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Volume 2 Issue #3 January 2009

Volume 2 Issue #3 January 2009

Staff ListEditors-in-Chief

Charlie AvisPeter JohnsonNoah SneiderAdam Zernik

Section EditorsOliver Davies

Cassie Prioleau Ahna Rao

Elizabeth Scott

Photo ManagerJohn Christopherson

Photo StaffCharlie Avis

Malaika DrebinHana KajimuraAllison ShorinSpencer Sims

Design EditorsVarun Kohli

Noah Sneider

Copy EditorChristine Chang

Business ManagersGreg Stewart

Matthew Tracy

Distribution ManagerLiza Dernehl

StaffSana BakshiSophie BiffarHanna Brody

Ben BrownChase CooperLiza Dernehl

Malaika DrebinEmily Fowler

Lauren HammersonWade Hauser

Hana KajimuraAshkaan Khatakhotan

Brendon RiderMarco Scola

Allison ShorinSpencer Sims

Kylie SloanScott Witte

VikingPalo Alto High School50 Embarcadero Road

Palo Alto, CA 94301650-329-3837

Email contact: theviking08@gmail.com

Letters to the editorThe Viking, a sports magazine published by the students in Palo Alto High

School’s Advanced Magazine Journalism class, is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its readership. The

Viking is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost. The staff welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit all submissions

for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity.

Advertising in The VikingThe staff publishes advertisements with signed contracts providing they

are not deemed by the staff inappropriate for the magazine’s audience. For more information about advertising with The Viking, please contact the The

Viking by e-mail at theviking08@gmail.com or call 650-329-3837 for more information.

Printing servicesThe Viking is printed six times a year by Fricke-Parks Press in Fremont, Calif.

AdviserEllen Austin

PAGE

January 2008Volume II, Issue III

6 17 24

4

THE KICKOFF

6 | EDITORIAL: A FORMAL CHALLENGE

7 | THE VIKING TRIES: A 300-STYLE WORKOUT

10 | SAY WHAT/bY THE NUMbERS/ EXPLAIN YOURSELF/POP CULTURE GRID

11 | WHO’S HOT & WHO’S NOT

11 | 7 THINGS AbOUT WEARING A SINGLET

14 | 10 q’S WITH ADRIAN AUGMON

PEOPLE

24 | NEW KIDS ON THE bLOCK

OFF CAMPUS

17 | GOT GAME?The Viking explores the unseen world of hunting at Palyby Cassie Prioleau

29 | bRINGING IT TO THE TAbLEExclusive coverage of Paly’s very own Ping Pong tournamentby Cassie Prioleau and Varun Kohli

26 | YOUNG WARRIORAn in-depth look inside the life of a Muay Thai fighterby Varun Kohli

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15 | INSIDE THE MIND OF LAKIA YOUNG

8 | ZOOM

32 | STANFORD SOCCER FINAL

33 | FACES IN THE NCAA

20 | SKATER bOYOne Paly student excels in a Winter Sport not often found in Palo Altoby Kylie Sloan

16 | STORY OF MY...

The Lineup

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PAGE

January 2008Volume II, Issue III

The Lineup

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5

FEATURES

34 | THE MANE THINGAn equestrian revolution is sweeping across Paly as many have taken up this difficult sportby Hanna Brody

41 | WINTER SPORTS ROUNDUPThe Viking reports on the Winter sports season

PROFILES

44 | RACHEL ERSTEDPaly’s own Rachel Ersted takes to the water as one of the most sought after coxswains in the countryby Sana Bakshi and Allison Shorin

50 | COACH DIEPENbROCKThe Viking sits down with Paly’s former coach to talk about his new basketball team at Cañada Collegeby Emily Fowler

THE LAST WORD62 | SECOND THOUGHTSOliver Davies graces the last page with a story of guts and glory

40 | CCS RESULTSA report on Paly’s match-up against Los Gatos in the CCS Championship game on December 6thby Oliver Davies

47 | NICK RObINSONPoint Guard Nick Rob-inson has been working on his game for many years, hoping to lead the Vikings to victoryby Chase Cooper

42

SINCE WE LAST SAW YOU

52 | MAKING THE CUTAn in-depth report on weight-cutting in wrestling and its dangerous consequencesby Malaika Drebin

COVER STORY

34

38 | SPORTS RULESThe Viking gets you ready for the upcoming season with some of the unwritten rules in sportsby Marco Scola

40 44

Opinion

6

Dear Mr. sweet-talking, calm and collected, ridiculously good-looking, American hero, President Barack Obama,

First and foremost, we, the staff of The Viking, would like to congratulate you on your monumental victory in the 2008 Presidential Election; we know it was no easy feat. We look forward to years of seeing your face on the TV and hearing your voice on the radio, highlights of just about anybody’s day.

Throughout your campaign, the American public has been barraged with countless stories of your athletic prowess, in particular, your basketball skills. Each time you elected a new appointment to your cabinet, journalists across the country simply added another member to the “Barack Obama All-Star Basketball Squad”. While we on The Viking know we are no match as politicians, we feel we might just give you and your cabinet a run for its money in an old-fashioned game of basketball. In the spirit of amicable relations, and in light of your effort to promote bipartisan politics, we will even let you have the superstar herself, Sarah Palin, granted she is not in your cabinet. But of course, Senator McCain is ours. Don’t worry, we won’t have him guard you; he will be playing with a chip on his shoulder.

We have taken the liberty and set the starting lineups for the featured showdown between The Viking’s editors and your cabinet, Hillary included. Not only has the roster been selected, but our game plan is set. After extensive video analysis we have pegged you as a power forward hybrid, you can hold your own against seven-footers but have the skills to make your presence known late in the game.

We envision Secretary of State Hillary Clinton running the point; with her experience she will be vital in any successful attempt to beat The Viking. Although we must warn you, like an overaggressive father in a Little League game, President Clinton will be a li-ability with his sideline advice; it might just get in Hillary’s head.

But, we digress.Senator Obama, even you admit your own faults, as you once said, “I know I am not

a perfect man. My wife reminds me daily.” Well Mr. Commander-in-Chief, meet your matchup, somebody we like to call Editor-in-Chief: Charlie Avis. As if being Editor-in-Chief of The Viking is not enough, Charlie is also a junior national team cyclist, and an exceptional student to boot. Expect some lockdown defense from Charlie, which rest assured will bring you more gray hairs than fixing this troubled economy.

As for the other matchups, we hate to say it, but there is really no hope for your cabi-net. In truth, we simply do not know how your newly appointed staff will be able to defend the rest of our starting lineup. Editor-in-Chief Noah Sneider brings his critical-ly acclaimed “Sneider Hook,” and fellow editor Peter Johnson can dunk, enough said. Let’s hope Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has a plan for your squad. Finally, with her heightened vertical from playing volleyball, Managing Editor Cassie Prioleau will look to snag every rebound that comes her direction, not even six-foot Joe Biden will be able to grab boards over her. Now, we at The Viking are not ones to trash talk, but when a victory seems so sure, it is difficult not to indulge. Sorry Obama, the odds don’t look so good.

So here is our official offer. 5-on-5, The Viking vs. The Cabinet, play to 11. Time, date, location, it’s all in your hands, Mr. Obama; simply contact us at vikingeds08@gmail.com, and we will be there.

Game on.Sincerely,

Viking Staff

Staff ViewA formal challenge...

7

Viking Tries...

Training like a man

“This is SPARTA!” This signature line is uttered by King Le-onidas in the 2007 film, 300. While the movie received raving reviews for its cinematography and quality, let’s face it…who was really paying attention to the storyline? It is a hard to focus on Leonidas’ internal battle with right and wrong while he and 299 other warriors are prancing around in loincloths, don-ning their signature eight-packs. This leads us to the reoccurring question…are those abs real? The answer: they certainly are. The Viking decided to look into exactly how they crafted their bod-ies to resemble those of Greek Gods’. The answer: training through a program adapted from CrossFit, a type of exercise that randomizes functional movements at a high level of intensity. The focus is on strength training at a low intensity for extended periods of time. At MadDawg Fitness in Redwood City, trainer Saul

By Liza Dernehl

interested in looking like a Spartan? Here are some steps to get you there:1. Forget the machines at the gym; use free weights. Must-haves include: Dumbbells (weight should be about 10%

of your body weight), a chair to do dips and a large box (about 24” high) to step-up on.

2. Focus on doing interval sets. For example: 5 x push-ups10 x sit-ups15 x squats (three times through)

3. Make sure you’re doing the exercises correctly. Jimenez noted that many people expect to see results when they’re doing simple exercises like crunches incorrectly.

4. Cross train. Spartans do not limit themselves to throwing spears everyday. They alternate between spear throwing, pushups and pull-ups, which helps to reach the maximum amount of muscles.

Jimenez uses these methods to train people of all ages. He combines interval training with a limited amount of cardio, and pays close attention to each partici-pant’s limits. “It is essentially personal training in a class,” Jimenez said. Classes typically have around 10-15 people in them. Jimenez says that the best way for high school students to get fit is through the Crossfit program.

“Proper strength training with correct form is much safer and more effective at getting you fit,” Jimenez said. each participant’s limits. “It is essentially personal training in a class,” Jimenez said. Classes typically have around 10-15 people in them. Jimenez says that the best way for high school students to get fit is through the Crossfit program.

“Proper strength training with correct form is much safer and more effective at getting you fit,” Jimenez said.

ZOO

MJunior John anderton goes up for a header in the first half of a Home-stead Cup game versus Lincoln High School. the Vikings won the game 3-0 despite junior Spencer Sims’ red card in the second half. Photo by Malaika Drebin

ZOO

M Sophomore Davante adams attacks the hoop in Paly’s game against Moun-tain View, a team from Utah. the Vikings ended up losing the game by a margin of 49-63. the boys varsity team held record of 9 wins and 5 losses as of January 12th. Photo by Malaika DrebinZOO

M

“I’m going to win, definitely. I only have like one fan but that’s all right. I wouldn’t say I’m the under-dog because people still know I’m going to win, even though they don’t want me to. I just like being the one that everyone is rooting against.” —Drew Pearson (Ping Pong Star, Jr.)

Bringing It To The Table pg. 31

by theNumbers18 Number of years since the Paly cross country team qualified for the state meet

7 Goals let in by Paly boys’ varsity soccer team as op-posed to the 37 goals they have scored

12 Number of egg whites John Hall eats for breakfast

9 Pounds dropped by senior wrestler Patrick Sheehan the night before a tournament weigh-in

WHATSAY

“When he got to the hospital, the doctors said he had the bones of an 80 year old

woman.” —Carolyn Wester

(Wrestling Nutrition Specialist)Making The Cut pg. 18

“That was the time when it

became clear to my parents that I wasn’t just some little girl asking for pony rides. I actually wanted

to ride.”—McKinley

Siegfried(Equestrian, Sr.)The Mane Thing pg. 35

“I am a runner, but by no stretch of the imagination do I consider myself elite. I haven’t been blessed with a body like Usain Bolt or Steve Prefontaine, but I’ve ran cross-country for the last four years, and have made do with my God-given talent (or

lack thereof.)” —Oliver Davies (Cross Country, Sr.)

Last Word pg. 62

34 Ping-pong tourna-ment competitors, hosted by juniors Drew Pearson and Peter Wilson

1 Number of games the Stanford Women’s soccer team lost before the Final Four

6 Days a week horseback riders spend at the barn taking care of or riding their horses

27 Points scored by Paly alum Jeremy Lin in an upset against Boston College. In its previous game, Boston College defeated number one ranked University of North Carolina.

“I don’t think boys should be afraid to try skating. Just because there are some graceful, girly as-pects of it doesn’t mean it’s not just as difficult as football.”—Chiara Leifer (Ice Skating, Jr.) Skater Boy pg. 23

10

Max Schmarzo, basketball, So.

Gabe Landa, Wrestling, Fr.

Scott Alexander, Soccer, Jr.

The Pop Culture GridPaly Athlete

and SportFavorite

MovieI’d like to

meet...Top Played on iTunes

Football of Futbol?

If I Were an Animal...

Cars Wall E Taylor Swift Football Panther

Sophie Cain, Soccer, Jr.

Kirsten Atkinson,basketball,Sr.

Pochahontas James Franco T-Swift Futbol, of course Unicorn

English Bull-dog

The Longest Yard

Jesus 50 Cent Football

The Movie of All Eshans

Rick Ross Speedin’ Futbol Mongoose

A Christmas Story

Just Do It Eminem Football Sloth

InFocus The combination of a lack of segments and subpar reporting, Infocus has reached an all time low. Not to mention with an aver-age air time of one minute and 20 seconds, fourth period is get ting a little lengthy.

Patrick Sheehan Currently ranked #2 in the section, Sheehan went 7-1 at the prestigious Sierra Nevada Classic, defeating several highly ranked wrestlers, including the Oregon state champion.

7 Thingsyou need To know abouT:

wearing a singleT

Paly Soccer Boys’ SoccerThe boys’ soccer team is red hot. The Vikings post a 12-1-2 record as of January 14th with 37 goals for versus 7 goals against. Before a tournament loss to Gilroy, Paly rode a nine game winning streak. Through five league games the team has yet to surrender a goal.

Applying SeniorsWith a surprising number of students being rejected and deferred after early applications, many academic standouts are being kept out of their favorite college.

Facebook Videos With the recent spike in wall videos, these annoying posts are filling up news feeds and aggra-vating many Facebook users.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Detroit Lions

0-16.

1) It’s similar to a Speedo or a leotard, kind of a mix between the two.

2) They are surprisingly comfort-able. I sometimes even sleep in it

3) It accentuates my natural “curves”.

4) It attracts the ladies to the matches.

5) It’s gross to wrestle someone who is sweaty and wearing a singlet.

6) It’s hard to go to the bathroom wearing one.

7) They show-off the washboard abs.

&&NOTNOTNOTNOTNOTHOT

11

Jujhaar SinghNot only does Singh excel on the pingpong table, but also on the debate floor. Singh placed first in the Dempsey-Cronin In-vitational at Santa Clara Univer-sity for the second straight year.

As told by freshman wrestler Joey Christopherson

Photo by Malaika Drebin

SophomoresWith over 12 sophomores cur-rently on varsity winter sports teams, the underclassmen are making significant contribu-tions to their team.

IAS PROUDLY SUPPORTS THE VIKING!!

Category

60%

Rock band

Not Text as Much

Somewhere in SoCal

She Gotta Donk

She Gotta Donk

Field Trips on Thursdays

Power Forward

Popeye’s

15

Jordan’s

PX90

Get in paint & grab rebound

UCLA, like his coach

Fruityness

Mr. bojangles

Hanging with Joseph Lin

Out of Position

Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Puffs

32

Crocs

Rock band

Text Less

UNC

She Gotta Donk

She Gotta Donk

Field Trips on Thursdays

Point Guard

Chipotle

15

Uggs

Favorite Video Game

New Years Resolution

Desired College

Overused Phrase

Favorite Song

Favorite Activity

Position on Court

Favorite Meal

Shoe Size

Favorite Shoe Brand

We went to junior basketball player Adrian Augman to ask him ten questions about himself. Then, we asked the same ten questions to his friend Jared Beeson, basketball coach Andrew Slayton, and lady friend Nicole Varveris to see who knows Adrian best. Here are how the results went down:We went to junior basketball player Adrian Augman to ask him ten questions about himself. Then, we asked the same ten questions to his friend Jared Beeson, basketball coach Andrew Slayton, and lady friend Nicole Varveris to see who knows Adrian best. Here are how the results went down:

1010 with

Adrian Augmon Junior basketball player

WANT TO ADVERTISE?

Please contact The Viking at vikingads@gmail.com

Questions

0%

14

Adrian Augmon

Super Mario

Get better at bball

Does he want to go?

