around Flathead High School

BPA ATTENDS REGIONALS

Continued in Clubs and Activities

ACTING 2 PERFORMS TRAP

Continued in Clubs and Activities

SPEECH & DEBATE CLAIMS STATE TITLE

Coming Soon to Clubs and Activities

State champions!

15 of 18 competitors in finals place in top 4 to lead speech & debate to 2nd title in 5 years

JILLIAN WYNNE

of The Flathead Arrow

Six Flathead High School speech and debate students won individual state titles, and 15 placed in the top four, on Saturday, Feb. 1, to help the team win the Class AA state championship at Bozeman High School.

Seniors Scott O’Donnell and Jonah Love, and junior Anna Christensen, won titles on the speech side. Senior Lucus Coulter partnered with junior Braden Anderson, and sophomore Jillian Wynne, won titles on the debate side.

Flathead won with 168 total sweepstake points, beating second-place Bozeman by 14.5 points and third-place Glacier by 37 points. It was the second title in five years for Flathead and the 23rd state title in school history.

Flathead scored the most points in both speech and debate events. It scored 103 points in speech and 63 points in debate. Bozeman scored the second-most in each, 96 in speech and 57.5 in debate. Glacier was third in speech (95) and fifth in debate (36).

The victory was especially surprising for four reasons: 1) It was a home tournament for BHS, where it is renowned for being undefeated for multiple decades, 2) it happened before Bozeman’s plan to split into two Class AA schools, 3) FHS had fewer competitors in the final rounds than Bozeman or Glacier, and finally 4) FHS beat Bozeman in debate, where it is known as a perennial powerhouse.

“Schools know that if they win state, they have to do it in speech to make up for the lost debate points to Bozeman,” FHS head coach Mrs. Shannon O’Donnell said. “And we beat them by 5.5 points in debate.”

The title served as vengeance after last year’s devastating state meet loss, meaning this victory should have given the team back-to-back state championships. Last year, before semifinals, FHS lost 12-out-of-12 tiebreakers, along with a returning state champion who hadn’t placed outside of the top four all season long.

“We were the titanic last year,” Mrs. O’Donnell said. “Twelve tiebreakers with FHS in all of them, and we lost all of them? What are the odds of that? … We should’ve won last year.”

This year, though, the team won unexpectedly in the final hour.

While the entire coaching staff fully expected a state championship last year, this year’s title was won with only 18 competitors in the final rounds. This was an unusually low number, according to Mrs. O’Donnell. Not only was it a low number, but some of the team’s most consistent performers had been eliminated. Adding to the frustrations was a tabulation error that had junior Lincoln-Douglas debater Eva Bruce eliminated going into quarterfinals. Coach Donigale Dilworth looked into the ballots and realized the quarterfinals judge had two competitors mixed up. So, tournament officials decided to re-run the quarterfinal debate with Bruce in it. Had she not caught the mistake, FHS would not have won. Regardless, at that point, coaches still thought the team was in a battle for third place.

“After semifinals, it was hard because we lost so many returning state champions,” Mrs. O’Donnell said.

Last year’s state champions, seniors Julia Wynne and John Shelton, and junior Carson Robison, did not make it into the final round. Flathead had fewer people in finals than both Glacier and Bozeman.

“We were behind,” O’Donnell said.

But the team responded to the pressure by placing high in the last rounds.

“I always say that the points are in the top four,” O’Donnell said.

Sweepstake, or team, points are awarded based on individual placings where the higher a competitor places, the more points they receive--and the top four placings earn significantly more than the bottom four. Fifteen out of the 18 competitors in the final rounds placed top four.

“I didn’t expect us to win at first,” junior debater Braden Anderson said. “But as they announced the placings, it became more obvious that we had done extremely well.”

The title came as a surprise.

“Honestly I didn’t really expect us to win, just because one, it was Bozeman and also I know that a lot of people had issues going into finals, but it was really cool that we did,” junior Anna Christensen said.

On the speech side, senior Scott O’Donnell, the highest scorer from Flathead, accounted for 16 points. O’Donnell won Impromptu Speaking and placed third in Extemporaneous. In Impromptu, competitors have three minutes to prepare a five minute speech about a quotation or political cartoon.

In the final Impromptu round, O’Donnell spoke on Mark Twain’s statement, “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” In preparing for the speech, O’Donnell said he had to focus on simply telling the truth and the stories that matter. This approach won him the state title.

Fellow state champion senior Jonah Love placed first in Humorous Interpretation with a rendition of the Tom Hanks movie “Big”.

“It’s hard to portray multiple characters in 10 minutes while also creating a cohesive storyline,” Love said.

Love also competed in Duo Interpretation with sophomore Sophia Dykhuizen, where they performed a rendition of Disney’s “High School Musical”. Love and Dykhuizen placed fourth, while their squad mates, junior Hannah Greene and sophomore Aiden Christy, placed third with a version of the animated film “Megamind”.

Junior Anna Christensen capped off her impressive speech season with a first-place state title in Memorized Public Address. In MPA, competitors present and analyze a speech that was given in a speaker-audience setting. Christensen delivered television host Jon Stewart’s testimony about 9/11 first responders. The speech talked about the lack of adequate funding for the first responders’ health care.

“It was a really important speech to give because it’s an issue that not a lot of people know about,” Christensen said.

She also competed and placed fourth in Original Oratory, with a speech about public shaming. In Original Oratory, students write and deliver a 10-minute speech on a topic of their choice.

“I’m definitely more happy that I won (MPA) because I am more passionate about that,” Christensen said.

On the debate side, Flathead scored 65 points, beating Bozeman by 7.5.

Junior Braden Anderson and senior Lucas Coulter won the partner event, Policy Debate, scoring 25 points. In Policy Debate, students research the same topic all season. This year’s topic was on whether the United States should reduce international arms sales.

“It’s very hard to explain in a short debate round,” Anderson said. “Since arms sales go through a government apparatus, the whole thing is very complicated.”

In Lincoln Douglas Debate, sophomore Jillian Wynne and junior Eva Bruce took first and second place, respectively. Together, they scored 27 points. The topic they debated on was whether countries should eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

Senior Kianna Storm placed second in Legislative Debate, where competitors discuss a domestic and international topic in a congressional format. The domestic resolution had to do with poverty reduction while the international resolution dealt with global refugees.

Along with the three champions, FHS earned four second-place, three third-place, and three fourth-place awards. Seniors Bohdi Hollman, Sarabeth Rogge, and Kianna Storm, along with junior Eva Bruce, each placed second in Informative Speaking, Original Oratory, Legislative Debate, and Lincoln-Douglas Debate respectively. Placing third were O’Donnell (Extemporaneous Speaking), Greene/Christy (Duo Interpretation), and sophomore Leah Spangler (Impromptu Speaking). And, placing fourth were seniors Sam Wallace (Impromptu Speaking, Christensen (Original Oratory), and Love/Dykhuizen (Duo Interp).

Policy Debate: 1. Braden Anderson and Lucas Coulter; Lincoln Douglas Debate: 1. Jillian Wynne 2. Eva Bruce; Legislative Debate: 2. Kianna Storm; Extemporaneous Speaking: 3. Scott O’Donnell; Impromptu Speaking: 1. Scott O’Donnell 3. Leah Spangler 4. Sam Wallace; Informative Speaking: 2. Bohdi Hollman; Original Oratory: 2. Sarabeth Rogge 4. Anna Christensen 6. Carson Robison; Memorized Public Address: 1. Anna Christensen 7. Derek Neater; Program Oral Interpretation: 6. Sarabeth Rogge; Humorous Interpretation: 1. Jonah Love; Duo Interpretation: 3. Aiden Christy and Hannah Greene 4. Sophia Dykhuizen and Jonah Love

BPA wins 12 district events

66% of Flathead competitors qualify for state at BPA Regionals

Daniel Edelen

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead High School’s team of Business Professionals of America brought home 12 first-place awards from the Northwest Regional tournament on Jan. 14 at Flathead Valley Community College.

