New Music Teacher Takes Reins of School Chorus

By Corina Connelly –

Lauren Forbes has big notes to fill as she takes on the job this year as the new chorus teacher at Penn Manor High School.

The Penn Manor music department was in search of a new chorus teacher for the upcoming 2011/2012 school year after the previous teacher, Melissa Telesco, resigned the year before.

“I’m not really sure how I got the job actually,” said Forbes.  “I put my application on a teacher’s website and I was called for an interview by the music department coordinator, Skip Reddig, for a job offer.”

Forbes previously was a middle school chorus teacher for the Lower Merion School District outside of Philadelphia. When offered the job she had to “choose between an elementary school in Springfield or here,” she said.

“I choose this job because there was so much I could be involved in than just teaching chorus, such as girls chorus, piano class, coffeehouses, and other little things that occur during the school year,” said Forbes. “You can do so much more with a high school chorus then middle school.”

Under Telesco, Penn Manor had an amazing, well-oiled department in place, so there was some apprehension among students at first who took a long look at the new teacher coming in to take over the familiar spot.

The students, according to Forbes were very welcoming but still attached to their prior director.

“When MT announced she was leaving, I hated the idea,” said Kate Melrath, who is a current member of the chorus. “I was bitter. I felt I wasnt going to enjoy my senior year, and everyone else was the same. When she came in, we were confused but still respectful.”

“I sensed a bit of resistance when I tried to get all the students involved in the plans I had for class,” said Forbes. “I was a little nervous and overwhelmed. I knew I was coming into something that had been going on for a few years and it was big shoes for me to fill.”

“It was hard trying to adapt to the schedule and getting into a routine that worked for the class. The students took time to respond and engage,” Forbes added.

Forbes said she already has plans for the chorus.

“Id like to see the choral groups grasp and understand different styles of music, the background behind it like the history, and the dialects,” Forbes said.

She said the department does have some “room to grow.”

She added,”I think the students are more receptive than where they were in the beginning.”

Currently the new year has been successful and going strong despite the changes. Forbes said she really enjoys the environment at Penn Manor.

“So much has changed,” said Melrath. “I love her so much as a teacher, and I have learned more this past semester than the 10 years I have been apart of various choruses. Everyone loves her, enjoys her teaching now and I think we all can relate to her more because of her age.”

“I have never seen a group that cares so much for each other and the teachers are like a family,” Forbes said.  “It’s a blessing to be a part of it.”

 

Ygarzas Ballin’ Together in Life and College

By Alexander Lombardo –

High school’s end will mark a brand new beginning for a Penn Manor girl basketball player, Alicia Ygarza.

Ygarza, the team’s leading scorer, has recently signed with Eastern Mennonite University to play basketball.  Her sister, Bianca Ygarza, is currently in her sophomore year playing for the Division III school.  The sisters are ecstatic to play with one another again, and together share high hopes for Alicia’s decision to sign with the school.

Alicia Ygarza signs with Eastern Mennonite University. File photo

“I can’t wait to go next year, because she’ll have my back,” said Alicia about her sister.

Alicia said she plans to work hard in preparation for the competition that comes along with playing at a college level.

“You and me are going to go ham this summer, and I’m going to prepare you for college ball, don’t worry,” Bianca once said to Alicia.

Bianca, one of Eastern Mennonite’s most dominant players, was awarded player of the week Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, 2011. Bianca has led the Royals to a 18-3 record, and in 26 games Bianca has played a total of 14.5 minutes per game, and averages 6.8 points a game. Bianca will be a great mentor for her younger sister as she progresses through her athletic career.

During their high school years together, the sisters played very well as teammates. They gave each other the confidence and encouragement they needed to be successful in the sport.

“On the court our chemistry will be great.  We’ve played together for so many years, we have the same style of play,”  Alicia said.  “We’re both aggressive, and we’re both scorers.”

Together, the two expect to be a big part of Eastern Mennonite’s 2012-2013 women’s basketball team.

“I’m going to get you the freshmen of the year award,” Bianca has said to Alicia.

Besides the sport, Alicia is very excited to room with her sister at EMU. She will be juggling a promising singing career, along with her major in broadcast journalism. Alicia also plans to travel to Washington D.C. for internships throughout the year.

 

A Pleasant Surprise Greets Proficient Students

By Blake Wales –

Cries of delight and and feelings of gratitude are echoing through the halls of Penn Manor by students who are getting free parking passes.

