MASCOT MADNESS VOL. 2With playoffs season quickly ap-

proaching, many look to players and talent to pick a champion, but what

if it was all decided by a real-world mascot battle?| 13

Still in his first year back in the United States, sophomore Neal Patel must deal with liv-ing over 7700 miles away from his parents in India| 10

300 WORDS: MILES APART

shawnee mission west | 8800 w. 85th st. vol. 48 | issue 9the epic

overland park, ks 66212 | april 16, 2010

James Jensen, junior, benefits from both the companionship and security of having a seizure-alert dog that may someday save his life. photo by raine mcguire

man’s best friend

VS

Broadmoor Bistro welcomed their new guest all the way from Massachusettes, Chef Brian Alberg. Alberg is the Executive Chef of the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Mas-sachusettes. Alberg is coming to the Bistro to share his culinary expertees with the stu-dents enrolled in the culinary arts program at Broadmoor.

weird news

{april - may} 4.16.10 - 5.7.10

news in brief

Early Dismissal - Teacher workday

{new

s} snapshotAn 8-year-old boy from Ohio crashed his families mini van into a telephone pole on his way to get gas. The boy said he was trying to do his father a favor by filling up the van. The parents were asleep at the time until they were awaked by a phone call from the police. The boy was not injured in the crash.

A topless march was held in Portland, Maine by 24 women to prove that a topless woman in public is the same as a topless man in public. By the end of the march over 500 people had joined in the festivities. The march ended after two hours when police had the women clothed and sent home.

An 82-year-old woman accidently crashed her car into a salon and stuck around after to get her hair done. The lady lost control of her car in the parking lot of the salon and crashed into the front door. When the police got all her informa-tion and the scene cleaned up she stuck around to get her hair and nails done.

Dan T. Cathy, president and chief operat-ing officer of Chick-Fil-A, spoke to over 100 business students. Cathy shared his ideas and tips on running a succesful busi-ness. The speech revolved around how impor-tant it is to go the extra mile in order to be succesful.

Karen Tritt, spanish teacher, brought the March Madness fever to her classroom. Tritts class incorporated basketball with a vo-cabulary lesson, students were given a word to translate from Spanish to English and if they translated the word correctly they were given a chance to earn bonus points by shooting a free throw. The class was divided into two teams and given Spanish names as well.

Nicole Long, Rising Star Elementary teacher, and her husband boarded a plane in February for Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Long had spent most of 2006 in Haiti teach-ing at a community college before returning to the States. Long is working with the Global Orphan Project to provide children homes, food, and stability.

Brenda Bott, science teacher, has been recognized by the University of Kansas as a 2010 Wolfe Teaching Excellence Award winner. Bott will be recognized during the KU Commencement in May. She was recognized for having a positive impact on the lives of stu-dents everyday. She recieved many outstand-ing nominees that helped her earn the award. She will recieve a respectable monetary gift card as well. Cameron Volker, senior, and Danny Neely, senior, were awarded third place at the eMagine Multimedia Festival. The festival was hosted by Olathe Northwest. Stu-dents could compete in categories including, music video, short film, news package, docu-mentary, commercials, and animation.

Johnson County Community College host-ed the Job Olympics which gave over 450 students with disabilities the chance to show school pride. Students from all over the Shawnee Mission School District were given the opportunity to practice all the things they had been studying the whole year. The competition was followed by lunch and an award ceremony.

The Lenexa Arts Council will recognize six West students for their talent in visual arts. The awards presentation will be held at Lenexa City Hall. Awards will be given out based on their performance in visual or performing arts. Students recognized are seniors Katie Bar-rett, Sally Carmichael, Megan Dobson, Audrey Murray, Ryan Smith and Elizabth Steil.

227:30 a.m. - Pep assembly 237:00 p.m. - “Just Another School Play”

24

29

Two women were arrested in a British Airport for attempting to smuggle a dead relative on the plane. The women wanted the relative to be buried in Ger-many rather than England. The women will serve six months in jail and will also pay a fine of $3,000.

