Each dance was of a completely different style or genre but still highlighted the dancers’ talents. Freshman Kassie Lopez brought “a whole new world” of culture to the stage in her solo, Smokey Taboo, while Ali Blaser and Jenna Hardenbrook broke some hearts in Hot Like Wow, a self-choreographed song. Beginning dance gave us a glimpse of what to expect next year during Black and Gold. Britney Spears’ Toxic was remixed and created a different mood. The performances came alive with colorful costumes and amazing choreography.

There were twenty-five routines, which were the products of more than 20 choreographers. This resulted in each dance having a unique style. There were several guest choreographers, including CdS alumni (class of 2010). Jessica Cooper choreographed Conversations whereas Chris Thomas worked with CdS Dance Company to produce Bang Bang.

The emcees, Kyle Busch and Morgan Jensen, were the first couple to emcee together in CdS history. They steered clear of tacky jokes and tried to engage and involve the audience throughout the show.

Overall, I really liked what I saw of Word Up. In addition to the group dances there were a few solo performances. The music was catchy, the costumes were unique and the dancers seemed to have a lot of fun.

“It is a process by which students apply for two positions,” Librarian Justine Centanni said. “One is chosen for the academic speaker. The academic speaker must be in the top 5 percent. Then there is the rest of the general population that apply, we do however ask that they have a GPA of 3.0.”

Centanni is the head of the committee of 10 that chooses the grad speakers, along with staff members Kris Urban, Angela Carter, Cheryl Jannuzzi, Lisa Adams, Eileen Long, Deborah Fabre, Daniel Brugger, Holly Secour and Principal Brent Brown.

“It starts with an application that they send in,” Centanni said. “Then on a Saturday, the top applicants come to the library where the are given a prompt and had two hours to write a blind essay.”

A blind essay is where all students write an essay in the same font and don’t put their name on it. An evaluator, who is not on the committee, labels the essay with a number so the judges have a non-biased grade on each paper. Then, the finalists of the blind essay are required to read their essay in front of the committee and the final decision is made.

“When I found out it was by email,” Yu said, “I read the subject ‘About academic speaker’ and I thought it was a rejection letter. So when I opened it up I was very excited.”

To see Yu and Schwalbe speak come to the Graduation Ceremony on May 25.

“It is the only mineral museum in Arizona with gems from various mines that are now old, or closed. Some of the mines aren’t even in existence and you can’t find some of the gems anymore,” science teacher Tony Occhiuzzi  said.

Occhiuzzi is responsible for the petitions going around to save the museum. According to Ohhiuzzi, Arizona Governor,  Jan Brewer, supposedly wants to turn the museum into an Arizona historical experience representing the five C’s of Arizona (Copper, Cattle, Climate, Citrus, Cotton). This would break the museum into five parts, giving the mineral section 1/5 the space it previously had.

Occhiuzzi  has had a love for minerals ever since he was a child  and is determined to prevent the museum from shutting down.

“My grandfather was a coal miner and when I was around 10 or 11 years old,  I collected a lot of samples,” Occhiuzzi said. “Then as soon as I got into high school I knew I loved geology.”

If you would like to sign the petition to keep the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum alive you can go to Occhiuzzi’s room: A369.

Jackson has been on varsity track for all three years, and has been doing track for a total of seven years of his life. He got involved with track because of his father.

“My dad got me into track,”  Jackson said. “He was a track guy himself and he does triathlons and got me into doing that too, which then evolved into me doing track.”

Jackson runs the 800, the 400, 4×800 and the 4×400.

“I run the mile every now and then but my main event is the 800,” Jackson said.

Jackson is a talented runner and has received various awards for it. His freshman year at state he placed 2^nd in the 4×800 and was the varsity newcomer of the year. His sophomore year at state he placed 2^nd in the 4×800, 4^th in the 4×400 and was the MVP. During his junior year he was the 400-meter city champion and won 4^th place in state for the 800.

