Pigott, who has been wrestling for Neuqua since his freshman year, was awarded the Brandon Bringas Scholarship. Each year a number of young men involved in the wrestling program at Neuqua submit essays to the Bringas family about how wrestling has shaped their lives; the Bringas family chooses a winner based on the essays submitted.

Pigott, a Varsity captain for the 2010-2011 season, has been characterized as hard working and extremely talented. “He’s a great wrestler and helps motivate us to push ourselves harder,” replied fellow Varsity member and Junior Chris Koulianos. Pigott’s talent and drive will extend beyond Neuqua Valley, however. Though still undecided, he plans on wrestling in college and has been given scholarship offers from many major colleges and universities.

   “It feels amazing to be named ‘The Most Outstanding Wrestler’ because it shows that all my hard work has paid off and has been noticed. Also, I was more than honored to win the Brandon Bringas Scholarship Award and have his family choose to honor me with such an award! I definitely plan on continuing wrestling in college because of how much I love the sport”.

   Neuqua Valley is extremely proud of the entire Wildcat Wrestling Team and the many victories they achieved this season. The entire team worked endlessly to bring even more victories to the Neuqua name, in particular Junior Casey Greenberg, Junior Matt Slavik, and Sophomore Andrew Geers, all of whom won Regional’s.

Caroline O”Reilly, Staffwriter

   New to the Media Department, Neuqua Replay is a weekly sports rap up, which covers all of the sporting events which took place during that week. The editors of the new program, Seniors Jack Korte and Elena Sullivan, edit and plan each episode carefully. “I get all of the seven reporters to do their jobs in a timely fashion, meaning that they all have deadlines that they have to meet and I make sure that they are meeting them.

   When it comes to our show week, meaning the week that it airs, I am the one that puts together everyone’s stories and edits it into the one big long show that airs online every three weeks. Sometimes I also do stories, like I said above.

   While most students choose to go into TV III or Wildcat Weekly, this year a great many students instead chose to enroll in Neuqua Replay, a program which is unique among high school broadcast journalism curriculums, as many high schools don’t have sports news programs. “I chose to do Neuqua Replay because I am going into broadcast journalism with an emphasis in sports in college, and this was the best preparation I could have. Not many high schools around offer this good of a program, so I couldn’t pass it up,” replied Senior and Editor of Neuqua Replay, Jack Korte.  

   “I chose Neuqua Replay because I am a huge sports fanatic. I watch ESPN all the time and sports are a big passion of mine. To have a sports show at Neuqua and to be a part of it is really special to me,” said Neuqua Replay staffer and Junior Dan Brinker. “My favorite thing about Neuqua Replay,” continued Brinker, “is the fact I am doing what I love, and that is working on a sports newscast. It is really cool we have this opportunity at Neuqua to do a sports show and that I was able to get involved with in Neuqua Replay, especially in its first year ever!”

   To watch Neuqua Replay, go to www.neuquatv.org.

   The purpose of barefoot running is to improve and eliminate running injuries. This method forces the ball of the foot to hit the ground instead of the heel. It is also said that this change slightly improves running efficiency.  “It really helps to prevent shin splints” says Eric Stiles. Many people feel as though this method of training is not only a great way to run using a much more efficient technique, but it is also a much more enjoyable experience.

   However, others believe that for runners who find the transition from running with shoes to nothing on their feet at all can prove to be more of a hindrance than helpful. Some people describe it as placing unnecessary stress on your joints and injure people who have flat feet or high arches. So how do you know which method to stick with? It is suggested that if within the first few weeks of training barefoot, the runner does not see improvement in his or her comfort level with running, or that runner develops injuries, barefoot running is not the technique to use.

 Sruthi Raman, Staff writer

   According to the club’s founder, Bill Roller, the “mission of the club is to promote the life-long enjoyment of the [two] sports.” Many “students become involved… when they’ve just not found the right fit for them with athletics, the arts, or any other club.”

  This is the best part for Roller and Wayne Hartman: both teachers at Neuqua and leaders of the club, as well as certified ski instructors. Roller and Wayne teach in the special education and physical education departments respectfully. Since the ski club’s creation, countless students have gone with these instructors on trips to various slopes.