She Gotta Donk

Get You Wet

Go fishing

Point Guard

big C’s Kitchen

14 No! 13?...13.5!

Jordan’s

Jared beesonFriend

Andrew Slaytonbasketball Coach

Nicole VarverisLady Friend

20%

QuestionsON BEING A SECOND SEMESTER SENIORI’m loving it dude. What do we do? Nothing. Like I’m chillin’ with four classes next semester. I’m just cruising. I got math, physics, American Writers in Color-- or of color whatever, and I don’t even know what other class.

ON KEVIN AND MICHAELKevin and I have a secret relationship. It has been on- and-off since eighth grade. Once upon a time he told me that he was blacker than me; but I just told him that

is never possible. He’s like the whitest guy I know. He’s like an albino rhino. Michael and I also had a relationship back in middle school. He’s my little

boo. Rocked it at the Mitchell Park dances and everything. I mean, he may be short

but he could rock some platforms or something. You know.

ON BASKETBALLUm, let’s see well… I am the best player on the team. I like dominate, but other than that, my team is pretty cool. I

think we get along pretty well sometimes, and it’s a really good experience. Me and the coach are pretty chill; not as many problems, It’s going gravy right now. I respect him; he respects me. I’m busy dominating every-thing

on and off the court.

“Inside the Mind

Lakia

ON MR. BERKSONOh, Jerr-Bear; Big Jerr-Bear, I should say. He’s a pretty cool dude. Well, I know his wife, which is kind of good. I can get him in trouble

anytime I want, so he can’t mess with me. We have a great relationship, but he talks a lot of smack.

ON BEING SPOILEDPeople think that I’m the most spoiled kid in the world, just because my dad gets me whatever I ask for. I don’t get whatever I want. I got a car. It’s in the shop getting painted, and I just got a laptop. I also got 500 dollars, so maybe I am spoiled. Oh snap. Or maybe my parents just love me.

ON HER FUTURE HUSBANDB. Rider. Or wait, a rich white guy. My rich white guy is going to have brown hair and he’s going to have a buzz cut. I don’t like rich white guys with long greasy hair. But he’s going to have a lot of dough. We’re about to be dippin’ out in a Porsche and every-thing.

ON LOSING FRESH TO DEATHI’m just swagalicious. I don’t under-stand how you guys could let me lose fresh to death like that. You got to have the whole package. I change it up. One day I come sophisticated, and then the next day I bust out with the J’s because I can do it like that. I just got it like that.

B a s k e t b a l l E x t r a o r d i n a i r e

Senior Lakia Young has been playing basketball all her life, and is a leader on the Paly girls’ varsity squad this season. The Viking was lucky enough to have a few minutes to talk with this star athlete, and received a little insight into the life of Lakia Young.

BY AHNA R AO Photography by Spencer Sims

Youngof

15

I got math, physics, American Writers in Color-- or of color whatever, and I don’t even know what other class.

ON KEVIN AND MICHAELKevin and I have a secret relationship. It has been on- and-off since eighth grade. Once upon a time he told me that he was blacker than me; but I just told him that

is never possible. He’s like the whitest guy I know. He’s like an albino rhino. Michael and I also had a relationship back in middle school. He’s my little

boo. Rocked it at the Mitchell Park dances and everything. I mean, he may be short

but he could rock some platforms or something. You know.

ON BASKETBALL

anytime I want, so he can’t mess with me. We have a great relationship, but he talks a lot of smack.

People think that I’m the most spoiled kid in the world, just because my dad gets

and I just got a laptop. I also got 500 dollars, so maybe I am spoiled. Oh snap. Or maybe my parents just love me.

B. Rider. Or wait, a rich white guy. My rich white guy is going to have brown hair and he’s going to have a buzz cut. I don’t like rich white guys

I’m just swagalicious. I don’t under-stand how you guys could let me lose fresh to death like that. You got to have the whole package. I change it up. One day I come sophisticated, and then the next day I bust out with the J’s because I can do it like that. I just

“

16

ith a strong preseason start of three consecutive scrimmage wins, the Palo Alto High School boys’ varsity soccer team

combined natural talent, hours of practice and one good luck charm to start off the season: haircuts. Enduring funny stares and the cold winter air, the Vikings carried on a two-year tradition, holding its annual “Barber Shop” to cut and shave each other’s hair.

“It’s a really good team bonding experience and helps get the team going and ready for the year,” senior center midfielder Kevin Ashworth said.

Haircut styles included cornrows, handprints, checkerboards and faces. Sophomore midfielder John Richardson chose an ear-muff style haircut.

“A lot of people thought the haircut was supposed to be head-phones so some people would come up and pull on the sides of my hair and ask what I was listening to; Spencer Sims to name one,” Richardson said. Not only were the haircuts an enjoyable and humorous experi-

ence, but also a way for the team to bond. Every mem-ber of the team participated and came up with styles for each other, and the seniors cut and shaved each design. Held at the beginning of the season, haircuts were a way

to welcome new players. “The whole experience was a lot of fun, and really helped bring us together as a team, and make everyone feel welcome,” sophomore defender Mark Raftery said.

The next day much of the student body, as well as staff en-joyed seeing the unique hairstyles around campus.

“Mr. Scott was thrilled,” Ashworth said. “He thought it was hilarious. Also every time I would turn around someone would be staring at me.”

Raftery also noted incredulous stares. “The next day, it seemed like everyone I was talking to was

looking at my hair, instead of my face,” Raftery said. A month later, the haircuts have been shaved off completely

and the team’s hair is growing back, just like its success. With training underway, the Vikings are en route to their goal of a CCS championship. <<<

“I got a haircut that was supposed to look like

earmuffs, but my hair needed to be longer to pull it off so

I definitely just ended up looking like my balding dad,”

Richardson said

Story of My... Haircut

SHADES uP Senior Kevin Ashworth (above) had a face with sunglasses shaved on the back of his head.

HIGH FIVE Junior Scott Al-exander sports his new hair which features the imprint of a teammate’s hand.

W

TIME FOR A TRIM Senior Captain Adam Zernik (middle) comically shaves Junior Spencer Sims’ beard.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT Senior John Christopherson (right) has his head completely shaved.

17

FEATuRE

alo Alto High School sophomores Elliot Beckstrom, Cory Valenti and

Alex Zarem are not your typical athletes. They are not exempt from P.E. for their sport and they do not have coaches. They do not belong to a team; their only uniform is their camouflage and they do not have an opponent. They are hunt-ers.

Beckstrom, Valenti and Zarem dis-covered the Southern-dominated sport through friends and family. They hunt as often as they can, including occa-sional after-school trips to nearby hunt-ing areas. Traveling as far as Canada and Georgia to hunt better game, they are like any other Paly athletes; they are in-credibly committed to their sport.

For Beckstrom, Valenti and Zarem

hunting is more than a sport, it is a tra-dition. Originally a means of survival, hunting has evolved into a sport and a passion passed down from generation to generation. The appeal of the out-doors reels young people to the sport.

For Zarem and Valenti, their families originally introduced them to the sport. Zarem’s father hunts and took him to get his hunting license when he was eight years old. Valenti first started hunting at age 12 and grew up in a family where the sport has always been prevalent.

“The tradition of hunting is some-thing that is passed down,” Valenti said. “People in America have always hunted the same animals that we hunt now. It’s cool to know that it’s been passed down through the centuries. Also, almost my

whole family has done it and so it is a good opportunity to have something in common with my family and extended family.”

One of the most common ways to get involved in the sport is through family tradition. Valenti’s family is originally from the South, where hunting is much more common. Because of this family history, Valenti grew up with constant exposure to hunting. However, without the introduction to hunting through family, the sport is often seen as a more non-mainstream activity, and young people are often never exposed to it.

Around Palo Alto, there are very few public lands in the area where hunting is legal. The restricted hunting options make it even more difficult for young

got game?

P

RuSTIC Beckstrom wields his gun and a recently hunted bird while out hunting in the Baylands near Palo Alto.

BY C A S S I E P R I O L E AU

The tradition of hunting has captured the attention of a few Palo Alto High School students. Although hunting is limited in California, they search far and wide for the best game in the country and beyond.

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FEATuRE

18

people to get involved in the sport.Although less common, there are

ways to get involved with hunting in California without a hunting family. Beckstrom is the only one in his fam-ily that hunts. Jordan Middle School in-dustrial technology teacher, Hal Roach first introduced Beckstrom to the sport

when he was 13 years old after recogniz-ing potential for interest in the sport.

“Elliot was into paintballing and I was talking to him one day about how much he enjoyed shooting and things just moved from there,” Roach said. “I think he was interested, as he was an avid fisherman before taking a hunter safety class.”

Beckstrom’s love for the sport grew despite the lack of family ties.

“Hunting is one of the oldest activi-ties humans have exercised,” Beckstrom said. “It is usually passed from father to his children and it’s a family oriented activity. In most cases the whole family hunts, there are very few cases, like me, where I am the only hunter in my entire family.”

According to Beckstom, Valenti and Zarem, the best part of hunting is being outside and close to nature. Although there is no winner or loser and no score is kept, hunting is just as much a sport as anything else.

“It’s a very different sport,” Beckstrom said. “It’s less competition and more physical contact. It’s about being out-side and keeping the tradition of hunt-ing.”

Hunting is a painstaking sport, with a long process of preparation for all types of game.

“It’s definitely a sport in the sense that you’re working really hard to achieve a goal,” Zarem said. “It’s very satisfying af-ter all the work you’ve done.”

Although being outdoors and con-nected to nature is one of the best parts

of hunting, many people have ques-tioned the morality of hunting. Instead of viewing the sport as connecting the hunter to nature, some view it as de-stroying and killing nature. Mostly due to this view, hunters are often confront-ed with extremely negative reactions to their sport.

“I honestly have no idea why any-body has a moral problem with hunt-ing,” Beckstrom said. “I can see why the killing of animals can upset some, but it is mostly from a lack of education on the subject. People who have a moral prob-lem with hunting just aren’t informed about the sport. It isn’t limitless killing, or senseless slaughter.”

Beckstrom, Valenti and Zarem agree that there are certain negative stereo-types that come along with being a hunter. Valenti said the problem stems from misunderstandings and a lack of understanding of the sport. According to Valenti, some people

change their views of the sport after a little convincing, but many people are firm in their beliefs.

“A lot of times they’re set in their ways and just think of it as killing,” Valenti said. “They just don’t want to listen.”

A strict moral code comes along with hunting. This unwritten code outlines

the respectful way to hunt animals.“The moral code is basically being

ethical,” Beckstrom said. “Never take a shot that will not assure a clean kill. Don’t kill hens if it can be avoided. Don’t shoot for antlers by that I mean don’t shoot for the trophy and waste the meat.”

In hunting, animals are always re-spected. Hunters do not hunt simply for the glory, but they eat everything they hunt and nothing is wasted. Prepara-tion for some animals can be done by the hunter, but in particular cases the meat must be shipped to a processor to be made ready for eating.

”It’s a very different sport. It’s less competition and more physical contact. It’s about being outside and keeping the

tradition of hunting,” Beckstrom said.

PRIDE Beckstrom proudly lines up 18 ducks after a day of hunting in Arkansas.

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”It’s a very different sport. It’s less competition and more physical contact. It’s about being outside and keeping the

tradition of hunting,” Beckstrom said.

PRIDE Beckstrom proudly lines up 18 ducks after a day of hunting in Arkansas.

19

FEATuRE

“After harvesting an animal, the preparation depends on the type of animal,” Valenti said. “For ducks and birds, you do all the work from plucking their feathers to cutting out the meat. It’s pretty simple. With larger animals such as deer, after the animal is har-vested, you must ‘field dress’ or gut the animal, so the meat doesn’t spoil. Once you’ve done that you just take it to a designated deer processor, which are much more common in other parts of the country.”

According to Beckstrom, hunting is morally justified and conservation of the animals is very important to hunters. “The animals go cleaner, and we are the number one support-ers of conservation,” Beckstrom said.

Zarem believes that eating hunted meat is more humane than eating meat bought from a store. He does not like the idea of livestock being raised to be food and says the meat he eats

is from animals who had a chance to live in nature.

“I don’t like tortured meat,” Zarem said.

Along with having moral discrep-ancies, hunting is often considered an unsafe sport. The involvement of guns always brings danger into play, but training and classes help minimize the risk.

“In order to get a California hunting license, you have to complete hunter safety,” Beckstrom said. “It is a two day

class that mostly covers safety, conser-vation, and ethics with a touch of basic hunting skills. After completing the class you get a hunter safety card which is good for most states and with that card you can purchase a hunting license.”

The extensive training and classes help prevent hunting accidents and fa-miliarize the hunters with the safety pre-cautions.

“The danger is weeded out pretty early,” said Beckstrom. He has taken both gun safety and hunter safety classes.

“It’s not dangerous un-less you don’t have com-mon sense,” Zarem said. The Paly hunters are willing to take the risks involved with hunting for the joy it brings to their lives. Stereotyped views and hunting restrictions hinder its popularity in the Bay Area and California, but for Beckstom, Zarem and Valenti, hunting is a passion. <<<

“People who have a moral problem with hunting just aren’t informed about the sport. It isn’t limitless killing, or senseless slaughter,”

Beckstrom said.

TRADITION Zarem proudly poses with his freshly hunted birds. Soon after, the ducks and turkey were ready to be eaten.

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FOOTBALL

20

Storming through the massive “Go Wildcats” sign with a giant flag reading #52, it became clear from the start that the Los Gatos Wildcats showed up for a fight in the Central Coast Section championships at San Jose City College on Decem-ber 6th. After the Palo Alto Vikings narrowly beat the Wild-cats 17-14 on a last second field goal earlier in the season, many predicted a close game in the teams’ meeting in the CCS playoffs.

The Vikings, given the number six seed in the CCS playoff bracket, blew through three-seed Leigh High School 48-0 and two-seed Monterey High School 38-16 en route to their third championship game appearance in three years.

After the tragic loss of the Wildcats’ senior defensive line-man, Michael Halpin, on December 2nd, Los Gatos chose to carry on and play the game in Halpin’s honor. Before the game, fans and players alike shared a moment of silence. Additionally the Los Gatos fans made t-shirts in tribute to the fallen football player. The cause of Halpin’s death is still unknown. “We really didn’t expect it to be a very good game,” senior wide receiver Will Holder said. “We knew they were going to come out fired up because of the death of Halpin.”

Not to be outdone, senior quarterback Will Brandin and Holder connected twice on long completions, one of which went for a touchdown. Down in the fourth quarter, the two seniors connected once again to bring the Vikings into scor-ing position, resulting in a field goal giving Palo Alto a 23-21 lead.“[The fourth quarter catch] was definitely a big momentum-shifter, but the fact that all we got was a field goal out of it killed our momentum right away,” Holder said. “That’s what

kept hurting us the whole game.”Just as the Vikings looked well on their way to becom-

ing three-time CCS champions, the Wildcats responded with a three-play drive that delivered the go-ahead score. Los Gatos quarterback, junior Nick Hirschman, barely avoided a turnover, as Viking senior cornerback Paul Brown leaped and tipped the ball into the air, landing in the hands of Los Gatos wide receiver Jake Hackman-Salazar. Hackman-Salazar took the ball to the Vikings’ seven yard line where Hirschman later ran the ball in for the Wildcats’ final score.

Down 29-23 with a little over two minutes to play, the Vikings surged down the field on their way to the go-ahead score. Unfortunately, Brandin then threw a costly intercep-tion on a pass to Holder downfield. The interception put an end to the Viking’s hopes to be three time CCS football champions, after winning in both 2006 and 2007. “The season overall was a success,” Holder said. “Coming in I don’t think anybody thought we’d be going to CCS and play-ing for the CCS championship. We played well; they just got lucky one more time than we did.”However, the Vikings remain motivated that the solid core of juniors and underclassmen returning next season can main-tain Paly’s winning ways.

“Next season we have a good quarterback duo with [T.J] Braff and [Christoph] Bono, two of the top receivers in the league between Joc [Pederson] and Maurice [Williams] and our sol-id linebacker [Jared] Beeson,” junior offensive lineman Troy Boyland said. “Our goals are to advance to open division and then try to go to states, which is definitely possible.”

