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Senior, Seth Gutwein Returns to Track Team after Recovering from Injury
When Seth Gutwein, senior, felt a pop in his shoulder halfway through the football season last fall, he assumed he had just dislocated his shoulder and that he would be fine in a short amount of time. However, it was not until the end of the season that he learned he tore the labrum (muscle found near the shoulder blade) in his left arm.
“(My shoulder) would come out, and I could get it right back in,” Gutwein said. “I did not think anything of it until the end of the season when it really started to hurt.”
Although x-rays showed an even worse injury than he originally thought, Gutwein was happy to finally know what was actually wrong with his arm.
“I was kind of relieved,” Gutwein said. “(The doctors) told me I could get surgery, and it would be fixed. It was better than them saying it would not be fixed.”
After discovering the exact injury last November, he went on to have surgery on his labrum in January. Gutwein was in a sling for six weeks after surgery and went through rehab for another six weeks. Over time Gutwein became annoyed with his injury since he could not complete simple tasks on his own, and he missed out on the beginning of the track season.
“I was very frustrated because I was so dependent on people,” Gutwein said. “I could not drive or pour a glass of milk. (It was tough) seeing everyone else run and having to watch.”
While getting accustomed to doing things on his own again, Gutwein also prepares to return to track for the first time in two years. During his sophomore year, he broke the school’s 4x1 team record with his relay team. After being away for one season, Gutwein looks to help people remember who he is.
“People kind of forgot about me,” Gutwein said. “I want to show them and prove that I am really fast.”
While some may think the lower body is the most important when running a track event, the upper body plays a big role as well, according to Gutwein.
“People do not realize how much you use your upper body,” Gutwein said. “I am not in as good shape as I hope to be in.”
Coach Jonathan Stamper, Eads Elementary School teacher, believes Gutwein is motivated to be returning and that his return should motivate his teammates.
“For him, I think it is a sense of accomplishment and relief,” Coach Stamper said in an email. “Having shoulder surgery this off-season plus this being his senior year, I am sure he is very eager to get back in the mix. He is looking good; he brings good energy.”
Although Gutwein can only practice on a limited basis, he shows signs of improvement, according to Coach Stamper.
“He has been rehabbing his shoulder and slowly working his way back in to track shape,” Coach Stamper said. “Seth is a hard worker, and being a senior, I expect him to have a special season. He will find ways to help the team.”
In his final high school season, Gutwein looks to have fun while trying to achieve success.
“Me and a couple of guys are coming back,” Gutwein said. “This is our last sport to play in high school. We just want to have a lot of fun.”
We The People Places 10th place in First National Competition
For the first time since 2012, We The People competed in the National competition held in Washington D.C. The team was in Washington D.C. from April 23-29.
The team did not expect to attend Nationals this season, according to Walker Hedgepath, senior.
“We went from the wild card position,” Walker said. “Since the Federal government stopped funding We The People, some states felt it was still wanted 50 teams. In order to make up for the states that dropped out, they created a lottery system.”
The team placed second in the state competition and figured their season was over. Walker and the rest of the team learned of the good news after Christmas break.
“It completely struck as a surprise,” Walker said. “When break ended, we figured we were done.”
We The People performed well enough in the competition compete on Capitol Hill. Walker cherishes the memories he made while at D.C.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Walker said. “In part of being in the top 10, we had another day of competition on Capitol Hill. That was an awesome experience.”
While only making it to the National competition thanks to earning the wild card spot, the team knew they were heading in as the underdogs of the competition, according to Walker.
“We definitely exceeded them (goals),” Walker said. “We were a second place team already and that put a brand on us.”
Walker enjoys the fact that they were able to place better than most of the teams that competed.
“There were 56 teams at Nationals this year,” Walker said. “We beat some really good teams. It is a wonderful feeling.”
Walker will be graduating later this month. He is happy to end his high school career on a high note with this We The People accomplishment. He also believes in what We The People is all about.
“It is honestly perhaps one of the most meaningful moments I could ever have,” Walker said. “We The People is all about making better citizens. There is no other way. (We did well) thanks to the efforts of Mr. (Michael) Gordon.”
DECA Travels to Florida for International Competition
The DECA team went to Orlando, Florida to compete at the International competition from April 24-29. Team members who are upperclassmen had to make a sacrifice in order to go to Orlando due to prom being held on the same day.
“It did not hit me until a week before prom when everyone usually starts getting ready,” Lauren Koultourides, senior said. “I was sad that we were missing prom.”
Making it to Internationals came as a surprise to Lauren as she did not expect for her and her partner, Gigi Urbaniak, senior, to make it that far.
“Gigi and I did not expect it at all,” Lauren said. “We studied really hard and we ended up doing really well.”
Although the team did not do as well as they expected, four members placed in the top 20, according to Lauren.
“There are like 1000 kids in each event so it was pretty amazing that they made it there,” Lauren said.
Despite missing prom and not competing as well as she would have liked, Lauren still enjoyed the memories she made with her fellow team members.
“It was really fun,” Lauren said. “I got to bond and get closer with my teammates.”