Latest News

The High Arrow

Indiana Area Senior High School

SWIMMING SENIORS SHED TEARS DURING THEIR LAST HOME MEET

By JENNY TODD

Hunter Fanella finishes off her last race as a senior - PHOTO COURTESY of JOEY MARGITA - IHS DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCTION I STUDENT

IHS Swimming seniors have just participated in their last home meet. This is an unimaginable day that sadly has to come for every senior athlete. 

Swimming is a physical sport but it also holds a place in the mind. Countless hours of staring at the bottom of a black lined swimming pool is something you take head on. Imagine doing this for every single day of your life. 

 

Most of the seniors have been swimming for longer than just their high school years. Maggie Bennett, Anna Margita, Hunter Fanella, Leah Amsler, Abby Killam and Loughlin Pagnucci have all spent many years swimming on the local YMCA team aside from highschool. Bernadette Buchanchag was the only new swimmer to the highschool her freshman year. Senior night was quite surreal for them. Imagine looking around at kids that you have known for years, have raced, argued with and loved all come to an end. 

 

When swimming, one of the main things you are always told is “this is your family, you will see these people more than your own parents.” That stands the truth when it comes down to it: who do you have to see when you’re having a bad day or good day, your teammates. Walking away from the sport is hard but leaving behind family is harder.


I talked to senior Anna Margita who said “It is very hard for me to walk away from this sport and I can’t imagine not getting back into the pool next year.” This is something that the other seniors agreed with. That surreal feeling doesn’t go away. When asked if Anna thinks she’s going to regret anything about the sport she said “I regret not being in the moment and wishing that the end date would come faster. The time really flew by and I can’t believe it has gone this fast.” That seems to be a feeling that everyone relates to, even students who aren’t in a sport but the saying “life goes fast” lives true.

The only senior boy Loughlin Pagnucci said “My favorite memory has been all of the success that we have had over the past four years, especially beating Mt. Pleasant to win the section sophomore year and beat Laurel Highlands to win the section junior year, as well as winning the West A invitational this year.” This quote truly brings out what it means to be on a team. Loughlin’s favorite memory was not a race he individually won, but something the entire team was able to accomplish. Even though it is not a team sport exactly anyone would do anything for their teammates. 

Senior Hunter Fanella has been swimming for 12 years. That is more than half her life.  She said “I have been swimming since I was 6 years old, so this sport has grown with me. I have made so many friends and memories through this sport, and knowing that all of that will be behind me is sad. I’ll miss the practices, meets, and memories I’ve made. My favorite memory is going to states at Bucknell with my relay and enjoying our time there. it’s pretty hard, I have been doing it for 2/3 of my life so making an adjustment to not doing it will be difficult. I’ll miss the friends, the workouts, the racing, and the memories I made.” The number of hours she has put in has been truly inspiring and shows a lot about not just her but everyone’s character to persevere through tough times shows how truly successful this group of seniors will be.

The IHS swimming seniors Leah Amsler, Maggie Bennett, Bernadette Buchanchang, Abby Killam, Hunter Fanella, Anna Margita, and Loughlin Pagnucci are definitely going to have a hard time walking away from something they love. They will soon be able to share a memory with each other.

The IHS swim team will compete in WPIALS, on March 3 and 4th. Good luck to all the swimmers attending. Your hard work will pay off!

You May Also Like...

Mini-Thon sponsors cuts for a cause

By CHRISTIAN BROWN Last year during IHS MiniTHON, twelve students cut and donated their hair for the cause. This year, you too can be one of them. Students can pick up a form outside of room 101 to volunteer to get their haircut at MiniTHON this year.   MiniTHON benefits The Four Diamonds Fund, which is a charity that directly supports the families of children with pediatric cancer.  Any hair that gets cut at MiniTHON gets donated to children in need. Senior Caleb Campbell cut his hair last year at MiniTHON and commented, “I’ve wanted a haircut for a while and figured why not get it cut for a cause.  It was a good change, I felt very glad that I did it in the end, and I had no regrets whatsoever.” Students can choose to get their hair cut as long or as short as they want, it’s completely your

