Snyder HigH ScHool3801 AuStin Ave.Snyder, tx 79549tHe tiger’S

tAleVolume 103 Feb. 15, 2021 No. 6

newS pAgeS:6-7

opinionpAgeS: 2-5

pHoto gAllerypAgeS: 8-9

FeAture pAgeS: 10-11

SportSpAgeS: 12-16

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Senior engaged to SHS graduateBy Gillian CristStaff Writer

Brailynn Garcia, senior, recently got engaged to her best friend and boyfriend, Jesse Carrisalez, an SHS graduate who enlisted in the Army. He recently graduated from boot camp.

Brailynn and Jesse have been to-gether for eight months. She met him five years ago on the way to a football game in band. Her cousin, John Her-nandez, introduced her to him. They built a strong friendship and eventu-ally had feelings for each other, she said.

On Dec. 22, he proposed while they were taking pictures at the pocket square. While they were at the big Christmas tree having pic-tures taken, he kneeled down with a diamond ring and said, “Brailynn Morriah Garcia, will you marry me stupid?” She said yes.

She said there were a lot of thoughts rolling through her head. She said she was very happy and very shocked. It was a big change for her, but she was ready to fully commit.

“Thoughts of spending the rest of my life with him and getting to cher-ish every second with him made my heart happy,” Brailynn said.

She started thinking about their future and eventually having a family.

“The thought of marrying my best friend was amazing. That moment felt so surreal, being able to wake up to him, have wifely duties and make plenty of memories. To grow old with

him while we drink coffee and watch the sunrises,” Brailynn said.

Since Jesse works in communi-cations, he could be stationed any-where. He’ll likely be stationed in Okinawa, Japan. She said it’ll be a big change from being with her friends and family to going across the world with her fiancé. She said it’s both scary and exciting. She said she’s wanted to travel across the world ever since she was little.

He has enlisted for four years and depending on if they have kids or not, will determine if he re-en-lists. They’ve decided that they want at least two to three years by them-selves before they have kids. They also want to be financially stable so they can support their kids in every way possible.

“We want to be able to make plenty of memories and try new things while we’re still in our young years,” she said.

She plans to do online school whenever Jesse gets stationed and plans on getting a job whether it’s on base or nearby. She wants to go to school to be a sonogram technician.

They plan on getting legally mar-ried sometime after she graduates so they’re able to live with each other. The actual wedding ceremony will happen in the fall.

She said her parents were unsure about her getting married since she is young, but they’ve slowly started to respect her decision more. Her mom just wasn’t really for her to leave so

soon. Her mom supports Brailynn no matter what and knows that Jesse will take good care of her, Brailynn said.

She said her parents love Jesse, so much so that she sometimes thinks they love him more than her. They’ve known him since they became best friends. He would go to her house a lot and watch movies with her family, so they grew to love and trust him.

Being in a long-distance relation-ship, they’ve faced some difficulties. When he was in boot camp, she had problems sending him letters be-cause he wouldn’t receive some until three weeks after she sent them.

“I had to be really patient and have things that distracted me,” she said.

He wasn’t allowed to have his phone in boot camp, so their only communication was through letters.

“It was sad, but we made the best of it until he graduated boot camp.”

When he got his phone back, it was easier to text and call. They’ve created a schedule where they make time for each other.

“Long distance is rough, but if you don’t make time for each other, it’s not worth it.”

She normally calls him twice a day and texts him when she can. She said that since they’re both in school for most of the day, that helps. He helps her study and motivates her to be the best she can be.

Her favorite memory with him was May 21, before he left for boot-

camp. They planned to make brown-ies and watch movies.

“I was getting all of the ingredi-ents and the pan we needed. He was helping me because I told him that he had to learn, too. I was mixing the batter with the ingredients and it wasn’t until I was fixing to pour it in the pan, he tells me, ‘We are out of baking spray.’ Instead of getting mad at him, I decided to wipe a good amount of butter on his face. It was the funniest thing because he never saw it coming. After I got him, he de-cided to chase me towards the door and grabbed me. He put it over my face way more than I got him. We eventually got the brownies baked. ‘Jesse burnt them, not me!’ So that whole day his mom, brother and I were giving him a hard time. Let me tell you the brownies didn’t want to come out of the pan. Lesson earned to never let Jesse in the kitchen,”

Brailynn said one of her favorite things about him is his loving person-ality.

“He’s never satisfied until I am, and I can say he spoils me too much.”

She also likes how devoted he is to his job, how loyal he is to her, and how patient he is. She also likes his sarcasm.

“There’s no one like Jesse, who could give you as much sarcasm as he does. It’s a love, hate type of thing be-cause he’s sarcastic all the time.

She said she doesn’t like how slow he is, though.

“For instance, I will be grocery

shopping and he’ll get distracted so much on things we don’t need. Or I would be in a hurry and he would move like a snail. There’s one thing about him and he likes taking his time, which isn’t a bad thing, I am just an impatient person. He just takes forever getting ready. Also, he (picks) on me a lot, but I am kind of use to it by now.”

She said they compliment each other well and hardly ever fight.

“That’s one of the reasons why I love him.”

She said she can be herself when she’s around him and he doesn’t judge her. “Instead, he falls more in love with me. Don’t ask me how.”

She said there’s never a dull mo-ment. He’s either bringing her up or making her laugh. She said they have the goofiest personalities, and she is happy that they are able to joke around with each other.

“He’s been my best friend for five whole years, and we know each other enough to know when something’s wrong. He’s been my rock, my go-to person for everything.”

Brailynn Garcia with her fiancé, Jes-se Carrisalez. Contributed Photo

editoriAl2

tHe tiger’S tAle

Feb. 15, 2021

Editor-in-Chief Zaily EdwardsAssistant Editor Alyssa HurtStaff Writers Dani Greer, Alondra Tovar,

Gillian Crist, Kaden StoneReporters Cydni Dominguez, Camilla Lopez, Riley OwenPhotographers Sydney Fuentes, Sa’Bella Davidson

Alex Salinas, Kaden Stone, Jessalyann Hardin, Daniela Dominguez

Adviser Diane ArnoldPrincipal Shaye MurphyAssistant Principals Travis Gregory, David Tate

Printed by Lamesa Press-Reporter

Editorial Policy

Stands taken in the editorial, editorial cartoons, opinion columns, letters to the editor, and entertainment reviews do not necessarily reflect the views of the administration, faculty, or adviser.

Letters to the editor are welcome and must include the writer’s name, home telephone number and grade classification. Letters will be edited for material that fails to meet legal and ethical guidelines, and for spelling and grammar. Spelling and grammar should be edited by the author of the letter, and the letter should be limited to 500 words in length, typed. If mailed, the letter should be addressed to: Snyder High School, Student Publications, 3801 Austin Ave., Snyder, TX 79549.

Financing of The Tiger’s Tale is provided by advertisements. Rates are $3.50 per column inch. Additional information regarding ads may be provided by calling the Student Publications Department at (325) 574-8835. Ads are solicited from the community; however, any student or faculty member who wishes to purchase advertising space may do so. The staff reserves the right to refuse any advertising it believes to be in poor taste, libelous, irresponsible or advocating an illegal activity.

The Tiger’s Tale is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC). As a member of the ILPC, this publication is governed by all University Interscholastic League (UIL) guidelines for eligibilty in its annual contest and in the individual literary meet in the spring.

E-mail for The Tiger’s Tale can be sent to darnold@snyderisd.net or publications@snyderisd.net. The online versionThis school district and its Career and Technology Education Program does not discriminate on the basis of sex,

disability, race, color, age or national origin in its educational programs, activities or employment as required by Title IX, Section 504 and Title VI. Legal names of students/faculty/staff will be used when published in SHS Student Publications.

