By Avery Degerstrom
This past weekend the boy’s varsity basketball team made a trip to the Minnesota State Tournament. The boys placed 5th overall and were the consolation champions. The jags lost their first game to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton with a score of 70-87. The next game was a dominating 22 point win against Mahnomen/Waubun, with an end score of 88-66. The final game played by our boys was for the consolation championship. They were able to scrape out the win 56-49. The first game was played on March 22nd at the University of Minnesota Williams Arena. The jags were able to stay neck and neck with the RTR knights until late into the second half when RTR gained a 13 point lead at 6 minutes to go. At the half it was RTR up 46-34. In the start of the 2nd half the knight’s lead only grew getting to 18 points before a 10-0 run from the jags. This got the jags within 7 but again RTR’s lead grew. Hinckley got within 7 points three times in the 2nd half but fell short and couldn’t get any closer before RTR pulled away again. The jags were lead by Travis Visser’s double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Lavone Krochel although only playing 19 minutes contributed 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Kolten Furey hit four from behind the arc to add to the outstanding three-point percentage by the jags this game, they shot 47.6%. Once placed in the consolation bracket the Hinckley-Finlayson Jaguars took on the Mahnomen/Waubun Thunderbirds at Concordia University. The Thunderbirds took the first lead of the game and held onto that until 12 minutes to go in the first half. The Jags tied them 3 times in the 6 minutes of Thunderbird fame. It was downhill for Mahnomen/Waubun with the Jaguars gaining their first lead of the game which grew rapidly and into double digits with just under 7 to play. This lead was sustained with the Jags going 8-16 from the three-point line in the 1st half. The lead for the Jaguars only continued to grow throughout the second half. The Jags outrebounded the Thunderbirds by 10 and had 4 of their 5 starters scoring in double digits. Anderson Prater had a game high of 16 and Trevor Johnson trailed him closely with 15. Kolten Furey put up 13 and Travis Visser and Reuben Gibbs both had 12. It was a complete team victory. At the Gangelhoff Center of Concordia University on Saturday March 24th the Jaguars competed for 5th place and the consolation championship. They faced Rushford-Peterson home of the Trojans. The Trojans took the first lead of the game which expanded into a 10-4 lead only 5 minutes into the game. The Jags were able to inch their way back up with help from the 47.4% that the Jags shot from the field in the 1st half. They were even able to enter halftime up 2. That was only the start for the Jags as their momentum carried over into the 2nd half where they shot 61.1%. This benefitted the Jags immensely due to the fact that as they got hot the Trojans cooled off only shooting 16.7% from behind the arc in the second half. It was nobody’s game the entire 2nd half though, leads were exchanged the whole way until the Jags went up 45-41 with four minutes left of the game and were able to keep their lead. Travis Visser earned his 2000 points in his 20 that he put up this game. All the hard work put in by each and everyone of the boys on the basketball team left the Jags to take home 5th place, consolation champions, and they got to end their wonderful season on a win.
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3/27/2018 0 Comments Tune Into The Band Concert RecapBy Abby Painovich
HINCKLEY, MN- Thursday, March 15, 2018 was the day of the Hinckley Finlayson band concert. With three bands performing, HF Jaguar Band (7th and 8th grades), the HF Concert Band (9th- 12th grades) and Jazz Band, they left the the audience in awe after an outstanding performance. The Jazz Band started things off with the upbeat tune of "Been There, Done That.” Their next piece was more mellow than that of the first but just enough so to keep the audience attentive at their smooth jazz. The Jazz Band wrapped up their performance with the captivating tune of "Night Train." This song was a great ending to their performance and an even better introduction to the rest of the night in the FAC. Next up to take the stage were the members of the Jaguar Band. They lured in their audience with an ubeat piece called “"Dark Fortress Overture.” This piece was very dramatic and very well performed by the band. Then followed the "Plight of the Bumbling Bee." Not to be confused with the well-known “Flight of the Bumblebee,” as it was a play on the Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov piece. This arrangement was aimed towards “follow[ing] the adventure of an unlucky bee who is dodging a fly swatter,” according to Ms. Emily Bengston, director of all HFHS bands. Following this piece was "Iroquois Sunrise." "Iroquois Sunrise” is “inspired by a sunrise that the composer witnessed on a misty morning in the Adirondack Mountains,” as stated by Ms. Bengston. The band did an excellent job of painting the audience a picture of the scene through their instruments. Next up was "Kilauea.” The meaning behind this arrangement was to demonstrate the “power and beauty of one of the most active volcanoes in Hawaii.”It was challenging to the band as they were to play random notes in the middle of the song to illustrate the eruption of the volcano, but it was nevertheless one of their best and a crowd favorite. The last song that the Jaguar Band performed was "Arocknophobia.” This was one of the Band’s favorite to play thus a strong tune to end their performance. However, the night was not over yet. The final group to