Amber Siratt
Kern Valley Sun

They don’t call them ‘Mighty Milers’ for nothing. In nine short months, the students of Wallace Elementary ran, walked and jogged a total of 14,232 miles. That’s the equivalent of nearly five trips across the continental United States. Last Wednesday, students, staff and parents celebrated this amazing feat with the ever popular, energetic Mighty Miler assembly where students individual achievements were recognized.

Certificates, medals, trophies and t-shirts were awarded to students based on the number of miles they completed. A top boy and girl runner from each grade level were awarded trophies for completing the most miles. Receiving trophies were Kindergartners James Meachem and Destiny Miller; first graders Mathew Surico and Kylie Whitlock; second graders Austin Adkins and Cambria Lingenfelder; third graders Brett Grimsby and Victoria Zuniga; fourth graders Jacob Patino and Melissa Robertson and fifth graders Tristen Papazian and Randi Stackhouse. Five classes were recognized for completing 1,000 miles or more: Mrs. Crowe’s first grade class; Mrs. Dwyer’s K-1 combination; Mr. Branscum’s second grade class; Mrs. Gilman’s 2-3 combination class and Mrs. Lanza’s fourth grade class.

Wallace Elementary students who completed 20 to 30 miles through the school’s Mighty Miler program fill the stage in the cafetorium during the Mighty Miler awards assembly held last Thursday, May 27.

When the school year began in August, goals were set for each student to complete 26.2 miles, the distance of a marathon and for the school to collectively reach 6,000 miles by May. By February, the students had already racked up 5,000 miles.

In its second year, the Mighty Miler program has proven to be a popular part of the school day. Throughout the year, teachers had the option to use physical education class time for Mighty Milers. Teachers recorded their students miles which were then logged into a database where students tracked their number of completed miles.

As the assembly drew to a close, Wallace Elementary teacher and Mighty Miler coordinator, Kathy Dwyer, applauded the students success and thanked principal Stephanie Pope for searching and finding the Mighty Miler program. “She was courageous enough to say let’s give it a try,” said Dwyer.