10 TOP EAGLES MOMENTS

by Kay Copeland, Co-Editor-in-Chief

The annual seniors vs. faculty Swofford Memorial Basketball Game was played during NEST Time on April 6. Held in honor of the late Scott Swofford - a former teacher and coach who worked in the Wentzville School District many years ago - Swofford’s family honored him with a memorial game which has now become an annual tradition for all the high schools in the district.

The varsity cheer team won regionals for the fifth consecutive season. They also hit 0 on both traditional day one and gameday 2 at nationals in Orlando, Fla. meaning that they didn’t have any tumbling or stunt mistakes in their performance.

“They practice 10-15 hours every week and practice over school breaks,” Coach Sheffield said.

After winning regionals, the team was more than willing to put in the effort for state, where they finished fifth out of 15 teams.

“They work well together and hold each other accountable. As their coach, it makes me proud,” Sheffield expressed.

Winter guard hosted their first ever MCCGA showcase on Jan. 28. In all, 39 winter guard groups came to Liberty to show the world what they have to offer. The Eagles placed seventh in their division.

Winter guard member Tessa Wilson (11) explains how the team prepares for the competition.

“Winter guard starts their rehearsals at the beginning of November,” Wilson said. “We practice twice a week for three hours. We have multiple weekend camps where the guard is at school all weekend. These weekend camps are when we learn our drill for the show.”

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“Bright Star,” the romantic musical drama, was taken on by the talented theatre department this year from March 2-4.

Liberty has delivered many amazing performances in the past, but this musical is going for more than that. For the first time ever, Liberty High School competed in the St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards (SLHSMTA).

“I think we have a really good chance because it’s a really meaningful story and I think it’ll touch a lot of people’s hearts in a special way,” actress Anna Wright (12) expresses. “I think this, if any year, this is the best year for us.”

A&E | lhstoday.org design by: K. Copeland

Many people agree that this is an exciting annual event to look forward to.

Mr. Bradley Smith is a first-time member of the faculty team, and he is happy to have participated in the event. The staff won, 59-28.

“Last year, I think, was the first year we did it during an assembly, but I really liked that ‘cause the gym is packed and all the students are there,” Smith expressed.

Twenty students took to the stage to showcase their talents in front of a packed crowd on Feb. 3 for the annual talent show sponsored by Key Club. There were two winners of the night: one picked by the judges, and one picked by the audience. The judge’s winner was, for the second consecutive year, Trent Stuerman. The audience winner, who won amongst a roaring crowd chanting his name, was Pablo Romo.

“It was unreal,” Romo said when describing his win and his experience on stage. “It felt like home.”

Stuerman expressed, “It went great, I was very satisfied with my performance. It was a fun experience and I am happy I got to do it

Liberty’s Project Lead the Way engineering program traveled to St. Louis Community College to compete in a competition called the “Windy 500” on Feb. 24. They competed against 22 other area schools and took home second place overall.

“They were challenged with designing and building a vehicle to be powered by wind only,” PLTW teacher Mr. Peggs details.

Jessica Wagner (11) is one Liberty student who participated.

“I was nervous going into it, but it was not too hard of a concept,” she notes.

Earth Club hosted their first ever Earth Week spirit days during the week of April 17-21. Members took to Liberty’s intercom every morning, sharing tips to use in evaluating how kind we are to the Earth.

Earth Club has been taking climate action all year-round. Most notably, on the morning of Sept. 23 before school started, Earth Club was outside at the front entrance petitioning for Governor Mike Parson to declare a climate emergency. Members were seen holding up colorful signs with messages like “Mike Parson Must Declare a Climate Emergency” and “Make A Change.” Two members, Leah Dudley (9) and Clara Walker (10), were handing out fliers with QR codes as a way to access an online version of the petition.

According to Dudley, “It’s a way to contribute to a larger change.”

The petition got over 150 signatures and counting. Mrs. Pizzo, the club’s sponsor, says that she’s very proud of all her students for getting involved.

In the game to finish their regular season, the boys varsity soccer team faced Washington High School’s Blue Jays at the nest on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 25. The Eagles ultimately soared higher than their avian counterparts, winning with a resounding score of 8-0. As a result, the squad secured the conference championship of the GAC Central Division along with co-titleholders Fort Zumwalt East. This is the first time in school history that the team has won a conference title.

Senior goalkeeper Bryan Guinn kept a clean sheet in the match against the Blue Jays and completed three others throughout the season.

“It felt really good,” Guinn remarked on being crowned champions. “It didn’t really feel like that at the time because I was freezing; it was raining and windy, but as soon as I got in my car, it was pretty nice thinking about it.”

Regarding the overall normal season leading up to their conference success, Guinn stated, “I know off the start it was kind of rocky, but after a while, we got the team chemistry going because we had the skill and were really working together well, especially closer to the end.”

The varsity girls volleyball team gave a scintillating performance for their final regular season match on the evening of Oct. 17 at home, where they matched up against the Washington Blue Jays.

Prevailing with a score of 25-21, Liberty gained their 27th victory of the season out of 28 games played, solidifying their unforgettable run and magisterial presence. This is the best record (28-2) that the varsity girls volleyball team has achieved in their history. The Eagles also consequently earned the title of Central Division Conference Champions.

Varsity senior outside hitter Savannah Meyer shares her thoughts on the team’s successful season.

“My teammates and I have worked really hard to build our offensive and defensive flow this year, and I think the speed of our plays has been really reliable for us to catch the other team off guard,” Meyer said.

Varsity coach Veronica Kirkpatrick also expresses her thoughts about the season.

“I am very proud of this team and what they have accomplished so far. There are no words to express how this team has been the best team I have coached. They strive to be the best person and player, on and off the court. They are not selfish, they support each other, and most importantly they love playing volleyball.”

Earlier last August, Liberty’s chamber choir went viral twice in one week after choir teacher Mr. Datz uploaded their rendition of the trending “It’s Corn” TikTok audio.

“The [It’s] Corn song was trending and it got stuck in my head,” Datz explained. “I thought it’d be really fun to arrange it into a choir song and have these kids in the chamber choir sing it.”

“I thought it would just make some people laugh,” Datz jokes. “I didn’t have that many followers when we did that… I didn’t expect many people to see it.”

Following the initial great response, Datz posted another video of the choir singing on TikTok. Surprisingly, this TikTok