The Tiger’s Tale is printed by Lamesa Press-Reporter.

tHe tiger’S tAle

Roar of the CrowdDo you think love is over-rated? Explain?

“No! If you believe love is over-rated, you are not thinking of actual love. You are thinking of what most people believe love is. Love is so misunderstood today. Love is rare. Love is incred-ible. Love is exciting. It’s dangerous, fulfilling, hopeful, caring, understanding, hard work, painful, healing. Love is so many things. Love is not over-rated.”

Temo Olvera, senior

“Yes, I think people nowadays feel that love is the key to happi-ness. Many people think that if nobody loves them, then they’ll never be happy, when that’s not true at all. Sure, love is cool or whatever, but it’s not something you need. I know lots of people who constantly put themselves down ‘cause they feel like just because they don’t have a person, then they are never going to be happy. They are so focused on getting someone else to love them, when really they don’t even love themselves. They need to love themselves before they can try to love someone else.”

Jada James, sophomore

“Yes, because we are too young to understand what love really is even though we say we love each other.”

Jaelynn Guynes, freshman

“No, love is not over-rated. Many people do think that love is over-rated, but they haven’t found real love yet. Love is having a great interest in something but many people think of love as something you feel for someone. Love is everywhere and if you believe love is over-rated, then you just have to look deeper into what you do. Like me I love football, friends and my family.”

Isael Rios, junior

Staff believes love is over-romanticizedWe believe love can sometimes be over-rated. We are too

young to understand what real love is. Love is a beautiful thing. Love is just a chemical reaction in the brain.

After discussing different high school relationships, we believe that right now a student may think they are in a serious relationship and believe they are in love, but are overemphasizing the situation. As an individual in high school, love for someone else is something we should not be worried about. We are simply too young to be trying to grow up fast for something that should take time.  

Love can be over-rated, but only because we fantasize about it so much that we don’t realize that we don’t even love someone. We will eventually graduate and go our sep-arate ways, leaving the high school relationships behind. This is true of most high school relationships, although there are some that will go beyond high school. That being said, love is over-rated in high school due to the constant exaggerated way a relationship is.

We shouldn’t be focusing on putting someone else first when we have better things to focus on rather than a tem-porary relationship. A relationship should be something one has time for. High school is not a time to grow up fast. High school is a time where we find our true self and grow into our future. Forcing a future is one thing we should not do. 

Love today is over-romanticized. People will be togeth-er not even three days and post how they love each other. How can you be in love with someone in three days? Love at first sight does occur, but give it time.

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tHe tiger’S tAle

Feb. 15, 2021

The Not So Daily ZailyWriter shares opinions on new show

Bring on the HurtSenior discusses experience at dress shop

By Zaily EdwardsEditor

Hey guys, I’m back with another col-

umn. In this issue I’m going to be discussing a new show that I’ve started watching, “WandaVision.” I know, shocker, I’m actu-ally watching a show that I haven’t already watched a million times.

It’s a show on Disney Plus based off of the Mar-vel comic book and MCU (Marvel Cinematic Uni-verse) characters Wanda

Maximoff and Vision. You may be wondering what is the plot of the show? I have no idea. I should be seven episodes in when this column comes out, so hopefully I’ll understand what’s going on then. All I know is that each epi-sode is based on a differ-ent decade and a popular show that came out in that decade. For exam-ple, the third episode was based on the “The Brady Brunch” in the 70s.

When the show was first announced in 2019, I had no desire to watch

it because they also an-nounced another Marvel series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and the way “WandaVision” was first described was lame. It wasn’t until the day the show was released that I was actually interested in the show only because it was trending on Twitter and it was all over my Tik-Tok for you page. So, after school that day I watched it and it was AMAZING. The theme songs, fantas-tic; the humor, hilarious.

Now after school ev-ery Friday I go home and

watch this show. And now the week that I’m writing this, they’re releasing two episodes.

I highly recommend watching it. Even if you’re not into superhero movies or shows, just watch it. You don’t really have to watch to watch any other previous movies to under-stand what’s going on. All you really need to know is that Vision isn’t alive. I feel like if you were to watch it without any prior knowledge of the MCU, the show would be so much better because you

have no idea what’s going on and it would be more interesting.

Even if you don’t think any of the plot or storyline is interesting, at least watch it for the theme songs. There’s a new song for almost every episode and they are very catchy. Or if you don’t have Dis-ney Plus like me, use someone else’s account or watch it on 123 movies or another movie website.

Well, that’s all for this column. See you in the next edition of “The Not So Daily Zaily.”

By Alyssa HurtAssistant Editor

W e l c o m e back to my col-umn. For this

month’s issue I would like to discuss a few things, specifically, something I experienced this month. Every now and then I am reminded how I was raised growing up, compared to others. I do not want kids because I don’t think I can handle the pressure of raising my kids the right way. Sorry, Mom. I believe it’s so crucial on

how you raise your kids and how you teach them to be a good person and the many lessons of right from wrong.

Being raised right is something I believe is one of the most important things to growing up. I obviously am not perfect, but I think I have the right idea of right from wrong. Every day I am so thankful to not be spoiled the way I have seen others be.

This month was Coro-nation. I was very happy to be a nominee for Miss SHS. My mom and I went dress shopping a week be-

fore. Going into this dress shop I instantly noticed how nice it was and my mom and I were very ex-cited to shop.

After shopping around for a while and trying on dresses, we noticed the people around us in the store. The stares I re-ceived from moms and their daughters made me very uncomfortable, espe-cially since I was minding my own business.

The attitudes the daughters had toward their moms shocked me. I have never seen daughters speak so nasty to moms

before in public, as if it was normal. I was in shock and felt so uncomfortable all around of the least gen-uine girls in that store.

I came to notice how money can really affect people’s behavior. Not all the time, of course, but seeing it happen really upset me. Having money doesn’t give you the right of any action. I don’t think those girls have noticed that, either. Seeing people with such hate and atti-tude really just upset me for them.

Growing up on its own

is hard. Having to grow up when it’s too late is harder.

After this experience I now realize how grateful I am the way I am. Being raised a certain way com-pared to others makes me very thankful for my par-ents. Money really does have an effect on others, and it makes me so sad. Every day our eyes are opened to the person we have become and I couldn’t be more thankful for who I am.

Until next time with “Bring on the Hurt.”

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tHe tiger’S tAle

Feb. 15, 2021

Crist’s Corner

Sophomore discusses misogyny, dislike for men

Londra’s Log

By Gillian CristStaff Writer

Hello friends and foes. Wel-come back to Crist’s Corner. Today I will be

talking about my dislike for men, and I think the time is fitting since it’s right after Val-entine’s, so many people will be dumping the person they were with for gifts.

To start off, I’m not talking about all men, just “men.” I’m not sure how to describe the difference, but it makes sense to me. I would also like to inform everyone that I’m listening to Adele as I write this.

I would like to first discuss freshman boys. They’re imma-ture and either smell strongly of BO or Axe. They seem like they only know how to make inappropriate jokes that make me cringe. I remember telling a freshman boy to stop using an

offensive term and he got really defensive, like bro, just stop say-ing it, lol, it’s not that deep, just have some respect. There are some freshman boys who are ac-tually chill and don’t disgust me, but some of the other ones…

I also hate almost any guy involved in sports like football. They have the biggest egos, yet the smallest amount of loyalty to their girlfriends. (Dump him, sis.) The thing is, there’s actually some who are really nice and re-ally great people, but then they are peer pressured into saying awful things and it’s almost like seeing a spark die while they’re being corrupted.

