By Quinlan Montgomery

Staff Photographer

Connor Smith’s ambition has allowed him to quickly ascended the ranks within The Sentry, being named copy editor in only his second year on staff; but he doesn’t want to stop there. Smith hopes to take the lessons he has learned on staff and apply them to college next year, where he would like to study journalism. 

In addition to The Sentry, Smith has involved himself with a host of other clubs and extracurriculars, both in school and out.

“I am a peer buddy in the Best Buddies organization, [I’m] in the rifle club, [National Honor Society] … Teenage Republicans, [and] I hunt [and] I fish,” Smith said. 

Smith is passionate about getting involved in the community, which he has shown through his extracurriculars. He is also not afraid to voice his opinions, even on one of the most hotly debated topics of our time: Does pineapple belong on pizza?  

“If you want it to, [but it] doesn’t belong on my pizza.” Smith said. 

This decisiveness should help Smith make one of the biggest decisions of his life. Over the next few months, Smith will have to choose where he wants to attend college. For now, he has got a strong list in mind. 

“I’m looking at Syracuse, UVA, Maryland [and] Penn State among others,” Smith said. 

The idea of home is an important one for Smith. Though he may not know for sure yet where his home will be for the next four years, Smith knows exactly where he would call home now. 

“Durham, Myrtle Beach. I go there a lot,” Smith said

As Smith moves on to the next phase of his life this spring, he will have made his mark on The Sentry and the school. His willingness to go above and beyond has propelled him to where he is today, and that drive will undoubtedly lead him to find success in his future endeavors. 

By Connor Smith

Copy Editor

The Sentry is excited to welcome back sports aficionado Joey Pickel for his third year on staff. Pickel has returned to Arlington after an exciting summer with his cousins in his native state of Wisconsin. 

“I did a lot of fun stuff in Wisconsin with my family….Me and my cousins hung out a lot. We did fun stuff every day…. Probably the entire month of July we were doing something fun and exciting,” Pickel said. 

The Badger State was not only home to the high points of Pickel’s summer, it is also home to Pickel’s favorite football team, the Green Bay Packers. Naturally, a football fan like Pickel also stars as a Swiss Army Knife for our varsity football team’s offensive line. 

“I play guard but I also play center and every now and then I’ll play tackle,” Pickel said. 

In addition to his passion for America’s Game, Pickel has plenty of enthusiasm for the art of writing. When asked where he sees himself in ten years, Pickel says he hopes to be writing for a living.

“Hopefully writing, that’s what I want to do, I don’t care what for, just writing for something,” Pickel said. 

As an experienced Sentry reporter, Pickel has enjoyed plenty of aspects of the class and also has advice for the newest members of the school’s newspaper.

“I like writing sports articles. I like doing research for them. I like making opinions about them …don’t be afraid to try different sections, that’s why I did when I was a freshman. By doing that I can figure out what I liked and what I didn’t like,” Pickel said. 

While Pickel has called Room 249 his 8th period home the past few years, this year a scheduling pickle – no pun intended – has put the third-year reporter into not one, but two classes during 8th period. 

“I take German III, it’s my last year of a language, and {the teachers} want me to be able to go to 8th period and talk to {the} German III people. Two days a week I do journalism work in 7th period and go to German for 8th.”

For most high school students, this would be both a dilemma and a challenge to balance the work of two different classes during the same time of the day. Additionally, Pickel is taking two challenging advanced placement (AP) courses: AP English Literature and AP Physics. According to Pickel, however, it has been no challenge so far.

“It’s {been} pretty straightforward,” Pickel said.

Talented writers, athletes and students like Joey Pickel are exactly what make The Sentry so impressive every single year. Be it writing impressive sports articles, imposing his will on the football field or excelling in the most challenging courses our school has to offer, Pickel has not only contributed to the school’s community, but also to the The Sentry staff year in and year out.

By Joey Pickel

Staff Reporter

The Yorktown Sentry would like to welcome in one of its newest members, that being senior photographer Quinlan Montgomery. Montgomery is eager to bring what he has learned from other classes throughout his time at our school to a new environment.

“Well, I’m here as a photographer, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to take what I’ve learned in photo for the last couple years and apply that to a more real-life situation,” Montgomery said.

It is clear that taking pictures is something Montgomery loves to do, but that may not be his favorite thing in the world. Montgomery is an avid fisherman, and his passion for the sport can easily be seen in the case where money was no object, the first thing he would do is add to his fishing obsession.

“The first thing I would get would be a bass boat because I love to fish and don’t have a boat so I would buy myself a really nice bass boat,” Montgomery said.

That bass boat Montgomery wants to buy may come in handy in the future since it is something he would use in his dream job.

“A nonrealistic goal would be that I’m a fishing guide,” Montgomery said.

This fishing guide dreamer also has some things to say when it comes to laws surrounding fishing. When asked if he could make one law that everyone in the world had to follow, he gave a quick response without hesitation.

“You should be able to fish wherever you want. You shouldn’t be allowed to block out your own private water and kick people out of it,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery’s love of fishing also relates to another one of his passions, that being the great outdoors. Montgomery describes his love for the environment in several ways and has a very particular way the one percent should be spending their money.

“With the state of the world is in now there are certain charities that help with the environment and environmental conservation is something that is important to me. As someone who’s outside a lot. So there are a lot of charities that I think could use some money and could make a big impact on the world,” Montgomery said.

Although Montgomery may be the exact opposite of a homebody and has several skills that would make him a wilderness expert, he does not have too much confidence in himself if the zombie apocalypse ever happens.

“I’d like to think that I’d last more than a week, I feel as though I am fairly resourceful and capable of outsmarting zombies, but in practice, I have no idea, I might last 20 minutes,” Montgomery said.

When he is not out fishing in the Potomac for bass or catfish, you could find Montgomery in front of a TV eating a cheeseburger and watching his favorite team, the Washington Nationals. 

Baseball is also a passion for Montgomery. His favorite movie is a film about Brad Pitt playing Oakland Athletics General Manager, Billy Beane, building a contending baseball team on a shoestring budget. He lists Max Scherzer as his favorite player on The Nationals, and says playing professional baseball as his second dream job.

It is clear Montgomery is a talented photographer. His addition to The Sentry is a welcomed one, and everyone is looking forward to seeing the pictures he will take.