1 8:00 p.m. - Prom

4 9:40 a.m. - Late start

1:15 p.m. - Senior graduation meeting

27

7 6:30 p.m. - Rock For Hope

9:40 a.m. - Late start

6 1:45 p.m. - NHS meeting

20

by scott holm

2 THE EPIC ISSUE 9

7:00 p.m. - “Just Another School Play”

COURTESY OF ALYSSA PARSONS

The dance team’s annual Spring Show was on Saturday, April 10. The show started at 7 p.m. with solo performances before the show satrting at 6:30 p.m. Both the varsity and junior varsity squads performed in the show, as well as dance team mem-bers’ dads in the Dad Dance, and groups of boys in both the Boy Dance and the Golden Boys. The show featured a variety of dances from the dance team as well as skits performed by the emcees in between dances

Wizard? Vampire? or Werewolf?

by terri harvey

seniorjane boyd

juniorausten book

sophomorereed norman

freshmanabby holliman

werewolf

werewolf

vampires

wizard

I don’t care

tommy

charmin

charmin

angelica

what’s an iPad? chuckie

charmin

high-tech, thin, stupid

unoriginal, iTouch-ish, expensive

chuckie

charmin

What are three words to describe the iPad?

Who is your favorite Rugrat? Angel Soft or Charmin?photos by jenna harwell

ISSUE 9 THE EPIC 3

{new

s} by andrew hoskins and mitch mansour

Class of 2008 West graduate Simone Lewis left high school bound for greatness. An honors student, accepted to Duke, loved by all her teachers and known for her good looks, she had a very bright future ahead of her.

Lewis was recently cut from America’s Next Top Model after battling her way through six episodes and landing a place in the top 10.

She had been interested in modeling since sixth grade, but it was not until the opportunity from the show that she began to make it her main priority. An agent in the Kansas City area that specializes in high fashion scouted Lewis. She spent last summer working with him and got a better feel for the industry.

“After I spent time working with him, I really got a taste of the modeling world and wanted more,” Lewis said.

Getting into America’s Next Top Model is a very arduous process. It starts with a casting session in a local city. After making it past that, contestants are sent to an-other week of casting in LA. Out of the 30 or so girls that make it to LA, 14 are sent

on to the house in New York, and the sea-son begins.

Preparing for such a high stakes com-petition requires a lot of work.

“I studied fashion like crazy,” Lewis said. “It really comes in handy to know your de-signers, photographers, models, magazines and the people and personalities behind it all.”

When Lewis was in high school, she was very active in extracurricular activities. She was a varsity track athlete, Student Council president her sophomore year, and was involved in Relay for Life. Radio & TV, however, was her favorite activity. She anchored on West Side Show for two years and made it to STN Nationals. After high school, she was accepted to Duke Uni-versity to pursue a major in International Comparative Studies.

While she was in high school, she was encouraged by many people to

get into model-i n g ,

including radio and TV teacher Kelly Gill. “Simone was an amazing student,” Gill

said. “She always did everything she was told and was extremely polite. She was truly a ‘top model’ of a student.”

Even with all the attention, Lewis was far from cocky. She always was known to be very polite and a friend to everyone. While on the show, she was known as being the most calm and un-dramatic contestant, and because of this she received less screen time that the rest.

Lewis may be off the show, but her modeling career is far from over.

“I plan to return to Kansas City with my agent all summer and see where it takes me.”

SIMONE LEWIS

a model student2008 graduate Simone Lewis was a featured contestant on America’s Next Top Model

faces in the hall

nOw:

THen:2008 graduate preparing for college

Former ANTM contestant and model

Epic Staffeditor-in-chiefalex burnettphoto editorsally carmichaeldesign editorstuti desaicopy editorjessie hardestybusiness managercameron volkerasst. business managernoah hadennews editorscott holmfeatures editorslana fanousmichael higginssports editorsdanny neelydan premopinion editordani la londea&e editorelizabeth stephan

staff writersalison baileschris brownbrayden clarktimothy dodderidgeterri harveyandrew hoskinswhitney knightlyalex leiningercourtney lichtenbergermitch mansourkatherine mcgowantaylor neffconnor oberkrommatt smith

photographersjenna harwellpreston felgatedavid howellraine mcguirecord powell

cartoonistearvin chinchilla

adviseramy morgan

The “Epic” is the newsmagazine of Shawnee

Mission West, 8800 W. 85th St., Overland Park,

KS 66212. It is produced by a staff of high

school journalists dedicated to the principles

of journalism: to present facts and occurrences

truthfully and without bias. Articles of opinion

or analysis are labeled and do not necessarily

reflect the views of the staff and/or the pub-

lication.In accordance with Kansas law, the “Epic” staff

is entitled to freedom of the press. Neither the

West administration nor the SMSD are responsi-

ble for any article, advertisement, photograph,,

illustration or opinion piece in the “Epic”.