Penn Manor’s administrators decided to reward seniors who did well last year on their math and reading PSSA tests – either proficient or advanced – by giving them their parking passes for free during the second semester.

That is making select members of the senior class extremely excited.

“I was very surprised and shocked,” said senior Dylan Weber. “I was not aware of this.”

It’s that dreaded time of the year for most students who have parking passes at Penn Manor because that means they need to dish out more money to the school, $20 per semester. Students complain they have to pay for these passes while many students at other schools don’t have to pay a penny.

Principal Phil Gale said  he thought students would be excited and it would spur younger students to do well on this year’s test in anticipation of a similar reward when they are seniors.

Chloe Traup was very excited about her free pass. Photo by: Brandon Bowers

“I composed the idea and Mr. (Doug) Eby finalized it,” said Gale.

This privilege is only accessible to seniors who have improved their PSSA scores from their eighth to eleventh grade year. The students had to have  improved on both math and reading with scores of advanced or proficient.

There are currently 89 free spring parking passes given to seniors and more deserving seniors can qualify for them, an estimated 120 in total.

But the school is losing an estimated $2,400 by giving the passes out for free.

But administrators said it will be worth it if students in their junior year perform better and make a good effort on state standardized testing that begins in March.

If juniors were around to witness the “gift” of the free passes, they very well may be inspired.

“They were pretty psyched,” said administrative secretary Heather Valentine who got to surprise the students.

“The kids that came up were so excited and so grateful because we were doing this for them for all the hard work they did for us,” said Valentine. “The word was getting out when students started to receive these passes so more and more students started to come to the table to see if they got one which was pretty neat.”

Senior Landon Alecxih was not expecting the free pass.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” he said.

“It’s a thing to look forward to so you do well on your PSSAs,” Weber explained. “Let this be a lesson to the juniors so they do well.”

Another senior Kayleena Hess had a similar reaction saying, “Well I was walking up to the office because they were handing out detentions  and that’s when initially heard about them. So I went up to Mrs. Valentine and she told me I got one and I was like ‘Oh Word,'”Hess explained.

The main office is still handing out these passes to eligible students. If you are a senior at Penn Manor and you have not yet redeemed your parking pass go up to the main office because you might be one of the lucky ones.

 

 

Dungeons and Dragons Lives At Penn Manor

By Gabrielle Bauman –

Penn Manor has a dark, dirty little secret – we play D&D.

That’s right, Dungeons and Dragons. The ultimate nerd activity, the point of no

The game functions through the roll of a dice: roll a high number like a 20 and there is no hard task. Roll a 1, and you may trip over your own feet.

return where any person admitting participating in the activity faces ostracization by their peers and being preached at by their pastors. Pop culture often portrays it as something only overweight older men living in their mother’s basement do.

Despite all of the stereotypes, however, Penn Manor has a small, very quiet base of players.

They behave like wild animals — skittish at first, but with some coaxing will admit that they play DnD. But they do play, and it’s not what others will lead you to believe. It’s a bit like a secret club, with its own code phrase – you admit that you play first to gain into their confidence.

Dungeons and Dragons, or DnD, is a fantasy role playing game where players create characters and work with other characters to go on quests and solve problems with the in-game world. It is played the old fashioned way: with pen and paper, and players rely on their imagination to create the fantastic world around them.

The player can really be whoever they want to be, from a gnome berserker to a half-orc thief. The possibilities are really only limited to the player’s creativity.

One Penn Manor student had something to say about his experience with the game “It is so much fun.”

It isn’t just for boys either, “It’s not gender segregated at all. Our group is like half girls and half boys.”

Tabletop roleplaying games tend to have a bad reputation in popular press and culture. In 1979 James Dallas Egbert III, 16, went missing. Later it was discovered that he had attempted suicide, and following his failure had hid out at a friend’s house for a month. The fictionalized book and movie Mazes and Monsters was based off this event, and the press mostly took the story of the teen who had had a psychotic break while playing a Live Action Role Play game as fact.

The game has spawned book series, comic books, and an online role playing game. Players can often spend hundreds of dollars just on rule books alone.

Following that there was a moral panic by parents groups and christian organizations. The Christian organizations claimed that the role play involved and the pretend interaction with monsters constituted devil worship. In an article by Chick Publications, a christian website, “Dungeons and Dragons is a tragic and tangled subject. It is essentially a feeding program for occultism and witchcraft. ” The same website has this comic, which portrays the game as sinister. The conclusions made by the author of the comic are based on the audience’s ignorance of the subject, harking back to the moral panic over Harry Potter.