BPA is an extracurricular activity offered at Flathead High School that gives students an opportunity to exercise their business skills and compete nationwide in a wide array of events stemming from Extemporaneous Speaking all the way to PC Servicing and Troubleshooting.

All told, FHS took about 45 students and 30 placed in 6th or higher in one or more of their events for the regional tournament, which earned them a seat to the state tournament. That puts roughly 66 percent of Flathead’s students eligible for state competition on March 7 at Montana State University in Billings.

Four groups won in team events. Seniors Gavin Cate, Lucas Coulter, Isiah Owens, and John Shelton all won the Small Business Systems event. Seniors Emiley Leigh and Macey Timlick pulled first place in Presentation Management Team. Juniors Adam Bigley, Alex Eaton, Aricin Tjaden, and Sean Struble won the Computer Animation event. Seniors Amanda Dielman, Victoria White, Krystal Gilliam, and Lenee Westphal won in Administration Support Team.

In solo events, FHS brought home eight first-place certificates. Junior Colter Girardot won in three events: Computer Network Technology, Server Administration, and Programming Concepts. Senior Barret Fox won in Computer Security, as well as Fundamentals for Web Design. Junior Anna Christiansen won in Prepared Speech. Senior Kianna Storm won Parliamentary Pro Team Test. And, junior Logan Garvey won in Java Programming.

Many students are driven to join BPA due to its ability to prepare students for futures in business and technology management.

“I do BPA because I feel like it’ll really help with scholarships from MSU, when we go to state,” junior Adam Bigley said. “I also have a chance to further my mind in business because not only do I want to be a computer engineer and a computer scientist, but I also want to create a company off of it, such as Microsoft or Apple. So, BPA gives me a beeline straight for that.”

Despite the common worry of students eager to try BPA being overstressed, it doesn’t take up as much time as they realize. Many students that won in their events double other demanding extracurricular activities with BPA.

“BPA conflicts with either a band or a choir concert most of the time,” BPA adviser Mrs. Sue Cheff said. “A lot of athletes avoid BPA because it conflicts with their regional or state games and so that’s hard for them to manage. Some of our students have other commitments. Some of our students do both BPA and DECA, so all that said and done we’ll be taking somewhere around 24 students to state.”

To name a few, senior Lucas Coulter is a lead character in Flathead’s theater production of “Hello, Dolly”. He also won an individual state policy debate championship to help lead the entire team to a state title, as well as the Small Business Systems team event in BPA. Junior Sean Struble is also an actor in “Hello, Dolly” and won the Computer Animation BPA event. Junior Colter Girardot won in three BPA events and also helped win the team title in speech and debate. Junior Anna Christiansen was a state champion in speech for Original Oratory, and also won the Prepared Speech event in BPA. There are many other examples of competitors doubling in other intensive extracurricular activities with BPA.

“There were some people who were doing it (BPA) for the first time,” senior Victoria White said. “It was really cool to see how they were obviously, kind of, struggling at some points, but they ended up making it to state in a lot of their events, even though they were really stressed about it. I think this just shows how BPA is actually really manageable to do.”

Eight swimmers ranked heading into state

Milner, DeSouza, Strobbe-Barry highlighting teams

ELLY SCHAEFER

of The Flathead Arrow

Eight Flathead High School swimmers are ranked in the top 50 in different events after six meets across the state so far this season.

Overall, neither the boys or the girls teams have placed at any meets this season. The Class AA State Meet is Feb. 13-14 in Great Falls.

On the girls side, sophomore Lily Milner is ranked first in the state in 100-meter backstroke with a time of 58.38 seconds that she achieved on Jan. 31 at The Summit during the Crosstown meet. She is also ranked second in the state in three other events: the 50 freestyle (24.34 seconds) at the Kalispell Invitational, the 100 free (54.14 seconds) at Butte Invitational, and 200 free (1 minute, 58.18 seconds) at the Kalispell Crosstown Meet.

Senior Kailey Schrader is ranked 20th in 100 breaststroke, 42nd in 50 free, and 49th in 100 free. Sophomore Hannah Pieri is ranked 44th in 500 free and 46th in the 200 individual medley. Senior Kaylee Kurkowski placed 50th in 50 free.

On the boys side, senior Gustavo DeSouza and sophomore Ayden Strobbe-Barry have combined to rank in the top 50 of the state nine times in six events so far this season to help lead the boys swimming team.

DeSouza ranks in the top 50 in five events: 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 breaststroke, and 200 individual medley. Strobbe-Barry has recorded a top 50 time in four events: 50-meter freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and the 100 fly. Sophomore Gary Christianson is ranked in three events while sophomore Marley Miller is ranked in one.

Strobbe-Barry is ranked 13th in the state in the 50-meter freestyle. He swam it in 23.32 seconds on Jan. 31 at The Summit during the crosstown meet.

DeSouza is ranked 16th in the state in the 200-meter individual medley, where he recorded a 2 minute, 13.17 second race at the crosstown meet on Jan. 31. DeSouza is ranked 19th in the state in the 100 breaststroke. He recorded a 1:10.42 race on Dec. 7 at the Summit during the Kalispell Invitational. Strobbe-Barry is ranked right behind him in the event, where he swam it in 1:10.62 on Jan. 31 at the crosstown meet.

Boys Basketball: Braves Fall to pack

Braydan Korn

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead High School Senior Forward/Guard Cooper Smith scored a team high of 12 points, as well as 3 assists in the game Friday, Jan 24. But it wasn’t enough in a 45-40 Loss Against the Crosstown rivals the Glacier Wolfpack.

After the half, the Braves put up 15 points in the third quarter to bring the lead to 33-24. But it was short lived when the wolfpack answered back with 21 points in the 4 quarter securing the win in the final minute of the game.

“They just got a burst of energy and went on a run and we broke down on defense," said senior guard Brian Wells.

What really told the game was the shot percentage on both sides. With the Braves shooting 26.9 percent from the field and 3/28 on three pointers. While glacier shot 35.5 percent from the field and 3/13 on 3 pointers.

“We had a really bad off day of shooting this game and it showed," said Smith.

Despite the score the Braves won the turnover battle committing only six, compared to Glaciers seven. Sophomore guard Joston Cripe helped on that total with 3 steals.

Glacier won the battle of the boards 39-32 and personal fouls with them only committing 20 fouls compared to Flatheads 26.

Can I tell you a secret?

Daniel Edelen

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead’s Acting 2 class of 2019 performed their fourth-wall breaking and terrifying production of Trap on December 17 and 18 at the Flathead High School Black Box Theatre.

The performance was sold out on it’s second night and was packed to the brim on the first. It’s FHS’ first sold out production of the year.

Trap, written by screenplay writer Stephen Gregg, takes the shape of a documentary interviewing many different people that experienced a theater performance that resulted in the entire occupancy of the theater, called the Oak Box, to pass out into a death-equivalent state. The performance followed these interviews the whole way through, slowing leading up to the grand finale that is meant to terrify the audience. The show even incorporated a fake ending.

The finale itself revealed that the performance was all just a “trap” to kill the audience and repeat the events at the fictional Oak Box Theatre. The performance invited various other people from the Flathead Valley, from FHS graduates like Dade Wendt to junior Shelbie Guckenburg’s mom and many in between to add to the reality of the proclaimed Trap by standing up and joining the actors in the thrill.

The second performance especially resulted in pandemonium among the theater audience even forcing many to scream in fear.

