Pioneer Valley HS
February 23, 2017
Issue 99 vol. 2
Boys Varsity Tennis & SMHS Scrimmage
SMHS hosted a scrimmage game at Minami Park on February 22, 2017.
In singles, Isaiah Guerrero, Edgar Jimenez and Ramon Lemus won 7 of 9 matches, and in doubles, Oliver Peregrin teamed with Manuel Lopez won 3 of 3 as did the paired up Luis Carpentero and Michael Labastida.
PVHS Boys' Varsity Tennis will host their first home game next Tuesday February 28, 2017. So come out and support!
​
"This season is off to a great start and I also feel like this season will be the best yet. The hardest challenge I face on the court is going against players who have played tennis their whole life, but that doesn't mean they can't lose. Some advice I would give to future players would be to not give up even if you are losing because with effort you can improve." -Ramon Lemus (12)
The court is like a giant chessboard. In all honesty, it's a battle between yourself. It's difficult to come back when you're down by so many points, but if you're good enough to keep a good state of mind, the battle becomes much easier. I would recommend that future players take their technique very seriously. I always see a bunch of kids who show signs of great potential, but it is ruined by their form. It takes time and practice to get to the level that you want to be. Tennis is a great sport, it's always something that'll lift you up when you're in a bad mood. It may not be as intense as other sports, but it delivers a sense of joy that you can't get anywhere else, that's why I love the sport." -Isaiah Guerrero (12)
"I personally feel that this season will be a great one, overall it will just be a fun experience I wouldn't want to miss that. Challenges I face are mainly reminding myself I could be better with more practice, surly I will gradually improve my skills. For those interested, I encourage you to come out and take a swing, you'll never know how much fun you'll have until you come out and try first hand. You also get to meet new people and make great friends." -Edgar Jimenez, (12)
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |
-Xayda Gonzalez
Lorenz Represents at Poetry Out Loud
-Daniel Rodriguez
Last week, three PV Panthers, Wardie Ghali, Samantha Neri, and Lorenz Dodson all competed in the Poetry Out Loud competition in Santa Barbara. Lorenz Dodson took 3rd place in the county on February 15. This is a significant achievement for our school and for these poets. They put in a lot of effort to advance to the finals and in representing Pioneer Valley.
​
"I was very happy about 3rd place in the county because I've been practicing for like a month now. Everyone in Santa Barbara did so well, so I'm fortunate to have had such good coaching from the boys Mr. Rothstein, Mr. Brown, and Ms. VanGronigen." -Lorenz Dodson (12, bottom left)
​"I wasn’t supposed to participate in the competition, because I was an alternate, so it was between me and Lorenz. And I was going, but Lorenz won. So I was supposed to be going as an alternate but they called and they let me participate and it was really nice. It was last minute, but I liked performing in front of the audience or the other participants and the judges because my poem. I feel like my poem had a message because it was about Mexican immigrants. So when I was done performing, people came up to me and said like we really felt that." -Samantha Neri (11, bottom middle)
​
"My feelings about our team performing went really well. All three of them, Wardie, Samantha, and Lorenz, did very well. I'm proud of Lorenz for taking third place because his poem was way more difficult than most of the other poems I've heard. It was unmarked, unpunctuated, and he had to, like, piece it together and interpolate his own punctuation and his own phrasing so it would actually make sense. It was extremely figurative and abstract." -Mr. Rothstein (back, left)
FFA WEEK
-Jordan Gonzales & Kylia Harrison
Annually, every February here on the Pioneer Valley Campus, and amongst an innumerable amount of school campuses who host the FFA organization, the National FFA Week is celebrated. Here at home the FFA Panthers have shown their pride with dress up days throughout the week as well as doing western-themed activities. So far this week, dress up days have been well attended and include Tie Dye Tuesday, Western Wednesday, today, being America Thursday, and I can imagine that tomorrow will be just as spirited as the past days for Panther Pride day.
​
Activities this week have been the tractor pull, hay bucking, and a petting zoo. Our FFA has even gone above and beyond by hosting events outside of school and off campus, yesterday was the Sectional Dodgeball Competition at SMHS, and tomorrow will be the Sectional Dance that for the first time in history will be hosted at the Bull Canyon Road Barn. Thanks to the FFA for this week of fun and festivities, and the eventful end of the week will go out with a bang with the Barn Dance.
DodgeBall Champs:
Arnulfo, Hosvaldo, Erick, Adrian, Tony, Brandon, Bryan, Michael
TONIGHT
TONIGHT
Wrestling Champs Leave Today for Master’s Tournament in Ontario
"This past weekend, I had the privilege to wrestle with the 14 varsity guys for one last time at CIF. Only 2 of us managed to move forward into Master's. This is a big accomplishment because the two of us who made it became top 32 in the Southern Section of California. We have to win 3 matches to make state. But, these are high quality wrestlers and there isn't a guaranteed win. The farther we go along, the harder each tournament is. I'm happy with how far along I have made it, but I wish to be the best and I feel confident with the work I have done and the time my coaches have put into me and my partner." -Adolfo Delacruz (12)
"I used to play baseball during my freshman year, but I stopped to focus on wrestling. What got me obsessive about the sport is the way it shapes you to be outside of wrestling. It just teaches you life lessons that makes my family proud. The process is long and enduring. It's filled with ups and downs and I've had to train a lot during the offseason. To have the title now only pushes me to work harder to earn myself a CIF title. This is my last season and I have to give it everything I got. It felt great to make it to Masters and that was part of my goal this year; to make it to the state tournament is my ultimate goal. But it was humbling wrestle and standing next to the number 6 guy in the state, but also being the number 2 guy in the southern section myself." -Cristian Cardenas (12)