What’s recently happened?
Despite the cold weather and snowy start to the second semester, the students and staff of Morgan Township High School (MTHS) have begun their second semester on a high note
Whether it be practicing for sports or perfecting a choir solo for a contest, the students are very busy.
Choir students competed in the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) solo and ensemble competitions, which were held on January 27 at Valparaiso High School.
Three high school choir members – Faith Zendzian, Juliana Ferguson, and Reagan Weitzel – received gold ratings which earned them the opportunity to compete at the State competition in February. In addition, all other choir members scored highly whether they performed solo or as an ensemble.
Both the MTHS Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball teams have continued their great seasons. An important part of MTHS basketball in January is the Porter County Conference (PCC) basketball tournament. The tournament this year was delayed a few times because of the weather but despite this, both the girls and boys played strongly and represented MTHS well.
During the tournament, the MTHS cheer and dance teams were also busy cheering on the basketball teams and choosing themes for the game, such as “Toy Story.” In the PCC Cheer Competition, MTHS placed second, and in the PCC Dance Competition, the dance team placed third.
After the championship game of the tournament, the PCC Mental Attitude Awards were presented. Two MTHS outstanding basketball seniors – Keagen Holder and Peyton Honchar – received the awards, making their school and community proud.
Honchar received the PCC James W. Dold Mental Attitude Award, and Holder received the PCC M.E. Dinsmoore Mental Attitude Award.
The MTHS gymnasts have also been competing diligently, with their most recent meet being at La Porte High School on January 30.
Along with sports teams, MTHS’ clubs have been active as well. The Interact Club had its annual tie blanket project on January 17, where many tie blankets were made.
The Key Club had a winter clothing drive for Making a Kid Smile (MAKS) and Hilltop Neighborhood House so students could donate gently used or new winter clothes to people in need.
“For the upcoming year, I would just like to see our Key Club make a difference in the community, whether that is by collecting for those in need or just for the growth of our club and the people that make up our club,” Key Club President Emersyn Bland said.
The MTHS DECA district competition was supposed to be held on January 13 at Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso but was canceled due to the cold weather.
However, 16 out of 21 MTHS DECA students made it to the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) based on their test scores alone, which was the qualifying factor since the in-person competition was canceled. SCDC will be held in Indianapolis on March 3-5.
What’s coming up?
It isn’t the end of competitions for MTHS’ choir and band. The ISSMA band competition will be on February 3. The ISSMA state contest will be coming up this February as well.
“I’m looking forward to going to State with Faith! It’s such a fun competition full of talented singers,” said Weitzel, who qualified for state in ISSMA.
Also in February are more practices for MTHS’ Indiana Academic Super Bowl teams. The first competition for MTHS’ Indiana Academic Super Bowl teams will be on February 28 at Purdue University Northwest. It is an open invitation for all the events.
MTHS will be competing in fine arts, English, mathematics, science, and social studies. This year’s Indiana Academic Super Bowl topic is the 1980s and the 1990s.
“I am super excited about the teams we have put together this year. We have a lot of passionate and dedicated students in each subject, and I am optimistic we will perform well. It is such a great experience for students and with the subject period being the ‘80s and ‘90s, the coaches are enjoying reminiscing while helping the teams learn the material,” said Erin Taylor, an English teacher at MTHS who is coaching the fine arts and English teams.
Interact Club’s tie blankets will be delivered in February as well, bringing its most recent service project full circle. This club and many others will also have their monthly meetings as well.
Staff spotlight:
Kevin Krieger has taught at MTHS for 17 years. He teaches world history and U.S. government/economics to high schoolers.
Krieger also coaches the high school Boys Basketball teams and has helped the group to several great wins over the 2023-2024 school year, such as a runner-up performance in PCC and winning the Keg during Homecoming.
“I am looking forward to being part of each student’s journey exploring who they want to become,” Krieger said.
He is a familiar face at MTHS, from his classes to his presence at sports games. In class, he’s well known for his jokes of the day and the way he can always relate history to the present day.
“My favorite part of Morgan is the people,” Krieger said. “The community support is tremendous here!”
Student spotlight:
Keagen Holder is a senior at MTHS with an impressive list of accomplishments. He is the captain of the Boys Varsity Basketball team and is active in the Student Council and the Student Leadership Program. He also received the PCC M.E. Dinsmoore Mental Attitude Award for Boys Basketball
“I want people to know that I put my heart into what I do,” Holder said. “There are kids from our community at these events, the whole conference that watches my every action, and it means the most to me to be able to be that spark for the next generation. Showing them that there are athletics or clubs and putting your heart into them will bring you success. Not only that, but the person you are off the court is even more important.”
Holder is humble about his many great achievements at MTHS, where he’s known as a great role model on and off of the court.
“Getting a big home win against Hebron High School for the Keg, on Homecoming, in front of the biggest crowd we’ve had at Morgan was a pretty awesome experience, and no other feeling like it,” Holder said.
After graduation, Holder is going to attend Olivet Nazarene University to continue his basketball career and study exercise science. His greatest achievements are not what he does on the basketball court but instead are in finding peace in the little things and striving to be the best version of himself.
“Control the controllable,” Holder said.