The next performance, a practical perfect opposite of Trap, is Acting 3’s child friendly Beanie and The Bamboozling Book Machine on January 15 and 16.

FHS enjoys new Construction

ELLY SCHAEFER

of The Flathead Arrow

The new school year felt extra new for Flathead High School students and staff when they returned in August because the remodel process was finished during the summer of 2019.

It was a long two-year wait after six months of planning and demolition followed 18 months of construction.

“I think the new addition is great because it makes the hallways less crowded and gives the school a better aesthetic,” junior Emma Wiegand said. “My first impression of the new addition was thinking how much the school looked like a college. My favorite part of the new addition are the new classrooms. The new addition provided a better flow of the school and classrooms.”

Students and staff got to enjoy 17 new classrooms.

“I think the new construction is a really nice addition to Flathead,” junior Marcella Mercer said. “It looks really good and my favorite part is the FHS symbol hanging on the wall by the new entrance. The new classrooms and gym look really nice and are out to good use with extracurriculars and normal classes.”

All told, 27,500 square feet of Flathead was demolished, including 10 classrooms, the staff lounge, lecture room, custodial work areas, and the little gym. The new addition added 47,997 square feet with 17 classrooms, a new gym, two new locker rooms, bathrooms, a coffee shop, conference rooms, a boiler room, and flex spaces.

“I really like the new addition,” senior Julia Wynne said. “There’s more space for hanging out and the flex rooms have been really useful for meetings. It is really nice and spacious. I like the big stairs by the coffee shop.”

For the most part, the new classrooms were filled with English, science, math, and social studies classes.

“I have a couple of classes in the new part of the school, and I really like my classrooms,” junior Mikayla Evans said. “I like the new addition a lot more than I thought I would. My favorite part is the coffee shop.”

Everyone enjoyed a new sense of cleanliness with the newness.

“The new addition is exciting,” junior Lucy Megerth said. “My favorite part is probably the study sections. I think the new classrooms are nice. They are really clean.”

During the year and a half of construction, teachers had to share classrooms and relocate all around FHS.

“The construction interrupted several of my classes, but not badly,” Wynne said. “Just three of my classes had to switch classrooms, but it all worked out and was super easy (for the students probably not as much for the teachers).”

The fresh feel and look seems to have made the pains of moving out (for teachers) and random location of classes for students the past two years worth it.

“My freshman year, I had my English class on one of the half floors and had to move out of it about halfway through the school year,” Mercer said. “We got put into an art closet that was previously used for displaying students’ art and it is now the book room. It was small for my big class, but it is fun to know that I have been in every part of the school, old, current, and new.”

S&D: Flathead wins regional tourney at Glacier

JILLIAN WYNNE

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead High School speech and debate competitors won eight out of 15 events on Saturday, Dec. 7, to win first place at the Western Regional Tournament at Glacier High School.

FHS scored a total of 235 points, beating Glacier by 36 points. FHS had five speech and three debate champions. In total, Flathead won 32 total placings between speech and debate.

In Original Oratory, FHS students filled the first four slots. Seniors Julia Wynne and Sarabeth Rogge placed first and third, respectively, with juniors Carson Robison and Ana Christenson placing second and fourth, respectively.

Wynne, who won last season’s state tournament in Oratory, was the highest scorer from FHS, individually winning 20 sweepstake points. Wynne competed in two events, winning both Oratory, where she gave a 10-minute persuasive speech, and Memorized Public Address, where she presented and analyzed a rendition of David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech called “This Is Water.”

At the last tournament in Missoula, Wynne placed fourth in Oratory and fifth in Memorized Public Address.

“I was unhappy with my placings in Missoula,” Wynne said. “But, it was early in the season, so I hadn’t really fine tuned my speeches.”

This time around, Wynne was the first seed going into both of her events before finals. Then, she got the highest ranking on four out of six ballots in the final rounds.

According to Wynne, one of the dangers in giving a memorized speech is that everything can sound too rehearsed.

“I wanted to do well at Glacier, so I worked on adding more emotion and making it feel more raw,” Wynne said.

Also in the memorized category, senior Bohdi Hollman placed first in Informative Speaking, where competitors give a 10-minute self-authored speech that is meant to inform an audience about a chosen topic. Hollman was joined in the final round by FHS freshman Emily Mitchell, who placed eighth.

Senior Scott O’Donnell placed first in Extemporaneous Speaking, a category in which competitors are given 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech about a national or foreign current event. O’Donnell also placed second in Impromptu Speaking, where students have three minutes to prepare a five-minute speech about a quotation or political cartoon. In addition to O’Donnell, three other FHS students placed in the top eight in both of these events: senior Sam Wallace, and sophomores Leah Spangler and Scout McMahon.

Junior Carson Robison placed first in Program Oral Interpretation, where competitors deliver a 10-minute compilation of prose, poetry, and drama in order to develop a theme or argument. Robison, who is a defending state champion in the event, won with a speech focused on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Senior Sarabeth Rogge came in second with a speech about stalking.

In the other interpretation events, senior Jonah Love and sophomore Sophia Dykhuizen placed fourth and junior Hannah Greene and sophomore Aiden Christy placed fifth in Duo while Love took second and Jasmine Anderson earned third in Humorous.

On the debate side, sophomore Jillian Wynne took first place in Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, scoring 15 sweepstake points for Flathead. It was the first tournament with the new debate topic about subsidies for fossil fuels.

Wynne said that her team worked really hard to be knowledgeable about the economic side of the topic, and it paid off in the end.

Five out of the six members on the FHS Lincoln Douglas squad placed in the top eight, claiming 57 sweepstake points. Juniors Alan Taylor and Eva Bruce took second and third place, respectively, in the varsity category. In Novice Lincoln Douglas, which is for first-year debaters, junior Ben Davidson took first place, while freshman Gabe Reddish took fourth.

Senior Kianna Storm won Legislative Debate, where students debate a domestic and international topic in a congressional format.

“It was very surprising, but also very validating, because I’ve put so much time into speech and debate,” Storm said.

For this tournament, the two topics were about Saudi Arabia and election reform.

“I had more understanding because we had election reform last year as a topic,” Storm said. “And, I had a lot of helpful resources when trying to learn about Saudi Arabia.”

In the partner event Policy Debate, juniors Braden Anderson and Daniel Edelen placed fourth in the varsity division, where they debated international arms sales.

“It’s very hard to explain in a short debate round,” Anderson said. “Since arms sales go through a government apparatus, the whole thing is very complicated.”

The two Novice Policy teams from Flathead placed third and fourth.

The team will be competing next on Dec. 13 and 14 at C.M. Russell High School in Great Falls.

Varsity Policy Debate 4. Braden Anderson and Daniel Edelen
Novice Policy Debate 3. Lander Busse and Andrew Gapp4. Robert Corbett and Mitchell Johnson
Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate 1. Jillian Wynne 2. Alan Taylor 3. Eva Bruce
Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate 1. Ben Davidson 4. Gabe Reddish
Legislative Debate 1. Kianna Storm
Extemporaneous Speaking 1. Scott O’Donnell 5. Sam Wallace 6. Scout McMahon 8. Leah Spangler
Impromptu Speaking 2. Scott O’Donnell 3. Sam Wallace 5. Scout McMahon 6. Leah Spangler
Informative Speaking 1. Bohdi Hollman 8. Emily Mitchell
Original Oratory 1. Julia Wynne 2. Carson Robison 3. Sarabeth Rogge 4. Anna Christenson
Memorized Public Address 1. Julia Wynne2. Anna Christensen
Program Oral Interpretation 1. Carson Robison 2. Sarabeth Rogge 7. Sophia Dykhuizen
Duo Interpretation 4. Aiden Christy and Hannah Greene 5. Jonah Love and Sophia Dykhuizen
Humorous Interpretation 2. Jonah Love 3. Jasmine Anderson

Flathead Choir gets into holiday spirit and cheer

Daniel Edelen

of The Flathead Arrow

Christmas music and cheer filled the Flathead High School auditorium when the choir started singing to a full audience on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

The event called in the entirety of Flathead’s Choir classes on the morning of the 10th and kept them until 9:00 PM of the same day.

