What Just Happened?
Another month has passed, and with that came much change at Whiting High School. The football season has come to an end after ten weeks, with the final game being a loss in sectional round one against an uncommon opponent, North Newton. The 20-14 loss occurred October 20th, bringing the final record to 6-3 and meaning they did not meet their ten-game win requirement to become the “GOAT;” that title now officially belongs to last year’s seniors and will stay with them for years to come, as it would take 17 wins of 15 possible for next year’s seniors to set the new highest record. Despite it taking place over a ten-week season, there were only nine games.
The Senior Night Bishop Noll game was forfeited as Bishop Noll did not believe themselves to have a sufficient team, though they were able to action the following week against Lake Station Edison.
Whiting’s Cross Country, however, took to the trails to seize their own place as the “Greatest of All Time.” They talked the talk and as the season progressed, they ran the run. It was a proud day in the team’s history on October 7th, when for the first time both the girls’ team and boys’ team ranked fifth and both would advance to the regional meet at Lemon Lake.
That next weekend, the seniors ran their hearts (and breakfast, if you are senior Xavier Nunez) out, and the girls team placed ninth out of the ten places awarded to the teams there. The boys team did not place, but still made team and school history by qualifying for the event and participating as an entire team of seven. Four years of hard-work paid off for these student-athletes, solidifying a family and a legacy for the school’s program, as well as putting the team on the map for larger competitors.
What’s Next?
Even with the fall sports having met their conclusion, there are still many events going on as the year moves forward. Boys’ Basketball and Girls’ Basketball teams have started their training and look forward to the upcoming seasons. The Boys’ team is under new direction this year, so it is exciting to see where it will take the team in their upcoming season. The Girls’ team has many returning players and all are optimistic of their standings come the first game. There are many young players on the roster, so the future of the program looks bright and strong.
Whiting also started to train for the Wrestling season, looking to be the biggest rosters the team has had in quite some time, even including several girls this year. In the upcoming month, the fall sports banquet will be scheduled to honor the students and the families who participated in the football, cross country, and volleyball seasons.
On the academic side of extra-curricular activity, the Academic Team has already had their call out meeting for members and has drawn in a mass of students, many joining for the first time. Science Olympiad has also been assembled, studying and building away as if their first competition was next week, but it is actually not until the beginning of December and hosted at home, in Whiting High School’s various gyms and classrooms. There is much anticipation to see just how well these teams’ do throughout the second quarter.
Man of the Arts
Many events have passed this year for the band and the other arts. The pep band maintained a presence at home football games. The marching band played in the fourth of July, Homecoming, and most recently, Halloween parades, and on October 16th, the band took to the stage for their first concert of the year, playing five selections to follow up the high school choir. Then just five days later, middle and high school students went on stage to perform each of the Senior-Directed One Acts on October 21st and 22nd. But what do all the events have in common? Simply the man behind them.
That man would be the band director and conductor, choir teacher, and auditorium supervisor, Patrick Pecher. Pecher is one of Whiting’s most dedicated members of faculty, teaching grades 1-5 and 7 fundamentals of music; directing the elementary, middle, and high school bands; teaching choir to high school students; supervising the auditorium’s events and the Senior-Directed One Acts; and more, with countless hours being volunteered. He has been an understanding teacher and a friend to all his students who pass through. What is most remarkable is that he has done this for over a decade, in some cases even having taught the children of his first students. Much of Whiting’s pride and most creative and successful events can be attributed to the guidance of Pecher, and each of his students know the school could not be the same without him.
Student in the Spotlight
There are some exceptional students at Whiting, but there’s one that really shined in the last month. Major credit this month goes to a junior, Michael Markovich.
Markovich is in his second year at Whiting, having arrived during Sophomore year. Markovich was lead trumpet for most of last year for Whiting’s pep, marching, and concert band, but was shifted to euphonium at the start of the 2017-2018 school year. It would typically take months for someone to learn an instrument’s fundamentals and adapt to playing it, but Markovich almost immediately took to playing it as if he always had been. With little time he picked up advanced playing to perform in the marching band for parades using it as well as each of the five pieces played at the first concert. Playing so well with two instruments is not easy to do, so naturally for pep band he picked up a third, a bass guitar. He took this spot in the pep band to fill in for David Gormley, who graduated last year.
Aside from his feats in the band, he was also a major piece in the productions of the Senior-Directed One Acts. He played multiple roles within Snow White Lite and You’re Driving Me Crazy as well as a role as the “Invisible man” in Frankenstein Slept Here and the major antagonist in Story for a Reigny Day. It is tough enough to play a single instrument and memorize lines to a single role, but Markovich did all this with ease. Come springtime, Markovich plans to return to the golf team.
With such strongaccomplishments in such little time, there is bound to be some impressive moments to come from the rest of his junior year as well as his senior year.