According to Conservapedia, the conservative Christian version of Wikipedia that screens editors beforehand, “the possibility exists that such an experience may not be beneficial or appropriate for everyone… Due to the nature of roleplaying games, a great deal depends upon the individual group in question; a given game of Dungeons and Dragons might be benign from a Christian standpoint, or it might involve activities and ideas that a Christian would find profoundly distasteful.”

To be clear: There is no reliable research to back up the claim that roleplaying games cause players to lose touch from reality. There is nothing reliable supporting the idea that roleplaying gamers are antisocial.

Actually, it’s the opposite of that. In order to solve the problems presented by the situation, players have to work together — sink or swim. Just like online video games, Dungeons and Dragons can build friendships.

One local player was adamant about DnD having anything to do with the occult, as it has been blamed.

“They don’t play DnD obviously,” said the student. ” I’m tired of people just judging something that they don’t know anything about. Half the people don’t even know what it is.”

Another agreed, “It’s not what people think it is.”

The treatment that D&D experienced in the early 1980s echoes the argument against violent videogames now. Any player of a first person shooter can identify with the frustration of their parents misunderstanding the thing they love.

The reputation has kept some students away, but others show some interest in playing the game, “I would love to play it if I had a group to go to” said one Penn Manor junior.

The reputation of the game may be unnecessary in today’s world. Skyrim, a game extremely popular among Penn Manor’s students (and the source of endless sweetroll and arrow-to-the-knee jokes) is simply the next logical step from tabletop role playing games. Think about it. In Skyrim, players run around fighting monsters and doing quests for non player characters in need. The player can go to many exotic locales, save the day, and slay dragons. Just like DnD.

But should that stigma even be there? That’s the question that Penn Manor should be asking itself.

More at: 4c3ofsp4des

Jason Green Skates his way to All-Star Game

By Brad Kruger –

Penn Manor High School’s Jason Green was chosen recently to play in the 2012 Central Penn Interscholastic Hockey League (CPIHL) All-Star game along with three other Penn Manor teammates.

Jason’s biggest challenge he said has been playing at his highest ability consistently game after game, and this year he has accomplished that and it has paid off.

Green, who leads his team in points, currently has 21 goals and 13 assists, will be joined at the all-star game with teammates Kevin Reinhart, Matt Gue, and Jessie Capanelli.

“He has contributed to the team by scoring goals and has been a good leader to the younger players,” said Reinhart.

Jason has been playing hockey since he was 5 years old. The sport of hockey is in his blood.

“My dad used to play,” noted Green.

With several years of experience playing the game, Green has played for Lancaster Firebirds travel teams as well as Penn Manor Ice Hockey Club’s middle school and varsity teams.

“The feeling of winning and just playing the game” is what motivates Green to keep playing and reach his goal, he said. Green plans to play for a D1 Club team in college.

The junior has been lighting up the scoreboard in the 2011/2012 CPIHL season this year. Playing for the Comet’s he leads the team in points with 34, seventh in the league in the Comet’s tier.

“I’ve had a good year so far and I would say it has been my best year,” said Green.

Jason Green scores on Warwick goalie. Photo by Frese Freelance Photography

Jason’s coaches have high hopes for him in the All-Star game.

“Jason’s a very fun player to watch,” said Penn Manor assistant coach Garth Bolin.  “He has been playing travel hockey for awhile now and has become a strong player”

His coach said he has many resources from which to draw.

“He plays well on either side of the ice and loves to score,” added Bolin. “(He) has nice hands, is a great skater and can snipe goalies. I think we will see him excel at the all star game and will represent Penn Manor well, hopefully with a few goals for himself.”

The All-Star game consists of two teams, each team is made up of the best players from five teams in their tier. Green’s team consists of players from Warwick, Annville Cleona, Ephrata, Lampeter Strasburg and his own Penn Manor.

“The coaches from the other teams we’ve played and people on the league board picked the players for the All-Star game,” said Green.

Most would think that when a player goes to play in an all-star game they will be playing with all strangers, but for Green its a little different.

“I’m excited to play with the other players because I currently or have previously played travel hockey with a lot of the kids on the all-star team,” said Green.

The All-Star game will take place on February 15th at 8 p.m. at Twin Ponds East in Harrisburg, PA.