When the crowd started piling into the auditorium they were greeted with Mr. Steve

Eckels playing Christmas music on the guitar as they got themselves seated.

The performance kicked off with the entire FHS Choir singing the all-time Christmas classic, Carol of the Bells which led into Ding, Dong Merrily on High. Then the Combined Women’s Choir started singing Welcome, Christmas along with a narration of the book, How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss to lead into the song. Next was the Combined Men who sang a Spanish carol, A La Nanita Nana which led up to Varsity Women’s Choir singing Amid The Falling Snow.

The Choral-Aires came in after the Varsity Women’s Choir and sang several songs, Here

We Come a Caroling, Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming, Little Drummer Boy, and finally they finished with Santa Baby.

After the Choral-Aires the Concert Choir joined in and sang Gloria, Winter Lullaby, and Children, Go Where I Send Thee, respectively. Finally, the entire combined choir came back out and finished with Dashing Through the Snow and Peace, Peace.

“Here we come a caroling was my favorite in Choral-Aires,” senior Emme Schow said, giving some insight into the process leading to the concert. “There are really tight harmonies [in it]. It’s a very uplifting, bouncy piece and it was a lot of fun… [With] Gloria, we struggled with it quite a bit since the beginning of the year and then in the last two weeks of rehearsals it all sort of clicked and we all just would have a great time up there. Once we were able to embrace the syncopation we would just like jam out in rehearsals and it was great.”

The two performances that fell back to back both effectively filled the FHS Auditorium and it’s new seats that were put in last year.

During the Choral-Aires’ Little Drummer Boy, junior Carl Bell was featured beatboxing while the choir sang. Bell received a large amount of popularity after the performance, too much in his opinion.

“Don’t ask me about beatboxing,” Bell said, “Ask me about anything else but beatboxing. How’s my dog, how’s my cat? I don’t have a cat, or a dog. So come up with something other than beatboxing.”

One student in the Varsity Women’s Choir, sophomore Kaeton Larson, soloed in Amid the Falling Snow.

“It was really nerve wracking cause I kind of have stage fright,” Larson said. “But it was okay because it was dark, I couldn’t really see anybody… I’ve tried out for every solo my schools have ever had, this is the first one I’ve gotten.”

While the singing was the main event, the concert was enhanced due to the small cast of instruments present for several songs. Carol of the Bells and Ding Dong Merrily on High had junior Parker Stocklin on chimes, A La Nanita Nana had junior Mark Enierga and sophomore Ashlynn Briney on violin, Gloria had senior Ashton Folkman and Stocklin, and Peace, Peace had Schow on the harp.

“[I played] the chimes,” Stocklin said. “So if you’ve heard bells in a choir or concert or anything and you think they’re bells they’re actually probably chimes… I played a djembe, which is an african drum made out of hide and sometimes wood. I played a bass part so I was hitting the middle which made a bass sound… [I preferred] the chimes cause I like mallets.”

“I’ve played Peace, Peace for the Christmas Choir Concert for the past four years now so it’s one of my favorite pieces to play,” Schow said. She has played the harp at many events outside of school as well.

Leaders of Tomorrow students learn about community outreach

ELLY SCHAEFER

of The Flathead Arrow

Twelve Flathead High School students in the Leaders of Tomorrow program had an emotionally busy and educational day on Wednesday, Dec. 4, while visiting eight different community outreach organizations in Kalispell.

The Leaders of Tomorrow is a program through the United Way and the local chapter is made up of high school juniors and seniors from around the Flathead Valley. They meet once a month and visit different career opportunities in the Flathead Valley, which includes tours, panels, and demonstrations in areas such as government, arts and culture, business and industry, civic and volunteer activities, law enforcement, and healthcare.

In October, they visited the Kalispell Regional Medical Center hospital and different healthcare facilities. In November, the students visited the different disaster and emergency services. And in December, they visited different community outreach programs in Kalispell.

Specifically in December, the students visited, toured, and talked with professionals at the Food Bank, Samaritan House, Veterans Center, Head Start, Flathead Valley Youth Home, Sparrows Nest, Job Service, and the Salvation Army.

“Everywhere we went gave us a lot of insight on different careers and ways we can help the community,” junior Brooke Williams said. “I knew there were many people struggling in our valley, but I didn’t know about all the options that there are for them.”

At the Food Bank, students got a tour of the space and learned about what the Food Bank does. Students learned that the Food Bank feeds around 500 families each week, that people can only shop there once a week, and that the food is supplied by donations and the government. The food bank always needs volunteers.

Students got a tour of the Samaritan House, which is the homeless shelter in Kalispell, and got to hear from the person who runs the shelter.

Students then went to Walmart to buy Christmas gifts for a family that is sponsored by the Salvation Army. The students split up into groups of four, and each group bought gifts for all the members of the family.

“Every single place we went, we saw how the people that surround us every single day live and struggle, and yet none of the places that we went were a place of sadness or awkwardness,” junior Faith Cheff said. “They were a place where hope is found for everyone that walks through the door.”

At the Veterans Center/Food Pantry, students heard from the owner, the man that started the organization, and they heard about his own experience, as a veteran, and why he started the business. The organization provides veterans with food, find them somewhere to live, and furnish their homes.

At Head Start, students got to play with preschoolers and do fun activities with them. Head Start loves volunteers.

“I would love to volunteer at Head Start,'' Williams said. “Our time there was a lot of fun.”

Cheff agreed.

“My favorite part was Head Start, and getting to see and play with all the preschoolers,” Cheff said. “I loved seeing the admiration they had when we talked to them and took our time to play with them. It made them feel really special. I would love to volunteer there and take time to get to know each of the preschooler’s personalities and joys.”

At the Flathead Valley Youth Home, a homeless shelter for kids aged 10-18, students got a tour of the house and learned more about the organization, and what they do. The house has eight rooms available, and currently six of those rooms are being used. Students learned that the average age of the kids that stay there is 15. The kids are usually dealing with some type of substance abuse, and don’t have a stable home or parents that can take care of or support them. The kids usually stay at the house for about a month.

The Sparrows Nest is another homeless shelter in Kalispell for kids aged 14-19. This home is more permanent, and is not for anyone dealing with substance abuse. Kids usually stay there while they are trying to get their high school diploma or GED, general education development. They can stay there until they graduate from high school. They are required to maintain good grades. It is strictly for kids who don’t have parents or family that can take care of them.

“I had no idea we had two facilities for teens in our community,” Cheff said.

At the Job Service, students got a presentation from the employees and professionals

Job service helps people with job applications, building a resume, finding a job... all for free.

At the Salvation Army, students got a tour from the manager, and learned about all of the different services that it provides. It provides meals daily for the homeless and provides a hot shower and washer and dryer that they can use as well.

“I was very shocked by the amount of people that are struggling throughout our valley,” Cheff said. “Driving around you wouldn’t expect there to be so many, and knowing that we have peers struggling makes me wonder how many people I interact with, without knowing about their situation. You never know what your peers may be going through. So be kind and conscious of what you say and do.”

MUN CONFERENCE: FLATHEAD DELEGATES PLACED IN TOP 10%

ELLY SCHAEFER

of The Flathead Arrow

Seventeen Flathead High School students placed in the top 10 percent at the Model United Nations conference at the University of Montana in Missoula on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

All told, 12 FHS delegates received 19 awards.