   There was a meeting led by the instructors, held in November, previewing “protocol and procedures.” Here, students were also given permission slips.

   Due to the fact that there is a limited amount of space on the charter busses used for transport, there has been a ski club lottery in past years. This is an opportunity for a spot in the otherwise booked trips. However, “this year,” explains Roller, every student that was interested in joining” was able to get a spot on the trips.

   Typically, there are four trips every year: usually all within January, February, and March. Those who sign up pay seventy-five dollars unless in need of equipment rentals, in which case they pay an additional twenty dollars.

   All students are welcome: beginners and experts alike. “The largest groups of skiers that attend the trips fall between the range of beginner and expert,” states Roller. For the first timers, there is the opportunity to attend free lessons to learn the basics. Newcomers can also rent equipment upon arriving at the hill.

   If interested, students should contact Mr. Roller or Mr. Hartmann. They can be reached by email: bill_roller@ipsd.org and wayne_hartmann@ipsd.org respectfully.

  Cassidy Lemley, Staffwriter

   This year, girls who were previously on both teams could only choose one. This was a challenge for many of them because picking between the two would not give them the freedom to do everything that they love. Girls who enjoy the typical styles of dance such as ballet, jazz, tap, and lyrical usually prefer Orcheis. Girls who enjoy fun, upbeat, modern types of dance are the ones that stick to Poms.

 Orchesis performs at showcases and lasts from only September until February.  “I chose Poms because it has much more of a team ‘feel’” said Sophomore Morgan Flatt. 

   During past years at Neuqua,the Varsity Poms coach was the assistant director of Orchesis, so the schedules of Orchesis and Poms never overlapped. This is why students were given the chance to be on both teams. Neither team has a set number or amount of girls that will make it. The number of girls will vary depending on what kind of talent is brought to tryouts.  IHSA’s rules state that one cannot be on a company or a team at any other dance studio if they are part of Poms at Neuqua. Because of this, many of the girls who had to make the choice between the two chose Orchesis because they didn’t want to leave their dance studio.

   “I think Poms takes more dedication because we practice ten hours each week at the least,” said Flatt.  Poms is competitive and it is year round, giving girls the chance to always feel part of a team. Feeling part of something is always a good feeling for anyone, especially for the people who only have one passion.

Emily Evans, Staff Writer

   The product made its way into mainstream consumer spending in 2008, but it made a meager $8,000 in its first year. Last year, however, they turned a massive profit by raking in $17 million and this year alone they are projected to earn $35 million. Not only have they become popular among the average consumer, but modern day athletes like Shaquille O’ Neal, David Beckham, and Lamar Odom are also big supporters of Power Bands.

   However, the true effectiveness of Power Bands has come into question. The University of Wisconsin at La Crosse conducted an independent study two months ago when Power Bands were becoming a widespread phenomenon. Twenty one college students were assembled to participate in the experiment and twenty of them were student athletes as well. The student subjects performed four tests each. The Power Band and a regular rubber band were used to determine how the 10 cent item would compare to the $30 Power Band. The students were not told which band they were wearing and a sweat band was placed over the band to prevent them from seeing which band they were wearing.

   The results of the test were less than favorable for the Power Band. No matter which band was used, the band that was worn second performed better than the band worn first almost every time. On the Power Band website, it has several videos of the Power Band being used effectively, but it is always used on the second try.

   Critics cite the experiment at Wisconsin-La Crosse and several others as proof that the Power Balance Wristbands are a hoax. Yet, the true effectiveness of Power Bands may not be physical but more of a psychological thing. Increased confidence and belief often equate to better performance. If someone truly believes that by wearing an expensive rubber band they will become more adapt physically, it may just actually work.

 John Bauernfeind, Sports Editor

“This is an exciting year as we shoot for another state trophy, we’ve lost a lot of important top-performing swimmers and are missing key pieces in many skills and will have to work extra hard to achieve this,” said head coach Chad Allen.

However, there are many highly-skilled swimmers who can, and have, achieved much for the team.

“The main guys to look out for are Kevin Cordes, who was breaststroke state champion two years ago. He is our number one swimmer right now and just signed with the University of Arizona. We also have a very good diver, Ted Wagner, who just signed with the University of Notre Dame. They are our only returning members who placed in state last year,” said Allen.

