Extracurricular groups strike gold

Hillary Casavant

   With a bit of March luck and a lot of hard work and talent, several of Alvirne High School's little-known extracurricular groups have achieved regional and state success at recent events.
   The Academic Decathlon team, Class Act, the Junior ROTC drill team and DECA have all brought medals home in the last few weeks.
   The Academic Decathlon team achieved gold at the March 8 state competition. The team is the state champion for the 10th year in a row and will be on its way to the nationals in Garden Grove, Calif., at the end of April.
   "Dynasty, baby, 10 for 10!" senior member Mike Maglio said.
   Senior Shanna Weitz won five gold medals, two bronze and a scholarship for $500. Weitz was also named best overall decathlete, ending the day with the most top scores out of all the competitors.
   Senior Rob Johnson won two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Junior Jie Gu won gold in math and earned a silver in the super quiz. Sophomore Jean-Luc Bouchard won a silver medal for language and literature, while Maglio earned a bronze for overall decathlete. Senior Sean Benson also won a bronze medal for best overall varsity team member.
   These individuals, along with senior Matt Logano and freshman Dan D'Anjou, scored a total of 36,119 points in the competition, a record for Alvirne. The group was led by their adviser, school librarian Kathy Bouchard. This is Bouchard's first year coaching the group.
   "I would like to see us bring home at least two medals," Bouchard said of the nationals, "though I don't think we'll ever be better than California. They're nuts."
   Alvirne will face tough competition in April. Many other schools put in more than 30 hours a week for AcaDeca. For some, the decathlon is part of their high school course schedule.
   In preparation for the Disneyland nationals, AHS plans to "bring out our inner child and try on all our shorts to make sure they fit," Maglio joked. "But in reality, we are going to focus on our speeches and the most important section, which is the super quiz."
   Also on March 8, Alvirne's theater group, Class Act, hosted the regional N.H. Education Theater Guild's Drama Festival. Their performance, "The Rules of Comedy" – directed by English teacher Jennifer LaFrance, the Class Act adviser – was named Best Production of the six schools that performed.
   "I was ridiculously proud of them," junior stage manager Katie Mascaro said of the cast and crew. "I think the audience really helped to inspire them to do better. Their performance that Saturday was easily their best performance ever."
   Class Act qualified for the state drama festival, to be held April 11-12 in Gilford. The group members hope to polish their show even more by that time.
   "We got a lot of feedback from everyone at festival, which is the entire point of sharing these one-acts," said junior actor Chris Kraemer. "With a few good rehearsals, we'll have changed the show up a bit and I think we'll be ready."
   "We're analyzing every bit and every scene to make sure we're doing it to the best of our ability," Mascaro said. "But the only thing that will really make it work is for everybody to throw their heart and soul in it. That's when it works the best."
   At the festival, junior Zach Spaulding achieved recognition for Excellence in Acting for his role as Claudius in this hilarious take on Shakespeare's classic "Hamlet." Senior Michael O'Keefe also earned Excellence in Sound Design and Operation.
   That same Saturday, Alvirne's Junior ROTC drill team competed in its final meet of the season. Freshman Jay Perrin earned a medal in the individual drill category with rifle, while junior Joe McGrath and senior Ryan Smith scored medals in the unarmed category.  Despite their recent success, ROTC faces a tough future.  With membership at a dangerous low, Alvirne’s chapter of the ROTC may not be available for students next year.
   Alvirne's DECA team, which challenges students in the business field, also earned recognition at the March 5-7 state competition. Senior Samantha Rumbaugh won the hospitality competition, while senior Jodie McGrath and sophomore Jana Klein earned bronze in sports marketing. Rumbaugh, McGrath, and senior Ashley Luther placed second in the marketing research written event.
   Through long hours of practice, absolute dedication and maybe just a little luck of the Irish, these and other extracurricular groups are spreading their Bronco pride throughout the state. With the next level of competitions rapidly approaching, Alvirne's teams look forward to even greater success across the nation.