Carnival comes to PAS to reward kids for good behavior

by Emily Hines and Tommy Verdon

On May 22 the National Guard put on the annual carnival for the elementary students here at Pittsford. The 3rd-5th grade students participated in this event rewarding kids for their good behavior all year long. “We are doing the carnival as a reward for positive behavior,” shared elementary principal Mr. Shaw.

Not only is it just a chance to be rewarded for good behavior, it’s a fun reward. “It gives the kids a chance to get some air and have fun because they’ve earned it through the Positive Behavior Rocks Program,” commented 4th grade instructor Mrs. Burkhart.

The kids had specific requirements that they had to meet in order to enjoy this special day. Every student got to go out and play on the carnival inflatables, but children who met their goals of over 130 points got the privilege of staying outside as long as they wanted.

The event was also popular among students as well. “I like the one where you do sit ups and get prizes,” commented 3rd grader Jaden Howell. “I like the one where you throw the football in it. I like it because I like the National Guard,” shared Jenna Butts.

The students learned that positive behavior is important and by being positive even when it’s hard, your actions will be rewarded

Softball team drops final double-header before districts

by Chelsie Darrow

Sadly, the last games of the regular season for the ‘Cats ended on the wrong note, as they Ladycats dropped both ends of a double-header to the Bobcats, 3-1 and 5-0.

Junior Nicole Culbert took to the mound in Game 1 and struck out seven Bobcats, but she didn’t get enough offensive support for the W. Freshman Samantha Cole and junior Katie Stiver were the leading hitters for the ladies in the first game.

In the second game, Culbert again tried to lead the team to a victory, but the offense and defense just weren’t up to snuff. “I pitched as well as I could, but sometimes it gets frustrating when we can’t make common plays like fielding groundballs and pop-ups. The heat didn’t help us at all either, we were all tired after playing eight games in four days,” Culbert explained. Stiver led the team from the plate in Game 2.

Wildcat baseball team shows no mercy to Burr Oak

by Dillon Cooper

It was a Thursday afternoon and the Pittsford High School baseball team was looking forward to their game. It wasn’t because they got out of class early, either. P-ford would have to travel to Burr Oak, a very small school whose talent pool is slim to none and it showed in this double-header. The ‘Cats would mercy the Bobcats both games, one in the third inning and one in the fourth inning. The feat in the first game was Pittsford: 21 Burr Oak: 0. In the second game much of the same continued as the Wildcats would cruise to an easy victory scoring a mere 16 points and their foes scoring a lonely one point.

In the first contest, junior Seth Weber needed only 47 pitches before the game ended with a 21-0 Wildcat victory. He struck out four batters and walked three. Senior Adam Anspaugh drove in nine RBI, including a HR.

In the second affair, the Wildcats let up a little but still laid it on thick to the “competitors,” winning 16-1. Junior Cody Krasny went the distance on the mound for the ‘Cats, striking out six. Senior Chase Weber brought in four RBI with a pair of HRs.

Hornets sting Ladycat softball team, sweep double-header

by Chelsie Darrow

On Wednesday night the Ladycats were swept by the Hillsdale Hornets in a double-header, 9-0 and 17-3. The girls are not giving up and plan on trying their best to win against Burr Oak tonight.

Junior Nicole Culbert took the loss on the mound in Game 1 for the ‘Cats. There were many hitters who got on base, but just couldn’t make it around to score. Katie Stiver, Amber Stump, and Leah Ward all hit singles for P-ford early on, while Stacey Elston, Stiver, and Marissa McEathron contributed hits late, but they didn’t lead to any scores.

During the second game the ‘Cats mustered up three runs, but fell far short of their opponents’ 17. Senior Marisa Hamilton took the loss on the mound, striking out three Hillsdale batters. Culbert, Amber Helton, and Jessica Plessinger each had singles in Game 2, for the extent of the Ladycat offense.

Ladycat softball team’s roller coaster ride continues

by Chelsie Darrow

Despite the ‘Cats stomping the NA-J Rams on Monday, they fell back into a losing gutter on Tuesday, losing both games to Lenawee Christian by scores of 5-0 and 8-1.

Senior Marisa Hamilton was the pitcher for the first game, taking the loss but striking out eight Cougars. Sophomore Heather Mason was the only person to get a hit for the ‘Cats, knocking a single. The defensive mistakes really cost Pittsford in this one. “As far as the team I think other than a few errors, we did a pretty good job. The other team was a good wake up call to some things we need to improve on,” explained Mason.

During the second game, junior Nicole Culbert once again took the mound for the Ladycats, getting the loss and striking out five LCS batters. Freshman Samantha Cole was the only Ladycat to get a hit, wrapping a single.

Boys track ‘Cats win 6th straight SCAA title

by Dillon Cooper

It all came down to this. This day, May 19; arguably the most important date on the calendar for the Pittsford Wildcats boys track team. The reason why this date was so important was not because this was such a new and difficult league, as powerhouse Pittsford found out when they lost during the regular season to Colon and Bellevue, but that they had to prove that they could win their sixth straight league championship.

The odds were favored in Hillsdale Academy’s corner, and having already dropped two dual meets to Colon and Bellevue, the mountain to climb was steep; Pittsford was looking at a grim bronze metal for the 2009 track season, but the ‘Cats had other things in mind.

As we all know, stats are irrelevant and that is why we play the games, and the Wildcats proved that with what they did last night. “I thought they (the team) gave a tremendous effort,” expressed head coach of the boys track team Mr. Burger. “They wanted to win really bad and it showed in how hard they worked and I was pretty happy,” continued Burger with a faint smile. Not only did the Wildcats grab the championship in what you might call an “upset” or “unlikely,” P-ford won by a sizeable margin and so the streak continues. But we all know it was because of the outstanding performances that carved the way to this memorable moment.

Senior Ben Wines was the league champion in the discus, heaving the disc 138’2’’ and in the shot he placed second with an effort of 45’10.25’’. Sophomore Brandon Williams took 7th in the discus with a throw of 107’4’’. Junior Garet Lee took third in the high jump with a leap of 6’, 2nd in the high hurdles, and fourth in the 300m hurdles. Sophomore Austin Billington and junior Kurtis Brackman went one-two in the pole vault. Brackman also took 6th in the high hurdles and fifth in the 300m hurdles. In the two mile relay the team of Jake Osborn, Brent Smith, Luke Irwin, and Kyle Wyatt scored a third place for their respected team. In the 800m relay the team of Osborne, Blake Toner, Brad Beach, and John Sattler brought home a fifth place finish. Brent was the league champion in the mile and the two mile. “It was really cool to win because I worked so hard,” expressed Brent. The Pittsford 400m relay crossed the line seventh with the team of Osborn, Sattler, Steven Rose, and Michael Benedict. Kyle took second in the 800m run with Brent finishing just a split second behind his teammate for third. Luke Irwin took fifth in the two mile and the mile relay took fourth credited towards the team of Osborn, Lee, Beach, and Kyle. “It is pretty amazing when you think about it,” acknowledged Burger. “It just goes to show how lucky I have been to coach some pretty good athletes.”

