Pitching to greatness // Freshman pitcher Caleb Adamson balances and winds up to throw to freshman Catcher Knox Wilson. The freshman baseball team starts out their season with a win 8-0 over the Plano East Panthers Feb. 12.

Cheer on \\ Competing in the UIL cheer competition, senior Emma Vincent performs for the last time as a Wylie East Cheerleader. The team took on 61 teams in their division and finished with 14th place Jan. 17. “After we walked off the mat, I will always remember the pride and joy that we all felt toward our coaches and the team,” Vincent said.

Back for more \\ Beginning the game portion of their second competition in a row, juniors Esteban Figueroa and Joseph Morgan drive the robot for team 12430. The team won three awards and advanced to regionals Jan. 11.

Ben ten \\ Protesting the technical foul he received, senior Ben Colburn goes to talk to his teammates while the opponent shoots free throws. Colburn dropped eight points during the second half of the game vs. Denison Jan. 21. After shooting his second three pointer, Colburn held up three fingers and received a technical foul for it.

Spirit-walk smiles \\ Celebrating their newest titles,

The Sapphires competed at the American Dance/Drill Team (ADTS) regional competition Sat. Feb. 1. They brought home numerous awards, including two solo finalists, Addie Orr and Gracie Tower, Sweepstakes and Gussie Nell Davis Award for both the officers and team, division one rating for the sergeants, judges awards for officer pom, officer modern, officer contemporary, team pom, team modern and team contemporary, a WOW award for officer jazz, second runner up in the medium and large team officers division, and first runner up in the medium and large team division.

Sharing stories \\ Conversing in a podcast for Black History Month, seniors Valerie Msafiri and Enoch Olajimi, talk about African-American culture in their sixth period Newspaper class. photo by Katie Borchetta

D-up \\ Boxing out Sherman’s offense after a free throw, sophomore Jaeyanna Smith plays defense on junior varsity. The girls basketball team defeated the Lady Cats 63-19 at home Jan. 14.

Clowning around \\ Warming up for practice, freshman Jhon Juntilla amuses his friends with his dancing. The hip-hop club, East Side Crew, free-styles to warm up before practicing their choreography.

Spill its blood // Asking to go beast hunting, junior Saverio Cimino practices during a dress rehearsal of theatre’s production of Lord of the Flies. Based off of the novel by William Goulding, the play was completely sustainable. All the costumes, props and set pieces are reused and recycled. Catch their show tonight at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.

One hundred percent \ Finishing strong through her race, sophomore Emily Landry competes in the 100m dash at the Mike Williams invitational meet at Wylie High Feb.13. “It was really cold while I was running, but finishing the race felt so good,” Landry said.

Riding for the Brand \\ Typing away on the Chromebook Feb. 12 during Wylie Way Day, senior Julia Horne discovers her personality type after a series of questions. “I am personality type ISTJ which means I focus my attention inward, maintain control over projects, work better with real things rather than ideas and analyze problems logically,” Horne said. “The most surprising part of the results was that I make thoughtful and practical decisions because I am kinda a mess.”

Bon Appeteach \\ Chef Jennifer Carlin shows her students how to properly cut peas. Groups of three cut vegetables to be used for making rice. “Fried rice is a lengthy process that has a lot of steps. Today they are preparing, so tomorrow they can cook the rice,” Carlin said.

l'amour vrai \\ Senior Devon Alsobrook and sophomore Annie Nguyen practice in a dress rehearsal for their color show, “The Pont des Arts” about a couple falling in love. “They met at the Love Lock Bridge in France,” Nguyen said. “The girl is from America so she had to go back home, but the day she left they made a promise that they’ll meet again in the future.”

Two of a kind \\ Senior D'Andre Brown and junior Emiliano Saucedo show off their state championship medals. "I'll miss the nights in the gym alone practicing my moves," Brown said. He won the state title Feb. 21, making him the second wrestling champion at this school, and the first time a Wylie school has had two wrestling state champions. "It was a magical moment because my friends and family were there to see," Brown said. "It was a redemption moment since I lost last year." Saucedo placed third at state in his weight class. Out of over 185 teams in 5A, East placed 14th. "It felt great to win at state, even though I could have done better, but my result was better than last year," Saucedo said.

Better on top \\ Celebrating their victory, seniors Gavin Fahsholtz, Dylan Ashley and Lilly Nigo take a picture with sophomore Bella Fenoglio. The four won the Ultimate Raider competition Aug 30. "I was so excited that my school spirit was recognized and that I could be an example on how much fun it is to participate in spirit days," Nigo said

Out for Summer // Friday, April 17, Governor Abbott ordered that all Texas public schools and universities are to remain closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. Wylie ISD announced on Facebook that the TEA will advise the school district on plans for graduation and that they intend on holding a special event for the Class of 2020.

