JH girls' track takes first at Early Bird Relays

Eighth grader Cassidy Ely  runs in the 4x800 meter relay during the Early Bird Relays on April 12. The team received third place.

by Elizabeth Ostrem

The junior high girls’ and boys’ track teams took first and second place last Thursday, April 12, at the Early Bird Relays in Montezuma. Five other schools participated in the home meet this year: Belle Plaine, Iowa Valley, Keota, Lynnville-Sully and North Mahaska.

For the girls’ team, Kate Maschmann swept first place in three separate events: the 100M dash with a time of 13.23 seconds, in addition to both the 200M hurdles with a time of 30.59, and the long jump with a jump of 14’1”.

In relays, the 4x100M teams took first and second place, with times of 59.68 and 1:06.17 respectively. The girls’ 4x200M team, 4x800M team and 1600 distance medley team all took third place, with times of 2:18.81, 12:55.24 and 6:35.24 respectively.

In individual events, Aly Fahlenkamp finished in third place for the 200M dash with a time of 32.55, and Aliya Pargeon and Lauren Slings placed second and third in the 1500M run, with times of 6:20.57 and 6:48.74 minutes respectively. Alisha Arendt placed third in the high jump with a jump of 4’2¾“.

The final team standings for the girls were: Montezuma with 119 points, Lynnville-Sully with 117 points, Iowa Valley with 117 points. North Mahaska with 92 points. Belle Plaine with 87 points and Keota with 12 points. Lynnville-Sully and Iowa Valley tied for second place with 117 points each, leaving North Mahaska, Belle Plaine and Keota to take  fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

For the boys’ team, Bobby McCulley took first in both the 100M and 200M dash, with times of 13.25 and 26.49 seconds. Skyler Romberg placed second in the 400M dash with a time of 1:02.68, and Kaleb Kriegel won the 800M run with a time of 2:26.42 minutes.

In field events, Dominque Ward took second in discus with a throw of 102’1”, and Logan Price placed second in high jump with a jump of 5’0”. Carson Losure and Romberg took third and second in long jump, with jumps of 15’1” and 15’1½“ respectively.

For relays, the boys’ team placed first in the 4x100M with a time of 52.89. The team also took first in the 4x200M relay with a time of 1:48.51, the 4x400M relay with a time of 4:25.23, and in the 400M shuttle hurdle relay with a time of 1:15.51.

The final team standings for the boys were: Lynnville-Sully, taking first with 148 points; Montezuma, taking second with 140 points; Belle Plaine, taking third with 89.75 points; North Mahaska, taking fourth with 81.75 points; Iowa Valley, taking fifth with 53.75 points; and Keota, taking sixth with 42.75 points.

Coach David Brondyke said of the boys’ team, “We had a great showing from our 7th and 8th grade team. I am very proud of all of our athletes and their hard work.”

High school band plans trip to Florida

by Elizabeth Ostrem and Kayla Werner

Every four years, the high school band takes a trip beyond the boundaries of Montezuma to share their talents.  They will go to Florida this year.  

In the past they have gone to Florida, Canada and other places around and outside of the country. On the last trip they went to Orlando, Florida, with the school’s color guard team.

Although they have not always performed on past trips, they will play at Disney World this year. They will be performing “Swing Machine,” “Birdland,” “Friday Night Football,” “Deja Blues,” “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Abaco” and “Viva La Vida.”

Senior flutist Natalie Wheeler said, “I am so excited for the Orlando trip. Our band has been working hard for the past year getting ready for the show. We have really come a long way.”

The trip will be from June 1 through the 6. There is going to be 28 people total on the trip: 22 students, five chaperones and director Scott Stanton. The band will travel by charter bus to and from Orlando.

Kaylene Corbin, a freshman saxophonist, said, “I’m excited for the trip to Florida. I can’t wait to be with my fellow band mates at Disney World riding rides and riding in a charter bus.”

There will be a going-away concert open to the public on May 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the high school. The band will be performing their concert material for Disney as a send-off to friends, family and other members of the community.

Class of 2011 reflects on life after high school

by Andrea Farrington and Morgan Sanders

Part one of a series

Last year Montezuma sent 29 students out into the “real world.” Some had plans of going to college, others military and some straight into the workforce. Now four students weigh in on what it was really like to leave the halls of Montezuma. 

Alexa Wheaton

Alexa Wheaton planned to attend Central College to get a four-year degree double majoring in elementary education and special education with an endorsement in math and reading. 

She currently is going through with her original plans and is also working at Madison Elementary School assisting a kindergarten teacher and loves it. 

Her advice to the class of 2012 is, “Go out and experience everything; it really doesn’t matter what your degree says on your diploma. It matters more about what you get out of that course, what you are involved in and who you meet along the way.”

Hope Kriegel

Hope Kriegel planned to go to a small school and play volleyball. 

She is now at University of Northern Iowa because she quickly realized how much it was going to cost and UNI offered the most financial aid. She also has changed her major from social work to elementary education. 

Kriegel found that the biggest change from high school to college was being on her own and not having a set schedule all the time. 

Kriegel says, “My advice is to go out and live, make your mark and don’t take no for an answer. There is so much out there and there is so many opportunities waiting for you.”

Calli Zimmerman 

Calli Zimmerman planned on going to Iowa State University and majoring in agriculture business or economics.

She has followed through in attending Iowa State University and has also added a secondary agribusiness major.

After going to college, she realized how much you really need to study. Zimmerman advises that you should get ready because it is tons of fun but you need to focus on your grades. 

Elizabeth Jones

Elizabeth Jones planned on going to Des Moines Area Community College and getting her psychology degree.

She is now attending DMACC for nursing and taking care of her daughter when not at school. 

Jones’s advice is, “Don’t slack off in college because if you do you are just wasting your time and money.” 

Watch for more responses from the class of 2011  in our next edition as the series continues.

School forced to start later for years to come?

by Andrea Farrington

In the state of Iowa, the tourism industry is trying to make it so that schools in Iowa are not able to start school earlier than the last Monday in Aug. because schools have been starting earlier in Aug. and it has been a problem for families going to the state fair.  

The bill has recently passed the state House and has moved on to the Senate for voting. 

Currently the law requires schools to start on Sept. 1, but schools have the opportunity to get a state waiver if they would like to start early and most often receive permission.  

The new law would still allow schools to pay a $100 waiver fee, but the earliest they could start is the last Monday in Aug.  Last year. some schools were starting as early as Aug. 15.

I personally think it is a great idea for the state of Iowa to make it so no school can interrupt the state fair. I understand that a student’s education is very important, but at the same time the Iowa State Fair is just as important to lots of families who participate in events. FFA members in the fair are likely to win scholarships that will be going to further their education. 

Starting later this fall does raise the possibility that we will be going further into the summer. Other schools have gone until the end of June, and they were fine. I know I have always been upset about having to leave the fair to go school, therefore I completely agree with this bill.