Boys track team wins 6th straight league title

In a stunning performance, the boys track team overcame their two individual dual meet losses this year to pull off the upset at the league meet, capturing their 6th straight title.

Details coming tomorrow.

Softball sweeps Rams

by Chelsie Darrow

With the softball season coming to a close and the team is gearing up for districts, the Ladycats are shaping up and pulling in all the wins they can muster. Monday night’s games were both wins, beating North Adams-Jerome 3-1 and 18-8.

Junior Nicole Culbert got the win on the mound in the first game for the ‘Cats, striking out six. Amber Stump, Marissa McEathron and Stacy Elston were on fire at the plate, smoking the Rams by scoring Pittsford’s three runs. “I was excited because I try my best every game to score. I worked on turning my top hand over to get my hits harder than the past game,” reported Stump.

The second game saw many Ladycats cross home plate, as the team scored 18 runs. Senior Marisa Hamilton and freshman Sam Cole each wrapped three hits, while Katie Stiver, Amber Helton, and Stacy Elston each smacked a pair of hits.

Girls track team sending five girls to state meet

by Carley Bruner

On Saturday, May 16, the girls track team traveled to Hillsdale College to the regional track meet. Many girls had a goal of making it to the state meet, and five girls from Pittsford are fulfilling that goal. No matter what the situation may be, the girls track team has pushed themselves as hard as they can this year and worked their butts off to make it this far.

Girls qualifying for the state meet in individual events are sophomore Jackie Page in the pole vault (8’3”) and 100m hurdles (16.81), sophomore Morgan McFaul in the 3200m run (12:40.08), and junior Elainee Poling in the long jump (15’11. 25”) and the 800m run (2:26.37).

The 3200m-relay team consisting of sophomore Amber Lennox, freshman Jentry McAdams, McFaul, and Poling (10:25.83) also qualified for the state meet.
Though we weren’t able to send girls in more events, they pushed themselves the best they could and tried for their season goals because they wanted to impress everyone. Most of the girls were happy with their overall performance at Regionals. “I was very pleased with myself because I made it to state in the two events that I wanted to go in, the two mile and two mile relay. And our two mile relay team has a really good chance of making the all-state team this year so I am pretty excited for state,” said McFaul.

Hard workers awarded for academic excellence at honors banquet

by Brooke Maxson

Throughout the 2008-2009 school year, many high school students have worked hard academically for themselves and to impress their parents, students, and friends. Whatever the reason for their good grades, they were rewarded Wednesday, May 13 at the academic awards banquet at the school.

Many awards were given to students in 9th-12th grades. Awards were given out from teachers and academic advisors, as well as scholarships for the seniors. As usual, some students expected their awards, and some are better academically than they thought. “I expected a few of the awards, but not that many! I got quite a few. I got a couple last year, so I kind of figured that I’d get a couple and I’ve been working really hard all year,” explained junior Elainee Poling. Elainee was given awards for four of her classes and also received an honor roll award.

Hard work and dedication to academics paid off this year when the honored students were given a fancy meal and were given the opportunity to watch their fellow classmates receive awards and get some of their own. Remember to work hard next year and it’s very likely you will end up in their position.

The awards are as follows:

Teacher Award/Student

Aaron Bulgrien

English 11-Cody Krasny
English 12-Jessica Ruder
Speech & Drama-Leah Ward

Mike Burger

Physics- Eva Gucker
Earth & Physical Science- Elliot Krasny & Morgan Lennox

Darick Clark

Trig- Cody Krasny
Algebra 1- Jesse Smith
Applied Math- Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Clement

Anatomy- Eva Gucker
Chemistry- Cody Krasny & Elainee Poling
Biology- Abbie Brackman

Mick Curtis

Algebra 2- Elainee Poling
Geometry- Jackie Page

Lucy Davenport

English 9- Elliot Krasny
English 10- Melinda Hegeman

Wanda Ervans

Student Council- Pres. Leah Ward
VP –Derra Clark
Secretary – Stephanie Marshall
Tres. – Garet Lee

Chris Hodos

Health- Elliot Krasny
Physical Education- William Belson

John Hoeft

Drafting 1- Melinda Hegeman
Drafting 2- Ben Wines
Senior Athlete Awards

Ryan Hoover

Computer Literacy- Virgil Schrom
Journalism- Dillon Cooper

John Irelan

Government- Elainee Poling
Economics- Cody Krasny
Psychology- Eva Gucker
Sociology- Jessica Beard

Scott Lovell

World History- Amber Helton
US History- Virgil Schrom

Joanne Marowelli

Library Assistant- Melinda Hegeman

Jack McDonough

Art-Jessica Beard

Kathy Oberlin

Accounting 1- Holly Bastien
Office Automation- Melinda Hegeman

Mary Sanderson

Michigan Merit Awards

Betty Spahr

Spanish 1- Kyle Wyatt & Amber Helton
Spanish 2- Cody Krasny
Spanish 3- Elainee Poling
Spanish 4- Casie Bail
Ed. Practicum- Casie Bail

Brian Spitler

Band- William Belson
Luke Irwin
Cody Krasny
Elliot Krasny
Morgan Lennox
Jackie Page
Elainee Poling
Jessica Ruder

Trisha Weaver

Ed. Practicum- Ashley Derr
Leigh Pauken- for Ms. Burkhart
NHS- Holly Bastien
Jessica Beard
Maggie Chisolm
Ben Farley
Eva Gucker
Marisa Hamilton
Steven Kuster
Jeff Page
Clark Pelham
Jessica Ruder

Kay Winchel

Ed. Practicum- Andrea Shaedler

Scholarships

Pittsford Area Lions Club Scholarship

Eva Gucker
Marisa Hamilton
Jessica Plessinger

Hillsdale Moose Chapters 921 & 564 Scholarship

Maggie Chisolm
Clark Pelham
Jessica Plessinger

Military Scholarship- Athletic Recognition Awards

Marisa Hamilton (Army)
Chase Weber (Army)
Marisa Hamilton (Marines)
Ben Wines (Marines)

Katherine McNutt Zakrzewski RN Memorial Scholarship

Marisa Hamilton

Hillsdale County Art Guild Adabelle Hill Scholarship

Jessica Beard

Hillsdale County Community Foundation:
Ione “Ma” Gordon Scholarship

Holly Bastien
Cheryl Yearling Memorial Nursing Scholarship

Holly Bastien
Pittsford Area Scholarship

Eva Gucker
Roger Boyd Memorial Scholarship

Holly Bastien
Kiwanis Scholarship

Holly Bastien

Pittsford Education Association Scholarship

Maggie Chisolm

Richmond First Generation Scholarship

William Belson

JCC Foundation Scholarship

Holly Bastien

Hillsdale County University Of Michigan Alumni Club Scholarship

Eva Gucker

SAR

William Belson

DAR

Eva Gucker
Wagner Memorial- Athletic Boosters Scholarship Chase Weber

Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program

Jessica Ruder

Robert C. Byrd Scholarship Program

Eva Gucker

Elks Scholarship

Eva Gucker

Boys track team sending Wines, Smith to state meet

by Dillon Cooper

May 16, 2009 was a day many track athletes have been working all year for. It was a one-time shot; if you made the cut, you were going to the pinnacle of track, which we all know is the state meet. If you have a mishap, then your dreams are shattered. For many seniors this was their last opportunity to make a lasting impression and give their school a representation of greatness.

