“We had well-balanced scores in all three categories,” Coach Karol Hartley said. In October, students Susanna Kailing, Brook Mathewson, Joanne Lechille and Ellie Steffens garnered first place overall in the descriptive essay category for their piece entitled “The Long Awaited Storm.” It was written in response to a five word prompt: “A Bum on a Bench.”
In November, BRHS placed first and second in the editorial competition regarding patriotism. In first place for the editorial writing was an essay entitled “From Civil Disobedience to Patriotic Disobedience,” written by Kiara Cushway, Arya Rao, and Jacob Bleeker. The second-place essay, “Hope and Change,” was written by Tayo Fadayomi, Ryan Cosper, and Jacob Bleeker. Both essays were written in response to an article discussing recent reactions to the National Anthem.
In December, Junior Arya Rao’s poem entitled “To the Girl” took second place overall, and with Mollie Weber’s strong poem “They Made Music Anyway,” Big Rapids was able to hold first place. It is the third time in four years the BRHS team has won the CSAA ELA competition.
Coaches recently met to determine which writers from all 8 schools will receive all-conference medals and which will receive honorable mention.
Competing on the 2016-2017 team were returning members Jacob Bleeker, Tia Benson, Kiara Cushway, Renee Ding, Arya Rao, and Emily Weirts. First-year members included Ciara Brown, Ryan Cosper, Ibitayo Fadayomi, Julie Farrier, Zach Good, Susanna Kailing, Joanne Lechille, Brook Mathewson, Katie Myers, Amanda Selles, Ellie Steffens, Joey Vajda, Zylie Vitello, Mollie Weber, and Ethan Westerkamp.
