people said that we cannot get that far and that we were just a bunch of hype.”

The team lived up to the hype with a highly successful season and falling short on only one of their goals. The season ended with a loss to Shawnee Heights 34-14 at Hutchinson Field.

Despite the loss, this year’s season will be remembered by the heart and soul that the team played with and the winning atmosphere they created.

“One thing I loved about every football game was watching the boys play with the heart and dedication,” senior fan Emily Wood said. “ This year’s 2014 football team will be one to go down in history, not just for how far they made it in the season, but for showing us what true dragon pride is all about and showing all of us what hard work and heart really looks like on and off the field.”

MOLLY GRAHAM & KATY BROWN @molllygraham & @katylady22

Having to be at school at four in the morning isn’t something most students might be excited for, but for 26 students from Student Publications, waking up that early wasn’t such a hard task when they knew they would be spending the next five days in Washington D.C.

For the past five years, Journalism Adviser Emily Smith has been taking students to the National Journalism Convention in different cities all over the country.

“There were over 6200 competitors,” Smith said. “It’s one of the biggest conventions we’ve ever been to and I think it was a true testament of everybody’s talent.”

At the convention, 15 students out of the 26 that went to D.C. placed in different write-off competitions. This was double the amount of students who placed last year.

“My number one favorite thing would have to be hearing my name when I won honorable mention. I was kind of surprised, but it was a good surprise,” said freshman

photographer Myla Turner.For the yearbook staff

members, working all year and coming in during the summer to produce the Purple & White yearbook is something that is unordinary to them. All of their work and time resulted in the 2014 volume winning the eighth place title in Best of Show for the first time.

“When we were at the awards ceremony, I wasn’t expecting the yearbook to get any awards because it never has,” said yearbook Editor-in-Chief and newspaper Design

The BoosterReduxPittsburg High School 1978 E. 4th Street Pittsburg, KS 66762 Vol. 98, Issue 4 www.boosterredux.com

Friday, Nov. 21, 2014

Journalism students travel to Washington D.C., return with awards and memories

A monumental achievement

YOU ALWAYS HAVE A FEELING OF SATISFACTION KNOWING THAT THE HARD WORK OF THE PLAYERS AND COACHES PAID OFF WITH A PLAYOFF BERTH.

- ASSISTANT COACH MERLE CLARK”BERTH.BERTH.LE CLARKE CLARK“YOU AYOU A

KNOWKNOW

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AlexBarnes

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POWER OF WORDS

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three sets of siblings work

together in debate

student copes with both

parents being diagnosed

with cancer

IN-DEPTH LOOK AT OFFENSIVE SLURS

AND HOW THEY AFFECT PEOPLE.

reader DISCRETIONADVISED.

recap of Barnes’ high

school career

Siblingsin debate

Annie grant

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bringing

continued onto page 2d

MIRANDA MOORE @mirandamoore24

Principal Jon Bishop and Assistant Principal Rhonda White received awards recognizing their administrative leadership on Nov. 12 in Wichita.

The awards were presented the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals (KASSP). There are six regions across the state and within each region administrators are selected for the awards.

PHS falls into the Area II region, consisting of southeast and part of south-central Kansas.

“It’s nice to be recognized by your peers, the people you work with,” Bishop said.

Each of the administrators recognized regionally will advance to the state competition.

“It is an honor to be selected from this region,” White said.

The main criteria for the award was to be nominated by peers. However, according to White, the application also asked about programs or activities that made a positive impact on the school.

“There are a number of things we all have our hands in a little bit,” Bishop said.

According to White, the climate and culture of the building as a whole has been a point of administrative focus recently. She credits the improvements to all staff, faculty and students.

Additionally, White was selected as a representative for Women of Distinction by the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

The 12 selected women will be featured on the Women of Distinction calendar. The calendar highlights community events. Following a private reception for the honorees on Dec. 4, the calendar will be made available to the public on Dec. 5.

“I am deeply honored to have been selected for that,” White said. “Especially when you look at the current list of other women that have been recognized this year and in years past.”

Members of Student Publications, which consists of yearbook, newspaper, and photojournalism staffs, pose with their awards from the National High School Journalism Convention in Washington, D.C. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Following Pittsburg High School’s playoff game, members of the team hoist their Regional Champions trophy into the air. Junior, defensive end and tight end, Dylan Untereker said, “It feels amazing. I’m so proud of myself and the rest of my team,” after being asked what it felt like to be Regional Champs. Untereker said,”I’m excited for next season, but it will be different being the underdogs.” However, even though they’re losing some important players, the dragons are still expecting another great season. PHOTO BY DEREK BRUMBAUGH

administrationwins awardsBishop, White recognized for leadership

Team advances to postseason for first time since 2007

purpleback

NEWS SECTION D2 Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 www.boosterredux.com

Incentive day: Time to play

RACHYL RUSSIAN @rachylrussian

Not everyone knows what it is like to have a sibling in an activity, sport, or club. However, seniors Haley

Uttley, Joseph Mathew and Kaylie Duncan know what it’s like: Sophomores Zach Uttley, Deveron Duncan and freshman Gina Mathew followed in their footsteps.

Both Haley and Zach started debate when they were freshmen in high school. Because of his sister’s involvement in debate, Zach had known he wanted to be in debate since the seventh grade.

“Basically he heard me talk about it all the time and so he was interested in it,” Haley said. “It’s cool to bring your little sibling with you and show them how to do it.”

Haley took on a role at the beginning of last year to make her brother just as good as the upperclassman and to show him the ways of debate.

Also starting as freshmen, Kaylie and Deveron were in the same position as Haley and Zach. Deveron would hear his older sister talking about it and decided that if his sister enjoyed it so much, that he would enjoy it too.

Kaylie and Deveron have never actually

debated together, with Kaylie taking on the debate manager position her junior year, but Haley and Zach have competed in a few tournaments together.

“Haley and I do really well together. We won multiple tournaments my freshman year,” Zach said. “I don’t like debating against her but I like debating with her.”

Gina, in contrast to Zach and Deveron, was not originally interested in debate.

“It was my idea [to get Gina in debate] because she wasn’t interested at first, but once she heard of my involvement in the activity, she became interested” Joseph said.

After Gina got into the program, she has not regretted it.

“Starting out, it wasn’t easy,” Gina said. “Participating in debate takes a lot of time and effort. After attending my first few tournaments, it developed into a passion of my own.”

While the upperclassmen help shape their younger sibling at school and show them the way, they also teach them at home when they are struggling with debate.

“[It’s] definitely [an advantage having my sister in debate with me] because she knows a lot more about debate than me” Zach said.“And it helps me get an edge at home and not just at school.”

Following in their footstepsExperienced debaters set example for younger siblings

AWARD WINNERSNewspaper

The Booster Redux - 5th Placeyearbook

The Purple & White - 8th PlaceFirst-year photoMyla TurnerHonorable Mention

Photo portraitAbby HarrisExcellentphoto storyMiranda MooreExcellent

News/Feature photographyKaitlyn KiddExcellentNews Sports photographyKaitlyn KiddExcellent

yb sports photographyAspin DurbinHonorable Mention

Design AdvertisingKailey CurtisHonorable Mention

Design LogoJake WebbHonorable MentionLit. Magazine layoutGrace PalmerHonorable Mention

yb cover/ EndsheetsSam BollingerHonorable Mention

yb layout: inside pagesChase CurtisHonorable Mention

newsmagazine: layoutReagan RinkSuperior

Commentary writingJosh LeeHonorable Mention

Sports WritingAlli BadenHonorable Mention

Editorial writingEthan HawnSuperior

they announced we got eighth place, I just freaked out. And then ten minutes later The Booster placed. It was all just really exciting.”

