The Lancer

The Lancer

The Lancer

TOHS Theatre Flies Among the Stars
TOHS Theatre Flies Among the Stars
Gemma Spraggins, Assistant News Editor • November 21, 2023

With opening night of “Peter and the Starcatcher” on Thursday, November 16th, and closing night on Saturday, November 18th, the cast has...

Boston Journalism Convention goes in all the ‘write’ ways
Boston Journalism Convention goes in all the ‘write’ ways
Aandrea Pineda-Dominguez, News Editor • November 6, 2023

With a stinging chill in the air, professional writers and aspiring journalists gathered in Boston, MA for the annual JEA/NSPA Fall National...

Should schools have a block schedule?
Maximus Cover and Christian-Isaiah Aguilar November 3, 2023

Fall Sports Round-Up
November 3, 2023

No red flags for Girls Flag Football
No red flags for Girls Flag Football
Lilah Swaving and Riley Brown October 28, 2023

Former Thousand Oaks High School varsity head football coach Mike Leibin took on a new yet somewhat familiar challenge: TO girls flag football...

Lancers tie for Canyon League title
Lancers tie for Canyon League title
Jackson Kurtz, The Lancer Staff • October 28, 2023

Q&A THE LANCER: What challenges did you have to overcome in your first season?” MCENROE: “Every job is unique and there’s no such...

Lakers Preview: Title No. 18?
Lakers Preview: Title No. 18?
Jake Bradley, Sports Editor • October 28, 2023

With LeBron James entering his 21st season in the NBA, he only has his eyes on winning his fifth championship and, for the Lakers, their...

AROUND T.O.WN
Rhiannon Hendershot, The Lancer Staff • October 28, 2023

Reign of Terror 275 N Moorpark Rd East, Thousand Oaks, Sept. 29-Nov. 4, 7 p.m.-11 p.m. Walk through various bone-chilling rooms and exhibits...

Preserving the human aspect in the age of AI
Preserving the human aspect in the age of AI
Joseph Goodnight, Opinion Editor • October 28, 2023

With the ever-changing scope of technology, we as a generation constantly have to accept new ways in which artificial intelligence is integrating...

Día de los Muertos Dance strives for increased inclusivity
Día de los Muertos Dance strives for increased inclusivity
Kimberly Jerez, The Lancer Staff • October 28, 2023

The Latino Connection Club at Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Westlake High have come together to host their annual Día de los Muertos dance,...

OFF-CAMPUS PASS
Momo Sonoda, Editor-In-Chief • October 28, 2023

Unanimous GOP vote elects Rep. Mike Johnson for House Speaker More than three weeks after the historical outsting of the Speaker of the House,...

Cheers, Starbucks: a new staple in TO
Cheers, Starbucks: a new staple in TO
Kailah Spencer, The Lancer Staff • October 28, 2023

“Can I get a Lancer Frappuccino?” was something Starbucks manager Miguel Medina heard a lot of following the opening of the new store...

TO welcomes college visitors
Alyssa Kiszczak, Managing Editor • October 28, 2023

Throughout the year, TO provides students with college visits from many schools across the nation. They usually consist of an informational briefing...

Orchestra starting the year off on a good note
Orchestra starting the year off on a good note
Aandrea Pineda-Dominguez, News Editor • October 28, 2023

The instruments are finely tuning, patience is running out, and the maestro is preparing to orchestrate another musical masterpiece. Thousand...

Science Rooms gets a Facelift
Gemma Spraggins, Assistant News Editor • October 28, 2023

On the first day of the school year, TO forensics teacher Michael Flores watched his class experience science in a whole new way. As...

Take Back the Title

Take+Back+the+Title

They may be one of the newest athletic programs on campus, but this team is not showing many signs of growing pains.

Following their league title in 2017, the stunt cheer program is trying to reclaim its top spot in the Marmonte League, fielding an impressive roster of 31 players for this season.

Being not only the youngest sport in CIF, but also one of the youngest in the world, high school stunt cheer is still looking to find a foothold in many areas around the country.

“We heard about this college sport that was starting, and they were trying a demonstration version of it for high school. We played [our first] game and we had no clue what we were doing,” said head coach Kelly Abrams. “Now we’ve evolved to have our tryout process actually make sense with the sport itself.”

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Despite having jumped into the world of stunt with nearly no prior knowledge, Thousand Oaks stunt found its footing quickly. Only after 4 years of existing as a program, they took the league title in 2017.

This season, they set their sights on once again sitting atop Marmonte as a more developed and mature program.

“We want to be able to successfully build as many routines as possible,” said Abrams. “That would be our goal for the end of the season.”

The team knows that achieving these goals will not be a simple task though, with returning Marmonte competitors also fighting for the league title.

“Westlake is our toughest competition this season,” said Abrams. “They’re taking this very seriously, and they won league last year.”

While having set team goals, many of the players on the team have set personal goals for themselves that they hope to achieve before the conclusion of the season.

“In the beginning of this season, I set a goal to become more flexible and to be more confident when performing,” said sophomore Alyssa Balin.

One of the aspects of the team that has shown through in the early part of this season has been the chemistry and bonds among the teammates.

“In stunt, everyone is supportive of each other, and we get closer with each other each and every game,” said Balin. “Our main strength this year is supporting each other and cheering each other on even if we mess up.”

Stunt is still a relatively unpopular sport to come and watch among students, but as the stunt team focuses this year on contending for a Mamonte title, stunt cheer may become one of the sports to watch.

With a strong roster for this year, the Lancers are looking to take their momentum from previous successful seasons and turn it into strong performances and well-executed routines this year.

“Our season started very slow last year, but by the end of the season we were definitely the dominant team,” said Abrams. “This year we’re focused on reclaiming our title.”

Although it is one of the newest sports introduced to CIF, stunt cheer has become one of the fastest growing sports in high school and had gained an impressive following. The program at Thousand Oaks may still be in it’s infancy, but it has proved itself as an exciting spectator sport as the Lancers set their sights on taking back the league title.

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