What’s recently happened?
This past Saturday, the Griffith High School (GHS) Lady Panthers took on the Morton High School Governors in the Girls Basketball season opener. This was the first game of a completely new program. This team features first year Head Coach Christopher Tomcsi, who has a great résumé and has now taken over for the Lady Panthers. Additionally, the team is dominated by non-seniors, with only two seniors on the varsity roster.
The past years have been very lucrative for the Lady Panthers, with two Sectional championships in the last three years and a Regional runner-up placement two years ago in 2021. The last of the Lady Panthers who contributed to that prior success graduated last year, and the program is ushering in a new era.
The game on Saturday resulted in a 74-45 loss, but the Lady Panthers showed great upside in certain parts of the game. The ball movement got better as the game progressed and shots started to fall for the Lady Panthers after a rough start. The majority of scoring was led by a trio from the Class of 2025, including Madyson Ladendorf, Briana Esquiviel, and Addison “Addy” Wallace. Coupled with good play from underclassmen in Sophomore Morgan Von Ogden and Freshman Olivia Esquiviel, the team is in great hands for the rest of this season and future seasons as well. The Lady Panthers will play their next game on November 11 against the Hobart High School Brickies.
What’s coming up?
This weekend, the Griffith Theatre Company is showing its annual fall show. This year, the play is “The Play That Goes Wrong.” The show times are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $9 for general admission and $8 for children ages 2-12 and seniors, and available online in the Griffith Panthers Box Office. The entrance for the performances will be through the auditorium entrance. Inside before and during the play, concessions will be available for purchase as well as play t-shirts.
At GHS, the theatre program amasses more participants than any other extracurricular, and it is very evident in its productions. Throughout the past two years, both the musicals and the plays have gained near full crowds for all three showings. Just as recent as last year, the entire auditorium was redone and renovated with all new seats, walls, and flooring. The theatre company does a great job of incorporating young students into the process of producing a play, and some even get the opportunity to play major roles in their underclassmen years.
One of these young students is Jeremiah Fuentes. He is playing the roles of Max, Cecil Haversham, and Arthur.
Fuentes said the hardest part about this play was all the props and the elaborate pieces that are used in the show.
“People should come see the show because it makes for a good laugh, and it’s something we haven’t done in the Griffith Theatre Company for a while,” Fuentes said.
Staff spotlight:
Christopher Tomcsi is a first-year teacher at GHS who teaches mathematics. The courses he currently teaches are Honors Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Honors Pre-Calculus, and AP Calculus AB. Tomcsi’s favorite course to teach is calculus because he sees aspects of all prior math classes within it.
“Getting to help students find the connections between geometry, algebra, pre-calculus and trigonometry is a great experience,” Tomcsi said. “By the end of the year, my students walk out with a massive sense of accomplishment because of how much they’ve learned.”
Once the bell rings for the end of the school day, Tomcsi’s day is not finished. Tomcsi picked up the head Girls Varsity Basketball coach position at GHS and is quite experienced in this field. This is his 18th year coaching Girls Basketball, and he’s coached all across the area, including Munster, Washington Township, Hobart, Highland, Andrean, and now Griffith. This isn’t Tomcsi’s first time at GHS though. Tomcsi was born and raised in Griffith and graduated from GHS. That is a part of his goal while coaching at GHS.
“The big picture goal is to get the program back to where it was when I was an assistant coach here – when we were winning six sectional titles in a row and were seen as one of the best programs in the area,” Tomcsi said. “As a kid that was born and raised in Griffith and graduated from GHS, I know what our athletic programs mean to the school and the community.”
The opportunity arose for Tomcsi to take on the challenge of rebuilding the program and give back to his own school and community, and he couldn’t pass up that chance. Presently, Tomsci is very happy with his current group of girls and is expecting positive results from them sooner rather than later.
Away from school and sport, Tomcsi enjoys spending time with both his wife, Emily, and their dog Charlie. They both enjoy going on vacation to see new places. Tomcsi also enjoys both golfing and cycling in his spare time.
Student spotlight:
Junior Isabella Zielke is one of the main leaders of the Class of 2025. Currently, Zielke is ranked seventh in her class for academics with a GPA of 4.2. Along with her stellar academic success, she is also a part of Student Council, Junior Class Council, National Honor Society, Unified Sports, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Booster Club, Griffith Theatre Company, Paranormal Society, and International Club. She is the Junior Class President and the Vice President for Best Buddies. Being someone who can manage all these extracurriculars and still be a top-level student is not easy.
“It’s very challenging to balance sports, AP/Honors classes, and just life in general,” Zielke said.
Despite this, Zielke enjoys her busy and involved life.
“I enjoy being involved in everything and anything I can be in because I love working with people, learning and trying new things, and above all, making new friends,” Zielke said.
Zielke has also had an increased workload during this new year, with harder classes and increased responsibilities.
“I’ve had to manage my time efficiently and zero in on self-discipline and staying organized,” Zielke said.
Within all her activities, the one she is most passionate about is Best Buddies.
“It’s an international organization that creates friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities and makes such a huge impact in our community,” Zielke said.
Zielke says many positive relationships have stemmed from this program.
“I have met so many different and unique people and I love interacting and becoming close with each and every single one of them every day,” Zielke said.
Zielke is also very passionate about things outside of school, and one of her favorite things to do is volunteer at the wildlife animal shelter. She has been helping out there for three years.
“Working with animals has always been something I’ve loved doing, so when I was first asked to volunteer there, it was an opportunity I knew I had to take,” Zielke said. “I work there as much as I can and love animals even more because of it.”
Along with Zielke’s influence on the community, she also does a great job portraying the ideal GHS student. She believes her impact comes from her sociable character.
“I believe my role at GHS is to impart kindness to everyone I interact with, as well as doing my very best as a student athlete along with all the clubs I take part in,” Zielke said.
Zielke also says this helps her exemplify leadership in both the community and the school.
“I also strive to be a leader in the community as well as an inspiration to others,” Zielke said.
She credits being Christian as her reason for acting in such a positive manner.
“I am Christian and try to express being one in my everyday life by treating everyone with respect, honesty, kindness, and just being a good person. Smiling at everyone I pass in the hallway or saying little things to make someone’s day better matters to me as well,” Zielke said. “That is what I do on a yearly basis to make a positive impact here at GHS.”