Paris HS Class of 2020 Graduating Seniors Highlight Yesterday’s Sports Brew Show

Tuesday’s Sports Brew Show was dedicated to the seniors and soon-to-be graduates of the Paris High School Class of 2020. The seniors will walk in their graduation commencement exercises on Saturday, and the Sports Brew Show honored those seniors in a special Class of 2020 edition of the show.

The show began with an opening discussion of the latest news in Arkansas high school sports as well as collegiate news both locally and nationwide. And as has been the theme all summer, the decision for a possible resumption of sports in the fall continues to be a wait-and-see game. The biggest news of the past few days has been the announcement from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) that it has postponed the start of the fall sports of cross country, volleyball, and soccer “through at least August 31.”

As time moves on with each passing week of the summer, the fear of not having fall sports increases. And as July moves into its second half of the month, it is hoped by many that decisions on the fate of fall sports will finally be announced.

After the brief opening discussion, the show moved to its first guest interview. Show hosts Tim Johns, Marvin Wiggins, and myself interviewed Paris administrators Mike Nichols and Trey Prieur.

Principal Mike Nichols talked about preparations that are being made at Paris High School for Saturday’s graduation ceremony as well as the upcoming school year. Nichols announced specific information for family members who plan to attend Saturday’s ceremony. A summary of that information can be found in the conclusion of this story.

Nichols began his interview with the pride he has for this year’s graduating class. “Very proud of this group. These guys (graduating seniors) were in the eighth grade in my first year as principal at the middle school. I’ve had the chance to see them grow up.” Nichols was asked if he feared this day would never come due to the COVID quarantine. “Oh yes, absolutely. There was a time when we thought this (graduation ceremony) would never come. But we did continue to plan with the idea that as long as it takes we were going to have a traditional graduation ceremony. It just worked out that the state has allowed us to go ahead and do that, so I am excited about that.”

Nichols talked a few minutes about what school may look like if it resumes in the fall. “What does class look like when we get back in the fall? How are we going to maintain the six feet distance? How do we get students to keep masks on and stay six feet apart? It is going to be challenging because kids are going to be kids. We are looking forward to getting kids back and we are going to be ready.”

While talking about the resumption of fall sports, Nichols said, “Absolutely, we need sports. Just being out there together (players and coaches) is very good for our students.” Numerous measures, such as disinfecting surfaces, installation of plexiglass, etc., are being taken to protect students and staff. But health is the number one concern with respect to the resumption of both classes and sports in August. “Some people don’t understand why we are driving so hard to open school in the fall. It’s not just about math, science, and English. It’s the fact that a lot of students in this district who live in environments where they are not getting their needs met are at risk, whereas in school the best adult they see all day may be a teacher in school. We are looking at a mental health crisis for some of our students who will return to school. We have to be prepared for that. So, you run the risk between contracting the COVID virus and leaving students in environments that may jeopardize their safety and well-being in other respects.”

The next guest on the show was Paris assistant athletic director / assistant middle school principal Trey Prieur. Prieur wears many hats within the district as both a building level administrator and assisting Casey Mainer with the district’s athletic department.

Prieur was asked about his thoughts regarding the resumption of sports in the fall. He responded by saying, “Unfortunately, the AAA (Arkansas Activities Association) has not told us a lot, publicly, or privately. So we are still waiting. NCAA and JUCO levels came out today saying they were going to push fall sports back to the spring. Mississippi (high school sports) came out today and said they are pushing their fall sports back two or three weeks. School is supposed to start August 24 and volleyball (Lady Eagles) is supposed to start that week. We are waiting on a directive from the AAA. We know that Lance Taylor (executive director of the AAA) is on the governor’s task force so we know that he is in direct communication with the governor. So we are hoping that we will have some guidance in the next couple of weeks. I am glad to know that they are not rushing to a decision to cancel everything. I definitely would not want to cancel this far out. But, we are still waiting for guidance.”

Prieur concluded by saying that the postponement or elimination of non-conference games in football, or the delaying of the start of volleyball season across Arkansas for up to three weeks may be “the best case scenario.” High school football schedules are flexible in that most schools play non-conference games for the first three weeks of the regular season. It would be relatively easy to cancel the first three weeks and play a conference-only season starting in September. Volleyball, however, especially in the case of Paris’s conference, would be more difficult. The Lady Eagles conference expanded to nine teams this year, and Paris will play Charleston in a week one conference match the week school is scheduled to open. Due to the fewer number of non-conference matches, it would not be as easy as football to simply cancel the first non-conference matches of the year. However, there is one plausible option to postpone the start of the season for up to two weeks. If that were done, the state final that is usually scheduled the first weekend in November at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs, could then be played later in November just prior to the start of basketball season. Of course, facility availability and other factors would be involved in making such a decision. Other options mentioned by Prieur included limiting the volleyball round-robin (playing each team twice, one game at home and one game away) to just one match per school, similar to football, and in effect reducing the schedule to half of the scheduled conference matches. But, as Prieur stated, we just don’t know anything at this point.