Sophomore Sydney Haas participates in the Princeton Powerlifting Championships Jan. 11. The following placed for the team: Ella Moseri 1st Nyliah White 2nd Sydney Haas 2nd Stephanie Cruz 3rd Frances Frank Nwafor 2nd Destiny Valdez 5th And Madyson Mills 4th Coached by John Mitchell, the team placed third overall.

Extracts \\ Separating the cells to discover the DNA strand, senior John Castillo smashes his strawberry to the grains in Mrs. Miller’s forensics class Jan.14.

Reach out \\ Visiting the junior high schools in Wylie, students from the dance program perform a contemporary dance piece. The dancers went to McMillan and Burnett junior highs Dec. 17-18 to dance for the junior high students to promote the dance program.

Golden Hour \\ Leading victory lines, Sapphire Captain Berry Stevens whistles to signal the next ripple for the team at the varsity football game against Woodrow Wilson Oct. 11. The team travelled two hours to perform a team pom to the song “Pretty Fly.”

Mini me \\ Participating in victory lines alongside Junior Lieutenant Samantha Burkart, 6-year-old Alex Collins enjoys the opportunity of being a mini Sapphire for a football game. Collins won mini sapphire for a day from a boots and bar-b-que auction. “It was the best night of my life. I loved being with my cousin Sam,” Collins said after the Raiders lost to the Mt. Pleasant Tigers 41-24 Aug. 30.

Chopping block \\ Making a wall against the opponent’s hit, freshman Autumn Perry and senior Leah Stamps cover their varsity court Sept. 24 at the Gold Out game. Varsity won three out of five sets against Royse City, adding to the almost undefeated season. The next game is Friday, Sept. 27 in the Wylie East gyms.

I've got your back \\ Embracing her long-time friend and cross-town rival, senior Macey Griffin supports Wylie High senior Autumn Switzer. Switzer and her family were honored at the Sept. 27 Gold out varsity volleyball game to raise awareness for childhood cancer.

Girl on fire \\ Holding the methane flames, chemistry teacher Mrs. Lissa Groter demonstrates to her first period chemistry class proper safety techniques Nov. 20. "The experiment isn’t scary for me because I’ve done it before. I was a little nervous the first time I did it," Groter said.

Honorable mention \\ Receiving his certificate, junior Esteban Figueroa is inducted into National Honor Society. The organization inducted 95 new members in the auditorium Oct. 30.

Come together \\ Representing the element of community, sophomore Ily Crawford performs the song “Balleilakka” along with the acapella choir at the fall choir concert entitled Elements. The concert featured songs representing the various elements of family, celebration, parting and more and took place in the auditorium starting at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22.

No bad news \\ Running across the stage, senior Avery ‘Cecil’ Pulley executes movement choreographed by Mrs. Stephanie Jackson for the song “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” as she portrays the First Winkie in a morning practice for this year’s musical, The Wiz. The cast practices every morning starting at 6:30 for performances the weekend of Oct. 11. “I think I have a little bit of all my characters in me,” Pulley said. “The height of a Munchkin, the funky style of an Oz Citizen, the constant panicked state of a Winkie and the screech of the Kalidah Queen, especially.”

Raise ‘em up \\ Cheering on the stands, senior Luke Bumpus, wraps up his speech pumping up the crowd at the Pink Out pep rally Oct.7.

Focused vibes \\ As she watches the drum majors, sophomore Kaitlin Wiltcher plays her vibraphone during the band’s performance at the Wylie Band Night Oct. 7. The band’s show is titled MASSive and features music from Mozart’s Requiem, John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Masquerade and original music from Christopher Bill. “It was cool to see all the junior highs play and get excited over watching their high schools perform,” Wiltcher said.

Tuned up \\ Practicing his guitar for digital audio tech, junior Saverio Cimino creates a tune in the 400 hall. Digital audio tech, taught by Mr. Turner, allows students to pursue their musical passions.

NHS Knot \\ Trying to detangle from her family members, senior Shaylee Richardson participates in the family competition during the NHS meeting Oct. 3. NHS meets the first Thursday of every month and has a family competition at every meeting. During the school year, NHS families can earn points through games and service hours. At the end of the year, the family with the most points wins the NHS trophy.

Lego to PALS \\ Junior Brianna Beamer plays legos with her Friday PAL at Cox Elementary Sept. 27. PALS is a class where students go off campus to an assigned elementary or intermediate school to mentor younger kids. “This has been a great opportunity for me to be a friend to kids who may be struggling. I’ve loved getting to know them so far and can’t wait to get to build an even stronger bond throughout the year," Beamer said.

Head in the Game \\ Sophomore Isaiah Shields moves the ball down the field gaining JV yards against the West Mesquite Wranglers. They lost 12-7 Sept. 26.