Every month, The Booster Redux staff works long days on the issue that will be printed for that month. For the past two years, all of their work has paid off, seeing as at this and last year’s convention The Booster has won fifth place in the nation for Best of Show.

“My favorite part about going to Washington DC was growing closer as a staff. I honestly can say that it feels like we are one big family now,” senior Quincy Muathe said. “I wouldn’t trade all of those memories for the world.”

The Duncan siblings hard at work on debate, Kaylie Duncan said “I’m very happy that my brother joined debate, it’s a great skill that can be used throughout life.” PHOTO BY TROY WEHMEYER

Monumental achievementJournalism students travel to Washington D.C. for convention

Noah Tylor-Vincent Kirsch, 17 of Pittsburg died at 5:18 p.m. Monday November 3, 2014 .

He was born September 16, 1997 in Pittsburg the son of Michael and Bonnie (Waid-Toomey) Kirsch. He lived his entire life in the Pittsburg area. He attended Meadowlark Elementary School, Pittsburg Community Middle School and was currently attending Pittsburg High School. He also volunteered at the Southeast Kansas Humane Society.

Survivors include his mother Bonnie Kirsch of the home; his father Michael Kirsch of Pittsburg; 2 brothers Brandon Kirsch of Pittsburg, James Toomey II and wife Britney of Carl Junction, MO; 6 aunts, 1 Great-aunt and several cousins.

noah tylor-vincent kirsch 1997-2014

News briefsScholars

bowl

11.3 at Girard 1st Place

varsity

11.6 at baxter springs 3rd PlaceJunior Varsity11.6 at baxter springs 4th Place

upcomingEvents11.24 - 7P.M.MultigenerationalConcert

11.25Womanless beautyPageant

WrestlingP&W Scrimmage

11.26 - 11.28Fall Break

District honor choirNicole AhnRyan AmickDaniel BellEmmilie BlytheMakayla BockoverDerek BrumbaughRaymond BunneyHunter CressHailey DentonDaniel EichenbergerJustin Eichenberger

Chase EstesSchuyler GregoryElizabeth GrahamJena HartShelbi HeikesCassie Hurt-McLartyJourney JaramilloEthan JewellWill JewettJhalani LongLukas McConnell

Daniel MunguiaAndrew OrtolaniJaydon OwensCarmen PerezKenton PiattKelli PopeAlex RileyWill SchindlerMarti SinclairLuke SpillmanEmma Stalnaker

Daeshia TurnerChloe VanBecelaereIvan WalterPheobe WaringJack WarringMark WeaverClara WehrmanMaddie WeidertDelilah WestKagen WhiteKeaton WilberJared Wilde

jazz bandRyan Amick - SaxophoneChristian Adams - TromboneAndrew Ortolani - PianoZach Uttley - BassEthan Ortiz - VibesMatthew McMaster - Drums

BandChristian Adams - Trombone - 3rdClaire Caffrey - Trumpet - 1stKristen Geiger - Flute - 6thAmanda Hoffman - Flute - 5thSebastian Johns - Trumpet - 12thHannah Oertle - Trombone - 4th

MORGAN PLANK @momoplank

On certain days of the school year, some kids might be the only one in a classroom doing work while others are rewarded with the day off.

According to math teacher Rhonda Willis, on incentive days she usually has only two or three students in each class.

Now that students are required to take finals, they are eligible for the incentive day, which was put into place last year.

A concern with incentive days is the administration cannot make those who did not qualify come to school, so many students skip.

“I think it’s a waste of time to come because no one is normally here,” junior Megan Smith said. “Even though I skip, I think they need to be a little more strict about it because if they aren’t out of school for a reason, they need to stay at school and get that grade up that caused them not to have the incentive day.”

The administration feels incentive days is an effective reward system.

“There are a number of consequences for students who skip on incentive day that they may not have earned,” Assistant Principal Rhonda White said. “Certainly, excessive absences will result in things like truancy. Their grades are going to be impacted by having poor attendance because they are not here. They are not present for the teaching… and all that accumulates.”

Willis sees a problem with the way students view coming to school on the incentive day.

“I think students look as having to be here as a punishment instead of getting to leave as a reward,” Willis said. “If they did not qualify, they probably have some work to do.”

There is also another problem caused by students being rewarded the day off of school.

“For me, I teach honors [math] and I lose a complete day of teaching,” Willis said. “We lose four days and that’s hard.”

Previously, students were not required to take finals in all classes.

“I think we finally looked at what’s best for the kids and what’s best for kids is to experience finals,” Willis said.

The decision was made to shift to a quarterly incentive day based off the need for students to be better prepared for the finals they would encounter in higher education.

“I do believe that people should have to take finals. Everyone will have finals in college,” junior Violet Biggs said. “I think that finals in high school are good practice and are good opportunities for people to build good studying habits that work for them and will help them be prepared for the future.”`

However, alum Alaura Short feels that the finals she took in high school did not prove to be very helpful.

“High school finals helped a tiny bit, but for college, I had to relearn how to study,” Short said. “College is a different level of testing. There is more information and, depending on the teacher, the finals are cumulative.”

The level of testing is not the only thing that is different in college.

“I had to learn to get everything finished early, to remember to study and not just get the assignment finished, [in addition to] studying notes and going to study sessions,” Short said.

Some high school students believe readiness for college is dependent upon themselves. Senior Mark Weaver believes it should be a student’s choice whether they want to take finals or not.

“If they are unprepared for college, it is the student’s own fault for not taking the initiative and readying themselves.”

continued from page 1d

CherryvaleNoviceKunkler/Blansett - 1stSours/Hall - 2ndUnruh/Hess - 4thJones/Hurt-Mclarty - 5thStradley/Pierson - 6th

manhattanVarsityHawn/J. Mathew - 1stH. Uttley/Johns - 2ndOpenMcDonald/Z. Uttley - 7thNoviceHess/G. Mathew - 2nd

sweepstakesCoffeyville 3rd placeFort Scott 1st placeSt.Mary's Colgan 1st placeBV Southwest 2nd place

Students use, abuse time off from school

JOSEPH MATHEW @jmath06

If you haven’t heard, our football team did pretty well this year. This year, they were one of the top 8 teams in the state. Last Friday, they hosted Shawnee Heights at Hutchinson Field in the class 5A quar-terfinals. Where were you when they were valiantly holding out against the Thunderbirds?

In fact, how many football games did you go to this year? Soccer games? Dances?

I don’t want to come off as hostile. I just want you to really evalu-ate how involved you’ve been in our school’s activities.

Participating in school activities is one of the best things you could do with your time. Luckily for you, there are a LOT of ways to get involved. If you didn’t recognize it, a lot of really cool clubs have sprung up at PHS, a few of which include Guitar Club, Outdoor Club, and Planeswalker Club.

Not only is there an expansive list of new clubs, but there are also a plethora of school events.

Regardless of what you’ve heard, school events aren’t these elite events reserved just for the “popular kids.” Otherwise, they’d be called VIP Top Secret Exclusive Access Popular-Kids Only Activities.

