Erika Holmberg

Freshman Tanya Rastogi is one of few PV students to ever be selected to the Iowa All-State festival as a freshman.

For many high school student athletes and musicians, earning All-State honors or taking home a conference title are career-long goals. Although these titles are difficult to achieve, two standout freshmen have already accomplished each in their first years of high school. 

Star freshman cross country runner Grace Boleyn took the running community by storm after making an astonishing appearance in her first season on the PV cross country team this year. 

Boleyn dominated the Spartan Challenge in her high school cross country debut, taking a solo win while setting the stage for a successful season both individually and as a team. 

With her list of running accomplishments growing, Boleyn attributes much of her success to her competitive drive to achieve greatness. “Just wanting to be the best that I can be has helped me to be able to compete at a high level,” she stated.

Although she is receiving waves of sudden attention, Boleyn is no stranger to success. She claimed her first major running title in eighth grade, earning a state title in the eighth grade girls’ cross country tournament. 

For Boleyn, this was only the beginning. 

But with great success also comes high expectations and lots of attention. Coping with this was a unique challenge for Boleyn.

“It was cool to have a lot of attention on me this season, but I also think that it made it harder to have high expectations at every single meet,” stated Boleyn. 

With having accomplished so much in her cross country debut, there is no doubt Boleyn will continue to dominate and change the face of PV girls’ cross country. 

Athletics are not the only freshman-dominated department this year. Flutist Tanya Rastogi turned a lot of heads as she joined an elite list of musicians in making the Iowa All-State music festival as a freshman in late October.

A majority of All-State musicians do not even make the prestigious event until their junior or senior years of high school. Rastogi took this fact with a grain of salt.

Through a long process of auditions and recalls, Rastogi navigated her way through a competitive field of musicians to not only earn a spot in the All-State festival but even earned the top flute part, a title given to only three flutists in the region. 

“[After making All-State] I was surprised and elated. I knew I had worked hard for this, but I also knew that my selection to the band hinged on one five-minute audition… Knowing I was able to handle the pressure and that efforts paid off felt amazing,” expressed Rastogi. 

Rastogi’s All-State audition day came with many ups and downs. Dealing with the mental and physical exhaustion on audition day is enough to psyche a musician out, but Rastogi’s mature mindset helped her standout amongst other talented players.

“For the first half of the day I was very anxious…I tried not to listen to other flutists play and concentrate on my own performance. My state of mind played a significant part in my audition success,” Rastogi stated.

The accomplishments Rastogi has made at such a young age comes not only as a great honor to herself, but it is also an inspiration to her fellow freshman musicians. 

“It’s really inspiring to see a freshman like Tanya make All-State. It represents how much hard work and dedication can pay off,” stated freshman trumpet player Ethan Arter. 

Musical success like Rastogi’s will pave the way for a bright future in PV music.

For the rest of PV music history, Rastogi will be a name to remember. Through her hard work and dedication to achieving excellence, Rastogi is well on her way to a bright musical career.

From athletics to music, there is no shortage of young talent at PVHS. While many will look up to upperclassmen leadership, there is a perfect storm brewing for talented freshmen setting the stage for a bright four years ahead.