thelegendonline Sports

Girls Cross Country sprints into season

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ZOOM! Tiffany Pham sprints down the trail.

Photo courtesy of Ian Tippetts

By Elaine Zhang

This Wednesday, Girls Cross Country raced their last league meet at Montgomery Hill.  Now their league standings are 2-3 for Varsity and 4-1 for JV.

“I think we actually did pretty well overall,” recalls reserve member Tiffany Pham.  “I saw a lot of the times as they were recorded down, and definitely a lot of us made (Personal Records).  The Varsity and JV girls did especially well.”

The top seven girls will attend an invitational meet tomorrow at Mount Sac, which is in Southern California.

The team has been training since summer, running four to seven miles every practice.  The Varsity team has increased its training from last year in hopes of becoming league champions.  They have been practicing a lot on Alum Rock in order to prepare for the meets at Montgomery, which has a lot of hills.  The Varsity team has morning practices on Mondays and an extra practice on Wednesdays after school.

“We have a lot (more) tougher workouts.  We added a lot more mileage,” explains Pham.  “We have left out some stuff.  We are staying in more of one area this time; last year, we would go out in other directions too.”

Despite the hard workouts, the members still can laugh together and enjoy running.

“The whole team in general is pretty close,” says Varsity member Kimberly Licea.  “It’s very welcoming.  Even though you’re running as individuals, there’s still a big family feeling.”

“I got 99 problems, and running causes about half of them, but it solves the other half,” jokes Varsity member Sophia Xiao.

This new season brought changes to the team as new runners joined.

“I didn’t expect to be on Varsity the first year of cross country, so I’m really happy about that,” confesses Varsity member Kimberly Licea.  “It’s fun.”

Returning members also continue to enjoy the sport.

“I feel so accomplished running cross country for four years,” says reserves team Captain Holly Hancock.  “That’s what’s important.”

thelegendonline Centerspread

Timeline of Syrian conflict

By Michelle Lin

  1. 2000: Assad family rises to power in 1971 and has ruled Syria for nearly 40 years. Current president, Bashar al-Assad, begins his regime in 2000, succeeding his father, Hafez al-Assad.
  2. March 2011: Hundreds of people stage protests in Damascus, calling for democratic reform and demanding for more civil liberties. Security forces open fire on demonstrators, resulting in the first few deaths of the uprising.
  3. July 2012: Fighting breaks out in Aleppo, the largest city and the former commercial capital of Syria. Rebels seize control of a large part of the city, leaving it in ruins.
  4. November 2012: Syrian National Coalition is created, bringing together the main opposition factions. Conflict has increased to include several world powers and the rise of the jihadist groups, especially Islamic State.
  5. August 2013: The regime allegedly uses chemical weapons to kill more than 1,400 people.
  6. September 2013: Many rebel groups renounce their desires for a democratic government; instead, the Islamic Front is created to build a state governed by Islamic law.
  7. 2014: The Islamic State (IS), the al-Qaeda breakaway in Iraq, has taken control of large parts of Syria’s territory. Fighting between IS and a variety of Islamists groups spreads.
  8. 2015: Nearly 4 million people have fled Syria since the start of the conflict in search of a better life, and many of these refugees are seeing help from neighboring countries. Syria’s education, health, and social welfare are in states of collapse.
thelegendonline Sports

PHHS Track and Field team makes CCS

By Walt Leung

Last season, members of both the Girls and Boys Varsity Track and Field teams made it to the CCS (Central Coast Section) meet held at the San Jose City College.  On the girls’ team were alumni Timarya Baynard, Bianca Bryant, Kelia Surrency; seniors Angela Sanluis and Kiane Floyd and sophomore Jade McDowell.  On the boys’ team were alumni Josh Morales and Daryon Baynard and seniors Caleb Guan, Alwin Matthew and Ryan Coburn.

Once again, the girls’ team highlighted the meet for Piedmont Hills, with Baynard winning the 400 meter dash with a time of 0:54.99 and Bryant winning the 800 meter run with a time of 2:10.95.  Baynard also placed second in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.48.  Other girls stepped up too, with Sanluis placing 25th in the 400 meter dash prelims, Surrency placing 27th in the 300 meter hurdles prelims, and McDowell placing 14th in the shot put.  Floyd also made the trials cut for CCS in the high jump, but ultimately failed to advance.

On the boys’ side, Baynard finished 12th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:06.45 and Morales placed 6th in the discus throw.

Coming off of a huge season where the girls team broke CCS records by enormous margins, pressure was unusually high.

“Once you’re in that moment, it feels like you made it, but you’re not there yet.  There’s so much more, like state,” exclaimed Sanluis.

This pressure may have caused relay mishaps at CCS.  On the girls side, the 4×400 relay was disqualified in finals because a runner fell.