You might think that it’s cheesy to have school spirit nowadays. To “cheer, cheer for dragons on high” with your peers. To

show off your purple pride. But here’s a hard truth. You’re enrolled in Pittsburg High School. While you’re here, you should make the most of your time.

Even if you utterly despise this high school, wallowing around in your misery

and telling other people your sob story of how much you hate this school won’t make you feel any better.So at the next pep assem-

bly, make sure that YOU’RE the loudest one during the class

yells. There are more than

enough upcoming

events for you to participate

in. Winter sports, including basketball and wrestling, are starting up their seasons. And rumor has it that

the Winter Formal is right around the corner. Don’t depend on other people to fill in

the “spirit void” for you, because they sure won’t be depending on you.

High school doesn’t have to be that awkward stage of your life you want to permanently wipe from your memory in the future. It is what you make of it. Make your time as a Purple Dragon memorable.

Before I finish, know this: Pittsburg High School is a vibrant community filled to the brim with active, determined stu-dents.

Make sure that you’re a part of our community.

OPINIONSECTION D 3Friday, Nov. 21, 2014www.boosterredux.com

Finding your inner Dragon through school pride

School spirit unites community

Staff editorial:

A look at feminism through the eyes of both gendersAre you afraid of the f-word?

The Booster ReduxPittsburg High SchoolStudent Publications

1978 E. 4th St.Pittsburg, KS 66762

Editors-in-ChiefAlli BadenJosh Lee

Morgan Plank

Managing EditorsMolly GrahamMiranda Moore

Coral VanBeceleare

Design EditorsReagan RinkKailey Curtis

Copy EditorMegan Munger

Online EditorsKailey Curtis

Kylynn Collins

StaffKaty Brown

Maddie BadenMeghan BakerAlivia BenedictMorgan Burns

Ashley HendersonEthan Hawn

Journey JaramilloJosh JarvisAdia Johns

Joseph MathewTrina Paul

Rachyl RussianErica Seal

Ivan WalterJake Webb

AdviserEmily Smith

PHS Student Publications

Department and newspaper class

produce The Booster Redux.

Please call us with comments at 620-

235-3200. The Booster Redux’s

purpose is to inform, educate, enlighten and

entertain readers fairly and accurately in an open forum.

Opinions expressed in editorials or

opinion columns do not necessarily reflect views of all members on

the Booster staff. Digital photos have not been altered to manipulate reality. Photo illustrations

are labeled to reflect any technical

alternations. Anonymity may be given in the following cases: the information

is unable to be presented another way,

the information warrants anonymity, the source’s privacy and/or reputation

requires protection and the source must be protected from

damages.A student or

faculty member death during the

coverage period will be covered with a short obituary.

The Booster Redux is a member of Journalism

Education Association,

National Scholastic Press Association, Kansas Scholastic

Press and International Quill

and Scroll. The Booster Redux

encourages letters from students, teachers and community

members under 300 words and

signed with a valid signature only.

The Booster Redux reserves the right to edit contributions

if they are libelous, obscene and

for length. Any grammatical errors

at the fault of the writer will be

printed. Corrections of errors printed at the fault of

the Booster staff will appear in the

appropriate section of the next issue.

Booster Redux staff and policy

KATY BROWN & MORGAN BURNS @katylady22 @mburns137

Since the start of the wom-en’s rights movement, the word ‘feminist’ has been viewed as a derogatory word. Women do not want to call themselves feminists, and men don’t want to associate themselves with feminists out of pride. Feminist is not a nasty word, it is a word that empowers millions of peo-ple around the world.

Feminism is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equal-ity to men. “Man-hating” has become synonymous with femi-nism, which is a completely different thing. True feminists are not man-haters. Feminists are fighting for equal rights for women, the LGBT community and people of color. They are working towards equal rights, not superiority over men.

Even though the word sounds feminine, feminism is for everyone. There are many men who are advocates for women’s rights and for equality of all

people. Junior Tanner McCauley

strongly believes in the human rights movement.

“It’s not just women, you can be a feminist and be a male,” McCauley said.

Often times people think if they associate with feminists, they will not be respected.

But being a feminist is not something we should be ashamed of calling ourselves. It is a word of empowerment.

Most people do not under-stand what feminists are fight-ing for, they write it off some-thing for bossy girls. Feminists fight for equality between everyone, not just men and women.

We need feminism today because inequality still exists. We may have solved some of the problems, but we still have inequality in our schools, work-places, and in our day to day lives.

“We do need feminists,” McCauley said. “We need people out there saying “‘This is wrong, I deserve to get equal pay and I’m just as strong as you are.’”

THE BOOSTER REDUX STAFF @PHSstudentPub

As teenagers, we may not always have the insight to make the best decisions for us. However, teachers, counselors and administrators are here to help us out on that front.

Lately, however, we as a staff feel that too much freedom has been given to students.

Although the final policy was changed and finals are now mandatory for every student, we may now earn an incentive day for good grades and attendance.

The changes to this policy bring up a very important ques-tion: what are we exactly rewarding students for?

Being present for class is a clear expectation and not one that should require any incentive. As a preparation for the real world, high school should be teaching us to attend school and work in a responsible manner. We should not feel entitled to unnecessary rewards for doing what is expected of us.

We also need to examine the negative consequences the reward days have.

Teachers have to deal with half-empty classrooms and adjust lesson plans to counteract the absence of students. Many of the students who are required to come to school on an incentive day do not show up for class, knowing little work will be required of them or potential lack of consequences. This only results in an unexcused absence on their attendance record.

In addition, many students who earn an incentive day have to be at school for sports practice, theater rehearsals or other academic/extracurricular activities.

It seems kind of pointless. Incentive days may seem like an effective way to motivate and reward students for good grades and attendance.

However, the loss of four instructional days really takes a toll on students and staff, due to an already jam-packed sched-ule. Professional development days for teachers, holidays, breaks, special assemblies, snow days, picture days, school activities, etc., all result in less student-teacher interactions.

If we truly added up all the interruptions we face through-out the school year, it would seem like we would have more days off rather than days in school.

We will admit, getting to skip school for a day sounds pretty appealing, but a lack of administrative enforcement, prominent student apathy and overly active students render the award days ineffective.

While we appreciate the gesture of “rewarding us,” we feel it is unnecessary and would prefer the administration make a hard decision in regards to the incentive-day policy.

Allowing students to earn a day off of school is a good way to get on their good side.

What’s best for students may not be the most popular thing, and the popular thing is not always what is best for students.

JOSH Lee @iAmtTheJoshLee“Grow a pair,” a fellow guy tells me in

class. What is that supposed to mean? We live in a society where women and

men are not treated equally. Although our country is not like many others around the world which do not frown upon the belittling of women, the prob-lem is far from over.

Feminism is the idea that men and women should be treated equally. Gender inequality is an obvious social issue in today’s world, but opponents of feminism would argue that the tilt does not exist, and that men and women do stand on equal grounds.

So why is it that the term “be a man” is a push for courage and the phrase “you punch like a girl” is an insult? Why is it that a sexually active male is consid-ered a “baller” or a “player” but a sexu-ally active female is labelled a “slut?”

I believe in equal rights for all people of all genders. But it is understandable why such adamant opponents to femi-nism would exist.

First of all, not all men understand the gender inequality that exists in today’s world. But when you’re on the side that’s raised up and glorified against the other party, it’s hard to directly face the problem.