Don’t even get me started on short guys. Again, I’m not talking about every guy short-er than me, just one certain bunch. Every guy I’ve ever liked is shorter than me, like I obvi-ously don’t care about looks (and apparently not personality either - eye roll), but how are

you going to be short AND dis-respectful to women? You really have nothing going for you, lol.

I find myself often repeating the phrase “kill all men,” which some people brand as sexist, as if this hasn’t been done to wom-en since the beginning of time.

This article may seem sexist, but flip it around and make it about women. Now it sounds like mainstream misogyny (de-fined as contempt for women) rap music. We live is a world where sexism is normalized, es-pecially towards women. I hate when people say that feminists are too radical and have nothing to fight over. Say that to the 14.2 million child-brides who are married off for money and cows annually. Say that to the one in six women who is sexually as-saulted in college. If you don’t believe feminine hygiene prod-ucts are that much of a burden, then cover our tampon tax.

We’ve grown up surround-ed by sexism. How many times have you heard a teacher say, “I need some strong boys to carry these.” I remember that hap-pened in the fifth grade and this one girl just got up and picked up like five chairs. She ate and left no crumbs. While SHS’ dress code is pretty equal on paper, I’ve seen guys get away with shorts that are too short while I wear sweats one time because I’m having a bad morn-ing and just don’t feel like deal-ing with anything, just to have some guys say DISGUSTING things about my body. A lot of people accredit old, creepy teachers as our reason for dress codes, but nope, the guys who were never taught better have a big role in it, too. They also just get away with it. It bothers me so much because now I don’t wear sweats to school, thanks to those vermin creatures. School is where we should feel safe, not

be in fear of what could happen to us.

I hate the term, “boys will be boys.” Boys should be held ac-countable. I’ve been in a situa-tion where a guy was given a slap on the wrist for being extremely inappropriate and disgusting be-cause “the brain below his belt told him to be like that.” Yeah, well, the brain in my head told me that he’s getting away with this because, surprise surprise, he’s a dude! Like, what in the misogyny?

Yeah okay, I should probably step off my soap box now. Re-member to stream, “Woman’s World” by Cher and “Man’s World” by Marina.

That’s all for this Crist’s Cor-ner. Thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it. See ya’ later, alligator, and don’t forget to be a decent person.

By Alondra TovarStaff Writer

Hello and wel-come to another Londra’s Log. I can’t believe that

it’s already the second semester. Man, did time really fly by. Anyways I have a quick question for you guys.

How many times does your mind go blank when you know what to write about, but then you don’t remember because you forgot about the idea and then the moment you have it again, it goes away again?

Writer shares struggles of being quarantinedI’ll tell you how many times

this happens to me. It happens all the time because surprise, surprise, it happened once again.

I went completely blank on the idea I had for this column.

How does this happen? I really want to know because I don’t know why it happens. I feel like my mind doesn’t want me to write down any of ideas that I have for my columns.

Anyways let’s get started. I was gonna’ talk about how much progress I’ve made from my mom teaching me how to cook, but since I got quarantined, let’s

talk about that.So far, I hate being

quarantined. It’s only been two hours and I hate it. Never again do I want to be quarantined.

Quarantine is basically having to be a virtual student for a few days. I was a virtual student a while back, but I didn’t like being virtual either. Yeah, I was at the house all day but even that gets boring. I don’t really get to interact that much in the class while being virtual.

Now don’t get me wrong. I like being at home, but when I have school that’s when I draw the line. Now of course I will

get on zoom for all my classes, but it’s not fun as it is when I’m physically in the classroom.

My mom has me in my room and she told me that if I’m gonna’ be quarantined, I have to be in my room the whole time and if I go out of my room, I have to wear a mask just to be on the safe side. Now I love my mom, I really do, but I don’t like being in my room while doing classes or homework even if it is just for an hour. I can’t. I don’t concentrate very well in my room. I don’t have anything to distract myself in my room, but

I feel very pressured when I’m doing school work.

Did I mention I don’t like being at the house while doing my classes virtual? I think I did, but honestly, I just have to accept this and learn how to deal with it. I’ll never know if I have to end being in quarantine again or not later in the school year. Hopefully I don’t have to be, but if I do, I’ll be ready for it.

Thank you for listening, or reading actually, to me ranting about this. See you next time on another Londra’s Log. Bye.

opinion 5tHe tiger’S

tAleFeb. 15, 2021

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Writers debate Valentine’s DaySh e Sa i dEditor’s Note: In this is-sue, Valentine’s Day is de-bated from a female and male perspective.

By Alyssa HurtAssistant editor

I simply disagree with Valentine’s Day all togeth-er. This holiday is one of the most over-hyped days of the year. This holiday is some-thing I never look forward to. Boyfriend or not, way too much is expected from this day. The only pro from this day is having an excuse

to dress up and wear red. Every year something

is expected from another that is never reached. Not to mention I always see someone cry because of this holiday. This holiday is meant to celebrate love to-wards another. I am not try-ing to come off as negative, but this holiday is so mean-ingless to me as to how it is always a let-down. Ex-pecting chocolate, letters and stuffed animals from your significant another is

not ideal to me. Creating expectations from another for this holiday will only let you down every year.

Not to also add that we’re in high school. We should not be expecting a huge Valentine’s Day. This is one of the last things we should be worrying about, yet people always get their feelings hurt. Expecting something from another is something we shouldn’t ex-pect in general. We always focus this holiday so much on gifts and not feelings to-

wards each other. Also, the single’s jokes

everyone makes on this day are so painful to hear. The jokes just get worse by the year. Every year we hear the same repetitive jokes, and it gets a little more an-noying every year.

Another thing that scares me is the number of issues this holiday causes with other relationships. Just because you don’t receive a gift is no reason to be up-set. This holiday is to be cel-

ebrated with each other to celebrate your feelings to-wards each other, not your money.

Just like Christmas we expect gifts and waste so much money on others when the holiday should be celebrated with your fami-ly.

I believe if we celebrated Valentine’s Day as a holiday towards each other and not with gift giving, I would en-joy it more than I do.

He SaidBy Kaden StoneStaff Writer

It might come as a sur-prise for the male of the He Said, She Said to be the one that likes Valentine’s Day, but it’s true. I love Val-entine’s Day so much. With all of the flowers, candy, and giant teddy bears, it is one of the best holidays.

Now I might not have a

significant other, but that’s okay. You don’t need a sig-nificant other to be happy on Valentine’s Day. There are plenty of other reasons to be happy on Valentine’s Day.

I enjoy it because it is a chance to get gifts for your friends who don’t have sig-nificant others. I love get-ting gifts, so I think it is

really cool. Valentine’s Day should

be a day that we lift each other up, even those with-out significant others. We shouldn’t hate on the peo-ple getting gifts because they have a significant oth-er. We should be getting

gifts for our friends so that no one feels left out.

If you are tired of Valen-tine’s Day and your friends are, too, maybe just set up a little secret Santa/Cupid thing where you give each other gifts so that you don’t

feel left out. Hating a holiday because

you don’t have someone who loves you or anyone for you to love, doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun. Think outside of the box and make it fun instead of a drag.

newS 6tHe tiger’S

tAleFeb. 15, 2021

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By Kaden StoneStaff writer

FFA members will begin competing in CDE contests. CDE’s are Career Development Events, which build on what is learned in an agriculture class and encourages members to put knowledge into practice. SHS students compete in 11 events.

Ag communications consist of four members, Alyson Gul-lett, Whitley Anderson, Avery Shiffner and Tyleigh Price, who participate in a simulated news conference.

Agriculture technology and mechanical systems has three members, Shane Robbins, Isael Rios and Blaine House. They are tested on technical and ag-ricultural mechanics skills.

