That ponytail belongs to welding teacher Kristie Heckendorf.

Heckendorf has been an influential member of the BRFHS staff for the past two years. She has really liked the atmosphere.

“My favorite thing about BRFHS is the students and staff,” said Heckendorf. “The staff is truly here for the students.”

She made a lasting impact on co-workers and students alike. “[Ms. Heckendorf] is someone who works really hard and is dedicated to her students,” said tech ed teacher Steve Nyman. “She is very passionate about her work.”

Nyman encouraged Heckendorf to be a part of the SkillsUSA program through the tech ed department. Through this, she became one of the advisers of Super Millage Vehicle (SMV) club. She has been able to closely mentor the kids in the club.

Students have enjoyed having Heckendorf as a teacher for many reasons. “She is always in a good mood,” said Junior Roger Stahl. “She is a very imformative teacher, and she is a really pleasant person to be around.”

Heckendorf is a good-hearted person that is looking to help the students in any way possible. “I have gone about setting up to have transcribed credit for the metals classes starting in the fall of 2011 through WTC,” said Heckendorf.

 Although she will be spending her summer welding, it will be a little bit different that the school setting that she is found in during the fall, winter and spring months. “[This summer] I will be training an artist how to weld,” said Heckendorf.

She is excited to be able to spend some more quality time with her family with her extra time.  Although she has not found another teaching job, yet, she keeps a positive attitude throughout the whole process. “Things happen when they are meant to be,” said Heckendorf.

Senior Foreign exchange student Nina Jansing runs the one mile race during a home track meet.

Running.  Some people live by it and others despise it.  Running is one of the best ways to lose weight and burn off those extra calories.  Running has many more benefits than just the health ones.

Running is a very cost effective form of exercise.  All that is really needed is a pair of shoes (and usually you would need shoes to do any type of exercise).  Also, running is a sport that is practiced around the world.  Senior foreign exchange student Xenia Griss is a long distance runner on the track team this spring.  Griss is able to experience what competitive running is like here in America.

“We don’t have track at our school,” said Griss who is staying with freshman Bryce Kopp, who is also a long distance runner.  “People run on their own, and there are running clubs.”

Griss has been enjoying the team aspect of track and she has also enjoyed Coach and Social Studies teacher Paul Rykken’s workouts.

When many students hear the word running, they often think of Rykken.  Many students may think that his love of running started when he was young, but this was not the case.

“I was a die-hard gym rat basketball player and the cross country coach literally dragged me out of the hallway one day and told me that if I came out for cross country he would let me and my buddies get in the gym after our workouts to shoot,” said Rykken, who has been running for 37 years–since he started cross country.

While many people start their running careers in middle or high school, don’t think that it is too late for you to start.  Eighth grade teacher Karen DeBerg and high school guidance counselor Sue Leadholm both started running in college for the same reason: to stay in shape.

“I was a sprinter in high school and didn’t really enjoy long distance running.  As a freshman in college I was really worried about gaining weight, especially since I did three sports in high school,” said DeBerg, who has run a total of nine marathons so far.

Leadholm also enjoys running for the way that it makes her feel afterward.

“(Running) always makes me feel less stressed,”  said Leadholm.  “When I run after school, all of the stress of the day seems to melt away.”

Deberg agrees entirely.

“The nights that I do not run after school, I feel tired and listless,” said DeBerg.

Running is a great way to cope with tough times in your life.

“Running helped me deal with the mourning of the death of my father,” said DeBerg.

Leadholm also used running to honor a loved one.

“When Tom’s mother died unexpectedly, I made a goal of running a half marathon in her honor.  That kept me motivated,” said Leadholm.

Running can also help solve other everyday problems in life.

“I have devised many of my best lectures while running,” said Rykken.

Leadholm and DeBerg both agree that one of the greatest benefits of running is the friendships that are formed.  It is great to be able to encourage each other and experience the form of exercise together.  This is the case for juniors Brandon Skelding and another long distance runner.  Both are teammates in cross country and track.  Both like the fact that it helps you stay in shape.

“All of the endorphins make me feel good,” said Skelding who is leading the boys team in mileage for the Viva Haiti project that the track team is participating in.

