![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)
Even without the Jaguar name and mascot, swimmers on Highlands Ranch’s co-op swim team brought league championships, state scores and All-League commendations back to the Jungle to finish off their season.
The co-op team earned their 12th Continental League title within the past 14 seasons despite Regis Jesuit taking home championship titles in 2013 and 2021. Additionally, nine Jags brought home All-League recognitions across several individual competitions within the conference.
Jake Pocock ‘26 brought home two commendations–a first place win in the team All-League 400-meter freestyle relay, and a second place win in the team All-League 100-yard freestyle.
“Winning leagues was really cool because it was the fourth year in a row that we won, so we were able to celebrate that everyone on the team had won every year,” Pocock said. “The rest of the season also went well because we got third at state for the second year in a row which is really good for us.”
The following Jags also received All-League commendations:
Brady Barclay ‘26, 2nd Team All League 100 BR, Honorable Mention All League 200 IM
Bryce Greczek ‘25, Honorable Mention All League 50 FR
Wes Kubina ‘26, 2nd Team All League diving
Ryland Murray ‘27, 2nd Team All League 200 IM
Conor Petri ‘26, 1st Team All League: 200 Medley Relay, 200 FR Relay, 50 FR
Jake Pocock ‘26, 1st Team All League 400 FR relay, 2nd Team All League 100 FR
Ty Pocock ‘28, 1st Team All League 200 IM, 100 BK
Ben Witmer ‘26, 1st Team All League: 200 Medley Relay, 400 FR relay, 500 FR
The season wrapped up with 5A state championships that took place May 8 and May 9. The team finished third to Cherry Creek and Regis Jesuit, with a cumulative point total of 246 points across all state events.
