Spartanfest begins
September 21, 2016
Spartanfest is here and with it a number of activities to hype up the students and promote school spirit. The week will feature several dress down days and special lunches for the students to enjoy, as well as competitions for students to test their skills. The week will lead up to the homecoming football game Friday, Sept. 23 and Spartanfest homecoming dance Saturday, Sept. 24.
Sliding to victory
Junior Kameron Ziercher stuffs his face with a White Castle hamburger. Ziercher ate nine sliders in three minutes to win the competition at Friday’s Spartanfest pep rally.
Senior Drew Brown and Junior Kam Ziercher tied for first place in the White Castle eating contest during the Spartanfest pep rally Friday. They both ate nine sliders.
Two students from each class came down from the bleachers to eat as many White Castle burgers as they could in only three minutes. It was a close competition with each contestant gnawing at slider after slider and drinking multiple cups of water to wash it down. In the bleachers, students from each grade cheered on the contestants from their classes to eat more sliders as time went on.
“It was fun, it was a great competition,” Brown said. “Other classmates were encouraging.”
Winner crowned for field goal contest
Senior Adam Weis boots the game winning kick in the field goal kicking contest Friday.
Senior Adam Weis took home the Golden Boot Sept. 23 during activity period. He and freshman Luke Bauer, who kicks for the C team, duked it out on the turf in a game of back and forth. He kicked alongside his holder Tommy Trost, a senior and varsity football place kicker.
“[Trost] taught me all I needed to know,” Weise said.
Finalists set for field goal contest
Senior Sam Radetic kicks a 40-yard field goal during the Spartanfest field goal contest Thursday. Radetic is one of six finalists.
In order to see which student has the best boot, StuGo held their field goal kicking contest on the turf during activity period Thursday.
The contest was cut short due to time-constraint, and will be continued Friday during activity period. Seniors Sam Radetic, Tommy Barton, Sean Skoff, and Adam Weise, along with junior Jack Ruder and freshman Luke Bauer will all compete in the finals. Some students came close to the finals, as they hit the post, crossbar and other students. StuGo Moderator Mike Russo was also a target as he was almost struck with a ball. All finalists cleared a 20, 30, and 40 yard field goal to have a chance at the Gold Boot.
Senior Adam Weis went on to win the contest, kicking 50 yards with the help of his holder, senior Tommy Trost.
Freshmen learn what it takes to be a leader
To welcome the Freshmen back to school, StuGo held a Leadership Conference in the theatre Wednesday during activity period.
Instead of holding a student government election, the freshmen were educated about leadership. Among other things, they were told that being a leader is not easy but an achievable goal for everyone.
“We thought that [having the conference] was important before we ask guys to become leaders,” Director of Student Activities Michael Russo said, “we wanted to give them a little bit of context to let them know that they can succeed.”
The Freshmen Class President elections will be held Oct. 5.
The hope is for the Freshmen to become leaders in the future. Russo took an idea from Varsity head football coach, Robert Steeples, asking the freshmen to raise their hands. He then told them to raise their hands higher, and then he asked why they didn’t do so the first time. The idea behind it is that people put limits on themselves. He wanted to show the freshmen that they can reach higher than they think and achieve greatness.
“It definitely laid out what I need to do to be a good leader at De Smet,” freshman Bob Gillespie said.