“Every single one of you needs to be smiling all the way through this, or else you will run,” Wranglers coach Dedra Poitra warns her girls during practice. Each non-smile earns another lap.

For the CMR Wranglers, every element must be in place when it comes to dancing, and smiles are no exception. Two-hour training sessions three times a week are a testament to the blood, sweat and tears that go into every dance performance.

The dedication of these girls is made apparent by their participation in the upcoming U.S. Championship in Los Angeles at Knott’s Berry Farm. The competition is a one-day event on March 20. It consists of usually five or six top dancing teams. This and other national dance championships are headed under the National Dance Association, making this a prestigious undertaking. The Wranglers have been practicing hard for their two performances in Los Angeles – one in team dance and one in hip-hop. Each performance is two minutes, 15 seconds. But that time doesn’t come cheap.

The trip will cost close to $12,000, according to Poitra. Unwilling to let expense dampen their dreams, the Wranglers have succeeded through great effort to fundraise, hosting a Wrangler “mini-camp” for little girls and also a TV raffle with an average of 140 tickets sold per girl.

This opportunity has required a lot of elbow grease and determination, junior Wrangler Megan Varner said. Practices are “really kind of stressful… getting down to business. Working as hard as we can for every second that we can. We come in every day that we can,” she said.

All of that time has been well worth it, Varner added. “I think we’ve really grown as a team. Even if we don’t win, it’s worth it.”

The Wranglers have a right to feel proud of their hard work, CMR graduate Poitra said.

“I’m hoping that they… [have] some feeling of accomplishment, that they’ve come a long way.”

Despite the tough love she often bestows upon her dancers, Poitra said the odds of success in the upcoming competition look good. The girls have put forth a lot of effort to reach for victory, but the battle isn’t over yet.

“I’m nervous,” Poitra said. “I think I get more nervous than [the dancers] do. But I think they’ll do just fine.”

Junior Jessie Marreel rides her way to the top

by Meg Smith

The entire arena is hushed. A baby cries in the distance. But junior Jessie Marreel is oblivious to it all. She is concentrated on the warm animal breathing beneath her; tensed and waiting for her command.

There it is.

The shrill buzzer explodes throughout the arena and Jessie takes off like a bullet towards the first barrel. She feels each movement her horse makes, feels the tensing and releasing of straining muscles, feels her own heart racing. Together they plow through the short distance to the next barrel.

Pulling tight on the reins, they turn fast around that second barrel. Without realizing she’d been holding her breath, she releases a sharp exhale.

“Two down, one to go,” she whispers to herself.

She kicks it up a notch. They are going strong as they glide around that final barrel.

The audience gasps. The barrel circles first on one side, then the other. Teetering. Tottering.

“Don’t worry about it. Finish strong.”

Marreel and her horse seem to fly as they cross the finishing line. But she can’t even look as she waits for her time.

Suddenly there is deafening applause all around her. And at the second she knew. The barrel hadn’t fallen.

“Yes,” she exclaims under her breath. “Yes.”

This is just 14 seconds in the life of junior cowgirl Jessie Marreel, who has been running with the horses since she was just four and a half years old. Marreel grew up around the rodeo life.

“My parents are into horses,” she said. “I was bound to get into it.”

But her parents are into more than just horses.

“My mom did barrel racing pretty much as a hobby and didn’t get into it heavy until I was old enough to do it.”

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree and Marreel can’t get enough of the rodeo life.

“Her horses come first before anything else,” said Marreel’s mom. “When other families are going camping, we are camping out with the horses at a rodeo.”

This dedication to the sport is what has taken her to where she is now–and is what has led her through all her past triumphs. Marreel has won more than 30 belt buckles and a trip to Las Vegas. Plus she has achieved multiple championships in High School Rodeos across the state and lots of monetary prizes.

The rodeo life isn’t all glitz and glam, however. She has to stay dedicated to her horses 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“When most kids are out being kids, Jessie has big responsibilities to tend to,” her mom said. “She takes care of her horses daily, exercises them daily, and keeps them conditioned to perform.”

Marreel doesn’t mind the nitty gritty work, however. It’s all worth it when she gets on her horse for a race.

“I feel really excited when I am in the middle of a race. I get an adrenaline rush and can’t hear anything; it’s just me and my horse,” Marreel said.

It’s been just her and her horse for all of the winter season, and it has paid off. She is currently top 10 in the state with 60 points. As her points carry over into the spring season, she’ll need only 15 more points to reach 75. This means she is top 3 in the state and will move on to the next big step: nationals.

Marreel couldn’t be more excited about her achievements this year. But her parents knew she’d have a talent for the sport from the beginning.

“My parents always had horses and my mom had been competing and could tell that I had the competitive edge and wanted to do it.”

This competitive edge has gotten her to her fastest times in all three of her events. With 2.6 seconds for breakaway, a low 22-second run for pole bending, and a barrel racing time in the 13’s, Marreel has more than enough to be proud of.

She plans to let her rodeo career get her into college with scholarships. But what happens after college rodeo is still a mystery. But whatever happens, Marreel said she will always love horses.

