Pirate Competitor of the Week
Luna Pham Journalism – Luna competed in the IHSA State Journalism competition and placed 3rd in editorial cartooning. Coach Susan Bookless said, “Luna competed against 17 students from across the state, and this was her first time competing in this event. That’s pretty remarkable. The journalism team is proud of her and her accomplishments.”
Other Nominations
Brooke Dittmar Varsity Softball – Coach Ryan Zmich said, “Brooke is having a great season and this week helped the varsity team go 4-0 with her solid defense and coming in the clutch offensively! Brooke had the game-winning hit in the top of the 9th @ Lena and batted .416 for the week. She is one of our leaders on the team & it shows by playing great defense in LF & coming in the clutch, batting in the three hole.”
Ava Hahn Varsity Softball – Coach Ryan Zmich said, “Ava continues to be a work horse in the circle! Pitching 30 innings in 4 straight days & having 53 strikeouts! Ava gives our team a chance to win every day that she takes the ball. It’s not easy pitching 4 straight days and continuing to put up great numbers the way that she does! It’s been fun watching her take control of the games!”
Ella White Varsity/JV Softball – Ella had an outstanding week both offensively and defensively, especially at first base. Coach Sarah Rosenthal commented, “Her growth since the beginning of the season has been impressive, and her coachability continues to stand out. Her contributions on both JV and Varsity have played a key role in the program’s overall success, helping lead the teams to a dominant 8-0 week.”
Nolan Kaiser 8th Grade Track – Nolan Kaiser broke the school record in the shot put previously held by great Galena Pirate Dalton Bauer. Dalton’s record had been held for 12 years. Nolan’s record breaking throw was 40 ft 10.5 inches. Coach Kyle Knight said, “Nolan is a tremendously strong and explosive athlete for whom the sky’s the limit.”
Eli Schumacher 8th Grade Track – Eli has had a great start to the track season. He broke the school 100m dash record with a time of 12.31 seconds. The previous record was held by one of Galena’s finest athletes in Peyton Bauer. Coach Kyle Knight said, “Eli is a fantastic athlete and brings a positive energy to practice.”
Ava Lange 7th Grade Track – Ava has had an awesome start to the track season with wins in the triple jump and the 400m dash. She recently broke the school record in the 400m dash previously held by former Galena standout Sami Wasmund. Ava’s record breaking time was 1:05.67. Coach Kyle Knight said, “Ava has a great work ethic and excels at multiple events.”
Justin Lin Scholastic Bowl – Justin was the scholastic bowl team’s top scorer at the National Small Schools Championship Tournament, leading the team’s scoring with 42 correctly answered tossups in 12 matches. In this best game, he correctly answered 6 of the 22 tossups asked in a 325-230 victory over Park Hills Central HS from Missouri. On the first day of preliminary matches, Justin had the 80th best percentage out of 520 players. Justin ended the season in 11 place on the GHS all-time scoring list with 192 tossups during his freshman year. Coach Ron Jenkins says of Justin’s performance, “We’re looking forward to seeing how well Justin performs next year. If he maintains his current scoring pace, he will easily take the 4th spot on the Galena all-time scoring charts.”
Liliana Asta Scholastic Bowl – Liliana had the second-highest total for the Scho-Bowl Pirates at the National Small Schools Tournament, with 32 correct out of 248 heard. She took 89th place of 520 with her 14% answering percentage. Liliana’s best game saw her correctly answer 6 tossups of 18 that were read when Galena beat Vermont’s Mt. Abraham HS by a score of 205-125. Liliana now occupies spot number 18 on the all-time scoring list, with 134 tossups. According to Coach Ron Jenkins, “When a literature question is asked, I feel confident tha Liliana will have either the correct answer, or at least a good guess!”
Quin Wells Scholastic Bowl – Quin captained the Scho-Bowl team and came up with the third-highest answering total at this past weekend’s National Small Schools Tournament, chipping in 29, which was good enough to put him at number 123 of 520 players. Quin’s best showing for the tournament was during a 340-to-175 defeat of Ohio’s Indian Lake High School, when he came up with the answers to 6 tossups out of 22 read. Quin ended the season and his GHS career at number 6 on the all-time scoring list, with 293 tossups. Coach Ron Jenkins said, “We will miss Quin’s solid skills as captain next year. He did an excellent job for the program during all four years, and the National Tournament was a great way for him to end his time on the team.”