take the stage was the Concert Choir. They started their show with a piece called, “"Heroic Fanfare,” in order to capture the audience’s attention. Their next arrangement took its “listeners around the planet. The [original] composer wrote five contrasting sections that are meant to depict the atmospheres, a rainforest, oceana, a metropolis, and mountain vistas,” as described by Ms. Bengston. This piece was called “Habitat (Visions of a Fragile Planet).” Next up on their playlist was "Thematic Variations on Dona Nobis Pacem." This familiar tune was played astoundingly by the band as the audience roared will amazement when it had ended. They then finished the whole night to an energetic Spanish Tune called, “"Aztec Fire.” One week before this concert, the Concert Band had played "Thematic Variations on Dona Nobis Pacem" and "Aztec Fire" at a competition in Rush City where they were judged on their performance. They then used this input over the next week to perfect these songs for their crowd in the Fine Arts Center. This concert was applauded by many parents as well as staff and community member. Congratulations to the all band members on an outstanding performance! 3/16/2018 0 Comments Got Gravity? They Don’t!Killeen Prater, Student Reporter
HINCKLEY, MN - The RPHF gymnastics cartwheeled, vaulted, twisted, and flipped their way through a gravity-defying season. In response, Head Coach Katie Meier praised the leadership of her co-captains, Ava Talarico, Christeva Perotti, Liva Isaacson-Rod, and Erin Tomczyk . Each of them, representing a different grade, developed unity among all the gymnasts; unity was a key factor in this year’s success. “We definitely have big shoes to fill for next year. It’s really been a great coincidence that we have a really good freshman that helps out the team and the leadership from the senior, combined with the strengths of our sophomores, juniors and even some 8th graders. Really, we have been blessed to have all of them at the same time,” said Meier. The Flamingo gymnasts treated every practice as if it were a competition, which prepared them for RPHF's meets. The varsity team set a goal of scoring 120.00, team points, or higher at each meet. Not only did they score above 120 each meet, they well surpassed the mark, reaching a season-high team of 134.30. From start to finish, the girls made great progress this season, hitting full stride toward the end of the season with a second-place finish at the Granite River Conference Meet. The varsity Flamingos came away with a dual meet record of five first-place finishes and four second place finishes. JV also had a very successful season winning six out of their nine dual meets, their high score for the season was 116. Sadly, none of the individual girls moved on to the state meet as they did not earn scores high enough to advance. While the team was disheartened, Meier was proud of how her team performed. Katie Meier is excited to see what her girls will produce in the upcoming gymnastics season.“We definitely have a strong group as we look to next year. Replacing our senior will be tough, but we will make the best of it,” said Meier. By Mrs. Anderson, Editor-in-Chief
Kreft hopes his team can relax on the court and concentrate on the things they’ve been doing well all year. “I really believe that we are the better team, but the better team doesn’t always win,” Kreft cautioned. “We need to take care of business on our end and do the things we’ve been working on all year, and I think we’ll be fine if we do that.”
The hallways of Hinckley-Finlayson High School are filled with black and red, Jaguar gear to show their school spirit and pride in this basketball team. With a fan bus from the school heading to tonight’s match-up and much of the staff planning to attend, the stands should be packed and ready to support the Jags as they attempt to earn a state tournament appearance. The Hinckley-Finlayson School District put out a statement on the district’s Facebook page reminding Jaguar fans of all ages to demonstrate good sportsmanship. The statement challenges fans to refrain from yelling at the referees of tonight’s game, regardless of the calls, and work to maintain a positive atmosphere. They also thank the students for their past conduct in cheering on the Jaguars. There is a pep fest scheduled at the high school in the morning, and the basketball team will be dismissed early to make a trip to the Hinckley Elementary School before they hop on the bus for Crosby-Ironton. The entire school and community of Hinckley-Finlayson are behind these boys and wish them the very best of luck. By Abby Painovich
One month ago Wednesday 14th, 2018, the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School experienced a tragedy; one they would never forget. In honor of those students and many other students that have been victim to a similar event, there was a nationally organized walkout. The purpose of this peaceful protest was to rebut the thought that students should go to school everyday and worry about protecting their lives. We walked so that students would never have run from guns again. This was one of the largest student protests in all of U.S. history with over 150,000 students pledging to walk. Our school, Hinckley Finlayson High School, was one of the many schools that participated in this event. Allowing for the students to leave class and protest on school grounds for seventeen minutes; one minute for each life that was lost in the Florida school shooting. When we asked students why they were walking for these seventeen minutes they responded with, “for the seventeen kids who died in the [Florida] shooting,” or “to support the gun control movement to prevent events like the Parkland school shooting from happening again.” It is clear that the issue at hand is one that has been heard around the nation and is long overdue. As a result of this movement and others, Florida has recently signed a bill that raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 and has extended the waiting period to three days. Although the protests have not received attention on a national level, at least stories of students striving to make a difference have plagued the internet for a little while. Our thoughts and prayers go out those who have been affected by gun violence. By Abby Painovich