What society needs to understand is that women are strong. They are brave. They are intelligent. And as human

beings, they have to capacity to accom-plish what any other person could do, if not more.

We need feminism because gender inequality still exists. But feminism can’t be achieved through the female popula-tion alone.

Although men should work with women toward equality and recognize them as equals, feminism is all a joke unless all women are able to respect themselves. Society has tricked many females into believing that they are infe-rior to males, and that is a huge part of the problem.

Women have every right to be as confident in themselves as men are, and although men are a huge roadblock to women’s morales, far too often, women get in their own way.

But you also have to consider the radi-cal feminists who give the wrong idea about feminism. Many individuals call-ing for “feminism” antagonize men as a whole, using men as a stepping-stone to get to female supremacy.

This is not the idea of feminism, and too often in the whirlwind of controversy and debate, these radical feminists get caught up and grouped together with true feminists in the mind of the public.

Let’s get one thing straight: feminists aren’t pushing men down. They are pull-ing themselves up for equal rights as our fellow human beings, and we have to responsibility to help them up.

ART BY ALIVIA BENEDICT

A closer look at incentive daysAbused advantages

ART BY ALIVIA BENEDICT

Josh Jarvis @JJarvis52

Like I am with every new Call of Duty game each November, I was extremely excited to see Call of Duty: Advanced

Warfare (AW) in action. No matter the amount of hype the newest Call of Duty brings, I always think it looks as brilliant as ever.

With the eleventh installment of the Call of Duty franchise in AW, I believe this is the most the game has changed from game-to-game since the transition from Call of Duty 3 to Modern Warfare. AW gives the Call of Duty franchise a much needed redesign. The recycled campaign stories and multiplayer system started to burn out, as is shown by the decline in sales from Black Ops 2 and Ghosts, based on the data from the game database on vgchartz.com.

AW feels completely new and original, yet also familiar. The futuristic concept was used in Black Ops 2 and I thought it was a nice change of pace. AW jumps even further into the future, set in 2054. The high-tech gadgets and weapons like laser guns and jet packs uti-lized in AW were in the sci-fi fantasies I had as a kid imagining the future of technology.

The advanced technology used today in the

A&E Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 www.boosterredux.com

SECTION D4Advanced

warfare shoots to

the topNext Generation

game blows up competition

COURTESY PHOTO PROVIDED BY PLAYSTATION.COM

newest generation of gaming consoles is put to good use in AW. I was blown away by the amazing graphics. The very first thing that caught my eye was the incredible realism of the scenery, characters and explosions from the very first scene in the campaign mode.

The story of the cam-paign mode is very inter-esting. I won’t spoil it, but there are plot twists a plenty and it is exciting and action-packed throughout. It most definitely is not the greatest campaign in Call of Duty history, but I would rank AW’s campaign in the top five.

The Exo Survival mode is very similar to Survival from Modern Warfare 3, a

game mode which I enjoyed very much. It’s no zombies, but there’s something about Call of Duty and wave-based sur-vival modes that are always a ton of fun.

The aspect of AW that really stands out is the multiplayer. The major revi-

sions made to the elev-enth installment of the franchise are some of the best in the series. The customization options have vastly improved from the good start in Ghosts; now you can put

together the best arrangement of gear from head to toe with plenty of options. Unlocking new, stylish equipment is exciting.

New game modes keep the online experience fresh in Uplink, a capture

the flag type game, and Momentum, an adaptation of War from the fifth game, World at War. The new energy weap-ons, gadgets and grenades give the play-ers different strategies and attacks that have never been seen in previous games.

Of course, the biggest change is the addition of the futuristic exoskeletons that allow players to move in brand new ways. The exoskeletons let the soldiers dodge quickly, run longer and faster, hover for short periods of time, give extra health and even allow a boost jump that gives AW a new element of verticality.

This being the eleventh game in the franchise, it would be easy to lose hope and quit playing Call of Duty. I believe that AW is a must-buy, and will easily be worth your money in only a few weeks.

IVan Walter @ivanthehoss56

When thinking of a movie like Dumb and Dumb-er To, people aren’t looking for Oscar-winning performances, they’re looking for a cheap laugh.

Because honestly, who doesn’t love to laugh? When I first saw that they would be making a Dumb and Dumber sequel, I couldn’t wait to see what was in store for this series. I’ve been a huge fan for quite some time and I wanted to see if they could top the original.

There was a really big laugh to start the movie off. I thought to myself “Alright! Here we go!”

Maybe I expected too much. It quickly became apparent that this

wasn’t what I had been waiting for. The jokes slowly started to get worse and made less and less sense to go with the story.

I had built up my hopes through watching the trailers but they pretty much told the story in the three different trailers that I saw.

Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) has found out about his long lost daughter and Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) wants to help him find her. They go on a huge adventure across the country where they eventually end up at a science convention in Texas.

Most events in the movie are quite predictable, with a single plot twist that doesn’t add up to much. You can sum up the whole movie with just that.

Aside from there not being much of a plot I mean

it’s Dumb and Dumber, you can’t expect much of a story.

Personally, I love the first Dumb and Dumber and, unfortunately, this new one doesn’t quite live up to expectations.

This movie was just a bunch of random jokes tied into a simple and boring storyline. When you compare it to the first in the series it gets blown out of the water.It’s an attempt to rehash the origi-nal but fails miserably.

The original was raunchy, packed with jokes, and it marked a new era of comedies. It was just hard to watch something so good get turned into something as bland and repetitive as this new movie was.

It seemed as if they tried too hard. It just doesn’t work. The timing was bad and the jokes were lame. It feels as if they put absolutely no effort into this movie.

It was just a final attempt to grab some money, which was disappointing, but it worked.

According to boxofficemojo.com the movie was number one in the box office pulling in $38 million in it’s opening weekend.

It just goes to show people will pay to see some-thing they think will be just as good as the first one, but luckily for me, my dad bought my ticket. All in all the best part of the movie was the trailer for the new Avengers movie.

If you’re looking for some laughs you’ll get a few but that’s all you’ll get.

««««««««Dumb and Dumber to

COURTESY PHOTO PROVIDED BY TODAY.COM

«««««««««

COD: ADVANCED WARFARE

dumber than dumbSequel to classic doesn’t live up to expectations

Alli Baden @AlliBaden

Slipping on a dress, applying makeup to highlight their features, rehearsing their beauty walk and pondering questions they may draw out of the question bowl.

Senior Nick Powers, along with 17 other junior and senior boys will perform these tasks in preparation for the DECA Womanless Beauty Pageant on Nov. 25.

“[I am looking forward] to strutting my stuff and showing the school what I got in a dress and beating [senior] Jaden Patterson because I am obviously better looking than he is,” Powers said.

Seniors Claire Caffrey and Catherine McNeely created the Womanless Beauty Pageant for their state DECA project. The state conference will take place in March. Competing in entrepreneurship promotion, they had to find an innovative way to promote a business, which in their case is Monarch Formals.

Started by Caffrey’s mother, Monarch Formals is a nonprofit organization that allows girls to check out formal dresses, wear them, and then return them for no charge. According to Caffrey, Monarch Formals is a “library of formal wear.”

Caffrey, McNeely, and DECA sponsor Linda Turner all felt that promoting this busi-ness through showcasing prom dresses on male students was a great way to stand out from the competition.

