At the State tournament Hays High only had three wrestlers win their first match of the day while four didn’t win at all.

The three wrestlers to win in the first round were junior Casey Sedbrook, junior Korey Pfannenstiel, and junior Dylon Braun.

The four wrestlers that didn’t qualify were senior Cope Wickham, freshman Leroy Franco, junior Aaron Simon, and freshman Kyler Meyers. All of the wrestlers that were left were put into the consolation bracket for the matches on Saturday.

Sedbrook was the lone medalist for the Indians placing fifth overall.

They lost to Great Bend for the second time in a row this season at McPherson in the sub-state title game 44-42.

Throughout the game the Indians only had the lead once and that was at 2-0 in the first quarter.

In the final two minutes of the game Hays High was down 39-33 but rallied back to narrow Great Bends lead to one at 43-42. Hays High missed two opportunities in the final minute to send the game into overtime, but didn’t capitalize on them.

Senior Dexter Pfeifer led the team in points with 18 and was the only Indian to reach double figures for the game.

Academic Advice

“The best piece of advice that I can give is first and foremost don’t be afraid to ask questions especially if it challenges conventional wisdom.” – Zach Butte

“Take the initiative to build rapport with professors–seek out their expertise. Unlike high school where most instructors concern themselves with connecting to students, professors most likely will not take a personal interest in you. There will not be phone calls/e-mails to parents and counselors when you bomb a test or fail to turn an assignment in. You will have to advocate for your own education, and a good way to do this is to let professors know who you are.” – Diane Mason

“Be early for all appointments.” – Jerett Pfannenstiel

“Never miss class and don’t be afraid to ask questions.” – Mona Chapman

“Enjoy the experience but stay focused on your ending goal of obtaining your degree.” – Jerold Harris

“Put yourself on a study schedule, such as:
Monday – Thursday…study in the evenings (about 3-5 hours)
Friday – relax with friends
Saturday – study in the morning and/or afternoon, relax with friends in the evening
Sunday – enjoy the day, study in the evening, and don’t skip classes. Make sure you have befriended someone so that when you are ill, you have a source for notes.” – Kathy Wagoner

“Approach the required general education classes with delight, not dread; you never know what you might learn.” – Cheryl Shepherd-Adams

“Enjoy college life, but make classes (your education) your top priority.” – Jill Blurton

“When planning your class schedule, make sure you know the locations of all the buildings that you travel from and to when they are back-to-back classes. With only ten minutes in between, you want to make sure you arrive to class on time. Some professors lock the doors and will not allow in students who are tardy.” – Kathy Wagoner

“Become an expert at time management and do not procrastinate. College deadlines will sneak up on you in a hurry.” – Jerold Harris

“Stay focused on “the prize” but enjoy being in college. So many students (as was I) are so anxious to get out of school and are so worried about the financial aspect of paying for college that they don’t take the time to find the college that fits them, foster relationships, take classes for fun, enjoy college.” – Elise Peterson

“Never stop learning. Always challenge yourself to learn something new every day.” – Zach Butte

Social Advice

“Learn to make your own decisions – meaning…have a good idea of what is important to you and stick to those ideals because you will meet many kids who came from totally different backgrounds from you and you need to know what you believe. If you are not sure then you will end up following someone else’s ideas.” – Corina Beam

“Study first, socialize second.” – Jerett Pfannenstiel

“Stay true to your values.” – Cheryl Shepherd-Adams

“Remain devoted to your ideals.” – Ron Leikam

“Do not move in with nor choose to live with a friend. In my college experiences, friendships were negatively impacted when the person also became a roommate.” –Diane Mason

“I know it is probably very cheesy of me saying this but the inspirational saying by Mark Twain of ‘Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth’ is something everybody should live by.” – Zach Butte

