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Sports
THE STENTORIAN INCSSM
APRIL 2008
Stay fit, don’t quit
Exercising is fun, great for the body, and easy to do at school
By Nancy Yang
As the New Year rolls on, those infamous New Year’s resolutions of spending mure
time with friends and family, not procrastinating, or balancing those three “S’s” of
sleep, study, and socialize drift farther and farther away from the top of the priority list.
Trapped deep in the second trimester, finding time, energy, and the sheer willpower to
follow through with those self-made promises becomes quite a challenge. But several
NCSSM students have shown that one of the top resolutions on most student’s list,
getting and staying in shape, is quite a simple task on campus.
Staying fit goes far beyond attaining the ideal physical physique and developing a
rock-solid six pack that will impress all the ladies and gentlemen. According to one
student, exercising is part of healthy lifestyle.
“1 don’t think of exercising as trying to stay skinny,” said junior Hilary Todd.
“Instead, it’s about staying in shape, having fun, and being healthy.”
Physical activity is crucial in maintaining a healthy body weight and as a result,
lowers a person’s risk of developing diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
Even more, exercise benefits every part of the body, including the ever-so-important
mind and psyche.
“I feel better overall when I am physically active,” said senior Amanda Phillips.
“It’s so easy to get stressed out at school, but working out is a great way for me to clear
my mind and to relieve stress. My mind is healthier and I just feel good about myself
after [exercising].”
Exercising not only relieves the overwhelming stress that students face on a day to
day basis, but it can also help students sleep and also gives that much needed extra jolt
of energy. Staying fit allows you to look and feel good, relieve stress, and get a good
night’s sleep - a student’s every wish. However, this is one wish that can come true.
“There is always a good excuse not to go exercise,” said senior Prateek Peres-de-
Silva. “There either isn’t enough time; there is too much work; or you’re too tired. But
after working out 1 think about how I’ve gotten better, how I’ve improved. You just
have to make yourself want to stay fit.”
Prateek “loves going to gym,” where he lifts weights, alternating between the
shoulder and legs, biceps and back, and the triceps, runs for half an hour or plays
basketball. For him, spending time in the gym is his time to just “think about life” and
to hang out with friends. But if the gym is a turn off, there are plenty of alternatives to
staying fit at NCSSM.
“I’m not a big gym fanatic,” said junior Michael Chang. “But I take full advantage
of the racquetball courts. I also go to swim practice every day for two hours. I enjoy our
swim workouts a lot. Although it can be strenuous sometimes, you push through them
ir
Photo by Kara Tinker
Ashley Hollar works out in the Physical Education Center. Working out in the gym
and lifting weights are only some of many ways to get active and stay fit at NCSSM.
and afterwards you have a great feeling of success. It makes you feel really pumped.”
Even if you are not a hard-core exerciser, don’t like to get sweaty, or feel like you
just don’t have the time, exercising can still be fun and you can multitask while doing
it.
“Staying fit is all about having fun,” said junior Valerie Todd. “Even ifyour fnends aren’t
very active, playing soccer, tennis, or anything with them is still a lot of fun. Every night
girls on hall do a ten-minute ab workout. It’s only ten minutes and it’s a great time!”
With the Physical Education Center, tennis, racquetball, and soccer courts, intramural
and varsity sports, and most of all a school full of friends, staying fit at NCSSM is a
cinch. Whether you want to stay fit for “all the girls in college,” to get those abs, “to
look buff,” or just because you enjoy it, get up and moving and make your resolutions
come true.
Ultimate Frisbee, an NCSSM Tradition
Dedication and hard work are the right SMUF!
.■-vcS''' ^
Photos by Kara Tinker
Austin Ellis leaps and stretches out to grab a high-flying frishee as team
members look on (Top). SMUF team members sprint to get open for the
throw and race hack to get on defense. (Bottom).
By Devika Chawla &
Elliot Cave
The Science and Math Ultimate
Frisbee team, known as SMUF, is
a club captained by seniors Sasank
Achanta, Austin Ellis, and Molly
Peacock. Though SMUF is not
technically a sports team, SMUF’s
20 active members are as devoted to
yy Ultimate Frisbee as any sports team is
^ to their sport.
Many SMUF members have
literally sacrificed their bodies while
playing Ultimate Frisbee.
“I broke my arm,” said Achanta.
Ellis hurt his foot and had to get it
x-rayed, senior Aubrey Clark-Brown
broke his foot, and senior Grey
Redding dislocated his shoulder.”
Along with the injuries, they have
into some trouble competitively.
Earlier this year, they lost to Chapel Hill
High School and Jordan High School.
However, Achanta isn’t deterred.
“Chapel Hill [High School] has a very
good team and Jordan [High School] lost
to them. Our match with Jordan was a
closer match,” said Achanta.
Austin Ellis added, “We weren’t
prepared for the Chapel Hill game because
we didn’t know what we were up against.
We practiced strategies for Jordan and we
played better.”
Though competition is important.
Ultimate Frisbee is something that all the
run
SMUF members, along with other NCSSM
students, thoroughly enjoy. It is hard to
find a time when people are not throwing
Frisbee in front of Hill house or playing
Ultimate Frisbee on the field.
Molly Peacock said, “[SMUF] is one of
my favorite things about school....! love
Frisbee.”
Ultimate Frisbee is not just restricted
to students. Dennis Yeh, a computer
science instructor at NCSSM, has played
Frisbee with SMUF ever since he came
here three years ago. When Mike Fliss,
P Hill’s previous SLl, left, the members
of SMUF approached Yeh to be the new
club advisor.
Peacock said, “[Yeh] helps the team
out and comes twice a week. We probably
wouldn’t be able to have a team without
him.”
“1 think this year has seen an atypical
number of injuries,” said Yeh. “But I’m
pretty optimistic. We suffer from not
having people who know each other for
years like other teams, but 1 think our
performance will improve.”
SMUF will keep improving as long
as there are interested students and
dedication. Their season still has a lot of
games left.
Molly Peacock said, “We plan on
playing Carolina Friends School, Leesville
High School, and Durham Academy. We're
definitely going to keep grow ing. We have
a solid core of juniors.”