“Claire and Catherine know that when they go to state DECA that their project is going to have to really be outstanding compared to all the [other schools in Kansas] in order to go to Orlando, for the international competition in

April,” Turner said.In order for there to be a pageant, Caffrey

and McNeely had to pick the contestants for it. “I wanted boys who were going to be

enthusiastic about it,” Caffrey said. “ [And boys that] would also bring in a big crowd of people.”

The contestants will be required to wear one of the Monarch Formals dresses, walk across the auditorium stage, and answer a random question from the question bowl. Junior Ryan Amick is ready to take on the competition dur-ing the pageant.

“Honestly I’m excited to get to wear a dress and seeing everyone in dresses,” Amick said. “I think it’ll be hilarious.”

After all the contestants have modeled, a winner will be picked by the judges, consisting of teachers and administration, and the first PHS Womanless Beauty Pageant Queen will be crowned.

McNeely believes that the audience, espe-cially the female students, will be entertained.

“I think that girls will enjoy it because it is guys in dresses,” McNeely said.

But what Caffrey is most excited about is being able to spread the word about Monarch Formals.

“I am excited to get the business out, hon-estly,” Caffrey said. “There are a lot of girls who could benefit from this organization and I want them to know that it is here for them.”

Students interested in attending the Womanless Beauty Pageant can purchase tick-ets for $2 before school and during lunches up until the Tuesday of the pageant. Free admis-sion and V.I.P. seating will be provided to anyone who donates a prom dress to Monarch Formals.

Strutting their stuffSenior DECA students organize womanless show

by the numbers: Sleep deprivation

Info compiled by

Meghan Baker

FeatureSECTION D 5Friday, Nov. 21, 2014www.boosterredux.com

ETHAN HAWN @ethanhawn888

Every year, students from all over Kansas are elected to positions of state-wide leadership in their clubs and orga-nizations. This year, two students, senior Shaun Mize and sophomore Kelsey Fuchs, received recognition on the state level by their activities.

Shaun Mize, senior and President of PHS Skills USA, was elected to treasurer of the Kansas Skills USA chapter. Mize joined Skills his junior year, and it was after only one year with the organiza-tion that he pursued the office of state treasurer.

The requirements to become a state Skills officer included a knowledge test and memorization of the pledge, creed, and motto. The process continued with an interview, as well as delivering speeches in front of all of the delegates.

To Mize, the experience of Skills USA is valuable and fulfilling.

“It means a lot, because you get to help

people go through their contests, and you get to help them learn stuff,” Mize said. “You get to help other people succeed.”

Kelsey Fuchs is on the brink of a similar position. After becoming state and nation-al champion in HOSA’s forensic medicine competitions with her partner sophomore Justin Blythe, Fuchs decided to pursue a statewide position of leadership. Now, as an alternate, she attends conferences to set herself up for an office in the future.

“I go to workshops and learn the ways from everybody else.”

By attending workshops, Fuchs is set-ting herself up for future success in state HOSA.

“I will run again in the next three years, and hopefully move up from there,” Fuchs said.

Because this is only her second year, Fuchs has several more opportunities to be elected. “It is really cool because I am just a sophomore. I am the youngest one that was elected, and I just hope to improve and be president of the state,” Fuchs said.

INSIDE STORY: NOT TAKING LIFE FOR GRANTED

Fuchs, Mize selected as club state officersnext-level leadership

MEGAN MUNGER @DragonsTwirler

It taunts sophomore Annie Grant every single day without anyone realizing it.

To her peers, she is just another normal high school girl. However, in reality, she deals with a lot more than most.

“My mom was diagnosed about a year ago [for the first time] at Via Christi,” Annie said. “[Then], my dad was diagnosed [on Nov. 12].”

Both of her adoptive parents currently have cancer. Her mom has breast cancer for the second time within a year. Her dad has B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“[When I found out] I was really scared [about it all] and I still am,” Annie said. “It’s just really sad, and sometimes, I don’t even know what to do.”

Her dad is currently being treated through two different types of chemotherapy, which will continue for the next three months. That will be followed up by radiation. He has a 95% chance of beating the cancer, but her mom’s treatment situation is more unfortunate.

“My mom can’t do treatment because her heart and liver [are] too weak. [The first] time she had it, she had chemo for a couple of weeks and then radiation for a couple of weeks, but now she’s too weak and can’t do anything,” Annie said. “So it’s just a day-by-day thing.”

As horrible as cancer is, it is not something that is particularly new to her or her family.

“[It has been affecting me] ever since I was little,” Annie said. “On my adoptive mom’s side, [breast cancer] runs in the girls and every girl in the family has had it. That is what my grandma and great-grandma died of and both of my aunts have had it.”

Due to the current circumstances, Annie spends time outside of school differently than most do.

“I don’t really like to go anywhere because I’m afraid of what might happen to them while I’m gone. So I try to stay at home as much as possible,” Annie said. “I’m home with my par-ents at least five or six days a week.”

Because she spends as much time as possible

at home, she made the decision in August to quit cheerleading.

“I quit because [even though there’s not] that many practices or games, that’s [still] four or five days out of the week,” Annie said. “I’d just rather [be spending] that with my mom.”

Even though she quit, cheerleading coach Diana Oertle has still continued to help her through this difficult time.

“I wanted her to know that even though [she quit], I didn’t turn my back on her,” Oertle said. “[I] mainly just listen to her when she’s frus-trated, when she needs someone to talk to, to scream at or whatever. She’s reached out to me a few times so I’ve always tried to be there.”

Throughout this entire situation, Annie and her immediate family have remained as positive as possible.

“I have positive people around me which helped a lot,” Annie’s mom, Crystal Grant said. “My family is my inspiration because they mean everything to me and they get me motivated.”

Like her mom, Annie’s inspiration to stay positive comes from her family.

“My mom [inspires me],” Annie said. “She’s a really strong person and she tries to do her best even with what she’s going through. She still gives her [all] and tries to do as much as she can for me. She’s still there for me even though she’s having a hard time.”

Even though this is not an ideal experience, the Grant family does not want people to feel sorry for them.

“This is just kind of how life is,” Annie said. “I just want people to know that life isn’t guar-anteed.”

In addition to everything else, this experience has taught Annie more about life.

“The way some people treat their parents is bad and they should treat them better because you never know what [can happen,]” Annie said.

“I used to treat my parents [badly] and I was mean to them but, when something like [this] happens, you really start to relook at life. I wish that people could see these things the way I do and not take their parents for granted.”

William L. PhalenA orney at Law

200 W. 4th Street PO Box 1346Pittsburg, KS 66762

Phone (620)235-1806 Toll Free (800) 235-1807 Fax (620) 235-0289

wlp@wlphalen.com www.phalenlaw.com

ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAIT BY MIRANDA MOORE

Racing to change a tire, senior Shaun Mize finishes up in Auto Tech class. It only took him one minute and Racing to change a tire, senior Shaun Mize finishes up in Auto Tech class. It only took him one minute and fifty-two seconds to take off one tire and put on another. PHOTO BY TAYHLER PLAINfifty-two seconds to take off one tire and put on another. PHOTO BY TAYHLER PLAIN Miranda Moore

Showing off HOSA club t-shirts designs, junior Kelsey Fuchs informs club members of what the future t-shirt will Showing off HOSA club t-shirts designs, junior Kelsey Fuchs informs club members of what the future t-shirt will look like. This is the first time that HOSA has a club t-shirt because of a current state officer. “I absolutely love look like. This is the first time that HOSA has a club t-shirt because of a current state officer. “I absolutely love our t-shirt design and that we are finally making one for the club,” Fuchs said. PHOTO BY BILL LACKAMPour t-shirt design and that we are finally making one for the club,” Fuchs said. PHOTO BY BILL LACKAMP

Both students feel that their com-mitments are paying off through learn-ing what they want to do with their careers.