With such an exceptional history and so many awards, one would never know he is recovering from an injury. Jackson also runs cross-country and while at a summer camp for cross-country students this past summer, he endured a knee injury.

“I did physical therapy for two months with a therapist and have done it for four to six months on my own,” Jackson said. “It was an internal rotation of my femur that twisted the knee causing swelling at the head of my tibia that then created fluid in the knee joint.”

Jackson has two particular former Corona students he looks up to as idols.

“Matt Witlatch was a senior two years ago and Michael Seall was a senior last year,” Jackson said.

“Matt was a big leader on both cross country and track. He was injured both junior and senior year but came back his senior year and won state and that was very influential to me. As for Michael, we both run the exact same races so he was my other half in track. We pushed each other and motivated each other; him being older than me, I really looked up to him.”

Jackson not only received support and influence from his former teammates, but from his family as well.

“My dad is the middle distance coach for our team, so he’s my coach for everything,” Jackson said. “My family is very supportive and it’s basically 24-hour coaching and constant track talk at my house.”

Head track coach Tim Kelly said Jackson is very talented.

“Assuming he stays healthy, I think he will run through college and if he wants to pursue a professional level, he can,” Kelly said. “He will probably run and compete in different things like marathons, running events, et cetera, for a long time.”

The talent, family and friends that surround Jackson’s track career has made him a very successful athlete thus far. After high school, Jackson hopes to run in college and his ultimate goal is to get to the Olympics.

“I will hopefully go to the right college with good coaches who could train me to that level; it’s a process,” Jackson said.

Jackson is not only appealing to scouts for his talent, but also as someone coaches enjoy working with.

“He is very easy to coach; he’s workable, he is a leader, respectful and wants to work hard,” Kelly said.

Jackson has been talking with more than 10 colleges about running for them at the next level. These include the University of Notre Dame, Louisiana State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Miami, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, Georgetown University, Lipscomb University, Willamette University and the University of San Francisco.

Jackson cannot receive offers per AIA regulations until the end of July before his senior year.

“If I had to choose now, I’d probably choose LSU; they’re one of the best,” Jackson said. “University of Miami is right up there with them.”

“It doesn’t feel real,” senior Calaen Robinson said. “When we won I just looked over there (to the student section).”

It’s the fifth basketball championship in school history, the first for Head Coach Sam Duane. The other four came under the helm of Duane’s father, Sammy Duane Sr., the last coming in 1994.

Duane admitted he never thought the team would go undefeated, but he said he felt confident going into the title game.

“I’ll be honest with you, I felt really good going into this game,” Duane said. “I got a great feeling from the guys. I told the guys enjoy this, and play free and easy. I really thought the guys did that.”

The season was dedicated for former assistant JV coach Troy Gray, who passed away before the season.

“I know the guys wanted to win for him,” Duane said.

Sophomore Casey Benson, who led the Aztecs with 22 points, was a key player in tonight’s match.

“You forget he’s a sophomore,” Duane said. “I could tell early on he was feeling good.”

The first cheer out of the stands was “let’s go Aztecs” as the game kicked off and senior Avery Moss got the tip off. Benson put the first points on the board, while Robinson successfully made the first 3-pointer shortly after. Within the first quarter, Benson scores another 3-pointer accompanied by one from junior Bryan Siefker. The score was 16-11 Corona.

In the second quarter junior Braden Tennyson and senior Elijah Hempstead came off the bench. Moss was fouled on back-to-back trips down the court, making only one free throw each time. Benson played with a lot of emotion, and Robinson was loud and quick on his feet. The buzzer sounded for half time, and Corona was up by 14 points, 34-20.

Cesar Chavez got the ball to start the second half. Robinson and Moss both missed dunks in the second half. The Aztecs were weak on free throws in the first half and didn’t improve as Robinson missed two within the first few minutes of the third quarter. The Aztecs were up 42-25 halfway through the third quarter.

Though the Aztecs struggled to put points on the board as Robinson turned over the ball with a bad pass intended for Benson and Moss missed a dunk, the Aztecs held onto a commanding lead.