“Girls always had high expectations because they were the reigning champs.  That’s probably why one of our runners fell.  She was running on pressure at a pace faster than normal,” commented Matthew.  “For the guys, we felt the pressure too.

On the boys’ side, the 4×400 relay failed to make finals, finishing 19th in the preliminaries.  However, many members of the team are still optimistic about their chances this season.

“I’m trying to make CCS for the 2 mile,” exclaimed veteran distance runner Bryan Chu, who has made the CCS cut many times for cross-country but has yet to make it for track and field.

“We’re going for the 4×400 finals, definitely.  All we have to do is each hit 51-52 and we can probably make it to finals, maybe even rank,” comments Matthew.

thelegendonline Opinions

Dear Refugees

Editorial

If the Syrian refugees avoid drowning and manage to arrive in Europe, they justifiably expect that they will be helped, aided, noticed, maybe even respected in the majestic continent.  Instead, many Europeans wag their fingers and shake their heads.  They’ll spread their religion!  They’ll use up all of our resources!  There’s not enough space!  The Americans, on the other hand, should take a stand and fight against these nonsensical statements.

The horrors experienced by the Syrian refugees seem almost unimaginable in the eyes of the comfortable American population, yet, these horrors are still occurring.  Some might shift away from such a crisis, but as freedom-fighting Americans, we must help.

Perhaps some in Europe don’t truly understand the Syrian refugee crisis, but we in America surely do.  Most of our parents were immigrants, and we’ve definitely heard several times the story of their daring escape to America, the land of the free and home of the brave.  This personal understanding of the immigrant struggle allows for a sympathetic view of the Syrian refugees, for the ability to see them as people instead of lesser beings.

Just look at the historical evidence: the Holocaust, the Nanking Massacre, the Rwandan Genocide.  These are few of the many crises we, as Americans, did not interfere with soon enough, or even at all.  In response to the Holocaust, the U.S. enacted restrictive immigration quotas, showing obvious anti-Semitism, and the American public only found out about the horrors occurring at concentration camps near the end of World War II.  However, even this late knowledge of the Holocaust is preferable to the utter ignorance of most Americans and Europeans towards the Nanking Massacre and the Rwandan Genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

Because of this international ignorance, some people still have the gall to deny these events, despite the existence of Holocaust survivors, despite the decades the Chinese spent rebuilding Nanking, despite the thousands of pregnancies resulting from Rwandan war rape.  The lasting effects of these massacres and genocides push for our immediate action; as the saying goes, don’t let history repeat itself.

During the Holocaust, the U.S. decided to restrict immigration.  Judging by the outcome, immigration quotas do not help.  Instead, the government should allow more refugees to enter the U.S.  This country simply cannot call itself the land of opportunity without giving Syrian refugees a chance.

Donations, the primary source of aid, can be made to organizations like the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency), which teamed up with Kickstarter and can be found at https://www.kickstarter.com/aidrefugees, or Islamic Relief USA, which can be found at http://irusa.org/donations/.

thelegendonline Sports

Boys Cross Country starts racing

By Billy Ung

Boys XC 2015 season starts off strong.  At its Oct. 8 meet, the Varsity team won 29-28 against Westmont

PHHS team dashes right into the season with rigorous training Monday to Saturday every week.

“We have double practices on Mondays.  Morning practice before school and then afternoon practices,” explains Varsity runner Andrew Nguyen.

There are two hard days each week that consists of either mile repeats or hill repeats.  These help the runners train at race pace and give them leg strength to go up the hills.  The drills at practice are A skips, B skips, lunges and karaokes.  These help them prevent injuries and also help them strengthen up for the race.  With its heavy schedule of practicing every day, the team is ready to take on any tough challenger.

Coach Ian Tippets prepares the runners by telling them the race strategies before the race, which helps them a lot.

“I feel very excited but nervous,” expresses Nguyen.

The team hopes that Varsity Captain Bryan Chu will get to state championship.  Other runners also want to qualify for state championship

“I personally want to qualify for CCS (Coast Central Section) with the varsity team,” declares Nguyen.

Cross country is different from the other sports in which the participants do not have any helper during the match.  They just run and run until they reach their goal.

Healthy food is a must to all athletes’ diet.

“I would say that GU Energy Labs has some pretty decent stuff,” claims JV runner Thomas Nguyen.

thelegendonline Sports

Girls Tennis serves into a new season

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GREAT FORM! Freshman singles 1 Anna Hashimoto completes a graceful return.

Photo: Kylie Cheng

By Kylie Cheng

The PHHS Girls Tennis team won 5-2 against Westmont this Wednesday in its last game of the season, closing with a season record of 9-5.