“I want to be in the medical field, so I thought that this was a good way to get some hands-on experience,” Fuchs said. “It has helped me to figure out what I want to be.”

Mize’s experiences in auto-tech have also guided him in ways he did not anticipate.

“I like cars, and I actually didn’t know about it the first couple of years [of high school],” Mize said.

The sponsors to both Skills USA and HOSA are excited at what it means to have students participating in state leadership roles.

“I have a sense of pride,” said Adam Nunn, sponsor of the Skills USA pro-gram. “I know I am doing a good job to get people involved.”

HOSA sponsor Jim Foresman, like-wise, feels proud of his students’ accomplishments.

“I think it shows strength in the pro-gram, but it is not the program itself. I think I have exceptional students that do well, like Kelsey.”

feature SECTION D6 Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 www.boosterredux.com

sticks and stones may break your bonesStudents express concerns over specific words commonly used every day

”“

MOLLY GRAHAM @MolllyGraham

Slut. Retard. Nigger. Faggot.

These are just a few words used to negatively single-out dif-ferent kinds of people. It does not matter what word is used when

the intention is to make someone feel less-er than themselves.

While sitting in class, scrolling through social media or listening to certain types of music, junior Mataya Cook sees and hears the word [nigger] used on a daily basis. The first time she ever heard it was when it was used negatively against her by a classmate in second grade.

“I felt upset, but at the same time, I didn’t really know what it meant,” Cook said. “I just knew it was a bad thing.”

Because Cook is African-American, she’s always been offended when the word [nigger] has been used around her.

For centuries, the word [nigger] was used to discriminate against African-Americans and stereotyped African-Americans as lazy and worthless, among other things, according to aaregistry.org.

“Using the ‘n-word’ is wrong no matter who you are or what race you are because it is a derogatory term used to oppress black people,” Cook said. “It was appropri-ated and made seemingly cool to say be-

cause rappers are heard saying it. I think it’s hypocritical for blacks to use because of the history of the word.”

While some words are explicitly defined as “curse words,” other words and phrases may not be so clearly interpreted.

“There are everyday words, then there are curse words. And there are good and bad times to use [curse words]: when you drop something or stub your toe,” junior Nata-lie McCloskey said. “But slurs, they are on a whole different level from curse words, they should not be used at all.”

The original mean-ing of the word [fag-got] was “bundle of sticks,” and, accord-ing to wordorigins.org, started to become derogatorily used in the 20th century as a way to describe men as “women-like;” similar to other words like “sissy” and “fairy.”

“It was a bad word from the start; it’s still a bad word,” McCloskey said. “It was used to mock homosexual people. It has got a lot of weight behind it.”

For junior Ivan Walter, hearing anyone say the word [retard] causes him to be-come extremely upset and offended. This is because Walter’s 13-year-old brother has Autism.

According to specialolympics.org, in 2010 a law named “Rosa’s Law” was passed. “Rosa’s Law” took away the terms

“mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from all education, la-bor and health policies. These terms were then changed to and identified by the saying “individual with an intellectual dis-ability.”

“I hear lots of people use [retard] all the time,” Walter said. “Whether it’s just making fun or just for fun, it’s second nature for people to use the word.”

Although Walters’ brother suffers from a developmental disorder, Walter says that his brother does not know what the word [retard] actually means.

“We don’t talk to him about it because he’s a person, it should not hold him back from anything,” Walters said.

Junior Sebastian Johns, whose 14-year-

old brother has Down Syndrome, says that the word [retard] should be used in non-offensive, playful ways to take away from the seriousness of it.

“The reason why I use it is because context determines interpretation,” Johns said. “Meaning that, if you’re using it to harm someone then it is absolutely one of the worst words in the English language. If you’re using it to describe something, or if you’re using it among people who you know won’t get offended, then I think it is alright to use.”

While Johns believes that the meaning of different words depends on the context and interpretation of the usage, teacher Re-becca Turnbull believes that the word [slut] should not be used by anyone in any sense.

“[Slut] is a very derogatory and degrad-ing term,” Turnbull said. “I would encour-age students to speak up about it and not to stand for the nonchalant use of such de-rogatory and insensitive language.”

Although she does not think that usage of [slut] is an issue at the high school, Turn-bull thinks that it has been used increas-ingly on different television shows and so-cial media.

“You don’t say the ‘n-word’ to black people, you don’t make fun of gay people, you should not call mentally disabled kids [retard],” Walter said.

I felt upset, but at the same time I didn’t re-ally know what it meant. I just knew it was a bad thing.

-MATAYA COOK

JOSH JARVIS @JJarvis52

Words can be hurtful. Some people can devise the wisest, most clever insults they can think of in order to get under your skin. The problem is, adolescents nowadays are so sensitive that they let anything and everything affect their emotions.

While some words have negative connotations and can be seen as hurt-ful or derogatory terms, these words were given that meaning simply by choice. They are, in theory, no differ-ent from any other words. That is why these words are only offensive in our heads.

When complimenting an individual, one might call him “a swell guy”. When criticizing an individual, the following phrase might consist of words society deems as “bad” words. Yet, they are the same thing. Compila-tions of letters, that when put together, make sounds that are universally understood as the English language. Words.

My generation has the habit of blow-ing things out of proportion, especially when it jeopardizes emotional well-

being.Today’s youth are overemphasizing

seemingly harmless uses of words and taking the ultimate offense to them; like what other people say threatens their life. The slightest hint of a nega-tive statement is met with the harshest defense possible because teens today don’t understand how to properly view things from a neutral standpoint. Ev-erything is overdramatized these days.

Disagreeing with a teenager is about as effective as trying to convince Coach Nickelson that we don’t need to practice.

Imagine this: I’m playing Madden with my friends. My receiver doesn’t catch the perfectly thrown ball that hits him right in the hands. I yell some-thing along the lines of, “Wow, that is so retarded, bro.”

Now, I have to get scolded by my other friend who feels that I’m being insensitive by using the word “re-tarded”. I was just frustrated with the game! What’s wrong with that?

If the word “retarded” is overheard being used in a non-derogatory man-ner, its user should not become prey to be pounced on by offended people.

Why is the word so offensive if that person meant no harm by it?

Race and sexual orientation are touchy subjects because of the social complications that come with them, but I feel the same about the deroga-tory terms associated with each of these words. “Nigger/nigga” and “gay” have adapted to today’s society and developed their own meanings, neither of which are considered derogatory (at least not to me). “Nigga” is now used between teens as a casual greeting or a personal pronoun in place of he, she, they, them, etc. “Gay” is now used to express frustration or label something as stupid.

People should not be so quick to take offense, especially since I believe that these words aren’t often used in an offensive manner anymore. Think before making such rash accusations.

While I understand that people often speak to purposefully be offensive, it should not be commonplace to over-react whenever “bad” words are used.

Words only have meaning if you give them meaning.