Ag sales has four members, Brandt House, Jax Collier, Tymrie Collier and Caeden Johnson. They are placed in a simulated sales situation. They have to answer phones, create advertisements, and other jobs.

The cotton team mem-bers, Robert Turner, Dwight

Chaney, Shane Robbins and Anderson, where they look at different samples of cotton and grade them.

Environmental and natural resources is a team of Everette Tanner, Kaden Stone, Amilee Thomas and Nathan Jaimes, who tests water, looks at animal furs, tests and judges soil.

Farm business management is a team of Kelcey Pinkerton, Tinlee Roland, Stone and Anna Stelluti who have to solve farm analysis problems and take a written test.

Home site team members are, Katie DeLoera, Anderson and Price. Land members are, Chon Vasquez, Walker Wilson and Rey Rios. Both teams judge soil and its quality.

The meats team members are Jeremiah Valenzuela, Ro-land, Pinkerton and Viviana Vasquez. They judge different cuts of meats.

Milk quality team members are Turner, Johnson, Lasey Chaney, Gavin Fuentes, Mak-enah Short and Travis Thomp-son. They judge milk looking

for defects.Wool team members are

Asher Garlow, Thomas, Rob-bins and Cody Tatom. They judge wool based on the qual-ity.

Ag teacher Amanda Ander-son said, “We have practices where we learn, then we go to practice competitions where we do the real thing.”

The date for area is the week of April 14. State starts the week of April 23 and it runs all week. Anderson said, “We will attend many invitationals.”

More of the competitions will be held online due to COVID. Some schools have al-ready opened registrations so that not every school is at the contest at the same time.

About CDE’s, Anderson said, “We are hopeful to have success this year. We are start-ing practices as if things are going to be normal as we wait for more information about our CDE situation.

FFA students start CDE’s soon Skills USA students prepare for conteststhrough this monthBy Dani GreerStaff Writer

This month Skills USA students will be competing in various competitions.

“This year welding, construction, auto tech and health science are participating,” Tony Young, industrial arts teacher, said.

“It’s a competition of students in their respective ECT classes. Mine is automotive,” William Parker, auto mechanics teacher, said.

Each contest has different requirements for the con-testants.

“This year because of COVID, everyone will take a written test,” Young said.

“For the automotive competition, they will have to identify tools used in the shop and explain certain repairs done in light line repair,” Parker said.

The students will be competing this month.

“Feb. 16, 9:30 a.m., virtual, more than likely in the library,” Parker said.

“All contests will take place the first half of February online,” Young said.

The students have different ways for preparing.

“By taking their CTE class and studying extra material,” Young said about his students’ preparation.

“The students use shop manuals and by developing experience in the shop,” Parker said about automotive.

There are different levels to the competitions.

“The students will compete at state,” Young said.

Things about the contests have changed because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“They would have a hands-on portion of the contest. They would display their hands-on capabilities by performing tasks or actually building something,” Young said.

“We would travel to the district meet first, usually San Angelo. The next step would be Corpus Christi, South Texas, where Skills USA has its main offices from other towns in our district,” Parker said.

Students competing in welding are Michael Jaramillo, Ryan Johnson, Marshal Keele and Freddie Martinez.

Timmy Martinez will compete in construction.

Rico Santana, Johnathan Valder, Taylor Ashlock, Nathan Loper will compete in automotive.

Alex Salinas competed in mechanical terminology Feb. 4, but results weren’t available at press time.

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Twenty-four students will advance to state for UIL choir solo and ensemble after com-peting Jan. 30 at SHS.

“I am happy to announce that all students from Snyder scored a 1 or a 2. Students ad-vance to state based on the score they receive and the level of difficulty of the song they are sang,” choir director Cody Duff said.

Soloists who will advance after earning a division one (superior rating) on a Class 1 song are Avery Schiffner, Tati-ana Sigarrillo, Alyssa Castillo, Angela Herrera, Xavier Sigar-rillo, Tiffany Salinas, Robert Turner, Casside Kincaid, Mi-chael Blalock, Fiona Jazexhiu, Natalie Reid, Kambry Jones, Akylah Taylor, Donovin Al-varado, Maria Martinez, Gavin

Fuentez, Jaxon West, Nathan Loper, Jaqulynn Craig, Jaden West and Baylee Green.

Students who performed as an ensemble earned a division one (superior rating) and are advancing are Craig, Casside Kincaid, Kamiah Davis, Hai-ley Humphrey, Zaily Edwards, Schiffner, Jaxon West, Loper and Jaden West.

Soloists who also earned a superior rating but will not advance are Emily Carper, An-thony Richburg, Christina Oli-varez, Jackie Kincaid, Adrienne Salinas, Arian Avalos, Adrianna Lopez and Sergio Ybarra.

Other soloists earning a di-vision two (excellent rating) are Alantis Hermosillio, Cesar Olvera, Emily Davis, Caden Wyatt, T.J. Escobedo, Eric Arel-lano, Peyten Grope, Sa’Bella Davidson and Layla Rodriguez.

Twenty-four choir students to advance to state

Band to compete Saturday in AbileneBy Alondra TovarStaff Writer

Band UIL solo and ensem-ble competition will take place on Saturday, at Wylie High School in Abilene.

According to Dustin Shreve, band director, seven students will be playing a solo.

Soloists are Carolyn Stelluti,

Chris Moreno, Desire’ Malm-sten, Corey Thomas, Alondra Tovar, Emilie Hodge and Ricky Luna.

There are two ensembles. Clarinet quartet members are Hodge, Jacklyn Ramiro, Brai-lynn Garcia and Carlos Galindo.

Trumpet trio members are Moreno, Malmsten and Steven

Jackson.“They are practicing on

their own, with me available to help when needed. Solo and ensemble really is a test to see how well a student can work in-dividually and hone their prac-tice skills, so it is primarily an activity that they do on their own,” Shreve said.

COVID, spring semester guidelines updatedBy Gillian CristStaff writer

As of Wednesday, Feb. 10, there were 10 active student COVID-19 cases, and one active staff COVID-19 cases. There were 48 students in quarantine. There have been 109 cases total since Sept. 11.

In order to avoid a possible quarantine, wear your mask when you’re with people out-side of your household, social distance six feet away from other people, wash your hands often, and avoid dirty surfaces.

Nurse Chris Bane reminded students of the events that they could miss out on because of COVID-19, like prom. Proper mask wearing will help prevent the spread of COVID-19, she said.

At the beginning of the second semester, Snyder ISD issued an update for spring semester virtual and

on-campus school options.   Long-Term Virtual: parent/guardian has elected their stu-dent to attend virtual school for six weeks or longer.  

Short Term Virtual: a stu-dent may attend school virtu-ally on a short-term basis be-cause of  COVID exposure or COVID positive test; illness; health-related appointment; other reason with  prior-ap-proval  from the principal. If a student is failing their courses, is not completing coursework, has excessive unexcused ab-sences, or is not successful in a long-term virtual environment, the student must have a medi-cal authorization form stating that virtual school is neces-sary.  Otherwise, arrangements will be made for the student to return to on-campus instruc-tion. 

Long-Term On-Campus:

parent/guardian has chosen for their student to attend school in-person each day: students enrolled in on-campus learning must attend all classes on-cam-pus (unless they meet the short-term virtual criteria); students may not attend some classes in-person and others virtually due to preference or to avoid a tardy; all students will attend school, either on-campus or vir-tually, daily. 

Each option will follow the same curriculum and a standard grading policy that measures how well students understand the coursework. All students will be provided with technol-ogy access (hotspots located throughout the community and iPad/laptops) to interact with their teachers and coursework.  If anyone has any questions, the campus principal should be contacted.