The Dragons’ boys hockey team packed up their gear, loaded the bus and rode in anticipation to the Chisago Lakes Ice Arena where they would face the North Branch Vikings in the semi-final round of playoffs. The Vikings came out strong, scoring a goal less than two minutes into the game to which the Dragons responded with a goal not long after. The score was 1-1 going into the second period but with the Vikings dominating play, the Dragons were forced to give up two goals. They fought hard all game, causing many scoring opportunities in their favor but to no avail. With seventeen minutes left to play, the Dragons and Viking took the ice in a flurry of green and red. The Dragons, pushing hard in the third, down by two goals, were able to find the back of the net, cutting the lead to none. It was now 3-3 with both teams battling to gain the lead. It wasn’t until there was 36 seconds left in the game when the Vikings finally scored to win the game. The Vikings proved to be too much for the Dragons, forcing them into three penalty kills, which resulted in three powerplay goals for the Vikings. Although well fought and fought right to the end, the Vikings ended the Dragon’s season with a score 3-4 and a record of 21-6. The Dragons had a great playoff run and a season that would go down in the record books. Their final record, 21-6, ties the all-time Dragon Hockey record. They also finished first in the Two Rivers Conference for the third year in a row and went undefeated in their conference. Within the Pine City records, they tied the record for most wins in a season with 21, and to gain momentum heading into the playoffs, they went on a 14 game winning streak, breaking the record for the longest win streak. They were also able to beat teams that they have not been able to beat over the past ten years. Within their conference, they boasted 5 All-Conference players, 2 All-Conference Honorable Mentions, and 6 Academic All-Conference players. Losing 9 varsity players, Coach Grant Nicoll will look to his returning players “that learned from this senior group” to lead the team next season. Even though the Dragons will lose almost two lines, next year they expect to come back stronger than the season before. Coach Nicoll is looking forward to the upcoming season and expects another winning season. Regardless of the loss of numbers, they will have “15 letter winners [returning] including 5 of our 6 starting defensemen as well as our two varsity goalies. We also return 2 of our top 4 scorers,” according to Coach Nicoll. Next season the Dragons will strive to win the conference and make it to the state tournament. Congratulations to the Dragons on winning season and a special congratulations to Howard Hodena and Landon Dematti! By Abby Painovich
The Lady Jags’ Basketball team fell to the the Ogilvie Lions on Tuesday, February 26 to conclude their season. The game was well fought with the Jags closing the 17 point deficit to a mere 4 points. However, cold shooting from the Jaguars would not aid in their comeback and so they took the loss, 47 to 55. Grace Balut and Haley Rimer held the most points for the game with Grace leading at 18 points and Haley close behind at 15. We asked Hannah Balut, a senior on the basketball team, how she thought the game had went she responded with, “It was a great last game even if it didn’t go in our favor. We fought hard until the end and left our hearts out on the court.” The Jaguars ended up 2-12 in the Great River Conference and 5-22 overall. They fought hard all season and even though they didn’t always come out on top, Coach Keith Linzmeier commented on their perseverance; “I was proud of my players for how they never gave up all season. These girls give everything they have each and every day.” They played as a team throughout the year but also achieved many personal achievements. Shannon Olson led the team in rebounds with a total of 182 boards. Grace Balut had 144 free throw attempts, the most on the team. Haley Rimer drained the most three-pointers for the Lady Jags. When asked about it she said, “You just have to be confident with your shooting and keep shooting even if you’re missing shots.” Jaedyn Brigan, a 10th grader, was the team leader in assists and steals with 59 assist and and 57 steals. Looking back, the Lady Jags season was not determined by their record, but rather their effort and perseverance. With these two things, they were able to turn a losing season into a season enjoyed by everyone. Some of the highlights of their season include their phenomenal comeback in Isle when they were behind 11-36 and then came back to clench the win- 60-56. Coach Linzmeier suggested “that (game) has to be one of the biggest comebacks in high school history.” Another was their first win of the season against Onamia. After losing their first 15 games they were able to turn things around and started winning more games. “When we were 0-15 it would of been easy to quit but these girls played hard each and every practice and game,” is what Head Coach Linzmeier had to say about it. Overall, the Jaguars fought hard all year and with returning playing players and positive attitude, they should return next winter even stronger. Next season, Coach Linzmeier has high hopes of a higher winning percentage as there will be many returning player with experience under their belt. With each player bringing a new skill to the team, whether it be speed, quickness or even experience. Coach Linzmeier says with confidence, “we over doubled our wins from last year and I think we can double the wins again next year.” Next year, the Lady Jaguars will look to their senior to lead the team. Haley Rimer, a junior this year, has advice to underclassmen would be to “have fun! You only have your high school years to play, enjoy it!” 2/28/2018 0 Comments Speech Team UpdateArticle Submitted by Mrs. Hodena