As far as I’m concerned, all words are the same.

but words should never hurt youWords are as powerful as you make themBY THE NUMBERS

POWER OF WORDS

MOST OFFENSIVE WORDRETARD - 44%FAGGOT - 17%

heard most often

SLUT - 16%BITCH - 14%

NIGGER/NIGGA - 9%

NIGGER: About 4.3 times a day

BITCH: About 3.8 times a day

FAGGOT: About 3 times a day

SLUT: About 2.7 times a day

RETARD: About 2.6 times a day

According to a survey of 76 PHS students, the results are as follows:

Warning: the content on this page is explicit and not meant to be offensive. The information was meant to inform, educate and bring to light a challenging and difficult topic. The decision was made to use all words in a non-censored capacity in order to express the seriousness and severity of the topic.

Josh’sjustifcation:

ART BY ALIVIA BENEDICT

sportsSECTION D 7Friday, Nov. 21, 2014www.boosterredux.com

Journey Jaramillo @JourneyButcher

Running is something that many people like to do, but for junior Derrick Sumner, it is something that he loves to do.

Sumner has participated in cross country for the past three years and has qualified for state every year. However, this year, he was the only one from the Pittsburg team to qualify.

State was held at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence on Oct. 31, Sumner placed 60 out of 120.

After finding out that he had qualified, he was more than happy to share the details.

“It’s really nice to know that I in the top group of people [that are] going to state,” Sumner said. “It is pretty hard and it’s [nerve racking] to know that you are racing against the top people in the state.”

Before Sumner begins a race, his main focus is getting to the finish line and winning. He stays positive and keeps on pushing even when the course is difficult.

“The most challenging part of the race was having to go up the really big hills and trying to push past the others,” Sumner said.

Sumner believes that he gave his all in this race. However, if he qualifies again next year, he will try even harder. Sumner felt like he was well-prepared for the event because he had been preparing since the season started by going on long runs on the weekends and working out.

While he was growing up, Sumner always assumed that he

Bouncing the ball off her tennis racquet, senior Katy Short focuses on the ball before she serves it in a match. During her senior season, Short reached her 100th overall career win. Short received honors for tennis and also placed at the state tournament. PHOTO BY MACY FRASCO

ALLI BADEN @AlliBaden

After seven matches over a period of two days, senior

Katy Short became the second girl in the school’s tennis history to place in the top 12 at state level.

The state tournament took place Oct. 17 and 18 at Emporia High School, featuring the top twenty-four singles players from the 5A class.

Short obtained the title of top 24 both her sopho-more and junior year and contributes her twelfth place finish this year to her success during the season.

Short finished the regu-lar season with a 34-14 record, along with a third place finish at regionals.

Placing third at region-als, however, did not have much effect on Short’s placement in the state tournament bracket. Play-ers’ regular season record is what plays a factor in the bracket.

Short finished the tournament 3-4, defeat-ing players from Lan-sing, Arkansas City, and St. James Academy. She lost to competitors from Andover, Salina Central, Blue Valley Southwest, and Blue Valley West. For Short, the state and regional competition are when she first sees most of her competitors. This is due to the fact that during the season, Short faces

mostly 4A schools with the exception of the Mill Valley tournament.

“I don’t get to play at that high of a level throughout the season,” Short said. “Then I go up to [Mill Valley] and then I play my hardest.”

Placing twelfth was not the only accomplish-ment Short achieved at the state tournament. She also received her 100th win of her ten-nis career. She was also awarded all-state recog-

nition.“When I got my 100th

win it was an amazing feeling because it’s a good ac-compl ish-ment for me,” Short said. “It marks a m iles tone in my ten-nis career.”

S h o r t , determined to make her last season the most successful, trained

harder than she had in the past.

“I played a lot of ten-nis during the summer

a n d w e n t t o camps. I was in the weight r o o m getting s t ron-

ger, and I did private sessions with Coach,” Short said. “I did my

very best during prac-tice so it would show in the actual match that counts.”

According to the head tennis coach John Seal, Short’s dedication to tennis is something out of the norm.

“[People like] Katy Short just don’t hap-pen,” Seal said. “I feel she inspired others by what she did and will be remembered as one of the best players in school history.”

Senior tennis player earns 100th career win

Short sets the bar high

would be a sprinter, but eventu-ally realized that he wanted to run distance instead. His interest changed the summer going into high school when he decided to do cross country intramurals to exercise. Then he ended up lik-ing distance and now is glad he chose to do cross country.

Since then, Sumner has taken a great amount of interest in cross country. He realized that this is something he wants to hold on to for a long time.

“[I plan on] doing [cross coun-try] for the rest of my life,” Sumner said.

Throughout cross country, Sumner has made a lasting impact on his teammates, such as junior Troy Wehmeyer.

“Derrick is a good leader. He gives us someone to catch or at

least see in the distance, while he is way ahead of us. He always pushes us to be better runners and a better team.”

Along with impacting his teammates, Sumner has made a lasting impression with cross country coach Gary Ausemus.

“Derrick Sumner had an immediate impact on the team. He is very knowledgeable about the sport of distance running. He became a leader on the team because of his great work ethic,” Ausemus said. “We had a young team this year, and he really helped them learn how to train and what intensity they needed to be at in practice and in the meets. He showed the rest of the team that it is okay to be passion-ate about distance running and that it is okay to work hard.”

Passing his competitor, junior Derrick Sumner sprints to finish 14th out of 80 runners at the regional cross country meet. Sumner qualified for state, and when asked how his teammates encouraged him Sumner replied “They were there for me when I needed them, and cheered me on while I was running up the steepest hills.” PHOTO BY KAITLYN KIDD

Q- How did you place at SEK?A- “I placed third.”

Q- What was the experience like from your point of view?A- “To be a freshman and place that high was kinda cool, but the course was really challenging.”

Q- How did you feel after you crossed the finish line?A- “After crossing the finish line I was really glad to be done because I was really exhausted and sore.”

Q- How did you prepare for the race?A- “To prepare you have to train, eat healthy, and you have to stay fo-cused.”

Q- How did it feel competing against up-perclassmen?A- “I like the pressure of competing against upperclassmen and being able to know that I placed that high when-ever there was seniors in the race.”

Q- Do you have any goals for cross coun-try?A- “I would like to go to state every year after this one and place high.”

Mckenzie WilksQ&A with freshman cross country runner

new runner, new qualifier

Compiled by Ashley HendersonDesign by Reagan Rink

Dragon honorsFootballOffensive MVP: Alex Barnes, SR.

1st Team - Offense:Running Back: Alex Barnes, SR.OFFENSIVE LINE: William Lackamp, SR.Sage Mahnken, SR.Josh Jarvis, SR.Tight end: Austin Seivert, SR.

1st Team - Defense:linebacker: Will Mengarelli, JR.DEFENSIVE LINE: Drake Markley, SR.Defensive Back: Ryan McNeely, SR.

Specialists:Return Specialist:Alex Barnes, SR.

2nd Team - Offense:OFFENSIVE LINE: Christian Dalton, SR.Wide receiver: Dante Richardson, SR.

2nd Team - Defense:DEFENSIVE LINE: Jaden Patterson, SR.linebacker: Adrian Scroggins, SR.Defensive back: Elijah Harris, SO.Alex Barnes, SR.

H.M. - Offense:QUARTERBACK: Spencer Turnbull, JR.

volleyball1st Team:Taylor Muff, SO.