Over 270 high school students from 15 schools across Montana participated in conference on Nov. 25 and 26. The student delegates represented United Nation member countries, and debated, negotiated, caucused, and drafted resolution papers that addressed world problems.

Schools and delegates were judged based on their overall preparedness and participation.

Flathead represented the United Kingdom, Australia, Chile, Mayanmar, and Switzerland.

“The conference overall was good,” senior Victoria White said. “Everyone who had done it before improved. And everyone who was doing it for the first time, all wanted to go again next year.

“The conference, unfortunately, can have connotations of a way of getting out of school for other schools. Flathead has always taken it seriously. But Glacier this year participated to get out of school. It was really disappointing because they represented the United States, one of the major powers that should always have a loud voice in the committees. It was easy to tell which students were more prepared and going into it with a plan, compared to the students that were simply winging it.”

FHS seniors Scott O’Donnell and White were both offered $1,000 scholarships to the University of Montana.

“It was definitely something that made me feel like my efforts were rewarded,” White said.

Flathead junior Eva Bruce placed in the top 1 percent and received outstanding designations for her position paper on youth, peace, and security, as well as for her participation in the United Kingdom’s United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) committee.

“I thought that the conference was really fun,” Bruce said. “I really liked the committee that I was in and I cared about the issues, which really made it engaging and rewarding.”

The General Assembly First Committee represented the topic “Nuclear disarmament and international security; international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.” In this committee, O’Donnell represented the United Kingdom and received the Outstanding Delegate award and placed in the top 1-2 percent. Sophomore Scout McMahon represented Myanmar and junior Braden Anderson represented Chile and both received the Distinguished Delegate award and placed in the top 10 percent.

The General Assembly Second Committee represented the topic “Facilitating knowledge transfer for sustainable development; ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.” In this committee, sophomore Leah Spangler represented Switzerland and White, who represented the UK, both received the Distinguished Delegate award and placed in the top 10 percent. Junior Jack Gannon represented Australia and received the Honorable Delegate award and placed in the top 20 percent. The General Assembly Third Committee represented the topic “Inclusive development for persons with disabilities; combating human trafficking.” In this committee, junior Lydia Wood and junior Anna Christensen, who represented Myanmar, both received the Honorable Delegate award and placed in the top 20 percent.

The United Nations Children’s Fund represented the topic “Eliminating violence against children and youth; protection and inclusion of children with disabilities.” In this committee, Bruce represented the UK and received the Outstanding Delegate award and placed in the top 1-2 percent and senior Natasha Gesker, who represented Switzerland, received the Honorable Delegate award and placed in the top 20 percent.

The Security Council represented the topic “Youth, peace, and security; threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.” In this committee, Bruce received an award for her outstanding position paper and placed in the top 1-2 percent, Gesker, O’Donnell, and Christensen all received awards for their distinguished position papers and placed in the top 10 percent, O’Donnell and White placed in the top five seniors, senior Aria Scovel (UK), Gesker, and Samantha Wallace (Switzerland) placed in the top 20 seniors.

FHS social studies teacher Mrs. Lauren Gustafson normally advises the school’s MUN program, but she is on maternity leave. So, social studies teacher Mrs. Melanie Dardis advised the group at school, but couldn’t make the conference. So social studies teacher Mr. Sean O’Donnell and English teacher Mrs. Shannon O’Donnell travelled with Flathead’s delegation.

“It wasn’t the same without Mrs. Gustufson and we all missed her a lot, but we were all incredibly grateful that Mr. and Mrs. O helped us compete this year,” White said.

Overall, the conference went well.

“I think the results were pretty typical, compared to the other I went,” Bruce said. Flathead did really well, along with Missoula schools for the bigger teams, which was fairly expected. Although we didn’t win the highest award (unlike last year) I still thought that we did very well.”

Crime Reports: NOv. recap

BRIAN WADE

of The Flathead Arrow

A Flathead High School student used a teacher's email account and computer to send an inappropriate email to another teacher on Nov. 8 and was charged with violating the privacy and communications law and will attend youth court.

Flathead Arrow staff members meet with Kalispell Police Department School Resource Officer Dennis Bain every Wednesday to discuss Flathead High School’s crime reports.

In regards to the inappropriate email, there was a substitute teacher in the room and the student didn’t like two teachers. So, with the teacher gone, the student took the teacher’s laptop from their desk and brought it back to their desk to type and send the email. The email contained profane words and messages. Officer Bain said this was a way for this particular student to get back at teachers who set firm boundaries with him/her in the classroom.

“This is not the first instance of this student involving inappropriate behavior,” Officer Bain said.

The second week of November was eventful for Officer Bain.

A receiver hitch off the back of a truck was stolen from the parking lot on Nov. 8. It has not been recovered.

A vaping device, a Sourin, was confiscated on Nov. 12 when school activity equipment was returned and it was found in the equipment by faculty.

The first week of November was a light week for crime.

Two more bikes stolen from FHS campus, one stolen on Oct. 28 and the other on Nov. 5. That is now four bikes that have been stolen from FHS. The bikes were in different parts of the school. One on the northside and southside. One was locked, one was not.

“Don’t leave bikes overnight, over the weekend or without a lock,” Officer Bain said.

Two students received an MIP because of the possession of alcohol on Nov. 15. One student will attend youth court and the other will go to CRYJ.

To go along with that, there was another Vape confiscation on Nov. 21, but no charge could be made because the vape was not in physical possession of a student. It was found under a trash can in the bathroom.

A theft was reported; money was stolen from a locker room on Nov. 7. As well as a stolen phone on Nov. 22 and a backpack from a truck on Nov. 21. The phone has not been found yet, but the backpack was found on Dec. 2.

Crime Reports: bullying, bikes, and booze

BRIAN WADE and DEVIN CROWELL

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead Arrow staff members meet with Kalispell Police Department School Resource Officer Dennis Bain every Wednesday to discuss Flathead High School’s crime reports. Here is what’s been reported:

An FHS student was cited for theft of a hat from Big Sky Sunglasses in the Kalispell Center Mall during school hours on Oct. 7.

An FHS student was cited for a minor in possession on campus on Oct. 2. Two students were caught with alcohol. They were caught by an off campus officer while skipping class. The students were breathalyzed, which determined they had been drinking. Both students will attend youth court.

A bullying case involving Glacier and Flathead high school students was reported on Oct. 1 however the incident began back on Sept. 27. They were each posting mean things about each other. Then the Glacier student posted a video threatening the flathead student, which got the SRO involved. The Glacier student has had a history of online harassment and since she had already been warned three times before, she was charged with violating the privacy in communications law. Since being reported the student has no continued this type of activity.

Two bikes were stolen from the FHS campus on Oct. 12. This brought the total number of stolen bikes to four. One bike was taken from right outside the weight room and the other was taken by the bus pickup on the northside. Both had locks on them and one was left over the weekend while the other was left overnight. The thief was wearing a skull bandana and “doesn't seem to be a student,” Bain said. In the security camera footage, the thief turned his back to the camera, and “most likely picked the lock or cut it,” Bain said.

Two fender benders in the parking lot of Flathead High School were reported on Oct. 15 and Oct 16. The damage was minor in both incidents.

Theft off campus on Sykes Market involving Flathead High School freshmen stealing food on Oct. 10.

Another online bullying case was reported. This time between Flathead students. “I usually bring both parties in and tell them to leave each other alone and most of the time they do,” Bain said. One student created an Instagram page and posted mean things about other students, which violates the privacy and communications law. This was not the first incident of inappropriate online use for the particular student.