The “Epic” encourages letters to the editor, but

they must be signed and submitted to room 11.

The “Epic” is published bimonthly. It is printed

by the SMSD and is distributed free of charge

to students. For advertising information call

(913) 993-7911.

An ominous event approaches. Every year it is anticipated. Some fear it and some see it as the path to glory. Age old tales have been passed through generations of this right of passage. It is a symbol of the ending of an era and the dawn of a new one. Gather your battle gear, and be wary, for the carnage is coming. Only the strong survive.

Nothing can stop this effort, not even the intrepid warriors who re-side in the office. It has the might of a thousand men and women who wield such arms as intellect, creativity, and sheer brawn.

Some attempts have shown the weakness of their instigators, while others have brought out the best in these crusaders. Yes, their names forever ring through these hallowed halls. They live on in infamy for their reigns of chaos and terror.

These are the heights the senior class of 2010 aspire to achieve.What is this blitzkreig, this apocolyptic vision of war?The Senior Prank.Now seriously, what does the senior prank mean to the staff and

underclassmen of this school?To some, it might stand for the immaturity of high school students,

to others it might stand for a last hurrah. We only plead that the se-nior class of 2010 be remembered for fun-loving and greatness, not the wounding of innocent freshmen. We would be fine with a little silliness and minor rule-breaking, but let’s keep it at that.

We want to be remembered as the leaders we are in this school, and not lose the reputation by showing disrespect to the teachers and friends we have called family for four long years. It’s been a long trek, let’s end it with some class.

So to those of you planning dangerous or damaging senior pranks to end out the year, remember that we all will be remembered for the ac-tions you take. Give us something great by which to be remembered.

No regrets.

En Garde

4 THE EPIC ISSUE 9

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the drawing board:earvin chinchilla

by

Anyone remember my column from a few weeks ago about not getting seniori-tis yet?

Well, if you don’t: good. And if you do, forget about it.

It’s April 16th and by now I am offi-cially in system shut down mode. Seniors are down to about 20 days of school and everyone else has about two weeks more than that (I would’ve figured out exactly how many, but that would contradict the point of this column).

But the real issue here is that this life-style choice is seen as a negative thing.

Sure I might not score as high on an insignificant test in stats, but is it re-ally worth the extra hours of studying and mental strain of paying attention in class when I would much rather just play Pokémon and train my Blastoise? Not really.

It’s just a much better choice to end the school year with out stress than to worry about the small things and let them get to you.

Yet many still see senioritis as a bad thing. I’ve heard negative things about senioritis from teachers, parents, and EVEN a senior, which in itself is treason-ous to speak of.

But I understand where these senior-

itis-haters are coming from.Senioritis isn’t for everyone. For ex-

ample, if you’re sitting with an 89.6% in Psychology and you have a huge test next week that will determine your grade for the semester and thus your GPA and class rank and ability to get into a good college, get a degree, land good job, and not have to live in the gutter under a cardboard box and eat rats cooked over a burning trash can under a bridge in the inner-city for the rest of our life — it MIGHT not be the best time to start slacking.

So senioritis may not be good in all cases, but for the less extremely-piv-otal classes, it is the way to go. After all, we’ve endured over 3.5, 7.5, 11.5,

or 15.5 quarters of high school, and we’ve earned a chance to relax.

And even for those that do contract a terminal case of the disease, it isn’t the end of the academic world.

We infected students are still fully able to complete assignments, write papers, take tests and do just about anything else that regular, non-disease-bearing students can accomplish. We just care less.

As a personal example, before fourth quarter, I would always finish up the Epic and my column well before deadline with no issues (no pun intended).

But now that the time of year has ar-rived where the weather is more impor-tant to me than homework assignments, we missed a deadline and I’m writing my column at 8:04 a.m. on the Wednesday morning of deadline. Whoops.

But the important thing here is that it still got done.

IMPORTANTTHINGSwithdani la londe

ISSUE 9 THE EPIC 7

{OPIN

ION

}

a third-degree

by alex burnett

burn

by dani la londe

ok...NOW!

To my loyal followers,I’m sorry to disappoint you but I will not be

ranting on prom like I know you’ve been wait-ing for. I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve achieved a Zen, the ridiculous societal ritual no longer annoys me.