The Hinckley Finlayson Speech team is continuing to do great this season. Our Duo Team of Annika Maser and Courtney Hart have a great script this season for Dramatic Duo. It is a humorous piece called "Sorry Dude, I'm going Vegan so I'm gonna have to eat You!" They have had fun performing this piece. Our ext reading team is really strong. Both Josie Barstad, a senior, and Sally Nelson, a sophomore, are dedicated speakers and work hard to always have a strong showing against the larger schools in our area. This year the ext reading book is, A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories by Ray Bradbury. Both Josie and Sally placed at the Onamia Meet on Feb 10th. Josie has continued by placing at the meets in North Branch and most recently she placed 4th in Princeton out of 31 speakers. Congrats to Josie! 2/23/2018 2 Comments FFA WeekBy Abby Painovich Hinckley Finlayson kicked off it’s first ever FFA week on Tuesday, February 20th. National Future Farmers of America Week is recognized around the nation, however, this year is the first year we are celebrating it. FFA is a chapter consisting of high school students that are coming together to promote and support agricultural education. HFHS is just one of the 189 schools in Minnesota that offer this group. FFA is important because, according to Ms, Klar, “ it teaches everyone about agriculture and why all aspects of nature are important. Anywhere from Wildlife to Lots of different aspects involving your life.” FFA Week is aiming to raise awareness of the FFA club and is encouraging students to join. To start the week off, the whole school was herded into the gym where the Ag Olympics would soon take place. The crowd waited and listened in anticipation as members from each grade were called down to partake in the events. The first event was a relay race called The Cows are Out. In this relay, teams of four students from each grade got dressed on their farm attire and ran across the gym, trying to avoid the various obstacles of a typical farm. The next event was Shavin’ Sheep. For this event, student participants were given a popsicle stick to hold on their mouth as the shear. Then using the “shear”, they raced against each other to clear the platter of whipped cream in front of them. Next up; lunch time! Teams of four students from each grade were called down to compete in the Barnyard Lunch. Each student from each team had one plate of food they were designated to eat. The food ranged all the way from ice cream to lettuce, but all this was just the opening acts. The real event was when pairs of students were called out to compete in the vigorous Bale Toss. Showing off their strength, students threw a hay bale across the gym as far as they could. The event to conclude the Ag Olympics was Sack Racing. This event was a race between two students from each grade. This event was enjoyed as much, if not more, by the audience as it was the participants. As the grand finale, the teachers joined in and hopped across the gym as the whole rest of the school watched in amusement. Wednesday was hat day. Students were given the opportunity to pay a dollar and wear a hat for the day. All of the money earned from this fundraiser will go towards paying for FFA Week as well as to other activities that are put on by FFA. Thursday at lunch, there was Kernel Count and Ag trivia. For Kernel Count, FFA member filled a mason jar full of an unknown number corn kernels. Students then had the opportunity to write their guess on a slip of paper and submit it. Ag trivia was an event that got the crowd involved. Ellen Harth would read off various trivia questions relating to FFA and the crowd would answer with an array of answers. These events were enjoyed by the HFHS student body and will be looked forward to next year. On Friday, February 23rd, the East side of the building was the place to be. Just outside the doors of the FAC lobby there was a large attraction. Hinckley Finlayson High School senior, Ellen Harth, brought two of her cows to school. In addition, Brooklyn Hooker also brought in her Horse. These big animals were the center of attention as the elementary students came over to visit. Inside the lobby, however, was more chaos with elementary students running around, chasing the animals inside. There were puppies, chickens and bunnies squirming in the hands of FFA members, letting younger students pet them. The excitement of the elementary students’ faces as they pet the animals was enough to make anyone’s heart melt with delight. Here at HFHS, we would like to thank the providers of these animals who, according to Ms. Klar, “are our own FFA members because many of them live on a farm or have access to farm animals. The other animals are coming from local community members willing to share them for the day, especially since they are for an educational purpose.” Overall, FFA week was very eventful and enjoyed by all of HFHS and we all look forward to it next year. |
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