Latest news with #WIAA
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MLSD signs WIAA contract, asks for amendments
Jul. 1—MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School District signed its 2025-26 membership contract with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association at the regular school board meeting June 25. However, concerns were brought up about the contract's language. "It's the standard membership form that the WIAA sends out every year," MLSD Director of Public Relations Ryan Shannon said. "The district has been signing a form or a form similar to that for a number of years." Advertisement The contract allows students at Moses Lake High School, Columbia Middle School, Endeavor Middle School and Frontier Middle School to participate in WIAA events and competitions. The contract is for both activities and athletics. During the meeting, school board member Paul Hill brought up a concern he had regarding one of the paragraphs within the contract. "NOW THEREFORE, the board of directors of the following School District or School hereby delegates to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association the authority to control, supervise and regulate interschool activities consistent with the rules and regulations of WIAA. The Board of Directors retains the right to establish eligibility standards that meet or exceed the rules and regulations of WIAA," reads one of the final paragraphs of the contract. Hill asked for the board to add the following statement after the above paragraph: "The board of Directors hereby notifies WIAA that we strongly urge WIAA to abide by the Federal Title IX rules and regulations." Advertisement However, board member Amy Breitenstein said she wasn't sure if they could edit the form. Athletic Director Loren Sandhop said that as members of the associations, the district has the opportunity to submit amendments to the handbook. He explained to the board that two proposed amendments were brought forth for vote this school year regarding Title IX and transgender athletes. Amendment no. 7 proposed that there would be two distinct groups: 'Boys/Open' and 'Girls.' The policy stipulates that "all student-athletes, regardless of sex, gender identity or gender expression, who meet eligibility criteria are allowed to participate in the 'Boys/Open Category.'" The amendment failed in a 31-22 vote. For an amendment to pass, 60% of voting members are needed; in this case, 32 votes were needed for the amendment to pass. Advertisement Proposed amendment no. 8 specifies that athletic programs would have been structured separately for boys, girls, and an open division, promoting fairness while simultaneously considering the complexities of gender identity and biological sex. The amendment failed with a 13-40 vote. For an amendment to pass, 60% of voting members would need to vote in favor of the measure; in this case, 32 votes were needed for the amendment to pass. "In essence, it's kind of like a referendum," Sandhop said. "That message was heard loud and clear from the WIAA and they understand there's a different perspective than the state law perspective, but under the current rules, we're going to follow state law." The board decided to sign the contract, with the stipulation that faculty at MLSD would reach out to WIAA to ask if the district could add the proposed change. Advertisement "I mean, we're going to need to participate, right, in order for our kids to be able to be able to be part of that," Breitenstein said. However, according to Shannon, this change is not feasible. "The WIAA does not allow you to edit their actual form, so the form was signed as is," Shannon said. "The Mead School District was posed with a very similar question at their June 2 board meeting and it was revealed that you could not edit their form and the form had to be returned as is." Shannon said the Mead School District ended up sending in the contract with a letter attached asking for similar changes. "I have not heard if our board is going to send a letter yet," Shannon said.
Forbes
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
For Elite College Admissions, Fewer Activities May Mean More
The River Ridge bench celebrates in the final seconds as River Ridge's Jesica Mergen scores on a ... More free throw in their 43-42 overtime win against Prentice in a Division 5 semifinal WIAA state tournament basketball game Thursday, March 24, 2011, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis) When people find out that I write about colleges and universities, I am frequently asked for advice about getting kids into college, or getting them a rung or two up the college prestige ladder. I probably get a related question by e-mail once or twice a week, on average. I usually disappoint the inquirer, since I do not think I have much to offer on the topic. Although lately, I have been advising parents not to let their eager applicants use AI for their applications or personal essays. Colleges want authentic voices. And many do check for AI use. Few things will do more harm more quickly than having an admissions reviewer think an applicant is faking it, or worse – being dishonest. I do also suggest that parents and families sign up for direct admission programs because I am a big fan of how they're changing the application and admissions process. I love how these programs give admissions instead of rejections, which can be great for student confidence and grit. I also love how they can dramatically broaden an applicant's gaze to include schools they perhaps did not even know about, and very likely never even considered. Plus, direct admission financial aid and scholarship packages can be quite strong. Maybe that means that I do have a few things to offer about the college admissions journey. But starting now, based on a survey I saw recently, I'm adding another morsel of admissions advice – don't overdo the extracurricular activities. For some families, that may seem counterintuitive. The inclination has been, I suspect, to do as much as possible, to jam every available hour with one enterprise or another. The assumption was that carpet-bombing a college application with this activity, and another, and yet another thing showed ambition, energy, and curiosity – things applicants assumed colleges wanted in their students. Or that, alternatively, showing how an admissions prospect was managing 20 hours a week of extracurricular activity while also booking a 3.9 GPA demonstrated maturity, focus, and time management skills. But based on a survey of students