The hard work of the girls and boys basketball teams overpowers mistakes as they each go into state ranked second.

“We make certain mistakes, we learn from what we do wrong, and encourage each other to try and not make that mistake again,” senior and shooting guard Katie Klick said. “Encouragement is the biggest attribute.”

The boys and the girls have their playoff games tomorrow, March 5. The boys game will be held at CMR at 5 p.m. against Butte High, and the girls game will be held at CMR at 6:30 p.m. against Great Falls High.

“I knew that we were going to do well, we worked so hard this year,” Klick said. “We are working harder than last year.”

With that hard work they still have some challenges ahead of them at state.

“We are going to take it one game at a time. There are five or six teams we have to watch out for,” Klick said. “We just have to play those three games to the best of our ability.”

Like the girls, the boys have had some difficulties too but they are going to play to the best of their ability to bring home another state title.

The season has had its ups and downs, but there has been more ups than downs,” coach John Cislo said.

Another up is that they have home field advantage for the playoff game.

“It’s nice to have another home game,” Cislo said. “We are excited that it is on home court.”

The games after the playoffs will be held at the state tournament in Billings.

“We are going to play consistent and hard for the last three games,” Cislo said. “We are going to play to the best of our ability.”

Senior and small forward Jordan Harper agrees with Cislo that it is going to take strength to bring back the state title.

“The season so far is good, but we got a long way to go before we can bring back a state title,” Harper said. “We have to stay mentally focused, in what will hopefully be three games in three days.”

“We have to face state the same as every other game,” he added. “Except for we have a little more sense of urgency knowing that it could be our last game.”

As every other team and athlete that will be attending state, Harper wants to walk away with the state title.

“It would complete my high school career with my third state championship.”

The deadline for the NFL owners and the players association to meet a collective bargaining agreement is mid-March. The head of the players association has been vocal in saying that he does not believe there will be an agreement met before the start of the 2010-11 campaign; however, this does not mean a lockout or a stoppage of football.

It simply means that there will be an uncapped season in the NFL. This means that the league will lose some of its parody that people love it for. It will look more like that of Major League Baseball this season.

The teams in the biggest markets such as Dallas and New York will hold a higher purchasing power this off-season. Look for the Cowboys to buy up as much help for Romo as possible in the uncapped year. This also means that free agents such as Julius Peppers, Darren Sharper, and Brian Westbrook could demand record-breaking salaries from their future employers, and teams such as Dallas could satisfy these demands.

Speaking of free agency, the Chargers just recently released possibly the best running back to ever grace the gridiron. Last week the San Diego Chargers let go of L.T. No. 21 has led the league in rushing three times since 2004, he holds the record for most touchdowns in a single season, 28, and is third in career touchdowns with 115.

Tomlinson will more than likely be the running back of our generation. He’s a well-rounded back with mystique, speed, and power. It is rumored that in high school Tomlinson was never tackled, and coming out of TCU, Tomlinson broke through the top 10 in the NFL draft off of a team in the WAC conference.

If there is one thing that No. 21 can teach us it is that at the highest level sports are a business, and there are fewer and fewer organizations that are willing to keep players around because of nostalgia. The great Ladanian Tomlinson joins Marcus Allen, Reggie White, Emmitt Smith, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretsky, Joe Montana, and most recently Brett Favre as a player who won’t finish his career in the place where he made his name.

Don’t blame L.T. though he plays for the same organization who released Michael Turner (pro bowler in Atlanta), Drew Brees (self explanatory), and hired Coach Norv Turner. And the Chargers haven’t even locked up Darren Sproles their speedy running back/returner.

The Chargers pick 28th in the upcoming NFL draft, which allows them to possibly pick up a quality back. The top back on Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board, C.J. Spiller out of Clemson, will most likely be taken previous to the end of the first round where the Chargers draft. Look for the Chargers to take Fresno State Back Ryan Mathews.

I have seen Mathews play; however, in the one game I saw his dogs fell to an upstart Wyoming Cowboy team down in the New Mexico Bowl.

The draft also creates interesting questions about the quarterback position, and no quarterback has received more attention then Florida darling Tim Tebow. Tebow has been projected by some to be taken in the first round while others believe he isn’t worth third round money.

Whatever the case, Tim Tebow is an interesting buy because teams know who they are getting, and if L.T.’s situation holds true, the NFL is a business, and Tim Tebow puts fans in the seats and jerseys on the fans. Tebow also brings teams a proven leader who has shown that in the biggest games he will step up his game to the highest level. Wherever Tebow is taken I believe he will excel at the pro level much like Vince Young.

The old saying “April showers bring May flowers” may excite some students that spring is in full bloom, but not near as much as it excites our spring sports athletes. Those who participate in spring sports need our support and encouragment to shine like we all know they can.

Sports such as basketball and football gain much attention from the community and student body alike, but support for sports that occur during the spring is extremely lacking.

Students who dedicate their time specifically to spring activities know that their sport may not be the “cream of the crop,” but their dedication still pays off.

Next time you have a free Saturday, attend a softball game or make a picnic and spend the day outside at a track and field meet. Not only will you be supporting CMR sports teams, but you might be sporting a good tan.