SINCE WE LAST SAW YOu...

Boys’

oTHER PosTsEAsoN REsULTs: BOYS CrOSS-COunTrYThe Paly Boys’ Cross-Country team finished 8th in the California State Championship Meet on No-

vember 29th in Fresno, CA. Phillip Macquitty was Paly’s top finisher in 6th place with a time of 15:14 over the 5km course. Charlie Avis was second for Paly, finishing in 48th and Skyler Cummins was Paly’s third finisher in 51st. Avis and Cummins ran the course in 16:07 and 16:09 respectively. The rest of Paly’s squad was rounded out by Henry Jordan (102nd, 16:38), Peter Wilson (147th, 17:08), Alex Voet (169th, 17:32), and Andrew Stober (183rd, 18:06). The finish was Paly’s top finish in Cross-Country in 35 years.

STATISTICAL LEADERSyARds RUsHiNg yARds REcEiviNg ToUcHdowNs

1. TOMPKINS (1497) 1. PEDERSON (745) 1. TOMPKINS (20)2. IBARRA (192) 2. HOLDER (572) 2. HOLDER (6)3. FIELDS (179) 3. WOOLSON (344) 3. PEDERSON (5)3. BEASLEY (179) 4. GARGIULO (271) 3. FIELDS (5)

TEAm mvP: WILL HOLDERoffENsivE mvP: SAM TOMPKINSdEfENsivE mvP: STEVEN GARGIULO

2ND CCS

FOOTBALL

21

After months of hard work and preparation, the Palo Alto High school varsity boys’ basketball team finally took to the court at the James Link High School tournament on December 4th. With a shorthanded squad, Paly finished the tournament with a 2-1 record, losing in the champion-ship game.

“We started out pretty well with a 2-1 record,” junior forward Adrian Augmon said. “We are feeling really confident right now.”

That confidence, combined with toughness of senior forward Steven Gargiulo and junior guard Joc Pederson who arrived late from the football team, has the Vikings prepared heading into the regular season.

“A lot of the guys are really excited because we did well in our first tournament and we are getting the football guys,” head coach Andrew Slayton said. “They add an element of physicality, athleticism and size that we did not have before.”

After losing to Mountain View on December 12th, the team won the following game against Riordan High School. Paly then headed out to back-to-back tournaments over winter break. The Vikings finished with a 2-1 record in the Rocklin and St. Francis tournaments, and an overall preseason record of 7-5. Despite their preseason disappointments, the Vi-kings are still confident heading into the regular season. The team backed up the confidence with a win in its first league game against Los Gatos January 6th.

“I think we have been getting a lot better,” senior Frank Wan said. “We were really young before the football players came back, and now that we have them back it gives us size which is great.”

As the season rolls along, the Vikings are prepared to make their run at Central Coast Section championship.

With hours of practice and preparation behind them the Palo Alto High School varsity girls’ basketball team went into their first game on November 25th, not knowing what to expect.

“We’ve been working hard, but you can never tell if its paid off until you start playing games,” senior guard Lakia Young said.Against the strong Prospect High School team from Saratoga, the Lady Vikes made a valiant effort, but came out with a tough loss 62-33. After their next two games the Lady Vikes landed their first win of the year with a 44-34 win over Monta Vista. With an overall record of 1-4, the Lady Vikes are now looking forward to their league competition in their first league game at Los Gatos on Janu-ary 7th.

“With preseason coming to an end we’ve been working really hard to prepare for league and we’re hoping to start off strong with our first league game,” junior Lauren Mah said. The team expects large contributions from senior point guard Olivia Garcia.

“Olivia is a tremendous impact on our team because she always push-es us,” Mah said. “She’s able to pull through during a tough situation, and makes the craziest shots that are unbelievable.” The Lady Vikes are hoping to power their way through a tough sched-ule ahead, and end with a successful record.

SINCE WE LAST SAW YOu...

7-5 SC VAL 1-0

Boys’ BASkeTBALL 2-6 SC VAL 0-1

giRLs’ BASkeTBALL

STATISTICAL LEADERSP O I N T S A S S I S T S R E B O U N D S1. 1. 1.2. 2. 2.3. 3. 3.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

THIS TEAM DOES NOT TRACK INDIVIDuAL STATISTICS.

did yoU kNow?

did yoU kNow? Two of the team’s senior leaders, Sammi Bengston and Jessie Duller, will continue playing together next year at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. They have both been playing on varsity together since freshman year and com-mitted to Cal Poly last summer.

The Palo Alto High School girls’ varsity soccer team experienced a tu-multuous opening to its 2008-2009 season.

The team’s first major test was the Winter Classic tournament dur-ing the first week of December. The Lady Vikes started off strong with a 14-0 win over Latino Prep. Due to the obvious skill discrepancy between the teams, even sophomore goalie, Alex Kershner, scored one of the 14 goals.

With confidence and momentum, the team beat league rival, Los Al-tos, 2-1. On the third day of the tournament, the Lady Vikes hit a rough patch and tied 1-1 with Woodside Priory. Paly dominated the first half, but lost energy and focus, allowing Priory’s Leslie Barkmann to score a goal. After regaining stamina, the girls were able to hold off Priory’s of-fense, ending the game in a tie.

The team advanced to the final game against St. Francis. The Lanc-ers scored the first goal, but junior Emily Yeates was quick to respond tying the score. The teams played 20 minutes of overtime during which the Lancers scored the final goal, capturing the tournament title. Though Paly failed to defend its champion status from last year’s tournament, the game is officially recorded as a tie since Central Coast Sectional rules ex-clude overtime goals from schools’ records.

Despite the rocky start, the team maintains its confidence for the rest of the season. It has yet to play an official league game and hopes to im-prove its record in the regular and post-season.

“This year we really want to win our league,” junior Maeve Stewart said. “We have not had our best preseason but now that everyone is back, I think that our team will start producing.”

SINCE WE LAST SAW YOu...

12-1-2 SC VAL 3-0

Boys’ SOCCer 6-2-4 SC VAL 1-1-1

giRLs’ SOCCerWith a good amount of pressure on Palo Alto High School’s boys’

varsity soccer team, the Vikings have certainly proved that they have the potential to return to the CCS championships again this year. So far, they have posted an impressive 12-1-2 record, and look to improve on that record with upcoming games against Monta Vista, Gunn, and Los Gatos.

The strongest point for the Vikings’ so far is the balanced attack that they have presented. With a resilient defense, strong midfield and fast for-wards, the Vikings’ defeat their opponents in a variety of ways.“The thing about our team is that you never know who could strike against the opponent,” coach Don Briggs said. “It could be Adam [Zernik], Kevin [Ashworth] or Spencer [Sims]. We are so balanced that we can win in many ways.”

Along with experienced position players, the Vikings’ also have a lead-er and a last defense in senior goalkeeper Peter Johnson. Addressing the team’s weakness, Briggs said, “Our one weakness is that we sometimes do not mark the opponent well enough on defense. However, because Peter is able to make some amazing saves, the defense is usually able to get away with it.”

With a little improvement on covering opposing players, the Viking’s seem to be getting in good shape as they get closer to the playoffs. With high expectations from the coach, players and the community, the Vi-king’s look to play their way back into the CCS championships.

STATISTICAL LEADERSG OA L S A S S I S T S P O I N T S1. ANDERTON (7) 1. FOx (6) 1. ZERNIK (20)2. SIMS (7) 2. ZERNIK (6) 2. ANDERTON (15)3. ZERNIK (7) 3. SANBORN (3) 3. SIMS (15)

STATISTICAL LEADERSG O A L S A S S I S T S P O I N T S1. JENKS (11) 1. CAIN (5) 1. JENKS (24)2. STEWART (5) 2. BENGSTON (5) 2. BENGSTON (13)3. BENGSTON (4) 3. DULLER (5) 3. STEWART (10)

did yoU kNow?The San Jose Mercury ranked the boys’ soccer team #2 in CCS in its

January 14th edition. The only team ranked higher than the Vikings was Bellarmine College Prep, a Division I school that Paly would not face in postseason play. The CCS playoffs begin in early February, and the team anticipates its highest seeding since coach Don Briggs took over in 2003.

did yoU kNow? Two of the team’s senior leaders, Sammi Bengston and Jessie Duller, will continue playing together next year at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. They have both been playing on varsity together since freshman year and committed to Cal Poly last summer.PHOTO CREDITS: ALLIE SHORIN (LEFT), MALAIKA DREBIN (RIGHT)

22

SOCCer

SINCE WE LAST SAW YOu...

Boys’

7-3 2-0 SC VAL

WreSTLingAfter a rigorous offseason training program and a

productive preseason, the Viking wrestling squad was finally prepared for its first tests.

In the annual Half Moon Bay tournament on Decem-ber 5th and 6th, the Vikings had multiple finalists, as well as numerous other placers.

Seniors Patrick Sheehan (160 pounds) and Noah Feld-stein (145) both finished in second place, while freshman Ryan Oshima (152) finished first. Other varsity placers in-cluded juniors Jack Sakai in fifth (130), Max Simon in sixth (171), senior Erez Arnon (135) in sixth, and freshman Joey Christopherson (103) in seventh.

“We were really pumped up for the tournament,” freshman Joey Christopherson said. “Our hard practice really showed.”

While the rest of Paly was having a restful winter break, the Vikings were busy wrestling at the prestigious Sierra Nevada Classic Wrestling Tournament in Reno, Nevada. With 98 schools from seven states being repre-

sented, the Vikings were up against stiff competition.“This is a tough tourney,” head coach Dave Duran said.

“But we did a lot better than last year.”Senior captain Patrick Sheehan, who is currently ranked

#2 in the section, was the stand-out Paly athlete, going 7-1 and finishing in fourth place.

“He did really well,” Duran said. “He not only beat state placers but also beat the state champion from Oregon.”

With impressive showings in the past several tourna-ments, the Vikings are gearing up for the beginning of league play.

“We are wrestling really well right now”, Duran said. “But we’re pretty tired and got a lot of wrestling coming up.”

With a strong senior core and talented underclass-men, the Vikings are shaping up to have a very prom-ising season.

STATISTICAL LEADERSW I N S LO S S E S CC S R A N K ( W E I G H T C L A S S )1. SHEEHAN (21) 1. OSHIMA (0)* 1. SHEEHAN (2ND, 160)2. FELDSTEIN (16) 2. SHEEHAN (3) 2. FELDSTEIN (8TH, 140)3. SIMON (14) 3. FELDSTEIN (7) 3. SIMON (15TH, 152)

*3-0 VARSITY, 13-0 JV

did yoU kNow? Senior Patrick Sheehan won athlete of the week in the Christmas edi-tion of the Palo Alto Weekly. Sheehan is the first Paly wrestler to earn the honor since John Hall (‘07) during his senior year.

23

24

New Kids on the Block

Girls’ Varsity BasketballPOSITION: CENTER/POST

Though many expected to see freshman Emilee Osagiede on the soccer field this season, Osagiede decided she wanted a change and tried out for the basketball team. She did not play basketball in middle school because she was focused on soccer. However, Osagiede’s experience from playing on a National Junior Basketball (NJB) team until sixth grade gave her enough experience to make the varsity team as a freshman. “All I can expect is to get better,” Osagiede said.

She is not worried about fitting in with the other players because she has gotten to know them over the summer. She is looking forward to making new friends and playing Gunn. Unfortunately, due to a recent knee injury she will be out for a few weeks and is expecting to be able to play in the game against Gunn. With four years of Paly basketball ahead of her, Osag-iede is an athlete to keep your eye on.

Emilee Osagiede

Tory Prati Coming straight off the football field, freshman Tory Prati is excited to play basketball for Paly. Last year, Prati played on his middle school team at Menlo School. “I want to work on becoming a leader of the team,” Prati said. “I think this is the year where we will get to know each other’s tendencies on the court and prepare for next year and the year after that.”

Coach Tom Schmutz goals for Prati this year are simply for him to become introduced to high school basketball and for him to improve his skills.

“He can bring every critical category of basketball to the team” Schmutz said. “He is a jack of all trades.” Building from this year, Prati said he is looking forward to playing bas-ketball throughout high school. “I am also looking forward to junior and senior year, when I can become more of a leader for the team,” Prati said. Schmutz says Prati has a bright future.

“I expect him to become a successful varsity player” Schmutz said.He is another versatile athlete to follow the next four years.

Boys’ Varsity BasketballPOSITION: FORWARD

BY S O P H I E B I F FA R

These new additions to Paly and Paly sports programs show promising potential for this season and years to come.

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Varsity WrestlingWEIGHT CLASS: 103 LBS

After winning the league championship on the Jordan Middle School team, freshman Joey Christopherson is excited to join the Paly wrestling team. Christopherson wrestles in the 103 pound weight class. “I am looking forward to wrestling at a higher level,” Christopherson said. “I am worried about being able to pull my own weight on a team of mostly upperclassman.”

With the help of coach David Duran, who also coached him in middle school, he hopes to reach his goal of competing in Central Coast Section (CCS) individuals.

“His goals should be to be a varsity wrestler and qualify for CCS, which he can do.” Duran said.

Christopherson has started the season well by placing at his first couple varsity tournaments. He is an up and coming wrestler to watch.

Joey Christopherson

Boys’ Varsity SoccerPOSITION: CENTER BACK

Girls’ Junior Varsity SoccerPOSITION: FORWARD/CENTER

Nittai Malchin

Emily Brown

Paly’s boys’ varsity soccer is lucky to have sophomore Nittai Malchin as part of the team this season. Last year, Malchin attended Los Altos High School and played on the JV soccer team as a freshman. Malchin acknowledges that the Paly team is more serious and intense. “The team at Paly is a lot more committed,” Malchin said. “I think the team will do well because all the players on the team are solid, and we have really good seniors this year that can lead the team well and give us a solid core.” As Malchin makes his debut at Paly and on the Paly soccer field he is a new player to watch.

Freshman Emily Brown has become a key player on Paly’s junior varsity girls’ soccer team. Brown played for the club team, Jueventues Victory, last year. “I am ready to be challenged in a different way,” Brown said. “I am most excited about seeing new levels of competition.” Brown approaches the experience of playing on a high school team by trying to learn as much as possible from the coaches and other players. She is excited for the upcoming season and ready to contribute everything she can to the team. “I feel no pressure,” Brown said. “I’m just excited to play soccer.”

26

Young Warrior

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BY VARuN KOHLI Photography by John Christopherson

Sophomore Gaston bolanos kicks his way through all opponents in the Muay Thai ring.

PROFILE

27

ith Eminem blaring from his headphones, sophomore Gaston Bolanos stares down

at the ground. Excited for the fight, his adrena-line rises, but he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to stay calm. Rising to his feet, he confi-dently enters the ring. He sees his opponent, a 31 year old man. Un-fazed, Bolanos begins Wai Khru, the customary act of respect that every fighter must perform before a fight. He circles the ring three times. Kneeling down, he bows three times as a sign of respect to God and man, while also asking Buddha for protection and an honorable fight. He stands up to ready himself for his opponent.

Muay Thai, a type of martial art, traces back to Thailand where it is the national sport. Al-though not well-known in America, Muay Thai has a worldwide following. Bolanos is a highly competitive fighter and a member of the United States National Muay Thai team. The martial art is often related to kickboxing, but in kickboxing, fighters utilize only their hands and feet. In Muay Thai, “The Art of Eight Limbs”, fighters can attack with their knees, el-bows, hands, and shins.

Unlike most Paly athletes, Bolanos competes in a sport where he fights against adults. Un-til recently, the sport was mainly practiced by adults, and there are very few fighters at Bola-nos’ age and skill level. Ever since he started fighting competitively, it has not been unusual for him to fight an older opponent.

“[When fighting someone older], I just relax and fight with my heart,” Bolanos said. “If a guy is taller I just go for his legs so that he’s weaker by the second or third round.”

