By: Farah Standley

 

To start off the season, the Eagles went to Floresville, where all of the athletes fought hard to tackle steep hills and tough competition. The varsity girls got 7th place as a team overall in the 2-mile race, seeing amazing performances by all of the girls, including Kassidy Vickers (Finished 12th; Time: 13:19), Kara Medina (Finished 31st; Time: 14:02), and Shalyn Gutierez (Finished 33rd; Time: 14:03). Shortly following them came Shanna Hime, Evalynn Garcia, Aryana Partida, Jauslyn Ramirez, and Mallory Fey. The JV girls came in 7th place as a team, with contributions from Syrena Clark, Aleza Robledo, Xochitl Hernandez, Vanessa Chapa, Katelynn Garza, and Rebecca Martinez. The varsity boys came trucking through at 5th place as a team overall. The leading scorer for Pleasanton was Micah Klein at 17th place, with an 18:23 3-mile. Next came Xavier Rodriguez (Finished 37th; Time: 19:25), Ian Rodriguez (Finished 45th; Time: 19:45), Jayden Ogg(Finished 46th; Time: 19:45), Joseph Cuellar (Finished 73rd; Time: 21:00), and Logan Knox (Finished 85th; Time: 21:57).  Every athlete on the Pleasanton cross country team put in all of their effort, and pushed through mental and physical pain to better themselves and their teammates. They encouraged each other through long summer practices and early morning workouts before school, and now that the season has started, they plan to push each other all the way to regionals, and hopefully, the state meet in Round Rock, Texas. 

We had an interesting interview with Coach Foster about the season, and she seemed very excited to see what the team has to offer this year. She has been teaching/coaching for 6 years, and this is her first year here at Pleasanton. She graduated from Jourdanton High School and graduated college from Texas State University. When asked about how she feels this season will go, considering the brand new team, she stated, “I think the team is going to do very well this year, it’s a young team across the board, with only two seniors… they are going to do very well pre-season… we’re going to have a good chance to go to regionals, but also win district… girls and boys.” We also had a good conversation with Kassidy Vickers, the number one runner on the team. First, we asked how she feels about the start of her season so far, she said, “I feel like the start has already been good … It’s only been the third meet and I already have a new P.R., and I’ve just been getting better every single meet.” We asked how she feels about her new teammates, and she replied, “They’re doing really good, they’re really stepping it up, being new to high school, and they’re really strong competitors… I feel like we have a really strong team this year”. We asked how she feels about the new coach, Coach Foster, and she stated, “She’s a good coach… I would say she’s definitely helped us out… just conditioning and… working on… specific areas like endurance.” We questioned what some goals and mindsets she and the team shared for the year, she said, “Definitely a goal…for our team is to make it to State, I think we have a good chance of doing that this year, and then be District Champions… A goal for me is to be District Champ.” We also asked how far she thinks she as an individual will get in terms of competition this year, she stated, “This year, I honestly see myself making it to state because the times I’ve been hitting are… better than my state times.” Her current P.R. (Personal Record)  is 12:27, which is a seven-second jump from her P.R. last year, 12:34. The team looks forward to gaining a lot of success this year, and all of the athletes have a good outlook on the future.

By: Farah Stanley & Allison Collins

Mrs. Blanco has been honored as the paraprofessional of the year. She is a very important asset to Pleasanton High School, and is very deserving of this achievement. We sat down and had a nice conversation with Mrs. Blanco. When asked how she feels about achieving the award, Mrs. Blanco said “I feel very honored to receive this award. It makes me feel good, it makes me feel appreciated; That everyone here at school and my colleagues see the hard work that I do, so I can accomplish student success.” Mrs. Blanco shared her favorite thing about being a paraprofessional: “I enjoy being here at school. I enjoy working with the students. I like to see them progress through the year, and when I meet y’all the very first day of school, y’all are a little shy. By the time we leave, I can see how much y’all have grown academically and as a human being.” She also shared that her favorite thing about the students is that, “Every student is different…Obviously, truly, I enjoy every single student in their own ways. I’ve learned from you all, and y’all learn from me.” She has been told, because of her nurturing ways and life lessons, that she is like a “school mom” for some students. Mrs. Blanco went on in the conversation to share exactly what she loves about her work: “I like giving academic support, but at the same time if I’m able to guide you on the right path in life, that’s what I love.” Mrs. Blanco has been working in Pleasanton for 4 years, and spoke on how amazed she was watching some kids from freshman year to single year. Speaking of, Mrs. Blanco graduated from Del Rio high school in 1993, and went on to attend college at Sul Ross State University. Mrs. Blanco wasn’t always a paraprofessional here, she served as a long term sub here at Pleasanton. We should all take a moment to appreciate Mrs. Blanco and all that she does.

By: Farah Standley

The tennis season started with a well-played tournament. The players are getting better, and preparing for an amazing season. The tennis team went into battle at Clemens on Friday, January 21st. Devon Clark got 3rd place overall and won consolation, as the only Pleasanton athlete that placed. I interviewed Shyanne Sexton after the tournament, and when asked about how she feels about the season, she replied, “I feel it started off rough, but we have a lot of new players and we are changing it up this Spring. I feel like we have a fresh start.” The players have been practicing hard every day after school. Upon being asked about practice, Shyanne stated “I feel we have made a lot of progress during practice since last year. It was awkward adjusting to the new coach and new environment, but we are getting into a groove.” The tennis team has their eyes on District, and are preparing for success. On Thursday, January 27, 2022, the JV tennis team will fight hard to win our first home tournament! The Varsity team will follow after on Friday the 28th. You can come to the home tennis courts by the ROTC building to show your support.                                                  

By: Farah Standley

There are so many words of wisdom that could make your life better, and you may not even know you need them! Let’s go over a few…

• “Would your seven year old self be proud of you right now?”

This is a very good question to think about. If you think very deeply, you might find the answer is yes, or maybe you’ll find the answer is no. The thought that a younger, more sweet and innocent version of yourself might not approve of the person you are today can hit hard. This question can serve as a small motivation for someone to change! Would your 7 year old self be proud of who you’ve become?

• “If you have two good friends… you’re rich!”

This quote makes a very good and important point about how in life, it is the quality of the friends you have, not the quantity. I feel like most people could say they would rather have one or two amazing friends than 100 toxic ones, because you aren’t bettering yourself by surrounding yourself with people that don’t make your life better.

• “Pay no attention to those who talk behind your back, it only means they’re two steps behind you.”

This quote is expressing that people who talk behind your back are less mature, and most likely envious of you, and you shouldn’t waste your time and energy over people that are insignificant to your lifestyle. So surround yourself with people who are on your level of maturity and will appreciate you for who you are, and do the same for your friends.

• “If you don’t have the courage to take a step forward, you will always be in the same place.”

This quote is showing that you can get out of any situation as long as you have the courage to get yourself out of it. Get up, dust yourself off, and keep walking! We are put through certain situations to make us stronger, and if we jump out of our comfort zone, we will only take a lesson and a memory from those times.

• “Be careful what you say, words can be forgiven, but not forgotten.”

There are no erase buttons for words. Everything you say is out in the air forever! If you decide to say things that affect someone else in a bad way, they may decide to give you another chance, but the words might stay in their memory forever! So be careful what you decide to put in other people’s minds.