A few minor incidents both including vehicles on campus were reported on the week of Oct. 30. Including a fender bender that was reported on Oct. 23, in the senior lot of Flathead High School. The damage was insignificant.

A car was broken into however nothing had been stolen on Oct. 22. Cameras didn't catch anything on the situation.

Girls Soccer: bravettes lose playoffs

ASPEN RUSH

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead High School girls soccer team junior Skyleigh Thompson scored 24 goals and had 11 assists to lead the state in scoring by a huge margin, but the Bravettes lost to Helena, 5-0, on Oct. 22 in the playoffs and didn’t advance to the state tournament.

The Bravettes finished the season with a 6-6-2 record and placed sixth in the Western AA.

Thompson outscored the second-best player in the state by a whopping 25 points; she was seven goals short of the all-time state record set in 2007. The Montana Grizzlies women’s soccer team has already recruited her.

One of the highlights of the season was snapping Glacier’s six-game winning steak on Thursday, Sept. 26, at Legends Stadium. Tied 1-1, Thompson scored the game-winning goal nine minutes into the second half and the team’s defense stiffened up for the final 31 minutes of the game to hold up a 2-1 victory. At the time, it improved the Bravettes record to 6-3-1 in Western AA play.

On that game-winning goal, Thompson got a pass from sophomore Ellie Hawes and shot from about 15 yards out.

“A ball was played in the air around the top of the box, 18 yards out,” Thompson said. “I took a touch around one of the defenders and chipped it over the goal keeper as she was coming out of the goal.”

Goal keeper Sara Harrison had nine saves and Hawes assisted both goals. Kami Darrow tied the game in the 16th minute, just two minutes after Glacier scored the game’s first goal.

“My most favorite part about this season was the second crosstown game after beating Glacier when they had been undefeated before us,” Thompson said. “Our team ended up in a huge dog pile and it was so fun. The biggest goal I accomplished this year was being number one in the state for goals and assists.”

Ashlynn Whiteman was second on the team with seven goals. She also had one assist bringing her score up to 15 points.

Shelton and Metzler take Homecoming royalty

JENNA JOHNSON

of The Flathead Arrow

Seniors John Shelton and Savannah Metzler were crowned 2019 Flathead High School homecoming king and queen on Friday, Sept. 27, during the homecoming assembly in the FHS gym.

“I didn’t know what to expect if I was king or not,” Shelton said. “It was really cool and an awesome experience to know that I won.”

Metzler also didn’t know what to expect.

“It was definitely a fun experience that I never thought I’d have,” said Metzler. “Homecoming has always been my favorite week of school, and to be not only nominated but winning queen really made it the best and last homecoming ever for me.”

Shelton and Metzler were elected from 12 other seniors candidates. Max Anderson, Julia Burden, Brendan Barnes, Emily Cephers, Bodhi Hollman, Jenna Johnson, Derrick Neater, Carlin Manning, Kell Rasnic, Kendall Pyron, Isiah Ownes, and Kianna Storm were all nominated. The first runner ups for the senior class were Anderson and Johnson. The second runner ups were Neater and Manning.

Charlie Hinchey and Gillian Benitz were selected for the junior prince and princess. The sophomore class picked Chase Youso and Gretchen Wilhelm. The freshmen class prince and princess were Trevor Burke and Akilah Kubi.

Other students nominated for the prince and princess position were: freshmen Austin Galloway, Maddy Moy, Nolan Peo-Hatten, Keeley Mahoney, Joseph Saavedra, and Mackenzie Walhus; sophomores Cody Ramer, Grayce Siderious, Even Schow, Scout McMahon, Gabe Felton, Atlanta Waltman, Bryton Wambach, and Jillian Wynne; and juniors Braden Anderson, Alayna Creekmore, Hunter Hickey, Bridget Crowley, Daniel Edelen, Lydia Wood, Carson Robison, and Tori Noland.

FOOTBALL: Braves finish 2-8 on the season

BRAYDAN KORN

of The Flathead Arrow

It was a tough year for the Flathead High School football team. After competing for the state championship last season, the team finished this year with a 2-8 record and placed seventh the Western AA Conference.

The Braves fell in the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the Billings West Golden Bears.

Senior quarterback Cooper Smith finished 13th overall in passing yards in Class AA with 553 yards and five touchdowns. Senior wideout Chance Sheldon-Allen and junior quarterback Charlie Hinchey added to the team total with a combined 57 yards between the two of them, bringing the total to 610 yards.

Senior running back Tanner Russell led the team in rushing with 799 yards on 147 carries for an average of 5.4 per carry. Smith added 329 yards rushing, Sheldon-Allen had 214, and senior Drew Harrison added 125 yards. The Braves finished the season with a total of 1,500 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.

Sheldon-Allen led the team in receiving with 25 catches for 347 yards and four touchdowns. Senior wideout Tannen Beyl was second on the team with 15 catches for 131 yards. Junior wideout Nicolas Gustafson recorded the first touchdown of his high school career this season.

Senior inside linebacker Paxton Boyce led the team in tackles with 53 on season, and senior outside linebacker Gatlin Bruner followed close with 46 tackles. At defensive end, Russell led the team in sacks with 2.5 and in tackles for loss with 9.5.

Senior punter Travis Mccully led the state in punt yardage with 1,985 yards, and was 8th place with an average of 33.6. Mccully’s longest punt was 57 yards.

Boys soccer: Braves Lose playoffs

BRIAN WADE

of The Flathead Arrow

Senior Jalen Hawes scored 16 goals and had 11 assists to help lead the Flathead High School boys soccer team in 2019, but the Braves lost to Glacier, 2-1, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at Legends Stadium and didn’t advance to the state tournament.

It was a heartbreaking playoff loss, as Flathead took a 1-0 lead into halftime and Glacier scored the game-winning goal with less than two minutes left in the game.

Flathead finished the season with a 7-6-1 record and placed fourth in the Western AA standings. Glacier was fifth. The Braves swept the Wolfpack, 5-2 and 1-0, during the regular season.

Hawes was third in the state with 43 points (two points for each goal scored and one point for each assist). He was just two points behind the state leader, Marcus Anderson of Missoula Hellgate.

Hawes was proud of his personal stat line but said it wasn't what was most important. “It felt great but the team was the number one priority."

This was a bright spot for the senior but there was also a tough ending to the season.

“After Glacier scored we had a chance to score but the ref ended the game of a goal scoring opportunity” “So it put a pretty bad taste in our mouths,” Hawes said.

Senior AJ Apple was eighth in the state in scoring with 32 points, off of 14 goals and four assists. Senior Eric Gardner placed 11th in state scoring with 24 points, off of 10 goals and four assists.

Apple said, “I felt pretty good, there was a lot of other people who could’ve been in my position but knowing that was me, I felt accomplished.”

Apple was disappointed about the season ending loss to Glacier, “Obviously it was the last game for all of the seniors and were all emotional about it and we had some words to say to the refs after the game about some certain things.”

However, he said this about the overall feeling of the season,“We did pretty well and we had a pretty good team, that is the closest team we’ve ever had family wise, we had the most seniors so we could relate to each other more than any other team could.”

Besides the first two games of the season, when the Braves beat Butte, 10-1, to start the season and then beat Glacier, 5-2, the Braves never had a losing or winning streak. They alternated wins and losses and a tie for the entire season.

Ukrainian foreign exchange student Arsen Sokolov was fourth on the team with four goals and two assists. Junior Timothy Weymouth was fifth with two goals.

Bike thief steals four bikes in two weeks

BRIAN WADE and DEVIN CROWELL

of The Flathead Arrow

Warning to all people who ride bikes to school: Do not leave your bikes overnight as there is a very high chance that it will be stolen.

