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February 4, 2025Off to a fast start
With the second semester in full swing, Irish students are busy with both academics and
athletics while celebrating their school spirit …
Academic team finishes with ‘brain freeze’
On Jan. 18, the academic team finished out its season securing third place in its area tournament after what Coach Nicky Goff called a brain freeze in its 60-second round.
The team, coming off a second-place regional win, progressed up to the championship round,
but fell short in the first quarter after a break, finishing in the top 12 of class 4A.
“After the hour break, we were kind of cold, and then it was hard to get in the flow of it,” Goff
said. “So after they beat us in the first quarter, we were basically as good as them the rest of the
time, but they had too much of a lead from the first quarter.”
After the loss, Goff said the team was “a little shocked” following their success in the previous rounds.
“If we would have not been that close to winning first, I don’t think it would have been that big of a letdown, but when you get that close to winning first, and then you end up in third, it’s a lot more of a letdown,” Goff said.
Despite the setback, Goff said the team did well overall.
“I just think we didn’t execute well in one quarter of one game and that was the difference
in the whole tournament,” Goff said.
Cheer nationals
The Game Day and Performance cheer teams traveled to Dallas where they
finished third and fifth, respectively, at the National Competition.
Last year, the Game Day team took third at Nationals, while the Performance team took first.
The teams compete in different events throughout the year with Game Day cheer geared
toward crowd engagement, simpler routines and team support, while Performance cheer is
based around dance and more complicated routines.
This year, the Game Day team competed in the Game Day Rally division, which comprises
multiple realms of spirit groups on the floor at once – cheerleaders, dancers, hype groups,
mascots, etc. – while the Performance team entered the Advanced Division for the first time in Irish Cheer history.
In addition, each team received a pennant award, with the Game Day team’s Gigi Perdue
claiming the Best Mascot award and the Performance team taking the Best Tumbling award.
“We are very proud of every athlete and their dedication to the program,” Coach Mandy
Gerszewski said. “The outcome of the weekend has been amazing. We are so blessed.”
‘Country roads take me homecoming’
The Irish student council held an assembly where they announced the basketball
homecoming theme: ‘Country roads take me homecoming,’ along with the homecoming court.
The junior class nominated Grace Grimes, escorted by Luke Strickland; Charlotte Nelson,
escorted by Sam Margo; Libby Chansolme, escorted by Corbin Sanders; Molly Strope, escorted by Michael Gaspbarra; Grace McDaniel, escorted by Tanner Sullivant; Savannah O’Neal, escorted by Andrew Whitmarsh; Bellah Foster, escorted by Patrick Flinn; Annie Merrill escorted by Wyatt Buergler; and Andrew Harris as the crowner.
Throughout the week, students dressed up in western-themed clothing.
Pink flamingos in class
Mrs. Rebecca Savuto’s AP English language and composition classes held a “Plastic
Pink Flamingo” party where they practiced identifying how rhetorical choices impact a target
audience and help to achieve the writer’s purpose.
Activities at the party aided in teaching students the skills to write a rhetorical analysis essay. Students came to class in pink and created bright pink posters to deconstruct and analyze Jennifer Prince’s “The Plastic Pink Flamingo.”
Katherine Menz is a junior at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School.
Photo: (Above) The 2025 basketball homecoming court recently posed for a photo. The homecoming theme is ‘Country roads take me homecoming,’ Photo Aimee Martinez.
Lady Irish cheer went to Dallas for Nationals. Photo Diana Bittle.
AP English language and composition students created analysis posters during a Plastic Pink Flamingo party. Photo Rebecca Savuto.
