We are one

By: Toni Burr

The community within Madison High School is a supportive and loving environment for those who stand out. With Project Unify coming back for its fourth year here at Madison High School, the entire school is ecstatic to cheer on their peers. It will be taking place February 14th, on Valentines day. Senior, Maddie Shires, and Junior, Caleb Thompson, will be taking over on planning the event this year. They have taking part in choosing the colors, this year they are a Raspberry and a Sky Blue, and the events that will happen during the halftime show. The teachers the students are facing is still a secret but it will be a great game.

When watching the game, be ready to see both the girls and boys varsity Basketball teams helping out the students in the game. Right now the student section is getting put together, so if you would like to join it, make sure to sign up soon! Also the shirts will be on sale soon so make sure you keep your eyes out for them. They will be selling for only $10 and all of the proceeds will be going towards the Special Olympics.

Last year's game was amazing! The colors of last year's game were green and white. With last year being such a close game, Alex baron scored the game winning shot. Although the students took home the win last year, come support your favorite side and the teachers and students face off once again in the game of basketball.

Swimming into the Blue

By: Angel West

In the beginning of the season, Izzy’s goal was to just stay in shape and have fun with her teammates! She has know the teammates for a long time. Some since elementary school and some are newer because of the time she had to take off from injuries she had in the past. She has been swimming since she was born! Her mom always took her to aqua classes for babies and she went there through every level of swim lessons until she was 9 and she finally joined the swim team! She was on the Otters swim team for about 1-2 years until some complications on the strength of her lungs and organs which she had to put a hold on swimming for a little bit.

Then, when high school came, she had a really bad shoulder injury and her doctors wouldn’t allow her to swim. Even though the doctors told her not to swim she told them that she was swimming no matter what they said, so she joined and she was glad she did! Some of her favorite memories of swimming is at one of her away meets the fire alarm was set off in the school and everyone in the place was forced to go out into the winter in nothing but warm ups or their bathing suits for about 5 minutes! She said the cause of the fire was a burned bag of popcorn!! She also said that she loves all the silly dumb games and memories she makes with the team everyday!

She would like to give a shout out to Zoey Fedele for breaking her own records at the Perry invitational. She would also like to give a shout out to Owen, Mark, Collin, Dillion and every other boy for going as hard as they could and getting over 9 PR’s at one meet, also to every girl for working really hard and having a 53% PR for the Perry invitational too. She also said that swim may not be a very recognized or praised sport but they all know the amount of mental and physical pain that it takes to do what they do!

Going for Gold

By: Jordan Pasalaqua

Owen Hennessey is a Senior at Madison High School he does Swimming, Cross Country, and Track and Field. Last week Owen swam and medaled twice at the WRC meet, he medaled for the 200 Free relay and the 200 Medley relay. He had also came in first for the 50 Free relay and the 100 Free relay at Perry Invitational. Owen is also a very good student at Madison holding over a 4.0 GPA and is also the National Honors Society president. He is the first trumpet in the Lakeland Musical ensemble Jazz impact and the Madison Concert and Jazz Bands.

Owens goals for his high school career are to make it Districts and possibly States in Swimming, he’d also like to make them for Track and Field. His most memorable moment at Madison High school was performing a trumpet solo at the Homecoming football game for the National Anthem.

Owen has been a Four year letterman for Cross Country and also Track and Field. He has only lettered three years for Swimming. Owens future plans are either to go to Case Western or The Ohio State University to extend his education and possibly his athletics career. He would also like to study for a business degree. When Owen has free time he likes to watch his favorite movie the incredibles and many of his other favorite shows and movies. His favorite class that he enjoys the most is calculus. Owen also loves to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

Starting out Strong

By: Jillian Jeschenig

Delaney McGrain has taken her high school career by storm as the only freshman on varsity for this year’s basketball cheer squad. She remembers how nervous she was for tryouts, especially in front of all the judges and some of the varsity girls, but once she started the routines it felt natural and became less scary. Her hard work paid off and earned her a varsity spot.

So far this season Delaney has had a lot of fun. “The team works very well together and we all have a great time at practice and on the sidelines. This is a great group of girls and I’m excited for the rest of the season”. Not only did Delaney make varsity for cheer, she also was on the varsity volleyball team this year.She is also on the competition cheer team and apart of Key Club.