“Budget your money – you might think you have enough – but it is so easy to spend like your friends are spending – and like you are used to spending at home. You don’t want to run out of money and have to eat Ramen noodles for the last six weeks of the semester. Calling your parents for more money might work, but it won’t do a lot for showing your independence.” – Corina Beam

“Take care of your health as you enjoy life.” – Cheryl Shepherd-Adams

“Don’t let the freedom of being away from Mom and Dad make you forget your morals and values. Regret is a tough thing to live with.” – Jill Blurton

“It is inappropriate to blame your future on your past.” – Ron Leikam

Hertel served as an honorary player and source of inspiration for the girls’ basketball team last season. To honor Ana’s memory, the basketball team invited people to bring new stuffed animals to the basketball game against Dodge City on Feb. 23 to be donated to Ana’s Gift. Ana’s parents were introduced and honored at the game.

Ana’s Gift is a stuffed animal drive that Ana and her parents, Stan and Lori Hertel, began to provide first responders and the Hays Medical Center for children they serve.

“The reason why we started this was because community members have been so helpful and it’s our way of giving back,” Lori Hertel said. “We didn’t realize how big of a difference it was going to make. I think Ana would be so happy and excited to see this.”

The highest grade level that is allowed to perform is freshmen. There are 12 freshmen students who will participate in the vocal part of the festival.

“I think that it’s wonderful to have such great representation from our freshmen class,” vocal teacher Elise Peterson said.

Fifth grade is the beginning level to be allowed to enter the music festival.

“This festival is a great opportunity for students,” orchestra teacher Joan Crull said. “Many of them are performing solos for the first time in their lives.”

Students will participate in music solos and ensembles throughout the day in front of judges. They will each receive a rating after they perform.

“I’d say it’s the one of the highlights of the Middle School music department as well as an activity for which Hays has become famous,” Felten band director Michele Filbert said.

My “Stang” and I, we’ve been through a lot together-dirt roads, parallel parking, and even driving over large curbs in the parking lot at Vernie’s- but never before have I been more terrified for my car’s safety than in the student parking lot.

First off, my car has no airbags. Therefore, I am not allowed to wreck. If I do wreck, I will not be given a new car. This is a rule made clear by my parents. I plan to abide by it. However, the HHS parking lot threatens my promise to abide by the rule.

The speed limit signs say 10 mph, but it’s well known that no one follows this rule. Some bigger vehicles may be able to tackle the ancient and lumpy speed bumps at a higher speed, but my car screams in protest when I have to jump it over a bump and into a pothole.

So, I’m sorry if my car sits lower to the ground and I can’t pretend I’m a Jeep mudding through the rainforest, but I’m going to have to slow it down a bit. After I slow down comes the famous pass of the vehicle behind me in a wide arc. Then, right as I’m turning and using the designated parking lot alleyways, the car comes weaving between already parked cars to cut me off and slide gently into the parking spot I was aiming for.

The next thing the driver does is glare and flip me off because it was apparently my fault that the front end of my short car almost grazed their oversized tire. There is a thing called parking lot etiquette, people.

Although the parking lot is terrifying 99.9 percent of the year, it’s just reached 100 percent terrifying with the arrival of… the potholes. There I am, minding my own business and scoping out a parking spot when out of nowhere an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hits my car. When I look back I can see that I drove through a pothole that could fit Texas in it. My poor car seems grateful to be put into park those mornings.

I guess what I’m saying is that our parking lot needs some attention. Hopefully, when the weather warms my wish will be granted. No more will the potholes, large cracks, and uneven speed bumps plague the lot. My car won’t jumble across the way and practically fall into the parking stall.

The only problem with this is a newly paved parking lot is sure to create an even higher chance of speeding. So maybe that’s the answer. Does our administration actually believe that the awful condition the parking lot is in will keep minor wrecks from happening?

In the end, I’m not really sure what would be better, just getting the lot fixed up or simply applying some common driving courtesy. All I’m worried about is keeping myself, and my car, safe from harm.