Author: Ivy Miller

Tennis on Fire

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by Heiger Chen ’22

After defeating Holy Redeemer with a 5-0, Wyoming Seminary tennis team is ending with a strong season. This year’s season began in March and ended in mid-April with Coach Raphael Cooper hoping the team goes into playoffs, which consist of singles, doubles, and teams. He illustrated that the most important goal for the year was for the the team to be competitive and continues learning game to game.

Although Keefer Wu ’22 and Artur Gilicinski ’23 left the team this year, Vaughn Kutish ’22 and Benjamin (Ben) Ziegler ’22 took the positions of team leaders to bring the team together. As Cooper mentioned during an interview “It’s gonna be a difficult but fun and interesting year making adjustments as we could be scrabbing again before districts to make another adjustment to the roster.” 

When asked about who stands out the most to him, he said that “everyone [is] special in terms of what they are doing. You know, they have their own strengthens and weaknesses. But I would just like to say our captains because they are setting the table for all of us.” He continues by wishing his players a good year. “I want every kid leaving feeling like they got better at tennis as well as enjoying the whole experience. It’s not just about winning but progressing and understanding the concept of teamwork.” Cooper added.

The tennis team had their first competition against Berwick and they won 4-1. Specifically, Cooper highlighted Ryan Chun ’23 who had his first time as a singles player and won the match. Additionally, Yicheng Li ’25, who was new to the team, also performed well; he played in a doubles match and had his first victory.

Worth The Wait – Sem’s Bell Tower Repaired

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by Mikel Salas-Warner ’23

Students artwork depicting the Bell Tower (Contributed by Mark Webber)

Walking through campus it feels nearly impossible to ignore the sound of hammers banging and men shouting from atop the Nelson Bell Tower, which has been under reconstruction via the Restore the Bell Tower project. 

Built in the mid-1800s, this tower has long been an iconic landmark in Kingston. Originally part of a larger hall, the main structure was torn down after a large fire that damaged much of the campus towards the turn of the 19th century, however the tower survived, serving as a reminder of the resilient spirit of Wyoming Seminary. 

After Hurricane Agnes caused major damage in Northeastern Pennsylvania in 1972, Sem used large amounts of Federal Disaster funding to repair the tower, reviving this historic building and the grand architecture of the school.

In its over 100-year history, the Nelson Bell Tower has seen and survived events such as the World War I training camps on campus, the economic depression of the 1930s that led to dwindling enrollment numbers, and the difficult era of World War II. 

The new project to restore the Nelson Bell Tower has included working on stabilizing the foundation, waterproofing the bricks, and assorted interior repairs such as painting and fixing lighting issues.  “The metalwork which included some numerals and minute markers on the clock faces and roof cap were made by a local metal fabricator, Apple Street Welding and Manufacturing based in Larksville, PA.” Benjamin Schall, Sem’s Physical Plant Manager said.

Donations are currently being accepted in order to fund this restoration, with those consisting of five thousand dollars or more being rewarded with a mention on a commemorative plaque. 

The Nelson Bell Tower Challenge, led by Mr. John Eidam (Director of the Louis Maslow STEM School) and Mr. Mark Webber (Director of the Rusty Flack Gallery) of Wyoming Seminary, has encouraged students to create creative and designs and innovations for the Bell Tower.

Submissions have included works using mediums such as drawings, sketches, clay, digital renditions, and more. Students starting at Grade 3 were invited and encouraged to submit their own designs to be displayed at the Rust Flack Gallery in the Kirby Center for the Creative Arts in the month of December. 

Events like Bell Tower dance and the iconic senior class yearbook photos will be much improved infront of the restored Nelson Bell Tower, aiding in increasing school spirit and maintaining this beautiful campus. To find out more about the project to restore the Bell Tower, please visit the Wyoming Seminary website, where you can also submit donations under the “Alumni” page. 

Mock Trial Participates in Invitationals

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by Anna Chong ’24

Mock Trial Team (Photos Courtesy of Wyoming Seminary Communications Department)

The Wyoming Seminary Mock Trial Teams just ended its invitationals for this year. They were divided into A and B teams. Each team consisted of two sides, prosecution and defense. Each side is supposed to have three attorneys and three witnesses when competing. Mock Trial is a competition that simulates real trials. Students are given a case that remained the same throughout the whole season. The process of preparing for the case required lots of time and hard work together as a team. The audition took place in early November. From then, both teams started writing and memorizing materials for the case. On January 15 and 16, both teams participated in the Blue & Gold Invitational hosted by La Salle University. On January 22 and 23, both teams took part at the University of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Invitational. Each team held a total of eight trials in these two Invitationals, each trial lasting for three hours. Even though both tournaments were held virtually, both A and B teams have performed exceptionally well. Emily Aikens ‘22 received outstanding attorney awards at both events, while Abby Chong ‘24 and Paige Kenewell ‘24 won outstanding witness awards at the Blue & Gold Invitational. 

This year, the Sem Mock Trial Teams had welcomed a lot of new faces joining the team and spending a memorable time together. Every participant learned much from this amazing experience. Both teams would not be able to have such extraordinary performances without the coach, Dr. Peter Froehlich. As the A team just finished their district competition in mid February, Dr. Peter Froehlich, is invited to talk about his takeaways from this unforgettable event. According to Dr. Peter Froehlich, “We had a very successful season. At the invitationals, both teams scored well against a deep field of talented competition and several of our members received individual awards. In the district competition, sem had a perfect record of 3-0 and were judged the winners by a 14-1 ballots.” He said he was very impressed with Benjamin Zhao ‘22 and Emily Aikens ‘22 ‘s leadership and how independent students were turning material into the prepared statements. Witnesses embodied characters very well and there was much thinking involved on the feet. He stated that watching the B team competing was especially impressive since many of them were participating for the first time. It is great looking at them getting better and better after each trial.