March_2014 - Tempe Preparatory Academy

Vol. IV No. 6 - Mon., March. 24, 2014
DE EQUITIBUS
INSIDE
Music Regionals inspire
participants.
Page 3
Track season puts spotlight on
individuals.
Page 5
Cast working hard to make musical comedy memorable
By PJ Carmody
There you are, standing on the stage, as
the piano plays the introduction to your
song. You understand that messing this up
could mean someone else gets the part as
you begin to sing. Many students experienced this exact anxiety weeks ago as
Tempe Prep’s musical returned for another
year. Auditions occurred in January following an audition workshop teaching
students the ins and outs of auditioning. A
few lead roles were given to Christopher
Moffitt (Frederick), Tiffanie Cappello Lee
(Mabel), Michael Benson (Pirate King),
Connor Will (Major General Stanley),
Aubri Stough (Ruth), and Grace Brittain
(Chief of Police). Yes, it’s The Pirates of
Penzance. The drama teacher, Mr. Sanderson, directs it during his first year at TPA.
It takes a lot of effort to put together such
a production. Rehearsals began seven
weeks ago, and the cast dove directly into
learning two long acts of music. Since
The Pirates of Penzance is an operetta,
it’s about 80 percent song. Music teacher
Mrs. Wilkison has been leading the cast
through the challenging pieces of the music. She says, “The music is very comical,
as are the words. Generally the harmonies
are classical, even though it’s the height of
the romantic period.”
Sophie Kniaz plays the role of one of the
The Pirates of Penzance
performance times:
April 10-12 at 7 p.m.
April 13 at 3 p.m.
Major General’s daughters. She says the
most challenging thing about the play is
“deciphering the music — it’s from the
1880s.” The first two weeks were spent
simply learning the music. “It’s not easy,”
Mrs. Wilkison says, and Mr. Sanderson
along with many cast members agree. Aubri Stough says, “It is hard to hit the higher
notes that are almost out of my range.”
The musical is a comedy, however, and
Mr. Sanderson says the music supports
this notion. “I can’t say I enjoy getting the
songs stuck in my head,” says stage manager Sarah Faulkner. Mrs. Wilkison describes
the progress made by the cast musically as
a path leading to where they must be by
the time of the performance: “It may seem
we haven’t gotten as far as we need, but we
have.” Overall, Mr. Sanderson is also very
assuring: “People learning this music study
voice in grad school for years. I’m very
impressed at how well the students are able
to perform it.”
By three weeks through rehearsals, Mr.
Sanderson began the stage work with the
cast members, who was still struggling to
memorize the music. He reveals that the
biggest thing that distinguishes the acting in The Pirates of Penzance from other
musicals is “the comedy. It’s very funny. It’s
a good time to be had by all.”
It can be difficult “keeping up with Mr.
Sanderson,” says Sarah Faulkner. Memorizing multiple stage actions can become
difficult, especially because “in musicals, it
makes it harder to speak at the same time,”
says Aubri Stough. She is the dance manager, meaning she plans and teaches the
choreography for the musical. She carried
the job from last year’s The Sound of Music
to this year’s production. She enjoys this
job because she loves helping people.
Additionally, there is the fight choreographer, Mr. Bolt. He plans all of the fight
scenes and teaches the cast how to make
it look as realistic as possible. Through all
of this commotion, however, students still
seem to enjoy the hours spent rehearsing
on the stage. “Being a lead [role] has been
great because I’m able to lead others,” says
Aubri (Ruth).
Next up is the musical’s artwork and set.
The Art Club’s job is to make the Zelman
Center look, as Kayla Scott explains, as
much like a “seascape” as possible.
Continued on Page 4
2
Top junior high spellers offer tips on mastering difficult words
By Emily Gregg
Azimuth. Netiquette. Occipital.
