As the school year comes to an end, the class of 2026 gets ready to graduate. Every single senior shares the same surreal feeling.
From being the babies of the school in 2022, thinking that high school is going to last forever, to graduating in just a few days.
With highs and lows, students leaving and students coming, the four years that felt like forever in the moment are now coming to a close. One of the biggest chapters of a student’s life is now ending.
No more assemblies, school dances, Friday Night Lights, Battle for the Paddle, and so much more. It is all coming to an end as the time flies by.
The class of 2026 was freshmen in the year 2022-2023, the “bottom of the food chain,” one of the scariest years of high school. Knowing little to no teachers, getting lost in the hallways. Having more freedom and control over classes and schedule than middle school, the first year of high school is very intimidating.
The year life starts to get more serious for school and life. The age at which you can begin looking for a job and begin going for your driver’s license.
Not quite middle schoolers anymore and still gradually learning how to become adults and functioning people of society.
It is also when sports get more competitive and the choice of continuing dawns on them. Some people quit their sports, some play on the freshman team, JV, and some on varsity.
This year is when we went to our first dance, tried out for our first high school team, and went to Battle for the Paddle for the first time.
“I was a little nervous for the homecoming dance,” Reesa Saxe said on September 27 2022. “I did not really know what to expect coming into it. After I went to the dance, it was way overhyped.”
The first dance came and went, and the night feels like ages ago. The excitement before and the letdown because it was not as fun as everyone made it out to be was a shared feeling among a large portion of the freshman class.
On January 20th, 2023, the freshman class experienced winning the paddle for the fourth time. The theme was Hawk Army and was held at Sandpoint. The gym was sweaty and humid, but the first time experiencing it was unlike any other.
For the class of 2026, sophomore year, the 2023-2024 school year, was just as unknown, no longer being the “bottom of the food chain” but still not yet upperclassmen. It felt like being stuck in a weird in-between.
Sophomore year is not as intense as junior year, not as scary as freshman year, and not as relaxed as senior year.
Six periods are required, and a free period is not yet allowed; four core classes and two electives are also required. Sophomore year is where we figure out the groove of high school.
We know where everything is, we make more friends, and we are more outgoing.
They know more teachers, and they start figuring out that grades matter and begin thinking about the choices we will have when junior year hits. Whether it is KTEC, college classes, associates degree, or just doing the required classes to graduate, junior year provides more options and freedom.
Homecoming becomes less stressful, and you go to more school events. Friday Night Lights gets more fun, and sports are also more fun when you’re on the higher team.
A new stress appears, though, for the class: Will we win Battle for the Paddle again? The truth is, it gets more stressful after experiencing the win the year prior.
The Hawks do achieve a win for the fifth year in a row with a rock and roll theme.
Junior year is one of the most stressful years of high school. This is 2024-2025 for the class of 2026
The weeks of testing, the first year, when you can have a free period. More choice of a schedule, KTEC, college classes, or the basics.
Testing statistics for the class of 2026 this year were record breaking as Lakeland High School was number 1 in the state in for math ISAT scores, and above average in both ELA and science.
It is the first year of being an upperclassman and a year you truly start looking at what you want to be in the future.
New challenges also arose this school year; the levy had failed, and the students and teachers were worried about funding.
Dreyden Smith wrote a story titled “Pay to Play” that was recognized by the CDA Press.
Smith broke down what would happen if we had to pay to play.
The levy was rerun and passed by a small number of votes.
“We have so many people to thank for this levy. So many people, and parents, rallied together in our community to make this happen,” Jimmy Hoffman said on May 21, 2025. “We are so blessed and so thankful.”
Again, Battle for the Paddle was an unforgettable experience. This year, for the first time ever, girls were able to wrestle in the event. This was the year that Lakeland barely beat Sandpoint, only winning by one single point.
This was also a huge year overall for sports. Volleyball took second in state.
“On the last point, it felt like the whole world came to a stop,” Alyssa Ryckman said on November 6, 2024. “We worked all season, and second is still amazing, but we all wanted first. It felt surreal. We are going to come back mentally stronger and take back what’s ours. It’s a loss that should not have happened.”
The football team took third at state, and the wrestling team took fourth.
