What’s recently happened?
La Porte High School (LPHS) is proud to have such successful sports teams and students. On October 27, LPHS Girls Volleyball, Boys Cross Country, and Faith Spain had sendoffs. They had a joint sendoff to celebrate their accomplishments as a whole community.
Volleyball girls were Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC), Sectional, and Regional champions. Semi-state is one of the biggest accomplishments La Porte Volleyball has attained in a long time. The team had high hopes going into the game but ended up losing to current State champions Hamilton Southeastern High School.
Though it is a sad end to the season, many records and accomplishments were completed as a team. Seniors Isabel Freese, Ava Holtz, Bella Meier, and Emalee Maesch received All-District and All-Conference honors. Holtz was recognized as the MVP of the DAC as well.
Meier had an impressive number of assists, leading the team with a total of 1054. Freese led the team in digs with 548. Maesch led the team in kills with 354 for the season. Kate Buckley, who is leading the DAC, guided the team in aces with 106. Madison Dhoore and Elizabeth Anglin also got shoutouts for being key parts to the team in the season.
“It was such a great end to my volleyball career in high school with my best friends. I was so proud of the way we showed up and competed with the best team we’ve seen all season. I think we played very well and couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Holtz said.
On the other side, Spain had an incredible season and race at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. Spain set a new personal best, dropping 36 seconds with a time of 18:51. She was predicted to place 107th and ended up placing 47th.
“I wasn’t even in control of my legs, it felt like. I would tell myself I could slow down, but my legs just kept going,” Spain said.
The boys team ran before the girls, so the course was in pristine condition. The top seven La Porte boy runners were Seniors Brayden Sobecki and Preston Peterson, Juniors Hunter Quadlin, Charles Tonagel, Liam Lilly, and Freshmen Jack Miscowicz and Evan Holmes.
The team had multiple personal records, and the top five boys – Sobecki, Peterson, Tonagel, Lilly, and Quadlin – all had times under 17:00. They ended up placing 16th, and Sobecki has an honorable mention coming in 70th place overall.
They are continuing to train for RunningLane in Alabama on December 2.
What’s coming up?
Open to LPHS students and community members is an upcoming community poetry night. Meeting at Books and Whimsy (516 Lincolnway) at 6 p.m. on November 17, all who want to join are open to the stage to share their pieces.
There are currently 12 student readers, though there is expected to be 15 or more readers in total.
This event is free of charge and costs nothing to submit a piece. Allen Street Roasters will be on hand selling their artisan beverages as well.
For more information, contact Ben Pitts at bpitts6@gmail.com.
Staff spotlight:
Counseling Assistant Dana Surowiec is a ray of sunshine at LPHS. She started elementary school in Portage, Ind. and moved to La Porte in third grade. She ended up going back to Portage her freshman year and graduating from that city’s high school.
After graduating, Surowiec attended Ivy Tech Community College for medical assistance. She was a certified medical assistant for a urology office in Valparaiso, Ind., for four years. She worked for a group of three doctors until they went their separate ways. Surowiec became a stay-at-home mom until 2012 when she started working for LPHS.
As a counseling assistant, Surowiec assists the counselors whenever they need, enrolling and withdrawing students, keeping track of records and transcripts, and much more. She is also a co-leader of Girl Reserves with Meredithe Carnes.
Outside of work, Surowiec loves spending time with her family and friends, reading, and crocheting. One of her favorite places in the world is in her recliner reading a book. She is a homebody at heart and is happy at home with a hot tea. Other than being at home, she can be found on her boat or camping.
Suroweic is always laughing and smiling and is all around a bundle of joy.
“If I had super power, I would have super speed. Not to be fast as a runner but to be fast at knocking out my chores, like cleaning my house, doing yard work, paying bills and grocery shopping. If I could get that stuff done super speedy, I would have more time to do other things that don't take up my entire weekend,” Suroweic said.
Student spotlight:
Star Athlete and Student Faith Spain is excelling on the course and off. Spain is a 4.0 GPA student who has a passion for diving into her faith, running, and learning French.
She is involved in cross country, track, and Girl Reserves. She is busy year-round but always leaves a little time for herself.
Her happy places are church, her front yard, or anywhere with her Goldendoodle, Millie. Spain loves going to Bible studies with her friends and family as well.
“My motivation everyday is knowing I have a purpose and a mission through Him. I feel that I have something to accomplish here on Earth,” Spain said.
Though Spain doesn’t know exactly what she wants to do when she is older, she is currently looking into human services. She loves working with people and being able to help them in any way she can.