Could you spell those words off the
top of your head? How about stöllen, bourgeois, or chauvinism? Some
might not know how to say these
words and may even doubt their
existence in the dictionary. They are
real words, from junior high spelling
bee lists. Having experience competing in both the school and regional
spelling bees, I set out to find the
best ways to remember correct spellings.
When competing in the bee, you
are allowed to ask five questions
about the word: the definition,
the language of origin, the part of
speech, an alternate pronunciation,
and if it can be used in a sentence. I
know that if you ask these things the
answers will give you clues on how
to spell the word.
High school students have had
years of experience writing. Luke
Reboulet and many other seniors
say that they look at the root of the
word, and the definition. Kate Coriell and Maggie Drury (also seniors)
suggest finding the correct pronunciation of the word and learning
how to use it in context.
What do junior high students say?
Sofia Hidalgo remembers words
from funny links with the pronunciation. “A three-year-old told me that
he had serious ‘busy-ness’ to attend
to in the bathroom, and that is how
I remember business,” she said.
Another student, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “I just study
at the last minute.” In my opinion,
this method is not recommended.
You could always take my advice,
the advice of a champion: bug your
parents to help you study by saying
the words correctly lest you look
like an idiot asking for an alternate
pronunciation.
You can also check out these websites as studying tools: spellingcity.
com, myspellit.com, and spelling
bee.com.
De Equitibus
www.DeEquitibus.com
Co-Editors in Chief
Claire Newfeld, Rachel Neglia
Sports Editor
Alexander Agadjanian
Features Editor
Chris Moffitt
Education Editor
Billie Nagy
Junior Academy Editor
Sammy Nagy
Staff Writers
Sarah Faulkner, Francesca
De Luca, Tiffanie Cappello Lee,
Nina Lin, Sarah Buchert,
PJ Carmody, Emma Moriarty,
Mya Caldwell Escribens,
Emily Gregg, Frances Caldwell
Advisor
Bob Schuster
bschuster@tempeprep.org
The De Equitibus staff meets every Friday
morning at 7:30 in Room 503.
Anyone interested in
participating is invited to attend.
Published by and for
Tempe Preparatory
Academies
Tempe, Arizona
Front, from left: Emily Gregg (7A and TPJA Champion),
Max Terrell (6A), Ehsa Murray (6C). Back, from left:
Alex Wait (7B), Bryce Klassen (7C), Rachel Dietz (8B),
Trevor Kerber (8C). Not shown: Lindsay Newfeld (8A),
Elijah Garside (6B)
Preview college classes at OpenCourseWare
By Billie Nagy
If you have ever wondered about what
it would be like to take a certain course
at your favorite college, or if you want to
learn more about a subject or major in
general, then look no further than OpenCourseWare.
OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a collection
of course lessons created by universities
that are made available online to sites like
YouTube and Open Culture for the benefit
of everyone.
The OpenCourseWare movement started
in 1999 at the University of Tuebingen in
Germany. However, it really took off with
the launch of Massachusetts Institute of
Technology’s OpenCourseWare in 2002.
After MIT got on board with the project,
a multitude of other universities such as
Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Yale did as
well.
MIT’s reasoning behind OCW was to
“enhance human learning worldwide by
the availability of a web of knowledge.”
MIT also stated that it would allow students to become better prepared for classes
so that they may be more engaged.
All in all, it is essentially getting a small
scale education from the nation’s highest
colleges and universities - all for free. Besides YouTube, there is an amazing website
called “Open Culture” (www.openculture.
com) that most students have not heard
about, but should definitely know about.
Besides many other things, the site has
almost 900 free online OpenCourseWare
courses to choose from and watch, in
almost every subject you can think of,
stretching from large, popular, and general
topics such as business, economics, and
history, to very small and specific courses
you might not have even heard about such
as Anthropology of the South Pacific.
If you have some time, or are curious
about different subjects, I would highly
recommend checking out this neat and
interesting site!
