Jonathan Olivares, Staff Reporter
A new field has been built for the use of the Hubbard sports teams. Equipped with a high school regulated football field, soccer field, baseball field, and softball field, all made with artificial grass (turf). The field also has a tall gate for baseball and softball, a net around the gate for football, and a storage unit for athletic equipment . While the field was built, it very much affected how Hubbard’s sports teams practiced. The teams were not able to practice or play anywhere as dependable as Hubbard field. “We had to practice at Pasture, so we always had to take a bus to get there. Also, the practice hours were always so late,” said Mr. Brown, linemen coach. Football wasn't the only sport affected. The baseball team also had their troubles when the new field was being created. “When they were building, we had all our games as away games, and we also couldn't practice outside,” said Mr.O'hara, head baseball coach. “When the field was done, it looked very nice and beautiful.” The new field will make the spectators feel more comfortable because the new bleachers are closer to the field. Fans have a perfect view to cheer on their favorite team, and the Greyhounds will finally have a field on which to continue Hubbard’s tradition of creating champions. Bianca Moreno, Staff reporter
Vanessa Garcia (Div. 802) is a sophomore and she has been running since freshman year. Her biggest motivator is Coach Greg and her friend Adrian. For Vanessa, the most challenging part of the season was “having to come back after bad races.” Vanessa was also injured twice. One was during to track season, and then in the very beginning of the cross country season. Both injuries required a number of months to recover from. “I had a lot of catching up to do, so I slowly began ease back into the season, build up my mileage and was back to training,” Vanessa said. Despite the obstacles, Vanessa took City Champion at the var-soph level. “I beat my personal record by 30 seconds.” She is Hubbard's best runner. She says coss country has changed her completely. “I love the sport and I love running. The sport makes me work harder everyday to reach my goals” Next year Vanessa is planning to train all summer long, and work harder to go into her junior year even better. Overall, the best part of the sport was being part of a team, everyone grew a relationship, and improved since day one. ![]() Javier Suarez, Staff Reporter Swimming is one of the hardest sports to compete in because you use your entire body. The girls swim team had a rough season this year. They haven’t won a meet but that didn’t stop them from swimming; it made them work even harder than the previous years. Veronica Zuniga (Div. 712) has been in the team since freshman year and is currently captain of the swim team. “I like going to the meets because I get to meet other swimmers and support the girls,” said Veronica. Co-Captain, Janet Uribe, (Div 704) said the best part of being on the team is “building strong connections with the girls.” She has been on the team since sophomore year and hoped to “make it to state and break 30 seconds on a 50 freestyle.” On October 24th, the team placed 20th out of 30 schools in the City Relay at Percy L. Julian High School Their final meet was on Oct 31 where the girls faced Curie, Kennedy, Juarez, Solorio, and Kelly to compete for conference. The girls placed 5th place and the conference title went to Kennedy. Veronica felt that she accomplished her goal of “helping the girls in swimming and showing them the correct way to swim.” “We haven’t won a meet but tried our best,” said Janet. ![]() Tommie Hope, Editor in Chief “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me brave in that attempt.” This is the oath of the Special Olympics community. This inspirational quote is said by students at Hubbard, and it motivates them to succeed. The Special Olympics athletes have surpassed their expectation again in volleyball. Jennifer Berra (Div. 809), Desmond Perez (Div. 810), and Daniel Pinzon (Div. 908) received gold medals in their volleyball competition at Kilbourn Park on September 24, 2015. Our Greyhounds were 3 of the 66 athletes that competed in the individual skills competition. This competition consisted of different volleyball skills like forearm pass, overhead set, and serve. “It feels great,” Daniel said about their performance. Over 700 Special Olympians from all over the state will compete in the Illinois Fall Games. Coached by Ms. Giaimo and Ms. Schulz, you can expect great things from these students. I can’t wait to see what sport is in store for them next, but I'm sure they are going to be the best they can be: true Greyhounds! By Tommie Hope
The staff is back to back champions once again. They beat the students 77-74 in the student vs. staff basketball game May 28, 2015. It was a very intense game: students had caught up and had the ball in the last 10 seconds. They could’ve tied the game if Deonte McReynolds (Div.515) did not miss a three pointer the last 5 seconds. Deonte had a great game; having players like Trevon Bowens (Div.515) and Kevin Stringer (Div.510) who all had moments that got them students team where they was. Unfortunately, Mr. Sabanagic (a.k.a Mr. S), who probably scored over 30 points but no one was counting, and his team played a great game of basketball. Next year is our year, Greyhounds. Students have to win! By Daniel Corona
With big expectations in the outfield for the Greyhounds this baseball season, Coach O’Hara said, “The team was practicing in school preparing not only for their first game, but also for the season.” When asked who he was looking forward to playing the most, he replied Kennedy. They won conference last year and that’s their goal. The coaches expect a lot from their players, but the players have big expectations from their coaches as well. Cesar Acevedo from Div.512 said, “I expect our coaches to do their job and coach the team. Not only to coach us, but give us their full support, show us how to do things, and know what to do in certain situations during a game.” The key players on the team are Demetrius Ruiz,Div.506, and Fabian Chavarria. Unfortunately, the first game against Austin Polly was canceled on March 16th. Coach O’Hara stated, “The game was canceled due to the field and the team not being ready.” This was a disappointment for the Hubbard Greyhounds since they were really looking forward to their first game. The team remains focused and will continue to practice. Recently, the baseball team has played against Little Village and came off with a victory of 12-0. They then lost two games. First loss was against Ag and the second was versus Curie. Right now, the team is trying to come off this losing streak and want to finish their conference strong before moving into city and state play-offs. Only seven games remain in the regular season. The baseball team so far is 16-6. Coach O’Hara stated “The team could possibly win city due to the bracket they are placed in. Teams are placed according to whether they recruit students or not.” As of right now the team is only focused in finishing their regular season, so later they can think about city and state play-offs. All the players are giving it their all to bring home a conference championship. By Angel Segura