Read More »
March 22, 2023

What to know about our IHS dance team

By LIZZIE OLSEN During the excitement of basketball season, it is important to show our appreciation for the girls that help bring all the games together. The IHS Dance Team has been performing at basketball games for many years, and there is a lot more that goes into it than some may think. If you are interested in trying out next year, keep reading to learn more about what it’s like behind the scenes. The IHS Dance Team is a great way to get involved and have fun, but there are some things to consider before joining. You have to be a fast learner, be able to adapt to your environment and stay dedicated to what you do. The team is known to have a very stressful try-out process that is said to be the most difficult aspect of the team. The tryouts are three days long, and the girls

Read More »
March 21, 2023

Athena Club participates in Go Red For Women

By ELIA DIETZ IHS Athena Club dedicated the month of February to women’s heart health awareness. To show support, Athena Club raised awareness by hosting a blood drive and posting signs around the high school. Students, staff, and teachers are encouraged to wear red every Friday through February in honor of the Go Red For Women event.  Heart disease is the number one leading killer of women, causing one in 3three deaths globally. The percentage of women with heart disease is higher than women with cancer. 80 percent of strokes and cardiac arrests have a chance of being prevented with proper education. The American Heart Association designed the event “Go Red For Women” to educate and uplift women who have been affected by heart disease in their life. Freshman Aramide Kaffo stated,“What Go Red for Women means to me is supporting women and making sure they have a voice.” Athena

Read More »
March 19, 2023

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” hits the IHS stage!

By EMMA SHEERAN The Indiana Area Senior High School is putting on its annual musical this weekend, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, from Thursday, March 16 through Saturday, March 18. The production is one of IHS’s most extravagant. From outlandish costuming to wild set design to participants ranging from committed thespians to elementary school helpers, it’s bound to be a success. Show times this weekend are Thursday at 7:00 pm, Friday at 7:00 pm, and Saturday at 1:00 pm, and 7:00 pm. Ticket prices are $10 for Adults, 8$ for Students and Seniors, and $12 for VIP tickets all of which can be purchased at https://ihs.booktix.com. This year’s musical features a choir of fourth and fifth graders – an amazing opportunity to show the next generation what theater is all about. “We will have students experiencing their very last high school show, and elementary students that are experiencing their

Read More »
March 16, 2023

Quizbowl team finishes the season 7-1 ready to take on the playoffs

By ELLA BARLEY The Indiana High School Quizbowl team finished the regular season ranked second in our region, going 7 and 1. They are now preparing for the playoffs.   Senior Quizbowl member Jenna McLaine said, “It pushes me to excel academically and encourages me to go out and seek new information and broaden my horizons.” Quizbowl is an academic competition against surrounding scores.  The goal of Quizbowl is to answer questions correctly before the opponent team.  Varsity matches have 25 questions, while junior varsity matches only have 15. Last year the varsity and junior varsity teams both made it to the finals, with junior varsity winning the championship, and the varsity team unfortunately losing. Senior Gabe Kenning informs, ”This is my second year on the Quizbowl team, and so far both years have been great.  We travel across Pennsylvania to compete against surrounding schools.” The questions asked during competitions come

Read More »
March 1, 2023

Senior Olivia Krimin helping to Keep PA Beautiful

Submitted to The High Arrow by OLIVIA KRIMIN In recent years multiple sources including local news outlets and PennDOT, have reported that there are over 500 million pieces of trash scattered along Pennsylvania’s main roads. That’s about 39 pieces of trash for each individual person in Pennsylvania. As an Indiana resident and current senior at Indiana Area Senior High School, I’ve lived along a highway for the entirety of my life. It hasn’t always been the same one, but the common factor remains the same: excessive litter. This is what inspired me to apply to be a young ambassador for Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, and consequently being selected as one of 35 ambassadors spread across Pennsylvania through a competitive application process. The organization’s mission is to “[empower] Pennsylvanians to keep our communities clean and beautiful.” As a Young Ambassador, I conduct and coordinate one cleanup event and one education event throughout

Read More »
March 1, 2023