Among the seniors (there are only two on the team: Ben Wines and William Belson) there was an outstanding performance superb to all the rest. Wines qualified for state in both of his field event (shot put and discus). Last year Wines qualified for state just for the discus, not the shot, so this is a very exciting point late in his high school athletic career. He threw a personal best 48'1.25" in the shot put and an outstanding 150’2’’ in the discus. Wines grabbed a second place finish in both competitions.

Another not-so-surprising state qualifier hailing from Pittsford is sophomore Brent Smith. Brent qualified for the state meet after a determined performance in the mile, finishing with a time of 4:38, good enough for state competition. In the two mile, Smith took fourth and had a terrific time (in the windy conditions) of 10:30, which also resulted in an invite for state.

Steven’s Puppets put on Wizard of Oz for elementary

by Emily Hines and Tommy Verdon

As tradition for the elementary would have it, the K-5th grade students attended the annual puppet show on Wednesday, May 13, put on by Steven’s Puppets. The puppet show he put on was a classic and a favorite of many, The Wizard of Oz.

The man who put on this show was named Dan Raynor. He travels the northeastern district and there’s another man who travels in the southern, and one in the west. Individually they pick up about 100 schools a year.

Elementary secretary Mrs. Clark mentioned Steven’s Puppets had many stops to make that week, including a trip to Maryland after visiting our school.The puppet show was also a big hit for the students; it was obvious to teachers that the children enjoyed the presentation. “The kids enjoyed it. It was very entertaining; the guy was very energetic. He got the kids going before the puppet show even started, so I think the kids were really more entertained at the beginning so it kept them entertained through the show,” stated 4th grade teacher Mrs. Burkhart.

Time to flip the script; I'm grading the school

by Mike Fauls

The end of the school year is coming and to all of the students (especially this year’s seniors) it means freedom. No books, no homework, no teachers and their rules…it sounds really nice. But before all of this happens we have to face the dreaded exams. And if we fail both the exam and the class…well, that isn’t what any of us want. As they give us our grades for the year, I think it’s fair that I get a chance to grade them on a few things. Pittsford, you will be graded on five levels: Teachers, Policies, Enforcement, Safety, and The Ability to Listen to Your Students.

Teachers: Pittsford you have a solid set of teachers here, with that said DON’T GET RID OF THEM!!! KEEP THEM HERE!!! It would be a massive mistake to screw with a formula that works great. Pittsford, most of your teachers get A’s all around. I mean, let’s face it--they relate to the students and seem to honestly care about what’s happening and how they can help. Whether it’s by making some sort of personal sacrifice or talking about how you played the part of defender for a young woman, they teach both morals and lessons of courage, honor, and self-respect in their own unique ways.

Policies: Guys, your policies need work. Some of them are enforced to the extent of pure ludicrousness. Like the T-shirt thing; some of the t-shirts that you guys catch are genuinely bad, so good job on that. But others that mean absolutely nothing at all? Come on, people, work with us. iPod’s are another chink in the school’s policy armor. Some teachers allow them in their classes while doing work; others look at them as if they are evil little demons that will suck your soul out of through your ears. Pittsford, you get a C in your policy department.

Enforcement: This could go hand-in-hand with the policies, but I feel that this covers all general rules as well. And you know what? You guys do all right in this area, you stick to the basics, kid gets a warning, and if he doesn’t knock it off he gets punished to the next degree. But that’s as far as consistency goes. You don’t really know what to expect from class to class as far as enforcement goes. I know teachers that let their kids go crazy basically, and yeah that’s pretty awesome from a student’s point of view, but it doesn’t give us a floor to stand on. It just kinda pulls the rug out from under our feet every hour. Pittsford, I give you a solid C- in this category; if you improve the enforcement of the policies, then the policies could definitely go up, and vice versa.

Safety: I think that this goes to show how good of a place Pittsford really is at its core. Pittsford, you are a safe school. Between your practice drills and assemblies, you do your best to prepare and warn your students. Unfortunately, you have some major building problems, like the wall in the gym. Congratulations Pittsford, you get an A-.

The ability to listen to your students: This is your Achille’s heel though; you do not listen to your students’ opinions. Take this article, for instance. You might read it and you might not. What is guaranteed, though, is that most of you, if not all, will simply ignore this because I am a student and I don’t really know what I’m talking about because I’m just a young whipper-snapper. Sorry guys, but you drop the ball in this area. Pittsford, you get a D in this area. You just don’t listen all that much. A really nice thing that could fix this is even if you didn’t act on our opinions, let us know that you at least heard us. Bring us into the office, or even just at lunch, walk up to us and tell us that you didn’t think it was a great idea and tell us why. This is what bugs most students, we hear about certain things like the need to cut things out and paste other things in their spot, but tell us why that’s happening so that our imagination doesn’t go crazy.

Culbert no-hits Magi as softball team splits double-header

by Chelsie Darrow

After a long bus trip to Colon, the Ladycats played sluggishly in the first game, getting mercied 10-0 before bouncing back in the second game behind a no-hitter by junior Nicole Culbert to win 2-1.

There was no offense of note in the first game, and senior Marisa Hamilton took the loss on the mound. The ‘Cats rode the arm of Culbert and her nine strikeouts in the second game, though, and were able to eek out a one-run game as the Magi scored on three Pittsford errors.. The two scores for the night were made by freshman Samantha Cole and senior Jessica Plessinger both hitting doubles for the Wildcats winning game.

The Wildcats had some disagreement within the team but pulled it together for a win in the ending game. “We weren’t getting along like we could of in the first game, but we pulled out of the disagreement and won the second, making it a great learning experience for the whole team to endure,” explained sophomore Keely Sanders.

PHS student making contributions at Hillsdale Daily News

by Emily Hines and Tommy Verdon

Among Pittsford High School’s very talented students is an especially talented student, sophomore Dillon Cooper. Dillon writes for our school newspaper and about a month and a half ago accepted a job writing for the Hillsdale Daily News.

