Leaving the cold weather of Montana behind, sophomore Hannah Swant and her family recently spent time touring the ancient pyramids and lands of Eygpt.

 ”I like seeing the architecture of other times and places,” Swant said. “We went to Egypt to see the sites, and my biological father is a pilot and his girlfriend is a flight attendant, so we get free airfare.”

Swant and her family were on the ground for a total of four and a half days; however, that didn’t stop them from having fun.

“We got to tour one of the pyramids. It was really cramped and we had to crouch the whole way,” Swant said. “It was also really hot and stuffy.”

They also toured some of the tombs deep inside the Valley of the Kings.

“It was really cool to tour the tombs of Ramsey the 3^rd, Ramsey the 9^th, and Tuhtmosis the 3^rd,” she said. “The tombs were as huge as the trees that are in California.”

Tuthmosis’s tomb is high in the mountains but then it’s deep down inside the mountain, and it was 52 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) inside his tomb, she added.

“They didn’t have hieroglyphics on the wall, but they did in the valley of kings. That is where the kings were buried,” she said.

They didn’t have hieroglyphics on the walls because they didn’t want thieves to know where the kings were located, she added.

They went into the cities to find that they had to be dressed like locals.

“Even as tourists, you have to make sure that you are covered completely, [no skin showing] otherwise you’ll get [hit],” she said. “You have to wear what they do in the cities.”

“It’s a good opportunity, if you have a chance to go [to Egypt] then go, but be careful of what you do, and don’t drink the water,” she said. “I want to go to India next and ride an elephant.”

Like Swant, senior Ashley Moore also went out on an adventure; however Moore went with her friends.

Moore and four of her friends attended an anime convention in Seattle for three days.

Anime is a Japanese style of animation that is popular in the United States.

“We wanted to go because we have never been to an anime convention. It’s been one of our dreams, we wanted to watch some new anime, meet new friends, and see what else is out there,” Moore said. “We were surprised there were over 18,000 people there, very diverse, and there was always something to do.”

Some of the activities included contests for scripts and costumes, a huge gaming room, and new anime cartoons, Moore added.

“We made our own costumes but didn’t enter the contest because we wanted to get a feel of what the convention was like,” Moore said. “But by the reaction of the people, we were one of the best class play groups there.”

As much recognition as they got, senior Josephine Coburn stood out.

“My friend JoJo got a lot of attention; she got to take pictures with two of the voice actors because her outfit was so cool,” Moore said.

Moore and her friends dressed up as a different anime all three days. Death Note, Nerima Daikon Brothers were two of their choices of anime for the convention.

Moore didn’t let the fashion stop there; she also went to watch a fashion show.

“We went to a Lolita fashion show where people get to make their own Lolita costumes and enter a contest,” Moore said.

Lolita is a fashion subculture originating in Japan that is primarily influenced by Victorian clothing.

Moore and her friends also went to an exhibition hall where there were anime items for sale.

“There were panels set up that were related to a typical anime and panels by people that had games and weekend long activities that you could do,” Moore said. “Anime is a huge hobby, and a convention is where you get to share it with others.”

Wanting to see if he can improve his time in the 200 individual medley, senior and swimmer Derek Lair starts his practice on Jan. 26. Photo by Ashley Moore.

by Josh Philyaw

Swimming is not just a sport for senior Derek Lair; it’s a part of everyday life.

 “I love racing and pushing myself as hard as I possibly can,” Lair said. He has been swimming for three years at CMR — 10 years overall.

With his hard work and dedication he has accomplished many goals by himself and with the team. He has titles and state records with his team. He is a nationally ranked swimmer with only seconds off of Olympic times.

He said that he can swim the “200 individual medley in 1:53,” and his “freestyle in 45 seconds.”

“I feel really accomplished, but it also gives me something else to works towards,” Lair said. “I want to place high in the NCAA championships.”

Once he gets out of high school he is going to have more to work for, because he will be swimming in college.

“I signed with the University of Utah,” Lair said, “It’s definitely exciting. It’s a really good program. There are good coaches and swimmers; it should be awesome.”

As excited as he is to go swim at Utah, there are some things that he doesn’t want to leave behind.

“I wish it went a little slower,” Lair said of his high school swimming seasons, “The whole four team, one family thing that we have with Great Falls High.”

Lair has one piece of advice.

“Stay with it. Never let someone tell you that you can’t do something.”

It looks as if the Rustlers had a little bit of trouble on Friday, Nov. 13.

In the first ten minutes wide, receiver Payton Skawinski was sacked, resulting in a left ankle sprain, and was out for the rest of the game.  The Helena High Bengals were ahead by seven points by the first five minutes of the fourth quarter.

