What was your favorite part of homecoming?
Freshman Cora Heisler- “The rap because we get to see people make a fool of themselves.”
Sophomore Courtney Cushing- “My favorite part was Friday in general. The cookout was good, the food was yummy, and the parade was fun.”
Junior Ryan Haskins- “Beating Chase County by a lot.”
Senior Manuel Friedlein- “I liked everything because it was new for me.”
The OCHS Volleyball Team is working together to improve
Article by Aundrea Koger
When you ask most athletic teams what their goals are for a season, they will often list things such as going to their state competition, winning their league championship, or maybe even winning state. But on the 2014 OCHS volleyball team they shoot for improving all the little things first. Now, they do have those larger goals in mind, but they’re working on going back to the basics in order to be the best.
With first-year head coach, Mrs. Amie Lohmeyer, stepping up from being the head junior high coach last year, the Lady Indian volleyball players are going back to the basics on more than just fundamentals this season, as they adjust to the change in coaching. But they are determined to come back stronger because of this.
“It’s different. There is a lot of adjusting to do,” said senior and varsity setter, Samantha Smith. However, she also noted that they are hoping to win the league tournament, so even with a change in coaching, their goals are not set any lower. In fact, the OCHS volleyball team has even begun to achieve some of their goals already. One of the team’s main goals was to play well as a unit, work together, and communicate, and they’ve done exactly that.
“We’ve started to flow better as a team,” noted freshman Whitney Carnell. Lohmeyer agrees also, saying, “I’ve loved seeing them start to ‘gel’ and come together.” And on top of that improvement, the Lady Indians also went from having one of the worst serve-receive scores in the league last season, to one of the best this year. Coach Lohmeyer also noted that the team’s blocking and passing has improved significantly since the start of the year
It’s improvements on the little details like this that will help the team achieve its larger goals at the end of the season. And the OCHS volleyball team is working hard on bettering those small details. In fact, they have a poster up in the gym that list statistical goals, such as having a 2.0 passing average, or a 92% serving rate. However, these goals would not be attainable without one vital aspect of the team.
Every team must have a leader in order to do well, and the OCHS volleyball team is fortunate enough to have not just one, but many. The senior players especially have taken on the role of leading the team and keeping the atmosphere upbeat. “They really take charge and pump up the team,” noted Smith. The upperclassmen have really set the tone for the whole team, and been positive role models. In fact, Carnell commented that at first she was intimidated by the upperclassmen, but now she says that she gets along with them very well.
Great cooperation between both younger and older players, as well as focusing on the smaller aspects of the game, will definitely help the Lady Indians achieve their goals this season. And the positive attitude amongst the players will make this year not only successful, but also enjoyable, for the Lady Indians. Coach Lohmeyer couldn’t be happier with how hard her team is working, saying, “They come to practice to work and get better every day, and that makes me proud as a coach.”
The OCHS football team kicks off the season with a new motto and renewed vigor
Article by Hannah Mondragon
Despite some new challenges this season, the OCHS football boys are “holding the rope.” With an unusually small team of 29 players, fewer than in previous years, they gathered the strength to pummel the Herington Railers, 30-7, September 12 and wallop Chase County, 30-8, at homecoming Friday, September 19.
When asked about the Herington game and the progression of the season so far, freshman Peyton Pearson commented, “I think that we’re pretty good as a team. We battled through our first loss but we came back through against Herington.” And Pearson feels that their improvement is due in part to “holding the rope.”
“Hold the rope” is the OCHS football team’s motto this season. It means that team members must hold up fellow players when struggles arise and find the courage to pick each other up and protect one another. Pearson commented that, “Holding the rope is how we hold each other up.” The OCHS football team is determined to put this motto into action by working together and staying positive. When junior Peter Whitlock was asked about how team members will use this motto to help them achieve their goals, he commented that, “We have to always ‘hold the rope.’” Whitlock feels that in doing such, the team can win a league championship.
With its new motto, and a positive attitude about the season despite having fewer players than in past years, the football team is hoping to achieve great things. As long as the Indians “hold the rope,” they are sure to do well this fall.
The OCHS Cross Country Team Works Hard While Having Fun
Article by Sarah Thompson
The OCHS Cross Country team has high hopes for its speedy dash through the fall season. But the runners better hope they have the stamina to keep up with first-year head coach Mr. James Bellinger, who has taken on the task at hand with great zeal.
When asked how he feels about his new position after being the assistant coach last year, Bellinger stated that, “There’s a little more responsibility and work involved, and I have to be more prepared.” This new-found responsibility also includes bettering every one of his athletes. “My end goal for them is that they each improve individually. For the team, I hope we make it to state,” noted Bellinger. And this goal of reaching the state cross country meet at the end of October seems to be common amongst the runners on the team as well.