Tempe Prep students Maryclare
Mooney, left, and Megha Thathi
made a presentation in Spanish
last month at the ASU Foreign Language Fair. They were among a
number of TPA juniors and seniors
who participated in the fair. To see
more photos and videos of TPA’s
performance at ASU, visit
tpaspanishclub.blogpot.com
Photo courtesy of Sr. Cardoso
3
Taking part in choir, orchestra Regionals is unforgettable experience
By Chris Moffitt
When the top musicians of the region
are gathered together in one group, in one
building, for one performance, the music
that is made is absolutely unbelievable.
I had the recent privilege of being part
of the Regionals experience along with
several other talented TPA students. Of
those who made the Regionals Choir,
TPA had Nasrynn Chowdhurry, Tiffanie Cappello Lee, Christopher Moffitt,
Anthony Giandiletti (sophomores), and
TJ Smith, and Andrew Stough (seniors).
TPA also had several students which made
the Regional Orchestra: Josephine Fisher
(freshman), Dominic Amorose (junior),
and Thomas Menefee (senior). In total, our
small and humble Tempe Prep saw nine
of its students qualify to perform with the
best musicians in our region.
To make it to this level, students have to
go through a rigorous audition process
where they compete with students from
every other high school in the region. This
process includes both sight reading and
performing a prepared solo. This requires
much talent and preparation. “To prepare,
I drill on sight-singing as much as I can,”
says Nasrynn Chowdhurry. “Although the
solo is the less stressful part, I still prepare
the song a few months prior to the audition.”
Dominic Amorose, on the other hand,
practices “a half hour, five days a week” in
order to prepare. As one can see, making
Regionals is not an easy accomplishment.
Front, from left: Josephine Fisher, Tiffanie Cappello Lee, Nasrynn Chowdhury, TJ Smith.
Back, from left: Dr. Wolfe, Thomas Menefee, Andrew Stough, Christopher Moffitt,
Anthony Giandiletti. Dominic Amorose, Mrs. Wilkison.
The work definitely pays off once the
musician successfully makes it into the Regionals experience. Regionals provides “a
fun experience where you are able to meet
interesting and talented people outside of
school,” says Dominic.
For Nasyrnn, “The main reason the Regional choir experience is so fun is because
Fry’s Rewards pack benefits for TPA
By Mya Caldwell Escribens
This year, TPA will do the Fry’s
Community Rewards Program as
they have done in past years. The
big difference this year will be that
the program will be linked to your
Fry’s VIP card, which transfers an
amount of your purchases toward
your Tempe Preparatory Academy
student’s account. This year my father volunteered to coordinate the
program, and I asked him about
what has changed in the program
from years past.
This program will benefit the
families of TPA because it will
offset the fees that the families
have to pay for extracurricular
and campus activities. Soon the
Parent Teachers Organization will
be having a meeting inviting all
TPA families and providing the
opportunity for them to find out
about the new Fry’s Community
Rewards Program. This will give
all the families of students attending TPA an opportunity to have
their questions answered, and
learn more about the program.
This is an excellent chance for the
families of TPA to not only help
their students that are attending
TPA but to also contribute to the
programs of the school.
Families that would like to set
up a Fry’s Community Rewards
Program account need to have
an email account in order to get
started. Specific instructions will
be provided to families that attend
the upcoming PTO event. If you
would like to offset some of the
expenses that you incur as a part
of this great TPA community, we
encourage you to have your parents attend.
All of us are fortunate to be a part
of such an excellent tradition and
history here at TPA, so do your
part. Make sure that your family
attends this vital PTO event in the
near future. If you have questions
you can contact Allen Caldwell
at: awc1957@yahoo.com or Jill
Myrick at: jmyrick@yahoo.com.
everyone in the choir is there for one reason: to have fun doing what we love to do.”
For me, the best aspect of Regionals is
creating as musicians such a wholesome,
pure, and beautiful sound, and knowing
that I am contributing to that music. It is
one of the best feelings I have ever felt.