“It has always been my dream to be a journalist and working with the HDN is a great step in the right direction,” shared Dillon. According to Dillon, Mr. Hoover helped Dillon land this job of his dreams. “I had a long talk with Mr. Hoover and he said he would talk to the sports department, and then I went for an interview and next thing I knew I was writing stories for the Hillsdale Daily News,” commented Dillon.

HDN sports editor R.J. Walters assigns specific articles to Dillon every so often. “Some weeks he has me swamped, and others I hardly have anything to do,” shared Dillon.

As we all know, having a job can have its advantages as well as its difficulties. “The toughest part is probably balancing all of my priorities and keeping them in order like school, sports, a social life, and a job,” expressed Dillon. And like any other job, there’s deadlines for every employee. “I have to write a story and get it in by 10 p.m. at the latest, but that isn’t too difficult unless the sporting event runs into overtime; then I have to really focus and get the job done,” explained Dillon.

There are also many steps to finishing his assignment. Besides collecting facts and writing the article, Dillon usually checks and proofreads his work about four times before he is finished. Even when he’s finished and his work is out of his hands, his articles go through three or four proofreads by other people.

Dillon also brought in a few newspapers with his articles in them and gave some people at school an opportunity to take a look at his work. “Dillon’s article about translating to a different sport was very informative,” commented Mrs. Davenport. “His writing was impressive!” she also expressed.

“I thought Dillon did a good job reporting the facts. He had the important facts; he interviewed other coaches, which was good,” complimented Mr. Burger. Mr. Burger also noticed that Dillon is a fan of the major sports media, and with that in mind, left Dillon with a small piece of advise: “Dillon needs to lay off the ESPN quotes,” joked Mr. Burger.

It’s obvious when asking Dillon about his new job that he is very excited about doing something he loves. “The best part of it all is probably the overall experience. Learning how to exactly phrase words and put them in the correct tense and even simple things like interviewing coaches and/or players which isn’t hard at all,” shared Dillon.

Dillon is very talented and PHS is very lucky to have him at our school and writing for our school newspaper. Make sure to keep up with Dillon and find out when his next article will be posted so you can read it and then give him a giant high-five!

Softball team goes 1-3 over the weekend

by Chelsie Darrow

On Friday, May 8, the softball team took on Battle Creek Saint Philip in a double header, and unfortunately lost both games.

The Ladycats fell 3-2 in the first game, as junior Nicole Culbert took the loss on the mound. Freshman Sam Cole provided the offense for the ‘Cats, knocking in two runs. Despite the sweep, Cole was encouraged by the performance. “Our team did awesome against Battle Creek,” said Sam.

The Ladycats dropped the second game 3-1. Senior Marisa Hamilton took the loss on the mound, and again Cole led the offense, wrapping two hits. Though they lost both games, the softball players are chalking it up to bad luck and not letting it effect their playing; it only means they will work harder at their game.

Going to Britton for a tournament the very next day, the softball girls took on league foe Waldron. They lost to the Spartans, 7-3. They fought hard but couldn’t quite beat the opposing team. Culbert started the game but got injured in the 4^th inning making a defensive play, so Hamilton took over for her.

The second game the Lady Cats played was against Britton, winning 7-5. Hamilton got the win on the mound, and Cole kept her bat hot, smoking two more hits. All the team members agree with the fact that the team tried its hardest. “I that the team did fairly well the first game. We could have done a lot better though, but the second game we pulled it together and did great,” remarked Shay Osmun.

Golfers face marathon week of disappointment

by Dillon Cooper

It was by far the most active part and most grueling part of this year’s schedule for the Pittsford Wildcat golfers. It included a match every day of the week, plus another on the following Monday. Needless to say the ‘Cats got their fill of golf competitions for a while.

On Cinco De Mayo (May 5, for those who are not familiar with foreign affairs), the Wildcats had a match. This affair was against the Royals of Jackson Christian. JC won this competition by the final say of 180 to 209. Junior Zack Broughman led the way for P-ford, scoring an even 50.

On the following day the Wildcats gave up a nail bitter to a talented Morenci team. The men in blue had many players break the barrier of 50 including Broughman who received a 47, junior Chase Stratton and junior Alex Reinbolt both finished just a stroke over Broughman, scoring 48s. The Wildcats lost by a mere five strokes (190-195).

On May 7, the ‘Cats had another chance to show their stuff but suffered the same result—defeat. Broughman led the way this time matching his previous best (for this year) with a 47.

Monday, May 11, was the last leg of the marathon. The Wildcats had arguably the biggest meet of the year on their hands and had an opportunity to grasp it, but failed to do so. This league-meet was to be played on 18 holes, not the standard nine that the Wildcats are used to. Regardless, Broughman led the way for the ‘Cats, shooting an even 100.

Boys track places 8th at Purdy Invite

by William Belson

Pittsford, as always, put forth a great effort at the Purdy Invitational, but the effort was only good for an 8th place finish, as the depth of talent was considerable. Potterville won with 112 points, while Pittsford netted 19.

Junior Jason Smith medalled by taking 5th place in the shot put (44’04.50”), junior Garet Lee placed 3rd in the 110m hurdles (16.36), the 3200m relay team took 5th place (9:00.41), and sophomore Brent Smith took 3rd in the 3200m run (10:13.06).

Though he didn’t medal, sophomore Brandon Williams did a great job Saturday. For the shot put Williams threw 41 feet 3 inches and he continued his PR-setting rampage, throwing 117.5 in the discus. “The thing that helped me throw well in the shot was keeping my head up and exchange my feet, and for discus was when I spin to keep my arms (orbit) up,” explained “Too Tall.”

It’s an Obamanation

by Mike Fauls

A lot of people are going on about our President’s first 100 days in office and whether or not, based on these days, he will be a good president. Quite a few people think that he’s doing a wonderful job in office. I do not.

Personally I think that he’s running this country into the ground and some time in the near future we’ll be extremely close to a communist country. I swear though, people think that because of this reason I’m racist or something like that. I’m not, for the record; I have friends that are black.

Some people label my stance as rather extreme, while others completely agree with me, but really let’s take a microscope and maybe a crystal ball into what his first 100 days are and how some students around here are responding.

Senior Henry Fether is not a fan of the President’s first 100 days. “He’s done nothing useful, and he’s released all of the people from Guantanamo, so they’re out doing what they were before,” explained Henry. This makes me wonder. Let’s say that most of the people in Guantanamo were innocent civilians caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. To them, this is a miracle. But at the same time, let’s say that about 15-20% were actual terrorists ready to kill America’s, or any other free and democratic country’s, citizens. What then would we do? Would we strip away more freedoms for the sake of “safety” and hope for the best?

Some people think that he is doing the best that he can though with all of the stuff that’s he’s been given. “He’s done within expected parameters,” said senior Steven Kuster. I’ll give our President credit where his credit is due he has had to deal with a bad economy and I’m sure that racist people have given him a hard time. He also has two daughters to raise and worry about.

