Gabe Grote on Varsity Boys Basketball (By Dan Borelli)

With the basketball season nearing its end, senior Gabe Grote has established himself as a leader of the Varsity team. His 160 points in 15 games, along with his intensity and drive has helped him become a respectable figure in the eyes of his teammates and coach.

“There’s leaders and there’s followers,” Head Coach Darrell Davis said. “He’s just a natural leader for the team. His teammates look up to him, he’s always encouraging his teammates, he’s positive and he’s a smart young man.”

After a slow start of the season, a change swept through all the players of the team, including Grote.

“The beginning started off rough; we hadn’t really found our groove,” Grote said. “But something changed at the new year. ‘New year new me,’ like they say. I’ve just been playing a lot better.”

During this season in tournament and league play, Grote has achieved a 78.9 percent free throw percentage; the highest on the team.

“It’s cool playing with Gabe because he’s a great part of our offense,” sophomore Fletcher Dietrich, another member of the Varsity basketball team said. “When I’m with him I don’t expect to see many turnovers out of him.”

Grote has been playing basketball since the age of eight. Now, as a senior in high school, he plays three sports: basketball, soccer and volleyball. The work put into these three sports helps build Grote’s intensity during games.

“Intensity is contagious,” Davis said. “I think once you have one guy out there being very intense, then all of a sudden five guys are intense. That’s what he does, his intensity spreads through the team when they’re out on the floor.”

That quality, among many others, makes Grote such a respected leader and player. With the rest of the season, Grote is looking to polish his game play and achieve his goal of winning State.

“I want us to develop even more,” Grote said. “And push each other to become the best quality team that we can be.”

Knightline in Disney World (Brief by Alexis Tainter)

The Varsity Knightline dance team went to Orlando, Florida for UDA Nationals Jan. 29 to Feb. 3. The competiotion began on Jan. 31 where they competed in the jazz and hip-hop categories. They advanced to the semi-finals in both categories but did not continue onto finals. If their hip-hop category was higher by 0.4 points, they would have continued onto the final competition as one of the top competitors.

“There are so many great things about Nationals, but one of the best parts is the time that the team gets to spend together and therefore, the memories that are made.” Head Coach Tammy Rokita said.

While they were at Disney World, Knightline got a chance to get closer as a team.

“My favorite part of Nationals has been team bonding and our parents decorating our windows,” JV dancer Brianna Smith said.

The team met St. Louis Cardinals Pitcher Adam Wainwright at Magic Kingdom. Wainwright signed the team’s UDA nametags and some T-shirts, as well as Varsity dancer Sydney Dattilo’s brother Max Dattilo’s phone case. Wainwright later tweeted about meeting the team.