One small step for a healthier Iowa

Above right, Sage Comstock, junior, gives a presentation to the elementary class about the Start Somewhere Walk. Left, Matthew Ranfeld patiently waits to be called on to ask a question.

 (Abby Clark photos)

by Rachel Ranfeld and Vincent Bushong

Every step toward better health must start somewhere, and Abby Clark and her Sprint class are leading the way with help from Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative.  Students encouraged the community to participate in the Start Somewhere Walk, a statewide event urging people to walk a kilometer at the same time. 

The walk took place on Friday, Oct. 7, at noon when Montezuma students in all grades walked three laps around the track. Over 1,500 walks took place all over the state. 

Participants received a lime green bracelet that reads, “Start Somewhere—Healthy Iowa” to remind them of their goal, the money for which was donated by the Meyer family and That’s Dancin’, a dance studio in Montezuma. 

The Healthiest State Initiative’s goal is to make Iowa the healthiest state over the next five years and move up from its current ranking of 19^th Governor Terry Branstad announced in August of 2010. In order to get to the first place ranking, Iowans will need to start making better food and exercise decisions and taking time to de-stress and relax.  

The ranking is measured by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®.  The index is based on in-depth interviews of more than 350,000 U.S. adults which focus on six categories: life evaluation, physical health, emotional health, healthy behavior, work environment and basic access.

Clark said, “I thought that this would be a good undertaking for the Sprint class. When [Superintendent] Dave Versteeg asked for a leader for the project, I asked my class about it to see if they were interested. Right away, they came up with a lot of ideas.”

The Sprint students are Damionn Burk, Vincent Bushong, Cole Cameron, Sage Comstock, Alana Fahlenkamp, Kaitlyn Gregory, Brayden Hudnut, Colleen Johnston, Joe Karnes, Tyler Meyer, Trevor Moyer, Kennedy Phillips and Rachel Ranfeld. 

Monday, Oct. 2, the Sprint students visited individual classrooms to inform the other students of the walk using a Prezi presentation created by Joe Karnes and to ask them to fill out goal sheets as one way to become healthier. 

The students plan to make an art collage using each goal sheet to hang in the school breezeway between the junior high and high school. Most of the students’ goals included being more active and eating healthier.

To gain interest in the project, Sprint students posted flyers of random facts about health and wellbeing around the school. 

To continue this project, the class will be starting a club for students not in athletic activities. This club will provide a great opportunity for them to get more exercise.

To get more information about the Healthiest State Initiative, visit Joe Karnes’s Prezi presentation at 

http://www.prezi.com/hfztkyrru4_y/start-somewhere or the Healthiest State Initiative’s website at www.iowahealthieststate.com

It pays to walk for elementary students

by Kayla Werner and Elizabeth Ostrem

This Friday, Oct. 14^th, will mark the third annual walk-a-thon for the elementary, a fundraiser to promote activities within the school. Every year, the school sets out to reach their predetirmined  goal by giving each studentfive envelopes to mail letters asking to benefit the school. This year’s goal for students is $12,000.

On Friday afternoon, students will meet in the gym to hear the total amount of money earned. If they reach their goal, they get to see something happen to their principal, Darin Jones. 

sIn past years, students have painted and created a sundae on Jones. If this year’s goal is met, he will get a pie to the face.

Afterwards, students will head outside (the lower elementary first, followed by the upper elementary) and walk around the track for about half an hour.

“I think it’s a really good thing,” said Mrs. Melanie Moretz, who has been involved in the walk-a-thon since its inception three years ago.

All money collected for the walk-a-thon will be used to fund field trips, guest speakers and visitors.

This year’s goal of $12,000 will be more than twice as much as last year’s. In 2010, the goal of $5,000 was almost tripled, with the students making $13,423. The 2009 goal was $4,500, and the students managed to amass $18,000.

If the success of past years is continued, Jones will certainly be getting his just desserts.

Brenner leads JV Bravettes

Above, Colleen Johnston, sophomore, prepares to serve the ball at the game against Tri-County. 

by Cami Shaver

Thursday, Sept. 8, the JV Bravettes captured the Tri-County Trojans at home. 