Bolanos began practicing Muay Thai at age eight when his father, also named Gaston Bo-lanos, introduced him to the unusual sport. Mr. Bolanos practiced the art in his youth and passed it down to his son.

“I introduced him to the sport when he was only a little kid and wasn’t sure about doing it,” Mr. Bolanos said. “Time passed and he got into it, there was no way to stop him from training. I really enjoyed teaching him this ancient martial art.” Bolanos’ love for the art has never waned. Even after moving from Peru to California in 2006, he continued to participate in Muay Thai by joining the Fairtex Gym in Mountain View. The gym ranks as one of the best in the world for the martial art, and he was quickly noticed as a talented fighter. Bolanos’ big break came in September 2008. Anthony Lin, the president of the United States Muay Thai Federation, offered him a position on USA national team at the 2008 World Cham-

pionships in South Korea. Accepting the offer, Bolanos placed fifth in the Junior Division of the tournament.

“They knew I was good and ready for this kind of tournament,” Bolanos said. “Also, the team is sponsored by Fairtex, which helped them get to know me.”

On the way to South Korea, Bolanos met his teammates. Among them was Jesse Gillespie, 29, a Fremont policeman. Gillespie began com-peting professionally in early 2008, and has found the sport to be extremely helpful in his profession. Gillespie’s first impression of Bola-nos was a good one.

“[Bolanos] was very motivated and very positive,” Gillespie said. “He always found the craziest ways to motivate himself, as well as the people around him.”

Throughout the tournament, Gillespie ad-mired Bolanos’ determination and unwavering drive to succeed. The way Bolanos handled himself on an international stage impressed Gillespie, especially because the World Cham-pionships was Bolanos’ first tournament. Since then, he has competed in two fights, including a fight in Milpitas against a 31 year-old.

“[The World Championship] was definitely the biggest Muay Thai competition I’ve com-peted in,” Bolanos said. “There were about 800 fighters from more than 70 different countries there.”

In the first round he drew one of the tough-est opponents possible, a 17 year-old three-time gold medalist from Uzbekistan. The experience gap was huge, Bolanos had only four fights un-der his belt while the reigning champion had competed in over 80.

“I was really excited for this fight,” Bolanos said. “When I saw the draw I knew it was go-ing to be a tough fight. But I felt I had to do my best and that’s exactly what I did. After all, not everyone gets a chance to fight the three-time world champion.”

In a close fight, Bolanos silenced any critics who may have doubted his abilities. He landed consecutive hits with his elbow on the oppo-nent’s head during the second round and then knocked him of his feet with a crushing blow. Although Bolanos had executed his attack well, the three-time champion recovered and narrow-ly won the match.

Even after losing, Bolanos was not disap-pointed. His attitude and persistence earned him the name, “The Young Warrior” among his teammates and coach.

“[The tournament] was awesome, it was def-initely the best experience I have ever had with Muay Thai,” Bolanos said. “I trained hard and

WPROFILE

28

fought with all of my heart.”His finish in the fight gave a fifth place

ranking in the international 60kg weight class. His opponent went on to finish with a silver medal.

“Bolanos approached the fight with the ‘no fear’ attitude that he has,” Gillespie said. “He didn’t care about the status of the fighter, he just wanted to claim he was the best. That takes a lot of heart and courage. You can’t teach that.”

Although Bolanos’ attitude is something that cannot be taught, he works hard everyday to fight at this level. He spends three hours af-ter school training, as well as a special con-ditioning class on Friday nights. This class consists of tire flipping, sprints, weights, and other training exercises. On top of the work-

outs, he spends most of his free time at home working on his technique.

Even with so much time spent practic-ing Muay Thai, Bolanos is still just a normal teenager. He tries to surf every weekend and spends a lot of time with his friends.

“When he’s fighting he has a killer instinct going,” Gillespie said. “But when he isn’t [fighting], you’d never expect that he’d be a great fighter. He’s goofy and likes to joke around, as any normal teenager would.”

With Bolanos’ recent success, he hopes to become a professional Muay Thai fighter.

“There are a lot of competitors,” Bolanos said. “But, if I keep my current level of work, I should be become a pro. My main goal is to become the [Muay Thai] World Champion.”

However, Bolanos plans to do more than compete professionally. He hopes to attend UCSB while still continuing his Muay Thai career.

“It’s all about being organized,” Bolanos said in reference to balancing his career and his social life. “I know many fighters who fight, work, and study. That’s what I want for me too.”

Bolanos’ next step on the path to becoming a professional is to fight in more prestigious competitions and get used to international competition.

“[Bolanos’] promoter, the owner of Fairtex, is trying to find him fights outside the country, in places where the sport is bigger and more popular,” Mr. Bolanos said. “There is this probability for Gaston to join the K-1 league in Japan this would be a big step in his Muay Thai career”

As a professional, Gillespie knows that balancing a job and professional career poses man hardships. However he is confident that Bolanos will be able to achieve his dreams.

“There’s not doubt in my mind that one day [Bolanos] will go pro,” Gillespie said. “Even-tually we will even see him become world champion.” <<<

REFLECTION Bolanos in a fighting position in front of a Thai mirror.

“There’s not doubt in my mind that one day [Bolanos] will go pro,” Gillespie said. “Eventually we will even see him become

world champion.”

PROFILE

29

FEATuRE

Te x t a n d P h o t o s b y E M I LY F O W L E R & VA RU N KO H L Ior most people, pingpong is simply a recreational activity used to pass

time on a lazy Sunday. Sure, there is al-ways friendly competition, but usually the players quickly forget the result of the match, and life goes on. But for a select group of Palo Alto High School athletes, pingpong has quickly become more than a frivolous activity.

This winter, juniors Drew Pearson, Grant Audet and Peter Wilson organized a tournament designed to determine the best pingpong player at Paly.

“My friends and I were all talking trash about each other and we all thought we were better than the other,” Audet said. “So we decided to have a tournament to

see who was the best.”Pearson notes that the tournament

quickly grew to include more than just their group of friends. “A lot of seniors and juniors wanted in,” Pearson said. “We did not let in any fresh-men or sophomores. They are not physi-cally fit enough to play pingpong; it is too much of a demand on the body for them.”

The tournament developed from its initial concept to a competition of 34 athletes. The creators chose a group of friends whom they considered to be the top pingpong players at Paly.

“I wanted it to be exclusive, but then it got bigger and bigger, so I didn’t really

care,” Pearson said. “The more the bet-ter-- the more people I can beat. I also wanted to get some seniors in. A few of them talk a little too much. They all think they are really good so we were happy to have them come in, and they all lost.”

Co-creator Peter Wilson also attests that he and Pearson had discussed start-ing the tournament for a long time.

“[Pearson] and I have been talk-ing about starting a pingpong club for a while,” Wilson said. “But we decided that

SMACK THAT Senior John Mitchell rallies with junior Drew Pearson at the Mitchell residence in an intense pre-championship practice match.

BRINGING IT TO THE TABLE

F

a Facebook group would be the best way to make the tournament.”

The tournament began around the beginning of November and most of the games were played at various players’ households organized through the Fa-cebook group. Opponents were decided based on a bracket constructed by Pear-son. However, several players feel that the seeding was not completely accurate of players’ ability.

“[Pearson] kind of rigged the thing,” Wilson said. “He made the bracket, so of course he gave himself a really easy bracket.”

Junior semifinalist Avi Arfin confirms the notion that Pearson may have stacked the bracket in his favor.

“I do not believe that I should have been seeded third,” Arfin said. “ I think [Pearson] was trying to perhaps cheat a little bit to make it easier for him, like putting Elliot Sanborn and Yusei Tajima

against each other in the first round. I think [Pearson] had a little competitive streak that made the bracket a little un-fair.”

Pearson denies the alleged accusations and believes that other players simply cannot accept their losses and attribute it to the bracket.

“I did the bracket as best as I could,” Pearson said. “It is just an easy excuse for why they lost because they aren’t good enough.”

As of January 20, 2009, the tourna-ment has progressed to the final two rounds of play. The final four consists of Pearson, Arfin, junior Yusei Tajima, and senior John Mitchell. Each player has his own unique style of play, but Tajima is the tournament’s overwhelming favorite.

Mitchell is set to play Tajima in his semifinal match.

“My chances of winning the entire tour-nament aren’t so great,” Mitchell said. “I’m

playing [Tajima] in the semifinal game, and I expected him to win from the get-go.”

As for the prize, the winner gets full bragging rights and the title of pingpong champion.

“There’s nothing better in the world than bragging about pingpong,” Arfin said.

For others, a simple upset in the tour-nament would be satisfying.

“If Drew doesn’t win that will be prize enough,” Mitchell said.

As the tournament comes to a close, players are looking forward to future competitions. Wilson and Pearson plan to organize a school club next year so that they can continue playing. In the nearer future, Wilson hopes for a bigger tourna-ment of 64 competitors later in the year, and encourages more people to play.

“We asked most people we could think of,” Wilson said. “But we want as many people as we can get.” <<<

30

FEATuRE

31

FEATuRE

MEET THE FINAL FOUR

Drew Pearson began his pingpong career at a young age.

“When I was born, my parents put a paddle next to my crib,” Pearson said. “They could tell right of the bat I was a pingpong player. I’ve been playing ever since I was a little kid, like two or three years old.”

Pearson created the tournament and is confident he will be the champion. Many other competitors have no-ticed this confidence.

“[Pearson] is overconfident,” co- creator Peter Wilson said. “He thinks he can win. He is fairly good, but he won’t win everything; he’ll get second place.”

Pearson realizes he is nowhere near the favorite in the public’s eyes, but this does not hinder his drive to win.

“I’m going to win, defi-nitely,” Pearson said. “I only have like one fan but that’s all right. I wouldn’t say I’m the underdog because people still know I’m going to win, even though they don’t want me to. I just like being the one that every-one is rooting against.”

John Mitchell has made it thus far as the only senior in the final four and repre-sents his entire class in this competition of pride. He has been playing since he was 12 years old.

“We have a pingpong ta-ble and I usually play in the rainy seasons when I am not able to play tennis,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell, unlike most players in the tournament, has no complaint with his seed.

“I can’t complain,” Mitchell said. “I was the second seed in the draw, far away from Drew. I feel that it was pretty unfair to some people, but for me it was a pretty good draw.”

Mitchell will play favored Tajima in the semifinals where he hopes to win as the underdog.

“The chances are weak, but you never know. I could pull an upset,” Mitchell said. “If I make it to the fi-

nals, and if I play [Pearson] I have a winning record against him so I might have a chance.”

Yusei Tajima’s pingpong career began last May, un-like most of his opponents. He began playing in the Student Center at Paly, but has now moved beyond that level of play. He has quickly honed his skills to become one of the premiere players at Paly. He astounds many with his tal-ent. “[Tajima] is a wonderchild,” junior Peter Wilson said. All of the other finalists,

other than Pearson, agree that Tajima is the tournament’s heavy favorite. “[Tajima] is the more new age, mainline player,” Mitchell says. “He uses a lot of spin and he’s super consistent. Tajima will play Mitchell in the semifinal and claims he is not too worried about beating him. Pearson, on the other hand, is confident that Tajima will not live up to expectations.

“[Tajima] is an all right player,” Pearson said. “. I’m getting a good scouting report on him; I think I can take him pretty easily.”

Tajima will be satisfied at the end of the competition if he beats Pearson.

“If I win I will just laugh in [Pearson’s] face because he’s been saying he can beat me,” Tajima said.

Avi Arfin has been playing pingpong since he was six years old when his family purchased a table for Chanukah. Since then, pingpong has become one of his favorite hobbies.

Some players don’t know exactly what to expect from Arfin.

“I don’t really know about [Arfin]; I guess he’s the dark horse,” player John Mitchell said. “I’ve seen him play a little bit and he’s very talented.”

Others know precisely what Arfin brings to the table.“Arfin is a sassy kind of guy,” Wilson said. “He likes to

be passive and use the backhand slice.”Whatever Arfin may bring, he is confident of his abilities.“I’m predicting a final match between me and Yusei,” Arfin said.

Drew PearsonDrew Pearson

hopes to win as the underdog.“The chances are weak, but you never know. I could

pull an upset,” Mitchell said. “If I make it to the fi

“[Tajima] is an all right player,” Pearson said. “. I’m getting a good scouting report on him; I think I

Tajima will be satisfied at the end of the

has been playing pingpong since he

By Hana Kajimura and Spencer Sims Photo by Hana Kajimura

FEATuRE

CHASING A CHAMPIONSHIP

s the sun set behind the bleachers of the soccer pitch at North Carolina State University for the NCAA Final

Four, an icy wind swept across my face. With temperatures in the upper 20’s, the players emerged through the tunnel and entered the field, reaching out to parents and fans as they ran by. Teresa Noyola, a freshman for the Stanford Cardinal and Paly graduate, slowed in the midst of chaos to squeeze the outstretched hand of her mother.

An avid Cardinal fan, I attended almost every Stanford womens’ home game this season, each win bringing us one step closer to a national championship. Over the course of a mere two months I had fallen in love with the team, the fans and the faces that surround it. I faithfully waved my “Go Teresa #7!” sign at every game as she stepped on the field.

Fortunately, I was able to get a press pass for both of the Final Four game, al-lowing me access to the press box and all press conferenc-es.

The Cardinal advanced to the Final Four after defeating Portland at home. Going into the semifinal, the Cardinal had a 22-1-1 record, a testa-ment to their historic season. The team not only set the school record for most wins in a single season, but also goals with 71 scored.

What had been a dream season for the Cardinal, cul-minated in a single game- the semifinal match against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. “I knew it was possible to go to the Final Four, ” Noyola said. “But even so, I couldn’t believe we had actually made it.”

On December 3rd, a mere two days before the semifi-

nals, the Stanford players woke up at the crack of dawn to make a two-stop flight to Raleigh, North Carolina that turned into a long day of travel.

After waiting in the San Jose airport terminal for over six hours, the team touched down in Raleigh shortly after midnight only to find that the players’ luggage had not yet arrived. With afternoon rain and snow showers expected during Friday’s game, I won-dered how the team would adapt to a climate so foreign from the California sunshine. “I think the whole team, not just the freshmen, had nerves coming in to the semi[finals],” Noyola said. “In the end it was just another game and we knew we just had to keep doing what we had been doing all season.” Moments into the opening whistle, the Cardinals leisurely pace displayed their anxiety.

“The first half I thought we were a lit-tle impatient in our build up of play and we did not get enough numbers in the attack,” head coach Paul Ratcliffe said.

Fourteen minutes in, freshman for-ward Courtney Barg of the Irish convert-ed a ball slotted through the Stanford defensive line into a quick goal. The Cardinal failed to capitalize on a handful of heartbreaking chances in the second half. Twenty-two minutes in, Noyola sent a ball over the top of the Irish defense to junior Kelley O’Hara who managed to get a shot off only 14 yards from the goal mouth. Notre Dame goal-keeper Kelsey Lysander barely deflected the shot out of bounds.

At the final whistle, Stanford had out-shot Notre Dame 20-12, but the heart-breaking score remained 1-0, Notre Dame. An hour after the game, I arrived at a local steakhouse for the team dinner. I

looked around at a dining room full of devastated faces, spot-ting Noyola seated with her parents from across the over-crowded restaurant and ran over to her. “You’re here!” Noyola ex-claimed.

I threw my arms around her, searching for the words to console an evaded national championship.

While it was difficult to see at the time, this game held more significance than a win or a loss. For the past three years, Teresa had set a standard of excellence that our whole team had strived to achieve. Teresa represented us on the national stage, bringing more pride to our school than we could have ever dreamed.

<<<

A

Hana Kajimura flies across the country to support a friend and former teammate.

A long way from home Freshman Teresa Noyola waves to the Cardinal fans in the audience at the match against Notre Dame.

