Lane Dawson Stokely

Lane Dawson Stokely, also known as PBR, was born to his mother and father, Laura and Jack Stokely on June 23, 2006. His time to shine as the only child didn’t last long as his younger brother Luke joined him and then his youngest brother Jase shortly after.

Lane also made many memorable memories during his elementary years, especially on the playground. Lane and Dallas Koedam were known to be seen together everywhere at recess. One day they decided to try something new which resulted in one of them getting a concussion. They would spin the tire swing as fast as they could and reach onto the chains and swing in the air. Now as you can imagine this was not their brightest idea as when Lane held on he flew off and hit the pole besides the swings. Even after this they repeated this over and over creating a bigger crowd around them each time. 

During Lane’s high school years, he grew fond of spending a lot of time in the West Lyon shop. He enjoyed his time in that area because the environment the teachers and students created there is always chill and fun. While he appreciated the laid back atmosphere, he also liked that he learned something useful in these classes. As well as creating many memories including his favorite when Justus Leuthold’s truck started on fire. This created a panic from their teacher Petey causing him to run away resulting in Sievers chuckling and slowly walking up to put the fire out.

In addition to enjoying his time in the shop, Lane also spent his high school years participating in high school rodeo. He is well-known at West Lyon as our resident bull rider, and he was a 2022 and 2024 National High School Rodeo qualifier for bull riding.

Unsurprisingly, Lane says that the shop is what he will miss most about West Lyon once he graduates. He plans to continue working with AM Garage Doors. His best piece of advice for underclassmen is to not take crap from anyone and to stay sigma. 

Alexa Brianne Van Wyk

On a cold wintery night of January 8th, 2007, Alexa Brianne Van Wyk, also known as Lexers and Grimace, was welcomed home by her parents Gregg and Jessie along with her older siblings: Shaela (24) and Logan (21). When asked about her role-model she didn’t hesitate to talk about the person who has been there all of her life, her mom. Alexa mentions, “My mom is a nurse and helps people out. I want to help the same way she does when I become a dental hygienist.” 

Alexa at a young age was always very creative. She loved playing on the big snow pile during recess, making fancy tunnels in the pile. Along with having snowball fights of course. That creativity from the snow pile carried over into her high school career during her favorite class, art. Alexa emphasizes, “I am able to show my creativity and passion in my artwork.” 

Throughout Alexa’s high school career, she was involved in playing alto saxophone in marching, jazz, and concert band. She also participated in golf throughout high school. Musically Alexa was very talented. She received a band letter sophomore year and a division 1 for one of her solos at the Solo and Ensemble contest. Along with being involved in all of these extracurricular activities, she excelled in the classroom as well. She received an academic letter, metal, and pins all four years of high school. 

Alexa was never one who loved to get homework so her favorite memory with a teacher happened to be when Mr. Mannes would trick her class into thinking they had a worksheet, but he actually had them do a holiday crossword for extra credit. Mr. Mannes thought he was pretty fun with that one! But when Alexa did have homework, she would still like to procrastinate, especially in college comp one where she talks all the time instead of doing her work. She is surprised she hasn’t gotten a detention from Mrs. Koedam yet! She also is surprised she hasn’t gotten a detention from all the times she has been late to band.

Though her aura will remain, we will surely miss Alexa walking through the halls at West Lyon. But most importantly, Alexa mentioned that she will miss her band competitions, especially all of the Thursday night jazz rehearsals, and the lunch table, eating her favorite meal, chicken bacon ranch pasta with her friends. As Alexa departs West Lyon, she has a few wise words for the underclassmen. She highlights, “Don’t stress about one bad grade, because you will always have an opportunity to make it up later.” After high school, Alexa plans to take a gap year to work and take generals. Then attend the University of South Dakota for dental hygiene.