Another swimmer to look out for is Conner Jager, “our most well-rounded swimmer who just missed placing in state last year and we hope he scores next year. These are our top three swimmers right now,” stated Allen.

The team as a whole also has many strengths. “As for our strengths, many of our returning seniors have been on Varsity for three to four years, so they have been on great teams and seen many successful swimmers before them. They know what it takes to be successful and they are a very solid group,” said Allen.

The team is working very hard to prepare for their upcoming challenges and achieve their goals. The team is an enormous physical and emotional commitment. Practice is from 2 ½ to 4 ½ hours every day except for Sunday, with pool and dry-land training, and there are also many competitions. “An extremely high level of dedication is required. The Varsity level practices as much, if not more, than most college teams and we’re trying to build the other levels up to that,” said Allen. Their goals include being conference champions for their sixth consecutive year and qualifying as many swimmers as possible for State.

“In three words, this team is dedicated, knowledgeable, and hardworking,” said Allen.

This is sure to be an exciting new season, and with the commitment and talent these boys have there is no doubt the team will go very far.

Ella Duangkaew, Staff Writer

   Coaches Vandersteen and Javaherian realized the boys would have a tough time being contenders for the state trophy after the pack of five of Neuqua’s fastest runners hit the two mile mark at about 10:08. “We [knew] we [were] going to need a guy or two to do some major damage the last mile,” reported Vandersteen.

But it wasn’t only one or two guys who really pushed through in the end- it was the work of all four of Neuqua’s top runners- Soltys, Derrick, Ferguson, and Dal Pozzo. These four “left nothing on the course,” stated Vandersteen, and truly gave it their all, and in the end, their efforts and the efforts of their fellow teammates helped to bring Neuqua home a trophy.

A few other significant members of this year’s Varsity team are freshman Nick Bushelle, and seniors Matt Coyne, Hirsh Gaikwad, Andrew Tout, and Matt Hill. Bushelle is the fastest freshman runner Neuqua has ever had, and at state he finished with a time of 15:55 at time trials. “Coyne is a senior who has been a consistently good runner for the past three years, but then this past summer decided that he wanted to become a great runner,” said coach Michael Rossi, “he made the necessary little adjustments and his efforts paid off- he became ‘the rock’ of Neuqua’s top seven runners.” Gaikwad has been on the cross country team all four years, and had extremely rough sophomore and junior years, in which he suffered from injuries and was unable to run frequently. “Hirsh never gave up, he kept faith and just kept going, and has become a really steady contributor throughout his time at Neuqua,” said Rossi. Senior Andrew Tout has been called “the courage” of Neuqua’s varsity team- “Andrew is an extremely talented athlete, and consistently boosts the morale of his teammates, and has always been a hard worker,” affirmed Rossi. While Tout was dubbed the team’s courage, senior Matt Hill is referred to as the team’s “courage”- contributing significant talent to the Cross Country program during his four years on the team, he too is a morale booster, and an example for his fellow teammates.

On November 13^th, the boys participated in a qualifying race where they placed fourth, and if their time qualifies them, they will go to Portland, Oregon to compete in the National Championship.

Caroline O’Reilly, Staffwriter

   The team, headed by Dean Mick Ruettiger, practices and prepares for meets daily. All coaches take this sport extremely seriously which causes a lot of stress for athletes in different aspects of the program.

   Wrestlers have to begin preparing for the upcoming season far in advance. According to boys on the Neuqua team, preseason training is the most grueling part of the sport. With weightlifting, dieting, and other techniques to get into shape, athletes put a lot of effort into preparing for a good season.  

   “Wrestling is extremely time consuming, there’s practices all the time including cut weights, lift weights, etc,” said the mother of a wrestler, Julie Proctor. Her son, Nick Proctor graduated Neuqua in 2010 and was a state competitor as well as a committed member of the boy’s wrestling team. He is now wrestling for Michigan State and uses his experiences from high school to help him advance in college.

   One of the most important parts of wrestling is the weight classes. Most of the time athletes are encouraged to move down classes by a few simple ways. For example, coaches instruct their trainees to wear sweatpants while sleeping in order to sweat off water weight.

