WA-KI-HI News

What a wild winter this has been! From the snow storms, to rain showers and flooding, this is the craziest weather Wahkiakum has seen for a long time! But students at WA-KI-HI can’t complain due to the three extra days off before Christmas Break, as well as a couple extra hours sleep due to late arrival. Despite the weather, you can never put a damper on the hustle and bustle at WA-KI-HI! We have been busier than ever, between basketball games, wrestling meets, drama productions and school work, there isn’t much time to waste!

The Lady Mules basketball team started their season off with victories over Naselle, South Bend, Adna, Pe Ell, Vancouver Christian, Morton, and Columbia Adventist. We fought hard and till the end when facing the Napavine Tigers at home, ending the game with a 10 point deficit in the Tiger’s favor. When facing the Mossyrock Vikings at home, we were presented a challenge when starting point guard, Halie Boyce, was taken out of the game due to a torn ACL. We didn’t let it push us down, if anything we had all the more to fight for. It was neck and neck till the very last quarter when the Vikings pulled ahead and it was too late for the Mighty Mules to end in a victory. When playing the White Pass Panthers, we were faced with yet another challenge, our other starting point guard/wing, was taken out early in the second quarter due to what we later would find out to be a partial tear of her ACL and MCL. Once again it was a very close game, but unfortunately a victory was not in the future. Despite the loss of players, we are rising to the challenge and see this as just a minor road block on the road to state! Our game plan doesn’t change, we just have to adjust and continue to win! The Lady Mules have heart, and in the end that is what is going to pay off!

None of this success could be possible without coaches to push you along. Both first year coaches, Tiffany Niemeyer and Steve McClain are a dynamic duo. They hold us to high standards, work us hard, and have confidence in every player out on the court. The dedication they put towards our team is just amazing, and without them there supporting us 110 percent, our success may not be attainable. The Lady Mules play Vancouver Christian at home on January 30. This will be a varsity girls only, starting at 5:30 p.m. with JV boys playing at 4:30 p.m. and Varsity boys following the girls at the high school. So if you have not caught a game yet this season, now is your chance, league games are winding down!

The Mighty Mules boys basketball team has been playing strong and hard as well! They had a slow start, but the boys are starting to get chemistry on the court and are making things happen. Recently they have had two very exciting games against the White Pass Panthers, as well as the Adna Pirates. Both games proceeded into overtime and finished with a big win under WA-KI-HI’s belt. If you weren’t at those games you sure missed out! Great games to watch, that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats! The boy’s record stands at five wins and five losses. The road to state is looking promising for both WA-KI-HI teams!

Our Mule wrestling team has been excellent as well! Wrestling is not for everybody, it takes a lot of endurance, discipline and courage to get on the mat and battle one on one. I ventured to a home meet last Wednesday to see our boys at work, and I was impressed! Overall the Mules crushed the Adna and Whitepass wrestlers. Most of the matches ended in pins, and the others were won by huge deficits between the points. Great job guys! Varsity wrestlers include: Joel Fudge, Ben Doumit, Stian Vik, Jeff Vik, Kyle Burquist, Kevin O’Conner, Brady Johns, Ben Miles and Levi Cothren. Keep up the great work! And congratulations to Jeff Vik for being the WIAA athlete of the week!

Once again the student body of WA-KI-HI came together when the community was in a time of need. A few weeks ago when the rains came, the snow began to melt, and the water level rose, we knew this could be just short of a disaster. So 20-30 students banded together and decided to go out during school, with permission of course, to help local families in need of sandbagging to protect their homes. They ventured mostly out to the Elochoman, where the water damage seemed to be the most dangerous. It was a great display of team work, as well as a display of the eagerness to help by our students. Great job guys!

The junior class would like to thank Linda McClain for donating a beautiful quilt, which will be raffled off. Raffle tickets are available at Cathlamet Chevron for $1 each and the final purchase date will be March 8. So if you haven’t already, purchase your ticket and help support the class of 2010!

Congratulations to the January Students of the Month! Freshman Blaine Land, Sophomore Jordan Fritsch, Junior Jordyn Wirkkala, Senior Samantha Cress and the Senior KLOG Shelby Deaton. These students are honored for their achievement in school involvement as well as community involvement.

Graduation day is getting closer and closer, deadlines are approaching and if you’re a senior this is a very stressful time as you make that big decision about what you're going to do after high school. Over 50 percent of the class of 2009 has either been accepted to a community college, university, trade school, or branch of military. That is an extraordinary percentage considering that it is still early in the year. The following are the seniors that have already been accepted: Blake Anderson to Eastern Oregon University, Jessica Asmus to Washington State University, Abby Burns to Washington State University, Amanda Collier to Washington State University, Shelby Deaton to Washington State University, Sarah Doumit to Washington State University, Lea Joell to Washington State University as well as Evergreen, Brittney Robbins to Washington State University as well as Central Washington University, yours truly Kari Schillios to Washington State University, Frank Bosch to University of Idaho, Ebony Cothren to Lower Columbia College as well as Centralia Community College, Sara Cothren to Clark as well as Lower Columbia College, Ben Doumit to University of Idaho as well as Oregon State University, Joe Florek to University Technical Institute, Joel Fudge the Marines, Jordyn Kaattari to Style Masters College of Hair Design, Paige Kehrli to Everest, Kristin Most to Seattle Central, Kevin O’Connor to Lower Columbia College as well as Pierce and Rosemary Patterson to Lower Columbia College. Keep up the great work seniors! The beginning of a New Year, and halfway through the school year, it's hard to believe that this writer is almost done with her senior year! Time sure does fly when you're having fun and at WA-KI-HI, it's hard not to have fun when you are surrounded by amazing staff, faculty and your friends. As you can see students are always keeping themselves busy! Hope to see you at an upcoming sporting event, and have a great New Year!