What’s recently happened?
On February 12, the Griffith High School (GHS) wrestling team took on its Semi-State competition at East Chicago Central High School. The Griffith athletes competing at this event were Freshman Zach Kenney, Sophomore Landon Westenfeld, and Senior Connor Cervantes.
Kenney competed in the 113 lb weight class, Westenfeld competed in the 132 lb weight class, and Cervantes competed in the 182 lb weight class.
“I like wrestling because it disciplines you and your body. It takes a lot of hard work, but once the ref raises your hand up after you win, it makes you realize what all of the hard work is for. Being a freshman and going to Semi-State felt really good and makes me want to work even harder,” said Kenney.
Cervantes, who is ranked 10th in the state for wrestling, placed second at the meet, qualifying him for State. Cervantes successfully defeated Harrison High School’s Ethan Popp, who he lost to in the 2021-2022 Semi-State Championship.
“Making it to State feels great because it’s a measure of how I have progressed since last year, and it shows how hard I’ve worked this year,” said Cervantes.
All three of the boys competed very well, making all of Griffith, and especially their team, proud.
“I’m really proud of Connor. I’ve been seeing him wrestle since we were in sixth grade, and now I get to go with him to watch him at state,” Teammate William Potts said.
Connor will continue to the state finals at Indianapolis on the weekend of the 17th. Everyone in Griffith is very excited to see how he does.
What’s coming up?
With the arrival of warm weather and spring right around the corner, Griffith students can anticipate the revival of one of the school’s most popular clubs: Paranormal Society.
Paranormal Society was founded in 2013 at GHS and has since become a very popular club.
“I’ve been in Paranormal Society since I was a freshman, and every trip has been a blast,” said Senior Callie Linders.
This unique club gives students the opportunity to go on paranormal investigations with Griffith Police Officer Pete Ghrist.
At these investigations, students get to use all kinds of cool ghost-hunting tools all over Lake County’s most haunted locations.
Coming up, Paranormal Society has planned multiple trips to the Little Red Schoolhouse in Hammond, Indiana.
Paranormal Society is the largest club at Griffith with roughly 132 members, and because of the huge size of this group, investigations will usually include five-12 students at a time.
The club also gives students the ability to plan their own trips to any approved location. When students have a group and know where they want to go, Ghrist does an impeccable job taking care of the rest.
“Right now, some friends and I are putting together a ‘seniors only’ trip that I’m sure will be really fun,” said Senior Lily Wroblewski.
Paranormal Society has given many students the opportunity to get involved in a fun, low-commitment, interesting club, so it’s no wonder it’s such a popular option for students.
With spring around the corner, Griffith students can be excited for all the news trips to come.
Staff spotlight:
Corporal Pete Ghrist is the school resource officer at GHS and a vital member of the Griffith community.
Ghrist attended the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and pledged his Oath of Office in 2003.
Ghrist has served as a resource officer at Griffith since 2009 and has been described as “a liaison between Griffith Public Schools and the Griffith Police Department,” according to the Town of Griffith.
He is credited with many different accomplishments within the schools and the community in Griffith.
Ghrist sponsors and leads Griffith’s most popular high school club, Paranormal Society, and also runs the group Northwest Indiana Paranormal in his free time.
“I’ve always thought paranormal investigations were really cool, and I’ve had a lot of paranormal experiences myself, so I just think it’s an awesome thing to offer at the high school. We always have a lot of fun,” said Ghrist.
He is also a former sponsor of Griffith’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club.
Ghrist organizes the Town of Griffith’s annual Public Safety and Community Day, which is an event that promotes local public safety.
For all of his work towards the community, Ghrist was made the first recipient of the Texas O. Minter Award in 2017. He was given the award for outstanding dedication and service to the community above and beyond the call of duty.
“I think we have a great community at Griffith, so I always want to give back to it,” said Ghrist.
Through his many accomplishments and services, Ghrist has proven himself as an essential member of GHS and the community of Griffith.
Student spotlight:
Claire LaBadie is a senior at GHS. She has been in Griffith schools her entire academic career and has managed to achieve some incredible things.
LaBadie’s extracurriculars include swimming, National Honor Society, and band, with her holding the position of drum major.
“My favorite part about being drum major is getting to practice servant leadership – putting the needs of those you are leading above yourself,” said LaBadie.
LaBadie is also captain of the Griffith’s swim team and has been a competitive swimmer for ten years.
“I began swimming in the Highland Hurricanes age group when I was in second grade. I continue to swim there during the high school off-season and will continue swimming during the college off-season as well,” said LaBadie.
When she was in the third grade, LaBadie was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder (SPD). She describes how this made it hard to feel as though she fit in, though all her worries disappeared as soon as she got into the pool.
“After my first ever day of practice, I got in the car and announced to my mom that I would be going to the Olympics one day,” said LaBadie.
LaBadie has been strong in combating her condition and found that swimming was an outlet for her, helping her to feel that she wasn’t that different after all.
This feeling of belonging has allowed her to make great achievements in her sport, with her personal record being 27.03 seconds for the 50 freestyle and 1:00.95 for the 100 freestyle, both of which she achieved this season.
“I don’t resent having SPD like I used to; I am grateful every day for having it because if not for my diagnosis, I wouldn’t be in the sport that I love,” said LaBadie.
LaBadie is also at the top of her class being fifth in rank with a 4.29 GPA.
Her love for swimming as well as her outstanding academic achievements got LaBadie an offer to swim for a Division III team at Monmouth College in Illinois.
“I had never even considered swimming after high school. I didn’t think I was fast enough, and I didn’t think I’d even want to. At first, the idea scared me, but then I began to reconsider it,” said LaBadie.
After all, LaBadie decided to commit to Monmouth to study business and swim for its collegiate-level team.
LaBadie definitely has a bright future ahead of her as she has continuously displayed her strength and resilience in all that she has accomplished.