who applied to, and were admitted at, top-tier, highly exclusive colleges – think: the Ivy League, plus the likes of MIT, Stanford, Duke, and one or two more – fewer activities, fewer hours a week may be the best course to convince the admissions gatekeepers. The survey, by Pioneer Academics, which provides accredited academic and extracurricular enrichment programs to college-bound students, asked more than 150 high-tier applicants and admitted students about the high school activities that went into their applications. The results show that for elite universities, the sweet spot for quantity of extracurricular activities is just four. Acceptance and enrollment rates ramp upwards based on the number of activities from one (8% admission rate), two (15%), three (25%), to four, where 30% of students get in. After four, the rates drop. Students with five extracurriculars got good admissions news 25% of the time. At six activities, the admissions rate was seven percent, slightly worse than having just one extracurricular activity. Further indicating that it's possible to over-do the out-of-class activities for students accepted at the nation's elite schools, the average number of extracurriculars was 3.7 – just under four, in other words. A similar trend held true for the amount of time college prospects spent on their extracurricular engagements. For hours spent, the admission and enrollment sweet spot was just four to eight hours a week. Those rates were close to, although slightly ahead of, the rates for students who spent an average of eight to ten hours a week on activities outside the school. If students spent more than ten hours a week on extracurricular stuff, their admissions rates actually fell by 10%. On the other end, students who spent less than four hours a week were, according to the survey, nearly three times less likely to get golden admissions tickets. Putting the two data points together, if you were planning, the best place to be is three or four activities practiced four to eight hours per week, about an hour or two per activity. The survey suggested that this three-to-four, four-to-eight window was a kind of Goldilocks zone, where commitment was evident, but so too was passion – that students were investing in what they cared about, not just checking as many boxes as possible in the hope that something stuck. The survey analysis also suggested that it may be beneficial for the chosen extracurricular activities to be related, all in music or art, or all related to animal welfare or global climate change, things like that. Demonstrating genuine passion over frantic pace, in other words, may be the code-cracker. Even though the lifetime benefits of a college education, especially at an elite college, are rich and abundant, I would never advise overtly trying to hack or code-break college admissions. Nonetheless, this survey information from Pioneer is likely helpful for students and their support people not to overdo it. Extracurricular activities are not like the SATs or your GPA, where every extra point can matter. When adding enrichment activities to a college application, having fewer activities may be more.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lind-Ritzville seniors ready to face the world
Jun. 12—RITZVILLE — The Lind-Ritzville Class of 2025 has made it. "Today, we're walking across the stage in wizard hats, holding diplomas that prove we endured through it all: the chaos, the cramming and the laughter and all the growing pains that came with high school," said salutatorian Temple Gefre. Two by two, the 34 members of the Class of 2025 processed into the Gilson Gym on Saturday to the high school band's strains of "Pomp and Circumstance." As is LRHS custom, the procession was led by the junior class marshals, Zoe Galbreath and Beau Fode. LRHS Principal Kevin Terris started by reading a list of accomplishments of members of the class of 2025. Some, like participating in Future Farmers of America or performing in the school band, were fairly general. Others were very specific. "If you finished in seventh place at the WIAA state track competition 200-meter run with a time of 22.79, please stand," Terris said. The class had nine valedictorians, of whom five spoke at the ceremony. Camden Shaver took the podium first. "I wasn't going to do a speech here today until one of my closest friends said to me, 'I've never seen a brown person on that stage in a long time,'" she said. "And as silly and bold as that sounds, it truly hit ... Whether your skin is brown, yellow or purple, whether your hair doesn't 'behave,' your background is different, or your identity or expression doesn't match what people expect, you are not too much. You are more than enough." Emilia Klewin attended classes at Eastern Washington University and participated in ROTC there while finishing up at LRHS, an experience that brought some lessons home to her. Brody Boness' high school years were marked with adversity through major sports injuries, he said, which taught him the value of perseverance. Alyssa Williams discussed overcoming her competitive nature to learn that comparison is the killer of joy, and Addy Colbert spoke of learning not to be so eager for the next stage of life that you miss out on the current one. The Class of 2025, collectively, was awarded more than $1 million in scholarships, School Counselor Kayla Walker said. Additionally, a few students were singled out for special recognition. Fredy Granados-Lopez and Liz Cruz earned the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish. Granados-Lopez also received The Harry P. Hayes Award. The Honor Cup went to Claire Wellsandt. The guest speaker was former Gonzaga basketball star Mike Nilson, who spoke about the importance of commitment. Final words before the diplomas were awarded came from senior Brix Curtis, chosen by his peers to deliver the closing address. Curtis was not an especially distinguished student or an impressive athlete, he said, but his class's achievements weren't about those things. "The best part about my class is that at their core, they're all good, kind people and to me, that is what matters," he said. "As far back as I can remember, my class has always been in constant competition, not to be better than each other, but to better ourselves as a collective. We have nine valedictorians for a reason ... We all did these things not to impress ourselves, but because we were all surrounded by impressive people, people who lift each other up and show each other it's possible to do great things once again."
