by David Tesitor
WALSENBURG- The streets were lined with spectators who waited in anticipation for the 2009 John Mall High School Parade to begin. They were not disappointed. The theme for this year’s parade was “A Blast from the Past.” The freshman float featured an eighties and television theme, the sophomores focused on the fifties, the juniors reviewed the sixties, and the senior float presented a seventies theme, complete with a VW Beetle.
The week’s festivities began on Monday with the building of the floats and theme days at school. It was a dress-up week for students as they dressed from eras of the past, wore clashing clothing, cross-dressed on switch day and ended Thursday with purple and white. There was a bonfire which followed the Lady Panthers’ volleyball victory Thursday, then the parade on Friday.
The Royalty was formally introduced to the crowd at Saturday’s game. The freshman class was represented by Sara Trujillo. She is the daughter of Jesse and Margie Trujillo, and plays on the volleyball team. Her escort was Bodine Gonzales, who is the son of Dominick and Heather Gonzales, and who plays football. The sophomore class was represented by Brianna Crump, daughter of Thomas and Angela Crump. She is on the junior varsity volleyball team. She was escorted by John Burch. He is the son of John and Rosalie Burch. John plays football. Nakita Vigil and Dominic Pino represented the junior class. Nakita plays for the Lady Panthers and is the daughter of Michael and Sandy Vigil. Dominic is the son of Ernest Pino and Anita Cordova. Dominic is a wide receiver for the Cats.
The senior class was represented by Katie Monahan, who plays volleyball and basketball. She is the daughter of Mattie Monahan. Her escort, Toshi Otake, an exchange student from Japan, plays football and soccer and is the son of Shinji and Mariko Otake. Shannon Pineda was escorted by Clayton Archuleta; both are multi-sport athletes. Shannon is the daughter of John and Alicia Pino, and Clayton is the son of Bertie and Gina Archuleta. Elyssa Navarro was escorted by Austin Jackson. Elyssa is the daughter of Javier Romero and Rachael Navarro. Elyssa plays volleyball and basketball. Austin is the son of Jesse and Diana Jackson. Austin plays football. Rounding up the senior royalty was Kiana Ortivez, daughter of Michael and Shari Ortivez and Michael Zudar, son of Paul Zudar and Sherry Mann. Michael also is a multi-sport athlete. Once all