Four student bikes were stolen in the nighttime hours from the Flathead High School campus from Oct. 27 to Nov. 9 by an unidentified suspect.

FHS School Resource Officer Dennis Bain reported that the thief stole bikes that were left overnight and none of the stolen bikes have been found yet.

Bain said the bikes stolen were a mix of locked and unlocked. The thief found a way to get off the bike lock, which is why all students need to make sure they take their bikes home overnight and over the weekend.

FOOTBALL: Braves fall to Billings West in road playoff game

BRAYDAN KORN

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead High School senior Tanner Russell ran for 94 yards and one touchdown in the first round of the Montana Class AA playoffs against the Billings West Golden Bears, but the effort wasn’t enough in a 51-22 loss on Friday, Nov. 1, at Daylis Stadium.

The final score wasn’t indicative of how close it actually was through almost three quarters. The Braves trailed only 23-15, with four minutes left in the third quarter. Then the Golden Bears scored on four big plays on offense the rest of the way.

The loss capped off the No. 14 Braves’ season with a 2-8 record. No. 3 Billings West improved to 9-1 on the season.

The Braves rushed for a total of 180 yards on 40 carries. Senior quarterback Cooper Smith added 54 yards on 15 rushes and senior Chance Sheldon-Allen had 26 yards on five attempts. West finished with 141 yards, 128 by senior running back Demarcus Carr.

In terms of passing, West out-threw the Braves by almost 250 yards with Billings senior Josh Erbacher completing 18 of 24 passes for 334 yards and five touchdowns. The Braves completed a total of five out of nine passes for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns.

One of those touchdowns came from a throw from wide receiver Sheldon-Allen on a trick play to junior wideout Nick Gustafson for a 33 yard touchdown.

“I pretended I was going to block the corner and then went behind him,” Gustafson said. “As Chance was rolling out to the right, he delivered a dime to me.”

Cross Country: Girls finish 4th at State

JENNA JOHNSON

of The Flathead Arrow

Junior Tori Noland-Gillespie placed 15th and sophomore Kya Wood placed 19th to help lead the Flathead High School girls cross country team to a fourth place finish at the Class AA State Cross Country Meet on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Eagle Falls Golf Course in Great Falls.

Flathead finished with a total of 120 points; Bozeman placed first with 38 points.

Noland-Gillespie ran the race in 19 minutes, 16.8 seconds. Helena sophomore Kylie Hartnett won with a time of 17:49.68.

“My favorite about state is the team bonding and getting to hangout with the team” Noland said “I felt very happy knowing I trusted the coaches training and helping bring home a super strong team.”

Freshman Neila Lyngholm was the third best Bravette, finishing in 21st place. Sophomore Sierra Vickrey and junior Hannah Perrin rounded out FHS’s top 5 finishers with 32nd and 33rd place finishes.

On the boys side, sophomore Gabe Felton placed 44th and senior Bohdi Hollman placed 62nd to lead the Braves to a 13th-placed finish.

FHS tallied 336 points, just four points behind 12th-placed Belgrade. Bozeman and Hellgate tied for first with 54 points.

Felton finished with a time of 17:28.17, 1:38 behind first place. “I really liked the trip, the race was fine, it was it cold and icy and the race wasn’t the highlight, but being with the team was a lot of fun” said Felton “It felt pretty good about being the first flathead boy runner to cross the finish line and it was a lot of pressure and to have a good performance but now that it is over I can say that I completed it.”

Junior Seth Trumm, junior Kyle Miller, and sophomore Caden Masa placed 71st, 72nd, and 87th, respectively.

Football: Senior night celebration for the Braves

BRAYDAN KORN

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead High School senior running back Tanner Russell dominated in the ground game, running for 170 yards to help lead the Braves football team to a 19-7 win against the Missoula Big Sky Eagles on Friday, Oct. 25, at Legends Stadium.

The Braves climbed to 2-7 on the season and 2-6 in Western AA conference play.

Big Sky dropped to 1-8 on the season and 0-8 in Western AA Conference play.

Big Sky lost the turnover battle, 4-1. The Eagles lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions while Flathead threw one interception.

Tied 0-0 in the second quarter, the Braves took a 6-0 lead into halftime on the strength of two field goals by Eric Gardner. Russell scored a touchdown in the third quarter to put the Braves ahead, 12-0, and they never looked back.

The Braves rushed for a total of 300 yards on almost 60 carries. Senior quarterback Cooper Smith added 106 yards rushing to Russell’s attack.

“I think the main reason why we succeeded in the run game was because our o-line really Stepped up And really got after their defense”. Said Smith

Ahead 12-7 in the fourth quarter, the Braves put the game out of reach when senior Travis McCully blocked a punt and senior Tannen Beyl recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown to put the game at its final score.

“I saw the punt get blocked and I thought oh my gosh I'm gonna get my first touchdown and so I dove on it and scored”. Said Beyl

Flathead defensive backs helped controlled the game by limiting two Big Sky quarterbacks in completing just 29 percent of 27 passes. Senior Chance Sheldon-Allen tacked on his second interception of the season, and senior Sutton Keeler received his first interception on the year.

GOLF: Mercer 2nd, Wynne 7th at snowy state golf

JILLIAN WYNNE

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead High School junior Marcella Mercer and sophomore Jillian Wynne emerged through the wind and snow, placing in the top 10, to help lead the girls golf team to a seventh place finish at the Class AA State Golf Tournament at Meadowlark Country Club in Great Falls on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 7 and 8.

Mercer carded a 79-84--163 to tie with Bozeman senior Cooper Knarr for second. Wynne shot a two-day 89-86--175 to finish in a four-way tie for seventh. The Bravettes totaled 808 strokes, 108 strokes behind first-place Bozeman but 25 strokes ahead of eighth-place Glacier.

The second day of the tournament was played under such freezing and snowy conditions that a national magazine, Golf Digest, published an article on the event where Joel Beall wrote “… clearly Montana kids are tougher than all of us.”

“I felt like my fingers were about to break off; it was so cold,” FHS freshman McKinlie Murer said.

Towards the end of the second day, the greens were covered in snow. Second-place Mercer said that the snow made it impossible to find one of her shots on the last hole. She was forced to take a penalty and re-hit.

“It’s not like it would’ve been a bad shot. They just couldn’t find it,” Mercer said. “And the conditions just got worse because of having to wait see if they found it.”

Other controversies included some groups not hearing rules announcements and then not knowing how to proceed in the snow. Four-golfer groups are always joined by adult markers, who keep track of the number of shots. But some of those adult markers began interpreting rules their own ways, which led to inconsistent rules applications with all golfers on the final two holes.

In one example, an adult marker decided to give all golfers in a group par scores because the weather was so crippling. While other groups of golfers had to play the extremely-challenging holes out and received by scores. In another example, some groups cleared off the greens to putt, while other groups didn’t know that they could clear off the green.

Wynne was one of those unfortunate ones that didn’t clear the green and ended up four putting on the final hole, while another girls cleared her green and two putted. It ended up being the difference between seventh and fourth place for Wynne.

“I was incredibly frustrated after the tournament,” Wynne said. “In the end, it came down to knowing the specifics of the rules regarding casual water. But there was so much misinformation being spread around that no one was really certain on how to finish. But I guess I learned a lesson out of it.”

Other golfers consistently struggled closer to the green. FHS first-year head coach Roy Antley said the cold weather affected “feel in the short game.”

Despite the brutal conditions, the collective scores of all of the Montana AA golfers improved from the first to the second day of competition by 240 strokes, according to Beall, of Golf Digest.

Among the top 25 players on the boys side was FHS junior Ezra Epperly, who placed 22nd with a two-day 86-89--175. Epperly led the Braves to an 11th place finish with 742 strokes.

