Rock Talk
Rock Talk is the official podcast of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri — where we explore the voices, values, and vibrant life of our Jesuit, college-prep community. Hosted by the Admissions and Marketing team, each episode features conversations with students, faculty, alumni, and special guests as we share stories of academic excellence, faith formation, brotherhood, and service. Whether you're a prospective family, a proud alumnus, or simply curious about what makes Rockhurst unique — this is your inside look at life at The Rock.
Rock Talk
Inside Rockhurst: Finals, Newsies, And The Jesuit Edge
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A projected gap became a real fight, and everyone in the stands felt it. Jack Messick and Declan Griggs walk us through Rockhurst’s state meet story—how dominant diving from the favorites put them down early, how steady points from the board kept it close, and how a surge in the pool made second place feel like a statement. We talk about the 500 free at 5:08, the pressure of 11-dive rounds and cuts, and the mindset it takes to stay calm when the scoreboard says “chase.”
Away from the water, both guys double down on craft. Declan moves into tennis with a winter plan that focuses on the fundamentals most players overlook: indoor bubble sessions, ball-machine volume, and footwork reps that make strokes possible under pressure. Jack heads into a larger role in Newsies, laying out a rehearsal cadence that looks like a training block—line runs before break, choreography foundations in January, and full dress rehearsals leading into late February. If you’ve ever wondered how theater builds team chemistry and stamina the way sports do, this comparison is your proof.
Finals prep gets real and practical. They share the tools that actually lower stress: peer-built study guides, matching study to the test format, short consistent review sessions, and simple organization systems that convert plans into action. Declan keeps an iPad planner by day and handwritten checklists by night for that satisfying cross-off. Jack relies on clean folders and a heavy-duty binder for content-dense courses, prioritizing by tomorrow’s schedule so he always knows the next step. The conversation ends on family, holiday traditions, and quiet gratitude for leadership—parents, teachers, coaches—who make high standards feel like support, not pressure.
If you enjoy this mix of sports, stage, and study with a Jesuit heartbeat, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Your feedback helps more families find Rock Talk and keeps these student stories in the spotlight.
Welcome To Rock Talk
SPEAKER_02Welcome to Rock Talk, the official podcast of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri, where we explore the voices, values, and vibrant life of our Jesuit college prep community. Hosted by the admissions and marketing team, each episode features conversations with students, faculty, alumni, and special guests as we share stories of academic excellence, faith formation, brotherhood, and service. Whether you're a prospective family, a proud alumnus, or simply curious about what makes Rockhurst unique, this is your inside look at life at the Rock. And we're back. Thank you all for tuning in and listening. We are continuing our holiday sessions where we are bringing you interviews with some of the young men in our community and letting them reflect on the first semester of school, looking into what they are excited about for the holidays, and just a bunch of other fun stuff. So we have two special guests today. We have Declan Griggs, we have Jack Mesek, and they are going to be our guests today. So, gentlemen, I know I just said your names, but if you would introduce yourself to the audience and tell us a little bit of what you're involved in.
SPEAKER_01I'm Jack Mesek. On the swim team, I do theater, and then I'm also an ultra server.
Meet Jack And Declan
SPEAKER_00Okay, cool. I'm Declan Griggs. I'm on the dive team and I play tennis. And a majority of my time I spend focused on schoolwork and just getting better at tennis and dive day in and day out.
SPEAKER_02Cool, cool, cool. All right, so guys, you're gonna have to coach me up because I was not a swimmer. So you said you're a swimmer, you're a diver. What do you swim?
SPEAKER_01So I swim longer distances. This is gonna sound scary, but I swim the 500 free. It takes about five to six minutes depending on the person. Okay. I recently swam it at state and went five minutes, eight seconds, which is a really good time.
Swimming And Diving 101
SPEAKER_02Okay, cool. Cool, cool, cool. And so when we dive, and I I've only known one diver in my life. He was actually he was a diver at Mizzou. That's where I went to school, forgive me. And he ended up coming onto the football team and being our kicker. So outside of that, I have no reference for dive. I mean, I watch it in the Olympics and stuff like that. So you dive. How does like do you do like certain heights? Do you do like certain moves? Like just coach me up on diving, please.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so high school dive is all one-meter springboard. So just like the normal diving board that you'd see at any any pool. And for varsity meets, they are 11 dives split into three rounds. Okay. So the first round is five dives, and you go through those five, and then they'll cut down to 20 people. And then you'll do another three dives, and then they'll cut down to 16. Okay. And then you'll do the final three dives and then they'll they'll announce the podium and the winner.
