What’s recently happened?
Boone Grove High School’s (BGHS) football season concluded on October 25 with a loss to Wheeler High School (WHS). Despite this, BGHS celebrated the football team with five players announced for the First Team All-Conference (FTAC): Mark Rowland, Samir Del Rio, Khaled Alzeer, Nick Ratkovich, and Jonny Bobos. Honorable mentions for All-Conference included Chris Peters, Bradley Aguayo, and Aiden Torbeson. It was a strong season, and the sports community is looking forward to next year while shifting the focus to basketball season.
The BGHS Lady Wolves Basketball team secured its first win on November 13 against Hebron High School (HHS) with a 40-18 victory. This victory was a great comeback for them after their previous two games against Hobart High School (HHS) that ended in a 22-49 loss and Griffith High School (GHS) with a 46-29 loss. Lady Wolves fans are eager to see how the hustle will grow throughout the season.
As for the BGHS Boy Wolves Basketball team, its 2024 season is off to a challenging start, opening with a 46-29 loss against GHS. Despite the rough start, BGHS has full confidence in their team to start securing wins in the future.
What’s coming up?
The BGHS Drama Club has been preparing since August to perform “A Midsummer Night's Dream” by William Shakespeare. The show’s opening dates are for November 21, 22, and 23. The Drama Club, along with Director Stacy Davis, are excited to show off their hard work.
The BGHS Wrestling team is gearing up for its 2024-2025 season. There is exciting news to share this year! This year, a significant number of girls have joined the wrestling team, enabling BGHS to launch its first official Girl’s Wrestling Team. This new milestone highlights the growing popularity of wrestling among young women and marks a new chapter for this BGHS athletic program. The Girls Wrestling team is set to compete in various events this season, including regional tournaments and state qualifiers. Coaches are thrilled to welcome these athletes and are committed to providing them with top-tier training and support.
This initiative not only reflects the evolving landscape of high school sports but also underscores BGHS’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and excellence in athletics. BGHS is proud to see such enthusiasm and can’t wait to see what the season holds for both our boys' and girls' teams. Stay tuned for updates from the mats as BGHS continues to make history.
Staff spotlight:
Jennifer Gibbs has been working in the Boone Grove School District for 11 years, joining BGHS in 2018. These past six years at the high school, she has made a significant impact on students’ lives, serving as more than just an academic counselor. Gibbs is a life coach, mentor, and someone to lean on no matter how big or small the issue is. If you attend BGHS you will have seen Gibbs’s friendly face at most school events. Her dedication goes beyond the school’s bell schedule. She is frequently seen attending events, plays, and other activities, not just graduation. She wants to show her students that she supports them in whatever their passion is. This commitment makes her an outstanding counselor.
“My choices were between being a dolphin trainer or a counselor, and since there were no dolphins around, counseling stuck,” Gibbs said.
Later on she revealed that she has always known she would be a counselor. Even as a child she was marked as a “bad kid” for her constant talking - an early sign of her passion for solving others’ problems and easing drama.
Before Gibbs joined BGHS, she worked with foster kids, ensuring their well-being and representing them in court. When she made the switch to be a school counselor she chose BGHS because of its strong sense of community.
“I chose Boone because the teachers and families are so involved in the students' lives,” Gibbs said. “Here it really is about the students which is great because my goal was to learn names and stories. I didn’t want to be someone who sat in the office doing paperwork all day. I wanted to make an impact and at BGHS I can do that with the students and the staff.”
Gibbs primary goal has always been to make people feel supported and valued.
“I want to make a difference in the student's world no matter how small, it makes me happy,” Gibbs said.
She wants students to know that guidance is not just a place for questions about diplomas but also a reliable support system.
Student spotlight:
Maison Coates, a junior at BGHS, is an active participant in athletics. He plays on the volleyball and soccer team and outside of school he competes in moto cross. Despite such an already busy schedule he has decided to try something new this winter, wrestling.
“I really joined because I needed something else to do, I didn’t have a winter sport. I knew it’d be hard and I wanted a challenge,” Coates said.
Although he has only been on the team for a small amount of time he says he has loved the process of learning moves and improving.
“It’s satisfying to see it all come together and know I am getting better at it,” Coates said. “I like the team because they really do push me to do better, especially Khaleed Alzeer.”
The coaches have also played a significant role in Coates’s taking to the sport by helping him adapt to the sport and guiding him through the learning process.
Coates’ goal for the season is to see himself improve and test his limits.
“I don’t know if the season will go well since I joined so late in my high school career, but I hope to do it again next year, and then I can say the season will go well for me,” said Coates.
For students considering trying something new, Coates has some advice to share.
“Don’t let it scare you. You just have to try it because there is nothing to lose,” Coates said.