What’s recently happened?
Even though school was let out just under a month ago, spring sports were still in full swing. Notably, New Prairie High School Softball (NPSB) could not be stopped. During the team’s regular conference season, NPSB won nine out of 11 games, placing third in the Northern Indiana Conference (NIC). NPHS is classified as a 3A school, meaning that there are fewer than 1,000 students in the high school. Each division has its own sectional, regional, semi-state, and state playoffs and championships. In the 3A division, NPSB earned sectional, regional, and semi-state championship titles.
For the first time since 2006, the NPSB team was going to state. Even though the school has had multiple teams go to state, all have fallen short. Despite not having a winning history, NPSB was confident and worked hard. Members throughout the community were expressing their hope and excitement for the team through social media.
Abby Robakowski, a recent state home-run record breaker with 23 home runs in one season and a finalist for Miss Softball, claims it all feels like a dream to her.
“All of the girls have worked really hard to get where we are, not just physically but mentally as well. I am incredibly proud of everyone and forever grateful to have been a leader and a captain on this amazing team,” said Robakowski.
On Friday, June 9, NPSB won the class 3A state championship, 4-2 against Tri-West Hendricks.
Senior Makayla Collins says going to state was very personal to her. The entire team was emotional on the field after the winning out and gathered in a pile around each other in excitement. NPSB team knocked it out of the park and its community is extremely proud of the team and its accomplishments.
What’s coming up?
One of the biggest organizations in the New Prairie Middle and High School (NPHS) communities is Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). HOSA is designed for anyone interested in working in the medical field and gives students the opportunity to be hands-on in different projects regarding an array of jobs. Later this June, select members of New Prairie HOSA will be traveling to Dallas, Texas to compete in the International Leadership Conference (ILC).
Recent graduate Lauren Angeles had been in HOSA for three years and says that it gave her a direction to where her future would go and what her career would be. At ILC, Angeles and her project partner, junior Kayla Dang, will be competing in an event called “Mental Health Promotion.” They will be showcasing their social media account, @feedingyourmind_np, about the disparities and awareness about eating disorders in the community. The pair have been working on this project for the past year and hope to place well in the competition.
“If being a part of HOSA has taught me anything, it would, without a doubt, be to not be afraid to step outside your comfort zone,” Angeles said. “As cliche as that may sound, I feel like no matter the immediate outcome, you will always be pleasantly surprised by the prevalence of success. Your failures help you to learn, and push you to be a better version of yourself. The more failures you encounter, the more likely you are to be quickly accompanied by that of success. The success you earn will help you to gain your confidence to take even further steps forward towards your goals. Even if you fail after that, the cycle repeats itself over and over again.”
Senior Myles Aerts is also traveling to Dallas to compete in “Clinical Specialty,” where he had to shadow a professional in his selected area of interest. Aerts shadowed an anesthesiologist and learned how to place a laryngeal mask.
“It’s been a good experience; I’ve learned about a lot of different professions and HOSA has given me the opportunity to visit a hospital where I was able to see lots of different types of surgeries,” Aerts said.
ILC is considered a great opportunity to seek potential scholarships, as well as experience in the medical field but also providing leadership and soft skills for future employment. The community and the rest of NPHS wishes the best of luck to those competing in ILC!
Community member spotlight:
Lillian Zelasko has been a conversation topic in the community of New Carlisle constantly throughout her entire high school career. Zelasko started running after discovering the club “Girls on the Run,” a club based on empowerment in young girls through running, in elementary school. Cross country and track are not offered competitively until the sixth grade, at the middle school. Zelasko joined both teams in their respective seasons, however, she did not start taking the sports seriously until eighth grade.
Apart from her passion for her sports, Zelasko is an active member of her community. Not only is she a part of the National Honor Society, but Zelasko has been a part of 4-H for the past 10 years, showing ponies and goats. Zelasko began high school in 2018 and joined the cross country team. Despite having a successful season in the fall, she was not able to participate in track and field in the spring due to COVID-19.
“The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 made it difficult to truly compete,” she said. “The uncertainty of the virus made it difficult to hold the races how we normally would. While I fortunately only experienced small injuries in high school, it was always hard to mentally persevere through the hardship of being unable to train.”
In her sophomore year, NPHS was in a hybrid schedule, meaning that sports were able to continue almost as they used to with split time in between students and the precautions for health safety in place. Zelasko has credited her coaches with pushing her with challenging but helpful instructions and guidance to where she is today with her success.
“My coaches have provided me with workouts that challenge me while also being careful about how much mileage and volume we are doing to keep me healthy and performing to my full potential,” Zelasko said.
In her four years of cross country and track, Zelasko has individually won the NIC Conference, Sectional, Regional, and Semi-State. This past month she also went to the State Finals, where she placed ninth overall. On top of her success in school athletics, Zelasko also was invited to run at the Mideast Cross Country Championship, where she placed third.
Now that Zelasko has graduated, she plans on attending Western Michigan University where she is continuing her running career while majoring in Biomedical Sciences with the ultimate goal of becoming a Physician’s Assistant.
“I want to thank my mom and dad for igniting my passion for running in me and for always believing in me,” Zelasko said. “I would not be the athlete I am today if it were not for their constant love and support.”
There is no doubt that the members of NPHS and community members of New Carlisle are excited to see where Zelasko’s future takes her and will continue to support her through these years to come.