Many people might expect underclassmen runners to not have incredibly ambitious goals because they are still adjusting to the highly competitive world of athletics in high school, but freshman Brayton Stromgren has set his goals high and hopes to make it to state, as have many other runners on the team. And the OCHS cross country team is working hard in order to achieve that goal. Cross country isn’t all serious for the Indians though. Jokingly, Stromgren said that his favorite part about running cross country was crossing the finish line before fellow OCHS runner, freshman Dalton Zeismer. And on Friday’s, after racing the day before, the team will often play volleyball or dodgeball for fun before going on a short jog.
Coach Bellinger and his athletes have high hopes for this season, and are working hard to achieve their goals, but they also try to concentrate on making this cross country season fun and enjoyable. This method seems to be working well for them, with Bellinger saying, “It’s going great so far. The kids are progressing really well.”
The Lady Indian golf team is looking forward to another successful season
Article by Jake Butterfield
Totaling in at a staggering five girls, the Lady Indian golf team has high expectations for this fall. Lead by junior co-captains Kailyn Robert and Courtney Cooley, as well as first-year coach Mrs. Luanne Jacobs, the Lady Indians will be driving their way towards another fun-filled season.
When asked about the benefits of having a small team, Robert spoke of the extra one-on-one time each golfer receives from Mrs. Jacobs. “With only five of us it allows her to spend more time fine-tuning each of our swings individually. And who wouldn’t want to spend more time with Coach Luanne?” Robert added.
The team’s small numbers also allow for a more tight-knit team. Co-captain Courtney Cooley enjoys the small team because it gives them the opportunity to get to know each other better. “Plus we can all fit in one van!” Cooley boasts. Courtney returns as the lone state qualifier on the team, but she expects that a few of her teammates will join her at state this year.
Coach Jacobs also expects some success among her lady golfers. She hopes to see several of her varsity girls medaling at a few meets this year, but overall, all she expects is improvement. Despite being a first-year coach, Mrs. Jacobs is not new to the sport of golf. She has spent the last 15 summers golfing every day. Coach Jacobs also noted that she worked especially hard this last summer by doing some research. “I watched tons of golf videos and even attended a few golf classes to gain some extra knowledge to help teach my players,” commented Mrs. Jacobs. “It even helped out my swing and my scores started dropping too!” With these new found techniques, the lady golfers should be well prepared for their next tournament.
The Lady Indians will be hosting the Osage City High School Invitational at 3 pm this Thursday, September 18th at the Osage City Municipal Golf Course. The team would love to hear the rumble of their peers’ golf claps so they encourage everyone to come down and see them in action.
Why OCHS is unbearably cold, and what’s being done to fix it
On any given day, students will often be seen walking into Osage City High School wearing sweaters, jackets, and long pants, and perhaps even carrying blankets. This seems to be a strange sight considering that its only early September. Fall has yet to arrive, and temperatures still remain pretty consistently above 80 degrees. But within the walls of OCHS, it’s an entirely different situation.
Students and teachers dress in layer upon layer in their vain attempts to resist the cold temperatures in OCHS. And despite endless complaints about how absurdly cold the building is, there is no improvement in the temperature. The air conditioning continues to run constantly, regardless of how much staff members tinker with their thermostats. Now, this is not a new problem. Even last year the school was an unpleasant temperature, but this year the extremity of it has increased tenfold. However, don’t be alarmed because the predicament is due to be corrected soon. In fact, the reason why it is so much colder this year is because it is in the process of being fixed.
“A computer runs our (heating and cooling) system, for energy reasons,” noted Mr. Tony Heward, the high school principal. This means it is set to turn off or on at certain times in order to save money for the district. However, the software program that OCHS was using became outdated last year. This summer, they began work on updating it. Unfortunately though, the district discovered that in order to operate the new system, they would have to replace the current wiring because it was not compatible with the updated program. Everything was supposed to be up to date and ready to go by the time school started, but the company who was going to be replacing the wiring and checking the software did not come until later than expected. They are still in the process of finishing the task, so the new software isn’t actually up and running yet. In fact, there is nothing controlling the high school thermostat right now. Because of that, the air conditioning only has the option of being completely off, or on full blast, which leads to yet another problem; expense. “I’m sure its costing us more than if the thermostats were working, but we couldn’t have school without A/C,” expressed Heward when asked about the matter.
So at first, having the cooling system at full capacity may sound awfully expensive and unnecessary, but with outside temperatures still in the 80s and 90s, it’s the best option available until the new software system is functioning. Sadly, that means that students and staff will have to suffer in the bitter cold for a few more weeks, but soon OCHS will be back to a more pleasant temperature.
1. The highlight of your week is going insect collecting with Mrs. Jacobs.
2. You ride your horse to Sonic.
3. You have your prom in the gym.
4. The cross country team has just as many members as the football and volleyball teams.
The PowWow of Osage City High School 