GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Griffith Boys Wrestling team hits big goals in Griffith’s February highlights

What’s recently happened? 

The Griffith Boys Wrestling team qualified for the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association team state tournament on January 10, as they ranked number seven in 2A state. 

The team was defeated by Garrett High School with a final tally of 50-26, but Griffith is not disheartened by this loss. 

This was a big goal for Head Coach Chris Sojka and his coaching staff. 

“Me and my coaches have always had one goal: to have our team qualify for state. We finally did that,” said Sojka. 

Another goal the team had this year was to send wrestlers to the individual’s regional match, and they sent 12 wrestlers to the mats. 

Of those 12 was senior Zach Kenney, who has ranked as low as number five in Indiana high school wrestling.  

“I’m very happy with my performance this season. It’s probably the best I’ve had in my high school career,” said Kenney. 

Kenney has been known since last season around the state for his breakout, but built upon that this year. He has shown teams how he can win against whoever they put on the mat in front of him. 

The Griffith Boys Wrestling team is set to go to Regionals on February 6 at Portage High School, and is ready for whoever comes in their way. 

What’s coming up? 

On Saturday, February 7, the Griffith Band and Choir will be participating in the annual Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) competition in Crown Point. 

Junior Maxwell Schroader is one of the soloists competing, and this is only his second time going for a solo. 

“I’m a little nervous, but I’m mostly excited,” said Schroader. “I know what parts I can mess up on, but I just need to practice a little bit more and get my timing down pat.” 

Performing with her class is sophomore Shyla Dewey. As a class, they are excited for the opportunity they were given and hope they can take advantage of it. 

“It’s a fun experience getting to play with everyone and earn something for making it this far,” said Dewey. 

The Griffith Band isn’t the only music club performing at ISSMA. Griffith’s Choir is also competing in Crown Point. 

“We feel pretty good about ISSMA,” said sophomore Sydney Mathews. “Right now, we have two good pieces of music picked out. We just need to practice more with them.” 

Both programs feel good about ISSMA and are looking forward to competing and showing what they can do. 

Staff spotlight:

Jeff Swisher was the recipient of the 2024 Indiana History Teacher of the Year and has found a home at Griffith High School. 

Swisher has been a part of and has made many clubs in his short stint at Griffith so far. His most notable creation has been the Mock Trial competition team. 

“Last year we came in ninth out of 16 teams, which is pretty good for the first year of the program,” said Swisher. 

Last year was also the first time he led the team himself, as he was always an assistant coach when he worked at Hammond Morton High School. 

“It was a learning experience for me, too,” said Swisher. “I did a lot of work that I had never done in the past. Organizing it and just being in charge was all new to me.” 

Swisher was invited to represent Indiana in planning for the 250th birthday of America as well, which is happening the weekend of February 6. 

“There’s a rep from every state, and we’re putting together an education plan that schools are going to use to celebrate,” he said.

Swisher’s experience at Griffith has been much different than anything he’s ever had before. 

“This school is a lot smaller than any of the other schools I’ve worked at. You get to be a lot more personable with the students, which is pretty cool because then I get to see how they’re doing a couple of years after I had them,” said Swisher. 

He is very excited to continue his teaching journey at Griffith, and will continue being the head coach for the Mock Trial team. 

Student spotlight:

Jeremiah Fuentes is a senior at Griffith High School and is one of the main cast members in almost every play and musical the Drama Department has put on since he started in eighth grade. 

Because of how much he does with theatre, he is the State Thespian Officer (STO) for Griffith. 

“I go to meetings where we plan for Regionals for state competition. We plan most of that during our very large summer meeting,” said Fuentes. “During our winter meeting, we discussed updates to the STO application process.” 

As an STO, Fuentes introduces shows and helps make sure that Regionals run smoothly. 

Fuentes has many good memories with theatre, but nothing compares to when Griffith put on the musicals of “Grease” and “Beauty and the Beast”. 

“With Grease, we were very familial in a sense. Everyone had a ton of fun with everything. When it comes to Beauty and the Beast, I played my favorite part in Lefou, and I just had a lot of fun with that character,” said Fuentes. 

Fuentes is also the president of the National Honor Society, Student Council, vice president of Senior Class Council, and he is part of the Book Club. 

After high school, Fuentes wants to graduate from college with a degree in political science and work in the field of public services.