But we’ve gotten rid of so many things that we were used to. Everything that we’ve come to know is basically upside-down. My dad and I were talking about this and he brought up a really good point, saying, “Ya know, people talk about how this isn’t the America that it used to be 20 years ago. Look around, though, this isn’t the same America it was just a year ago!” Truth be told I think Obama should just stick to comedy; he’s more successful at being a stand-up comedian than being a president.

Boys track team falls in heart-breaking fashion to Bellevue

by William Belson and Dillon Cooper

On May 6, the boys varsity track team received their second dual-meet loss of the season to another talented track foe, Bellevue. The score was 70-67.

The men worked their hardest with almost everyone on the team obtaining a PR (personal record). In the shot put junior Jason Smith took first (46’01.50”), with senior Ben Wines right behind taking second (45’00.00”). Wines took first in the discus (142’02.00”), junior Garet Lee won the high jump (5’08.00”) and the 110 hurdles, Kurtis Brackman won the pole vault (10’00.00”). Sophomore Brent Smith won the 1600m run (4:46.13), the 800m run (2:07.25) and the 3200m run (10:35.50).

Now onto some of the outstanding PR’s that occurred on that Wednesday afternoon. Smith had an epic throw which clearly was his best throw ever in a meet. “I was working hard over the week. Mr. Buckner helped me out over the week. I figured just do it and not think about it,” expressed Smith. Wines’ throw felt effortless. “When I threw the shot, it didn’t feel like anything; it was amazing,” explained Ben.

Coach Burger knew there were many options for this meet to unfold. “There were many different possible scenarios that could have worked out,” said Coach Burger. “It came down to the mile relay and it was real close. If we could have won any one of the mid-distance relays, that would have been big.” But Burger would find a shining light through the darkness of this loss. “Ultimately I thought we did the best we could. We really ran hard and I thought we made a good stand. We’ll focus towards winning the league championship.”

Without a doubt that is the main focus for the ‘Cats. Before each track participant left the track, every student-athlete put his hand up towards the sky and formed a pyramid with one thing on there mind… to be determined within the next ten days and to bring home the sacred hardware that Pittsford is no stranger to.

Art class impressed by Toledo Museum of Art

by Chelsie Darrow

On April 30, the art class took a special trip to the Toledo Museum of Art. The museum helped the students get a better idea of what the quality of their art projects here at Pittsford should look like. There were many models at the museum that the students could look at and get a better idea of how their project should look like versus watching a movie or looking at a picture; there in person, they actually got to see a 3-D, real-life model.

Many of the students had different opinions on what their favorite exhibit was. Sophomore Braily Lee’s personal favorite was the glass museum. Not everybody thought the art museum was the best part, though; sophomore Jimmy LaFollette’s personal favorite was the lunch at McDonald’s.

Many of the students learned a lot from this trip. “I learned a lot about the art and how it is important part of our history,” stated Lafollette. “I learned that art can be created and appreciated by everyone, no matter what their age is,” explained Lee. Not only was the trip educational, it also was a fun day for the students to get away from the every day hustle and bustle of Pittsford schools.

There were many things at the art museum, such as the afore-mentioned glass museum, many statues, and of course paintings. “I thought the statues really stood out at the museum because they were so real and life-like,” retorted Lafollette. The artwork in the museum was very unique and creative; as it gave the students the understanding that everybody can profit from exposure to art. “The Japanese art work, they had a little sculpture of a mythical being but when you looked in its mouth there was a human face. It was very unique!” explained Lee.

“Overall it was a great trip,” thought art teacher Mr. McDonough. Not only were the students very respectful, they also enjoyed the trip very much; it was just an overall good time.

Girls track team goes undefeated in dual meets

by Carley Bruner

On May 6 the girl’s varsity track team held their last dual meet of the season against Bellevue, and the girls took another victory, dominating the Broncos 122-11. The girls have had a wonderful season this year, going undefeated in the regular season. Good job girls!

The girls took a lot of 1st and 2nd places throughout the night. The individual first places for the day were junior Katelyn Kipfmiller in the discus (90’5”) and shot put (27’0”), sophomore Jackie Page in the pole vault (7’6”), high jump (4’6”) and 100m hurdles (16.44), freshman Andrea Hill in the long jump (13’0”) and 300m hurdles (55.49), sophomore Morgan McFaul in the 1600m run (5:58.23) and 3200m run (13:03.71), junior Elainee Poling in the 800m run (2:35.43), sophomore Amber Lennox in the 200m dash (29.42) and the 400m dash (1.05), and junior Jocelyn Elarton in the 100m dash (14.30).

Relay teams placing first for the day were the 800m relay (2:03.40), 400m relay (58.13), and the 1600m relay consisting of Amber Lennox, Morgan Lennox, Kipfmiller, and Poling.

Could the swine flu come to PHS? When pigs fly, if precautions are taken

by Emily Hines

We’ve all heard a few things here and there about the swine flu virus (H1N1). It has traveled far from where it originated from and now has the United States taking precautions.

You might have heard every day when you were younger to make sure you wash your hands. Our parents must have said it to us a thousand times, but now it’s very crucial. “Wash your hands with soap and water,” emphasized our school nurse Mrs. Laws.

Everybody has most likely heard a lot of different things about this virus and most of the time information can be passed on incorrectly, so the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has listed many facts on their website about this virus and how to stay healthy and avoid getting it.

First off, you may be wondering what exactly the virus is, besides a form of flu. Swine Influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by a type of the A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza of pigs. The first swine flue virus outbreak in 1903 was isolated from a pig, but the reason it is spreading today, even if you’re not around a pig that is infected, is through other infected people.

Also, the virus is more serious than you might think. Even though it’s not a major problem to us in Pittsford yet, that doesn’t mean that it won’t be in the future. Some symptoms of swine flu are very common to regular flu, such as fever, fatigue, lack of appetite, coughing, and incontinence. Swine flu can spread mainly from person to person, from someone who coughs or sneezes. The symptoms are mainly those of the regular flu. Many ask the question of whether this H1N1 flu is any more deadly than the regular flu, “Most of us have never had influenza A or B. Swine flu is worse than ‘Pittsford flu’, but equal to influenza, which kills 30,000 people each year,” shared Mrs. Laws.

Another big issue with the news about the swine flu is that eating pork may lead to you catching the virus. This information is false. “Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit kills the swine flu virus, as it does other viruses and bacteria,” sys the CDC website.

The CDC has issued an emergency response in response to the outbreak in the U.S. The CDC’s goal as stated on its outbreak response is to provide information to help health care providers, public health officials, and the public address the challenges brought on by the new virus.

The U.S. must consider itself very lucky to have programs like the CDC working to prevent and inform the public about harmful diseases. Also, if you are sick you should stay home and avoid contact with other people as much as possible, says the CDC.

Golf team struggling to score

by Dillon Cooper

Monday was the start of a marathon week for the Pittsford High School golf team. Every day this week there will be a match and it is safe to say that by Friday these student-athletes will be broke in, to say the least.

