Kira Cooley Staff Writer Maia Garren has been throwing on the Logan High track and field team for four years. Recently she signed a contract to throw for Utah State University throughout her college career. Garren is a determined student athlete who holds school records and takes challenging academic courses. The most difficult part of being a student athlete for Garren is time management. Not only is she determined in the ring but in class as well. She constantly practices and exercises until she perfects her skill, and then when she gets home, she stays up extremely late doing homework. “Student comes before athlete. That’s why it’s called ‘student athlete’ not ‘athlete student,’” Garren said. “It’s like having two full time jobs.”
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Kayla Hugie Staff Writer “She just understands,” said Logan High Girls Basketball Coach Kevin Anderson of his super star Kira Peterson. This season has proven that she definitely does understand this game. Peterson, a junior, leads the Logan Grizzlies in scoring and threes on this season. Peterson also leads the 3A division in three-pointers per game and is seventh in the state. She has played an enormous role in helping the Grizzlies with some huge wins this season. Peterson is a part of a family of seven. She is the youngest of five with four older brothers. This is where the life of basketball was implanted in her. “I always had a basketball in my hands,” said Peterson. “I just naturally followed them and did the things they did.” She participated in super league teams throughout her younger years. Due to a lack of participants the same age, she joined the group just above her. There she was pushed to compete and succeed with others older than herself. Towards the end of middle school she joined a club team, Cache Valley Elite. There she found a bigger love for the game and made it a priority in her life. The training and determination helped her find a spot on the Grizzlies’ starting five as a freshman. In her very first game she achieved one of her favorite individual successes in her career: She hit a three pointer to send Logan into overtime and later sent them home that night with a win. That year was not the dream she had always dreamed of, though. It was one of the most trying of all her basketball years. “It was scary coming in as a freshman, learning a new system and playing with older teammates who believed they deserved it more. They didn’t know me; I didn’t know them,” Kira said of this difficult time. The next year did not prove to be much better for the star. A neck injury led to sitting out of practices and drills. Peterson said, “I couldn’t get into the feel of things. I just stopped caring, and I was slowly feeling like giving up. I lost my love for the game.” She felt frustrated, because the hard work was not paying off. Victoria Stafford Features Editor Yet Another Disappointing Sequel: #OscarsStillSoWhite It’s no secret that Hollywood has an obsession with sequels, but will the industry ever learn that sequels never quite compare to the originals? Cue the buttered popcorn and put on your 3D glasses, because much to the dismay of avid movie enthusiasts, #OscarsSoWhite is being followed up with #OscarsStillSoWhite as the issue of diversity represented at the Oscars resurfaces. For the second consecutive year, people of color have been noticeably excluded from receiving Oscar nominations from the Academy. In categories for “Best Actor” and “Best Actress,” all forty nominees in the past two years have been white. Many believe that the cast of Straight Outta Compton, Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation, Michael B. Jordan in Selma and Will Smith in Concussion, all well-deserving actors worthy of recognition from the Academy, were snubbed. Other categories didn’t fare so well either in terms of representation, with the stories of people of color only being recognized for the work of the white people involved in its productions, such as Creed for “Best Supporting Actor” and Straight Outta Compton for “Best Screenplay.” Kira Cooley Staff Writer Originally published on Vype.com. Ranyger Keckler is a 16-year-old junior at Logan High who started wrestling in middle school and now is a region and state champion. Logan’s Raynger Keckler is a state championship wrestler. When he was in the eighth grade, Keckler was a two-time All-American, a three-time west regional champ, and a four-time state champ. He has always had a love for wrestling and the challenge that goes with it. Last year Keckler lost, 9-7, against Corbin Smith of Wasatch in the second-to-last match of the divisional tournament. Since then, he has put in a lot of hard work, and now he is, “…experiencing a great deal of success this this year…” according to his head coach, Bo Roundy. Keckler even beat Smith by the same score he lost by a year ago. He also has earned all-state honors and took first place in region in the 132-pound weight class. He is currently ranked first in state and won the 3A state title last week. Keckler said that the best part of his wrestling career was when he was able to earn a spot on the state team at Mount Logan Middle School. As part of that experience he traveled to Virginia to compete and went undefeated. Through his years of wrestling he has had many accomplishments, but the one he is most proud of is winning region as a junior this year. Keckler shows that he is a leader on and off the mats. He puts in a lot of hard work throughout the whole year, not just during the high school wrestling season. He also has an amazing relationship with his team. He laughs and jokes around with them. When he gets frustrated and in a rut, Keckler likes to throw a couple jokes out to make himself and his teammates feel better. Also, he likes to work hard and get out of that rut. As any athlete knows, a mental block and fear are harder to overcome than anything physical. But, as noted, Keckler uses laughter and even more, hard work, to get over the fears. The Logan junior said he has had a lot of support throughout his life, especially from his friends, family, coaches and teammates. The interaction he has with Coach Roundy has been particularly rewarding. The coach is definitely proud of Keckler. His success is a product of his determination to practice and to improve his skills as a wrestler. Even with all the success, Keckler has stayed humble and is a great individual to be around. Written by Victoria Stafford, Features Editor In 1926, historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History dubbed the second week of February to be “Negro History Week,” chosen to purposely encompass the birthdays of the slave liberator President Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and passionate slavery abolitionist Frederick Douglass (February 14). Initially, the conception of this week was far from generally accepted. However, Woodson deemed this to be “one of the most fortunate steps ever taken by the Association,” believing that dedicating time for the remembrance of Black history was absolutely crucial for preservation of Black traditions and culture. Later, in 1969, the Black United Students of Kent State University first proposed the expansion of “Negro History Week” to “Black History Month,” celebrating the new extension just a year later at the university. This celebration was officially recognized by the United States federal government in 1976 under the administration of President Gerald Ford, who concluded that the observance of Black History Month would provide the nation a pristine opportunity to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” There has been substantial debate about Black History Month and its celebration. Those in favor of Black History Month often believe that the commemoration of black history provides the chance for the general public to contemplate and become aware of African-American history and how those events remain significant today. Others argue that the existence of a Black History Month only otherizes Black history, ensuring that the bulk of mainstream history education remains white-washed. Thoughtfully candid writer Trudy Bourgeois argues for Black history to become fully integrated into standardized education and reflected upon every day, “not just during one month of the year, and not just as a sidebar feature in a textbook.” Regardless of where one stands in these debates, Black History Month has brought much-needed attention to the concepts of race and identity, prompting serious discussions in public forums, including Logan High. This month, Logan High junior Shayla Tyler has expressed her gratitude for Black History Month, regarding it to be a time for her to continuously discover more about her background and share her heritage with others. |
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