Getting Better Over the Years

By Richard Schulz & Ryan Flexman –

Bobby Goss struggles with a st-st-stutter.

“It can’t be expelled,” Goss said of the annoying disability that has plagued his social life and his confidence, “It can only get better.”

He has been undergoing speech therapy classes since he and his family became aware of his disorder. His parents took him to classes in his elementary school and other classes by professionals like psychologists, but discovered there is no cure for a stutter except improvement over time.

“My mom thinks I stutter because she took Tylenol when she was pregnant with me,” said Goss with a serious tone.

Bobby Goss deals with a struggle. Photo by Richard Schulz

The real cause of his disorder is unknown, but started when he was two. He was not born with the speech delay.

He said other kids made fun of his stutter and that affected him when he was younger.

After ten years of being bullied for what he can’t control, he has learned to just brush it off.  Goss said even people he didn’t know would make crude comments to him. Thankfully he has a lot of support from friends and family.

“It gets bad when he’s nervous,” said one of Goss’ long-time friend, Ryan Flexman. “I’ve teased him as a friend, but stuck up for him when he needed it.”

In eighth grade, Goss was assigned to do a speech in front of his music class. He asked the teacher to do the speech in private so he wouldn’t have to risk ridicule by his peers. 

Since choosing a private speech and receiving help over the years, Goss has done public speeches aloud. He still gets nervous during speeches but not as bad as before.

Linsanity – The New NBA Phenomenon

By Cody Straub-

There is a new phenomenon in the NBA, and he goes by Linsanity, or Linsational, or Linspiration, or Linvincible, or just plain Jeremy Lin.

Last week’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Jeremy Lin has burst onto the scene for the New York Knicks leading them to seven straight victories while averaging 24.4 points and about 9 assists over those seven games. One of his many highlights durinh this winning streak is when he  hit a game winning three Tuesday night in Toronto. Not only has he led the Knicks, minus Amare Stoudemire for five games, and Carmelo Anthony for the past seven, on a seven game winning streak, he has also caught the attention of the entire nation.

The President of the United States, Barack Obama is even keeping tabs on Lin. According to the White House spokesperson Obama has been watching Lin this past week and he saw him hit the game winning three versus the Raptors.

The spokesperson went on to say that Lin’s success is “just a great story, and the president was saying as much this morning.”

Many non-Knicks fans are even beginning to follow Lin and supporting him.

“I’m more following Lin then the Knicks as a Sixers fan,” said Penn Manor junior Nick Tulli.

New NBA star Jeremy Lin. Photo from usatoday.com

So what makes Linsanity catch the attention of the nation? Maybe it is because he was cut by two teams in his short NBA career, and never got a chance to play? Maybe it was because the Knicks were on the verge of making a colossal mistake by cutting him right before his stardom began? Or maybe it is because he is a graduate from Harvard, and who plays in the NBA from the Ivy League?

“America loves the underdog story,” said Tulli.

Some  think this small sample of success for Lin is not enough to say he is a star yet. But consider that this is his first chance to play extended minutes in the NBA, so it’s not like he failed in the NBA before, and even the greatest three point shooter in the NBA is believing in him.

“OK. I GIVE IN!!!!!!! ITS LEGIT!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!,” was Reggie Miller’s Tweet after Lin hit the game winning three in Toronto.

Jeremy Lin driving past a Raptors defender. Photo from sbnation.com

With Lin’s new found success, which isn’t that new at all, college and NBA coaches alike are all asking the same question, why didn’t we see this coming? Why didn’t we see this guy had talent? Why didn’t the California universities’ see his talent and offer the local kid a scholarship when he led Palo Alto High School to a 32-1 record and a state championship? Why didn’t NBA coaches and scouts see his talent when he led Harvard to become an “up and coming” program and dropped 30 points against Kemba Walker and Connecticut in 2009? People are losing sleep asking themselves these questions.

No matter though Lin is with the Knicks, and he is leading them back to relevance in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and the national spotlight.


Adele Captures Grammy Gold

By David Mohimani and Connor Hughes –

The 54th Grammy’s aired Sunday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The show was headlined with performances by Lil Wayne, Bruce Springstein, Kate Hudson, Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj and last but certainly not least, Adele.

Adele did a little more than just perform, she took home the most Grammy’s on the night with six including the big three: song, record, and album of the year.