This was also the first year of prom. The stress of picking a dress and going to the big dance with only upperclassmen is finally here. The dance lives up to the hype, unlike homecoming, and it’s a lot more fancy.
“It was more exciting than homecoming,” Junior Delilah Zimmerman said on April 15, 2025. “More people were involved, and the music was way better.”
Senior year is the final year of high school. The year before adult life, the final year of being a kid. Applying to college, trade school, or just finding a career or a passion to begin your adult life, it was now time to begin making decisions.
“Senior year has been more challenging than I thought it would be; there have been lots of final experiences; it has been quite sad, but I am excited about the next chapter of my life,” Hunter Avriett said. “My favorite part of senior year is getting one last year with the people I have grown up with before the great separation.”
Most seniors have a job and a license. They start saving money and deciding whether they want to move away or stay close to home.
The schedule becomes more relaxed with some seniors only going to school for two periods or others for all six. Some students go more online with NIC, others stay completely in person, and some go to KTEC.
“It has been pretty fun; you have got to know your teachers for the four years you have been here. It is also exciting to know what you can do in the future,” Marisa Evans said. “I am going to Lewis Clark College, or I am going online.”
This year was the year of lasts. The last dance, last Battle for the Paddle, last assemblies. The truth is, you try to experience everything. Every Friday night football game, every sporting event, every moment is soaked in. The year the game becomes more than a game.
“Overall, you have got to think this is the first class of freshman that has been in the program for four years with the faculty and principles I want in the program,” Mike Schroeder said on October 17, 2025.
The football team had an insane season with the Kansas City tiebreaker, a groundbreaking season, and a chance to win $1,000,000.
“Waking up at like 6:30 was bad, but actually working out in the morning was great because then you would be ready for the day,” Aiden Huezo, senior starting offensive lineman, said on October 17, 2025. “Everyone is like, ‘This sucks,’ but you are all in the same mindset that we all have to get through this; it is going to make us better.”
Lakeland High School got to be one of the 25 rural schools to participate in the 5G Friday Night Lights challenge, overall they did not win the $1,000,000 but they did win the $30,000 to use on a football field makeover.
Senior night also happens, and it is usually your last time on your home court, mat, or field.
“The only thing on my mind was winning one last time at home,” Peyton Sardinha said on January 30, 2026.
Karstyn Kiefer was the only senior on the girls’ basketball team, ending her last season with her team and a third-place trophy. The girls’ softball team made history this year, going to state for the first time in five years and winning a district title.
“This has been everything we seniors have been dreaming of since our freshman year,” Senior Kiersten Drake said on May 11, 2026. “It feels so surreal that we have finally made it to state.”
The girls’ track team also did wonders, placing second in state.
The last Battle for the Paddle hits differently too, especially after winning it the last three years of high school. It feels like a must to win it because losing senior year would be devastating.
“Sandpoint doesn’t want to lose seven years in a row, so they are gonna bring their best,” Jake Larcher said on January 16, 2026. “Yes, it definitely puts more pressure on us because you don’t want to be the class to end it.”
Every event that begins, the pressure is on. The final score was 189.8-151.4, making the Lakeland Hawks claim the Paddle for the seventh time. Another huge thing was the Lakeland girls wrestling team had four wrestlers at the event, doubling it from the year prior. Every sport was also a win.
Another perk of senior year is finally being allowed to run for homecoming or prom court.
Avriett and Paige Rose were homecoming king and queen, and Cade Pittman and Reesa Saxe were prom king and queen.
“I was extremely excited, just to enjoy one of the last big events before graduation with the people I care about the most,” Ryckman said on April 13, 2026. “I was extremely stressed while getting ready, but before pictures I felt better.”
Memories are made throughout the four years that will last a lifetime. Friendships were formed, lessons were learned.
Once freshmen who were getting lost in the halls, now seniors who know the place like the back of their hands.
The class of 2026 experienced challenges and success. They witnessed new students arrive and said goodbye to classmates who left. They celebrated championships, worried about levies, won the Paddle all four years, and created so many memories.
Whether it feels like it flew by or took its sweet time, it is almost over, and the last thing left to do is walk the stage and throw the caps in the air.
