As March and spring have sprung upon us, so does Madison’s Track Season.  Junior High and High School athletes are working hard to prepare for a variety of running and field events. Our Varsity Track team will attend seven track meets this year. The team is looking to work hard to place in their events and improve their skills. Our Junior High Track team only will be able to attend three meets this year, but they look to improve their skills from those and for the CAC meet to put those skills to the test.

On Thursday, March 14th, Madison C-3 celebrated its seniors with senior night. The evening began with the traditional procession of seniors, where each was acknowledged for their accomplishments. The seniors recognized included: Dylan Bishop, Erica Bollman, Raven Brush, Abby Dameron, Kennedy Duff, Alex Harrison, Carlee McCoy, Abbie Painter, Danielle West, and Annabelle Wolfe.

Then, the real fun began with the parents versus students basketball game. The participating parents and family members were: Joni Duff, Kyle Duff, Mrs. Brush, Jason Brush, Tom McCoy, Chad Wolfe, Scott Knight, Trinity Brush, and Michal Guiak. The game started with Joni Duff startling the crowd with a fall, but thankfully she was okay! Thanks to his unfair height advantage, Chad Wolfe made an impressive number of blocks! Although the parents emerged victorious, it was all in good fun! We even had parents acting as cheerleaders, not just moms! The cheering parents included: Amber Williams, Tonya Baymiller, and Randy Painter. Overall, it was a delightful evening filled with joyful fun!

It is crazy to think that spring baseball is already here at Madison C-3! Practices started strong on Monday, March 3rd. As of now, 15 baseball players are looking forward to this season. Their first game was Friday, March 21st, against Jamestown. After battling low player numbers in the fall season, five new freshmen have joined the baseball team this year! These kids are Wyatt Tooley, Toby Wolf, Connor Chick, Mason Million, and Landon Rodgers. We encourage everybody to come out and support your Madison C-3 Spring Baseball team!

Have you ever heard of a Senior Skip Day? For those who may not know what Senior Skip Day is, let me lay it out for you. Senior Skip Day is a rite of passage when you enter the 12th grade.

 As the name suggests, you get to have a school day all to yourself when you skip school. While this is counted as an unexcused absence by the Madison C-3 School District the students take the absence with a plan to spend the day together outside of school. 

As it sometimes goes, plans do not turn out as envisioned. While the group may have been smaller than expected and the anticipation may have been larger than the day itself, senior skip day for those who attended was an experience that still provided a great senior memory.

On March 24th and 25th, the Madison C-3 TRACTION team arrived at the Stoney Creek Hotel in Columbia for a TRACTION reunion. The TRACTION team consists of Abbie Painter, Abby Dameron, Carlee McCoy, Kennedy Duff, Alex Harrison, Raylee Griffith, Lizzy Dameron, Riley Baymiller, and Wyatt Buck. 

On the first day, the TRACTION team met at the hotel's conference room and listened to three different speakers talk about the experiences/ crashes they have had in their past. They also had Olympic redemption, and Madison was paired with Benton High School. 

On the second day of the conference, we listened to an additional speaker who shared their personal story. Then they had an awards ceremony, at the award ceremony Madison and Benton were awarded first place in the Olympics. Stoney Creek Hotel provided Breakfast in their lounge. They also provided lunch and dinner on both days. After everything was over the Madison C-3  Traction team went to Applebee's to eat. After a great meal and some socialization, they traveled home and unpacked the bus. While everyone was grateful for the fun and educational experience at the TRACTION conference, they were all ready to get some rest!

Turning sixteen is a pivotal moment in everyone's life. The end of high school comes closer daily, and the pressure of getting your first job weighs heavily. Most adolescents spend their time eagerly waiting for the moment where they get to drive off on their own in their first-ever vehicle. Whether you drive away by yourself or with your friends, or with no adults around is something just about every teen is ecstatic to experience. 

The days building up to taking your driving license seems as if time has come to a stop and the excitement is unbearable. You beg your parents each day to let you drive them around as you prepare for your test. Then, once that fatal day hits and you walk into the DMV to begin, you are still feeling that overbearing excitement, but also a newfound sense of fear. 

Taking the driver license test seems terrifying and frightening as you hop into your vehicle and begin running through all of the motions you have spent time perfecting. However, now instead of having your cautiously annoying but loving parents, you now sit with what feels like the devil himself, the incredibly judging presence of a law enforcement officer. Feeling as if you make one mistake, that your entire upcoming sense of freedom will be out the window, you continue your test feeling as if your chances of passing are fading with each street that you drive down. 

As you finish, and the officer tells you what you did right and what you did wrong, the anticipation grows overwhelming. Then the devil, I mean officer, gives you the wonderful news… “You passed!” A joy wells up inside you and the smile across your face could not be any bigger as you return to the DMV, tell your parents the news, and file the paperwork for your license. 

That newfound freedom is now yours. The only thing now to worry about is how to afford the gas, insurance, and balancing work, homework, and extracurriculars, along with family or significant other time. But that’s another article for another time…