Adele holding all six of the Grammy's she won Sunday photo courtesy of y98radio.com

In the history of the Grammy’s, only two performers have ever won more awards in one night then Adele: Michael Jackson and Santana. Only five other performers have won six in one night.  That feat puts Adele in some special company.

The British singing sensation was unquestionably the star of the show.

“I love her,” said Penn Manor senior Katie Melrath. “Her voice sounded amazing even after vocal surgery.”

Last November, the 23-year-old pop superstar underwent vocal cord microsurgery to stop recurrent bleeding from a benign polyp, a problem that had caused her to cancel tour dates, Celebrity Circuit reported.

Adele’s story warmed hearts, however an ominous cloud hung over the 54th installment of music’s top honors, the death of Whitney Houston.

Houston passed away Saturday night in her LA hotel room, the cause of death has yet to be determined. Houston was famous for her tumultuous relationship with husband Bobby Brown as well as her continual struggle with addiction. Houston’s death came as a shock especially because she was seen at an LA night club just the night before.

Even with all the turmoil that surrounded Houston’s life, she will undoubtedly be remembered most for her angelic voice.

Kate Hudson gave a moving tribute to the fallen superstar performing Houston’s song “I Will Always Love You.”, many believed that Hudson was holding back tears by the end of the performance. Hudson cited Houston as an inspiration for her career.

Probably the biggest surprise of the night was the Wisconsin-based band Bon Iver, whom took home the award for Best New Artist. They beat out the likes of  Nicki Minaj, The Band Perry, J. Cole and Skrillex .

Nicki Minaj undoubtedly had the craziest performance of the night.  Her extremely odd performance included an excerpt from the “The Exorcist” and a stage show that had her levitating on stage, with a church-like background, with hooded choir members and religious images.

Nicki Minaj performing at the Grammy's. Photo credit to i.i.com.

You can never predict what Nicki Minaj will do next, and she always finds a way to shock the viewer.  But some students felt that her performance was too far over-the-top.

“She’s replusive and disgusting,” said Penn Manor junior Jordan Williams. “There should be classy people only at the Grammy’s.”

Despite some questionable performances, overall the Grammy’s played out as most typical award shows do some crazy, some sad, some surprising, some snubs, some good, some Gaga (Lady Gaga of course), and a whole lot of talent in one room for a truly special event.

 

Board Game Builds Bond between Penn Manor Teachers

By Ian Noll –

For a handful of teachers at Penn Manor, no matter how cool they “act” on the outside, their inner-nerd still lives on.

Since the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year a group of teachers has been holding weekly game nights to play “Settlers of Catan.”

Can you say “geeky.”

“The Settlers of Catan is unique in it’s combination of conflict and cooperation, thus allowing the players a sense of camaraderie amidst the struggles of competition,” teacher Nicholas Swartz explained.

But no matter how he tries to pass it off as intellectual, the dedication these guys have to the game clearly puts them in the nerdosphere.

The entire group consists of Swartz, Erick Dutchess, Matthew Scheuing, Brian Osmolinski and Jarod Staub.

"Settlers of Catan" won game of the year in 2007. Photo from Gateplay.com

Settlers of Catan is a constantly changing board game, with new expansion packs always being released. The point to the game is to acquire resources and construct settlements (which can be upgraded to cities). The way to play is to keep expanding and upgrading settlements or collect development cards.  The first person to 10 points, wins the game.

Scheuing stated that it allows the teachers to have an excuse to hangout and to relax outside of the work environment.

To some people, “Settlers” might just be a game, but to these teachers it means bragging rights and lots of friendly competition. Depending on how the game the weekend before goes, the losers will usually suffer ridicule and some bashing from the winner.

Swartz stated that “coded” messages will usually be left for other teachers in school and that usually goes along with some trash talk.

These are probably the guys who made fun of others who played “Dungeons and Dragons.”

“This is the approach I take to settlers: It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you,” Dutchess said with an intensity that betrays his “unusual” fascination with a board game.  “Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used. That’s from Sun Tzu. In other words, watch out for snakes in the grass and one will find success.”

Nicholas Swartz (Left) and Erick Dutchess (right) are both avid "Settlers" players, holding weekly game nights with other teachers. Photo by Ian Noll

Also, Swartz said that the teachers use slang when playing; coming up with sayings such as “snake in the grass,” “hydra in the tide,” “going city style.”

They also use words like  ro-ad (row-add) for roads and bo-at (bow-at) for boat.

Their own vocabulary.  That’s uh, cool, right?

