![Minutes before the Activities Fair in the gym, president Abhi Gowda ‘26 prepares the stall for his club Helping Hands, Sept. 4. A relatively new club, Helping Hands was co-started by Gowda and focuses on assisting the homeless, and just last year they succeeded in raising a couple hundred donations to send to shelters. This year, they have goals to expand, with hopes to increase volunteer opportunities and take in-person trips to shelters, as well as extend their help beyond just homeless people. “The Activities Fair gives a lot of underclassmen the opportunity to really get to know the Canyon culture, and it gives them many opportunities for service and volunteering,” Gowda said. “[Through the Activities Fair,] I hope to find a bunch of new and passionate members about our club and just get our name out there and spread awareness to the cause that we’re fighting for.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1-2-1200x885.jpg)
![The winter guard team makes fifth place at the state championship finals in the Denver Coliseum, March 30. The team performed to Barnes Country's “Glitter and Gold,” lead by coaches Margo Sanford, Blair Bickerton and Anna Orgren. In their class there were a total of nine groups participating, and the top five who made it to finals received a plaque. “[Walking onto the stage] is very nerve-wracking, but also very exciting as well. When you first start color guard there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty when you first perform in front of an audience, but once you've done it for a while, it starts to become the best part of the season,” Ella West ‘25 said. “It's very fulfilling to see an audience react to something you've put your heart and soul into.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Both-socal-media-nd-website-main-1-1200x846.jpg)
![April marks the 25th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). This month is to spread awareness of the harassment, assault and abuse that happens around the world. The symbol that represented the month was a teal ribbon; however, some survivors of assault create different symbols and movements like the TikTok trend in 2022, where survivors would tattoo Medusa on their body, in honor of her backstory in Greek Mythology. “I don't think [this month is known] at all. I rarely see anybody talk about it. I rarely see much of an emphasis on posting it online, or much discussion about it, and I feel like there needs to be way more discussion,” an anonymous source said. “I think just validating every experience that a person has gone through, regardless of the degree of it, the severity, is an essential step into making sure that people are aware that this is a very real problem in a society and that we need to do better in addressing it.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_0011-1200x900.jpg)
![Lesbian Visibility Day is April 26, and it’s a holiday to celebrate the lesbian community of the world. Lesbian Visibility day was established in 2008 by many queer activists and organizations who sought to raise more awareness for lesbian history and culture. “So this is why during Lesbian Visibility [Day] we celebrate and center all lesbians, both cis and trans, while also showing solidarity with all LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people,” Linda Reily, in an article written by her, said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Lesbian-Visibility-day.jpeg)
The varsity wrestling team’s regular season ended in January, the month of the schedule with practices every day, dual meets every week and tournaments every weekend.
Even though January included wins and losses, the Jags continued on. The post-winter break schedule included five dual meets, a quadrangular meet and five tournaments.
After losses to Ponderosa High School 76-6 Jan. 10 and Heritage High School 40-29 Jan. 17, the Jags beat the Arapahoe Warriors on Jan. 18 37-33. Points came from falls by Allen Hurd ‘26 at 126 pounds, Jon Herskovits ‘24 at 138 pounds, Noah Jadd ‘26 at 144 pounds and Bodey Sherrill ‘24 at 150 pounds, as well as Elijah Nguyen’s ‘25 major decision at 165 pounds.
On Jan. 24, pins recorded by Herskovits, Jadd, Luke Steiner ‘26, Gavin Hildebrand ‘25, Robert Fatongiatau ‘24 and Cillian Daughtery ‘27 defeated rival Highlands Ranch 39-38 at the Battle of the Ranch quadrangular dual meet, Jan. 24. The Jags were then defeated by ThunderRidge High School 42-39 and lost to Mountain Vista High School 54-24, taking third place overall.
The Jan. 31 meet versus Thomas Jefferson at home was Senior Night, honoring the following seniors and their achievements by giving a message to the crowd about their gratefulness for the school and their families: Ryan Banks ‘24, Hunter Englesen ‘24, Robert Fatongiatau, Jon Herskovits and Bodey Sherrill. The Jags lost to Thomas Jefferson High School 48-21.
“My favorite part about Senior Night was the opening ceremony. I’ve wrestled all four years and I’ve watched three different Senior Nights before, so it was cool to know it was finally my turn,” Banks said.
The Jags had a month full of tournament competitions.
Jake Brown ‘26 took fourth place in the 113-pound weight class at the Smoky Hill Buffalo Invitational on Jan. 6.
On Jan. 13, the Jags hosted the Jaguar Invitational ending the day by taking seventh place. Led by Steiner taking second place in the 150-pound weight division, the team finished the day with seven additional place winners: Aaron Bayne ‘25 placed sixth at 113 pounds, Tyler Kennelly ‘25 placed third at 132 pounds, Herskovits placed third at 138 pounds, Jadd placed fourth at 144 pounds, Chase Attebury ‘26 placed sixth at 175 pounds, Banks placed fourth at 190 pounds and Fatongiatau placed sixth at 215 pounds.
The Castle View Sabercat Slam combination dual and individual tournament ended with the Jags taking second place in their dual team pool and five individual place winners Jan. 20. Herskovits and Jadd each collected second-place medals in the 138-pound and 144-pound weight classes, respectively. Banks finished in third place at 215 while Englesen at 120 pounds and Attebury at 175 pounds each finished in fourth place.
“My favorite part about the team is everyone’s hanging out,” Herskovits said. “Even though we all have different goals, regardless of what those are, we’re all always having fun in practice hanging out and working hard. I’m going to miss having a group around me to push me to be a better person regardless of if I’m on the mat.”
The Continental League Championships, held on Jan. 27, yielded five individual medal winners. Jadd and Engelsen placed third in the 144-pound weight and 120-pound weight classes respectively. Daughtery took fifth place at 285 pounds and Fatongiatau placed fifth at 190 pounds. Banks earned sixth place in the 215 weight class.
Finally, the Jags traveled to Greeley West High School for a six-team dual tournament Feb. 2. Competing against five other teams, the Jags beat Fossil Ridge High School 41-36, beat James Irwin High School 38-33, beat Longmont High School 58-17, lost to Loveland High School High School 69-11, beat Niwot High School 51-24 and beat Wiley High School 41-31.
“Greeley West was the final test before regionals to validate our game plans for each wrestler, to identify areas we needed to fine-tune, and to confirm that we were ready,” coach Darryl McGowan said. “For the final week before Regionals, we focused on mental preparation, inspiring the team to dream, to visualize, to believe, to desire and will themselves to victory.”
The Jags went on to compete at the regional tournament at Ponderosa High School Feb. 9 and Feb. 10. Highlights from the tournament include Jadd taking second place in the 144-pound weight class, and moving on to compete at the state level. Herskovits, Kennelly, Fatongiatau and Steiner took sixth.
At Ball Arena Feb. 15-17, Jadd took the mat at the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) State Tournament. In round one Feb. 15, Jadd lost by a decision 20-8 L to Abe Pomeroy ‘25 of Boulder High School.
The next day, Feb. 16, Jadd lost by a decision of 5-3 L to Dominic Cordray ‘25 of Chaparral High School. This loss eliminated him from the tournament.