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Adan Martinez measures chemicals for a lab in Guy Nelson’s honors chemisty class third period on Feb 4. Photo by Larrisa Wilkinson

Kamryn Garza cuts roses for the Valentine’s Day orders for the flo-ral class on Feb 9. Students and faculty could order roses for Valen-tine’s Day. Photo by Heaven Stocks

Shad Hodge practices for UIL concert sight reading in first period band on Feb 8. Photo by Gillian Crist

Whitley Anderson and Tymrie Collier prepare to get to dodgeballs at the FFA meeting on Jan. 25. At the meeting they played dodgeball and ate. Photo by Kaden Stone Carlos Galindo plays his clarinet in band class

first period on Feb. 8. Photo by Gillian Crist

Through the lens of SHS photographers

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Kadon Alvarado makes quesidillas during life skills class on Jan. 22. Photo by Sa’Bella Davidson

Jacob Olivarez practices his saxophone for UIL competition on Feb. 8. Photo by Gillian Crist Ricky Luna practices the timpani while Jason Garlow, background, practices the crash cymbals Feb 8.

Photo by Gillian Crist

Olivia Sharp and Devin Bailey invite principal Shaye Murphy to a spagetti lunch. Photo by Gil-lian Crist

Aurora Savedra powders Collin Mitten’s hair for the one-act play, “Paganini,” Feb 2. The one-act company competes at UIL district March 10. Photo by Gillian Crist

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By Alyssa HurtAssistant Editor

The Gillespies have been mar-ried for 30 years this month.

“We were passionately in love as newlyweds and have grown to be best friends,” Alan Gillespie said.

They are both teachers at SHS. Alan teaches government and dual credit. His wife, Shannon, is a cred-it recovery teacher.

“We don’t live far from the school, but since we are both route bus drivers, we have to go to the bus barn and leave buses at the school.  I love working near her.  If it isn’t always possible that’s okay, but I love seeing her whenever I can. At times we eat lunch togeth-er, and surprise each other,” Alan said.

They have only worked togeth-er here.

“Snyder is the first place where we have actually worked at the same school.  We worked in the same district in Ballinger, but not the same school unless you count some substituting and bus driving in other places,” Alan said. 

Shannon Gillespie began as a substitute teacher and then started working for different school districts. She works at SHS as a credit recovery teacher.

“Last year we were lucky enough to work next door to each other.  It’s pretty neat to work at the same place as your spouse.  We get to share stories about our students.  It’s even better when we actually know the kids because we have both had them in our

classrooms,” Shannon said.  “Since I began teaching, we have only worked in one other school dis-trict together, which was at Ball-inger.  When I was a substitute and a teacher’s aside, we worked together at the same schools which include Eldorado, Winters, Mc-Camey and Mertzon.  Before that, I would commute and work for dif-ferent school districts. 

They met in San Angelo. “We were introduced by mutual

friends.  It’s kind of funny actually. Neither one of us wanted to go out that night.  My next door neighbor asked me to meet her at a piano bar in San Angelo, where we were both living at the time.  I told her I wasn’t feeling well and just wanted to go home after work.  She begged me to just come and sit with her until she found someone she knew.  So, I went right after work.  When I got there, she was sitting at a ta-ble with a mutual friend and Mr. Gillespie.  I sat down and ordered a coke and Alan ordered some-thing to drink as well.  The wait-ress came back and said it was $2. 

So, I gave her the money.  He took a dollar away from the waitress and said, ‘I can pay for my own drink.’  Shocked, I said, ‘Okay.’ A few moments went by and I asked him what kind of drink came with a lemon.  He said, ‘None of your business.’  Again, I was shocked by his answer.  Then he told me it was tea.  I was so surprised because all of my friends drank alcohol but I didn’t. I couldn’t believe there was someone else at a bar that was sober. Both of our friends left us alone at the table and they mingled with others they found. We talk-ed for about three hours and then I told him I was going home. He asked if he could walk me to my car and then he asked me out be-fore I left,” she said.

The couple has raised two daughters.

“We have two daughters, Mor-gan, 27 and M’Kenna, 26. Morgan is a teacher in Mertzon at Irion County Elementary School. She is married and has three children: Jeremiah, her stepson, is 7; Addi-son, her stepdaughter is 4; and Kyn-

leigh is one. If you ask her, they are all her kids. M’Kenna is currently working on her master’s degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and working part time as a chaplain at the UK hospital and part time at the student center on campus at seminary,” she said

The couple have traveled to many places including Minneapo-lis, Minnesota; Malvern, Arkansas; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Jamestown, Richmond, Roanoke, Virginia; West Virginia; Washing-ton, D.C; Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York City, Bos-ton Massachusetts; Rhode Island; London, England; Delaware; Paris, France; Connecticut; Switzerland; Mobile, Alabama; Austria; New Orleans, La; Germany; Las Vegas; NV, Belgium; Lexington, KY; Lux-embourg; Oklahoma City’; OK, Athens, Poros, Hydra, Aegina, and Corinth, Greece; St Louis; Mo, Rome Pompeii, Italy; Illinois; Or-lando, Miami and The Keys, and Florida.

“Our first adventure was the weekend we got engaged.  In

1990, we went to San Antonio to his best friend’s wedding. Then he surprised me for our honeymoon with a trip to Florida. I also took him to Minnesota to visit my fami-ly (aunts, uncles and cousins) May 1991. Afterwards, we were lucky enough to receive two round trip tickets to anywhere in the world.  We chose to go to Europe. In 1993, we flew to London, England; then took the fairy to the top of France and traveled by train to Paris. We rented a car and traveled to Swit-zerland, Austria, Germany, Lux-embourg and Belgium and then took a hoover-craft back to En-gland and visited London before going home. We were there for 19 days. In June of 2012 we traveled up the East Coast to experience the 13 colonies and see iconic plac-es in history. We went to Rome, Italy during Spring Break 2019 and Athens, Greece Spring Break 2020.  I have also been to Australia and New Zealand as part of my study abroad trip while working on my master’s degree in 2010,” she said.

See Gillespies on page 16

Gillespies celebrate 30th anniversary this month

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Students surveyed about what attracts themShelby Powell, 9th

What is the first thing you notice when you see some-one? I think personality is a big thing. Personally, I look at how they treat me and others and judge them based on that, rather than looks. What do you consider a good first date? I think a first date should be about getting to know each other. Probably in a restau-rant setting because you don’t know a whole lot about them, so it would be hard to come up with a cute, personalized date.  What do you look for in your significant other? Someone who understands my emotions and is able to have deep, intel-lectual conversations with me. Also, someone that treats me as an equal. What annoys you about someone you are attracted to? Just pure stupidity, unnec-essary comments that make no sense in the place we are and being ignored. Those are my biggest pet peeves and would turn me away from a relation-ship.Who should do the asking about dates? I don’t think there is a right or wrong an-

swer. I don’t believe in gender roles or stereotypes, so if the girl asks the guy out, there is nothing wrong with that.

Jada James,10th

What is the first thing you notice when you see some-one? The first thing I notice about someone when I first see them is either their eyes or their smile. It’s just something that I look at first, just because it’s right there, but not any-more. I now sometimes look at people’s eyes. I say sometimes, because I am not good with eye contact.What do you consider a good first date? Nothing too serious, maybe just like going out for lunch or maybe just watching a movie. For a first date I think going out to lunch and getting to know each other a little bit more or just asking about small things.What do you look for in your significant other? Nothing really, I think you have to be a very honest person and be fun-ny. I really look for humor, can we laugh together about cer-tain things? I also look to see how they carry themselves and

how they act around others, are they loud, quiet, rude? Just small things. Nothing too seri-ous, maybe just like going out for lunch or maybe just watch-ing a movie. Who should do the asking about dates? I don’t really un-derstand what this question is asking, but I personally think that both of us could ask about dates. Some feel like it’s always the guy’s job to ask the girl on a date or ask her to do something when really, it’s not. It could literally go both ways, she can ask him, and he can ask her. The guy shouldn’t be counted on to always ask, if I were a guy, I would like to be asked on a date. It would be cute.