But this was just the start of things, the first match. This affair was to be played at Allwyn Downs, a place that the Belleview Broncos call home. Needless to say the ‘Cats would fall again, dropping their record to a disappointing 1-17 on the season. Junior Zach Broughman led the way for P-ford, carding an even 50.

The next contest was not quite a carbon copy but still ended in the same, reoccurring result--a loss. The Wildcats picked up the big number 18 in the loss column, falling to Lenawee Christian. Broughman led the team, again scoring a 50.

Softball team upsets C-F, splits double-header

by Chelsie Darrow

Camden-Frontier sports two of the very best pitchers in the entire SCAA, but in the first game, one was outdueled by Pittsford’s own junior Nicole Culbert, as Marisa Hamilton’s RBI single in the 9th inning was the only run scored in a 1-0 Ladycat victory.

Culbert struck out seven and walked none on the mound. “It feels really good, finally beating Camden after so long. It was a long, hard, fight and we all contributed somehow, but knowing that we can beat a tough team like Camden gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season,” explained Culbert. Freshman Sam Cole doubled in the 9th, and was plated by Hamilton’s single. A 1-2-3 9th followed for Pittsford and the celebration ensued.

The second game didn’t go as well as the first for the ladies, as the Redskins enacted revenge to the tune of a 13-2 loss.. Hamilton was the pitcher for the second game and she struck out five but walked four.

Sociology class observes patients at Northcoast Behavioral center

by William Belson and Justin Fish

The sociology class took a field trip to Toledo to visit Northcoast Behavioral Health Care to learn more about mental illness. “The main purpose for the trip was the just let the kids see how the people actually were treated in the mental health field,” said sociology teacher Mr. Irelan.

On this field trip they learned a variety of things. One of the things the class did was take a tour of the Mental Recovery Recreation Room. Also in the mental hospital they have the patients play certain video games, such as Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and the Nintendo Wii, to help them stay in shape because of the medication they take and the food that they eat. The trip was beneficial to the students’ understanding. “It helped me understand what the mental people have to deal with every day, and what problems they have,” said senior Ben Wines.

The hospital volunteers also helped the students understand what is going on in someone’s head that has schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality. For this experience you have someone asking you questions about how you are feeling and you have two different people talking to you who are your “voices in your head.” Everybody there tries hard, and cares about each other and the patients. “My favorite part about the field trip was to see the people doing the best they can to help all of the mental people,” explained Wines.

To further explain the recuperation process, one of the staff members at the hospital sang something called the “Side Affects Song.” The song is both humorous and seriously explains that side affects are much better than a relapse when you have a mental illness. At the psychiatric hospital there all different types of patients, from level one (having to be in the hospital all the time) to level five (self-admittance, and can leave the premises).

In the late 1800s there were 1,000 people buried in the hospital’s cemetery. Most of the headstones are buried underground. The sociology class also got to go find the headstones that were buried underground. We were given steel rods to poke in the ground and try and find the headstone between 3-6 inches. After a headstone was found they would dig up the headstone with a shovel, then fill the hole with sand and make the headstone flush with the ground to make it stand out. “We got to help out people who have been dead for 100 years or so that nobody remembered, which was nice,” said Mr. Irelan.

Band trips to Mackinac

by Derra Clark

The high school band took a very much-needed trip to Mackinac Island May 3-4. The trip included performing on the island, free time to wander around, and very long bus rides.

The band played for the visitors and natives of the island on Sunday. “Our fan-base was two half-(dressed) people playing frisbee,” said junior saxophonist Cody Krasny. They played a compilation of songs they played for the festival concert and songs they will be playing May 7 for the spring concert.

The trip was quite enjoyable for the band, but they all had their favorite parts. Junior flutist Elainee Poling came prepared with many games to pass time during the six hour bus rides, and her bandmates appreciated it. “The games we played on the bus rides were fun,” said Cody. Other band members enjoyed the time off to spend with their friends. “My favorite part was hanging around with my friends,” said junior clarinetist Desirae Swope

The trip was a fun excursion for all of the members of the band, and they hope to take a journey back to Mackinac Island again.

Ecology class makes landfills

by Carley Bruner

This year Mr. Cushman’s ecology class has done a lot of new and educational things. They have done a couple of projects such as dissecting owl vomit, recycling every Monday, and on days when it’s nice they go outside and do some landscaping around the school and help make our school look better. The most current project they have done is building their own landfills.
This project had a couple of very specific purposes. “A hands-on project, to help you remember and visualize how it’s supposed to be, how it looks, how it’s actually physically built, just a model/replica of a landfill,” said Mr. Cushman. Most of the students learned something from doing this project. “There are many layers to a landfill, and there are a lot of different equipment that you need to put with it”, said senior Danielle Seabolt.

A landfill is a low area of land that is built up from deposits of solid refuse in layers covered by soil. There are many important layers to a landfill, such as a lechate pond, soil layer, drainage layer, gravel, lechate collection pipe, plastic liner, and compacted clay. They all combine together to make sure that nothing toxic or anything that would harm the environment will leak out. The students got to use whatever material Mr. Cushman had in the classroom to build their own model of a landfill. The items they chose each had a different part in their model and they had to explain what they used each item for.

The students (and Mr. Cushman as well) had a little bit of difficulty on some of this project. Mr. Cushman says the hardest part was “getting the students to do it.” Some of the students had troubles with different areas of the project. “Doing the research on what goes into the landfill (was difficult),” stated junior Shelby Strang. “The hardest part for us was getting all of our materials together and trying to figure out what we are going to do with it,” commented Danielle.

Baseball team splits double-header with Camden-Frontier

by Justin Fish

The Pittsford baseball team would head into Camden-Frontier Tuesday night in high hopes of stealing a pair of victories from them, but they’d have to be happy leaving with a split.

The ‘Cats would squeak out a win in game one by a score of 5-4. Junior Seth Weber (3-1) had three strikeouts to get the win on the mound. The leading hitters of game one were seniors Chase Weber going 3-3 with an RBI and a run, and Clark Pelham going 2-4, running out a double and scoring a run. Junior Greg Hodos went 2-3 also scoring a run.

However, the Wildcats would lose game two by a slim margin as the bats went cold. Senior Adam Anspaugh would go 1-2 with a double.

Efron leaves HSM behind and leads funny, thoughtful 17 Again

by Brooke Maxson

Have you ever been afraid that one day you might wake up and decide your life didn’t really turn out the way you would have liked it to? This is precisely what happened to someone in the new hit, 17 Again, that was released into theaters on April 17.