SPEAKER_02Gotcha. Okay. And then you guys, obviously, the team went to state. Were you both there? How did that go? Like what bring bring me up to speed? I mean, I know we did well, but like how was that experience?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I know we were both there. He, like you said, he swam the 500. Okay. And we had all four of our divers go to state this year. Okay. And I placed 14th. And then our other diver Charlie Clump, he placed seventh. Cool. So we got a total of 15 points for the team from dive alone.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
How High School Diving Works
SPEAKER_01And then on the swim side, that's where like the majority of the points come from. Diving, diving was a big help, and we do really try to bridge that gap. But swimming was a majority of the points. And in the end, like we couldn't pull through, but like overall, we made it a really close race, and that's what we like.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and and so humor me, guys, because you know, as we were talking off-air, I'm very passionate about wanting to make sure we are communicating and representing our entire school well. And so what I understood, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, we had a hell of a run at state to finish higher than we were expected. Is that accurate? Uh yeah. Yeah, talk talk talk me through that part because I know everybody was, I mean, I know we didn't get what we wanted, but I also know we were really excited because we we we kind of really put it on them and and made a tough run. Uh so kind of kind of coach me through that. What what was that like? What happened?
State Meet Results And Surprise Push
SPEAKER_01So with diving wise, the team that got first, Shamanade, they were projected to like just completely do like amazing and blow everybody out in diving, which they kind of did, but like Rockers divers, like Declan and Charlie, they like kept up with them and they like stayed within the striking range. Okay, and then swimming went, and so we like fought the battle and we act and we outswam them in the water. Okay, so we were down like 30 points because Shamanod had first place, third place, and fourth place divers. Oh wow, where like they're pretty good at diving. And so we s out swam them in in the water. We made up all those points, but uh yeah.
SPEAKER_02So what what do we end up placing?
SPEAKER_00Uh we ended up placing second. That's what I thought. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Hey, gentlemen, that's a hey dude, that's a big deal as a as an old athlete. Anytime you can place a stake, baby, is is is a victory. So that's uh that's cool, man. That's cool. What other highlights have you guys had? I mean, you guys mentioned quite a few things that you're in involved in at school. Obviously, we're all involved in the academic pieces. So, like outside of, you know, the academics, what other things are you involved in, other highlights that came from your other activities?
SPEAKER_00For me, since the dive season's over, I have a lot more free time than I know what to do with. So I've been playing a lot of tennis getting ready for the season as a spring sport.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00So that takes up a majority of my time right now.
SPEAKER_02So where are you and and this is this is the ignorance of not being a tennis player either. So, like what does that look like for you right now, getting prepped for the spring? Like what kind of work are you doing? What what's happening?
SPEAKER_00So a majority of my time I spend on the court hitting against a ball machine. Okay. Otherwise, if I can hit with a friend, I'll I'll play a match every once in a while or just work on some ground strokes and serves. Okay. But one thing I do really need to focus on getting ready for the season is my footwork. So I'll probably be able to do that not on the court. So when I'm not able to get onto the court, I'll work on my footwork.
SPEAKER_02So are you playing indoor right now or are you still outdoor with the weather changing? Like what's that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I play indoor and to like a bubble. So they cover the court up with like a literally like a giant bubble. It keeps it all warm. Okay. So that's where I've been I've been playing a lot since it's been getting colder.
SPEAKER_02Cool. What about you, Jack? What you got going on?
SPEAKER_01So I'm a part of theater. Tryouts were actually recently for the spring play, The Newsies.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
Closing The Gap And Finishing Second
SPEAKER_01I was a part of that last year a little bit, but tryouts were last week-ish, and then we got our first actual like rehearsal Monday. And so I'm excited to work on that. I got a relatively larger role, which I like from last year. Last year I was like minor role in ensemble. And so I'm excited to like have a larger role, but most exp definitely excited to like work with the cast and just all of that.