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Features

By ScottWitte

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FEATuRE

Brian BaskauskasAmherst College >>> Basketball 2005 Paly basketball standout Brian Baskauskas is playing in what looks to be a very success-ful season for both Baskauskas and the Amherst Lord Jeffs. After starting three years at Paly, Baskauskas led his team to a CCS title as a senior. A 6’6”, 225 pound senior small forward at Am-herst College, Baskauskas is once again leading his team for what is shaping up to be a great season. As of December 9th, Baskauskas was fourth in the New England Small College Athletic Conference in scoring (17.5 ppg) with the fifth-highest field goal percentage (.575) and 10th-best mark from three-point range (.480). Baskauskas has also proven himself on the defensive side, averaging 1.33 steals per game, landing him at eighth best in the conference. He is now closing in on history as he is less than 200 points away from being the 23rd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

A four-year varsity letter winner at Palo Alto High School in both soccer and tennis, Austin Free-man recently finished her third season for the Stanford womens’ soccer team. In high school, Freeman was captain of both her soccer and tennis teams and won many awards in soccer such as the Central Coast Section female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and junior of the Year in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. She is Paly’s school record-holder in assists and also the winner of the 2005 Palo Alto High School Achievement Award. In both her junior and senior years, Freeman was selected a first-team All-De Anza Division member. As a redshirt junior this past season, Freeman helped the Cardinal to an NCAA final four appearance, coming up short with a loss to Notre Dame.

Austinn FreemanStanford >>> Soccer

A former three-sport star at Palo Alto High School, 6’ 1” 205 pound Nathan Ford now excels in both football and baseball at Cornell University. Receiving a good portion of playing time as a sophomore at Cornell and starting his junior and senior year, Ford compiled a total of 26 touch-downs with an average quarterback rating of 110.95 throughout his career. As a junior, Ford was named a first-team All-Ivy League player for baseball. Leading his team with an outstanding bat-ting average of .410, Ford proved to be a vital factor in Cornell’s success last spring. Ford also led his team in at-bats(144), hits(59), doubles(17), total bases(89), and slugging percentage(.618). Proving to be exceptional on both sides of the ball, Ford yielded a team-high .975 fielding per-centage as a utility player.

Nathan FordCornell University >>> Football and Baseball

Jeremy LinHarvard University >>> Basketball“All everything” former Palo Alto High School basketball player Jeremy Lin now leads the Harvard Crimson basketball team as a 6’2”, 180 pound junior. Earning his first varsity letter as a freshman, Lin played four years, starting three. Leading the team to a state title his senior year, Lin is arguably the best Viking point guard of all time. Lin racked up numerous awards during his time at Paly, including Northern California Division II Player of the Year. Now a junior at Harvard, Lin has played in every game, and was the only player to start all 30 games as a sophomore. He was named the team’s Raymond P. Lavietes ’36 Most Valuable Player Award along with being named All-Ivy League Second Team, and led the league in steals(58) as a sophomore. So far, Lin has averaged 20.5 points, 3.7 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game during his junior season. Lin also led the Crimson to an upset over #17 Boston College, racking up 27 points, eight assists, and six steals.

FACES IN THE NCAA

Photo courtesy of Cornell University

Photo courtesy of Stanford University

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Photo courtesy of Harvard University

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FEATuRES

Paly athletes gallop towards success in the sport of horseback riding. BY HANNA BRODY

The Mane Thing

Paly athletes gallop towards success in the sport of horseback riding. BY HANNA BRODY

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FEATuRES

Photo courtesy of Cami Pease

enior McKinley Siegfried could barely remember anything. Her head pound-ed as she looked around the unfamil-

iar walls of the ambulance rushing her to the hospital. While riding, Siegfried and her horse had fallen over. Siegfried suf-fered a concussion so severe that she was immediately sent to the hospital for treat-ment. This injury, typical to the sport, is a risk Siegfried and many other Palo Alto High School students are willing to take for the love of horseback riding.

Equestrians typically start horseback riding at a young age. But what starts out as a mere interest in riding turns into a time consuming and expensive passion. Competition and training engulf the rider’s free time, transforming her from a girl who rides for fun into a true athlete.

Junior Natalie Lin started riding when she was eight years old. Growing up in Japan, Lin used to visit a park that offered pony rides where she would always ask for more than one. Lin’s love for horses flourished when she moved to America and pursued the sport.

Like Lin, Siegfried began riding at a young age. She had always wanted to ride, so at age nine, she decided to be-come more serious about the sport.

“That was the time when it became clear to my parents that I wasn’t just some little girl asking for pony rides,” Siegfried said. “I actually wanted to ride.”

After fully committing to the sport, most riders consider buying their own horse. Depending on breeding, health, age, size and ability, horses can cost over thirty thousand dollars. Addition-ally, owners must keep their horse at a barn, provide food and care, and keep the horse active. Most riders visit their horse everyday, even if they are not rid-ing them.

“On Mondays, the horses at my barn have the day off, but I still go up there and walk my horse around,” senior Cami Pease said. “I don’t want him to feel ne-glected.”

Caring for horses is only a small frac-tion of riding. Most riders spend five to six days a week at their barn training and riding year round.

“It is definitely not a seasonal sport,” Pease said. “You can always ride, no mat-ter if it is winter or summer.”

Riders spend three hours at the barn

each day. Before they can begin to ride, they must groom and prepare their horse.

“I have to brush my horse and take care of him,” Lin said. “I also have to feed him his supplements and vitamins before I ride.”

Riders work with a trainer to improve their riding ability. Trainers are vital when riders practice jumping and other dan-gerous skills. Senior Haley Dwight has lessons with her trainer two to three times a week.

“I usually only practice jumps with my trainer,” Dwight said. “I don’t do them by myself because [trainers] should be there to set up the jumps and make sure noth-ing bad happens.”

The sport’s time commitment often takes a toll on riders. This year, Siegfried has taken some time off from riding to focus on school and college applications. Siegfried found that the time commit-ment to care for her three horses was too large.

“When I do ride, I ride each of my hors-es for an hour,” Siegfried said. “It takes all afternoon.”

Although practice may require time and commitment from riders, it usually pays off in competition, which take place far from Palo Alto and typically start early in the morning. A rider usually gets only a mere 15 minutes in the arena in front of the judges.

“Competitions are really like, ‘hurry up and wait,” Siegfried said. “You have to get there really early and then you just wait around for your chance to ride.”

There are many different types of rid-ing competitions. Dwight competes in eventing, the triathlon of horseback rid-ing. The competition consists of three phases:

The first phase is called dressage. In dressage, the horse and rider perform a series of complicated movements and are judged on their precision and dis-play of ‘oneness’. In the next phase, cross -country, the pair gallops across what is a giant field, jumping over natural ob-stacles such as timber logs or overturned boats. Judged on timing in this phase, the horse and rider must complete the course before the allotted time runs out. Third is stadium jumping, a timed course of high jumps in an arena. The winner

S

FEATuRES

HOLD ON TIGHT Haley Dwight completes a stadium round at Nationals in Kentucky.

TEAMMATES Senior McKinley Siegfried poses at the barn with one of her three horses.

36

is the rider who completes all the levels fastest, and with the fewest faults by the horse.

Dwight remarks that the stadium jumping phase is more nerve-wracking than the cross-country section.

“If you hit a jump in the arena, it falls over,” Dwight said. “In cross-country if you hit a jump, it won’t fall over onto you. Arena jumping is kind of scary.”

Pease and Lin compete in hunter jumping which is judged on how the horse moves and jumps.

“Hunter is basically judged on how pretty the horse looks,” Lin said.

In addition to hunter jumping, Pease also does equitation with her horse. Eq-uitation is judged more on how the rider looks than the horse’s movements. Judg-es look at the rider’s form and how well they control the horse.

Horseback riding injuries are mainly caused by learning difficult skills for competition. According to the American Horse Council, the most common group receiving treatment for equestrian-relat-ed injury is young, female riders.

Although trainers and coaches are present when riders attempt difficult jumps or maneuvers, the horse’s move-ments cannot always be controlled. A horse may move differently than a rider wants it to, causing her to fall and risk in-jury.

Lin has experienced several scary falls throughout her riding career. She has suffered a concussion, a hip injury and dislocated elbow.

“I fell off my horse and stuck out my arm as I was falling,” Lin said “My elbow got really messed up.”

Similar to Lin, Siegfried has experi-enced her fair share of riding accidents.

As she was jumping with her horse, the belt that kept her saddle on came loose causing the saddle to flip underneath the horse. Siegfried fell off the horse before she was pulled underneath, but suffered a harsh landing. She severely hurt her back, but considered herself lucky.

“I was grateful that I was not hurt more seriously when I fell,” Siegfried said.

Though Siegfried has had many en-counters with danger, she does not let those experiences frighten her. They did not make her want to stop riding; they helped her to learn.

“My experiences helped me realize that there are so many elements that go into horseback riding,” Siegfried said, “If you never fall off and never get hurt, you never really realize that you could.”

On the contrary, Dwight believes she is blessed that she has not had any major injuries in her riding career.

“Luckily, nothing bad has happened,” Dwight said. “I have definitely fallen more times than I can count, but I have not had any broken bones or anything yet.”

Despite the imposing risk of injury, riders feel that training and caring for their horse forms a level of trust with the animal, thus allowing them to be suc-cessful in attempting dangerous jumps and maneuvers.

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“You really have to trust the horse and they really have to trust you,” Pease said.

Most outsiders assume that the horses do most of the work in the sport, which is undoubtedly false.

“Most people think that the horse does all the work,” Lin said. “The horse does do some of the work, but you are the one who has to make the horse do it. It is pretty hard if the horse does not

want to do what you want it to.”Riders feel that they work with their

horse to achieve their goals, that they are teammates.

“In other sports, it is just you as the

athlete,” Dwight said. “But in riding, there are two athletes working together.”

Another important aspect in the re-lationship between the rider and the horse is that they click. Not every horse is right for every rider so it is often difficult to find a horse that has the qualities the rider desires.

“This is a personality matching trick,” Siegfried said. “You have to be able to

find the right horse and want to de well because not everyone rides with the same style and not every horse moves the same way.”

As far as riding in college, many top

“My experiences helped me realize that there are so many elements that go into horseback riding.

If you never fall off and never get hurt, you never really realize that you could.

universities offer equestrian programs for students. Brown, Columbia and Stanford University, for example, have equestrian teams.

“I only applied to schools with riding programs,” Pease said. “I am going to try to take my horse with me wherever I go.”

For many riders, riding is a chance to get away from the stresses of their life. For Lin, her bond with her horse helps her escape from her busy world.

“Riding is my Zen time,” Lin said. “It is so weird. If I have a bad day at school and I just go riding, I feel so good. When I am riding I don’t think about anything else other than riding.”

The challenging sport of horseback riding continues to take over the lives of riders across the nation. As a rider grows older and the commitment of time and money increases, riders continue to thrive in the sport.

“It is so much fun,” Lin said. “It is a chal-lenge, but that is what makes it so great. It is really amazing.” <<<

JuMP Senior Cami Pease and her horse Vivaldi attempt a daring jump at a horse show. Pease has been riding since she was six.

FEATuRES

- senior McKinley Siegfried

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With winter sports in full swing and the school year approaching the halfway mark, there couldn’t be a better a time to go over some general sports etiquette. If you’re a younger frosh-soph athlete, read the next few hundred words carefully. Some of this may be review for you varsity guys out there, but consider this your formal invitation to brush up on rules you either forgot or never knew existed. This is by no means intended to be an exclusive list, but rather a compilation of some of the more general unwritten rules of sports. Without further ado...

Look, when you get to the end zone, act like a professional. Unless you just made a game winning play, don’t spike the ball, dance around, or even make a sorry attempt to dunk the ball over the goal post. The same thing goes for baseball. Don’t pull a Manny Ramirez and stand and watch the ball fly from the batters box for a minute and a half. Everyone knows you’re good; you just popped one over the fence. Drop your bat (don’t you dare flip it), run the bases looking straight ahead, and go back into the dugout and get ready to take the field. The only thing you do by standing around admiring your bomb is increase your chances of getting nailed by the pitcher in your next at-bat.

Nothing is as ridiculous as when a basketball player hits a routine three-pointer, then proceeds to hold his follow-through for an extra ten seconds. He gets back late on defense, and winds up costing his team two or three points on the other end. It’s a basketball game, there’s going to be 200 points scored. If every player who ever made a shot gloated all the way back to the other end of the court, basketball would turn into a game of H-O-R-S-E.

Soccer is really its own category. Does anyone understand the whole shirt over the head thing? Who even started that? That’s the best they could come up with? At least other sports are creative. The only people that should be able to celebrate a soccer goal are the fans in attendance who are rejoicing that they didn’t just pay to watch a 0-0 tie.

This is so important that it should be written into every sport’s official rulebook. This is a competition. Check your friendships at the door. Regard-less of the sport, there is no place for socializing. End of story.

Not only should there be no let-up against a friend, a true competi-tor should want to crush his friend worse than any regular opponent. Professional baseball players set the worst example with all the fraterniz-ing around the batting cage before a game. Nothing is more discouraging to a fan than watching their favorite player chatting it up with the oppo-nent’s best player before a game. It begs the question ‘How serious is he about winning this game?’ But then again, maybe we should reassess our definition of “athlete” if we are using baseball players as our model. (Yeah, I’m talking to you CC Sabathia)

Engaging in anything more than eye contact with an opponent should be banned. As Coach Duran used to say before every game against Gunn, “Out on the streets, these guys may be your ‘homies,’ but the minute you step on the field they become your enemy. Go out there, beat them by 60 points, shake their hands, tell them ‘good game,’ and after it’s all over, you can go back to being ‘homies.’”

THEUNWRITTENRULES OF SPORTS

Remember Why You’re There

Act Like You’ve Been There Before

BY MARCO SCOLA /// PhoTo-ILLuSTraTIon By noah SneIder

THEUNWRITTENRULES OF SPORTS

39

It’s bad enough that you’re kicking the crap out of them; let them leave with a little dignity. Chances are, you’ve been on both sides of that coin. We’ve all experienced agonizing losses and exhilarating vic-tories, and we know that the former is nothing compared to the latter. Everyone loves to rub salt in the losing team’s collective wound, until karma strikes back. Oh, you don’t believe in karma? (See both A) the New England Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl and B) Tom Brady’s an-terior cruciate ligament.) Once the win is securely in hand, have some class. You don’t steal bases with a significant lead and you certainly don’t swing at a 3-0 pitch. Remove your starters and let those scout-teamers get some playing time. Take a knee and show some sports-manship. Above all else, win the right way.

There are some things you just have to know. They have noth-ing to do with being professional, they are just the little idiosyn-crasies of the games. There are millions of these, but here are a few big ones. Golf, for example, could have its own book of unwritten rules. But if you’re going to play, you need to know some big ones; don’t talk in someone’s backswing, don’t step in another player’s line, and take the pin out of the hole for the other person when they’re putting. In baseball, if your pitcher has a no-hitter going, act like you don’t even know the guy. Don’t talk to him, don’t make eye contact, and don’t you dare utter the words “no hitter” to any-one.

As far as unwritten rules go, this one might take the cake: Al-ways take care of your teammates. If your guy is a rebound away from a double-double, a goal away from a hat-trick or a hit away from .300, do everything in your power to get it for them. If the benches are clearing, you better be the first one out there. Oh, and one last thing. Do everyone a favor and wash all your stuff. No one cares how lucky it is.

Know All The Little Things

Don’t Rub It In

40

rian Benton stands out in the crowd. Neither his 5’11” frame nor his

lanky limbs distinguish him, but rather the fact that 15 girls surround him on an ice skating rink.

However, this does not bother him. The teasing, the side-comments and the fact that he is the only male skater at the Palo Alto Winter Lodge tonight does not either.

“I’ve gotten used to it, so I just ignore it,” Benton said.

Ice skating is commonly associated with a stereotypical image: a bunch of girls twirling around in sparkly skirts.

