ROAD TO STATE With the postseason reaching its peak the pressure becomes high as practices become more focused. Wrestlers are preparing for regionals on Feb. 14 for girls and Feb. 21 for boys with hopes of advancing to state. State will take place Feb. 27-28. “We are trying to stay as consistent as possible and making the most out of every practice,” sophomore Olive Jones said. Now with every match inching closer to that goal, Head Coach Chad Parks emphasize the importance of staying mentally focused and confident before taking on the mat.
From Graduate to Principal A former graduate of Shawnee Heights has been named Principal next year
On Jan. 21 USD 450 School Board approved promoting Associate Principal Sherri Monhollon to become the next head principal at the high school. The hire came after current Head Principal Ed West decided to retire after 10 years of service in the district. Monhollon is very excited about the opportunity, but also nervous. “We have some challenges that we’re going to have to face. I want to do right by the community. I want to do right by our students and I also want to do right by our teachers. We have a great team and a lot of cool people around us so I’m super excited,” Monhollon said. Monhollon first applied for the head principal position after talking with the people closest to her. “When Mr. West decided that he was going to retire, he talked to me a little bit about it. I had to go home and talk to my family to make sure that I had the energy to really put into the next 5-10 years,” Monhollon said. “However long I have left in my teaching career, but I just wanted to make sure I had the energy to do the job justice. So, I went home and talked to my family. They were like ‘go for it’, Monhollon said. “I talked to Ms. Banzauf and Mr. Steele and some of the admin team and asked, ‘Do you think this is a good fit?’ And they encouraged me as well. So I made the decision that I just put my name in,” she said. When Monhollon first graduated from Shawnee Heights, she didn’t expect to eventually become the principal of the very school she graduated from. “I thought maybe I might come back
and teach and coach here, getting the principal’s job wasn’t something that I really thought I would be doing. I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to be a coach,” Monhollon said. Monhollon first started her USD 450 career in 2006 as a seventh grade science teacher which is where the thought of being a principal first came to the forefront. “Mr Hallisey was our principal and he would say, ‘You’re doing some really cool things in your classroom. Can you share that with other teachers?’ And so then I started sharing that with other teachers,” Monhollon said. “He had me do some presentations for the whole entire staff like professional development. And I realised I kind of like teaching teachers like teaching students. Mr. Hallisey said ‘I think you ought to go a different route. I think you should maybe try to be an administrator.’ And I was not really sure about that, because in my mind I thought the higher up I go the less I’ll get to work with students and that hasn’t necessarily been true.” Her hard work was recognized so much that the High School Principal was starting to notice and wanted her to join the adminstration team at the high school. “Mr. Beam at the time was the high school principal and as I was doing some of my admin work. I had to go to the high school and go through a practice interview. I was going through the interview with Mr. Beam and he actually offered me the job as an assistant principal here,” Monhollon
said. Monhollon reflected on the teachers that inspired her. “I think the very first teacher that impacted me was a lady named Scottie Deaver. She was my first-grade teacher,” Monhollon said. “Back then, the big excitement was learning to read. You thought you were such big stuff that you could read a whole entire book. But I remember that’s kind of my first memory of, oh my gosh, I want to be a teacher like Mrs. Deaver. The connection with Mrs. Deaver is that our Mrs. Deaver does the Scholars Bowl which was her mother-in-law. It’s just kind of a little bit of a connection there. That would have been my very first teacher that had a little bit of inspiration. I had a sixth-grade teacher at Tecumseh South that I dearly loved and really wanted to go back and student teach for him, but he wasn’t in the district anymore when I got to that point. My coach Mark Henry was actually a counselor here and a longtime coach and he was a big influence. Carrie Copper way back in the day. I’m a Title Nine baby, so we didn’t have anything girls’ sports-wise. We didn’t have anything really, but intramurals at the elementary school. Coach Kapfer, I got into middle school and she was fresh out of KU, fresh out of college. She’s like, ‘Hey, you know that you can serve volleyballs overhand,’ and we’re all looking at her like, what? We didn’t have all the club sports, we didn’t have all of that stuff. She played a big role as I went through high school.”
“Many athletes feel like they have to do something extraordinary to win postseason events. The fact is, they don’t. They need to keep doing what has brought success all season long. We work on the mental side and will have them prepared for the postseason,” Parks said. Beyond wins and losses, qualifying for or placing at state would mean more than just a medal. For many wrestlers, it represents the reward for months of hard work and dedication. “Placing would be a big goal, I’ve wanted to do all throughout high school and I want to qualify again,” junior Dallas Owens said. Individual goals are coming into focus as the postseason approaches. “I’ve worked very hard to get where I am and another state medal would mean a lot to me,” junior Audrey Hinkly said.
Junior Dallas Owens prepares to defend a shot as a Holton opponent changes levels during their match at the Holton Dual on Jan. 29. Photo by Wyatt Lindecrantz
Reaching 100 career wins is a goal that many wrestlers want to achieve, and not one you can reach overnight. “Reaching 100 wins meant a lot to me and it showed all the hard work that I’ve put into wrestling.” Cianna Graves, senior, said. This goal is not something that you can reach overnight. It takes months and years to achieve this goal with lots of work behind the scenes. “I do a lot of extra conditioning and running outside of practice to better myself that I don’t really tell a lot of people about but I feel like it pays off.” Evan Johnson, senior, said. Throughout their wrestling careers they have overcomed many challenges and obstacles. To Graves and Johnson the people that support them through it all doesn’t go unnoticed. “All of our coaches have really had a big impact on my wrestling journey, they are all just really supportive and know what I need to work on and they just push me to be better.” Throughout their wrestling careers the coaches have been there to cheer them on. They have not only seen them grow as wrestlers but they have also seen them grow in their personal lives too. “Cianna started wrestling her freshman year in high school, and we could tell she was gifted right away. Over the past four years, she’s grown in strength, technique, and confidence. Cianna’s also grown into an excellent team leader and set a standard for hard work and dedication among our girls’ team.,” Parks said. “Evan’s been wrestling since elementary school, but it really clicked for him in high school. Evan’s work ethic and toughness are incredible. He trains as hard as anyone I’ve ever coached and has battled through injuries that would have sidelined most people. Evan has stepped it up a notch this year, the hard works paying off.”
Senior Cianna Graves ties up with her wrestling opponent at the Holton meet on January 31. Photo by Wyatt Lindecrantz
At the Junction City meet senior Evan Johnson walks off the mat after finals match. Photo by Jaya Muñoz
12 | Principal Written and designed by Caleb Franke
Written and designed by Jaiden Labrador and Caylee Cooper Wrestling Pre-State | 13
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