Pursuing scholarships can
be well worth the extra effort
By Sarah Faulkner
Colleges and financial support are often dark, bothersome topics students like to avoid. While scholarships
sound fantastic, the application process and the essays
are annoying. In fact, only $3 billion to $4 billion are
put into scholarships, out of the $180 billion for college
funding each year. It sounds like a lot of money, but
there are millions of college students, and the cash goes
away fast. So it is best to apply for scholarships quickly.
However, there are scholarships that offer more than
money. For example, the TW Lewis Scholarship is a
“local real estate developer that offers $5,000 a year to
attend Barrett Honors College at ASU,” says Mrs. Moffitt.
Only ten local students are selected and are worked with
throughout their entire college career.
Another example is the Flinn Scholarship. It offers to
cover nearly all of the tuition, to pay for a three-week
seminar after freshman year, and funding for at least one
more international study-travel experience and further
professional development. This scholarship is offered for
the Arizona schools — ASU, NAU and U of A — and is
valued to be about $100,000.
Scholarships can offer more than just money, and those
that do are the ones to go after. As Mrs. Moffitt says,
“Even if the scholarship offers $50, your parents will be
so proud and will be boasting about it to their friends.”
4
Honor Society members enjoy putting
in extra hours of community service
By Claire Newfeld
High school students at Tempe
Prep must complete a minimum
of ten community service hours
per year in order to graduate.
National Honor Society members
must complete a minimum of 15
hours per semester. TPA students
participate in several interesting,
fun, and valuable service projects
in order to fulfill these requirements.
One of the most popular service
activities is Feed My Starving
Children. FMSC is a “non-profit
Christian organization committed
to feeding God’s children hungry
Christine Scarpati, chief executive officer of the
in body and spirit.” Tempe Prep
students have the opportunity to
Child Crisis Center, looks over the board of volunvisit the premises about once a
teers, who work with children from troubled homes.
month and package meals specifically designed for malnourished
Several TPA students who volunteer get
children, which are then sent to almost 70
to work directly with the children. This
countries around the world.
activity is not for the faint of heart. As Kate
NHS members hold several annual
Coriell, senior, said at the NHS Induction
fundraisers for this organization, such as
Ceremony, “Have you ever played tag with
Feathers For Food at Thanksgiving and
a 5-year-old? They cheat!” But of course,
the Krispy Kreme Donut Fundraiser at
knowing that you are making such a posiValentine’s Day.
tive impact on these kids’ lives just by playSarah Faulkner,
ing with them makes it
junior, said of her
all worth it.
“Feed
My
Starving
experience, “FMSC
NHS members will
was not what I had exalso have the opporChildren
was
not
what
I
pected. I had thought
tunity to participate
that it would be more
expected... The air was in events on March 19
of an assembly line and
26 from 6-7 p.m.
giddy and the chatter and
squeaky clean and fast.
to conduct science
It was fast and clean,
incessant. It was a lot of experiments and play
but more of a giant
basketball with chilgarage-like area. There
fun.”
dren at the Center. For
were stations with six
more information and
or seven people, pourto sign up, go to your Dashboard on x2Vol.
ing food into bags, weighing the bags to
Josh (junior) and Marisa (sophomore)
make sure that it was between 380 and 400 Putrasahan participate in a unique service
grams, and putting the bags into boxes.
activity at Esperanza Para Los Ninos, an
It was loud and competitive. The air was
orphanage in Puerto Penasco, or Rocky
giddy and the chatter incessant. It was a lot Point. “We go down as a family with some
of fun, though, and I’m definitely doing it
other dentists to do dental work on the
again.”
kids and adults there. Normally, they
Feed My Starving Children is located at
wouldn’t get proper or safe dental work
7965 S. Priest Dr. #106, Tempe AZ 85284.
done, or maybe even none at all,” says Josh.
