What’s recently happened?
Michigan City High School (MCHS) recently held its annual Winter Pep Rally. This pep session was the culmination of a week full of spirit days. Later this week, the winner of the spirit festivities will be announced,
In athletics, the winter season is coming to a close, and most teams are entering their postseason.
Lady Wolves Basketball faced off against the South Bend John Adams High School Eagles and emerged victorious in their initial bracket.
MCHS Girls Swimming and Diving had its Sectional finals on Saturday, February 8. Matisse Guhlstorf placed sixth in the finals for the 50 yard freestyle. In diving, Makenna Nowatzke placed 11th and finished the season with a personal best score.
MCHS Wrestling recently concluded its season. The team had five individuals who advanced past the Sectional and onto the Regional: Younha Seppyes, Mya Major, Dezmon Howard, Lucas Nelson, and Charlie Barnes.
MCHS Student Government recently traveled to Springfield Elementary School where Treasurer Makenna Nowatzke and Sponsor Ashley Koza presented the coveted Michigan City Area Schools (MCAS) Canned Food Drive trophy to the Springfield National Junior Honor Society.
What’s coming up?
MCHS looks forward to hosting Eighth Grade Night: Wolfpack Roundup on February 18. This is an opportunity for eighth graders to visit MCHS and see all that the Wolves have to offer.
“This is a great opportunity for eighth grade students and their families including those in public, private, charter, and homeschool settings to explore everything MCHS has to offer,” said Superintendent Dr. Wendel McCollum.
On April 17, The A.K. Smith Career Center is hosting a Future Careers Expo to allow students to investigate different career fields and practice career skills. The morning sessions run from 7:45 - 9:25 a.m., and the afternoon sessions run from 11:45 to 2 p.m.
Staff spotlight:
Bruce Powalski has been coaching MCHS Diving for a little more than 20 years.
Born and raised in Michigan City, Powalski attended Elston High School, where he was a member of the swim and tennis teams. Powalski left Michigan City from 1974 to 1988 to travel the United States.
Notably, Powalski was not on the dive team in high school; Elston didn’t have one.
“I was a daredevil. I used to dive off the catwalk in Michigan City. The swim team at the time swam at the old YMCA, which only had ceilings about eight feet high. They had no divers, but I used to dive at a dive camp in Indianapolis every summer from the time I was 10,” Powalski said.
Powalski is always telling his team that he eats, sleeps, and dreams diving, but a lesser known fact is that he is also an avid hiker.
“I love to hike. My favorite place is the National Dunes,” Powalski said.
Powalski has coached all sorts of divers over his years – school record holders, Sectional champs, and State-qualifying divers all the same. This year, his boys team takes on Sectionals at the Valparaiso Aquatics Center in February.
Student spotlight:
For MCHS golf, Natalie White is a household name. A Regional qualifier and a three-year varsity first card, White has been rolling a golf ball around longer than she’s been tying her own shoes.
“I started playing competitively in middle school with a little PGA Junior League, but I was around the MCHS Girls Golf team from the time I was in kindergarten because my dad was coaching. Once it got to the point where I was a little older – I think in sixth grade – my dad started planning my high school golf season,” White said.
When fall of her freshman year rolled around, White was more than ready to get started.
“My freshman year, it was really scary. I was on the varsity team, and I was the only freshman. Then, Emily Blank came along, and I had someone else,” White said.
Blank was the second varsity card her senior year, and she joined White on the golf team their sophomore year.
“When I first joined the team, Natalie was one of the first people I became friends with. With me never really playing any golf before, she helped me get my groove going,” Blank said.
After their seasons together on the golf team, they wanted to extend the fun into one more season. Unfortunately, because alpine golfing has yet to take off as a winter sport, Blank and White joined the next best thing: diving.
“I wanted to do something in the winter, and half the golf team was joining or already on the team, so it just happened,” White said.
White acts as the MCHS Diving manager, a role she took on for the first time as a senior. White has never been a manager before, but her divers are giving rave reviews.
“Natalie is a great person and really fun to be around. I’m glad she’s our manager because she just makes it fun. It took me a minute to get comfortable with Natalie because I felt like she knew everyone else from golf and I just came out of nowhere, but when I started talking to her, I realized how great she was,” Bella Serrano, a freshman diver, said.
Booked and busy all three athletic seasons, White is also a doubles player on the tennis team.
“Tennis is kind of my side gig. I like that I don’t have any big plans, other than to have a fun season,” White said.
As a senior, White is looking towards her future.
“I’m looking forward to graduating, choosing a college, and meeting new people,” White said.