The three-time first-team all-conference runner doesn’t always feel the same way when he is running, but the end result is the same for both people.

“Sometimes running is not very pleasant, but the after effect makes you proud of what you accomplished,” said the state-qualifying cross country runner.

Running presents many great aspects to a healthy lifestyle.  Rykken has described it as his “positive addiction.”

“If kids develop a running habit, it is something that can benefit them for years,” said Rykken.

BRFHS athletic teams were very busy this weekend, as three teams competed on Saturday.

The baseball team hosted the conference tournament at Halverson field while the golf team traveled to Drugans in Holmen for their conference tournament. The conference tournament is usually the last competition before tournament time, but this year there is one more conference golf match that on May 17 at Fox Hollow.

The track team ran, jumped, threw and vaulted in the conference meet in Westby on Saturday. Finishes at the conference track meet determine the athletes’ standings in conference.

One athlete earned first team all-conference the the 1600, 800, and 3200 meter runs, while the following tracksters finished with second team all-conference honors:  Adam Decorah,  triple jump; Joel Millis, Jordan Millis, Alec Erlandson and Dustin Dittner, 4×200 relay; Fawn Jessie,  triple jump; Morgan Stittleburg,  shot put, Cassi Turner,  discus; and Robert Gerzsik, Joel Millis, Alec Erlandson and Dustin Dittner, 4X100 relay.

The 4×800 relay team of  Wehonna Toth, Hannah Dvorak, Katie Dvorak and Tennant as well as Adam Nichols at the  110 and 300 meter hurdles all earned honorable mention all-conference.

Editor’s note: The omission of the first team all-conference athlete’s name was intentional to comply with the student’s wishes as expressed on the SD of Black River Falls acceptable use form.

Senior Tyler Torkleson serves as teammate sophmore Sam Ripp watches.

The tennis team is similar to years past; lots of new, younger players and few seasoned veterans. One difference from the last few years is the lineup of where people are playing. Two of the doubles teams are made up solely of seniors; the only four seniors on the team Sidney Mahan, Tyler Torkleson, Ryan Whaley and Bronson Stein.

Most of the senior boys knew that they wanted to play doubles before the season started.

“I had played doubles in years past and found that it was more enjoyable,” said Stein who chose to play doubles instead of singles. “There is more of a chance to be a team player.”

Seniors Sidney Mahan and Tyler Torkleson will be the number one doubles team. Both of the boys planned on being partners because they had such a successful end to the season last year by making it to state.

Since three of the boys knew that they were playing doubles prior to the season, there was one senior that wasn’t exactly sure where he would be playing until the season actually started.

“I played singles my sophomore and junior years,” said Whaley. Whaley stepped in to fill the spot of one of the doubles players that graduated early.

A few more seniors were expected to play, but some graduated early, others played different spring sports and some decided not to play at all.

The small number of upperclassmen is pretty normal. Since the seniors have been in high school, there have only been two to four seniors on the team (including foreign exchange students). But in years prior, there were close to 10 senior boys some years. So in the past, the doubles and singles positions were split up between upperclassmen and underclassmen more.

“All of the single players are very young,” said Whaley. “Many of them are coming off JV and straight to varsity.”

All of the boys agree that experience is a valuable tool in playing tennis.

“I have improved so much more (since last year) and have been winning more,” said Stein, who has been playing tennis for two years.

Many players start playing tennis in high school because it was not offered at the middle school as a sport. (now it is offered in the spring to 7th and 8th graders) All of the boys (with the exception of Mahan) joined sophomore year. The three boys joined all for the same reason. Mahan convinced them to play, as he tried to recruit more players.

Mahan, on the other hand, had other reasons for joining tennis.

“Track was too much running, so I decided to join tennis,” said Mahan.

Mole day is a special day in chemistry classes around the United States.  Usually it is celebrated on October 23 from 6:02 on the morning to 6:02 at night.   The date and time is represented by Avogadro’s number (6.02 x 10^23) a measuring unit used in chemistry.  Since the spring semester chemistry class is not in session during October,  they celebrated the special day during April 9.

Three sophomore girls wanted cut that statistic to zero and open students’ eyes to the dangers of drinking and driving. Brittany Gacek, Melissa Mach and Jessica Helm started planning a drunk driving mock crash for their FCCLA project last fall. The girls became interested in this type of project when they started to do more research on what type of project they should do.