The next Tempe Prep-scheduled event is
“We’ve also raised clothing and food donaon May 16 from 8-9:30 p.m., but students
tions for them occasionally. Four years ago
can schedule individual volunteer visits.
we actually had a clothing drive at TPA for
Another popular organization is the
Esperanza.”
Child Crisis Center, which serves to preClearly, many Tempe Prep students
vent child abuse and neglect. They pursue
choose to contribute well over the minithis by “supporting and strengthening
mum 10 hours required to graduate.
families through education and intervenEven those who only do about 10 hours
tion by providing a safe environment for
participate in activities that make such a
children to heal, and by recruiting, trainstrong impact on our community and the
ing and supporting foster and adoptive
world. TPA students show how dedicated
families.” Volunteers must make a one-year they are to service, and just how much of a
commitment and work a two-hour shift
difference a single high school student can
each week.
make.
Youth Town Hall
participants address
issues that affect teens
By Tiffanie Cappello Lee
Every year, students from all different high schools come together to solve
problems that plague teenagers. Whether
it be the issue of teen pregnancy or lack of
enthusiasm for volunteerism, Youth Town
Hall covers it.
On Feb. 19, a small group of Tempe Prep
students skipped school, and possibly a
few tests, to attend this meeting to propose
solutions for the following topics: “Teen
Health and Wellness” “LGTBQ Discrimination” and “Teen Stress and Depression.”
Each student is placed into one group
that will discuss a certain topic. Sophie
Kniaz, a sophomore who attended, said
that “the small groups were convenient
because we could bounce ideas off each
other.”
Every year the recommendations that
are proposed from groups in Youth Town
Hall are presented to the Tempe Mayor
and City Council and to the school boards.
And yes, some of these suggestions do
become implemented into Tempe high
schools.
Thought and organization go into planning one of these Youth Town Halls.
Everything from the setting up of tables
and chairs to facilitating the discussions is
accomplished by high school students.
So if you are interested in making a good
impact in your school, or are just interested in having a solid college application,
consider participating in Youth Town Hall
next year.
‘Pirates’ prepare musical
Continued from Page 1
The art teacher, Mr. Chapin, leads the Art
Club and Kayla is his assistant. “Last week,
we designed a blueprint. It’s like the audience is in the ocean,” Kayla adds.
Sixth grader Natsuki Saballos says: “I
wanted become in the cast of the play, but
I wasn’t able to. I became a member of
the art club to help with the set. It’s been a
great opportunity to see how to act. I hope
to get a role in the play next year.” There
are so many aspects that go into creating
this production. Rehearsal is every day after school, and though only certain people
are required to attend depending on the
day, it can become difficult to schedule
around it. Rehearsals are spent reviewing
music and action on the stage while Mr.
Maza or the Art Club occasionally work
around the cast. From the perspective of a
pirate myself, rehearsals can seem lengthy.
However, I along with the rest of the cast
enjoy our roles in the musical.
5
Varsity track season
shifts spotlight to
individual performance
John Paul Beguhl and Rebecca Knebelsberger perfect their form on the hurdles as
assistant Coach Rust looks on.
By Nina Lin and Francesca De Luca
The varsity track and field season has begun!
There are substantially more novice competitors compared to last year, but according to
assistant Coach Hickernell, this season will be
as great as the last. “The team will have fun,
and when they have fun, they work harder,”
explains Coach Hickernell.
The most recent meets included one on March
5, where they were not scored as a team. There
were only three teams: McClintock, Tempe
Prep, and Notre Dame Prep. Tempe Prep also
had a meet on March 7 at Queen Creek, where
it competed against 15 to 20 different teams.
The track team usually has a meet once a
week. The benefits of doing track include community, discipline, fitness, fun, and teamwork.
It might still be possible to join Track and Field
- just visit the athletic office. Let’s go Knights!
