![Clearing a hurdle, junior Haddley Righter competes in the 300-meter hurdles at the Northwest Invitational. Righter joined track her sophomore year and has since grown a passion for the sport. “The most challenging thing with the 300 hurdles is the mental ability to balance endurance, speed and get[ing] over the hurdles themselves. Practicing this event multiple times a week [and] focusing on different parts of this race helps me overcome the challenges this event brings,” Righter said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/DSC_1195-1200x800.jpg)
Clearing a hurdle, junior Haddley Righter competes in the 300-meter hurdles at the Northwest Invitational. Righter joined track her sophomore year and has since grown a passion for the sport. “The most challenging thing with the 300 hurdles is the mental ability to balance endurance, speed and get[ing] over the hurdles themselves. Practicing this event multiple times a week [and] focusing on different parts of this race helps me overcome the challenges this event brings,” Righter said.
Photo of the Week – April 18
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![Post-game, senior Winston Gao attempts to run away from junior Agi Kukudala. On April 24, the varsity boys tennis team won their final game of the season against Oakville with a score 9-0. “[Kukudala] is a great teammate on varsity this year. [This team] is the best shot we have to go to state this year, so we're excited for that,” Gao said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/DSC3287-1200x798.jpg)
![Mid-pitch, senior Henry Wild takes the mound against Lindbergh on April 8. Although the team has gotten a 2-6 start, Wild hopes for success this season. “I believe we play one of the hardest schedules, so I hope we can turn it around. We’re a really young team, so for a lot of guys, it's their first time playing varsity. We're all getting used to stepping up in our spots, [but] I'm super excited for this team this year. I love all [of] my teammates,” Wild said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/henrywildpotwedited-1200x800.jpg)
![During Jazz Poetry Night on April 1, sophomore Yusra Khan performs her Program Oral Interpretation (POI) piece from Speech and Debate. For her POI piece, Khan spliced together different authors, poems and news articles into one cohesive story depicting Islamophobia in America. “This was my first time performing in front of a diverse crowd of Muslims and non-Muslims with my peers [and] teachers watching. I was surprised [with] the positive reaction I got afterwards; so many people [said] it resonated well. My biggest takeaway is to always represent and stand up for what you value and not care about the judgment of other people,” Khan said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/yusrapotwedited-1200x800.jpg)
![Putting in the work, junior Jannes Pöttker focuses on strengthening his back with TRX bands during Strength and Conditioning class. The class has helped many students like Pöttker enhance their athletic performance outside of school. “Right now I'm doing track and field, [and] I wanted to do sports during the school day and not just after. [Strength and Conditioning] is always [a] nice time with all the guys and I mean, you really get stronger,” Pöttker said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/8650edited-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Building the base, junior Zaid Aujaimy creates a zen garden in Ceramics on Feb. 25. Aujaimy learned about making plants and rocks out of clay and incorporated those into his garden. “The most significant lesson I learned in Ceramics was to be patient [and] gentle and [to] think about unique ways to approach things and use my resources. I enjoy [Ceramics] class because I can express my creativity. It's not like other classes where there's a specific way to do something. I can [go] about it however I want and make good art my own way,” Aujaimy said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/DSC1285-1200x799.jpg)
![Locked in on the roll, freshman Angel Olvera Galan watches the die land on the table during a Dungeons and Dragons Club meeting on Feb. 21 in the library. Olvera Galan joined the club halfway through first semester and has participated in the club since. “If we all can get along together to do such a thing as playing a game together, then it proves the community at West is so friendly to each other,” Olvera Galan said. “Dungeons and Dragons helps me feel connected because I can find other people who have similar interests to mine and we can all connect [about the game].”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0092edited-1200x800.jpg)
![Hearing the bridge creak, Latin teacher Tom Herpel winces as he carefully stacks another book on top of a popsicle stick bridge during Latin 3 on Feb. 7. Within groups, students were randomly assigned different hierarchical roles of Ancient Roman construction workers and attempted to build bridges for their Roman Engineering unit. “I created this activity to showcase how certain [Romans] on a construction site would not talk to each other because they were higher or lower in society, and that creates problems when trying to create a final product. So then, after [the students’] bridges were done, we tested how strong they were. We slowly put more and more books onto the bridge to see when the bridge would break. And believe it or not, that bridge got to the point where someone actually sat on it,” Herpel said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5942-2-1200x800.jpg)
![High fives and smiles all around, senior Sadie Burgess and her partner junior Charlotte Putnam
compete in the Red Cross Club’s pickleball tournament fundraiser at Chicken n Pickle on Feb. 1. The fundraiser benefited those recently affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. “It felt good [supporting the cause], especially since [pickleball] was easy to pick up and fun. I would have spent that $20 probably at Target anyway, so it was good that I was giving it back to something better,” Burgess said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pickleballpotwedited-1200x779.jpg)
![Reaching for the wall, sophomore Bella Lamb glides through the water in the 100-meter backstroke on Jan. 28 against Lutheran South High School. Lamb’s main event has been the 500-meter freestyle and she worked the most on pacing during practice. “I really wanted to go to state for my 500[-meter freestyle] and the state cut is six minutes. At the Kirkwood Invite, I went 5:47, so I currently have a state cut in the 500. And so [now] I'm working towards getting a lower time,” Lamb said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/swimeditedpotw-1200x799.jpg)
About the Contributors
Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief
Pronouns: they/she
Grade: 12
Years on staff: 4
Who is your favorite musician? Billie Eilish.
What gets you up in the morning? Besides a cup of coffee, I look forward to eating good food with friends and sleeping again.
What’s an unpopular opinion that you have? AI will take over and Cutelli will be its right hand man.
Isaiah Meese, Yearbook Contributor
Pronouns: he/him
Grade: 10
Years on staff: 2
Who is your favorite musician? Jorge Rivera-Herrans.
What gets you up in the morning? Learning new things and building up myself and others.
What’s an unpopular opinion that you have? Don’t know. We are all where we are for different reasons, but no matter where we are, we all should be building paths for those who come next.