“We found that a lot of the stats were mind-blowing,” said Gacek. “We found out that 52% of car crashes were drinking related.”

The team made sure to properly time the crash so that it would have the greatest impact on the students.

“They (the girls) chose to do it around prom and graduation because some people don’t make the best decisions,” said FCCLA adviser Sarah Halverson. “We also make sure to show it every few years, so that a bigger impact.”

The organization and planning of the project was critical to the success.

“There were lots of groups that were volunteering their time, so we had to coordinate around their schedules,” said Halverson. Some of the many groups that were involved included: the police, EMTs, fire department, Highway 54 Towing and many others. Dispatch was also called, so that they were aware that it was just a drill.

The victims of the crash were not just anybody, they were high school students. The students were used to help others see the realities of the situation at hand.

“We felt that by using fellow students, it might have a bigger impact on the people viewing it,” said Mach.

FCCLA served up a timely reminder about the realities of drunk driving. Click on an image below to load a slideshow of photos.  Using your mouse, you can click at the side of each picture to move to the next image.

Softball and Baseball started on March 22. Softball will start off the competitive season on March 30th with a scrimmage at Neilsville. Baseball has its first game on April 1st in Black River Falls against Holmen.

Golf starts on Monday the 29th, talk to Coach Jensen or Coach Fendt if you are interested in joining.

Remember that the Rotary athletic banquet is on Monday March 29th. Tickets for athletes are free and can be picked up in the office. Extra tickets can also be purchased in the office. Seniors athletes who do not attend will not recieve their athletic plaque.

Remember to check the pawprint online to see results from sporting events.

Boys:
1st place: 4 x 8 meter relay 9:06.79
1st place: 55 meter hurdles 8.27 Adam Nichols
3rd place: 55 meter hurdles 9.25 Robert Gerzsik
1st place: 1000 meter run 2:52.08 William Peasley
1st place: 400 meter run 54.93 Joey Riedel
3rd place: 400 meter run 56.43 Bryan Smetana
2nd place: 200 meter dash 25.65 Alec Erlandson
3rd place: 200 meter dash 25.68 Jordan Millis
3rd place: 4 x 200 meter relay 1:42.30
3rd place: 4 x 4 meter relay 3:56.59
2nd place: long jump 18-06.75 Joey Riedel
1st place: triple jump 39-00.00 Robert Gerzsik
2nd place: triple jump 38-05.50 Jordan Millis
2nd place: shot put 43-06.00 Dalton Ebert

Girls:
3rd place: 4 x 8 meter relay 11:23.70
2nd place: 55 meter dash 7.98 Fawn Jessie
3rd place: 55 meter dash 8.11 Jessie Bere
1st place: 600 meter run 1:53.96 Hannah Dvorak
3rd place: 200 meter dash 29.65 Fawn Jessie
3rd place: 4 x 4 meter relay 4:56.21
2nd place: long jump 14-09.75 Fawn Jessie
1st place: triple jump 31-10.00 Fawn Jessie
2nd place: triple jump 29-01.00 Kelsey Peterson
1st place: shot put 31-03.00 Morgan Stittleburg
2nd place: shot put 30-00.00 Cassi Turner

The next action for the track team is on April 6 in GET at 4:15.

Boys:
3rd place: 4×800 relay 9:15.25
1st place: 55 meter hurdles 8.33 Adam Nichols
3rd place: 55 meter hurdles 8.72 Robert Gerzsik
3rd place: 1600 meter run 5:08.62 Bryce Kopp
2nd place: 4×200 relay 1:42.60
3rd place: 400 meter dash 56.98 Joey Riedel
2nd place: 3200 meter run 10:44.85 William
3rd place: Triple jump 38-07.00 Jordan Millis

Girls:
3rd place: 4×800 relay 11:45.17
3rd place: 55 meter dash 7.95 Fawn Jessie
2nd place: 800 meter run 2:56.51 Hannah Dvorak
2nd place: Triple jump 32-00.25 Fawn Jessie

The next indoor meet for the track team will take place on Saturday March 27 at UW-La Crosse.