Go Big Red: DCHS Weekly Message

Week 26: Wrestlemania

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Decatur County Community High School

605 E Commercial St, Oberlin, KS 67749

February 19, 2023 (Schedule at the bottom, Skip What You Want)

Follow us on Twitter at @DCHSREDDEVILS or

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Oberlin294/

Decatur community,

I remember when I was a kid just how big wrestling was. Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant , Jimmy the Superfly Snuka, and Randy the Macho Man Savage were just a few of the many wrestlers in the WWF. The pinnacle of it all was "Wrestlemania," in 1985. The best wrestlers from throughout the whole WWF would square off in a "Pay per View" event to determine who the best was. That was back in the day when some thought wrestling was real, and I remember the rabid fans on TV rooting on their favorites. It was a site to behold.

As time went on, I grew out of wrestling, and would later discover "wrestling." The real kind. Gone was the makeup and fancy nicknames. No more chairs, pile drivers, and jumping off the ropes onto the opponent. This past weekend, I once again went to a weekend wrestling tournament, this time Regionals in Beloit. Our boys did a great job, Juenemann, (a long spanning name in Oberlin wrestling lore) and Zodrow walked out Regional champions. Three other boys would come up one match short.

Though there are a lot of differences, there are still some similarities. There is nothing quite like wrestling. It is a one-on-one contact sport. There are tons of fans. Parents, grandparents, siblings, family friends, aunts and uncles, and a whole lot of others show up to watch their young wrestlers perform. Once a match begins, you will hear their supporters from somewhere in the stands. Normally passive people are now sprung into action to cheer on their wrestler.

There is a special place for moms at these events. When you scan the audience, you can definitely tell when a mom is watching her wrestler. The intensity, the stress, the fear, the excitement right out of the gate and, ultimately, the relief when it is over.

Whereas football, basketball, volleyball, and even individual sports like tennis and golf are spread out, wrestling is full out intensity, everything squashed into a manic match that can last a few seconds to 6 minutes. A mania if you will. Wrestling is a mania.

Now we are on to State. Much like 1985, the best from all over are coming together.

On Wednesday, Kyra Sowers will compete in Salina, making history as the first girls' wrestler from Oberlin.

On Friday, Josh Juenemann and Lukas Zodrow travel to Hays, each taking high hopes as a Regional Champion.

This week is Wrestlemania.

Lukas Zodrow 138lb and Josh Juenneman 112lb Bracket

Kyra's Bracket. She is in the 110 weight class.

SHOUTOUTS

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Shoutout to both basketball teams. The number one thing that you look for in season for a team is steady progress and improvement.

The boys got their third win of the season this past week. For a team that was winless last season, that is progress, and you can feel that they are turning the corner.

The girls continue to persevere. After the redeeming wins a few weeks ago against league rivals Wallace Co. and Atwood, the win over League Tourney Champion and top 5 ranked Quinter was a strong message to all that the Lady Devils will not be the team you want to see on your way to State.

It's Senior Night on Tuesday against Logan, and Sub-State gets under way with the girls hosting Victoria on Thursday and the boys traveling on Friday to Ness City.

Shoutout to Mrs. Johnson and her DCHS singers for the singing Valentine's this past week. Whether in school, at businesses, or at homes, the singers serenaded a wide variety of people and groups this past week. It was a nice simple touch to send my wife for Valentine's Day as well.

Shoutout to Mr. Reichert and his Biology classes. Students have been tasked with creating a project that will make the school better. There have been some great ideas ranging from the simple to the extravagant grant writing level.

I walked into his class and one group was researching the types of plants that thrive inside, learning about the amounts of direct/indirect sunlight necessary and the amount of water. They are wanting to add more plants to the inside of the school.

Another group is proposing a small garden, another a greenhouse for the Ag. Department. I was particularly intrigued by the group that was making bottle bricks by stuffing plastic bottles with recyclable materials to the point they were hard. They can be used to make furniture and even homes. (Take a look at the picture)

Shoutout to transportation director Brian Simonson. If there is one person that holds the ticket to whether or not we have school on a snow day, it's Mr. Simonson. No one understands the snow routes or the capabilities of our transportation better than Brian, and the safety of our students is always his top priority.

Shoutout to math teachers Gina Witt and Wendy Scott. The school bell may ring at 3:40, but these ladies are in their rooms after school for hours after, usually helping students. No matter what school I was at, math was always the subject that required the most time outside of class, and that was when I was a student or a teacher. The difference comes down to how much a teacher is willing to offer outside of class. These two ladies are very dedicated to making themselves available for their students.

Shoutout to junior Cheyanna Hale. Cheyanna followed up her Regional Piano performance with another 1 Rating at State Piano in Wichita. After back to back weeks (Scholar's Bowl/Piano) of State competitions, Cheyanna can now get ready for Sub-State with her fellow cheerleaders this week.

Things You Should Know

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No School Friday

By now you have probably already heard, but at last Monday's board meeting, the board approved the cancellation of school this Friday, February 24th. With a large amount of professional development, activities, and field trips planned, it made sense to close school.

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Interim Testing Complete

Over the past 2 weeks, 7th, 8th, and 10th grade students have been completing the Kansas State Interim Tests. Interim Tests are given three times a year, and this past test was the last. Although Interims do not count for State Testing, they are literally a version of the State Assessment divided into three. Here are some of the valuable things that the Interims provide.

1. Interims give exposure to the exact types of questions that are on the State Assessment.

2. Interims show a score for each standard that is on the State Assessment in April. Each student has an individual score to see how they stack up and what they have mastered and can still do better.

3. Interims also give info. about the whole state. We can see how we compare on each standard compared to other schools.

4. Interims allow teachers to see what content they are strong in and what areas still need strengthening.

The hope would be that we can address some of these issues for the State Assessment, but the long term value of having all of this information going into next year will be where we should see the real payoff begin.