SPEAKER_02All right, Jack. So we're gonna we're gonna stay on that point for a minute because in my role, and you guys might not know this, but you you probably do. Like, I talk to a lot of families, I have a lot of communications. Beth, who is my counterpart in the office, we are forward-facing, talking to families, recruiting, you know, the prospective, you know, students for next year. Newsies comes up an unbelievable amount. So what I can you tell me that story of like what what is newsies, like what what's the story about? And like walk me through prep for a play. Because you you guys are already working on it for the spring, similar to a sport, right? Like you're getting prepped for it. Tell me what the story of Newsies is, and then kind of walk me through what you guys are doing right now.
SPEAKER_01So the plot of Newsies is it's kind of it follows these New York uh paper boys, okay? And the big newspaper company, they decide to up the price of the papers because the newspaper the paper boys are buying the papers and then they're selling them. And so when they up the price of the papers, that means they need to sell more just to make the same.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so they go on strike, and that that creates like a whole sort of conflict, and it ends up actually, I won't spoil the ending. You need to see it for yourself.
SPEAKER_02Don't ruin, don't ruin it for me.
Life Beyond The Pool
SPEAKER_01Uh prep-wise. So last year it was really icy, if you remember like January 10th-ish. Uh and so this year, Mr. McMurray is going to like, he's gonna do a run-through of lines and start a little bit of the choreography before break. That way you have time to just like that process has already started, and that way if we do get ice in January, like the process has already started, people are already learning lines and a little bit of choreography and that. And so from there, we'll come back in January, and then we'll start learning a lot of the choreography and a lot of like the singing. So like big songs like King of New York and Carrying the Banner and just other big ensemble pieces. We'll start learning and then we'll then we'll rehearse occasionally, and then coming up to the week of the production, February like 26th to 28th, I think. That's when like it'll be like hands-on all the time, and like you'll be in costume, and those will be like your dress rehearsals and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_02Okay, okay. Well, man, that's yeah, sounds a lot like a sports season, uh, and which is why I'm interested, because I'm like, oh, you're already getting ready for your spring show, and how much do you like work at on home at home for that?
SPEAKER_01Entirely depends on your role. So last year, since I was just such a minor role, I didn't really work a lot. But since I'm a larger role at now, I'll I'll probably spend like 10 to 20 minutes just working on lines at home, probably like four times a week or something, where it's like, no, I'm getting those lines ready, I have them memorized and stuff like that. Some bigger roles like the lead might spend more time on this. I don't know.
Tennis Prep And Footwork Focus
SPEAKER_02Okay, that's cool, man. So I mean it's it's a lot of work, which is interesting to me. Let me ask you this question, guys. And this is a question I've asked, you know, our our guests on the past episodes. Right now, you're getting ready for finals. I was not a big fan of finals. I hate to admit it. Every year, starting in high school all the way through college, my birthday was during finals week. So running a question. How are you guys feeling about finals? How many do you have? Are you looking forward to any? Are you dreading any? Where's your head at right now?
SPEAKER_00So I'm kind of the person that's I feel like I'm more ready than I actually am. So I never am really dreading them too much.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00But for me, I have seven finals. Oh yeah, it's gonna be it's gonna be rough. I decided to take physics as my elective this year, so I don't have a free class, so I have to stay around on Thursday to take a third final that day. But honestly, with like how much my teachers have been helping me and like how much my friends like we all collaborate to make study guides. It really just like reduces the stress of it all and makes it easier to just kind of like focus on what I need to do and like just stay like locked in on my finals and just getting through this last week before we had into break.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so I have to ask what would make a young man take physics as an elective.
SPEAKER_00Honestly, I don't know. I don't know why I did it, but I honestly I like the class. Okay, I had no clue what it was gonna be before I got into it. I mean, I knew a little bit, but like I had no clue. I didn't know the teacher, I didn't know much about it. But Mr. Erico, the teacher, is he's a great teacher. He uh he he does a great job. Okay and he makes it a fun class. We do labs all the time, and like the last one we did was figuring out how far you would go on a skateboard off of how big of a push uh like you pushed with your legs, and that was like a fun day. We had the skateboards around all all the time.
Theater Season: Newsies Overview
SPEAKER_02That's cool, man. And I laugh, you know, it's I'm amazed, you know, being back here for the the newer audience, because we get new listeners every week. I'm an alum from here from you know 21 years ago, 2004, and I was definitely not interested in physics or anything overly complicated. So I'm amazed at what our young men, you know, you you guys included are involved in and what you like put the the situations you put yourself in for the you know in the pursuit of growth and the education and all of that kind of stuff. So when you said you picked that as an elective, I'm like, oh yeah, he's he's he's doing something different than I was doing. So what about what about you, Jack? What how you how are you feeling about finals?