This movie, starring Zac Efron, is basically about a middle-aged man (Matthew Perry) who is dealing with a pending divorce with his high school sweetheart and the mother of his two children, who also aren’t the biggest fans of him. He’s decided life has gotten the best of him and is regretting his past decisions, mainly the one to drop his popular reputation and his basketball career in high school to take care of his baby he learned they were expecting. It’s right around that time he wakes up to find himself in a shower…17 years old again. This movie takes us on the laugh-out-loud journey of a man who gets the chance to live his senior year all over again, while trying to discover the reason he’s there for a second time in the first place.

From the time Mike O’ Donnel looks at himself in the mirror for the first time to find himself as a 17 year old, this movie is a hit. Although it could be said to be just another version of Freaky Friday, 13 going on 30, or Never Been Kissed, it still has surprises. An interesting thing about the movie is that when Mike O’ Donnel makes the change to 17, he’s the one who changes. His family and friends remain the same, so he must learn to live with his family around who have no idea about his change. In every movie like this one, the main character is transferred to a different time in his or her life to make a change for the better, and this movie follows that tradition. These movies may all be similar because they involve someone getting the chance to relive a certain part of their life, but they’re also different in the fact that each person is getting a second chance for a different reason. I believe a really good thing about 17Again and movies similar to it is that it winds up teaching people a lesson and making them want to change their life now, because we all know if we regret it someday there’s no just turning back magically.

So, it won’t hurt to go see this movie or rent it when it comes out on DVD. Who knows…maybe it will teach you a lesson and motivate you to make the right decisions now rather than regret them later, especially if you’re 17.

Elementary kids ready for year-end carnival

by Tommy Verdon

The school year is finally coming to an end. That means seniors are leaving, awards are being received, and the elementary finally gets to attend the long, awaited, end of the year carnival!

The carnival will be May 22, and will last about an hour for each grade. Since the elementary kids have behaved all year long, elementary principal Mr. Shaw thought that it would be nice to give the students a reward for their hard work and determination. “It’s a reward for the kids and their positive behavior,” explained Mr. Shaw. There will be many things that the kids will be able to enjoy. “There will be obstacle courses, rock walls (climbing wall), maybe a dunk tank, and possibly one other thing,” hinted Mr. Shaw.

Basically, the elementary students are ready to let loose and have some fun… especially fourth grader Jordan Williams. “I’m excitied for all of the fun stuff that will be there,” exclaimed Jordan. Also, fourth graders Ethan Fellows and Skyler King are ready to get out there and show some kids what fun is all about. “I’m ready to have some fun,” explained Skyler and Ethan.

Summer movie line-up full of blockbusters

by Mike Fauls

This summer is going to be oozing with awesomeness thanks to this year’s movie line-up. Obviously some of the movies that are on here already came out, but they are still labeled “summer movies” to most. I won’t be able to list all of them because of the amount (45 releases from May to October), and some that I list won’t be until the fall, but I believe that they are still worth mentioning in case next year somebody in journalism drops the ball.

Starting out in May is Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and X-men Origins: Wolverine. These movies seem to be drawing the most attention and seem to have the most potential. On the 8^th is Star Trek; the 15^th is Angels and Demons. The 21^st holds a special place in most people’s heart because we finally get to see John Connor as the bad mamma-jamma military leader that we all knew he was deep down. That being said Terminator Salvation should be pretty sweet. The next day Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian will be coming out. This is the sequel to Night at the Museum. Wrapping up the month of May is Disney-Pixar’s Up and Sam Raimi’s new movie Drag Me to Hell.

Now on to June. This month is really the official start of the summer season and it doesn’t mess around, getting the feeling into people. On the 5^th is the release of Land of the Lost and on the 12^th is The Hangover and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. The 19^th gives us Year One and The Proposal. The 24^th, arguably the best movie day out of the year, releases unto the world Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. This movie is obviously the sequel to Transformers and looks absolutely fantastic. Finishing the month is My Sister’s Keeper on the 26^th.

With June being over with and summer being in full swing, lets start the July list out with Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Public Enemies coming out on the 1^st. On the 10^th is Bruno. And to all you muggles out there, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince comes out on the 15^th. This will be the 6^th book-to-movie for the Harry Potter saga. The 24^th gives us G-Force, Orphan, and The Ugly Truth. Funny People comes out on the 31^st, which brings us right into our next month.

The summer is starting to wind down, but not before its big finish. August brings with it a few gems that should be mentioned. On the 7^th is G.I. Joe, and Shorts. G.I. Joe is an old cartoon with even older action figures, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be bad. Personally, I think this movie is going to be awesome and that everybody should see the trailer. Shorts looks to be more of a kids movie with a magical rainbow-colored stone that grants wishes. The 14^th brings to the silver screen District 9 which is produced by the famous Peter Jackson (the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and looks pretty awesome because it deals with an alien-containing facility in a foreign country; watch the trailer and you’ll see what all the hubbub is about. On the 21^st Inglorious Bastards comes out and on the 28^th is yet another Final Destination sequel labeled Final Destination: Death Trip. Also on the 28^th is a movie called The Boat that Rocked.

Just in case someone forgets next year you should really check out these movies in the fall. September 9^th brings a movie that looks awesome called 9. And on the 18^th is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. And one that’s personally close is Where the Wild Things Are coming out on October 16^th.

Well ladies and gents, that wraps up the summer season and I hope that this gave you a small look of what’s to come and some info on movies that you might not have known about.

New student council elected, already forming plans

by Brooke Maxson

In preparation for the ’09-‘10 school year, a new student council was recently elected. The positions were up for grabs for anyone in 9^th-11^th grade. The PHS student body elected junior Leah Ward as president, junior Derra Clark as vice president, sophomore Morgan McFaul as secretary, and sophomore Abbie Brackman as treasurer.

Our new student council is already making plans concerning what things will improve after we return from summer break and throughout that school year. A couple things you may have heard about are the attendance proposal and the attempt to bring back seminar. In the past, seminar was a part of our school day designed to give students time to finish work and attend important meetings. Because students didn’t use the time wisely, it was taken away.

As president, Leah has big plans for the student council. “We want to reinstate seminar; not every day, but once a week or once every two weeks. We want to get the exam policy going where if you miss two days or less you don’t have to take your exams, and maybe spice up homecoming and blood drives and stuff,” said a hopeful Leah. I’ve heard from Leah and Derra that president and vice president will work as a team. “Derra and I started all those things and we want to see it out, so we have it for our senior year. One more thing we wanted to get was more respect for the student council because everyone thinks it’s just a group that makes plans for homecoming, so we’re probably going to do more community service this year,” explained Leah.

Derra takes her position as vice president very seriously. Like Leah, it’s important to her that the students at PHS are satisfied, and since Leah and Derra are working as a team, many of Derra’s goals are the same as Leah’s. “Our biggest thing that we want to do is bring back seminar once a week, every week. We’re going to try to finish the attendance proposal and make petitions for seminar. Leah and I do a lot together, so we can bring a lot to the table there,” explained Derra.