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The winningest coach in Wisconsin high school basketball history has died. Jerry Petitgoue was 84
Jerry Petitgoue was a coach's coach. Never too busy to answer a question or too stubborn to ask one, he studied every aspect of basketball, watched the videos and did some of his own. He loved the game and shared the love. Advertisement Greg Gard, who attended Petitgoue's camp long before becoming Wisconsin's head coach, talked a couple of seasons ago about their relationship. 'I'll get texts from him late at night, or I'll see something that he tweeted about basketball,' Gard said at the time, 'and I'm like, 'Coach, were you really watching an instructional video at 1 a.m. that you had to text me a question?'' Jerry Petitgoue retired as head basketball coach at Cuba City in 2023 after 52 seasons with a 1,027-249 record. Asked subsequently, Petitgoue explained: 'I never really thought, hey, you know what? It's about 1 o'clock in the morning.' It was about defense. 'He got back to me the next day.' Now those calls have stopped, and they'll be desperately missed. Advertisement The winningest coach in Wisconsin high school basketball history died June 7 at age 84, his son Mark said via social media. From 2023: A legendary and inspiring Wisconsin high school coach is about to retire. But at 82, Jerry Petitgoue isn't done with basketball yet. Petitgoue coached for 60 years, 52 of those in Cuba City, a small town in farm country in southwest Wisconsin. He retired after 2022-23 with a record of 1,027-249, making him one of only about 20 coaches nationally known to have reached the 1,000-win plateau. Petitgoue's victory total may never be topped by a Wisconsin boys coach, given it leads by more than 300. Advertisement In a statement shared by UW on June 8, Gard called Petitgoue the godfather of basketball in the state. 'No one has had a more impactful and influential career on the growth, popularity and expansion of basketball in Wisconsin than Jerry,' Gard's statement said. 'He was constantly searching for ways to improve the game and create more opportunities for coaches and players across the state.' Petitgoue's teams won 29 conference championships, made 12 WIAA state tournament appearances and won titles in 1981, 1991 and 1998. He was named one of the coaches of the year by the National Federation of State High School Associations for 2020, when his team went 25-0 before the season ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although numbers are part of any coach's legacy, Petitgoue said in a 2023 interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he didn't want them to define him. Advertisement 'I just would like to be known as he was a good person and tried to help people,' he said, 'because I think that's why we're put on this earth, to help people.' Petitgoue grew up in Galena, Illinois, went to the University of Dubuque in Iowa and had two other brief coaching stints before landing at Cuba City. Jerry Petitgoue's Cuba City teams won 29 conference championships, made 12 state touranments and won three WIAA titles. He came close to leaving two times, Petitgoue said. The first was in 1984, when he interviewed at UW-Platteville, 10 miles up the road. Bo Ryan, now a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, got the job. The second was in 1997, when Dubuque was looking for a coach and he considered returning to his alma mater. Advertisement 'But that year, I knew I was going to have a good team, a really good team,' Petitgoue said. 'And it proved to be correct. We won the state championship that year, 1998.' Several other times, Petitgoue told people he was going to retire only to change his mind, usually because there were a couple of players coming along he wanted to coach. Oftentimes he'd also coached their fathers in the quaint facility that in 1999 was officially designated Jerry Petitgoue Gymnasium. Although Petitgoue retired from the classroom 20 years before he put down his clipboard, he considered himself a teacher before a coach. He preached 'Petitgoue's P's': Priority, purpose, passion, pride and preparation. Petitgoue was dedicated to his basketball camp and to the Wisconsin State Basketball Coaches Association, for which he served as executive director for decades. He missed the WIAA state championship last season for the first time in decades due to health issues. Advertisement As Petitgoue neared the end of his time on the bench he contemplated his teams' accomplishments, and conceded he had detractors – even former players – who believed Cuba City should have won more state titles. 