Junior Academy fields impressive array of track competitors
By Emma Moriarty and
Frances Caldwell
The words “I open at the close” can apply
to many things. Though in this case, they
apply to the beginning of another running
season - that is, with the closing of junior
high cross country, junior high track
opens. Yet again the question as to why the
students participate in this activity rises
up. Catie Morales in 6c says, “I really just
wanted to try something new! I’m looking
forward to getting stronger throughout the
season. I feel that running is good for your
system.”
When asked what their favorite thing
about track is or what the easiest event is,
each athlete had a different answer. Spencer Will, 7b, is looking forward to “racing
against other teams, and competing in
the championship meet will probably be
my highlights of the season ... I want to
improve on my overall running time and
performance.”
When asked what the easiest event is,
Sofia Hidalgo says, “The mile is one of the
most difficult because you have to focus on
pacing yourself the whole time. Running
the relay is also very demanding because
all of your teammates are depending on
you.” This shows how much the team is
required to push themselves, and only by
doing that may they improve.
Along with all of the things the track
team is looking forward to, there are other
exciting memories from previous years of
exhaustion and suffering — uh, I mean
running. Gaby Urias, 8b, says, “Competing
against other schools inspired me to push
myself even further. Running the relay
Long jumpers Ashley Troglia and Michael Toomb go airborne.
was also a past highlight because there is a
great sense of team spirit during the event.”
They were also asked why they decided to
participate in track. Emily Bergin responded, “Because I love the sport, including the
long jump. It’s good to get your energy out
especially after school.” Charlotte McIntosh commented, “Because I really like to
run, and thought it would be fun.”
Another great part of track is the coaches,
with Gaby Urias as assistant coach. Upon
arriving to a track practice, I found Gaby
shouting words of encouragement to
the young athletes. She yelled: ”I expect
everyone to give 100 percent effort! Always
do your best. Whatever you do, always
give 100 percent - unless you’re donating
blood...” These words are not only inspiring, but also very true. The girls are having
a good time participating on the track
team, and invite you to join the team in
the fall.
When asked how she felt between sprints,
Izzy Werner, 8b, replies,” How do you
think I feel? I feel like death.” After the
practice ended Izzy stated that she “loves
running and can’t wait to come to the next
practice!” Izzy has successfully summed up
most peoples’ thoughts on running.
6
Strong men’s basketball season ends short of goal
By Alexander Agadjanian
The Tempe Prep men’s basketball team
lost in the quarterfinals of the Division IV
state tournament, marking the final game
for a senior class that spearheaded the
program’s most successful years.
Seeded as the 12th best team in the state
tournament, Tempe Prep faced 21-seed
Valley Union in its opening playoff game.
While the Knights held an advantage for
most of the contest, they did not reach a
comfortable lead until the second half,
where it grew to double-digits, eventually
keying a 53-31 victory.
Valley Union’s tight zone defense created difficulties for TPA at first, but as a
result of running at their opponents more
in the second half, the Knights started to
convert more shots. In order to cope with
the change of pace, Valley Union defenders
were forced to come out and guard Tempe
Prep shooters more frequently, and thus
played out of their usual defensive scheme.
Having disrupted their opponents’ defensive plan, the Knights would take advantage and add 15 more points to their lead.
Senior point guard Luke Sandoval noted
that although “there were too many turnovers,” the opening game against Valley
Union “helped us get focused for our game
against St. Gregory,” the team the Knights
would face as they progressed into the
second round.
“I could not be more
proud of this team and
how hard they played
this season.”
—Coach Lambros
The matchup against 5-seed St. Gregory
posed some similarities to the previous
game for TPA: In addition to encountering another zone defense, the Knights
would also have to make several in-game
adjustments due to unfamiliarity with the
opposition, a challenge that often surfaces
in the state playoffs that features a wide
array of squads that might not have played
before in the regular season.