   Also, another method to lose weight is to strictly follow healthy dietary plans. These plans consist of eating six small 100 calorie meals a day. These meals raise metabolism in athletes so they can endure more on the mat.   

   Some wrestlers take it to the extreme with certain unconventional ways to move down a weight class. Some examples include forced bulimia, supplements, and performance enhancing drugs. These techniques are strongly discouraged throughout teams everywhere.

   Entertaining to watch, wrestling is still one of the most dangerous sports at Neuqua. Accidents often occur due to the minimal padding. Common injuries include concussions, knee injuries, and neck injuries. Wrestlers have to be focused and aware during their matches in order to avoid danger.

   Overall, the men of wrestling face many trials and tribulations during the preseason and season, but despite their many challenges, they overcome them and ultimately find their experiences in the sport valuable and rewarding.

Meghana Sharma, Neuqua Media Editor

   As the dangers of sports continue to increase, Neuqua Valley works hard to keep their students protected from injury. Barb Barrows, Neuqua’s athletic director, states, “[Neuqua] has certified Athletic Trainers on staff that monitor safety of sports and injuries…Trainers pre-test position athletes in contact sports in advance of a season to have a baseline to judge from if athletes suffer from a concussion on the field.”

   Neuqua Valley has an athletic training room designed to help students suffering from injuries. This room is filled with a trained P.E. teacher and student athletic trainers. Many athletes come in the room everyday to get taped on their ankles or wrists due to past injuries that they are recovering from. Student athletes with injuries such as torn ligaments and sprained ankles come to get taped each and every day. Also, if necessary students can use ice baths in the “wet room” to ice their ankles and shins. 

   Concussions and other injuries have frightening repercussions. The effects of different injuries to students may cause memory loss, broken bones, and even brain dysfunctions. For contact sports, Barrows mentions that, “players must be properly fitted for their helmets and safety equipment. Every year safety equipment-helmets, pads and baseball/softball helmets and catching gear is sent out for inspection and recertified.”

   Needless to say, Neuqua makes sure that their players are properly taken care so that injury is not as likely. Also, equipment companies are also furiously working to make sure equipment is as updated and safe as possible for high school sports players. However, Barrows reminds players that, “No sport is ever exempt from the risk of injury despite the quality of safety equipment.”

 Gretchen Andsager, Photo Editor

   Impressively, these runners have been training for this day for months, committing themselves to rigorous regimens daily. There are facts upon facts available to runners on how long and intense to run each day, what exercises to do, and even what and how much food to eat. One junior, Audrey White, took on the challenge to run in this marathon because she grew up watching my mom do it and wanted to push herself to be able to run it with her. “Even though it was extremely hot and there were a lot of times when I had to overcome both physical and mental obstacles,” White says, “it was fun to run with so many people, some wearing the craziest outfits.” But through all of these difficulties and months of preparation, Audrey claims that the best experience of the entire marathon was getting to cross the finish line.

   The top seven boy cross country runners from Neuqua also got to enjoy the lively environment of race day by competing in a northside/southside challenge set up by Nike. Here is where high schoolers had the privilege to compete in a 2.62 (move the decimal over once from a real marathon’s mileage) mile race, finishing at the finish line. Neuqua runner Hirsh Gaikwad was one of these runners and said that “it was pretty cool getting to run in it, because at the finish there was a ton of people going nuts. Just getting to be a part of that atmosphere was a great experience.”

   Besides students who ran in the marathon, teachers of Neuqua also were present for this highly praised event that is a honor to say you ran in. One student teacher, Kyle Brady, finished in 68th place overall in 2:28:05 and was the third finisher from Illinois. Brian Wurtz, also a student teacher from Neuqua, finished in 2:35:11. A teacher for Neuqua’s English department, Steve Saul, ran the marathon with a time of 3:22:57.

   Even though most of us can’t even imagine running 26.2 miles at one time, those few people at Neuqua that have ran it are happy to say that they accomplished it and are proud of that accomplishment alone.   

 Molly Sonricker, Intrigue Editor

   “I’ve been in charge of intramurals for five years. Jerry Inglehart got the ball rolling and then I took over five years ago,” said Matt Fehrmann, head of intramural sports. “I feel like we offer a little bit more than what was offered at the beginning. We’re doing sports that the students enjoy.”

