Fall at St. Louis High School is always interesting. It’s the beginning of the school year, and the hallways are humming with excitement. Homecoming and Halloween are right around the corner, and the various athletic teams are hard at work. Football games are big highlights of the season, and the energy at the school is at a high. With winter closing in, though, it’s time to review the fall season at SLHS.
Over the fall season, the athletic department of St. Louis High School had lots of achievements. Some included senior Ben March being a four-year all state medalist, or fellow seniors Josie Schrot and Jaiden Dickman signing off for college. Aside from individuals, the athletic teams of SLHS put in a lot of hard work. Starting with football, they sadly had a poor season and won only one game, ending the season with a 1-8 record. Girl’s golf ended the season with incredible scores. Varsity volleyball ended the season with a 2-15-1 record, and JV ended with similar scores. Cross country had a wonderful season with them getting great scores at meets, and the team even hitting states! The cheer and pom-pon teams also had a great season, being spotted on the sidelines at every home football game. Both of these teams have helped keep spirits high during the football season. Those aren’t the only things that these sports teams have done, but all of their activities have made an impact. All sports had their own personal camp, while also raising funds, and doing anything that they could be helpful.
The St. Louis cross country team has seen a large amount of success during the 2023 season. The road to being one of the top cross teams in the state began August 29, with the Corunna Earlybird Invitational. Both the Sharks boys and girls teams then continued to dominate the regular season, ending with the All-TVC meet with a top 5 finish from both teams. To the surprise of no one, the Sharks continued to have exceptional performances in the off season, starting with senior Ben March being crowned repeat regional champion. At the final state meet, the boys team placed second and the girls team placed 21st. From the state meet, there was another spectacular performance from March, who was the first four year All-State medalist runner in the history of SLHS’ program.
As always the St.Louis Girls golf team put up a performance in the fall season of 2023! The team continued to put exceptional performances on the board one after another starting with the Ithaca Fall Swing Invitational that took place August 24. The team continued to perform their best meet after meet leading into the postseason, another one of the teams notable accomplishments during the regular season was continuing their three year winning streak at the TVC Blue Championship that took place Oct. 4 at Bay City. In the postseason, the only golfer who made it to states was senior Natalee Hoyt, who continued to golf for her life and ended up earning a top 30 placement at the meet.
The pom-pon team has been hard at work in the fall! The team performed at halftime for football games, as well as a few pregame sideline routines to get the crowd excited for the game. Senior Ava Frost has positive thoughts on the season so far. In fact, she said, “I feel like the poms season has gone great so far! Most seasons start out rocky, but we have persevered through the tough times and are now excelling!” The pom-pon team also competed in St. Louis’s first High Kick competition in 10 years, as well as the second time in school history! The team is now preparing for basketball season with an all new halftime routine as well as new pregame sidelines. Regionals, MPA, and states are also upcoming competitions that the pom-pon team is looking forward to and preparing for.
The cheer team has had a historic season this year! The cheer team became a co-ed team this season, with four male cheerleaders added to the roster. One of these new members, sophomore Harley Mader, shared his thoughts on his first cheer season. He said, “It was a lot of fun when I started. I didn’t think it would be as fun as it turned out to be. I am definitely glad I joined.” The cheer team has had a great season so far, with amazing chants at the sidelines of football games. The cheer team is also bringing back competitive cheer this season, and is preparing for competition.
One of the biggest events of the season was Homecoming, and everyone could relate to the Homecoming festivities that happened. There was a Homecoming spirit week that had multiple different spirit activities, along with a different dress-up theme each day. Some Homecoming activities, like powderpuff and volleyball, were largely popular. There was also an assembly, filled with activities for the whole student body. After that, the parade marched through the streets of St. Louis before the game, which hosted the king and queen announcement. Seniors Charlie Lyon and Lucee Mikek were crowned king and queen. Following that was the Homecoming dance, filled with lots of music.
With all this talk of music, it’s important to talk about the biggest source of music here at SLHS: the marching band! Throughout the fall season, the marching band worked tirelessly to put together a halftime show for football games, as well as providing entertainment at parades, grand re-openings, and schools alike! The marching band started its season in the last week of July, and kept practicing until Monday, Oct. 23, when the season ended with a tour of the school district. The band had a new and noteworthy experience this year as well, performing at the Walmart grand re-opening Friday, Oct. 20. However, even though the marching season has ended for the band, they will still be back in action as the concert band during the winter and the spring.
The Language Arts team spent the fall competing in two different events at the Ithaca RESD, and one event from their own homes. The first event was held on Sept. 20, 2023, when the team competed in a fictionalized journalism category. The Sharks took home victory after this event with a number-one paper written by seniors Rowan Harris and Carson Butcher, as well as freshman Aleigha Rogers, and a second-place paper by seniors Mckenzie Smith, Claire Hubble, and Lucee Mikek. The next competition was on Oct. 18, 2023, and focused on creating character sketches.The team still remained in first place after this event. The final event was done remotely, and the students were assigned to each write their own poetry to be narrowed down into three final submissions. The team has yet to find out their results after the third competition, but it’s already been a successful year for the team.
In the realm of FFA, St. Louis went to Indianapolis, Indiana, for FFA nationals. It was a great experience for everyone, but especially members Asheigh Devine, Kenzie Davidson, and Rebekah Ross. These girls gained many memories during this trip, including meeting Tratter Gang. They went to many places on this trip, but they also went to watch Asheigh’s cousin compete. Kenzie’s favorite part of her trip was just her making memories with so many people. Overall, the girls are super excited for next year’s trip.
This is Rotary’s first official year as a club, and members have been hard at work the past few months. They put on Purple Pinky during the home junior varsity volleyball tournament to help raise money for polio vaccinations. Additionally, their advisor, Mrs. Godwin, took members to the Rotary Gala. Mrs. Godwin stated, “Rotary members from across the state came together to get awards, and I think it was a good experience for our members to interact with everyone.”
Finally, with all that excitement, it’s hard to believe that there’s just a little bit more to finish up the fall wrap-up! The Shark Scene staff would like to personally advise all student drivers to be careful on the roads this winter. As road conditions deteriorate, it’s important that students stay safe on the road. Already this fall we’ve had some pretty noticeable driving incidents among the student body at St. Louis High School, including icons like Burnout Boone! Happy winter!