Tempe Prep got off to a blazing start in
the game, as shots fell easily to begin, leading to a 20-8 advantage by the end of the
first-quarter. Though St. Gregory trimmed
the lead to eight by halftime, and even got
within two points in the third-quarter,
TPA eventually sealed a 59-47 victory with
a dominant final quarter of play.
Coach Lambros was particularly amazed
at how balanced the scoring was in his
team’s second
round victory,
as four different
players reached
double-digits and
another had eight
points. “[It] truly
goes back to not
having any one
superstar on the
team, but five, and
those five playing
together.” Coach
Lambros also
noted the Knights’
very efficient free
throw shooting
(14-17) during the
game; what once
was perceived as a
liability and even
the cause behind
losses during the
season was now a
part of the game
that Coach Lambros felt confident
about.
But that was as
far as the Knights
would advance
in the tournament, as a 58-36
quarterfinal defeat
at the hands of
Desert Christian
concluded the
2013-14 season.
The devastating
loss could be best
described as a
tale of two halves:
While Tempe Prep
shot out to a 28-27
lead by halftime,
it came out flat in
Ryan Van Dusen hoists up a shot during the Knights’ first-round
the second half,
victory over Valley Union.
getting outscored
31-8.
Senior Ryan Van
was the main cause of our defeat. Desert
Dusen believed that his team “started out
Christian did not do anything spectacular
the contest with plenty of energy but posor especially well but they were a balanced
sibly too much energy. We were confident
team which easily took advantage of an
in our ability to play with our opponent,
unbalanced day for us as far as our emoyet each player put too much pressure on
tions, playing style, and rhythm were out
themselves to make plays.”
of sync.”
Concerning his team’s performance in the
Although the Knights could not replicate
second half, Coach Lambros said, “It was
their 2013 tournament success, Coach
if we were running in mud. It was not for
Lambros says he “could not be more proud
lack of effort or desire or for lack of shootof [his] team and how hard they played
ing; we just could not get anything to drop
this season,” and feels that “all is not lost.
through the basket.”
Tempe Prep’s basketball program is on the
Van Dusen also remarked that it simply
rise. Our Froshmore and JV teams had
felt like an off day for the team, and added
great seasons and we have a great foundathat “our failure to adjust and face the fact
tion laid for future years.”
that we were out of sync and had to adapt
7
Point guard Karly Vullo gets set to pass the ball in heavy traffic during the
Knights’ first-round playoff victory over Pima.
After rough start, Lady
Knights conclude solid
season in quarterfinals
By Alexander Agadjanian
After having reached the Division IV
state finals in each of the two previous seasons, the Tempe Prep women’s basketball
team bowed out in the quarterfinals of the
2014 state tournament.
To commence the tourney, the 12thseeded Lady Knights won handily over
Pima High School, the 21-seed, by a score
of 52-20. Standout senior Camille Zimmerman led the way in the victory with an
all-around superb performance, totaling
25 points, nine rebounds, five assists, eight
steals and seven blocks.
The subsequent matchup against Valley High School proved much more of a
challenge, but dominant play by Zimmerman once again secured another tournament win. The Lady Knights emerged
triumphant 59-50 over their opponents,
as Zimmerman notched a double-double
(38 points and 17 rebounds) and did much
of her damage at the charity stripe: The
Knights power forward Camille Zimmerman goes to the
hoop during playoff action against Pima.
senior converted an astounding 18 of 18
free throws.
Yet the season — as well as Zimmerman’s
illustrious Tempe Prep career — came to a
halt in the quarterfinals, as eventual champions Gilbert Christian knocked the Lady
Knights out of the tournament by a tally of
50-36. TPA fell behind early in the contest,
going into halftime with a 10-point deficit.
A spirited fourth-quarter comeback found
the Lady Knights within five points late in
the final quarter, but a 13-4 Gilbert Christian run thereafter sealed the loss.