SPEAKER_01So I'm feeling pretty good about my finals. Well, five out of the six of mine. So I I'm feeling pretty prepared. I've learned the material a lot, but I'm taking my first AP class this year. I'm a sophomore. Okay, and I'm taking AP World, and I'm scared for that final. Yeah, it's not looking forward to it, but who's the teacher of that? It's Mr. Reedy. He he teaches that class great. No, yeah, no, no offense on him, but I don't know. It's something about AP classes and finals that just scare me.
Rehearsals, Choreography, And Roles
SPEAKER_02Don't be I went to school with Reedy. Don't don't you worry. I'll make sure, I'll make sure that goes when I'm just joking. Yeah, 218, where the magic happens. That's cool, man. Well, let me ask you this, you know, guys, because there's so many people that listen to this, and a little bit like alluding to the combo we were having off-air, this is a platform where all of us that get on here and communicate have the ability to impact other people that we might not ever meet, other young men that might listen to this and be like, oh man, so for you guys as students right now, what what are some tips that you might have for somebody else in our school, not in our school, to get ready for finals? Because you got seven, you got five or six, you said. Six. What what's a what's a tip that you might have to get yourself prepared or get somebody else prepared to have some success in finals?
SPEAKER_00Well, I know for the freshmen, they have stress busters. So they'll be able to come in during their cura time and work on either a study guide or just talk about the subject. Okay. So if there are any freshmen, you they should definitely do that. That'll definitely help. But for for sophomores to seniors, it's really just important not to procrastinate.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's it's kind of hard to start studying for a test that feels so far away, but now we're literally less than a week away, and finals start on Wednesday next week. It they're pretty close, so it's always good to start. And if you haven't started, it's always like start now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Okay. What about you, Jack?
SPEAKER_01Echoing what Declan said, just be prepared. Know what final you're taking, know like what the style of the final you are going to be taking is. So, for example, my English final, we're doing an outline before class. And so preparing myself for that outline now. That way, when I get to that outline Tuesday next week, I'll be able to rock that outline and then following Wednesday be able to knock that final out of the park.
SPEAKER_02So let me ask you this, because I'm I'm just curious. And, you know, I have three daughters that are, you know, one's in high school, one's in eighth grade, one's in sixth grade, and me and my wife, who's an educator as well, we're always trying to help them be better. I'm definitely trying to help them be better student than I was. But how do you guys stay organized? You know, like you guys got a lot on your plate. You're doing, and I mean that's the standard around here, but like, what are some things that you personally do, you know, as a habit to keep yourself organized enough to have the success that you want?
SPEAKER_00Well, for starters, like when I'm at school on my iPad, I keep a running note of like it's electronic planner, basically. And I put what I need to do for and like when I need to have it done by in that planner. But then when I get home and actually start on my homework, I like to write what I'm going to do down on a piece of paper. And then once I complete it, I'll cross it off. Okay. So it kind of gives me that like feeling of accomplishment and like progress, yeah, which keeps me going and like focused on what I'm doing.
SPEAKER_02Okay. What about you, Jeff?
SPEAKER_01For me, I kind of just have like a folder for like every subject, so to say. And then if for like some bigger subjects like honorous chemistry, I'll have like a binder for it. But I kind of just have everything in there that I need. And so from there, I'll be like, okay, cool. What classes do I have tomorrow? Okay, I have English. Okay, pull out my English folder where my homework should just be right on top. Okay, pull out my homework, do it, put it away, put the folder away.
Finals Week: Fears And Game Plans
SPEAKER_02Okay, cool, man. And I love and I love that because you know, as I get to know you guys and we move around and run around, I'm just always curious about what, you know, I say new age, but what the next generation of folks are doing to just be successful, man, and and and stay ahead of the stuff that they're involved with. So the good news is you were going to survive finals. And after finals, we're gonna be pressing into another big holiday, Christmas. And I guess this question is just what are you looking forward to, man? Like what is there is there anything when you get to this part of the year, and maybe it's not centered around Christmas, but like the spirit of the holiday season is you know, thankfulness, downtime usually, spending time with family. Like, is there anything that jumps out at you that is you're looking forward to?