Like most stereotypes, this stems from some basis of the truth; but what about the skills, the difficulty, the countless hours of practicing the same jump or spin again and again and again? And who said ice skating is only for girls?

The Palo Alto High School freshman, who first stepped on the ice when he was

three, is now a nationally ranked male figure skater. Every time Benton glides across the ice, he defies the misconcep-tion that figure skating is a girls-only sport, and continues to work his way to the top of the professional skating world.

However in order for him to succeed, he must sacrifice time and energy, but never his passion for the sport.

“If you decide to skate, don’t take it too seriously at first,” Benton said. “Make sure it’s what you want to do, because it’s a big time commitment. Have fun and get a good coach.”

Over a year ago, Benton started train-ing with his coach, Cherylynn Sebastian. Sebastian describes working with Benton as an honor.

“Brian is a talented, driven, hard work-ing athlete,” Sebastian said. “He is a very strong skater who’s jumping and spinning abilities come naturally to him.”

Sebastian trains Benton at Ice Oasis in

Redwood City. Although Benton is ex-ceptionally talented, Sebastian still faces challenges when she coaches him; how-ever, these challenges are not due to nega-tive attributes in Benton’s skating.

“It is challenging to work with him be-cause he is such a versatile skater,” Sebas-tian said. “He is one of those rare skaters who is fearless and will try anything, no matter how difficult.”

Benton’s schedule consists of prac-tices before school at 6:45 AM, two days a week; and after school practices from 3:00 to 4:30 PM, four days a week. In addition to training at Ice Oasis, Benton skates at Winter Lodge in Palo Alto and Ice Land in Belmont.

When Benton does not repetitively practice his routines, he strength trains off-ice, and attends jazz dance and Pilates classes.

Benton’s older sister, Paly senior and fellow figure skater Julia, introduced

B

BY KYLIE SLOANPHOTOGRAPHS BY JULIA BENTON AND JOHN CHRISTOPHERSON

S k at e r Boy

Freshman Brian Benton strives to spin to the top of the profession-al skating world, while battling typical figure skating stereotypes

along the way.

Benton to this regimen when she sparked his interest in skating.“When I started taking lessons, Brian would come along,” Ju-

lia said. “He saw me skate and wanted to try it out for himself.”Competitively, Benton skates in the Men’s Intermediate Free-

style division. During the year, he usually skates in five or six local competitions in order to qualify for more serious venues.

In October, Benton showcased his skills at the Central Pacific Regional Championships, placing fifth. Benton just missed the fourth place cut-off for Junior Nationals.

“Brian really pulled himself together for the Regional Cham-pionships this year,” Sebastian said. “Brian managed to prepare for Regionals in addition to his rigorous schedule. Although Brian skates about an hour and a half at least each day, it is still not enough, however he really skated his ultimate best the day of Regionals.”

Although Benton missed the cut this year, he qualified for Ju-nior Nationals in 2007, and placed tenth.

“That [2007] was my first year skating in that level [interme-diate] and I skated pretty well,” Benton said. “I got a lot better after that competition though, my jumps got more consistent.”

After Junior Nationals, Benton took a break from competitive skating mainly to improve his jumps, and returned to competi-tion to skate at this year’s regional competition. Benton plans to develop his abilities even more in order to achieve his goals.

“My goals for next year are to make it to Nationals and to skate well there,” Benton said. “In the future, I’d like to make it past the National level to Worlds or the Olympics, eventually.”

On Benton’s future ambitions, his mom, Lynn, expresses con-fidence in him and believes that he will be able to accomplish these fast approaching dreams.

“I think that these are great goals,” Mrs. Benton said. “They’re tough, but he’s a tough guy and if he works hard at it, I think it’s possible for him to achieve them.”

Sebastian also believes that Benton can reach this level of competitive skating if he puts a great deal of effort and really commits himself to the sport.

“He needs to be hungry for it,” Sebastian said. “Brian is still young, but at a good age to decide where he would like his skat-ing to go and how far he will push himself to be the best.”

In order to achieve his goals, Benton must perfect his skills. He repetitively practices his most complex, favorite skills such as double axles, currently his hardest trick, Russian split jumps and death drops.

Sebastian believes that with Benton’s natural talent he will be able to make these tricks solid within the next couple of months.

“I work my male skaters harder than my female skaters, espe-cially since Brian is at the age where he is getting stronger and can jump with tremendous height and power,” Sebastian said. “Mentally, as a coach, he keeps me pushing the envelope to try new types of moves and spin combinations.”

In addition to skating, Benton runs on Paly’s cross-country team and plans to do track and field this spring. In the last meet of the cross-country season, at Crystal Springs, he ran a three mile course in 19:41, an average pace of about 6:56 per mile. In track, Benton specializes in long jump, 200-meters and 400-me-ters.

Although Benton lacks time to run, Cross-country and track coach Joe Ginanni sees skating as an asset to Benton’s skill.

“Having a lot of different activities like skating takes away from valuable training runs and workouts,” Ginanni said. “On the other hand, his variety adds to his muscle strength and safe-guards against running related overuse injuries.”

Because of his skating commitment, Benton can only make it to three cross-country practices a week. In the future, Ben-ton’s inability to fully commit to running could prevent him from reaching his full potential.

“Next season, I’d love to see him out with the team every day and seize the opportunity to contribute as a scoring runner,” Ginanni said. “He is capable of being a great cross-country and track runner down the line. I’m here to facilitate that, but he needs to figure it out for himself. Either way, I expect him to do big things with either sport he eventually decides to focus on.”

THIN AIR Benton travels through the air into a flying sit spin.

PROFILES

41

PROFILES

Benton circles the rink before en-tering his double axle. His pick cracks against the ice as he pro-pels himself into the air, complet-ing two and a half full revolutions. He lobbies at his peak for no more than half a second, but appears to be in the air for much longer than that. Benton descends from the axle’s climax and gently com-presses his knee to support his backwards landing onto one foot before returning to his speedy strides around the rink.

Benton compresses his body as he begins his backwards en-trance into a Russian split jump He once again challenges grav-ity as he jumps into the air. His body rotates to the side and his legs shoot out into a split as he reaches to touch his toes, then he draws his legs back down as his blade graces the ice in anoth-er backwards landing supported by a single skate.

Benton prepares to enter into a death drop, a spin. As Ben-ton gains momentum, he ap-proaches the skill as he would a jump, but mid-air he transfers his weight from his right to his left foot. His left foot, support-ing his entire body, strikes the ice and Benton drops towards the ground to begin a back-sit spin. His left knee tucks into his body as he spins and his right leg extends in front of him. He whirls through the air, and the rink blurs around him.

GuyS HAvE HARDER JuMPS

THAn GIRlS,” BEnTon SAID.

“SInCE THEy ARE BIGGER,

THEy ARE ExPECTED To Go

HIGHER Too. THE SPInS

ARE THE SAME BuT THERE

ARE noT AS MAny flExIBIl-

ITy ElEMEnTS.

WATCHInG HIM IS nERvE-

RACKInG SoMETIMES BE-

CAuSE HE GoES So fAST AnD

THERE ARE SoME BIG fAllS AT

TIMES,” MRS. BEnTon SAID.

“BuT MoST of THE TIME IT’S

REAlly ExCITInG To WATCH

HIM.

“

”

“

”

42

skating career, two-time National Champion Evan Lysacek became Benton’s new role model.

“I like him because he’s kind of tall like I am, and not a lot of skaters are,” Benton said. “Also, his jumps are really big and he has a really excit-ing program.”

Benton hopes to im-prove these elements in his own routines. In com-petitions, Benton skates both a short program, that includes four jumps,

and a long program, with six jumps. Both routines contain two spins, in addi-tion to complex footwork patterns choreographed to instrumental music.

“Brian is like a blank slate where he has the ability to skate to any kind of music,” Se-bastian said. “If I had to choose his type of skating style, it could either be a cool, jazzy, relaxed style or a very strong, sharp, powerful style of skating.”

However, as Benton continues to pursue skating and become more serious about the sport, skating will start to dominate his life even more. He may have to sacrifice his activities outside of skating, such as cross country and track, in order to fit three hour skating sessions into his schedule.

“The saying, ‘Live, Eat and Breathe skating’ is what Brian has to do in order to reach this level of competitive skating,” Sebastian said.

For now, Benton seems content skat-ing, and still appreciates the simplicity that drew him to the sport.

“I think the main thing is that skating is artistic and athletic,” Benton said. “It’s one of the few sports that is.”

As Benton continues his quest for suc-cess in figure skating, participating in a sport less common for males is not an is-sue. For Benton it is about the skills, the talent, what he brings to the ice and trying his hardest every time he steps on the ice.

“I don’t think that being a male figure skater affects Brian one bit,” Sebastian said. “I think he enjoys that fact that he has the abilities to be different.” <<<

43

Although Benton’s main focus is skat-ing, simultaneous cross-country training benefits him as well.

“Cross-country helps me stay in shape for skating,” Benton said. “It helps me build up my endurance and stamina for my routines.”

Benton hopes to continue to build his endurance when he runs for Paly in the future, in addition to improving his times. Cross-country also frees him from seventh period P.E., which gives him more time to prepare for his 3:00 PM skating session.

“If I didn’t do cross-country, I would probably have more time to practice,” Benton said. “But running helps me be-come less obsessed with skating.”

Although others may perceive his busy schedule as stressful, tiring or overwhelm-ing, that has not been the case for Benton.

“I think it is a posi-tive thing for him,” Mrs. Benton said. “Skating helps him practice good time management. It inter-feres sometimes when he wants to hang out with friends, but he has friends at the rink too.”

Fellow Winter Lodge skater, junior Chiara Leifer, says that Benton is a much more intense skater than herself and al-ways enjoys skating with him at the winter Lodge rink.

“I don’t think boys should be afraid to try skating,” Leifer said. “Just because there are some graceful, girly aspects of it doesn’t mean it’s not just as difficult as football.”

Not only did females introduce Benton to skating, but also male skaters that he grew up watching on television.

“I watched skating on T.V. and there was this skater named Brian Boitano,” Benton said. “He is pretty famous, and our names are alike so I grew to like watching him.”

The same first name and last initial is not all Benton has in common with Boita-no; both stand at 5’11”, are from the Bay Area and represent Peninsula Skating Club at competitions.

After Boitano retired from his Olympic

“WHEn SKATInG To A PRoGRAMWITH MuSIC, BRIAn CAn InTER-

PRET HIS oWn ExCEPTIonAl SKATInG STylE AnD REAlly

MAKE THE PRoGRAM HIS oWn,” SEBASTIAn SAID.

CONCENTRATION Benton circles the ice and prepares to take off into an axle.

PROFILES

44

PROFILE

s Palo Alto High School junior Ra-chel Ersted weaves her way through

the packs of girls huddled together on the dock, dressed in uniforms, all from dif-ferent states, she takes another drink of water and kicks a lone cicada bug off her shoe. Ersted and her team have trained all

leading the BoAt

year to become the best they can be, and have finally made it to US Rowing Jr. Na-tional Championships. Out of the 24 girls on the NorCal crew team, Ersted is the smallest. Her size makes her the ideal candidate for a coxswain, a coach on the water. She is

given the crucial responsibility of leading and encouraging her fellow teammates through every race. At the edge of the dock, she and her teammates board the boat and prepare for the race. But, instead of getting on with her teammates, she finds her spot at

MOTIVATION Ersted encourages her teammates as they move forward in a meet in April 2008. “I motivate the team,” Ersted said.

BY SANA BAKSHI AND ALLISON SHORINPHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF RICHARD ERSTED

leading the BoAt

BY SANA BAKSHI AND ALLISON SHORINPHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF RICHARD ERSTED

Coxswain Rachel Ersted sits at the front of the NorCal crew team’s boat, encouraging and leading her team to victory.

A

leading the BoAt

45

PROFILE

the end of the boat and adjusts her micro-phone.

“Nationals was the best crew experi-ence,” Ersted said. “It was so cool to com-pete with the best teams around the coun-try. It was cool to be away from home with the people you spend so much time with.”

At the beginning of summer 2008, Ersted and the NorCal crew team flew to Harsh Lake in Cincinnati, Ohio for the US Rowing Jr. National Championships.

All of the girls on the team had been undergoing excessive training, hours and hours of practice rowing. Ersted, on the other hand, prepared for such a high level of competition in a different way. Instead of lifting weights and rowing, Ersted, the team’s coxswain, studied the tapes of other Olympic teams and how they went about certain races and their strategies.

“She prepared by trying to know ev-erything she could about the opponents, the race plan, the course and the weather conditions,” Ersted’s coach Wayne Rickert said.

Two thousand meters after, enduring the twists and turns of the course the Nor Cal Women’s Lightweight eight boat came in fifth place, finishing with a time of 7:07. “She is a leader, but at the same time she is the smallest girl on the team,” Rick-ert said.

On NorCal’s club crew team, Ersted is its Varsity Eight coxswain. A Varsity Eight coxswain is the leader of the lightweight eight boats, which means that all people on the boat must be less than 130 pounds.

“As a coxswain I do a lot more than people think,” Ersted said. “I steer the boat, I motivate the team, and I plan out and execute races and strategize.”

Ersted started crew the summer before freshmen year. A year earlier at Stanford Sierra Camp, a family friend noted Ersted’s size and suggested that she try becoming a coxswain.

“After a ‘learn-to-row’ day with the NorCal team during the spring of eighth grade, I liked it a lot,” Ersted said. “I also did one week of crew camp over the sum-mer with the Palo Alto rowing club. Then I decided to join the Nor Cal team.”

“I sleep, eat, breath and go to crew,” Er-sted said. Ersted spends about 15 hours a week practicing and preparing for races.

Though she often does not train and workout with the team, she practices her

strategies and plans ahead for every race she has coming up by herself. “I believe that it isn’t always what you say, but rather how you say it,” Ersted said. Ersted plays a large role in every re-gatta that her team competes in. Her prac-tice schedule during a week consists of two morning practices, three after school and one on Saturday. “She has a solid work ethic,” Rickert said. “She doesn’t always need to be at

the workouts, but she always shows up. She doesn’t lose her fun-loving spirit.” After seeing her teammates everyday, Ersted feels like she has developed a fam-ily-like bond with them. “Crew is such a team incentive sport, it’s never just about one person,” Ersted said. “When your team wins, it’s not be-cause of one person, and when your team doesn’t do that well, it’s not because of one person. You do everything as a team.”

ANTICIPATION Ersted awaits the US Rowing Jr. National Championships in mid-June. “It was so cool to compete with the best teams around the country,” she said.

46

PROFILE

As the authority figure on a boat, Ra-chel finds the perfect balance between be-ing a friend to her teammates, and being their leader. “The bond between the team is so strong that Rachel’s attitude on the wa-ter is natural,” teammate Amy Fudenberg said. “There is an understanding between her and the team. We never have any hard feelings when we get off the boat.” According to Ersted’s mom, Karen Ersted, Ersted really has no time for any-thing else but crew and school, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “We never hear her complain about getting up at 4:30 AM for practice dur-ing the week,” Mrs. Ersted said. “Once she gets to practice with her friends, she’s happy.” Certain attributes and qualities come with being on a crew team, a sport that so heavily relies on a team. Having a role that requires Ersted to be a leader, she has adopted some of those qualities in her day-to-day lifestyle and work ethic. “She’s learned how to juggle many tasks in her life and rarely stresses out,” Mrs. Ersted said. “She’s seen that hard work and drive pay off.” Ersted’s passion for the sport motivates her to continue with the sport through high school and college. “She’s out there to win and is driven to have her boat compete at the highest level,” Mrs. Ersted said. “She has her sights on returning to the US Rowing Jr. National Championships next June.” After high school, Ersted hopes to be a coxswain for a Division I college pro-gram. “[Ersted] is one of the most highly sought after coxswains in the nation,” Rickert said. “She’s one of the best we have ever had.” <<<

Coxswain

Port

Starboard

Stern

Positions of an Eight boat (Racing shell)Stroke

7 5

4

3

2

Bow

Bow

LEADERSHIP Ersted sits at the front of the boat to lead the team to national victories.