The Bozeman Hawks claimed both first-place titles, completing an undefeated season. The Bozeman boys team, with a final score of 620, was 68 strokes ahead of second-place Missoula Sentinel. Hawk twins Justus and Jordan Verge placed first and second respectively. Sophomore Justus Verge was the only competitor to score under par on either day of the tournament.

The average scores were higher than usual, due to a variety of factors. The first day of the tournament was played in cold 30- to 40-mph winds.

FHS freshman McKinlie Murer said that she often felt like she would be pushed over while lining up to putt. She saw one of her competitor’s push-cart nearly blow into a bunker.

“It was really nerve-racking,” Murer said.

In addition to the weather conditions, multiple schedule changes for the tournament left the competitors without a practice round.

“The initial postponement was pretty much unavoidable,” Coach Antley said.

Due to heavy snow in Great Falls the prior week, the course was unplayable on the scheduled dates. After postponing the tournament, the competitors planned for a practice round on Monday, followed by the competition on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, the next bout of snow blew in sooner than expected.

“We cancelled the practice round [on Monday] and moved up tee times on Tuesday to try to avoid the worst of it, but didn’t quite avoid the heavy snow that came in around 2 p.m.,” Antley said.

Players learned to not focus on things they can’t control.

“I realized that if I focused too much on how cold it was then I wasn’t going to be able to focus on my golf game,” senior Kianna Strom said.

The improvement in second day scores proves that this mentality was common amongst the Montana golfers.

The FHS team is only graduating two players, Kianna Storm and Lucas Coulter. Coach Antley expects continual practice from the top players and hopes to develop the the last three positions on the boys and girls teams.

“The girls can compete for a top 3 spot next season and the boys have a strong chance to finish in the upper half or possibly top 5 at State,” Antley said. “The sky is the limit.”

State AA Tournament in Great Falls at Meadowlark Country Club Par 72
BoysTeam Scores--1, Bozeman, 620; 2, Missoula Sentinel, 688; 3, Helena Capital, 690; 4, Billings Senior, 692; 5, Kalispell Glacier, 694; 6, Butte, 713; 7, Billings West, 721; 8T, Missoula Big Sky and Belgrade, 723; 10, Billings Skyview, 725; 11, Kalispell Flathead, 742; 12, C.M. Russell, 743; 13, Missoula Hellgate 751; 14, Helena, 786; 15, Great Falls, 854. Individual Scores--1, Justus Verge, Bozeman, 71-73--144; 2, Jordan Verge, Bozeman, 74-74--148; 3, Tyler Avery, Glacier, 84-74--158; T4, Eli Groshelle, CMR, 81-79--160; T4, Gabe Witham, Capital, 82-78--160; T6, Aidan Binau, Skyview, 82-79--161; T6, Kaven Noctor, Butte, 79-82--161; T8, JR Small, Bozeman, 82-82--164; T8, Ramey Lloyd, Bozeman, 82-82--164; 10, Joe Opitz, Sentinel, 87-78--165; 11, Blake Brock, Belgrade, 85-83--168; 12, Reece Mayala, Senior, 85-84--169; T3, Connor Halligan, Sentinel, 85-85--170; T13, Jaden Dennis, Sentinel, 85-85--170; T15, Jhett Braley, Senior, 89-82--171; T15, Trevor Swanson, Capital, 85-86--171; T15, Hayden Ellis, Big Sky, 86-85--171.
Flathead Boys--22, Ezra Epperly, 86-89--175; T39, Joston Cripe, 91-93--184; T41, Kadin Gall, 93-92--185; 57, Drew Lowry, 98-100--198; T67, Lucas Coulter, 105-109--214.

Girls Team Scores--1, Bozeman, 700; 2, Billings West, 722; 3, Butte, 737; 4, Billings Senior, 746; 5, Helena High, 748; 6, Billings Skyview, 759; 7, Kalispell Flathead, 808; 8, Kalispell Glacier, 833; 9 Great Falls High, 858; 10, C.M. Russel High, 929; No team scores: Helena Capital, Missoula Hellgate, Missoula Big Sky, Missoula Sentinel, Belgrade.
Individual Scores--1, Carrie Carpenter, West, 75-75--150; T2, Marcella Mercer, Flathead, 79-84--163; T2, Cooper Knarr, Bozeman, 85-78--163; 4, Kadence Fischer, West, 90-82--172; T5, Cora Rosanova, Bozeman, 90-84--174; T5, Ginny Kerr, Helena High, 89-85--174; T7, Jillian Wynne, Flathead, 89-86--175; T7, Samantha Benson, Sentinel, 87-88--175; T7, Sami Yates, Bozeman, 89-86--175; T7, Ella Prigge, Butte, 82-93--175; 11, Cierra Sundheim, Skyview, 88-95--183; T12, Kodie Hoagland, Butte, 91-94--185; T12, Grace Luoma, Butte, 93-92--185; 14, Amanda King, Skyview, 98-99--186; T15, Gigi Montague, Senior, 99-88--187; T15, Lauren Williams, Helena High, 87-100--187; T15, Celi Chapman, Helena High, 94-93--187.
Flathead Girls--T2, Marcella Mercer, 79-84--163; T7, Jillian Wynne, 89-86--175; 47, McKinlie Murer, 113-118--231; 51, Kianna Storm, 119-120--239; 57, Sophie Dykhuizen, 131-141--272.

homecoming rally finishes off week

DEVIN CROWELL

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead High School students went all out for color wars on the fifth and final day of spirit week on Friday, Sept. 27, by wearing their class colors and making the bleachers stand out in different colors during the homecoming assembly.

“Color wars is the most important day to dress up for,” junior JD Bennett said.

Seniors wore white. Juniors wore black. Sophomores wore orange. Freshmen wore gray. This helped the classes stand out during the homecoming assembly.

The day capped off a week of costumes. Beginning on Monday, with a theme of Mathletes vs Athletes. Tractor Tuesday, Wannabe Wednesday, and Thrifty Thursday followed.

The day was capped with an assembly in the big gym. It started with the introductions of the homecoming royalty and the crowning of homecoming king and queen, John Shelton and Savannah Metzler.

Then the assembly turned into a student vs. staff relay race, where senior Max Anderson, along with junior Skyleigh Thompson, sophomore Finn Nadeau and freshman Jackson Walker lined up against staff Mr. Charlie Dotson, Mrs. Caitlyn Heuscher,Mrs. Tricia Dean, and Mr. Justin Whitman. The race began with Mr. Dotson and Jackson Walker racing from the stage side of the gym to the entrance doors and attempting to eat a donut that was hanging from the basketball backboard without using their hands. Mr. Dotson, who used his elbow while Jackson’s donut fell to the ground and required him to eat it off the ground, gave the teachers a big lead.

The second leg of the relay race had Anderson and Nadeau barrel racing against Mr. Dotson and Mrs. Heuscher. With Anderson and Mr. Dotson holding the ankles of their teammates, who raced on their hands to make themselves look like a wheel barrel, the students closed some of the gap of the teachers’ lead.

In the third leg of the race, Anderson and Mr. Whiteman raced down the court with baseball bats and smashed pinatas with the emblem of the high school FHS was playing against in the homecoming game, Helena Capital. The gap of the lead didn’t change much in this leg.

Then in the final part of the relay race, with the teachers holding a decent lead, Mrs. Dean ran the length of the court but couldn’t flip a water bottle onto its base while Thompson did it on her second attempt and raced back down the court to win the race for the students.

The cheerleaders led the student body in a handful of cheers throughout the assembly and threw out inflatable bananas into the crowd. FHS Activities Director Mr. Bryce Wilson also handed out gold stars and introduced athletes who beat crosstown rival Glacier in their team events this fall.

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