Freshman Cassius Peat came off the bench for the Aztecs in the fourth quarter. Duane remained intense and was seen clapping encouragingly to Robinson. Corona was up 60-41 with four minutes left in the game.

With a little over two minutes left in the game, Corona led by 16 and the student section began to shout “We’re No. 1.”

The Corona boys basketball team was undefeated in the regular season record and was ranked No. 39 nationally by ESPN. The Aztecs won by only three points in the nail-biting match against Desert Vista in the semifinals, putting them in their position tonight for a shot at the state title against Cesar Chavez.

At the beginning of the game that was running about an hour past schedule, the lights shut off, spotlights ran over the thousands of seats and the Division 1 state championship trophy was at center court.

Duane’s dad was in the front row, and when asked about him, Duane said with tears in his eyes “he is so supportive.” He also commented on how his dad had won championship games before saying, ”it’s my time.”

The Aztecs will ride the bus home with a the state championship title.

Corona went into the game with high expectations, seeded No. 1 in the tournament and ranked 39th in the nation by ESPN. The starting five were as usual sophomore Casey Benson, junior Brian Siefker and seniors Avery Moss, Andrus Peat and Calaen Robinson.

Moss got the jump ball, passing to Robinson for the first two points of the game. The Aztecs appeared ready on both sides of the court. Offensively, Benson scored the first 3-pointer of the match and Andrus Peat was efficient on lay-ups. And on defense, Robinson was quick on his feet guarding, and with hands up Moss appeared even larger and more intimidating than his 6-foot-5 figure.

With 2:53 left in the first quarter, junior Braden Tennyson was subbed in for Andrus Peat, Corona leading 12-4. Corona took the first time out, immediately after Andrus Peat got poked in the eye on defense under the hoop.

Going into the second quarter, the Aztecs were leading by 10, 16-6. The sweat was noticeably dripping from Robinson’s cheeks, as he was almost constantly on the wood wrestling or diving for the ball. In the first half Benson swooshed two 3-pointers and freshman Cassius Peat was subbed in for older brother, senior Andrus Peat. Corona led in fouls at eight, three of which were Andrus Peat’s. The ref was clearly yelling “easy, easy” to Moss as he was aggressively trying to block on defense. Robinson got a chance to rest a few seconds, but was quickly subbed back in. Corona went into the locker room at the half ahead of the Thunder, 28-19, while the students stayed energized singing along to “Sweet Caroline.”

Starters remained the same emerging focused after the 10-minute break. The point gap was shrinking, 28-21 Corona. Andrus Peat was subbed out, getting dangerously close to the foul limit at four. With a little less than three minutes left in the quarter, Corona had not yet put any more points on the board. Desert Vista was coming from behind quickly, down only 32-29 with 1:30 left in the third quarter. Benson was almost falling over his feet chasing the ball down, and Tennyson was consistently the first one down the court each direction. The third quarter buzzer sounded, 37-31 Corona.

In the final quarter of the match, senior Elijah Hempstead came off the bench and scored two points right away. Robinson was the leading scorer from both teams at 16 points. After an unimpressive air-ball freethrow by Andrus Peat, he was successful on the second, putting the Aztecs ahead, 43-37. Robinson quickly upped that to 45 points, as students chanted “ASU,” where he will play college ball next year. The Thunder was playing quick offensively, down only 45-41 with 2:10 left in the game.

The student section remained positive and loud during the now three-point gap and a trip to the state championship on the line. Benson sunk two free throws, while Desert Vista came back with a two-point shot. Within seconds, Benson was fouled again and made both shots. “Casey Benson” was cheered from the sea of yellow in the stands, while Desert Vista came back with “I believe that we will win.”

There was only a two-point difference now, and 46.8 seconds left of playing time at the timeout taken by Corona. Desert Vista was shooting foul shots, while Corona head coach Sam Duane was obviously anxious and on edge. Corona turned over the ball and was leading by two points with 30 seconds left in the intense match. Robinson grabbed the rebound and was fouled, shooting only one successfully. With 9.4 seconds left of play, the Aztec students were jumping up and down in both nervousness and excitement.

