Sports Writing
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Weighing the gains, glories of wrestling
Instead of writing a traditional team feature on the team's achievements and connections, I wanted to focus on a trait that made this sport very unique: dieting. Unlike other IHSA sports, wrestling is based on weight class, so a topic that is talked about is how athletes aim to cut weight during their season to improve their chances at winning. But it wasn't until I wrote this story that I saw a feature about this topic.
*This story originally ran in the print edition
Varsity girls' XC overcomes negative mental barriers
For this team feature, I found a unique angle of how much mental health impacts these athletes' physical performance. In cross country, athletes need to rely on their positivity and determination to keep going.
*This story originally ran in the print edition
*This story originally ran in the print edition
Dance team makes memories during state run
After the competitive dance team qualified for state, we had to get coverage of the news quickly. I hit the ground running with less than 48 hours left to sew together a story commemorating their achievement so that it could make it into the print edition before it had to be sent to the printer. Being flexible and committed is key to being a news reporter; situations change, and we must be timely.