FCA- Not just for Athletes 
Written by Hope Walters & Laurelai Cavanaugh - Montgomery

CHS FCA
CHS Students praying during FCA in the gym before school.
Image taken by Chloe Dunn 
Fellowship of Christian Athletes is an exceptional program that has built an atmosphere where Citrus High school students come together through student worship, as well as fellowship. Every Wednesday students meet in the CHS gym, at 7:30 to learn about the word of God. Not only will you find athletes here, but a large majority of non-athletes also participate in this special opportunity.
Senior Hailey Kell, who is a non-athlete, is extremely involved in FCA, as well as Choir, and Drama states, “It helps students know they are not alone, and gives them a place to feel safe and to spread the word of God.”

 

An active FCA leader, Youth Pastor Jordan from, Eden Baptist church of Brooksville FL, travels every Wednesday to CHS to lead in the fellowship. Jordan’s participation in FCA has inspired the program to migrate to Hernando High School as well! “The main purpose is to involve any Christians not just Christian athletes,” says Jordan. With this club you can feel safe knowing that there are people around you going through the same things and are able to overcome struggles through the outreach.”

The before-school FCA program is giving students the opportunity to learn about the word of God when getting to church on weekends isn’t always an option. Senior Ashley Trochez says, “FCA is a faith related club which allows students to serve themselves and the community. This club helps students know they are not alone, and everyone is here together to help you feel safe and welcomed.”
 




Brushstrokes of Ambition: The Artistic Pursuits of a Student

 

Sketch of student
Captions: Soper created this self-portrait as an assignment for LSA (Photo: Soper).

Sketch of a panther

Soper’s design for the Raiders program t-shirts (Photo: Soper). 
  Amanda Streight, Student Writer - Nikkola Soper, a Lecanto High School [LHS] senior in the Lecanto School of Arts [LSA], is an outstanding student who has accomplished many goals during her lifetime and has pursued art as her main passion.

Soper has been practicing art since she was a young child and her years of practice have paid off.

“I have been doing art since I could properly hold a pencil. I remember seriously pursuing art and design in the sixth grade when I won an award for best in show in our school’s art show,” said Soper.

Soper’s talents in art are not limited to pencil drawing. She practices 2D art, 3D art, and enjoys working with paper mâché as well as experiential temporary art.

“My favorite art piece that I have ever made was a performance piece called ‘Take over,’ where I sculpted a paper mâché head of a smiley face, wore it around downtown, and then videotaped myself destroying it. ‘Take Over’ is my favorite piece because it helped me realize that everything in my life is temporary, my art, my emotions, everything can easily be changed or altered,” said Soper. 

Everyone faces different challenges along their journey as they work towards their dreams.

“A big challenge I’ve faced is developing a personal style. I’ve always drawn in multiple art styles so drawing in a consistent style has always been a struggle for me,” said Soper.

This school year, she has an incredible opportunity to be able to paint a mural for our school’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps [ROTC].

“I am doing this mural solely because of how many of my peers are in that program. My grandfather and some of my friends were in the Army, so it only felt right to give back to a program that has helped so many people I care about,” said Soper.

There are different ways to develop ideas for art; some come from the heart, inspiration or even the materials you have to work with. 

“I started by taking their crest and working my design around that, then deciding on doing their Raiders’ shirt logo to commemorate the Raiders program. All my friends who are in ROTC helped give me this idea of the Panther holding the flames in its mouth with scratches behind it,” said Soper.



Pirates Locked In

Written by Felicity Blake and Morgan Gibson

With back-to-back wins for the Crystal River High School Pirates the last two swim meets, swimmers are feeling the tension creeping up to this past Thursday’s meet against Nature Coast Tech. “I knew the girls were going to have a really tight meet. It was gonna be a close meet for both boys and girls, and I was hopeful that they would swim well and win,” said coach Michelle Dickemann.

Both boys and girls won the swim meet this past Thursday against Nature Coast Tech, with boys scoring 102 to 64, and girls scoring 88 to 80. One of the newest additions to the CRHS Swim and Dive Team, junior Cruz Helmstetter won both the 200 individual medley and the 500 free, along with supporting his teammates with scoring first in the boys 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay.

Another high-point scorer for the boys was senior Justin Rieck, scoring first in both the 200 free, along with a first place finish in the 100 backstroke. 

Coming back to this season with hopes to make a splash in 2A State Finals, 2022 Swimmer of the Year finalist sophomore Morgan “Silva” Gibson who won both the 100 freestyle and the 200. She also anchored a win for the girls in the 400 free relay and placed second in the girls 200 free relay.

Making an impact on the girls score was senior Emma Messer, scoring points in the 50 free with a time of 32.28, along with helping the girls score second place in the 200 free relay. Even though Messer has only had two years of competitive swimming in high school, she is sure to be an asset in many future wins for the Crystal River Pirates.

Cruz Rieck Gibson Messer
Cruz Helmstetter  Justin Rieck Morgan “Silva” Gibson Emma Messer