Top 10 Eagles Moments

Recounting ‘21-22 school years achievements

by Ally Schniepp, Sports Editor & Mollie Banstetter, Layout Editor

The Belles competed in Division 5 Precision Jazz and Division 5 Pom at the state competition this year. Due to Liberty’s increase in enrollment, the Belles were moved into Division 5, which puts them against larger schools. The change didn’t seem to faze the Belles as they took first place in both events on Feb. 26 at the Family Arena in St. Charles.

“When they announced second place and we knew we won, it was so hard to keep our excitement bottled,” senior Molly Marino said. “When they called us, it was amazing. We were all screaming and tears of joy were coming from everyone’s eyes!”

“I’m so proud of our team, especially this season,” senior Bella Bahr said. “The biggest challenge was moving up a division because we had no idea what was in store.”

This year’s spring musical featured Madeline Claravall (10) and Anna Wright (11) as the iconic motherdaughter duo Donna and Sophie in Liberty’s production of “Mamma Mia! The Musical.” The amount of talent on stage amazing, from the dad cast, senior Sean Bruce (Harry), junior Logan Honerkamp (Bill), and junior Shane Wolz (Sam), to the rest of the Dynamos, senior Brynn Bartram (Tanya) and junior Morgan Feinstein (Rosie).

The main characters in the show were cast perfectly and showcased the immense talent of Liberty’s drama department. Claravall stepped up to the plate taking on the role of Donna, and knocked it out of the park three nights straight.

The audience was invested in the production from start to finish, and the cast earned many laughs from the audience. After watching the production, most people would agree that the level of talent on stage exceeded the normal level for a high school show. @SnoringEagles on Instagram has swept through Liberty this past year, and people are capturing their friends, strangers and even teachers snoring during class. High school students fall asleep left and right, and this account has pictured people from all grade levels and friend groups sleeping in class.

The Snoring Eagles account started this year by an anonymous Liberty student and has 583 followers with over 380 posts of people at Liberty sleeping. But, the biggest question is, who is running the account?

The long-awaited reveal of the Snoring Eagles account owner is none other than junior Jayce Haun. With his history of photography and publications experience in yearbook, it is not surprising that he is the one pushing the post button on our sleeping eagles.

Choir ventured to Mizzou on April 30 to compete for state titles. The Schlattman Ensemble placed gold, the highest honor, and consisted of seniors Avery Schlattman, Cassie Tarrant and Bee Boyer, juniors Morgan Feinstein, Anna Wright and Norah Fuller, and sophomore Grace Edney.

“I hope to spread the word about choir and make it welcoming for everyone,” Edney said.

Wright, Tarrant and Edney placed gold in both their solo performance and the ensemble performance. Feinstein placed silver along with senior Liam Ovares. All solos that competed at State from Liberty placed either gold or silver, proving that hard work can result in success.

“It’s really, really rewarding after all of our hard work for coming in the very early hours in the morning every single week,” Wright said. “It means a lot to see all of the hard work paying off, Mr. Datz was really, really helpful.”

On Nov. 4, the varsity boys soccer team defeated St. Dominic 2-1 for the first time in school history and earned the Class 4 District 4 title. Junior Schrader Ludwig and senior Kaden Marsh scored in the first half of the game, a little over five minutes apart, giving the Eagles the lead over the Crusaders early in the game.

“It was the most fun game I’ve played in my entire life,” senior Patrick O’Day said.

“Beating St. Dominic for the first time was an amazing feeling. The fact that it was the district finals makes it 10 times better,” Coach Tony Luedecke said. “They have been dominating the area for a long time now and I’d like to believe this was sort of a passing of the torch type thing.”

The first Coaches vs. Cancer game in two years resulted in a hard-fought loss for the girls varsity basketball team, a nailbiting win by the varsity boys, and money raised for cancer research.

Both teams faced Fort Zumwalt South on Jan. 21 with the biggest crowd of the year watching, full of people who supported the athletes and the cause.

From the moment the ball was tipped, the air was charged in the gym with intensity and positivity for the home team. It was an intense game, with the Bulldogs and the Eagles neck and neck the entire competition. At halftime, the game was tied 25-25.

The Bulldogs were up after the third quarter, which the Eagles responded to by putting up 24 points in the fourth and ending the game with a slam dunk by senior Adrian Lee after a steal in the last 10 seconds. The final score of the game was 55-49 with the Eagles coming out on top. South fell to 13-2 while the Eagles earned their fifth win in a row and advanced to 10-3, while also ending South’s eight-game winning streak.

“That was the best game of my high school career,” senior Sruthi Ramesh said. “The game, the energy, oh my gosh, it was amazing.”

In their division of 75 teams, the Ratchet Rockers finished first with a record of 10-0. They were the only team of the 454 competing to accomplish a 4.0 ranking point average in their matches. Team 1706 then proceeded to play 6-0 through the division playoffs along with their alliance partners. They eventually secured the Hopper Division title, thus admirably taking home a third blue banner in just a single year. For the ultimate round-robin tournament between division champions, the Ratchet Rockers won two of the five matches they played. They placed fifth overall in the championship, making them the fifth-best student robotics team on the planet.

“This is by far the best that the team has ever done, and they are receiving recognition from other teams,” Robotics Director Dr. Narelle Deatherage commented. “They are no longer an unknown team!” Mr. LHS, a Student Councilrun event, presents senior boys in a pageant where they compete to be named Mr. LHS. The spirited event was full of talented men and acts that put on an entertaining show for the audience. Contestants Carson Clay, Alex Fillner, Keaton Roof, Lukas Huesgen, Sean Bruce, Kenny Henk, Tanner Gunn, Geoffrey Hudson and Ramiro Fonseca competed for the title this year by showing off their dad outfits, their best talents, how well they lip-synch and telling the audience their best pick up lines while they were dressed to the nines.

The winner of Mr. LHS this year was Carson Clay, President of Student Council, and the winner of Mr. Congeniality was Alex Fillner, varsity football, basketball, and track athlete.

The Winter Guard team has been working harder than ever to prepare for the MCCGA (MidContinent Color Guard Association). Their dedicated efforts paid off as the team brought home the gold in Scholastic AA and became the overall champions by taking first place at the event. They also took first place in both their round and division at MCCGA’s O’Fallon Winter Guard Competition.

“This is definitely the most hardworking team we’ve ever had,” coach Kassandra Welch said. “The show is a fan favorite in our circuit.”

“It is something new that people have never seen before,” senior captain Sydnie Shultis said. “Although it is a sad, mournful show, the emotion and adrenaline that comes with forming is unmatched. Championships are what we have been working towards all season, to show off all our hard work and compete against other guards. This team has grown in so many ways, and overcome many obstacles. I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished and what will continue to happen in the future.”

With the 2021-2022 school year, the bridge walk still looks a little different. Because the sophomores were unable to participate in the bridge walk during their freshman year, they were allowed to do so this year alongside the freshman class. Sophomores walked the bridge first, followed by freshmen.

One thing that freshmen and sophomores both agreed on was how brutal the heat was during the bridge walk. Despite the blazing heat of 95°F, students and staff were happy to see the Eagles’ tradition make a return. Freshman Avery Bowen summarizes, “I felt totally welcomed in this humble community of Liberty.”