Cross Country Runs the Distance

By Cassidy Hays

Going into the league games, Mr. Milleson, the Cross Country coach says, that his team’s thoughts are that they are very confident. They try not to worry because they already know that they will be great.

Just in case anybody does not know what Cross Country is, it is a running sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. Coach Milleson mentions that “Sometimes, the runners are even referred to as harriers (dogs)."

He said he has two key players. It is hard to choose just one because he has a few. Those few are Thayne Krumbah and Caleb Marsh. He says “They are both great students/runners. They are always in front of everybody, and are very good at running.Everybody is always ready to go, and on time to practice.”

Thayne Krumbah told me that that the most difficult thing about being on the cross-country team is that “You run until you puke. There is no stopping, even if you are tired. Kids run so fast, and try so hard, that you can sprain your ankle, knee or other parts of your body. But the most dangerous thing is running until you puke or pass out, because there is absolutely no stopping.” Thayne works as hard as he can and runs miles and miles in his free time. He works at it, exercises, and tries his hardest. He is always ready and “can't wait to start.”

Thayne Krumbah continues,  “This year is going great so far. We have had our ups and downs, but that's okay. We are coming together as a fairly big team." There are 35 boys on the cross-country team. However, Coach Milleson seems to love it, and handle it quite nicely.

I enjoyed getting to talk to some of the players and getting to know about their team.

Soccer, The Top Kicks

By Austin Leonetti

Sports are always an amazing trait to define a school, but some teams aren’t as noticed as others. Mcloughlin High School’s Girls’ Junior Varsity soccer team is coached by Devin Holmes. The soccer team this year is undefeated, and in the words of Holmes, “We are getting better and better every day.”

Right now the J.V. soccer team has a record of 7-0 with their most recent victory being over Umatilla. The final score was 14-0 with our Mac-Hi girls coming out with the victory. The most dangerous threat to opposing schools is how well they work as a team and are always the first ones to the ball in the midfield.

There isn’t a specific player that is the “best” player on the team. Holmes says, “ All 13 players play a part in the game.” In their previous game they scored 6 goals, and each goal was scored by a different player.

League games are big for our school because there are only 4 teams in the Greater Oregon League. (Which is a 4-a League) The teams include Mcloughlin High School, Ontario High School, Baker High School, and La Grande High School. This season the J.V. girls have already had a stunning victory over La Grande High School. The final score of the game was 1-0 with Mac-Hi pulling ahead in an undefeated season.

The girls mentally prepare for all games the same whether it is going to be a league game, or pre-season game. The win over La Grande was a surprise to Coach Holmes, because that was the first victory over La Grande since he has been the Junior Varsity head coach.

Why The First TØP Album Is My Favorite

By Nayeli Anahi Ruiz

I’m sure most of you have heard of twenty one pilots what with their hits that come on the radio too much. However, most of you have only heard those three songs, while I have listened to their entire discography. Personally, their first self-titled album is my favorite.

First off, it’s incredibly sad, which I guess can be quite relatable to a lot of  people in this school. With themes such as anxiety, death, depression, and hopelessness, it gives off those vibes that just draw you to it. These subjects show up in all four of their albums, but it is the most present in their 2009 album.

Secondly, the lyrics are beautifully metaphorical. Whether you can read between the lines and understand them or not, they baffle you. The complex lyrics make you really think about them and how they relate to you. They are never straightforward so the songs meanings are always up for interpretation. I believe that’s why so many people have taken comfort in their lyrics, and why so many people like twenty one pilots, especially the first album.

All in all, I just really love this album. I really love this band actually. If you haven’t already, you should definitely listen to twenty one pilots.

Mrs. Burnham: A lady of Art

By: Abby Richwine

Lynne Burnham is the new art teacher here at Mcloughlin High School. She wasn’t always planning to be an art teacher, instead she went to Shoreline College and earned an associate’s degree in 1991 for Graphic Design.

Later, she decided to attend Boise State University for BA in Art Education in 2004 and went on to earn a master’s degree in educational tec. Her first teaching job was at Vallivue High School District near Boise. After working at Vallivue, she decided to move again, to Walla Walla, teaching art to home-schooled kids. Now that she’s at Mac-Hi, her favorite part of teaching here is bonding with the students and helping them reach their full potential.

Her students talk about how she calls the classroom “Their classroom” and how excited she is to become close to each and every one of them. One of her students, Maddie Edwards says, “She is a very talented and creative person.” Mrs. Burnham loves to help others when needed and works to understand her students. She even puts on her students’ taste in music like Justin Bieber, despite what she would rather be listening to, such as country.


She truly loves to help them work hard and have fun drawing hands and expressing lines! But it’s not just her students she loves; she also has a young kitten at home named Tiger, AKA: kitty-kitty, fat cat. She also has a big personality to go along with her big heart.“I would jump onto a plane to New Zealand. I’ve always been fascinated by the beauty in their mountains and culture.”


