Ernest Seaholm High School - Piper Yearbook (Birmingham, MI)

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Girls ' Track Team Shares Confidence in Runners ' Abilities by K. Morgan M. Washburn Last spring, the Girls ' Track Team pushed it to the limit - and at the rate they were going, they never even came close to a screeching halt. The year brought two big changes to the team. First was Jim Mulligan, a new coach who, in his first year coaching at Seaholm, hoped to make the season the best one ever. Second, the team had a much larger and stronger freshman track squad than it had in the past, which really helped the team ' s progress throughout the season. The team ' s captains were seniors Mary Ballantyne and Karen Anderson, and junior Kathy Soloczuk. In addition to the other members, exceptionally strong runners included senior Alison Saylor, sophomore Renee Bator, and freshman Jennifer Jacoby. Placing sev- enth out of twenty-seven schools in the mile run, Jennifer Jacoby commented about the other runners. All of the eleventh and twelfth grade runners on the team have been really supportive to Junior track members. Anita Motwani and Colleen Roberts prepare daily during after school practices for upcoming competition. photo by Mike Raffcrty The new coach Jim Mulligan felt that the team ' s greatest strengths were in the long and mid-distance events. He felt the team ' s weakness was basically their lack of experience. Last year ' s team had a lot more experience, but this year ' s team had a lot more raw talent, Mulligan said. Only seven members were return- ing team runners from previous years. Junior Anita Motwani stated, The team this season will be good in the future because the freshmen on the team are really good runners. We all work togeth- er and have fun. We run as a whole team, not as separate runners. The overall attitude, optimism, and confidence that the runners and the coach held helped to create a talented and successful atmosphere among all. The Girls ' Track Team thrived and set the talented precedent for its members and their future seasons. This year ' s freshmen members proved to be exceptionally strong, which guarantees success the next few years. COACH JIM MULLIGAN GIRLS ' TRACK OPPONENT SHS OPP Troy Berkley Groves Hazel Park Andover Ferndale Southfield Rochester Kettering Kimball 59-69 62-65 71-57 100-27 53-73 66-62 19-109 30-100 84-51 52-76 GIRLS ' TRACK 251

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FRONT ROW- Katie Humphrey. Karen Anderson. Mary Ballantyne. Kathy Sohczuk. Anita Motwani. Alison Saylor. Km Hageman. Nadia Atassr SECOND ROW- Aimee Coty. Amy Burkhart. Joanie Fand. Renee Bator. Karen Klapproth. Vinnie VanEvery. Stacy Galla. Bndgid Bremner. Karen Finkbeiner. THIRD ROW- Alysse Donahue. Kirsten Browne. Heath- er Finch. Jenni Bitterle. Kim Hijgs. Kristen Mather, Elizabeth Borman. Meghan O ' Letry. Kelly Fredette, Coach Mulligan. BACK ROW- Suzanne Corej. Jody Johnson. Katherine Smith. Jennifer Jacoby, BIythe Eaman. Amy Gibson. Kirsten Elvekrog. Patty Manning. While competing in a meet at South field, sophomore track member Renee Bator clears the hurdles in her successful attempt to win the race. photo by Mike Ralfcrty 250 GIRLS ' TRACK

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Wild Bill Tends to the Tendons by Katy Andr Behind the superior athletes, the top- notch coaches and the numerous titles Seaholm has received, there stands one man. Bill Watson, Seaholm ' s sports trainer, may be small in stature, but his actions are grand. Watson is the man on the sidelines helping the athletes at ever y game. He dedicates himself not only to our sports program, but Watson works 9 to 5 at the Metro Rehabilitation Center. Working both jobs, Watson admits, requires quite a commitment. Sometimes, I don ' t get home until 10:00 or 10:30, he explained. Watson ' s most striking attribute, how- ever, is not his ability to juggle two jobs, but his unique relationships with students. While he treats students as equals, the students relate to Wild Bill as one of the guys. Yeah, he ' s cool, he ' s like a student, you can talk to him, said Mike Rafferty. Not only does Watson offer a good conversation, he helps athletes with injur- ies and therapy, and, of course, said Jon Burleigh, He goes through a lot of ankles every day. Watson ' s reward for these long hours is the joy of working with the students. It ' s easy to work for kids, especially here, because they always say ' please ' and ' thank you ' . Watson ' s ability to relate to the students and have a grip on the Seaholm sports scene may be attributed to his degree in physical education from West- ern Michigan. But more significantly, Watson mastered the routine from first hand experience. As a student at Seaholm, Watson developed his interest in the sports training field, becoming the football manager trainer. Wild Bill also ran the 220 and 440 in track his senior year. After graduating in 1978, Watson con- tinued his interests as a trainer at Western. In 1983, Watson returned to Seaholm to find all of the good times and a salary waiting for him. Although Watson hopes someday to go further in the sports medicine field, at Seaholm, he will always be known as Wild Bill, and as senior Craig Ciccone said, just a good friend. Bil! helps Mike Kauth regain his strength after having breathing problems. Watson has been on the sidelines since he was the manager of the football team as a Seaholm junior in 1977. photo by Doug Englc Away from his intense duties of administering Tender Lovm ' Care to the athletes. Bill takes a break and rewards himself for a hard day ' s work by sneaking a cold one. phoio by Paul Donat 252 SPORTS FEATURE