   The most popular sports, basketball and flag football, easily get over a hundred participants. However, more people are flocking to other sports like badminton and volleyball. With more students wanting to participate each year, accommodations had to be made to keep everyone happy. Mr. Fehrmann is also looking into the possible additions of the Mileage Club and Floor Hockey. However, it is difficult to create new intramural activities, as several things factor into a decision.

   “It’s hard right now, with the economy we are handcuffed. We have to limit what we do. With financial support, we have to change it up.”

   Other things that affect the development of new intramurals are the amount/cost of equipment and how many participants are expected to join. Intramural sports are a great way to balance high school life while having fun in the process.

 Jon Bauernfeind, Sports Editor

   The club will meet every other week at the Gold building in the large forum room. Meetings will take place from 2:45 to 4:00. If you own a mat already feel free to bring it.

   The purpose of this club is to relax the stressed out students at Neuqua, and to have fun exercising. Come ready to stretch, deep breathe, and attempt complicated poses.

   It will be a great experience to meet new people and learn a philosophy to life. “The Yoga Way” can help you make the right lifestyle choices, be healthy, and have fun!

Meghana Sharma, Neuqua Media Editor

“The one common theme is attention to detail, and discipline, but also to inject fun when it needs to be more upbeat, and to have that balance,” Kees said.

His practices include “mind boggling repetition” and lots of intensity. The Wildcats have dealt with all their opponents so far with relative ease, but there are teams out there that have the potential to challenge them. Lyons Township is coming off a state championship winning season, and Lake Forest is looking strong early on.

In the Chicago Sun Times preseason boys soccer rankings, Neuqua is ranked number one. This year’s team is led by Jacob Brindle and Patrick Doody, who has recently committed to Indiana University.  This season is exciting because everyone on the team is extremely eager to get out there and win the big one.

“We’re showing now that we can play with the big boys, so I think we have as good of a chance as anybody to go deep in the playoffs,” Kees said.

With a top class coach in Tony Kees and Division I talent leading the squad they should have no issue going very far this season.

Neuqua Valley’s next boys’ soccer game is this coming Tuesday, the 28^th at 4:30pm vs. South Elgin.

Brian Benjamin, Staffwriter

   Neuqua athletes Patrick Doody, Megan Oyster, and Abby Anderson are three such elite athletes that have received, and accepted, scholarships to prominent universities. Doody, Oyster, and Anderson have verbally committed to play Division I soccer at Indiana University, University of California- Los Angeles, and Olivet Nazarene University, respectively.

   It takes much work, requiring social, athletic and academic dedication. Attaining a scholarship requires proactivity and persistence, as “…taking initiative to talk to the schools, put my name out there, and have control over my scholarship by not waiting for schools to come to me [like many other athletes do], is absolutely necessary,” Doody, a senior, stated.

   There are academic qualifications, with certain GPAs and ACT scores necessary for recruitment, such as the required 2.5 GPA and 20 ACT score for Olivet Nazarene University. Of course, the exceptional athletic abilities are still necessary. “I had to show colleges and my coaches that I could play up to par in high school so that they would see that I am ready for the elite collegiate level,” said Oyster, also a senior.

   Maintaining the scholarship also has strict criteria. “[Socially] I can’t do anything borderline, [I need to] stay smart outside of school, not get caught doing anything wrong, and keep my grades at a good level,” said Doody.

   Many sacrifices must be made to be such an elite athlete, as Oyster has stated that there were times when she would still go to practice when other athletes would want to do more social things, like go to homecoming. With maintenance, the same requirements for attainment remain, but with greatly added pressure and high expectations, both Doody and Oyster claimed.

   To be a scholarship athlete, there must be individual characteristics that set the athlete apart from others. For all of them, passion, sacrifice, initiative, and persistence have been key.

   “I tore my ACL last year,” says Anderson, also a senior, “and had to regain my strength, endurance and abilities after nine months of being out to keep the scholarship I had gotten before the injury. But I used the scholarship as motivation to overcome the injury, and that persistence I feel sets me apart.”