Alexis Smith, 11th

What is the first thing you notice when you see some-one? Their personality. A per-sonality is the first impression I get from someone. If I click with you, then we can under-stand each other.What do you consider a good first date? A good first date is doing something you both like that fits your interests. If you have a hobby and they have a

hobby that you both like, then do that. What do you look for in your significant other? Someone who is kind and caring. Not a lot of people care as much in a relationship anymore. But if I’m going to date you, you have to be invested, not just wanting to get with someone just be-cause. What annoys you about someone you are attracted to? When they say they think they are not handsome/beau-tiful. Who should do the asking about dates? Both parties, no matter what type of relation-ship you’re in. I think you both should take turns on planning dates, not just one side. In or-der for your significant other to treat you like an king/queen, you have to treat them the same way.

Shad Hodge, 10thWhat is the first thing you notice when you see some-one? The first thing I notice is, obviously, the physical traits of someone. But unlike what most people expect for a “guy” to look for, I look for things that can be found in anyone. Things

like their posture, or how they walk, and other similar things. People show how confident they are with either where they are or just confident about themselves whenever they stand up taller and don’t shuffle their feet.What do you consider a good first date? I would consider a good first date any of the classic first dates. Going to the mov-ies; going out to dinner some-where; going to a park. But I personally feel like you could go just about anywhere and it be called a date if it’s something that both people would enjoy.What do you look for in your significant other?I look for a good amount of self-confidence in a significant other; not arrogance or con-ceitedness. I look for a per-sonality that’s kind and joking, but one that isn’t intoxicatingly positive either; in other words, someone with a personality that isn’t two-dimensional. But most importantly, I look for someone that I truly believe I can trust, and someone that can fully trust me.What annoys you about someone you are attracted

to? Something that would an-noy me if I were attracted to someone would be arrogance or conceitedness; I don’t think I’d be able to really get into a relationship with someone like that. It would also annoy me if that person was the type of person who believed they were always in the right, or that their opinion was more true than an-other’s opinion; that just isn’t logical. Most importantly, how-ever, I think it would annoy me if they never tried to change for the betterment of the relation-ship, and instead forced all of the changes onto the me.Who should do the asking about dates? I personally believe that it doesn’t matter who should do ask about dates, or who asks out who first. In all honesty, it kind of annoys me that it’s a common be-lief the guy has to ask out the girl. Some guys may not have enough confidence, and have a fear of rejection and the hu-miliation that would come with it. Men and women should be treated equally, so it would be unreasonable to have a stereo-type that implies that the guy has to ask the girl out.

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By Kaden Stone, Cydni DominguezStaff WriterReporter

Last Thursday, the Lady Tigers were to have played Hereford in bi-district, after winning third in district. Results were not available at press time.

“If we advance, we will more than likely play a team out of El Paso, San Elizario, who was the winner of their district. When

it comes to play-offs, we have to focus on one game at a time,” T’Leah Eicke, head coach, said.

They defeated Lake View on Feb. 5, 37-36.

Prior to the game, Eicke said, “I hope to execute our defense more effectively and again finish the easy shots, go up strong, and make our lay-ups.”

They defeated Sweetwater on Feb. 2, 55-37.

Before the game, Eicke said, “We worked on handling pressure during practice. We have to finish the easy shots and make our free throws.”

Right now, our strength is our defense. The girls are working well together and getting some stops. We have to keep working on blocking out when the first shot goes up and also finishing on the offensive end,” Eicke said.

Lady Tigers head to play-offs JV girls wrap up season

By Alyssa Hurt, Camilla LopezAssistant Editor Reporter

The varsity and JV softball teams compete tomorrow against Slaton here. The girls have competed in six scrimmages against Lamesa, Colorado city, Wall, Coahoma, Albany and Frenship.

The girls were to play Midland High and Lubbock Monterrey Feb 13.

“Hopefully we compete,” head softball coach, Bianca Gonzalez said.

COVID-19 has affected the team with new rules.

“It has made us more

cautious,” Gonzalez said. Strengths of the team would

be “the girls are working and getting better,” Gonzalez said.

Weaknesses of the team would be “injuries have hurt us some,” Gonzalez said.

Players on the varsity team seniors Melyni Garcia, left field; Alyssa Hurt, pitcher/designated hitter; Jerri Villarreal, second base; Meagan Fletcher, catcher; Yessenia Ruiz, outfield; junior Caira Galvan, second base; sophomores Illeana Madrid, center outfield; Myia Braziel, first base; Neheva Williams, right outfield; Dayz Lentz,

Softball to play Slaton tomorrow

By Kaden Stone, Cydni DominguezStaff WriterReporter

The JV girls’ basketball team played Sweetwater on Feb. 2.

Before the game, Coach Jaden Cowley said they planned to “increase our shooting per-centages big time, both in field games from the free throw line.”

They played Lake View on Feb. 5.

Prior to the game Cowley said, “We played Lake View pretty well overall; we’ll just need to make sure we play hard and execute well from the start of the game to the end.”

About the team’s strengths and weaknesses Cowley said, “Our strengths: hard working and tough. Weakness: Our fun-damentals have improved, but many things still need improve-ment in preparation for next year.”

Kamiah Davidson dribbles the ball down the court away from es-tacado player. The Lady Tigers played Estacado on Jan. 26. Photo by Sa’Bella Davidson.

outfield; freshmen Ava Aviles, pitcher/short stop; Gabby Hernandez, third base; and Saliegh Hernandez, pitcher.

Players on the JV team are Jocelyn Martinez, Sydney Ubando, Aaliyah Braziel, Analy Rodriguez, Madison Garza, Azariah Sosa, Peyten Grope, Analey Juarez, Chloe Carrisalez, Jordyn Medrano, Faith Rosas, Adriana Briseno, Raylee Avalos and Madison Jamison.

Managers are junior Katie DeLoera, sophomore Miranda Amaya and freshman Anakaren Miranda.

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Varsity boys to play bi-district Friday

By Cydni Dominguez, Zaily EdwardsReporter, Editor

The last game for the freshmen basketball boys’ team was Friday against Estacado but results were

not available at press time. “Our strategy for district was to

just win. Our level of play has been very high,” Coach Zach Garcia said. Prior to the Estacado game, Garcia said, “We will play the same, but

Freshman boys wrap up season

Zaily EdwardsEditor

The varsity boys’ basketball team will play their first play-off game Friday.

“We will be playing a team from up in the Panhandle. Their district is a tight race, but it could be Her-eford, Dumas or Perryton,” Coach Lee Scott said.

The team played their last dis-trict game last Friday against Es-tacado. Scores were unavailable at presstime.

“District was pretty tough. There are no easy games at all. We shot ourselves in the foot losing a game we shouldn’t have, but we still clinched a spot in the play-offs and we just have to keep grinding,” Scott said.

The Tigers defeated Levelland Feb. 9, 37-29.

“We haven’t thought about them too much yet with us still having to play Lake View first. I am sure we will do a lot of the same stuff because we want to be who we are. But we might throw some different defenses at them to slow them down a little,” Scott said be-fore the game.

“We are going to have to make shots! That is what we are going to do different! “ he said.

Scores from previous games are Lake View, 42-11; Sweetwater, 60-40; Big Spring, 59-35; Estacado, 31-49 and Levelland, 46-41.