I don’t care that people spend an extraor-dinary amount of money on dress/ tux, hair, nails, shoes, restaurant, just to got to a func-tion they wouldn’t normally go to if they hadn’t been asked (or in a sane state of mind.)

No. I am not writing this because I am lonely and didn’t get asked, it truly is because I don’t care how other people occupy their time. Why should I care what everyone else is doing when I have my own things to do? I bet deep down a lot of people don’t even want to go they just feel like they have to because that is part of the “high school experience.”

I have a problem with people like that, non-think-for-their-selfers as I like to identify them as. They are a danger to the school and humanity.

And YOU might be one of them.If you tell someone they have a cool shirt

and then go out and buy it, then you’re one of them. If you wear Uggs or drink super-sugary-can’t-even-taste-the-coffee Starbucks bever-ages on a regular basis, then you are one of them. If you only take the side of the major-ity whether right or wrong, then you’re one of them.

If any of these characteristics describes you: STOP READING NOW!

I don’t want some phony reading my col-umn. I want nonconformists and people that would NEVER fall to the Reds (a.k.a. com-mies.)

If this information is upsetting in anyway then you are one of the people that I told to stop reading.

Now, to touch base on what the proper conduct is for a nonconformist. DO NOT light anything on fire in rebellion to “the man.” However, you may highlight the pages of your retched “Nickel and Dimed” book green, just to set you apart.

All in all I hope that you have stored some of the great information I have just provided for you in your brain and will consider it the next time you think about doing what every-one else is.

Remember, what is best for the group isn’t always what is best for you.

i want YOU

{AD

S}

6 THE EPIC ISSUE 9

Letters to the Editors are ac-cepted and en-couraged. We will print any signed letter.

They may be ed-ited for length

and clarity.

ISSUE 9 THE EPIC 7

{featu

re}

every dog has its dayJunior James Jensen experiences the benefits of a seizure-alert dog

by alison bailes

Jensen gives Crackle a command. Crackle and Jensen have been together for about four weeks

In the United States, about one in every 150 people have experienced an unpro-voked seizure or been diagnosed with sei-zure disorder. James Jensen, junior, deals with his seizures with the help of Crackle, the seizure-alert dog Jensen received over spring break.

“Depending on what medication I’m on, I have between two to four seizures every month,” Jensen said. [With Crackle,] I don’t have to worry so much about having a sei-zure at my house or anywhere.”

Seizure-alert dogs detect oncoming sei-zures by picking up on behavioral changes in their masters. Warning the person enables them to take precautions, such as moving to a safe space, taking seizure-blocking medi-cation or seeking assistance.

“Dogs have a heightened sense of smell, so she can pick up a different scent before a seizure,” Jensen said.

Those afflicted with seizure disorder of-ten avoid many activities because they fear the embarrassment of having seizures in public or in places that could present dan-ger.

“Knowing that a seizure is about to happen gives James time to get some-where safe, where he can sit or lie down and try to relax,” Ann Duncan, Special Education chairperson and Jensen’s in-terpersonal skills teacher, said.

Crackle’s main job is to help Jensen

when the seizure hits.“[During a seizure] I can’t see anything,

and after I wake up I feel terrible. She tries to get me to wake up from a seizure and to snap me out of it before I start to feel pain and I’m out cold,” Jensen said.

Jensen has found that, since he’s had Crackle, his life has changed for the better.

“Before, I just had a normal, boring life. Nothing to do, no one to hang out with,” Jensen said. “She makes me feel better be-cause I’m able to play with someone.”

The dependency between Jensen and Crackle is mutual. Ensuring success of a sei-zure dog must include a lot of playtime and exercise to help keep the dog’s stress level down. Many trainers, like Megan Esherick, trainer for Canine Partners for Life, believe the most stressful event for a seizure dog is to be separated from their human compan-ion.

“The dog takes its job very seriously, and separation can cause the animal extreme anxiety,” Esherick has said.

“I hate to hear people trying to call her, trying to get her to come to them,” Jensen said. “The dogs are trained not to get dis-tracted by anything.”

With a dog by his side, Jensen’s school routine has changed.

“I usually leave class five to eight min-utes early- it’s a lot easier to get through the hallway without a whole crowd of people,” Jensen said. “And there are times when she needs to go out and teachers say I can take her.”