'Yeah, would I love to go back one more time? We all would,' Petitgoue said. 'But if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen and the sun will shine tomorrow and hopefully these kids will have a great experience in basketball. I think that's the key.' This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin high school basketball coaching legend Jerry Petitgoue dies
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Vote now for The News Tribune's Boys Athlete of the Week (May 26 to 31)
Vote now for The News Tribune's Athlete of the Week for contests played between May 26-31. Voting will remain open until noon Wednesday. The polls are located below. You can read about all of the candidates and their accomplishments below. Note: If you are not seeing the poll at the bottom of the story, try opening the story in a different browser, such as Chrome or Safari. Votes emailed will not be counted. Want to nominate a South Sound high school athlete in the future? Email reporter Jon Manley ( or Tyler Wicke (twicke@ or send a direct message on Twitter/X (@manley_tnt or @WickeTyler) with the athlete's first and last name, school, year, position and a stat line from game(s) during the past week. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sunday. Nicholas Altheimer, Curtis track and field — Senior sprinted to three state titles at the WIAA Track & Field championships at Mount Tahoma in the 4A Boys 100M Dash (10.59), 200M Dash (21.07), and the 4x100M Relay (40.93). Owen Brown, Mount Rainier track and field — Rams senior claimed the 4A Boys Triple Jump state title with his final leap at Mount Tahoma's WIAA Track & Field championships. Eddie Bruner Jr., Lincoln track and field — Abes junior set a personal record in his 3A Boys 400M title run (46.94) and won his second title with Lincoln's 4x100M Relay (41.69). Xavier Bunn, Tumwater track and field — T-Birds senior took home two gold medals in the 2A Boys Triple Jump (45-5.5) and 4x100M Relay (41.78) at Mount Tahoma's WIAA state meet. Ethan Carter, Eatonville track and field — Cruisers senior captured the 2A Boys Pole Vault state title (15-6) at the WIAA Track & Field championships at Mount Tahoma. Marvis Christian, Franklin Pierce track and field — Cardinals senior successfully defended his 2A Boys Long Jump title (22-8.75) at the WIAA state meet at Mount Tahoma. Mateo Cordero, Mount Tahoma track and field — Won the Mixed 100M Dash Unified title at the WIAA Track & Field championships on his home track (11.79). Jake Cuda, Gig Harbor baseball — Had a strong start in 3A state tournament loss to Kennewick, going five innings, allowing three hits, one run, walking three and striking out two. Andy Glaze, Steilacoom track and field — Sentinels senior won the 2A Boys 800M title (1:53.56) at the WIAA state meet at Mount Tahoma. Carson Godfrey, Olympia track and field — Bears junior won 4A Boys Shot Put title (60-10.5) at the WIAA Track & Field championships at Mount Tahoma. Kanai Kennedy, Mount Tahoma track and field — Freshman sprinter captured the 3A Boys 100M Dash state title on his home track (10.80) at the WIAA Track & Field championships at Mount Tahoma. Ethan Mar, Gig Harbor baseball — Went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a walk in 3A state tournament semifinal loss to Kennewick. Jett Reed, Puyallup baseball — Pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief in Puyallup's 4A state tournament semifinal loss to Lake Washington, allowing no hits, no runs and walking one. Jordan Smith, Timberline track and field — Blazers senior won the 3A Boys 300M Hurdles title at the WIAA state meet at Mount Tahoma. Gage Thompson, Puyallup baseball — Hit a solo home run to left field, scoring Puyallup's lone run in its 4A state tournament semifinal loss to Lake Washington. Geron White, Federal Way track and field — Eagles senior soared to repeat state high jump titles (6-11.25) and claimed the 3A Boys Triple Jump championship (46-6.25) at Mount Tahoma's WIAA state meet.