A third district championship is still in sight.

“It will be tough, but it’s not impossible and we will need some help from another team. We will need to win our last three games and we need Estacado to lose to someone and then lose to us. Then we would be tied if that happened and we would be co-champs,” Scott said.

Michael Jaramillo, front, and Eber Murillo, back, defend against Sweetwater Feb. 2. The varsity team won, 60-40. Photo by Larrisa Wilkinson

By Riley OwenReporter

The powerlifting team will compete Thursday at Lake View high school.

The powerlifting team competed at Sweetwater on Thursday, but results were not available at presstime.

The team competed here Jan. 28.

“The powerlifting team has done very well so far this year. I think we have a really good chance on both sides to get several to regional and state. My goal is to help build a great team and help them win the state championship. We are very young and I hope to build a great program with these great athletes. I am very proud of them for all their hard work,” Coach Michael Widenor said.

The team has competed at three meets.

At Big Spring, girls and boys finished fourth as a team.

The girls’ team finished second at both Roosevelt and Snyder meets. 

Individually for the boys, Reyes

Silva was the top lifter at Roosevelt and Big Spring with 1,630 total pounds. He is ranked number 1 in the state and first in the region in Division 2 weight class 220.

John Rivera is ranked eighth in the region in 148 weight class with 1,040 total pounds. He has finished first in Roosevelt and second at Snyder. 

Jaylon James is ranked 11th in the region in Division 2 at 242 weight class.

Nathan Burton finished third in Roosevelt and Snyder in the 165 weight class.

Braden St. Clair finished fifth in the 165 in some meets. 

Alejandro Flores has finished second and third in two different meets in the 123 weight class this year.

Also on the boys’ team and their weight class are Nathan Dominguez, 132; Cesar Olvera, 220; Aden Hernandez, 275; Luis Cabrera, 148; Jose Cabrera, 181; Jay Castillo,165; and Ricky Luna, 148. 

Individually for the girls, Sidni Hunter was the top female lifter at the Roosevelt and Snyder meets

with 820 pounds. She is ranked seventh in the state, second in the region in Division 2 in 148 weight class. 

Sydney Fuentes finished first in her weight class at Roosevelt and Snyder and was second in Big Spring. She is currently ranked ninth in the state, second in the region in the 97 weight class with 505 pounds.

Connie Hermosillo is ranked sixth in the region in the 114 weight class with 540. She got second at the Big Spring meet.

Vivian Vasquez is ranked sixth in the region and has finished second and third at the last two meets in the 220 weight class.

Clarissa Rios is ranked eighth in the region and has finished second and third at the last two meets in the 198 weight class.

Anneliese Torres is ranked fourth in the region and has finished second and third at the last two meets in the 181 weight class.

Ezra Alcaraz competes in the 123 weight class.

hopefully win this time around.”The boys played Levelland Feb.

9, but scores were unavailable.

“Our defense needs to be aggressive all game, not just one

half,” the coach said.

Scores from the previous games were Lake View, 48-26; Sweetwater, 57-11; Big Spring, 31-16; Estacado, 56-57; and Levelland, 35-31.

Powerlifters to compete Thursday

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In Snyder, call: 573-3161visit us at www.bigcountry.coop Proudly supporting the Snyder Tigers!

By Alyssa HurtAssistant Editor

The boys’ golf team will be competing today at the Levelland invitational tournament.

The girls will be hosting the Snyder tournament Friday and Saturday at the WTC and Scurry County golf courses.

Teams competing in the Sny-der tournament are Abilene Coo-per, Big Spring, Central, Lubbock Estacado, Lubbock Frenship,

Graham, San Angelo Lake View, Lamesa, Levelland, Lubbock Coro-nado, Lubbock High, Seminole and Sweetwater.

This past weekend the girls competed at the Sweetwater tour-nament. Teams that competed in the Sweetwater tournament were Sweetwater, Levelland, Abilene Cooper, Greenwood, Lubbock Es-tacado and San Angelo Lake View.

To prepare for district the team

By Cydni DominguezReporter

Today the varsity baseball team scrimmages Seminole at Moffett F ield at 5 p.m.

Players are seniors Blaine House (short stop), Leeroy Tavarez (first base/pitcher), Austin Escobedo (right field/pitcher), Kyler Gryder (catcher); juniors Hunter Stewart (second base), Jaden West (second base/ outfield), Cam Smith (left field/ pitcher), Zeke Esparza (first base/pitcher), Derek Dominguez (center field/pitcher), Bryce Ford (catcher) and Jerek Pena (third base). All are returning players.

They scrimmaged Brecken-

ridge on Feb. 6. Before the scrimmage,

Coach Shane Stewart said, “I plan on us competing very well since we are very experienced on the mound and our defense should be very solid. I anticipate our offense being much more productive this year.”

“One strength is our pitching staff as we have several good arms who can compete on the mound. Another is our ability to play solid defense. An area we are improving on is our offensive approach at the plate, working to have quality at-bats and extending innings,” Coach Stewart said about the team’s strengths and weaknesses.

The team was not able to

By Camilla Lopez Reporter

The varsity tennis team will compete at San Angelo Lake View Thursday and the JV team hosts a tournament here tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m.

The varsity’s tournament last Friday was cancelled due to weather.

The teams that competed at the tournament were Snyder, Levelland, Big Spring, Sweetwater, Lakeview, Wall, Greenwood, and Monahans.

They competed at Sweetwater Feb. 5, finishing second.

Carlyon Stelluti won first in girls’ singles. Mary Kerr won second in girls’ singles. That made a Snyder only finals for girls’ singles.

Chris Moreno and Morgan Chapman won first in mixed doubles.

Emilie Hodge and Avery Schiffner won consolation in girls’ doubles against Makenah Short and Tatiana Sigarrillo.

“Both took hard-fought first round losses to the teams that got first and second,” Hamlin said.

Blaine House and Jaden West won fourth in boys’ doubles.

Other players on the varsity team are boys’ singles player Shad Hodge; boys’ doubles Neftali Jaimes and Antonio Cross; and mixed doubles Kristy Lopez and Tanner Tubbs.

The JV tournament was also cancelled last Thursday, due to weather.

The JV team competed at Sweetwater on Feb. 4, winning the tournament.

Ean Terrazas got second and Robert Turner were fourth in boys’ singles.

Allison Flores and Cristina Olivarez placed second in girls’ doubles.

Linsey Bennett won first in girls’ singles.

Nathan Jaimes and Camilla Lopez won first in mixed doubles.

Also, on the JV team is Sadee Powers.

As with all other sports, COVID has left its mark on tennis.

“We’re just worried week to week that someone may be out. The players have done a good job with all the COVID requirements that we have to do,” Hamlin said.

Varsity/JV tennis teamskick off spring season

Baseball Coach Shane Stewart talks about today’s upcoming scrimmage

Boys’ golf competes at Levelland;girls’ team to host this weekend

needs to work on skills.“We are trying to get one short

game (putting and chipping) skills better. Tournament success always comes down to short game,” head Coach Ricky Hunter said.

play much of their season last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The team is excited about getting back on the field together since it has been 324 days since our last game together. That was very hard to handle, but I feel like we have put in some good work getting ready for the start of the season,” Coach Stewart said.

“We have several goals that we talk about as a team. Some goals are public such as winning games and making the playoffs. Some are more personal to the team,” Coach Stewart said about goals that the team has.

Seth Grant tees off at the Sny-der tournament Feb. 6. Photo by Sa’Bella Davidson

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tAleFeb. 15, 2021

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325-573-0189Gina Jones

By Kaden Stone, Camilla LopezStaff Writer, Reporter

The girls’ soccer team will play Lubbock Estacado in their second district game tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.

