By Mitchell Brockhaus & Noah Matson

Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo courtesy of Matshots.com

They’re small, blue and full of energy. They returned from their homeland, Belgium, to watch the West Central girls last Monday. The theme was royal blue, but we had the Smurfs show up. The Smurfs were seniors who decided to do something out of the ordinary. 

The idea was formulated by Danny Kapperman and Shannon Miller. The main character of the Smurfs was Andrew Ideker, playing Papa Smurf. Paxton Steen and Melinda Knuth gave us an inside look as to why Andrew was picked to be Papa Smurf.  Melinda said, ”We picked him because he has a beard.” Paxton agreed, saying, “Because he has a beard and fits the role.” Melinda and Paxton both dressed up as Smurfs, too.

The girls’ team ended up winning the game with the support of the Smurfs. The Smurfs then returned to their village in Belgium where you can control them from your iPod, iPhone or Droid. Download Smurf Village to experience this life-changing game at the iTunes app store or Android market.

By Afton Johnson and Emily Stahl

Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo Courtesy of Harley Bauman

A mix of excitement and sadness filled the minds of the senior girls on Dance Explosion as they performed for the last time. “I was happy, but of course I was sad too because it was our last one,” said senior Angie Ewert while remembering her last dance. However, all five seniors–Angie Ewert, Payton Steen, Danielle Eldredge, Harley Bauman and Melinda Knuth–remember their last season fondly.

Eldredge has been a part of the West Central Dance Explosion all through high school. She is proud of all that the dance team has done and believes they’ve had a great year. Her favorite memory is having all the seniors over to Angie Ewert’s house to practice. “We blocked Staci Johnson’s car so she couldn’t leave and sent pictures to her,” Eldredge remembered. The things she will miss most about dance are her fellow dancers and being on a smaller team.

Steen has been with Dance Explosion for three years. She has no regrets about joining and is proud of what the team has done. “I have enjoyed it very much this year. We did a lot of cool dances!” Steen’s favorite dance was the country girl dance the team performed. She would love to continue dance after graduation, but is not sure if she will in college.

Ewert has also been on the team for three years. She started in her freshman year, and then continued on Dance Explosion in her junior and senior years. Ewert’s favorite memory was the year their coach, Mrs. Rhodes, was pregnant: “When Mrs. Rhodes would do something physical, McKenzie would freak out because Mrs. Rhodes was pregnant.” She is happy she joined this year, but claims learning to be a base for stunts was difficult to learn. Ewert will miss all the girls on the dance team when she graduates; however, she will not continue dancing through college.

Bauman has been on Dance Explosion for two years. “This is my second year. I was on the team my sophomore year, too.” She has enjoyed her time on the team, but feels like the season has been too short. Bauman is proud of what the group has done this year, claiming, “We have expanded the variety of dances we do.” She is glad that she joined Dance Explosion for her senior year, and she plans on trying out for the dance team at the School of Mines & Technology next year.

Knuth, the newest senior to join the team, has been on Dance Explosion for only one year. She enjoyed her year, exclaiming, “It has been so much fun!” Knuth is proud of what the team has done and is happy about their accomplishments. “We tried harder things than in past years, and we did the splits a lot. Stretching for your splits every other morning at 6:30 a.m. makes you appreciate when you can pull them off.” She will miss the excitement of learning new dances the most, but does not plan on continuing dance in college.

The Dance Explosion had a great year, which would never have happened without great senior leadership. The girls will be missed by their teammates and will miss their teammates alike. Each one has a fond memory of their senior year on the dance team that they can carry with them throughout their lives.

By Jessica Brandt and Libby Goertel

Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo Courtesy of Stacy Edberg

Can you imagine yourself hanging on a bar and flipping around it? Well, that’s what our West Central gymnastics team loves to do.

West Central’s gymnastics team has been having a pretty good year. “Even though we placed last in every meet, we had a great season considering we lost five seniors,” freshman Amanda Pennock stated. The team included Libby Goertel, Brittainy Schmitz, Amanda Pennock, Paige Hanisch, Sara Waldner, Kara Nitro, Bryghton Edberg, Paige Fromm, Kylee Schrank, Sammantha Jennings, Meghan Schuttloffel and Lindsey Eggebraaten. Schmitz had some hard times this season and had to sit out for regions because she fractured her foot. “The season was full of learning new skills and learning to work and cheer each other on as a team,” says Schmitz. 

State was just last weekend. Pennock made it to state in Vault and Beam; Goertel made it to state in Bars and Vault.  Goertel placed 11th in Vault at the state meet.