Along with the service pack Crackle wears while on duty, Jensen carries a li-cense to certify that the two can legally go anywhere together (they’ve even been to the movies together). With Crackle along-

side him, Jensen has be-come less apprenhen-

sive about his seizures and more confident in himself.

RAINE MCGUIRE

Les Miserables:This year’s musical didn’t disappoint in quality. With leads played by Eric Morris (Jean Valjean), and Kee-gan Rice (Javert), the play concluded to a standing ovation. “With such a challenging show as Les Miserables was, the actors just ex-celled,” Peri Montgomery, senior, said.

Radio and TV:After working tirelessly, the Radio and TV program traveled to Anaheim, Cali-fornia to compete in the annual Stu-dent Television Network Competition. Competing in categories such as mu-sic production, music videos and silent films, the Radio and TV program was very successful. Christian Leroy, senior, was awarded third place in the silent film competi-tion after submitting a one minute si-lent film starring Charlie Kelly, senior.“It was a lot of fun, and I recommend going,” Kelly said.

Dodgeball Tournament:The sophomore dodgeball team “Sofa King Dominate” defeated the tournament favorite senior team “The Yezzer Spuds.”“It was cool beating the senior team. The game dragged on a little bit more than I was hop-ing,” said Charlie King Hagen, sophomore. In front of a packed gym at an early morning pep assembly, Sofa King Dominate prevailed in a drawn out struggle for the title.

Debate:After finishing the season with a winning record, the debate team is satisfied with their performance this year. “My first year was a lot of fun, even though we didn’t get to do all that much,” Lauren Scanlan, sophomore and junior varsity de-bater, said, “I am excited for next year when I start to get to cut my own evidence.”During the state tournament, Scanlan, along with sophomore partner Spencer Jones made it to the 2nd day out of three, coming close to qualifying to nationals.

ROTC:ROTC had a successful year, almost making nationals for drill team. The team had one cadet win a medal for outstanding shooting for the rifle team. “It was disappointing not winning a trophy for nationals, but it was fun,” Cody Stultz, junior Battalion Commanding Officer, said.

by Chris Brown. Timothy Dodderidge and Elizabeth Stephan

Thank You, the Musical:Written entirely by seniors Keegan Rice and David Gomez, “Thank You” tells the story of the life of ordinary teens in a grocery store and how they face different situations that arise in their lives. Written as a musi-cal and a comedy, the two boys worked long and hard to make the show a raving success. They basically lived in Gomez’s basement for a week, and they wrote songs and came up with ideas for the play. “We were super happy with the final product,” Gomez said.The repertory class was used for the play, and Rice and Gomez took a big chance to perform the play.“It took a lot of bagel bites, Capri Suns and fish sticks,” Rice said.

Cross Country Goes to State:Cross Country finished their season long campaign with a strong performance at the state competition. The boys’ team finished in eighth place and the girls’ team captured third place. Freshman girl Alli Cash finished in second place while sopho-more Jonah Heng finished 18th.“It’s been a long time since cross country has been to state, and our team being so young, we should run well the next few years also,” Heng said.

THE ENDING OF AN ERAA quick look into some of the key events from the school year.

Anthony, played by senior Eric Morris, weeps after discovering all the barbecue potato chips have been crunched in the attepted destruction of the Super Duper Mart //sally carmichael

Senior Garrett McPherson (middle left), along with other cross country runners, condition for the 2009 sea-son, preparation which would eventually lead the boys to state //david howell

Enjolras, played by junior Chris-tian Owen, rallies his band of ABC Boys to fight for their country in the song “ABC Cafe” //jenna harwell

Onlookers watch as one of the final dodge-ball games of the tournament nears its end //david howell

Everyone has a story. This is the belief behind the series “300 words.” Each issue, a student is chosen at random and their story is told. In a short 300 words, the essence of a person is captured.300words.

by alex burnett

ISSUE 9 THE EPIC 9

MILES APARTImagine being isolated.

Separated from the people that love you most. Separated from the security of the familiar. Sepa-rated from home.

There are roughly 7700 miles: one ocean, two seas, and over ten countries between the state of Kansas and India, and every single one of them stand in between sophomore Neal Patel and his parents: Piyusa and Neema Patel.

Patel was born in the United States, but at the age of five he and his family moved to India.

Patel, who only spoke English, initially strug-gled adjusting to life in India. However, he eventu-ally became fully assimilated to Indian culture and became fluent in the language.