Prior to the game Coach Jessica Lima said, “Practices are what prepares the girls to be ready for every game. This is where we learn and fix the mistakes. Game time it is just time to show what we have been practicing. For the game against Lubbock Estacado, we are just going to keep on work-ing hard every practice and im-proving so we can perform at our best level and score some goals. The coaching staff and the entire team cannot wait for district to start and keep on building this soccer program at Snyder based on a culture of consistency, communication, care and community.”

Last Friday the team trav-eled to San Angelo to face Lake View but results were not avail-able at press time.

“The game against San An-gelo will be our first district game and according to results from past years this is the toughest team we will face during district. This is a plus

as it will make us start district strong and be prepared for the rest. To prepare for this game we have been working or our weaknesses and also playing the games as a way to get better and more experience. The girls watch film in order to know more about the other team and they also watch film on our past games to see the mistakes we made and how to fix them for the following games. We are always preparing mentally and emotionally to play this game. We need to not only be 100% physically prepared, but also be mentally ready to play district and bring wins home,” Lima said before the game.

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the team played Borger.

“According to statistics Borger is a team that are on the same level as us. They have played some of the same schools that we have played, and the final results have been similar to ours. Their number 5 is a good player. She can drib-ble, run, shoot and make good passes. Most of the times she is the one that connects the ball from defense to forwards. We have been working a lot on our touches and corner kicks, which are some of the things we need to improve on. Anoth-

er thing we are working on is finishing. The girls have been working extremely hard to im-prove their skills and the this showed on the game against Palo Duro,” Lima said.

COVID continues to affect athletics.

“COVID has brought a lot of challenges to the team and coaching staff. It is always a sur-prise as you never know when a player or coach will be quar-antined. We have been follow-ing all the COVID protocols in order to keep everyone as safe as possible and trying to keep a complete team, but this is a new situation that is out of anyone’s control. Although, I always try to see the positive side in every situation, therefore I feel like this is helping us overcome ad-versities. We have had to play games in which the more expe-riences players were not avail-able due to COVID making the team have to adapt in the last minute. This just show how these girls are capable to adapt into any situation and give their best. The challenges are only making us stronger,” Lima said.

Scores from previous games are Borger on Feb. 5, 2-1; Palo Duro, Feb. 2, 0-2; Wylie Jan. 29, 0-10; and Pampa Jan. 26, 1-4.

Girls’ soccer to host Estacado

By Kaden Stone, Camilla Lo-pezStaff Writer, Reporter

The boys’ soccer team will play Lubbock Estacado in their second district game tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Lubbock.

Before the game, Coach Max Cruz said, “Estacado will be our first away game. When it pertains to district, we will confront and prepare for this game with the same intensity and mentality as every district match.”

Last Friday the team faced Lake View at Tiger Stadium,

but results weren’t available at press time.

“We are refreshing the ideas and style of play that we have learned through the prepara-tion games. We will be revising film and polishing the team when it comes to fitness and tactical demands. It is definite-ly a different feeling and we are excited to start district,” Cruz said prior to the game.

COVID-19 has taken a toll on athletics.

“COVID-19 has been on the top end of every note; however, we have been following every advice and medical procedure that has been established by the school. We do not have or plan team dinner meals nor do any-thing out of school. As of now Covid has not impact us as hard this year and we hope it stays like this,” Cruz said.

Previous game scores are Abilene Cooper on Feb. 2, 1-2; Palo Duro on Jan. 29, cancelled; Pampa on Jan. 26, 4-1.

Boys’ soccer teamto travel to Lubbock

Tymrie Coller avoids Odessa players at the game on Jan. 15. The Lady Tigers will host Estacado Matadors tomorrow at 6 p.m. Photo by Sa’Bella Davidson

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Mr. G’eez Photography

“My personal favorite was vis-iting Rome.  It was definitely a bucket list trip.  It is so historical, beautiful and was a dream come true for me. I studied Pompeii when I was in high school and to have the opportunity to actually go there and see the ruins was quite remarkable.

“We plan on going to Egypt once COVID is over and all of the countries open back up.  We want-ed to go for spring break this year, but you can’t travel anywhere with-out including quarantine time so we will just have to wait,” she said.

Both of them said it was hard to pick just one memory.

“Oh man. That’s tough. The time I proposed is definitely one, which is a secret. Sorry. Of course, our first meeting and first date.  Our wedding and the birth of our children. We have been fortunate to be able to travel often. We went to Europe for 21 days not long

after we were married, and have more recently been to Greece and Italy, with stops in Toronto (Can-ada), and London (UK, several times). Our honeymoon was spent in Orlando, Florida and that was fun. Then there are all those times with pets, friends, and family. Also up there would be the trips we took up the East coast of the U.S. with our kids and my mom. We also went to Nashville several times when Shannon had a few singing opportunities. More memorable times. I also will never forget when Shannon sang ‘Amazing Grace’ at my dad’s funeral with tears stream-ing down her face,” he said.

“We have so many wonderful memories it is truly hard to pick just one. Our most requested memory is how we met. People are dumbfounded by the time span of our relationship. It really is quite extraordinary. We know we have a special bond. We always have. We have both been blessed with a great love for one another, understanding, learning the art of

compromise, including God and our faith in our relationship,” she said. “I think our best memories are the times that we are together. It doesn’t matter if we are traveling the world or sitting at home and watching TV. I just love his com-pany, corny jokes and listening to him tell me about his day.”

Their marriage has lasted 30 years as a result of their commit-ment to each other. Alan describes their relationship as “compromise, forgiveness, love, understanding, and commitment.  We enjoy each other’s company a lot. We don’t always have the same interests, but do share plenty of activities. We have a lot of trust in one another,” he said.

“We work together in lots of ways. We help each other clean house, do the laundry, cook, do woodworking projects, remodel our house, and pretty much every-thing that comes our way. We are a team – good, bad or ugly. We laugh together and have a lot of fun. We love to entertain and have friends

or family over. Game night is al-ways the best. It’s a great excuse to clean the house, cook a lot of food and spend the night laughing,” she said. “We get along great. After be-ing together for 30 years you learn the art of compromise.”

Through marriage, pet peeves also grow. “He blows his nose with-out a Kleenex, especially at night,” Shannon said.

Alan’s pet peeve would be “I hate to be late and am usually real-ly early, while she might be just on time,” Allan said.

There is one challenge the Gillespies have faced. “Finances were a challenge midway, but we overcame it and learned from past mistakes,” Gillespie said.

After being together for 30 years, they had advice for students.

“Don’t rush. Be yourself.  Take time to enjoy life and find out what you really want. You don’t have to settle. Stay true to your values and morals! Don’t ever change for someone. If they really like you, they will accept you just the way you are,” she said.

“It’s never perfect, but can be one of the best things in life.  I al-ways tell young people that ‘being

single is great and being married is great, but they are nothing alike.’  You have to know that passion can fade, but friendship grows, and the love doesn’t die. Don’t give up eas-ily, be ready to forgive, praise each other a lot, make an effort to suc-ceed, and remember that a com-mitment is a commitment. Often when I look at her, she’ll do some-thing that reminds me of when we first met,” Allan said.

Shannon believes “a deep love, lots of understanding, and our faith in God” is what has kept their mar-riage so strong.

The Gillespies are proud of be-ing together for 30 years.

“Of course, our longevi-ty.  That’s really something to be proud of, I think. And so proud of our daughters,” he said.  

Shannon loves “everything, especially his wit, humor, and charm,” about her husband.

Alan said, “Other than she’s beautiful and sings like an angel.  I always say this, ‘when the crap hits the fan, she’s one you want on your side.’ I’m very proud of her.”

Gillespies from page 10

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