Front Back

6

Bow

47

FEATuRES

The Floor GeneralBY CHASE COOPER Photography by Hana Kajimura

When Robinson was not playing for the JLS team, he was training with his NJB All-Net team to further improve on his game.

“Playing All-Net was a great ex-perience for me,” Robinson said. “It gave me a chance to play against better competition and improve.”

As a freshman, Robinson was un-able to show his true abilities, as he did not get as much playing time as he would have liked on the ju-nior varsity team.

“I was rather surprised at the little amount of playing time I got freshman year,” Robinson said. “I feel like I didn’t get a chance to

I

show people what I had.”Robinson finally got his chance

at redemption when he was asked to play up with the varsity squad in various tournaments over the summer before his sophomore year. His precocious play caught the eye of then head coach Peter Diepenbrock, who rewarded Rob-inson with a roster spot the follow-ing season.

“After watching Nick play in those tournaments over the sum-mer, there was no doubt in my mind that he was ready to be a varsity basketball player,” Diepen-brock said.

n the midst of the summer heat, a 10 year old boy practices his jump shot while his father critiques his

follow-through and reminds him to always set his feet and stay on balance. The boy gladly takes in the advice, and utilizes his new-found knowledge in his next YMCA basketball game.

This fifth-grade boy is now Palo Alto High School’s senior guard Nick Robinson. Today, Robinson contin-ues to use those very same skills he learned from his father to stifle opposing defenses. Robinson has been a starter for the Palo Alto High School boys’ varsity bas-ketball team since his sophomore year, and a staple at the point guard position.

Robinson started playing basketball at the Palo Alto YMCA at a young age where he learned the fundamen-tals of the game, but most importantly, how to be a competitor and play with emotion.

“I would always play with kids that were older than me, so I was forced to quickly learn the game,” Robin-son said. “It taught me to have confidence in yourself and to never back down from anything or anyone.”

His game improved exponentially every time he stepped onto the floor, and soon found himself as the leader of his JLS Middle School basketball team.

“All the practicing I did when I was younger proved to be beneficial to me,” Robinson said. “I felt like I was a step ahead of everyone else on the court.”

After a disappointing 2008 season, senior point-guard Nick Robinson looks to lead his young squad into the post-season and beyond.

48

FEATuRES

Ever since Robinson set foot on cam-pus, he had the itch to play varsity bas-ketball. That summer made his dream a reality.

“Playing with the varsity guys over the summer allowed me to experience bas-ketball at the varsity level,” Robinson said. “I got a chance to show Coach Diepen-brock that I could play at that level.”

Following his strong summer per-formance, Robinson not only played for Diepenbrock and the varsity team, but won the starting point-guard job by proving himself in practice.

“I just always practiced hard and tried to show the coaches that I could really play,” Robinson said. “The hard work paid off when I got the starting job.”

Only a sophomore, Robinson was forced to adjust quickly to the varsity level and perform at a high level night in and night out.

“I guess you could say I was thrown into the fire,” Robinson said. “I had to learn the system quickly and there wasn’t much room for error.”

Robinson impressed coaches through-out his sophomore campaign with his

composure and tenacity, and not letting the bright lights of varsity basketball overwhelm him.

“Nick showed great toughness and competitiveness during his sophomore year,” Diepenbrock said. “He earned the respect of his teammates by playing hard at all times.”

Robinson gained even more experi-ence when he led the Vikings to a Cen-tral Coast Section (CCS) semifinal ap-pearance, and subsequently earning all-league honors.

“Making the playoffs that year gave me a lot more confidence,” Robinson said. “I realized that I was a leader on the floor, and proved to myself that I could really compete at this level.”

Robinson followed up his rookie sea-son with a junior season that was short-ened due to the ineligibility of one of his reserve teammates.

Despite losing the chance to compete in postseason play that year, Robinson learned how to manage a game, and how to lead both with his words and his character.

“I feel like I lead both vocally and by

example,” Robinson said. “ I try my best to make all the right decisions with the ball and make sure everyone is doing their jobs on the floor.”

As point guard, Robinson had the privilege of playing alongside then-se-nior scorers Mike Scott and Dom Powell, but was also presented with the unique challenge of distributing the ball equally among them, to make sure their talent was being utilized properly.

“That season taught me a lot about myself as a player,” Robinson said. “I learned how to make players better around me.”

Robinson stands at an undersized 5’ 8”, and weighs 160 pounds, but manages to overcome these physical deficiencies with his superior intangibles. He tributes his success on the court to his toughness, ability to compete, and pass-ing ability.

“I just love to go out there and com-pete,” Robinson said. “I do my best every night and play as hard as I can to get a win for my team.”

The combination of Robinson’s desire to win and his superb athletic ability al-

THE STAREDOWN Robinson uses his superior speed and quickness to get by bigger defenders and play hard-nosed defense.

49

FEATuRES

lows him to outperform players who may have a size advantage.

“Nick may only be about 5’7”, but he has the heart of a guys who is 7’2.” Chris Weems Academy AAU head coach Da-vid Moselely said. “He makes up for his lack of size with his quickness and court vision.”

Robinson’s strong-minded play has placed him at the top when it comes to point guards around the league.

“Nick has really made a name for himself around the circuit,” Moseley said. “His will to win and passion for the game is unmatched.”

Robinson uses his court vision to see the floor, and takes it upon himself to make sure that his teammates are all on the same page.

“I just want to make sure that all my guys know where they are supposed to be,” Robinson said. “Our plays run more smoothly if everybody knows their role.”

Although Robinson has established himself as a premier point guard, he has never been unwilling to take a step back and fine-tune his skills.

“Nick is a very coachable player,” Diepenbrock said. “He is always willing to do whatever it takes to make himself an even better player.”

LAYING IT IN Robinson goes in for a lay-up after a steal in the first home game this year.

After losing last year’s leading scorer’s Powell and Scott to graduation, Robin-son will have to carry the load in terms of offensive production.

“Nick is going to be huge for us this year,” junior forward Kevin Brown said. “ He is undoubtedly the leader of this team.”

Robinson uses his stellar passing abil-ity to get the ball to the scorers on the team, and facilitate the offense.

“He does a great job of getting the ball to his shooters,” head coach Andrew Slayton said. “he always makes good de-cisions with the ball.”

Robinson’s superior play has caught the eye of many college recruiters around the west coast, leaving him with offers from Lewis and Clark University, Univer-sity of California at Santa Cruz and Clare-mont McKenna College.

“I think colleges like the way he plays with emotion,” Moseley said. “You can tell by watching him that he leaves it all on the court and is fearless.”

The upcoming season will be a test for Robinson as he faces the challenge of putting points on the board, while also incorporating some of his younger but talented teammates.

“This year will be unique because of the young team we have and the raw talent we have,” Robinson said. “My well-

rounded game will come in handy.”Aside from helping his teammates on

the floor, Robinson also prides himself on being a good teammate, and providing them with someone to look up to.

“I have seen a lot over the years and have learned a great deal from my past experiences,” Robinson said. “I feel like that will be of help to some of my young-er teammates.”

Robinson’s teammates have noticed that his tenacity and effort have rubbed off on some of the other players.

“Nick’s intensity and focus has helped us a lot in practice,” junior guard Joseph Lin said. “[Robinson] helps us stay in line and get better as a team.”

Robinson hopes to have a memorable senior season in an attempt to avenge last year’s disappointing finish.

“Last year was extremely disappoint-ing because we had so much talent that was wasted,” Robinson said. “Now we have a new group of guys, but I am still confident in what we can do.”

Even though the experience on this year’s squad is noticeably absent, Robin-son still believes that his squad can make a run at a CCS crown.

“The sky is the limit for us,” Robinson said. “As long as we all go out there and play as a team, we are going to be tough to beat.” <<<

DEADLY CROSSOVER Robinson uses his leadership qualities to lead the way for the Vikings.

The Viking’s own emily Fowler chats with teacher and Cañada basketball coach Peter diepenbrock.

50

give and Take...

How’s it going at Cañada so far?

Well, it’s going very well; in that it’s very in-vigorating to start a new challenge in your profession when you really didn’t antici-pate that you were going to be having this. To have to learn a whole new level and, basically, a whole new job, at this point, is very cool. It’s not, you know, right now a winning program; it’s going to take a lot of time, but as far as the actually job it’s very good.

How’s it different from Paly?

Well, I would say that there’s just basically the inherent job with dealing with 19- 23 year old men versus you know 15, 16 ,17 year olds. Just, basically every discussion is just a little bit different, and that’s the main thing that jumps out. The other things, I only have to deal with one group versus three teams and gym time isn’t an issue as far as trying to schedule around different teams and things like that, you know a lot of little things like that. The basic differ-ence is just dealing with much older kids.

EF

EF

PD

PD

Photo by Emily Fowler

51

Is it fun getting to know the new players?

Definitely. It’s just more of an adult rela-tionship; they have other things going on with their lives, like they’re living on their own. So, there’s just a lot of other stuff in-volved, whereas normally with high school kids it’s school and basketball.

What’s your favorite part about coaching at Cañada?

I would say right now just kind of the idea that I am very much challenged, and it’s really forcing me to kind of rethink a lot of my ideas basketball wise, and just really forcing me to get better. When you do something for you know 11,12,13 years, you get certain routines and this is really forcing me to look at everything I do.

What do you miss the most about Paly basketball?

I would say I just miss the high school at-mosphere. In that, I mean something that always basically drew me to high school in the first place, just the spirit and en-thusiasm and intensity of the high school experience. So, it is definitely a different atmosphere at the junior college level; so that’s what I would say I miss the most.

Have you been helping out this year or are you kind of trying to stay out of it?

Well, coach Andrew Slayton and I have been friends for a long time, so we talk and all that. But at the same time you know he wants it to be his deal. And I have to be aware of that, so I’ve been to a couple of their games just to talk to the guys a bit so I’m definitely keeping an eye on them.

Is there anything you want to say to the guys you didn’t get to coach this year?

I would just say that from what I’ve seen that I think they are doing very, very well and that they are playing very well together. I mean, it’s tough because obviously the group hasn’t been together yet because the football team just finished so now they’re gonna get three or four or five guys, so I guess the main thing is just beat Gunn.

EF

EF

EF

EF

EFPD

PD

PD

PD

PD

EF

PD

EF

PD

Is it fun getting to know the new players?EF

How’s your son doing?

Oh, he’s doing great! He’s about to turn three, and he’s talking up a storm and yeah, he’s do-ing well.

Any final words?

Just, you know that I’m up at Cañada, but I spend half of my days here and Palo Alto High School is still definitely a big part of who I am and what I do every day. And even though I’m not coaching the basketball team, I’m still a fan, like I’ve gone to the football games this year, so I’m still a big Paly fan.

52

ormer Paly wrestler Coo-per Newby comes home

from wrestling practice exhausted and drenched in sweat. Though his stomach roars in protest, he refuses dinner and tries to get started on his homework. But as hard as he strug-gles to focus, thoughts keep circling in his head. How much more does he have to lose? Will he be able to eat tomorrow? What if, after all his work, he doesn’t make weight? His head is reeling from hunger, and his mouth is dry, desperately in need of water. Groggily Newby gets up, steps onto the scale and glares, frustrated, at the glowing number: 139. Fighting to keep his eyes open, he layers on every pair of sweats he owns and lac-es up his running shoes. It’s nine o’ clock the night before weigh-in day, and he still needs to lose four more pounds to compete.

This scene is a familiar one for many wrestlers. In a sport where a few pounds determine success, wres-tlers live by the scale. The objective is to make it into the lowest weight class possible while maximizing strength, so that every pound of weight can be used to overpower the competitor.

Wrestlers prefer to be the heaviest and strongest in a low weight class, rather than carry excess weight and be weak in comparison to the larger, sinewy opponents of higher weight classes.

Wrestlers also cut weight because, on a team, one’s weight class may de-termine whether they can compete.

“If there are two people in the same weight class, only one of them gets to compete,” Paly senior wrestler Noah Feldstein said. “Some guys see it as either being able to wrestle or not, so it does give some people that motivation to cut.”

While wrestlers like Feldstein ad-mit cutting weight is tough, they see it as being a necessary evil of the sport.

“It’s a discipline thing; it’s a life-style,” Paly wrestling alum and 2007 California State second place finisher John Hall said.

Hall compares it to football, which

makingthe

cutby malaika drebindesign by noah sneiderphotography by malaika drebin and hana kajimuraphoto model: joey christopherson (‘12)

F

53

he also played at Paly. Besides the grueling practices and demanding physical match-ups that characterize both sports, wrestlers have the additional burden of having to con-stantly watch their weight.

“It’s one of the few sports that really con-trols your life, and success is all about who-ever wants it,” Hall said.

Hall, who now competes in Division I wrestling as a sophomore at Boston Univer-sity, knows well what extreme weight cut-ting is like.

Last year, Hall competed in the ASICS University National Championships, an off-season college tournament. Hall wrestled at 197 pounds during the regular season, but

in this tournament, he had to choose be-tween weight classes of 185 or 211 pounds.

“I decided to cut to 185 because I’d wres-tle smaller guys, but I was worried because if I hit 184 lbs, I would have two pounds of fat on me, and it’s not safe to have that little. I just wanted to see if I could do it.”

Having gained a few pounds from off-season lifting, Hall was faced with the chal-lenge of losing 20 pounds by the tournament weigh-in, which was only two weeks away.

At practices, Hall wrestled in three layers of clothes: his usual t-shirts and shorts, now worn under thermals, sweatpants and bulky sweatshirts. Three hours of conditioning and being thrown to the ground by his team-mates were not enough to lose the weight he wanted, so Hall ran and lifted weights af-ter every practice, trying to keep up a sweat and maintain his muscle mass at the same time.

Hall’s diet was restricted to the bare es-sentials of nutrition, but in large quantities to sustain him through his exhausting ex-ercise regimen. Hall relied almost entirely

on protein and water, his breakfast consisting of 12 egg whites and leafy green veg-etables. His lunch and din-ner menus were limited to cuts of lean white meat and dark green salads. Hall also took vitamins and constantly flooded his body with water to prevent the dreaded prospect of dehydration.

After all his hard work, Hall still had three pounds to lose on the day of the weigh-in, which was a day before competition started. He threw

on two layers of sweats and ran and conditioned intense-ly until he sweated off the weight remaining. Hall then stepped onto the scale, 20 pounds lighter than he had been just 14 days before.

“It’s rough, and sometimes I have a love-hate relationship with wrestling, but it teaches you a lot, and it’s worth it,” Hall said.

Although Hall’s experi-ence occurred at the highly competitive college level, high school wrestlers at Paly have put themselves through similar situations in order to achieve their desired weight by competition day.

Senior Patrick Sheehan remembers a particularly grueling cut he made in the summer of his junior year. The day before weigh-in for

“[Wrestling] is one of the few sports that really controls your

life, and success is all about whoever wants it...”

- John Hall (‘07) -

54

the Cadet Freestyle National Tournament, Sheehan real-ized he was nine pounds over his desired weight class of 130 pounds.

“It was the biggest drop I’ve done,” Sheehan said. “I ended up making it, but I never drop that much anymore. It [wres-tling] gets pretty tiring when you don’t have any fuel.”

Sheehan observes that wres-tlers with the biggest goals tend to cut most often.

“Generally if you’re not very good, you’re not going to be cutting a lot of weight,” Shee-han said. “It’s the guys who are trying to be the best that do the extreme stuff.

Paly varsity coach David

Duran agrees. “Some kids have higher

goals, like going to states,” Duran said. “They have a dif-ferent view of weight than the beginning wrestlers, who are just there to have fun.”

Duran is aware that some Paly wrestlers choose to cut weight, but does not see it as a serious health concern. However, Paly coaches do ad-vocate proper hydration and nutrition.