In May 2009, Patel came to the United States to live with his uncle, Pradeep Patel, and to go to American schools.

“My parents want me to go to school in the United States,” Patel said. “They think it will be better for college.”

Patel and his family decided that even though they believe that schools in India are generally bet-ter than those in the United States, colleges in the U.S. would present Patel with more opportunities to achieve his career goals.

Patel is determined to graduate from an Ameri-can university and pursue his passion in computer and software engineering.

Living so far away from loved ones can put a se-rious strain on anyone, but Patel has been able to manage by getting to see his parents every three to four months when they visit.

Though it has been less than a year since mov-ing back to the United States, Patel has readjusted to life in this country and has grown used to being so far apart from his parents.

Despite the thousands of miles in between Pa-tel and his parents, he has managed to adjust and overcome any possible feelings of isolation.

Sally carmIchaEl

ISSUE 9 THE EPIC 11

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Figure it outPlan an exciting future at JCCC!

Johnson County Community Collegewww.jccc.edu 913-469-3803Become a JCCC fan at facebook.com/jccc411

Music isn’t myonly passion.I have otherskills. I canfigure outhow mostanythingworks and fix it if it’s broken. Who needs me?

8

fast

Freshman track star has state in her sights

mascot madness vol. 2

by noah haden

If you remember last year, I changed the way we think of matchups in sports. Throw out the stats and records; these matchups are by the mascot. Los Angeles Lakers v. Cleveland Cavaliers

These two teams have been picked by many analysts to be meeting each other in the NBA Finals. However this isn’t between Kobe and LeBron, this is about a lake and a cavalier. The Lakers mascot goes back to the time when they were in Minnesota. Minnesota is known for its 10,000 lakes, definitely lives up to its name. The Cavaliers date back to King Charles I whose supporters were known as cavaliers, but I have a feeling in Cleveland’s case it’s just another name for knight. So 10,000 lakes vs. some knights, well unless these Cavaliers can find a way to drain all these lakes out, my pick is the Lakers because there really isn’t a way to defeat a lake.Washington Capitals v. San Jose Sharks

Both these teams are the top teams go-ing into the NHL Playoffs, so if they meet in Stanley Cup they will be matching up an ea-gle vs. a shark. Just to let you know the Capi-tals mascot is an eagle becase how would you get a capital to fight. This is hard matchup for both mascots, but epic at the same time. An eagle fighting a shark, well one is a flying animal and one a swimming fish. However, the eagle would have to go in for the attack eventually, and I just can’t see a shark losing because in the long run a shark would just eat up the eagle.Kansas City Royals v. Detroit Tigers

Another great matchup as we put up the local Royals versus our division rivals: the Ti-gers. The Royals mascot is the ever-famous Slugger the lion. This will be a war between some mighty cats. I can imagine it now: a lion going up against a tiger, clawing and biting un-

til one is finally defeated. According to research online, a tiger is known to be more muscular and a better fighter, but lions are courageous and the kings of the jungle. So in probably one of the closest matchups of all I’m giving it to the lion because it is the hometown team.

I hope you enjoyed these matchups because in the world of sports sometimes it’s all about luck, and for all you non-sports fans reading this,

you can just pick a team to win based on it’s mas-cot. For sports fans this is a fun way to pick a team

to win if it’s an even matchup. So go out there and think of your own matchups you’d like to see because eventually we all need to just get real.

by brayden clark

ISSUE 9 THE EPIC 13

{SPORTS}

Coming into the cross-country season, she wanted to work hard in practice, and to try and to keep up with the upperclass-men. Allison Cash did more than just keep up, she was able to win regionals and place third at state as a freshman. She’s not done yet either, already this spring she has had a few successful track meets.

“Last fall she came in fairly inexperi-enced, not really sure what she would be able to accomplish,” Jeff Onnen, coach said. “But with every race she kept on get-ting stronger and stronger, and by the end of the year she was a top runner for us and in the state.”

Her coach credits her success to a com-bination of attributes.

“She is a very intuitive runner, as a coach we try to teach our runners how to pace themselves throughout the race, but she naturally knows how to do that,” On-nen said.

After the cross-country season, Allison planned on playing soccer in the spring, but her decision was swayed.

“Coach Onnen was able to convince me to run track instead of playing soccer,” Cash said.

Onnen convinced her to run track by relating his own experience from his high school career.