The girls varsity softball team has still to come a long way after this season. Although six girls from last year’s team stayed on varsity as seniors and juniors this year, everything changed. This season had five wins and fifteen losses. After last year’s team record, this year’s team had big shoes to fill but it was quite impossible. These girls started the season off playing against Hancock with a win of 17-7. Their start was nice but became difficult because they were in a higher conference. The schools had a big advantage over our school but no matter what these girls put their all into the game. Although these girls had a bad season, they still kept their team together and worked as one. One of their last games against Morgan Park was the game that the girls had to win in order to stay in the conference. It was an intense game going back to back, at the very last inning the schools tied 10-10. But Morgan Park came in with that one point and ended the game. The girls played their cleats off the very last games and were so close in every game. But they knew this season was going to kill their record. After being asked about how she feels knowing she will be saying goodbye to her fellow team mates and what softball means to her, Katelyn Nevarez (Div. 512) said “Being in softball changed me so much. Before I was so shy, now I’m more myself. I’m going to miss all the goofy moments on and off the field. After all those home-runs I’ll finally be saying goodbye and that breaks my heart, I love playing softball especially on this team with these girls. “ Being close as a team means a lot to these girls, in order to achieve greatness you have to work hard all together. There is no I in team and all these girls know that. They put their personal business to the side and bonded to create a family. Nataly Gandarilla (Div. 603) said, “I consider these seniors to be like a second family to me because I know if I ever need anything they will always be there to help me out.” In order to be a great team you need a great coach! Without Coach Browns support and readiness, nothing would have been the same. Their coach made them the players they are today. Coach Brown said, “The hardest part of losing seniors is that we lose leadership.” After all the amazing memories and games for these seniors it will all be gone in a blink of an eye. It’s time to say goodbye. By Pedro Cruz
On April 30th, 2015, Hubbard High School JROTC went on their annual trip to Florida for Nationals. The teams that participated were H-Squad, Blacksheep, and the Color Guard. The teams would practice every morning and whenever they had an off day, they would practice. They worked hard to perfect their routine and do their best in Florida. It wasn’t all work, however. The team had almost a whole week to relax and see beautiful Florida. Alejandro Canales (Div. 511) said, “As one of the seniors to go all 4 years, it was physically and emotionally draining.” He also said, “I’m definitely going to miss Florida because it is my last time competing knowing I’m not going to see my friends that much, but I’m glad I made the best of it.” It’s the memories that these students make while in Florida that they can have for the rest of their lives. Although the team didn’t place, there were a couple of bright spots. Abigail Kremer (Div. 704) got first place in the Mixed Alternatives Division and Juan Garcia (Div.606) got 5th place in the Master’s Division for his solo routine. Congrats goes out to our very own Greyhounds! By Alejandro Rodriguez
In January, our Law 2 class began preparing and practicing for our first ever trial against other schools in a real courtroom. The seniors who had law last year did a practice trial in the classroom, but on February 18 and 20th of this year was going to be the real deal. We divided into two teams: the prosecution and the defense. Those who were lawyers had to practice their direct and cross examinations. The students who were witnesses had to memorize their affidavits in order to answer the questions asked by the lawyers. One of the witnesses, Laura Soza (Div. 508) described her role as “a witness being the best friend of the victim.” She said, “It was a new experience being in a trial because it was my first time being in law.” She also had high praises for Mr. Fitz. “He taught me how to speak with confidence; he is very competitive; and he also taught me how to speak clearly and in a loud manner.” The State Trials took place on February 18 and a second one on the 20th, after a week after the state trials. Hubbard placed 8th. Those weren’t the only trials that Hubbard was participated in. There was also City Trials. On March 11, both teams won the verdict and won in scores as well making the finals. In the finals, Hubbard’s defense team beat Wells High School and the prosecution team beat Kennedy winning again in verdicts and scores, and winning the Championship in the City Mock Trials. Because of their win, there will not be a mock wedding this year. Congratulations to our future lawyers! By Tommy Hope and Darius Sims
The City Wrestling Tournament was held at the University of Chicago on Sunday, January 26, 2015. Nobody knew what to expect from the city wrestling tournament. The whole focus of the team was to do something big and win city. Damian Gamez, Div.507, wrestled prior to the finals matches and placed a re- spectable fourth. The first one to wrestle in the finals was Brandon Pettis. His match was over after 40 seconds with Pettis winning with a cradle. Next up was Darius Sims, who was facing a wrestler who he had previously lost to. You could feel the tension between the two wrestlers as they stepped into the mat. After 1 minute and 10 seconds, Darius came out victorious with a headlock. Darius Sims and Brandon Pettis were crowned city champions. On Sunday March 15, 2015, all of the champs were honored at a champion’s banquet. They talked about the accomplishments of each person and gave out special awards. Coach Boyd was brought up to be recognized for his accomplishments as a coach. Hubbard hasn’t had two city champs in the same year since 2008. This year however, Brandon Pettis and Darius Sims put Hubbard’s name out on top. Brandon Pettis, Div. 510, said, “It feels great to be city champion, especially sharing it with my teammates.” |
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