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, well to start, I'm definitely ready to take a break from school.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00Um it's not that I don't like school, it's just that sometimes it starts to build up on itself and it breaks good every once in a while. So this will definitely help me de-stress from everything that's been happening. But uh especially my siblings, you said you went to Mizzou, they both go to Mizzou right now. Oh yeah. Go to Tigers. They'll be coming back this week. Okay. So I'll get be able to see them again. And I mean, it's kind of the start when they come back, it's kind of everyone just wants to like sleep or just hang around, but then it finally starts getting into like family activities and stuff that's more fun. So I'm very excited for that to start happening again.
SPEAKER_02What's how old siblings, like how old what was was the breakdown there?
SPEAKER_00So my brother is a sophomore there. Okay, and he's very interested in nature and like wildlife.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00And then my sister is senior, so it's her last year. And she's going to be a sports management. Get some she recently had a internship at Sporting KC over the summer, and she loved it. And I think she's she's really excited to start getting into the actual sports management field.
SPEAKER_02Okay. That's what's up, man. What what about you, Jack?
SPEAKER_01So I'm really excited to spend time with family. And so I have some cousins out of town in St. Louis, and they're coming in for the holidays.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_01I see them like two to three times a year, and so it'll be good to see them, to interact with them. We do actually a baking sensation with like me and my cousins all at my house, and like we all make some dessert. And this year I made white chocolate pretzels. So you get like Hershey's thing of like white chocolate, you melt it down, and then you cover pretzels with it.
SPEAKER_02Oh, okay, yeah.
Study Strategies And Organization
SPEAKER_01And then like sprinkle, some like crushed candy cane sprinkles on top, whatever. I make those, but the fan favorite in my family is actually my sister makes like this million dollar bar, and it's basically like a Reese's, okay, but like bigger, like brownie plus Reese's. And so apparently I I hear that's really good.
SPEAKER_02So you should bring me one back after break because you said Reese's and my ears perked up. So I uh well that's cool, man. I love I love all of that, and you know, that kind of leads to, you know, these last couple of questions, and you know, one is probably life-oriented, but the other one is like Rockhurst too, you know, because we're all connected through that Rockhurst brotherhood that you know you guys will continually grow to appreciate. But like, what is what's one thing that like you're thankful for? Just like like in life, you know, it doesn't have to be anything specific, but is there something that like jumps out in your mind that you're just really thankful for right now?
SPEAKER_00Well, I'll tell her mine kind of towards Rockhurst, is that the opportunity that we are given here is something that a lot of people either overlook or just don't understand how special it really is. Between the people here and the friends that you make and the connections that you make, compared with the academics that they they have for us and the sports, it really is something special that a lot of other places might not have or might promote less. But Rockers really does prepare us for uh college and life after that with the multiple things that they have here for us.
SPEAKER_02Couldn't agree more, man. What about you, Jack?
SPEAKER_01Declan kind of stole mine, but uh I really like the leadership just in my life from like my parents to my teachers at Rockers. Uh shout out Coach Wink. But he and I had a great conversation this morning, and like I really needed that. But my parents have always been there, they've always helped me. If you don't know, they're actually they were swim coaches.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01And so they they've taught me with my swimming too, and so it's just been great to like have strong leaders in my life that like I can look up to.
Holiday Break And Family Traditions
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's man, that's well, you know, that that's always helpful when your parents can provide you wisdom in so many ways, but also that's cool, man, that you can recognize and and I say, you know, you and then I'll come back to you, Declan, but like you can recognize the value of strong leadership. It's really a blessing when you have not just strong leadership, but good strong leadership that can help you figure out and navigate life and your awareness, Declan, about like the blessing of having opportunities to be able to go pursue your dreams and challenge yourself and take risks. And I would add to that in such a loving environment. That was the one thing that you know, and I guess I'm blending into me answering this question that I asked you guys is like being able to do all of those things. Have opportunities to be challenged, to be believed in in such a loving environment is a special thing. Because you can find a lot of places that you got opportunity, but you don't got support, you got leadership, but it's not the best leadership and stuff like that. So I'm always curious to see what other young men and other folks in our community think about uh when they think about their experience with rocker. So I appreciate that, man. That's a those are very uh thoughtful answers. And yeah, I mean that was it, guys. Like I told you, this was gonna be a smooth, easy conversation. You guys did great. I appreciate your time. And thank you for being here.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having us. Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and guys, audience, appreciate you listening in. This is another episode of Rock Talk. I'm your host, Steve Redman, and we'll talk soon.