“I was a soccer player and everybody told me I should run track run track,” On-nen said. “I told her I regretted not run-ning and also what she would be able to accomplish if she ran track.”

Cash runs the 800 and mile events in track, and has the chance to be the best in the state in both events and her 4X8 relay team could set a school record this year.

“Every race I try to get a new personal record, my 800 record is 2.24 minutes and my mile record is 5.31 minutes. My favor-ite between the two is the 800 because it gets over faster,” Cash said.

One of Cash’s best traits as a runner is

her commitment and work ethic in and out of season..

“In January and February, Monday through Friday, she was putting in miles to get ready to compete in the upcoming track season,” Onnen said.

Onnen’s most memorable experience as Cash’s coach took place at the regional cross- country meet.

“Last fall at the regional race to qual-ify was one of her best races,” Onnen said. “She ran so smart, at the two mile point she started to pass people. When there was a half of mile left she started to pull away. She ended up winning the race, and she ran the race tactically per-fect.”

Cash’s presence on the track team has made the team better.

“She has definately created good competition within the team, making the other girls work hard to stay with her.,” Onnen said.

PRESTON FELGATE

don’thadenbe

start

Alli Cash, freshman, has seen a successful begining to her running career in hich school.

PRESTON FELGATE

14 THE EPIC ISSUE 9

{spo

rts} driven to success

The boys golf team looks to fight through struggles and lower scoresby alex leininger

The Boys golf team is looking for a success-ful season. This year, letter winner Sean Walsh returns to the boy’s golf team as the leader, and will look to mentor the younger golfers.

Walsh, a senior, has already signed to play golf at Baker University in college. Following Walsh this year is a series of other talented golfers, including Travis Thomsen, Alex Beem-er and Tyler Henley, who will also make major contributions to the team. For the 2010 sea-son, head coach Tim Bishop emphasizes on in-dividual instead of team competition.

“I think golf is an individual sport that in-cludes a team, but it’s you against the course out there, so you’re really competing against yourself,” Bishop said. Some new golfers at tryouts looked to be promising for the future,

but the team is focused on the current year. Also, even with as many golfers as there were at tryouts, Bishop still thinks it may be tough to compete with some of the other teams in the league.

“Often some athletes need to shoot at par or maybe even better to win,” Bishop said. Although it may be difficult to win, all of the golfers are intent on having fun. There will be six golfers on the varsity level and around 11 golfers in total. Scott Dory will coach the new golfers on the junior varsity team. Most of the tournaments will be in April this year, with the regional competition in May.

Overall, the boys golf team looks to have as much success as possible while still focus-ing on the main goal of having fun.

Jed BairPaula BairNick Adams

favorite movie

main weakness

favorite sport

role model

clothing style

favorite vacation

total

desert/candy

basketball

bull durham

my father

casual

grand canyon

anything with spongebob

basketball

easily sunburned scalp

“It isn’t me?”

casual

grand canyon

bull durham

college basketball

donuts

san antonio

casual

“I should know this, but I don’t.”

for love or the game?Traditionally we test student couples and teammates in each edition of for love or the game, but in this issue we wanted to see if the camaraderie of the science department could overcome the bonds of matrimony...not so much.

by dan prem and michael higgins

Assistant Tennis Coach

Looks like you need to spend some quality time with Bair in the teachers’ lounge, Adams.

Wife Tennis Coach

Sean Walsh, senior, brings a great deal of experience to the team, as he is planning to attend Baker University next year to further his game.

CORD POWELL

ISSUE 9 THE EPIC 15

{A&

E}

doubletake

doubletake

fearless

spring- xivi matos, sophomore

scott dieboldwoods teacher

mr.cleanfictional character

phones in class- brandon carroll, junior

ipad - amrit bains, junior

not matching clothes- latyce taylor, sophomore

high pants- jade bogart, sopohomore

overalls- brett sterbach, freshman

Swift gives the crowd their money’s worth performing her “Fearless” 2009-2010 tour by courtney lichtenberger

Taylor Swift performed her “Fearless” tour Friday April 2 at the Sprint Center to a sold out crowd.

Considering the tickets were sold out five minutes after they went on sale, the crowd was packed with die-hard fans. The swarm of fans ranged mainly from young to teenage girls and some parents. There were also teenage boys wearing shirts with say-ings like “I won’t cause you teardrops on your guitar” or “I won’t be another picture to burn” and on the back “Kanye Patrol.”