Desert Vista had one last chance to tie the score with a 3-pointer, but solid defense by the Aztecs allowed time to expire following a blocked shot.

When the buzzer sounded, the energy was through the roof. Corona students poured out of their seats as the players made their way to the locker room.

The energy in the arena was higher than it has been all season, as the students filled the floor with loud voices and claps of encouragement in their yellow-out apparel. Desert Vista students were a sea of white shirts and visibly outnumbered those on the Corona side. The bright lights and announcer that echoed throughout the thousands of seats was a fan and player experience incomparable to that of any game yet this season. Typically only starters run through the tunnel of cheerleaders and pommies, but every player got the opportunity to be introduced tonight. In their all-white jerseys the boys began with their routine pregame cheer huddled in a circle while freshman Cassius Peat dances in the middle to get the team fired up.

Duane explained that Robinson and Hempstead were the key players of the match.

“He (Robinson) took off, got rebounds and got a big tip in. But that’s what he does, he makes big plays in big games and that’s why he’s so great,” Duane said. “Elijah gave us great minutes; he was big tonight.”

To prepare for the game ahead Duane said, “We’ve got to go home, regroup, get some rest and look at Chavez. I don’t know how we’re going to attack them yet.”

Duane admits he hasn’t seen Chavez play very much before and said while laughing, “I’ll be up watching film all night.”

As head coach he has only led his team to one state championship game before, with a disappointing ending. He hopes Saturday will be different.

Corona will play Saturday for its fifth state basketball title in school history. The theme is an orange-out. Tickets for the 4 p.m. contest at Jobing.com Arena are $10 for adults and $8 for students.

“It went well; a lot of people came so it was good,” senior Alex Frechette said.

Overall, the play was fairly good. There were several mistakes, which is understandable with a cast composed of high schoolers.

“The second night I missed my cue, but I don’t think anyone noticed,” sophomore Jackie Ellis said.

The cast kept the audience involved and interested in the play, constantly cracking jokes and arousing a response from the audience.

“The audience laughed at all the jokes, so I think we got the point across,” Ellis said.

There were several parts of the play that were dull and didn’t keep me interested. But the end scene completely made up for that! The main character came out wearing a “special robe” that was supposed to reveal traitors to him because they would be able to see through the robe. But unbeknownst to the emperor, he came out wearing nothing but a censored sign covering his male area! This had me, and the whole of the audience, laughing for a good five minutes.

“It always feels good to hear laughter while you’re performing, it feels good,” Frechette said.

The set and costumes were very neat to look at. For the most part, this play was a complete success.

“I’m proud of the way everyone came together,” Smith said about his students.

The state competition was roughly about 10 hours. At nationals there will be multiple preliminary rounds and the last round is with the final remaining teams. The closest CdS has ever come to winning Nationals was in 1988 when the school won 3^rd place.

Students in this class had to apply for a spot to get in; only seniors are allowed to be in the class. The class is split into 6 units of four or five people each. Each unit gets a number of questions that they have to study, answer and present at competition. Each unit gets a score and then the scores of all the units are added up for the overall team score.

“It is a great experience, you learn so much,” senior Hirsh Shah said.

Shah is in the Unit 4 group, which was the best performing group for the CdS team in the district competition. Even though the students are split into units they still have to function as a whole team.

“We are a very cohesive class. It’s fun and there is intellectual stimulation. It is a break from classes with students who only care about music and their cell phones. We actually care about the learning,” senior Courtney Naumann said.

To be in the class you have to be hardworking and show interest in the government. The skills you take out of the class are public speaking, composure and how to deal with high pressure. Librarian Justine Centanni and government teachers Lisa Adams and Smith are the sponsors of We the People.

“This year the class has kept the tradition of We the People alive by exemplifying a championship team,” Smith said.