   The future is bright for these young athletes. According to Doody, “Emotionally things have been so exciting… I don’t have to worry about where I’m going to college like 95% of seniors and I’m getting a guarantee from a Big Ten school to do something I love.”

   They all hope to balance a good education in business or elementary education with their athletic careers. After college, Doody and Oyster hope to play professionally, and Anderson hopes to teach elementary school and coach at the high school level.

   Advice they would give to athletes hoping to get, or struggling to keep scholarships is to work hard, especially when you have to stand apart from others socially, stay strong as students, to prepare properly for being student-athletes, and keep trying and talking to several different schools should you not be recruited immediately.

   These athletes may be in their final year at Neuqua, but with these scholarships and exciting new opportunities awaiting them in college, their lives are just beginning.

Ella Duangkeaw, Staffwriter

  Coached by Kathy Lhotak and Ashley Hartke, the girls travel to Parkside Bowling alley each day to practice, where they share the alley with Waubonsie, East Aurora, Oswego and Oswego East.

    The girls who wear polos have established a name for themselves. Last year, they placed third in Conference, behind only to Waubonsie and Lake Park. Returning to Varsity this year are Seniors Kelsey Hammersmark and Elise Lauber, along with Juniors Kasti Kieszkowski and Tara Stasiewicz.

“These are the four girls that I’m hoping will be able to stay where they’re at, pick up the pace, and be leaders again this year.” Lhotak also hopes to look to Kelly Goldstein and Dani Cirritano to make key contributions to the team.

   Though two of the returners may be out for the first couple of games, the team hopes to come out strong this year. “Usually we’re right in the middle. Everybody has their good weeks and everybody has their bad weeks,” said Lhotak. Because Waubonsie graduated multiple seniors and lost some players due to the Metea split, Neuqua’s girls hope to come out on top this year.

   Hammersmark has been on the Varsity bowling team since her freshman year and held the highest average last year among Neuqua’s bowlers.

About her experiences on the team, Hammersmark said, “It’s basically a sport that people wanna have fun…Varsity takes it seriously but a lot of the girls on JV are just starting to learn how to bowl and they progress as the year goes on.” Lhotak expanded on this idea, “Bowling is such a different sport altogether… I want people to understand that yes, it’s competitive, yes we care about how we do, but it’s not like the pressure of if we win or lose, it’s going to be all over. It’s not.”

  Lhotak has been Neuqua’s bowling coach for nine years and has bowled since she was ten years old. She has participated in state tournaments for fifteen years and has traveled to the national tournament for ten years. As a student, she went to Waubonsie Valley High School and was a part of their intramural bowling program. Now, along with Neuqua’s team, she coaches Intramurals that combine Neuqua, Waubonsie, and possibly this year Metea students as well.

Kelly Klus, Intrigue Editor

The Illinois High School Association, or IHSA, currently has 30 sanctioned sports in the state of Illinois, with Neuqua carrying 28 of those sports. By being sanctioned, the sports are fully supported by the school, with the school paying for most of the costs.

“Interscholastic sports are sports that compete against different high schools that are under the jurisdiction of the high school,” said Athletic Director, Barb Barrows. “Our interscholastic programs have been approved from our board to run these programs.”

Club sports differ slightly from school sanctioned sports. For a club sport, teams are often forced to pay for registration, which result in large fees. These fees pay for field space, transportation, referees, equipment, and coaching salaries.

“Club sports are all outside, paid for outside by parents and the families,” Barrows said. “They were given extended permission to use the name because they are Neuqua students.”

In order to be sanctioned, a sport must be approved by the Illinois High School State Association, or the IHSA.

“The sanctioning part of it comes from the Illinois High School State Association based on feeling there is enough support,” Barrows said. “As in enough schools that participate that justifies a state tournament.”

However, just because a sport is sanctioned by the IHSA does not necessarily mean Neuqua will pick it up as an interscholastic sport.

“In your budget you have to consider uniforms, transportation, cost of officials, cost of entry fees,” Barrows said. “There’s a lot that goes into having a program.”

If students do not want to compete for a sanctioned or club sport, they have the chance to sign up for intramurals. Intramurals are open to everyone and are entirely elective.

“Intramurals are activities offered to students that are non-interscholastic, meaning they only compete within their own high school,” Barrows said. “It’s students against students.”