Usually there’s a reason people run for student council, and many times this reason is that past experience was successful. “I was on student council as representative and I really liked it. My job is to just basically discuss things at the meetings. We don’t really have a lot of power, but that’s what we want to do. That’s something we want to do next year, get more power in the student council. We’re also going to try to do community service,” explained Derra.

Some may think the jobs of secretary and treasurer aren’t as important as president and vice president, but the truth is that each job serves equal purpose. Morgan’s job as secretary is intended to keep organization and record things. “I plan to keep everything organized and just do a nice job,” said a determined Morgan. As far as I know, Morgan doesn’t have past experience, but wanted to create experience anyway. “I really wanted to be a part of the student council this year and I thought being secretary would be a job that I would be good at and take the position seriously and do a wonderful job,” explained Morgan.

The student council keeps track of many events that raise money, and someone has to be appointed to record that money. So, Abbie is going to do just that. “I handle all the money,” explained Brackman. Sometimes, as we all know, something just falls into a person’s hands even when they aren’t necessarily looking for it. “Funny story: Garet (Lee) came out of a meeting and asked if I would be treasurer because no one else was going to do it, so I became the treasurer!” said Abbie with a laugh.

Hopefully during this upcoming year the students at Pittsford High School will learn that we owe the student council a lot. So remember, the jobs on student council should be taken seriously and it isn’t just a group that makes plans for homecoming. Hopefully we’ll see more power in and respect for the student council in the 2009-2010 school year.

Golf team falls again to Jonesville

by Dillon Cooper

It was a Friday and that meant the Pittsford Wildcat Golf team would be back in action. This time it would be a familiar foe, the Comets of Jonesville High School. This would be a rematch of a previous affair that ended in the same disappointing outcome, except this time the match was closer, as the ‘Cats fell to J-ville 199-218. Junior Zach Broughman once again led the way for the men in blue, swinging his way to a 51.

Ladycat softball team starting to pull in wins

by Chelsie Darrow

The Ladycats had a double header on Friday against the Indians of Tekonsha, mercying T-kon both games, 13-1 and 18-3. Many of the players were excited because they pulled in two more wins for the team. It’s a step in the right direction for the softball team. “Even though Tekonsha hasn’t had a softball team in years I feel that they represented a challenge and played fairly well,” explained freshman Melissa McEathron.

Senior Marisa Hamilton had three singles, junior Katie Stiver hit two singles and McEathron matched Stiver’s two singles to lead Pittsfrdom from the plate. On the defensive side Hamilton walked four but struck out six to earn the victory.

The second affair was even more lopsided. Freshman Stephanie Reyome led the way for the Wildcats with two singles and a double. Hamilton added to the act, knocking two singles, and junior Amber Stump had one single and one double. On the defensive end, junior Nicole Culbert received the W.

Pittsford baseball wins both side of T-Kon double-header

by Justin Fish

The Pittsford baseball team would blow out Tekonsha in both games of a double-header Friday night, taking the first game 9-1 and the second game 16-1.

The first game’s winning pitcher was senior Clark Pelham (2-0), who had 5 Ks and only allowed two hits in the game. Seniors Adam Anspaugh, Pelham, and Chase Weber would hit the ball well in game one. Anspaugh would have an excellent night from the plate sending a bomb deep in center-field for a HR and also going 3-3 with a triple and an RBI. Pelham would go 2-3 with 2 RBI. Weber would go 2-4, tallying a RBI and running out a triple. Junior Cody Krasny went 2-3, running out a double and also collected a RBI. Senior Zach Vanlerberg would stay perfect on stolen bases, going 4-4.

In game two, Vanlerberg (1-1) would strike out 10 hitters and only allow four hits to get the win on the mound. Juniors Seth Weber, Krasny, and Tyler Wilson would step up in game two. Weber would go 2-3 with a double; Wilson would score two runs going 2-3 from the plate, and Krasny would send a bomb into left field for a HR. Seniors Weber and Anspaugh also kept hitting in game two. Weber went 2-4, scoring two runs, and Anspaugh would go 2-3, knocking in a run.

Boys track team finishes 5th at Quincy Invite

by Wildcat Times staff

On a beautiful, but windy, day for a track meet, and ‘Cats put forward some very nice performances to take 5th at the Quincy Invitational.

Senior Ben Wines led a strong day in the field events for P-ford, winning the discus with a PR of 144’07”, and finishing 5th in the shot put with a throw of 43’05”. Junior Garet Lee jumped a season-best 5’11 to place 6th in the high jump, while junior Kurtis Brackman set a new PR with a 12’03” pole vault, good for 2nd.

Lee paced the ‘Cats on the track as well, finishing 2nd in the 110m hurdles (16.57s). Junior Brent Smith took 5th in both the 1600m run (4:48.87s) and 3200m run (10:43.66s).

The ‘Cats host Bellevue on Wednesday, and travel to Litchfield for the Purdy Invitational on Saturday.

Changes in store for classrooms next year

by Emily Hines and Tommy Verdon

Every summer PHS changes things up at our school to help improve the way things work. This year some well-known improvements were the painted walls, newly planted flowers, and separating the middle school from the high school.

This summers to do list has been lengthened in hopes of making the school a bit more efficient and more comfortable for the students and teachers.

“Over the next summer we are going to paint and clean every room, like we usually do, and we are going to re-work all the elementary classrooms with a ventilator system. They’re all pretty bad right now. We need to re-pipe and re-valve,” stated high school principal Mr. Cook.
Not only are the elementary students receiving an update of their classrooms, the high school section has a few things on the way. “On the high school side we are going to put three-way valves and control units in so that we can regulate the temperature in each room. If you notice over the years, one classroom will be like Bermuda and the next like Antarctica,” shared Mr. Cook.

Most students at Pittsford think highly of these ideas and think the school will benefit from them, but one has some ideas of her own that she thinks might be helpful. “Painting the lockers and maybe giving different locker colors to each grade would be a nice way of separating grades,” shared senior Jessica Ruder.

We can only look forward to the possible changes for ’09-’10 school year with high hopes they will all work out as planned.

Softball drops two to Reading

by Chelsie Darrow

On April 27, the Ladycats took on the Reading Rangers; they played tough in their two games, but couldn’t pull out a sacred W. The score for the first game was 11-5, and the score for the second was 14-4.
For the first game, senior Marisa Hamilton led the team in batting. Hamilton slugged two hits to lead the Wildcats. However, Hamilton earned the loss on the mound, striking out six in the process.
In the second contest, junior Amber Stump and freshman Stephanie Reyome each belted doubles to lead the hit charge. “It felt good to hit a double since that was the first one this year. I felt that the hard work paid off,” exclaimed Reyome. Hamilton and sophomore Jade Smith combined to finish the game on the mound.
All-in-all the Wildcats are trying their hardest with performances that don’t really show the work they put in, especially with a 3-7 overall record, but things look better for the future as the ‘Cats are working from the ground up and it won’t be long before it will show out there on the diamond.