Following the Prieur interview, the remainder of the show focused on a series of interviews with graduating Paris seniors.

The first pair of seniors interviewed were Emma Snow and Patrick Richardson. Hosts Tim Johns and Marvin Wiggins interviewed the seniors to get their thoughts on Saturday’s upcoming graduation ceremony.

Senior Patrick Richardson played both football and baseball for the Eagles. When asked if he was going to miss playing for Paris, he replied, “Yes sir, 100%.” Over the past few months, Patrick has been working and preparing to go to college. I am going to miss the friends I made out there (on the football and baseball teams.) Emma Snow said, “I plan to go to Arkansas Tech. I was very involved in agriculture, so that will be one of the things I miss the most.” Emma could be a Paris graduate who later returns to Paris high school to teach agriculture!

Senior softball teammates Karli Haller and Olivia Henderson were the next graduating seniors interviewed on the show. Karli was asked about the abrupt end to the 2020 softball season. “It really hurt. I put my whole entire life into playing one sport. Worked so hard to get to this point, and it was just hard to have it stripped away.” Olivia was asked the same question and she responded, “It sucked.”

The two girls anchored the corners of the softball infield and were a dynamic pair defensively for the Lady Eagles. Olivia said she would miss “the bus rides, dancing before the games, and eating after the games.” Karli said, “I am definitely going to miss the people and my friends at Paris.”

The program took a break from the 2020 graduates-to-be with interviews with Paris head volleyball coach Jordan Devine and Paris head cheer coach Jennifer Owen.

Owen was asked what thoughts she has as she thinks about her senior cheerleaders participating in Saturday’s commencement ceremony. “It’s a lot going on (a lot to think about). There is a lot to know and these kids that are graduating I have known since the seventh and eighth grades. It is a special group of kids, and I am sad to see them leave as a teacher.” Coach Jordan Devine commented on her kids graduating by saying, “It’s always special on graduation day. Especially now that they are getting to graduate. So glad they are getting to experience that because they lost so much of their senior years. But, it’s always fun to see them get to live their lives and see what they figure out.”

Coach Owen remained to be on the show with three of her graduating senior cheerleaders, Saylor Hampton, Anna Claire Richey, and Mattie Jarrard.

Anna Claire shared that she plans to attend the University of Arkansas in the fall. Both Mattie and Saylor will attend Arkansas Tech. All three are outstanding students and have bright futures ahead of them.

The girls exchanged stories of their times in the cheer program dating back to the eighth grade. Each will be missed both at Paris high school and in the cheer program, and we wish all of them the best of success in their post-secondary studies.

The last segment of the show included graduating senior volleyball players and their coach, Jordan Devine. Host Tim Johns purposely asked Faith Mainer and Robyn Gossard to be the last guests on the senior segment of the show. Robyn, Faith, and Faith’s dog, Ava, were the day’s final guests.

Tim Johns shared with the listening audience that he had asked Faith about a month ago to be a final senior guest on yesterday’s show. He asked her who she wanted to be on the show with her, and Faith replied, “my trusty sidekick” (Robyn Gossard). Both were teammates on some of the most successful volleyball teams in Paris history.

Faith was asked about her times at Paris high school. Faith shared, “Most of my favorite moments have to do with volleyball. During that time, it was 24/7 everyday trying to get more work in. Being part of that team…it’s just your second family. You spend more time with them than you do your family.”

Robyn Gossard commented on how she and others on the team would “run through a brick wall” for their coach, Jordan Devine. “Pretty much! A lot of hard work has gone into the program and I know that Paris volleyball has become a big name in the state and I hope they have continued success this season…I wish I could play.”

As the program concluded, each was asked for their highest and lowest points of their high school careers.

Robyn told a story about her worst moment in the volleyball program. She described an off-season drill in which the players had to chase loose balls all over the court to the point of physical exhaustion.

Faith described her low point as starting her senior season without her dad. “That was my worst. Number two (next lowest point) was losing state.” Both Robyn and Faith listed the quarterfinal state loss as one of the lowest points they have ever experienced.

Robyn, Faith, and all of the members of the Paris high school class of 2020 will be missed, but, we wish all of them the best as they start the next phase of their lives. Eagles for life, they will always be connected to the community and to the school district, and all will always be welcomed home.

For those family members who will be attending Saturday’s graduation ceremony, the gates will open at 8:30 a.m. and the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Administrators encourage everyone to arrive early to secure their seats, as state-mandated social distancing requirements between family groups will be enforced.

Next week’s show will include the remainder of the June 30 interview with Paris athletic director Casey Mainer. The show will update listeners on any breaking news on fall high school and / or college sports. Just click on thesportsbrew.net next Tuesday at 4 p.m.

As the great former Paris football stadium public address announcer, Winford McClure, would say, “See ya!” next Tuesday at 4 p.m. on The Sports Brew Show!

And as always, watch for Resident Press next Wednesday for a recap of next week’s show!