Her goals for the rest of high school are to maintain her 4.0 GPA and continue to grow to be the best student, person, and athlete she can be. When asked about her favorite memories so far, she talked about the volleyball game against Riverside, where the team played very well together and fought hard until the end. She also enjoyed spending her Friday nights cheering on the football team from the spirit section as well as winning Grand Champs with the competition team.

In the future, Delaney wants to attend the Ohio State University and go into the medical field or something that involves helping people. She also plans on traveling the world to experience new cultures. Her favorite movie is Charlie St. Cloud, her favorite class is math with Wagner, her favorite drink is Dunkin iced coffee, she loves the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cleveland Indians, and in her spare time she likes to spend time with her friends. Delaney looks forwards to finishing out this cheer season strong and encourages everyone to come out and support the boys basketball team whenever they can.

Grand Champs x2

By: Alyssa Knezevich

Our 2019 cheer competition squad went to their first competition on December 2, and competed with all the other cheerleading squads. When it was Madison’s turn and the girls got on the floor, the girls put their nerves aside and competed with all they had. After the girls sat patiently waiting, they were told that they had won grand champions at the Lights Camera Action competition, while also learning they got zero deductions!

Meanwhile, this past weekend the girls traveled to to Erie, Pennsylvania to compete at the Winter Beach Blast Cheer competition. The girls had more confidence this time because they had already been to their first competition. The girls did even better this time and won first place in their division, best jumps, best cheer choreography, and grand champions!

Emma Wade, a sophomore, says, “The feeling that you get on the floor is incredible. You get this rush of adrenaline and then when you get off the floor you just know you did so good and that you killed it.” All the girls relate to what Emma said. They all have such a rush of adrenaline at each competition and that's what makes it fun to them. They are glad that all their hard work is paying off and they are having a fun time at the same time.

This year they had the biggest competition squad, which makes this year something way different than what they are used to. So far the girls won grand champions for both competitions and will continue to try and win grand champs for the rest of their season.

Shooting into the Blue

By: Dominique Palker

Danny Alley is a freshman basketball player, number 41 on the court. He also plays football in the fall. Danny is a very aggressive player, he fights for the ball and always aims to score.

When I asked Danny what quote he lives by on the court he told me, “you never make a shot you don’t take,” meaning you will never score if you don’t put the ball up. I asked him what his favorite part about playing basketball, he said he loves celebrating the win with his team. He also said he loves the bus rides to the away games because all of the boys get excited and ready to go.

Danny not only plays two sports but he also keeps his grades up and spend time with his family, his two younger brothers play basketball as well. He said that he loves practicing with his brothers and his mom always pushes them to be the best they can be on the court.

Danny plans on going to College after high school, he is not set on what he wants to do yet but he plans on staying in sports, but while he is still in High School he still wants to get good grades and play his favorite sports while still having fun with his friends. I also ask him some fun and simple questions. Danny is a big sports fan, he said he loves going to Cavs and Browns games and supporting his favorite teams.

Introducing the 2018-2019 Jazz Band!

By: Amelia Marlow

The Madison High School Jazz Band consists of twenty two talented musicians: Quinn Aiken, Alex Bihary, Kaylee Coan, Dimitri Dragas, Josh Elkins, Emma Ely, Cammy Gmitra, Karson Hahn, Owen Hennessey, Ashton Keller, Ben Lausin, Ethan Petro, Hannah Potter, Devin Rabenold, Alex Rowe, Caroline Sabo, Aiden Sopko, Maria Stocker, Vic Tromba, Wyatt Vernyi, Shaylin Virag and Jared Young. Of these twenty two musiciains, there are two alto saxophones, one baritone saxophone, one bass guitar, one guitar, three percussionists, two pianos, two tenor saxophones, four trombones and six trumpets being played.

The jazz band has performed in several events this year. They've performed with Eclectica at the Great Lakes Mall, entertained Madison Middle School twice (including another performance with Eclectica), provided background music for shoppers at Giant Eagle, played at Band-a-Palooza for people as they were eating dinner, as well as the Madison High School Holiday Concert.

They've also played numerous pieces, including Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Dance to the Music, Big Band Theory, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Big Band Holiday, Runaway Baby, That's Life, Deck the Halls, You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch and many more. The jazz band enjoyed performing these tunes and they're looking forward to playing more during the second half of the year.

While the Great Lakes Mall is one of their favorite performances, another event the jazz band looks forward to the most is the Lakeland Jazz Festival. It takes place in March at Lakeland Community College. If you want to hear good music, make sure you check out the MHS Jazz Festival!