The game has brought a sense of camaraderie between the guys.

On game night, the teachers will usually play a game over some pizza or with football on in the background. The teachers from different subjects don’t usually get to associate a lot, so “Settlers” gives them an excuse to interact.

At least that’s the story with which they agreed to stick.

It leads them to become close friends, and for example, play on the same dodgeball team (Swartz & Dutchess).

Although it seems as if the sports they play are only a cover so they seem “cool” but really it may be because they don’t want their “nerdiness”  revealed to the outside world.

But their real bond happens over “the game,” they say, recounting all the special memories that they shared.

“My favorite memory would have to be protecting the crap out of the rock of Mr. Staub, he will know what it means,” Dutchess said.

“It’s amazing how a board game can be so addicting and be so intense,” Scheuing answered.

“As the premiere player, I fully advocate the game as an exercise in statistics and resource strategy,” Swartz said while a big grin flashed across his face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rowing Upstream against a Current

By Alex Sorce –

It was one of those simple walks.

You know the ones – the ones that can change the course of your life.

The breeze was just lifting on a bright warm day, along the Chester River, when Penn Manor senior Josh Morgan strolled along the boathouse with the rowing coach from Washington College, John Leekley.
Penn Manor senior Josh Morgan is excited to row for Washington College.

Morgan remembers how crystalline the water was and, at the same time, intensely reflecting the sun’s rays making it both beautiful and painful to look at.

Morgan had never expected this, never expected he would have a conversation with a college rowing coach.

He had already decided he wanted to attend the small liberal arts school in Maryland.  He knew it as soon as he walked onto the campus. But during his visit there with college admissions counselors his life, as he planned it, took an interesting turn.

As Morgan was finished with his tour of the college, the head coach from the school’s rowing team – Leekley – came up to him, introduced himself and asked Morgan if he wouldn’t mind taking a walk so they could chat and check out the boats down by the river.

Leekley guided Morgan along the Chester River where the rowing team typically practiced. Morgan recalled being a little confused since he had not rowed a day in his life and couldn’t quite figure out why Leekley wanted this chat.

But Leekley had guided Morgan to the river for a special purposed – to see if he was interested in joining the rowing team.

It didn’t seem to matter to the coach that Morgan had no experience with rowing – at all.

Leekley was very interested in Morgan.

“We look for guys like Josh, who are athletes and want to try a new sport, so when he came to visit we were excited that he’s looking to come to school here,” said Leekly before adding, “and try rowing.”

Morgan exactly recalls Leekley saying he, “would love to have him row.”

It didn’t matter that he didn’t have experience.

“Over half of all rowers in college don’t row before they come to college, so Josh will fit in with a group of guys just like him,” said Leekley. “Part of our program involves teaching guys like Josh who have no prior experience how to row, and they’ll race in events their freshmen year against other first-year rowers.”

It’s not hard to imagine Morgan as a rower.  Four years of wrestling under coach Steve Hess at Penn Manor, strengthened his body and his mind.

“(It’s) tremendous an athlete will try something new at a high level of competition, it shows a lot of grit, determination, and character,” said Hess.

“As a wrestler, Josh has learned how to push himself to the limits of his physical ability, said Leekley. “Rowing, like wrestling, is a total body sport that demands high levels of endurance and mental discipline.”

That is the perfect kind of athlete that Leekly wants, hard-working and dedicated, to benefit the team.

“Wrestling has definitely taught me discipline and work ethic, it has helped me become stronger both mentally and physically,” said Morgan.

To prepare during the off season, Morgan has to gain about 12 pounds by September. The team doesn’t have enough guys to fill a lightweight boat and Morgan has to gain weight in order to row.

To Morgan this is the complete opposite of what he is used to, skipping meals, watching his water intake, practicing with a sweat shirt on, all done to cut weight and make his class for wrestling.

“I’m looking forward to having a new experience, I hope to get strong and get some sort of consistent exercise,” said Morgan.

Although Morgan has not rowed before, he has caught the excitement about his new sport and the experiences that await him in the coming years.

“Washington College is a strong liberal arts school, it’s surrounded by the Chester River and close to the Chesapeake bay, it would be a good location to further my studies and social life… I love being in and around the water, that’s where I can relax,” said Morgan.

“I’ve never rowed a day in my life… I think it would be fun to have a sport where you’re on a boat in the water. To me it seems more enjoyable and gratifying than other sports,” said Morgan.