The court fell silent as the player stepped up to the crisp, white, free-throw line. The loud cheering had diminished, replaced with an awkward emptiness. However, everyone’s eyes were focused on the ball, entranced, and anxiously waiting for what was going to happen next. The player lined up, readied the shot, and released. You could barely hear a swish, as all of Hewett Gym erupted in cheers.
However, this level of energy isn’t a constant for all KO sports, and during his time on the KO News, senior Jacob Mapp made sure to let people know that basketball wasn’t the only thing going on.
“As a journalist in high school, I feel like I have a voice,” Jacob began, “because not everybody goes to squash matches or tennis matches, things like that. Big sports like football and basketball – a lot of people go to those. A lot of people know what’s going on. Not a lot of people watch or pay attention to a lot of the other sports. So, by shining a positive light on other sports around campus, I feel like I have an impact in that sort of way.”
Since Jacob’s time on the KO News has come to an end, I thought it might be nice to bring him on a trip down memory lane by having him reminisce about one of his favorite articles. “I love my Super Bowl article from sophomore year,” he stated. “That was so much fun to write because I’m a big NFL guy. I watched that whole game so I knew every moment, exactly what happened. It felt like that’s what I want to do in the future.”
Jacob also went on to share how he came to be a journalist in the first place, having no real passion for sports writing. That was, until eighth grade came around. “I’ve wanted to be a journalist of some sort, or a sports broadcaster, and a way to start doing that is hop on the KO News,” he told me. “My mom also suggested I should do it, so I did.”
Since then, Jacob has gone on to publish over 30 different articles for the KO News, showing his extreme dedication to fulfilling his dream of becoming a sports broadcaster. As a way of showing his appreciation for the KO News, he left me with some advice for aspiring writers. “Plan your time well, and if you ever feel stressed, just breathe, take a break, you deserve it,” Jacob said. “Relax a little bit, give yourself some space because you’re doing great things.”
The KO News will miss Jacob and his wonderful sports articles next year, but we look forward to seeing all that he does!