2nd Team:Abbie Casper, FR.

Soccer1st Team:Frander Marroquin, JR.Emmanuel Gonzalez, SR.Ricky Sanchez, SR.

2nd Team:Jazon Marroquin, SO.Jose Ayala, JR.Keaton Wilber, SR.Trevin Jameson, SO.

Cross CountrySEK Individual champion:Derrick Sumner

ALL-SEK:Derrick Sumner, JR.Connar Southard, SO.McKenzie Wilks, FRLogan Lord, SO.

H.M. ALL-SEK:Cade Southard, FR.Troy Wehmeyer, JR.Lupita Sanchez, SO.Skylar Nepote, JR.Keira Leer, SO.

State qualifier:Derrick Sumner

BOYS:2nd place in SEK

Girls:2nd place in SEK

girls tennisAll SEK:Katy Short, SR.Molly Lundberg, SR.Abi Felter, SO.

State results:Katy Short: 12th Place, ALL-STATE

Girls golfState qualifiers:Gracie Lopez - 21st place - 89Violet Biggs - 98

”“[People like]

Katy Short just don’t happen.

-JOHN SEAL

Transfer student impacts

team

”“

SPORTS SECTION D8 Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 www.boosterredux.com

JOSHUA LEE, JOSH JARVIS AND JAMES CLARK @PHSstudentPub

Every serious football player dreams of going pro. Senior Alex Barnes has made the commitment to take the next step towards his ultimate

goal.Barnes put a lot of emphasis on his athletic career, but in addition to furthering his ath-letic ambitions, he has also maintained a 3.6 GPA and earned a 27 on the ACT.Barnes, being the student-athlete he is, has already constructed an academic strategy in college.Barnes will graduate a semester early with the intention to play spring football.“My mom and I actually talked about it quite a bit, because I am going to miss out on a lot of things next semester,” Barnes said. This is not a normal convenience for col-lege athletes.“[It’s not a common decision] because a lot of athletes struggle with grades but I had the opportunity to do it,” Barnes said.

This will also aid him in getting a head start on his football training.“I’ll get an extra six months in a college weight room and with the offensive coor-dinator,” Barnes said. “The coach-es will get to see me and know me better, more than just going in dur-ing summer.”In order to reach his ultimate goal of becoming an NFL player, Barnes had to pick the school that best suited his athletic and academic vision. On the way to playing in the NFL, Barnes has other intentions as well.“He wants to be a very highly successful running back, and I know that he wants to be a part of a very successful program,”

said Barnes’ mom, Jaimi Dodson. “I know he wants to get his degree and he said it, so it’s probably going to happen.”Another priority for Barnes is being able

to be with his friends and family. This was a deter-mining factor for deciding where he wanted to go. “It’s close to home, and I’ll have a lot of family and friends able come watch me play,” Barnes said.Out of all the schools that gave him offers, Barnes chose K-State.

While the decision required a lot of plan-ning and organization on his part, the deci-sion itself was not made lightly.“It’s been the biggest decision I’ve made in my life so far. It’s pretty stressful, too,”

Barnes said. “People joke about it and try to sway your decision to what they want. But my mom and I have done a lot of plan-ning to take some of that stress away.”In order to accomplish his goals, Barnes recognizes the support he received.“I want him to get a college experience. I want him to get his college degree. I would love nothing more than to see him accom-plish all of his goals,” Dodson said.Barnes acknowledges his mom more than anyone else.“Through college and everything she’s been the type to say, ‘Do what you wanna do.’ She told me to do what I wanted to do and go with my heart,” Barnes said. “Life in general, she is my life. She’s the lady that’s been there for me through it all no matter what.”Despite all the stress and the worries, Barnes did what he thought was the best for him.“I’m happy with my decision,” Barnes said. “That’s what matters, and I’ll be happy for four years.”

Celebrating a good goal, junior Frander Marroquin and senior Ricky Sanchez leap in a victory hug. Pittsburg won the game 3-2 and continued in to play-offs undefeated. PHOTO BY ASPIN DURBIN

Barnes goes from sek to big 12 conferenceK-State commit leaves high school early to pursue long-time dream of college football career

It’s been the biggest decision I’ve made in my life so far.

-ALEX BARNES

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JAKE WEBB,

ASPIN DURBIN & REAGAN RINK

JOSH JARVIS @JJarvis52

This year, the team made school history. The team earned the best ever regular

season record at PHS by going 14-2. In the last game of the regular season the team beat Independence to become undefeated SEK Champions, the first ever for soccer. It also went further than ever before in the postseason, advancing past the first round of the playoffs by beating KC Schlagle in regional play. The season ended during sectional play against Mill Valley, losing a close game, 1-0.

Head coach Sean Lauderdale is glad to have gotten this far, but he is not satisfied with the end of the season.

“I’m very happy with how we per-formed this season and I look forward to working with players next season,” Lauderdale said. “Of course, I wished we could have advanced after regionals, but we keep getting closer every year.”

The success this season can be at-tributed to factors such as extra summer training from players like senior Roberto Bustamante. Playing on different traveling teams, Bustamante trained on his own by competing in various tournaments in other cities.

“We always have the mindset that it’s a new season and you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bustamante said. “We always put our best foot forward and try not to get too cocky.”

Junior Lukas McConnell thinks that the reason the soccer team was so successful was because of great chemistry.

“[Our chemistry] made us a better team and our teamwork has been way better than the last two years that I’ve played,” McConnell said. “Some teams go to prac-tice and argue and stuff. Every day we came we had fun and joked around with each other. We even did stuff off of the soccer field.”

According to Coach Lauderdale, every-one on the team trained throughout the season.

“Our players worked hard all season to develop their skills and had great rela-tionships. We had key players on the team that really honed their skills and became critical to our team’s success,” Lauderdale said.

Bustamante thinks another aspect of the team that kept them playing well to-gether was the communication between the players.

“With the group of guys and girls I was with, I felt like we had really good communication, which is very crucial to the game,” Bustamante said. “We ended up doing a lot of stuff together and that helped us feel comfortable being around each other. And of all the years that I played soccer, this is the first year that communication has been a key role in the team.”

The soccer team trained hard, but made the season-long grind enjoyable for every-one.

“We had a great season and we made history for the school,” McConnell said. “Not only did we try hard, but we had a lot of fun on the way too.”

Soccer makes history Communication, skill key to record-setting season

offers received:

Senior Year Statistics:TOTAL YARDS: 2,361

YARDS PER CARRY: 10.4TOUCHDOWNS: 36 (SEK RECORD)

CAREER Statistics:TOTAL YARDS: 4,882

TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS: 78YARDS PER CARRY: 9.4

CAREER AWARDS RECEIVED:FROSH: SOPH:

JUNIOR: SENIOR:

SEK

ALL-STATE

SEK

ALL-STATE

SEK

ALL-STATE

SEK

ALL-STATE

1ST TEAM - LINEBACKER

H.M. - LINEBACKER

1ST TEAM - LINEBACKER

H.M. - RUNNING BACK

1ST TEAM - RUNNING BACK

1ST TEAM - DEFENSIVE BACK1ST TEAM - RUNNING BACKOFFENSIVE MVP

1ST TEAM - RUNNING BACK

1ST TEAM - RUNNING BACK2ND TEAM - DEFENSIVE BACK

OFFENSIVE MVP TBD

1ST TEAM - RETURN SPECIALIST