The team has developed throughout the season despite facing challenges.  Without someone possessing a tennis-coaching license to lead practice, the girls have had to take improvement upon themselves through daily training and their own hard work.

“We did have a rocky start,” recalls Co-captain Kelly Chau, “especially since we lost a lot of varsity members last year, but generally we’ve been doing very well, and our girls have improved a lot.”

By analyzing one another’s performances in games, they pinpointed weak points and assessed them during practices.  Meanwhile, Coaches Bryce Itatani and Alonso Martinez would assist the team with various drills.  The team’s confidence grew as they progressed through games.

“This year we’ve been really grinding on trying to get our JV and everybody up to par with varsity, so we’ve been working them a lot harder,” Chau explains.

“We’ve been going out to practice and just working hard at every practice no matter what, and trying our best at every away match and home game, so that really helps,” states Co-captain Tiffany Nguyen.

Looking forward, the team remains eager to continue honing its skills for the upcoming BVAL (Blossom Valley Athletic League) Team Tournament for CCS (Central Coast Section) Qualifying next Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

“Even though we (had) a lot of setbacks this season, everyone’s really been trying their best and staying dedicated,” Nguyen expresses, “and that really makes me happy.”

Through their victories and their struggles, the girls maintain close-knit unity and high spirits.

“I think the best quality that this team has is how together they are and how much they get along with each other,” comments Coach Itatani.

“Their sportsmanship and their teamwork is unlike any other team,” praises Chau. “We’re literally like a family.”

thelegendonline Features

Trick-or-Treat with UNICEF

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BOO! Juniors Syndie Tanujaya and Lydia Hong are excited to help out.

Photo: Emilie Chau

By Emilie Chau

UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) is back with their annual trick-or-treat boxes during the last two weeks of October.

UNICEF began this Halloween-themed activity in 1950, to help children in need during the month of October.

“I think what sets us apart from other volunteer clubs…is that we donate all our profits back to the cause.” says Treasurer Sydnie Tanujaya.

Since 1994, Key Club has teamed up with UNICEF in this community service activity.

Members of each club will be walking around campus with their signature orange boxes like years before, asking for donations.

“It’s an easy way to help out people and families that are struggling,” comments UNICEF Vice President Lydia Hong.  The cause for the trick-or-treat box changes every year, but all center around the same cause to help people in poor countries by providing them with vaccines, clean water, food, healthcare and education.

“At the beginning of November we count [the money] up and send it to…UNICEF,” explains Key Club Project Writer Jason Vu.

After donations from members worldwide are submitted, UNICEF will choose which countries need the most help and give them the donations.  This community service activity is an easy way to make a huge impact on a child’s life.  Any donation, no matter how much, can only do positive things.

“If you just donate one dollar, people get water, protein, biscuits or vaccinations,” says Lydia.

The trick-or-treat boxes can be found anywhere on campus–with a club member in the hall or on the desk of a teacher.  This activity is a fast and easy way to help children around the world.

UNICEF is an international non-profit organization that supports women and children in need.

“We not only spread awareness about what’s going on in third world countries, but also aid these people,” explains Lydia.

thelegendonline Features

Insane Ink sponsors Walk to Stop Diabetes

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Step out and walk with me! PHHS joins the Walk to Stop Diabetes event.

Photo courtesy of Spencer Nguyen

By Kyle Sumida

To start off the new school year, Insane Ink decided to give back to the community and partake in the Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes, to assist Piedmont Hills in the district competition of providing the most support and fundraising for the charity event.

The charity event took place this Sunday at the Guadalupe River.  All funds raised will be allocated to help train school personnel to ensure that children with diabetes are safe at school; provide aid to those that have been recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes; and much more.  Not only was this a chance to beat other schools in the district, but it was also a significant, positive impact for those affected by diabetes.

“I think we’re on a good track so far,” comments Insane Ink CEO Spencer Nguyen.

In the beginning of October, PHHS was in first place of the district competition in terms of fundraising.  Piedmont Hills team member Jessica Sobrepena had donated $1,874 in behalf of our team, immediately going beyond our goal of $1,000.  Several others donated to the cause.  As of Oct. 6, our school had raised $2,519 in total for the charity event.

Although we had the most money raised, we were still behind Independence High School in regards to the number of sign-ups.  Last Friday, our school had 134 sign-ups for the charity event, compared to Independence’s 304 sign-ups.  In hopes of stepping up the game, Insane Ink created an incentive program to entice its own members to participate.

“(The incentive program) was brought up in our meeting and we thought it (was) a good way to get (our members) to actually participate.  If they don’t have an incentive program, people would put it off and say they don’t have to do it,” Insane Ink Director of Philanthropy Jade Chiu explains.