“Dropping weight is com-pletely up them,” Duran said.

Although Paly wrestling encourages healthiness over reaching the right weight class, other areas of Califor-

nia see the sport in a completely different light.

“California has its big wrestling commu-nities, like the Clovis area, where the kids are really motivated to cut,” Duran said.

Among the more ambitious wrestlers, the pressure to cut can lead to unhealthy and potentially dangerous methods of weight loss.

Newby, now a freshman at Colorado School of Mines, gave in to the damaging habit while wrestling at 135 pounds at Paly.

“I used to cut weight the bad way, starv-ing myself the night before and dehydrating myself sophomore year, but I realized I was actually doing worse in competition because I was so weak,” Newby said. “I once dropped eight pounds in 12 hours, and that was hell. I wrestled terribly the next day, so I never did that again.”

Although Newby has never suffered any

serious consequences as a result of exces-sive weight cutting, he has seen the effects on other people.

“When I was wrestling in North Carolina, my friend and I went on a run to lose the last few pounds,” Newby said. “He had been cutting unhealthily, so he stopped halfway through to walk back. The coaches found him a few minutes later on the ground al-most passed out because all of his muscles had cramped up from dehydration.”

At the college level, Hall attributes his teammates’ serious weight cutting tenden-cies to the greater level of intensity.

“At Division I, wrestling is like a job,” Hall said. “They expect that you will get to your weight, and they’re paying you to be there. You can’t just walk in and ask your coach if it’s okay if you make weight sometime next week. It’s your responsibility to get into your

“I once dropped eight pounds in 12 hours, and that was hell. I

wrestled terribly the next day, so I never did that again...”

- Cooper Newby (‘08) -

55

weight class so the team can earn points.”With so much pressure, Hall’s team-

mates often resort to unhealthy methods to lose the weight.

“There are guys on the team that will cut 20 pounds and gain it all back in a week sometimes, if they’re not doing it right. You see them and they’re so tired that they’re just not happy, and their faces are white and their eyes are all sunken in.”

Carolyn Wester, a wrestling nutrition specialist in Palo Alto who works with high school and college wrestlers, including the

UC Davis team, stresses that irresponsible weight cutting can have disastrous results.

“These kids suck so much weight out of them that the ability to rehydrate doesn’t oc-cur,” Wester said. “Some people don’t know how to regain the energy, so they keep using these unhealthy methods. There are defi-nitely the kids who starve themselves and

then binge on junk, who get these bulimic tendencies.”

Damage from continuous unhealthy weight cutting can become much more se-vere. Wester witnessed an uncommon, yet devastating case with a nationally ranked high school wrestler. He had frequently been starving himself to reach the lightest weight class, and signs of his deteriorating health were beginning to appear.

“At one tournament he had hung out with us, and when we went to dinner, he passed out on the side of the road, all cramped up,”

Wester said. “We picked him up and put him in the car, and he refused to take in any wa-ter. We rubbed out his cramps, but he still hadn’t had any water, and he wrestled ter-ribly.”

Several months later at a match, a seri-ous injury ended the malnourished wres-tler’s season.

“He was doing a simple beginner move with no real strain, and during the move one of the major bones in his body shattered,” Wester said.

Details about the injury have been with-held to protect the identity of the wrestler.

“When he got to the hospital, the doc-tors said he had the bones of an 80 year old woman,” Wester said.

Sports medicine orthopedic surgeon Dr. Frank Chen at Palo Alto Medical Foundation asserted that injuries like these result from conditions brought on by malnutrition and

dehydration.According to Dr. Chen, cutting a large amount of weight too quickly affects muscle performance and can lead to

musculoskeletal injuries. Without the right nutrition, protein levels go down, hurting an athlete’s strength and power and leaving them more susceptible to injury.

“There is a point where the body is so malnourished that it begins to break down muscle, and if this happens excessively it can lead to nausea, confusion, heart ar-rhythmias, shock, and even comas,” Dr. Chen said.

Additionally, Dr. Chen rhabdomyolysis, a condition which results from excessive muscle breakdown and causes muscle fi-ber contents to be released into the blood-stream, potentially causing kidney damage.

“It’s a healthy sport. People think too many wrestlers are cutting unhealthily, but it’s

usually not a big percentage...”- Patrick Sheehan (‘09) -

56

Besides the health threat that serious weight cutting poses, the wrestlers’ constant battle to make it into the right weight class often leads to burnout.

“In my time wrestling and coaching, I could name 200 kids who just didn’t want to cut anymore,” Duran said. “Again, in big wrestling communities especially, the kids motivate themselves so much to cut, and then they don’t continue on with the sport in college, because they’re tired of all the work from wrestling after four years.”

Hall stated that the potential for burnout is wrestling’s only downfall.

“So many people burn out, and it’s so easy to do it,” Hall said. “Especially at Division I in college, everyone’s been wrestling since

they were about five, and they have been cutting weight since they were really lit-tle. There are plenty of All-American, na-tionally ranked kids who just want to have a life outside of the constant cutting and pres-sure, even after they’ve started wrestling in college. They just get so exhausted and they’re not feeling it anymore.”

Such was the case with Sheehan last year. “As far as wanting to continue wrestling

in college, it might have been an issue last year with all the burnout,” Sheehan said. “But I stopped cutting a lot of weight because it was tiring me out so much, so it [burnout] wouldn’t be an issue for me now.”

As a sophomore constantly cutting weight, he wrestled at 119 pounds. Two years later, as a senior, he wrestles at 160 pounds.

“Weight cutting is not fun, but outside of that I love everything about wrestling,” Shee-han said. “It’s a healthy sport. People think too many wrestlers are cutting unhealthily, but it’s usually not a big percentage.”

For a sport that is so physically and men-

tally exhausting, stigmatized as unhealthy, and known for trouble with high burnout rates, regulations are necessary to combat wrestling’s bad reputation and ensure the athletes’ safety.

Much of the increased healthiness of weight cutting in wrestling can be attribut-ed to strict weight and hydration guidelines. California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) regulations state that male wrestlers must maintain at least seven percent body fat, and female wrestlers, 12 percent. At the be-

ginning of the season, wrestlers are tested for sufficient hydration by a urine sample, and their body fat is measured using a bio-electrical impedance analysis scale, called the Tanita scale.

Duran notes that the regulations have helped prevent losing wrestlers to fatigue.

“The hydration test says how low you can go, and no lower,” Duran said. “It keeps more kids wrestling because they’re not

burnt out from weight cutting.”Wester, providing a different prospective,

stated that the hydration tests do a great job to curb malnutrition and dehydration, but would be even more beneficial if the tests were required at every weigh-in, instead of only once at the beginning of the season. However, she said that the expenses re-quired to run hydration tests make the idea not financially feasible.

Dr. Chen claimed that other factors be-sides the hydration test have been making

“There is a point where the body is so malnourished that it begins to

break down muscle...”- Dr. Frank Chen (pamf orthopedic surgeon) -

57

wrestling a safer and healthier sport.“There’s more education at the high

school and college levels,” Dr. Chen said. “The coaches know more about the dangers of weight cutting, and they teach the wrestlers better.”

Wrestlers who have gone through Paly agree that weight cutting is not as hazardous due to greater emphasis on safety.

“I don’t think cutting is a threat at all anymore,” Newby said. “Coaches never tell kids they have to wrestle at any weight, it’s all up to the individual. And with all the tests and nutritional information now it’s pretty safe. If you

figure out how to eat right, cutting does not have to be torture.”

Sheehan agrees that Paly coaches have stressed enjoying the sport rather than worrying about cutting weight.

“We want our wrestlers to get big-ger-they’re boys, not men, and they’re still growing,” Duran said. “It’s hard enough getting kids to play, so we don’t want them to worry so much about their weight.”

With all of the extraordinary de-mands of wrestling, it’s easy to wonder why wrestlers choose to stay with the sport. For them, the gratification of a win far outweighs the struggle of cut-ting weight.

“It’s tough as hell, but I know that everything I do pays off,” Hall said. “I can’t explain it-when I win, it’s me winning, and no one else. There’s no better feeling.” <<<

“It’s tough as hell, but I know that

everything I do pays off. When I win, it’s

me winning, and no one else. There’s no

better feeling.”

- John Hall (‘07) -

58

Behind

Photosthe

For this issue’s cover story, The Viking photo staff experimented with unique photography methods to help illustrate the story of wrestling, and the sacrifices that go along with it. Always eager to create eye-catching spreads for our readers’ enjoyment, we expanded our photographic hori-zons this issue by using creative lighting and projected images.

We wanted to convey both the idea of wrestling as a lifestyle, and the effects of weight cutting on the body. Projected images such as the scale, the skeleton and the wrestler across Joey Christopherson’s chest helped us create the symbolism we were looking for.

To get the pictures from the computer screen to the models’ bodies, we used an LCD projector and adjusted the lighting to create intense shadows and maintain the integrity of the projected photo.

The egg sequence was one of the hardest to shoot, and a very abstract concept. We decided to use eggs because, as John Hall mentioned, eggs are a staple of the weight cutter’s diet. We went through half a dozen eggs trying to achieve the perfect shot of a yolk bursting from its shell. After a number of failed attempts resulting in a yolk-covered Charlie Avis, we finally got it right. It only took us 204 shots and a mountain of paper towels.

None of this would have been possible without the help of our tech expert, Noah Sneider, photography mentor Bob Drebin, and our models, Joey Chris-topherson and Charlie Avis. Many thanks to Woj for letting us use her room as our studio.

We would also like to extend an apology to Joey and Charlie, whom we forced to flex for hours on end and stand still despite being sprayed down with saltwater. Joey - our offer about the senior cheerleaders at your next match still stands. And Charlie-suck it up, we know you loved every sec-ond of it.

If you’re interested in learning more about the shoot, visit voice.paly.net.

THE bACKDROP

THE SETUP

THE EGG

Senior Elizabeth Petit goes into a hard tackle w

ith a Gilroy

player in a game on N

ovem-

ber 19th. The Vikings tied this m

atch 1-1. As of January 14th

Paly shares 1st place with rival

Los Altos.

Photo Credit: Malaika D

rebinZOOM

FeBr

uAr

Y1

23

45

67

89

1011

1213

14

1516

1718

1920

21

2223

2425

2627

28

12

3

at St. Ignatius (6:00)

at St. Francis (6:00)

at James Lick Tourney

vs Gunn (3:30)

at James Lick Tourney

at James Lick Tourney`

at Los Altos (6:45)vs M

tn. View (7:00) Wrestling

Girls’ SoccerBoys’ BasketballGirls’ BasketballBoys’ Soccer

SUNDAY

vs Riordan (6:00)

at Rocklin Tourney

vs Wilcox (7:30)

Cupertino Tourney

at Los Gatos (6:45)at Rocklin Tourney

vsGunn (6:45)

at St. Francis Tourneyat Saratoga (6:45)

at Menlo-Atherton (7:00)

Winter Classic Tourney

at Homestead Tourney

vs Monta Vista (3:30)

vs Los Altos (5:30)

at St. Francis Tourney

at St. Francis Tourney

at Monta Vista (3:30)

vs Milpitas (Dual)

at Sacred Heart (3:30)

at Sierra Nevada Classicat Cupertino

at Rocklin Tourney

at St. Francis Tourney

at Carlmont (4:10)

at Homestead Tourney

at Homestead Tourney

Winter Classic Tourney

Winter Classic Tourney

Winter Classic Tourney

at Santa Clara (3:30)at Gunn (5:30)

at Homestead (3:30)

at Peninsula Invitational

at Menlo-Atherton (Dual)

at Coast Classic

at Coast Classic

at Sierra Nevada Classic

45

67

by Oliver Davies

Second Thoughts...

The Last Word

62

The clock reads 4:24. Four minutes, 24 seconds into the most painful run of my life. 36 seconds left. 36 seconds to break five minutes in the mile.

If all the sub-five minute milers in America were to come together to promote breaking this difficult milestone, I have a feeling I might just be the spokesman for their campaign. I can almost see it now, big billboards and posters put up all over cities, buses and sports arenas with a picture of me, with a big caption underneath reading, “If he can do it, any-one can!”

I am a runner, but by no stretch of the imagination do I consider myself elite. I haven’t been blessed with a body like Usain Bolt or Steve Prefontaine, but I’ve ran cross-country for the last four years, and have made do with my God-given talent (or lack thereof.) As this year’s season came to a close, I decided I would aim to do what I never thought possible, and judging by the gaping expression on the faces of my peers, what they never thought possible ei-ther: breaking five minutes in the mile.

With a team of seniors, (plus one cocky junior Varun Koh-li,) I warmed up that fateful Wednesday, aware that whether or not I broke five minutes, I’d either fail embarrassingly, or pass out on the track, unable to revel in my glory.

Conditions were perfect. The temperature was around 60 degrees, no wind. The fans packed the stands to cheer us on. In retrospect, they might have been there for the soccer game: it’s still unclear. As runners lined up on the track, the silence was unbearable.

Before I knew it, the watch had started, and there we were, 200 meters into the most painful 1600 meters of my life. If everything went according to plan, adrenaline would take me a lap into the race, while the last three would be de-pendent on guts and pain tolerance. So why was it hurting already thirty seconds in?

Panic hit me like an egg on Freshman Friday. Thoughts like “Should I just get it over with and drop out now?” and “This could be a bigger fail than Michigan’s football season,” went racing through my head. Considering I had organized the race, I now had a pack of angry runners going after not only the five-minute mile, but me as well.

Like a bad dream that wouldn’t end, I found myself at the end of the first lap, 3/4 of a mile left. My quadriceps were ripping apart as I strained through the first lap. The pack

pushed on. I focused on sticking with proper mechanics and kept telling myself that in less than four minutes, I would be home free.

Jeff Billing, Paly’s former boys’ cross-country coach, used to repeat one thing throughout his infamous motivational speeches: your body can handle so much more than your mind believes. Herein lays the motivation of running, of stressing the body far past the peak of exhaustion: to see whether you can break the body-mind disconnect.

Two laps in, I honestly thought I could.Pain moved past my legs and engulfed my entire body. The

pack was falling apart, but I didn’t dare turn around fearing what lay behind may only discourage my efforts to move for-wards. Regardless, I pushed on.

In miler’s folklore, the third lap serves to destroy every per-sonal record, every shot at glory, and provide an immeasurable amount of pain before the final adrenaline rush kicks in at the finish. I strove to push on the third lap, but found myself help-lessly slipping away from the steady pacer, cross-country coach John Welsh, as I closed in on the last 600 me-ters, one and a half laps left.

I had all but given up on my hopes of breaking five as the fourth and final lap came around. I knew it would take a miracle. 300 meters left and my legs were numb. Then, as I passed the halfway point, with half a lap left, my coach screamed

“36 seconds left!” 36 seconds. Just like that, the dream was once again alive.

In those 200 meters, I don’t think I’ve ever tried harder. With 100 meters left, the race became an all out sprint. Desperately trying to catch the lead man, I’ve almost got him.

Five seconds. Four seconds. This is my last shot. I sprint, no, I tumble, I collapse, through the finish line.

Lying on the ground, with my heart pounding like it might just give up and stop altogether, the timer reads the final time from his watch:

5:01.

Panic hit me like an egg on Freshman Fri-

day. Thoughts like “Should I just get it

over with and drop out now?” and “This could

be a bigger fail than Michigan’s football

season,” went racing through my head.

The Last Word

Sports, Orthopedic And Rehabilitation Medicine Associates

M id Peninsula500 Arguel lo Street , Suite 100Redwood Cit y, CA 94063-1526Telephone 650.851.1202Fax 650.995.1202

S outh B ay550 S . Winchester B lvd. Suite 110San Jose, CA 95128-2544Telephone 408.247.4900Fax 408.249.4900 w w w.soarmedical .com

Did you miss the last issue of

The Viking? No problem, just

visit voice.paly.net today to catch up on everything you

missed!

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