Even though students do not compete with other schools, it gives them a chance to be competitive at a different level of play.

“It gives kids an opportunity that may not have made interscholastic programs, that they can still be very involved in a sport they like,” Barrows said. “We want to keep as many kids active as we can.”

Elizabeth Maluta, Sports Editor

With numerous Individual Champion titles at meets and the acknowledgement as well as respect from his coaches and teammates, Beattie is, quite frankly, a beast.

Surprisingly, Beattie did not begin his athletic career directly as a runner. He actually started out playing soccer in middle school. “I joined the school soccer team, but I didn’t get any play time…I wasn’t one of those significant-impact guys,” said Beattie. He found his calling in seventh grade when his PE teacher noticed his knack for running. “He made us run [the mile] three more times and my times kept going down.”

It wasn’t until he moved to Naperville that he discovered cross country. But because cross country and soccer season overlapped, Beattie had a choice to make: stick with what he had done or try something he had never heard of. “I chose cross country and if I didn’t like it, I would just do soccer and then track in the spring, but I did pretty well in cross country too, so I’ve been running since then.”

Now instead of being stuck on the bench, Beattie is out representing his team with every stride he takes. A Varsity runner since his sophomore year, there is nothing but praise for this athlete. With first place finishes at the Hornet-Red Devil Invite, the Peoria Woodruff Invitational, the Upstate 8 Conference, and regionals, then second place at sectionals, a fourth place at state, and placing eighth recently at NXN Midwest, one would probably expect a kid with a big head about his ego. The only thing big about Beattie’s head is the afro on it. “He is very talented…and deserves recognition for his efforts. However, he will be the first to tell you that he would rather see our team be recognized for excellence than him,” said head coach Paul Vandersteen.

Of course, this recognition immediately connects him to 2007 graduate Chris Derrick and Beattie coolly states that he is no Chris Derrick. “Chris was the perfect example of putting in the work to get results…he just set the standard for the dedication to the sport that is probably not going to be matched for a really long time at Neuqua. He set the gold standard for athletes.” Beattie does not currently know where running will take him in the future, but it is definitely evident that his name will be associated with running for many more years to come.

Hong-Ah Do, Front Page and NeuquaMedia Editor

For starters, both the Gold Rush and the Blue Crew plan on heading out to more away games. According to Kevin Hodgeman, a member of the new Blue Crew, their goal for this season is to, “go to every game, home and away, and as much fun as last year.” Each and every game is important, and having dedicated fans cheering them on will hopefully contribute to a few more points and a greater victory.

Theme nights are also coming back. The fun, exciting elements created by last year’s Blue Crew, such as fiesta night, sweater night, Christmas night, and superhero night will be returning to center stage. This allows for more participation from people other than seniors, and adds more spark to the game.

The Gold Rush and the Blue Crew are also planning on buying a mannequin, to stand alongside Willy the Wildcat. This mannequin costs about $300 and both groups are hoping to have donations contributed by students.

Both cheering sections are trying to inspire more creativity and bring more fans to the game. Greater attendance also gives the team a bit more excitement; a well attended game shows that a school believes in its team and senses a victory. So be on the lookout at the courts for the new themes and events planned by the Gold Rush and Blue Crew.

Michelle Schubert, Staff Writer

Last year, three members of the Neuqua student body formed the school’s make-shift Boys Gymnastics team. Although they were not technically considered a team, Jack Boyle, Timmy Kosanda, and Jake Hartman competed in sectionals under a club coach. “At sectionals we added up our scores just do see how we would do as a team,” Jack Boyle said, “and we would have won sectionals with three kids.” In addition to this calculated success, the three actually all qualified for, and placed in, state.

This year, the army of three has lost a bit of momentum due to last year’s club coach withdrawing from high school coaching. Nonetheless, hope for Neuqua Boys Gymnastics is far from running low. In addition to the current talent that the three gymnasts have showcased, there is great talent rising from middle schools every year. In essence, the Boys Gymanstics team is highly likely to add to Neuqua’s impressive athletic reputation, that is if they get the chance to officially become a team.

“It is in the athletic director’s hands to make a decision,” Boyle said. “The team could be state champions!”

Allie Hermann, Staff Writer