However, the Rustlers came back scoring 14 more points in the last nine minutes of the game. The final score was 21- 14.

Junior quarterback Jake Bleskin is happy with the season overall.

“It would mean a lot to win the state championship, we have come far this year,” Bleskin said. “This is good for the seniors because they have waited for this and to go out on a winning note would be great.”

“The loss to Helena Capital was a learning experience, and winning eleven games so far is great,” Bleskin said.

The Rustlers have had a good season. They have met all their goals so far.

“Beating the Bison, making it to the state championships, and being state champs,” Bleskin said. “I’m going to do what I do every game to try to win.”

Not even an injury is going to get in their way.

Bleskin said that Skawinski is a big part of their team, but when someone gets injured people step up on both offense and defense.

Like Bleskin, junior defensive tackle, Dylen Atchisons think that an injury doesn’t largely affect the team.

“It affected us, but I don’t think it hurt us any,” Atchison said. “We played just as hard without him, as we do with him.”

“I think that we are a strong enough team that we will beat Capital in their back yard,” Atchison said. “Losing to Capital the first time will just make us play that much harder.”

“We are going to go down there and take care of business,” Atchison said. “My game plan is to shut down offense their as soon as possible.”

Like Atchison, senior running back Greg Oswood knows that the loss to Capital helps the team grow stronger.

“We learn from our mistakes. It helps us get better for the next week,” Oswood said. Adding that they are going to play their game at their level.

“Winning the state championships would be a perfect way to end my career at CMR,” Oswood said. Adding that he would like to see his teammate Payton Skawinski participate at state.

“He is a big part of our team. Some kids stepped in for him (at the semi-finals), but we would like to have him back this week,” Oswood said.

Junior running back Gavin Hagfors agrees with Oswood about the loss against Capital.

“The loss to capital was a learning experience, anytime you lose it gets you down,” Hagfors said. “If you use a loss in the right way you can learn more from it than any win.”

Losing to Capital it created another goal for the team: beat Capital at state.

“Teamwork is important for success,” Hagfors said. “The bonding of the team, and how everyone is so close together has been a great experience.”

The team’s bonding and success has led them to the state championships.

“Winning state would be phenomenal,” Hagfors said. “To have all the hard work pay off would be great.”

“Winning state is the ultimate goal,” Hagfors said.

Senior right end Bryan Graupmann agrees with Hagfors that the teamwork and friendship is a great experience.

“It’s great because we have been friends for so long. We help someone if they mess up and help them to not make that mistake again,” Graupmann said.

Having the two point loss to Helena Capital was the worst part of the season, Graupmann said.

He stated that the team needs to “focus on a mental game” when approaching state.

 by Megan Bernhardt

Josh Huestis, CMR basketball player, committed to Stanford University

Senior Josh Huestis recently signed his letter of intent to play at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and he’s feeling pretty good about his decision to attend a Division I school.

“I think it’s the perfect move in order for me to reach my full potential as a player. It just felt right. I knew I couldn’t go wrong wherever I chose, but this was just a gut decision and my gut told me that Stanford would fit me best.”

Huestis said “the chance to play for such a great coach and for such a great program, and to be able to get a world class education for free,” is something he’s very excited about.

As far as his future plans go, he would “like to play professionally somewhere, whether the NBA or overseas, that would be my dream. However, after I’m done playing I’d like to run my own sports medicine clinic.”

 John Cislo, CMR basketball head coach

CMR head basketball coach John Cislo has plenty of experience with Huestis’ playing style and personality.

“[The decision] is a good one. It’s a good fit academically and athletically. It gives him a chance to play in the Pac-10 at one of the better schools in the nation.”

Cislo has been impressed with Huestis’ unselfishness, which he says has gotten Heustis to where he is today. Huestis’ main goal is “what’s best for the team,” according to Cislo.

Attending Stanford is a new opportunity for Huestis, and it’s a “great opportunity to play on a national level.”

If Huestis keeps the “same work ethic he has now, in class and on the court,” Cislo said, “he’ll achieve his goals.”

 Johnny Dawkins, Stanford basketball head coach

Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins is excited for Huestis to come to Stanford next season.

“I think he’ll be a great addition to our family.”

Dawkins also said Huestis’ decision is a “great opportunity for Stanford and Josh” because it’s “a great fit for Josh and his family.”

Dawkins said he is most excited about “watching him develop.”

“He has a lot of gifts. He’s a bigger player at his school now because of his height.”

At Stanford, Huestis will make the transition from the 5 (center), which he currently plays, to a wing player.

Overall though, Huestis’ decision looks like a good one.

 “We’re capable of making dreams come true.”