They won both games 25-13 and 25-22.  Alex Brenner led the night, 11 for 11 serves and 6 aces, while Dakota Norris was right behind her with 8 for 8 serves. Mackenzie James had a great night with her serving, too, 5 for 6 with 3 aces and 8 kills.

Monday, Sept. 12 at Iowa Valley, the Bravettes tasted their first bitter loss to the Iowa Valley Tigers, 11-21 and 7-21. This was one of the biggest games of the season for the girls were looking forward to playing. Although the Bravettes lost, they did not leave there without a fight.

Katelyn Gregory went 6 for 6 serves to set the night. Brenner followed with 3 for 3 serves; James and Brittany Bender also helped the Bravettes serving 2 for 2.

Monday, Sept. 15, the Bravettes faced the English Valley Bears  to bring home another victory, beating them 25-16 and 25-8. 

Brenner served the night away with 13 for 14 and 6 aces. Colleen Johnston, next in line to help out our Bravettes, served 7 for 7 and 2 aces. Last but not least, Norris served 4 for 4.   

JV Braves battle BGM on Oct. 3

Bryan Gregson, sophomore, runs the ball through the BGM Bears.

by Colton Talbert

JV Braves battled back and forth with the BGM Bears on our home field on Monday, Oct. 3. Unfortunately, the Bears pulled out ahead with 21 points while the Braves scored 6. 

Mitch Gibson had the solo Brave score with a 32-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The two-point conversion failed. 

The Braves had two interceptions from Gibson with an interception plus a 15-yard return and another one with a 21-yard return. 

The Bears had a few big plays that kept them ahead. They hit around a 50-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and returned a punt early in the fourth quarter to give them the final points of the game. 

Coach Sietstra said, “The guys played a great game and it came down to a few big plays that BGM was able to accomplish. Nothing about this game is easy and we want these guys to embrace the challenge, not only in football, but in whatever they do in life.” 

Montezuma volleyball wins, loses against BGM

by Kayla Werner and Elizabeth Ostrem

On Sept. 22^nd, the Jr. High volleyball team came away with a win and a loss against BGM.

The 7^th grade was first up that night and defeated BGM with scores of 25-17, 7-25 and 25-18.

Although all of the girls took turns serving, two of them had an amazing number of serves: Ashley Vinton served 14 consecutive times, with Kennedy Phillips right behind her at 12 serves. Phillips also led the team in attacks, responsible for two out of three, during the matches.

Throughout the games, there were four aces and three attacks, but only one successful kill.

Coach Carlson said, “We played hard in the three games and were able to come out with a win. I expect the girls to keep working hard as we enter the last part of our season.” 

The 8^th grade, on the other hand, ended up with two losses and a win. The final scores came out to: 25-14, 17-25 and 21-25.

Even though they had lost, the team had some really outstanding moments. Some of these include 12 attacks, three kills, four digs and four aces.

Megan Baker led the Bravettes with 14 consecutive serves. Aliya Pargeon followed closely with 11.

 “A heart-breaking loss, but we are going to learn from it,” said Coach Carlson. “We played flat and it showed in all three games. I expect this group to bounce back and finish out the season hard.”

JH Braves take victory

by Natalie Kirton

The 8^th grade junior high Braves tasted their first victory with their win against HLV at Victor on Sept. 27. The boys arrived with the expectation that they were going to win, and this attitude ensured they did just that.  The final score was 12-6.

“It was the best effort we have had all year from our 8th graders,” said Coach Timm. 

Defensively, the Braves held the Warriors to just 6 points. HLV was third and goal from the 7-yard line, but the defense readily stopped them as the horn went off. The boys forced 4 fumbles and recovered 3 of them.

Offensively, Montezuma scored first on a 3-yard run made by Brody McKeag but failed to gain the 2-point conversion. Later, in the third quarter, a pass play by McKeag to Logan Price made for a 57-yard touchdown. 

Ryan Maschmann led the way with 8 tackles including 2 for a loss, Bobby McCulley had 3 punts for 72 yards and Tyler Geiger rushed 9 times for a total of 36 yards. This game also marked the first two touchdowns of the season for the 8^th grade Braves.