Rim Rock Gets Rocked by OCXC… Again

Lady Indians tear it up at the 3A State Cross Country meet

Article by Jake Butterfield

The last two weekends of their season, the Osage City cross country teams participated in their most competitive meets of the year.  First, they attended the regional meet in Burlington at John Redmond Reservoir.  Both the boys and girls ran well at regionals.  Despite giving it their all, the boys team placed fifth and failed to qualify for the state meet.  However, the entire Lady Indian team qualified for the third time in the last four years.

On Friday, October 31, hundreds of high school athletes and their families and friends gathered at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas for the class 3A, 5A, and 6A State Cross Country meets. The Lady Indian runners were honored to be part of such an important meet. When asked about the privilege to run at state, senior Maren Peterson answered, “The girls and I were honored and blessed to run at state and I’m so proud of us for making it as a team!”

The team consisted of a variety of different runners.  The Lady Indians were led by seniors and four-time state qualifiers Aundrea Koger and Sarah Peterson.  They were joined by senior Maren Peterson, along with first-year runners senior Tori Tomlinson, junior Lexi Allen, freshman Jessica Davis, and freshman Faith Long.   These runners were going up against some of the toughest competition they could face.  “State is the most nerve-racking meet of the season, but that I am able to run with such good athletes is really an honor,” Peterson commented about the state meet.   The Indians were one of twelve fortunate teams to be a part of the 3A State Cross Country meet.   First-year cross country coach James Bellinger noted, “There were fifty-two other teams in the state that would have loved to be exactly where we were at the end of the season.”

The Lady Indian runners ran respectively well at Rim Rock despite facing bone-chilling cold winds.  Koger finished sixth, trailed by Sarah Peterson, who finished thirty-eighth, and Davis, who finished eighty-fifth.  Maren Peterson and Tomlinson finished ninety-first and ninety-second respectively.  The remainder of the Lady Indian cross country team was brought in by Long and Allen.  Despite finishing twelfth, Sarah Peterson still believes they were the best team at the meet.  “We all supported one another.  Not one of us ran for ourselves, we all ran for each other.  We may not have been the best team there, but we were the closest team, which in my mind makes us the best!”       

The Crowd Optimizers

Success at camp helps the OCHS Dance Squad pump up the crowd

Article by Sarah Thompson

The OCHS dance team has always been an upbeat group of girls who keep spirits high with each one of their performances. The girls enthusiastically continue to create fun and buoyant dances. Their song choices keep the crowd on its feet, singing and dancing along with anything from hip hop tunes to 80’s rock music.

The Lady Indian dancers don’t naturally know these uplifting dances. They work hard to perfect their performances. At the National Dance Association (NDA) Camp in Eudora, they have the opportunity to learn from professionals, who teach them how to perfect their dances and make them more entertaining. When asked how they did at camp this summer, freshman Georgia Hutton simply responded, “The best out of everyone.”

Many of the Lady Indians received awards. Seniors Paige Pearson and Tori Tomlinson were All-American award winners. Senior Carissa Johnson earned the title of Hip Hop Top Gun for the second year in a row. Freshman Jordan Hon won the Turns Division, and Hutton took first in Jumps & Leaps. The OCHS dance squad’s technique was also rewarded, with junior Cassidy Robinett, Hon, and sophomore Baeh Gill each earning titles in this division.

All of their success at camp has carried over into the OCHS dance team’s regular season. Coach and new sponsor, Kylie Baxter, thinks that her dancers have had a good year so far. “The girls get along well, and the senior girls are stepping up to choreograph and be leaders.” When she was asked how she predicted the year will progress, she said they’ll continue to crowd please and their season will go well.

Hutton agreed with Baxter’s thoughts about the year.  “The year will continue to go well, with new and exciting experiences,” Hutton explained. She also stated that their season has been fun.

As they have for years, this team of enthusiastic Lady Indian dancers will continue to pump up the fans and get them on their feet to cheer on the team, giving them the support they need to win.

Driving Towards Success

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.