Gloriana, a country group popular for their song “Wild At Heart,” opened the show. Fol-lowing Gloriana was Kel-lie Pickler performing her recently popular country songs like “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You” and “Red High Heels”. These opening bands entertained the anx-ious crowd before Swift took the stage.

Swift came out in a band uniform open-ing with “You Belong With Me.” Cheerlead-ers came out on stage, dancing as Swift got her band uniform ripped off to reveal her sparkly dress, transforming from a band geek to a superstar.

During backstage changes, the crowd’s attention was directed towards humorous video clips of “identity theft” where Swift uses real life names such as “Drew” or “Tim McGraw.” After one backstage change, Swift

appeared in an isle in the crowd singing “Hey Stephen.” As she was walking to her platform in the middle of the arena, she was swarmed by her fans and hugged them and gave the

bracelets on her arm to them. Swift informed the crowd

during her most personal and sensitive song, “Fifteen,” that her friend Abigail, to whom she refers in the song, was sitting in the front row. Swift and her dancers came out with Renaissance style dresses and props during “Love Story.”

She rocked the stage with her songs like “Picture To Burn,” reminding the crowd about boys who cheat and treat you disrespectfully from

personal experience. Her obsession with relationships is a little immature at times, but it seems that is what

gains her popularity and sells.If you had attended the Keith Urban con-

cert in August when Swift opened, you would have experienced a lot of the same things. She used the same sayings introducing her next song and the same video clips.

Swift dramatically ends the show sing-ing, “Should’ve Said No” with rain pouring down onto her and putting her hands up to the crowd in the shape of a heart.

The show lasted about 3 hours, 2 of them full of Swift dancing around stage and swing-ing her hair around. Although her vocals may not be the strongest, it is her performance and heart touching songs that make her one of the most popular female artitsts.

A&E IN KCthe best of local arts and entertainment

in the kansas city metro area

by sally carmichael

Ani DiFranco – 4/16 @ 7pmBeaumont Club in KCMO, $25

Angels and Airwaves, Say Anything– 4/16 @ 8pm

Uptown Theatre in KCMO, $28

Citizen Cope – 4/17 @ 8pmThe Midland in KCMO, $20

Lupe Fiasco – 4/18 @ 8pmThe Midland in KCMO, $30

Phoenix – 4/21 @ 8pmUptown Theatre in KCMO, $27

Jónsi (from Sigur Ros) – 4/22 @ 7pmLiberty Hall in Lawrence, $28

The Flaming Lips, the Dead Weather, Minus the Bear – 4/23 @ 5pm

Sandstone in Bonner Springs, $30

Lt. Dan Band – 4/25 @ 6pmGranada in Lawrence, $30

Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin– 4/26 @ 6pm

Sprint Center in KCMO, $40

Cannibal Corpse – 5/2 @ 7pmGranada in Lawrence, $18

NOFX, Teenage Bottlerocket – 5/2 @ 8pmBeaumont Club in KCMO, $20

Pearl Jam, Band of Horses – 5/3 @ 7pmSprint Center in KCMO, $49

The Shawnee Mission East Five Min-ute Film Festival is an annual con-

test for high school filmmakers that are students in the Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley School Districts. This

year’s festival will take place at the AMC Ward Parkway movie theaters

where films will be showcased on the big screen.

AMC Ward Parkway Theater, $5

5 Minute Film Festival | April 22

ARTS & THEATRE

CONCERT WATCH

(clockwise from top left) Jordan Gleason, senior, works to complete an entertainment center he is currently building. Gleason is heavily in-volved in woods classes and has taken them since his sophomore year. Matt Kostroske, senior, uses a power sander to smooth the surface of one of the shelves for his entertainment center. Austen Woods and Bren-dan Flaherty, sophomores, use a drill to work on a drawer for a book-case. The woods room is home to many tools used to build projects .

woodworking wondersEveryone knows the wood room is loud, however, the shop also serves as one of the most productive rooms in the school. Woods classes offer students hands-on op-portunities to hone their wood-working skills. Students in the beginning classes learn the basics of wood-processing, while students in the advanced classes are able to construct more elaborate projects. As students continue to get involved in the wood shop, the opportunity to design their own projects increases. Jordan Glea-son (below) and Matt Kostroske (right) are two seniors who have been involved in wood shop classes throughout high school, and create their own original designs.