Zimmerman’s performance is often
representative of her team’s, and such was
the case in the final game of the season:
Zimmerman only made 4 field goals on
29 attempts, and the Lady Knights shot a
woeful 18 percent as a team. But Zimmerman affirmed that Tempe Prep’s poor play
was not so much a result of overwhelming
defense by Gilbert Christian. “We had a lot
of open shots, we had a lot of good looks at
the basket … It was just an off day.”
Despite failing to make it past the quarterfinal round, Coach Calahan remained
resolute in viewing the season as a very
successful one. “Though we did not reach
our goal of a state championship, we were
very pleased with our advancement to the
Elite Eight. With lots of sickness, nagging
injuries and academic issues, we faced
many obstacles along our journey.”
Zimmerman echoed her coach’s sentiments, and pointed to a loss against Salt
River High School that galvanized the
team, after which it went 8-1 to close out
the season. “We had a rough start to the
season, but we definitely got better. I think
our big turnaround point was our first Salt
River game in January, which we did lose
by one point, but that was one of the best
games we saw everyone play so far. And
then from there on, we started having a lot
of people score in games and very highscoring games.”
8
Andrew Stough commits to play football at Arizona Christian
By Alexander Agadjanian
On every first Wednesday of February,
high schools across the nation celebrate
National Signing Day. A critical juncture
in the college football offseason, this day
features high school football players who
sign binding letters of intent to play at the
university level. As much as the event is
promoted throughout the country, it usually passes without a trace on the Tempe
Prep campus. Yet on Feb. 5 — 2014’s
edition of signing day — senior Andrew
Stough signed a letter of intent to play
football at Arizona Christian University.
Stough first became a starter on the
Knights football team halfway through
his sophomore season, playing on the
offensive line. Since then, he started every
game in the remainder of his career, as
well as played on the defensive line as he
progressed into his upperclassman years.
During his time with the TPA football
program, his coach, Mr. Brittain, described
him as a “leader amongst his peers” who
possessed a “tireless work ethic in the
weight room.”
Stough will now step into a unique situation, as the Arizona Christian football
program begins its inaugural season in the
fall of 2014. Though he was first contacted
by ACU as a prospective student, Stough
really began to consider the school when
asked if he would be interested in playing
football there. After meeting his potential
future coaches and visiting the school
TPA senior Andrew Stough signs letter of intent to play football at Arizona Christian
University as ACU officials and the team mascot look on.
campus, Stough finally decided to commit
on National Signing Day, signing a letter of
intent that would include a $2,000 scholarship.
While he still needs to work out the
financial aspect of attending ACU, Stough
says he “[looks] forward to just playing
again, being on the field with [teammates],
and playing with other people.” He will
become only the seventh player from
Tempe Prep football to go on and play at
the college level. Coach Brittain adds that
“his goal has been to play college football
for the last few years and through his hard
work, dedication and God-given size, his
dream is about to become a reality.”
Improved varsity golf team swings into action; junior high team also practicing
By Francesca De Luca and Nina Lin
High school golf has begun! The team, according
to Coach Thurston, is “doing better than last year
and improving.” They have not competed in any golf
tournaments so far this season.
The team practices Monday through Thursday for
two hours per practice at Ken McDonald Golf Course.
The leaders on the team are Christian David, a junior, and James David, a freshman. The other members of the team are Jacob Massey, freshman, Carter
Marshall, sophomore, Jose Urias, sophomore, Hayden
Powers, junior, and our newest member, Mary Goodykoontz, a sophomore.
Mr. Thurston is coaching the high school golf team
because he loves to play golf and has played since he
was fourteen. He expects at least three people to go to
state to represent Tempe Prep, although he hopes that
the whole team can qualify.
If you are interested in golf it is not too late to join.
Go to the athletic office for more information. If you
are a junior high student, you don’t have to wait until
high school to play — just ask about the junior high
golf team.
Varsity leader Christian David, left, tees off during
practice at Ken McDonald Golf Course in Tempe.