Her favorite painting is Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh. She spoke about the story and attraction of the painting draws her to love his work. The art speaks to her like it always has.“I started drawing at a young age. But then I grew to enjoy many other forms.” Her favorites are watercolor, painting, and sculptures. When she is not concentrating on art, her hobbies include photography, gardening, and altered art paintings and books.

One of her students, Maddie Edwards said “She is a talented and creative person.” Many of her other students have said the same, and told about how she calls the classroom, their classroom, and that the supplies are their supplies. She is overall a very kind, and amazing person.

Ms Roe: Lady of Nature.

By Sofia Oliva

A young lady who grew up in Kodiak, Alaska, now teaches geometry here at Mac-Hi. Roe has 6 periods of geometry, and she likes it.The idea of being able to help someone else understand something, going through the process herself to figure out how she can word it for a student to understand her teaching, is an idea she likes. This is her 1st year being a full time teacher. She’s had 2 terms of being a teacher's assistant in college , but never an actual full time job, like she has this year. Roe doesn't only have a degree in math, she also has a degree in art. Nothing like serious art, she just likes to have fun with drawing and artistic activities. Never did she want to attend college, but her other told her she at least had to go for 1 term and if she didn’t like it she could get out of it, but during her 1st term there she ended up liking and staying for about 5 more years at Eastern Oregon. In the future she still see’s herself teaching here, since she doesn't really have big plans for her future, however she likes the community, “It’s very welcoming”, she said. Still finishing her masters degree, she found Mac-Hi because her adviser emailed her and mentioned that they were looking for a math teacher, so she took a shot at applying, and was very excited to hear that she got the job. 1st year teaching, means she doesn’t jace very much free time on her hand, although she loves running, hiking and being outside enjoying nature. Up where she grew up in Kodiak, she said, “It’s very beautiful in late spring early summer, since it’s so green, and up in Anchorage, in late fall at the national park, it’s so gorgeous, just seeing all the colorful leaves of fall.” An interesting fact about het is during a 12 hour race, she ran and completed 50 miles, last year in 2015, though after that she mentioned that it hurt for about a week to walk, since she never trained to run that much and that long, but she still liked it. “Always prepare for something before you do it”.

Mr. Wilks - A man of many talents

By: Sofia Oliva

You might know Mr. Wilks as an English teacher, who enjoys reading,

writing fiction, and poetry, who likes to share, but reading and teaching isn’t all that he does. Wilks has many hobbies that he does in his free time such as art, writing, reading (of course), poetry, bonsai, building custom motorcycles, skiing, and fishing. He’s even published one of his poetries.

He and wife have a son who graduated from the Criminal Justice at Eastern Washington University and, is a current rodeo bull rider, and a 13 year old daughter who attends Pioneer Middle School in Walla Walla, that plays soccer and does cross country. They seem like a pretty busy family: however, they still have time to care for their pets. He has four cats, 4 quarter horses, two dogs, 3 rabbits and about 6 fish.

Wilks grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, attended Lexington Missouri High School, and after his high school years, he went to the University of Montana, Texas A&M University, and Walla Walla University. If you want to know about any state in the U.S, ask Mr. Wilks. Why? He mentioned that he has visited every state! Not only that he has also gone to Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica, he has lived in 6 different states, and comes from a military family. “The Grand Canyon, 4 Corner Areas, and the British Columbia were the most beautiful places I have visited.” Mr. Wilks said.

How did a guy like him who’s been in quite a few places, find McLoughlin? He mentioned that he lives nearby the Walla Walla County and he has participated in numerous sporting events in the area. He’s only going onto his 2nd year of teaching, his first being at College Place Sager Middle School, and his 2nd year is now here at Mac-Hi. He believes it's a chance to try be a positive influence in young people’s lives, so that’s why he enjoys teaching.

Homecoming Week

By Mckenna Stallings and Emma Scott

Homecoming was an amazing week. Way to show your school spirit!! Even though every class did an amazing job, it was the juniors that won in the end. Hall decorating was so much fun. Personally, I think that the seniors did the best. However, to all of Mac-High, I congratulate you on a job well done on dressing up. I saw some whoopie cushions….. Amazing! For the penny wars, I have to say that was very intense. Again, congrats seniors! Now I know some of you may not want to talk about the game. The homecoming game was against La Grande with an amazing start of a touchdown from Mac-High automatically. At half-time the King and Queen were announced. Congrats to Mallory Copeland and Humberto Villagomez. The game kept going and we were at 7-0. Still looking good. However, La Grande sadly beat us, 20-68. Keep going guys. Stay strong! We love you. And to everyone else, keep having Pioneer Grit!