February was a month of triumph for many student activities here at Crystal Lake South, from theater performances to academic and athletic wins to success in various state series competitions. CLS students earned themselves a multitude of awards this month. In case you haven’t been following the awards and achievements of each and every CLS extracurricular, below is an overview of the highlights from this month. 

The most well-known successes of this month were those of various athletic state series competitions. It seemed like there was a state sendoff almost every other week for a different sports team. For starters, the d155 Predators, the district’s co-op hockey team, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen High School State Hockey Playoffs. Another co-op team, the d155 swimming team, won their FVC conference and qualified multiple swimmers for state, including one CLS student. And another d155 co-op team did well in their state series: the gymnastics team. This team won regionals, then sectionals, and went on to win state, including South’s own Audrey Burke. The wrestling team placed 3rd at regionals, advanced six of their wrestlers to sectionals, and had three sectional champion wrestlers who advanced to state. At state Josh Glover placed 3rd and Shane Moran won the Class 2A state finals. And yet another team did well in their state series: CLS Cheer worked hard this season and made it all the way to state, making school history.

However, CLS athletic teams were not the only groups making state runs in February, academic groups also had amazing successes. Both CLS Robotics teams did well in their state-qualifying competition. Swamp Bots were in the tournament runner-up alliance and won the control award, and they were very close to advancing to state. Speech Team also did well at both their regional and sectional competitions. Four speakers qualified for sectionals, and there, Majesté Kyei-Amponsah won first place in Poetry at sectionals and 3rd in Oratorical Declamation, which meant she qualified for state in both of her events.

In other competitive news, there were non-state series triumphs this month. Math team, after much success this season, placed third overall as a team at their FVC competition. Another success came from the JV Scholastic Bowl team, who won their conference competition. ACES also added to the victories by winning their regional competition.

To top off all of the medals and fanfare surrounding extracurricular competitions this February, CLS Theater put on a fantastic production of Mamma Mia! this month. They had five amazing public performances between February 18th and February 26th. Many students went multiple times to these performances, and the cast received many well-deserved compliments for their performance.

The moral of the success-filled month of February is that CLS is full of exceptional talent. Many extracurriculars made great progress this year and were able to achieve great things. If you were a part of any of the success stories listed above, congratulations! If you’re part of another CLS extracurricular that was not mentioned, be proud of the work you’ve put into your involvement. But, if you’re someone who is not yet involved, take this article as a sign to look into extracurriculars that interest you. Regardless of if you win state or not, the work put into these clubs can reap major benefits.

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