The charity event was free to sign up; however, Insane Ink provided a free t-shirt to the first 100 participants that donated $29 or more.  Those who were unable to physically attend the event but still wanted to support the cause had the ability to become virtual walkers instead.  Virtual walkers were able to customize their fundraising web pages and send out emails asking for fundraising contributions.

Insane Ink is a business class in Piedmont Hills that allows students to have hands-on learning of operating a business.  The company’s mission statement is to strengthen, support, and uplift the community; which is otherwise known as “The 50/50 Concept.”  Insane Ink advisor Diane Pereira added that the school’s position and ranking amongst the other schools were able to be found online on School Loop.

thelegendonline Pirate of the Issue

Pirate of the Issue: Iris Wu

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SAY CHEESE! Iris Wu poses with her students in Taiwan.

Photo courtesy of Felicia Yeh

By Cynthia Tran

Senior Iris Wu went on a trip to Taiwan this summer as a volunteer for the AIDS (Assisting Individuals with Disadvantages Summer program) where she spent two weeks teaching English to underprivileged children in remote areas of the country.  She is also in PHHS 10k club, NHS (National Honor Society), Music Honor Society, and has a passion for running.

Out of all of Iris’s memories and achievements, her trip to Taiwan stood out the most.

Iris dedicated all her time to the kids during those two weeks, bonding with them and learning about their culture.

Iris would wake up significantly earlier than everybody else to go run a couple of miles to start her day then wake everyone up to get started.  She was constantly at the school, sleeping in the elementary’s kindergarten room overnight teaching the kids from 9am to 3pm from Monday to Friday for two weeks.

Even after school, she met with the administrators and teachers of the elementary school to plan the next day’s lesson and played with the kids after that. She devoted her time spent in Taiwan to the kids.

“It’s actually funny looking back on it because I think I learned just as much from the kids as they did from me, if not more,” reminisces Iris.  “I loved the kids.  It was a lot of fun just to hang out with them and play games and whatnot.  I think the best part was that it actually made me feel like I was helping make a difference in their lives  .”

Iris is also captain of the PHHS Cross Country team. She immersed herself in running daily since her sophomore year in high school.   “I like running because it makes me tougher. Sometimes during season we’ll be running 40-50 miles a week,” she explains..

“I never really thought I’d be running marathons or anything like that.  Two and a half years ago, I could barely run four miles without struggling to catch my breath,” she muses.   Iris participates in various races such as the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot. She also participates in 10k runs (6.2 miles) and half marathons (13.1 miles).

Iris had ran her first full marathon (26.2 miles) in May this year and placed first in her division (19 and under) with a time of four hours and eight minutes.   She is also planning to run another marathon this coming spring.

As the president of the PHHS 10k club, Iris has a passion for staying fit. She is also an active member in NHS and Music Honor Society.

Iris been playing percussion since the age of four.  She plays in the PHHS Symphony Orchestra, and is currently the principal percussionist of the California Percussion Ensemble outside of school.  Iris have been a member of the Santa Clara Country Honor Band and the California All-State Honor Band multiple times.

thelegendonline Sports

PHHS Football kicks off season with victories

By Quynh Luu

Varsity Football

The Varsity Football team started this season with three wins against Saratoga High School, Independence High School and Gilroy High School with scores of 61-19, 34-14 and 51-26.

“This season is starting off good,” commented wide receiver Richard Fedelin.  “We’re three to zero right now.  Offense line’s doing good.  We need a little more better blocking. Our defense is missing too many tackles,.”

The teams practices nearly every day and has worked long and hard together to achieve their victories.

“We have a great team.  We have a good quarterback, good receivers, good lineman, and good running backs.  We’ve just been playing well.  We’ll just keep seeing how we do,” Fedelin further explained.

One of the main objectives for the team this year is make it to Division I of the CCS (Central Coast Section) Championships among other teams in the East Side Union High School District.

“The schools in the district will be at the CCS Championships.  It’s basically to see which team is actually the best,” states quarterback Marcus Romero.

The team won the Homecoming Game against Willow Glen High School with a score of  49–33.  The next game will happen today against Leland High School.

 

JV Football

The JV Football team began this season successfully, defeating Saratoga High School, Independence High School and Gilroy High School with scores of 61-19, 34-14 and 51-26.

“So far so good.  We’ve won all of our games so far,” stated center Joseph Flores. “ The team’s perfect.”

The strong bond between the players is one of the driving forces behind the successful games as the season continues throughout October. The players have practiced long and hard together.

“I feel like we have a very strong team this year.  We come prepared to go against a different team every week,” quarterback Jacob Vargas commented.

The JV Football team is expected to have five more games for the fall season, including one today on Oct. 23 against Leland High School.  Expectations for the outcomes of future games appear to be positive.

“Our goal is to win.  We’re going for undefeated,” Flores responded.