Lockamy wins extra effort award

Adam Mancini
Staff Writer

Lockamy confers with Coach Thomas

Last month, Apex High School senior Jason Lockamy was awarded the WRAL Extra Effort Award, an accolade given to one student athlete each week who excels not only on the playing field but in the classroom and in the community as well. “It feels pretty good being recognized for my accomplishments,” said Lockamy.

Not only is Lockamy a standout defensive end for the Apex football team, he is also a member of the National Honor Society, the National Technical Honor Society, and is an Apex High School A/B honor roll student. “He’s very conscientious, a hard worker, and he wants to learn. He wants to learn not just for the grade, he wants to gain knowledge,” said Apex history teacher Gregg Thomas. Due to his academic achievement, Lockamy has received interest from prestigious colleges such as Harvard and Princeton. “A lot of schools have shown interest,” explained Lockamy, “UNC, Holy Cross, and Yale among others have shown interest. Harvard and Princeton are definitely my top two right now.”

Fascinating fun facts

Devon McCarroll
Staff Writer

There are more cows in India, than cars in the US.

That many cows must make life udderly chaotic.

Marlboro’s first owner died of lung cancer.

The irony is strong with this one. 

Country music's biggest night is back

Sarah Kebea
Staff Writer

Country Music’s Biggest Night is back

The 47th annual Country Music Association Awards show will be hosted by returning hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, who have hosted the awards show since 2008.  The CMA awards air live on November 6 at 8 p.m. on ABC.  The categories and nominations for the CMA awards are listed below. 

Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Taylor Swift

Female Vocalist
Kelly Clarkson
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

The Emmy Winners

Casey Nash
A&E Editor 

This past Sunday the 2013 Emmy Awards took place. Breaking Bad, Homeland and Boardwalk Empire all score awards, with Jim Parsons and Julia Louis-Dreyfus winning outstanding lead actors. Below is a list of some selected categories and their winners, which appear in bold:

Outstanding drama series
   Breaking Bad / WINNER
   Downton Abbey
   Game of Thrones
   Homeland
   House of Cards
   Mad Men

Celebrate world cultures at the Raleigh Convention Center

Natalia Ghan

Staff Writer
 

The 28^th Annual International Festival will take place at the Raleigh Convention Center from Friday October 4 through Sunday October 6. A fun and diverse experience for all ages, this event is a miniature world of its own. Come with family and friends and learn about diverse cultures while interacting with people from a variety of backgrounds. Watch performances by various ethnic dance groups, or cooking tutorials from all corners of the globe. Enjoy browsing through a unique international mall and even have your name written in Farsi calligraphy. From the food and shopping to the music, dance, and crafts spread throughout the spacious building, you and your friends will escape for a few hours and disappear into the delicious smells, sounds, and treasures from all around the world. Look for the review of the International Festival coming soon.

Meet the new teachers

Shauna Hines and Emily Nguyen
Staff Writers

Kim Sudkamp

Apex falls at home 37-31 in 2OT

Michael Lyday
Staff Writer

It was a tough home loss for Apex last Friday as the Riverside Pirates (3-2) came out with a win. The Cougars were defeated by the Pirates 37-31 in double overtime, falling to 1-3 on the season. Apex has now lost three straight.

The biggest factors in the loss were mistakes and lapses in execution by both teams. The Cougars fumbled three times, losing two of them, and the Pirates had eight penalties for 51 yards. Both teams were unable to convert on third down with Riverside going two-for-ten and Apex going zero-for-nine. “A lot of plays could have gone differently,” said Apex head coach Joe Kilby.

Food Swaps

Devon McCarroll
Staff Writer

When you are having a late-night yearning for a heaping bowl of Moose Tracks or Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, where do you turn to fulfill your craving? Instead of eating something that will leave you full of regrets, swap out the regular ice cream for lighter, healthier options. There are hundreds of lower-calorie treats to choose from, including Skinny Cow's line of low-calorie sweets, Edy’s slow-churned, and Tofutti Cuties. Each of these has significantly fewer calories than regular ice cream, so it leaves you lighter while still fulfilling your craving for a sweet dairy treat.

Skinny Cow has many varities of lower calorie treats in a myriad of different flavors, including these ice cream cups. 

Edy's Slow Churned Ice Cream has half the fat, a third less calories, but the same delicious taste as regular ice cream. 

Tofutti Cuties are dairy-free, mini treats that taste exactly like a regualr ice cream sanwich, but with less guilt.

American Culture Visits China

Shauna Hines
News and Features Editor

A group of Apex High School teachers, including Mark Trezona, Emmie Muse, Heather Long, and Brenda Brokke went to China during the summer to teach at a Chinese summer program.

The group of teachers traveled to China to teach at a summer camp on Hainan Island, where they stayed at a five-star hotel. This camp is designed to prepare students for the Gau Cau test.  The Gau Cau is the university entrance exam of China and determines what college students will attend, and potentially their entire future. There is often a lot of pressure on the children because they are often the only child and are expected to do well.

Scholar Athletes: September

Natalia Ghan

Staff Writer

Elise Rodrigues

Elise Rodrigues

Sport: Cross Country, Indoor/Outdoor Track

Schedule: Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Statistics, AP Biology

GPA: 4.6

Best Athletic Moment: XC Conference Race junior year, running a 21:39 5k on the hilly WakeMed Course.

Favorite Athlete: Lindsey Forte. Rodrigues explains how Forte mentored her as a big sister in track and field. “She is one of the smartest people I know, and the reason I stuck with running.”

Inspiration: Her grandfather. Rodrigues hopes to follow his example of perseverance, saying “He moved to America with nothing, and faced many setbacks; he finally achieved his dream of owning his own veterinary practice in Hawaii and seeing his children off to University.”

Clubs: President of HOSA, Vice President of BOOST, member of the National Honor Society.

Hobbies: Rodrigues is not only a runner, but an active soccer player. She plays for CASL three times a week, balancing it with school athletics. She also loves music and painting, and uses her skills to work as an instructor at Camp Musart.

Favorite food: “Sushi!”

Favorite class: AP Psychology. “What we learn is applicable in many aspects of life. Coach Brown is awesome at teaching, and makes the subject really interesting.”

Future hopes: Attend Johns Hopkins University on a pre-med track, attend medical school and eventually become a primary care doctor or pediatrician. 

Nathan Marquard

Nathan Marquard

Sport: Cross Country, Indoor/Outdoor Track

Schedule: Calc AB, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, Honors English

GPA: 4.3

Best Athletic Moment: Breaking five minutes in the mile, helping Apex boys dominate the 2013 Wilmington Invitational.

Favorite athletes: Steve Prefontaine, who created the culture of running. Marquard tries to live by Prefontaine’s hardcore example of: “The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a great day to die.”

Inspiration: Coach Cooper. Marquard describes how, “He teaches all runners not only how to run, but how to live and be a better person. Even though he’s intimidating, you come out of Cross Country a lot better of a person than you were coming into it.”

Clubs: Co-founder of Music Appreciation Club, and is a member of the Environmental Club as well as National Honor Society.

Hobbies: Running, eating pasta, working at Papa Murphy’s, throwing toga parties, playing Frisbee, freestyle rapping, and trivia.

Favorite food: Pizza.

Favorite class: AP Biology. “I’ve always been interested in biology, and the way Mr. Derda teaches makes it easy to understand and kind of fun.”

Future hopes: Attend N.C. State for environmental engineering, travel, hike the Appalachian Trail, and help preserve the environment.