Breaking It Down

With the Cupid Shuffle dance right around the corner, Liberty students threw a pep rally to go down in the books.

Seniors Rishi Kondapaneni and Marlee Doniff kicked off the event, ready to emcee the last pep rally of their high school career, going out with a bang.

Liberty’s choir entered the gym to beautifully sing the National Anthem. The crowd responded by screaming and cheering for their performance.

After the anthem, senior Albert Edney is recognized for becoming the 79th Gov. of Missouri Boys State. Other candidates from Liberty who were considered were Carson Brown, Rishi Kondapaneni, Joshua Geisler and Dominic Reyes.

Flipping out onto the the floor is how the cheerleaders grabbed attention of the students, giving students a sneak peek of the routine to come. With a count of 5, 6, 7, 8, and a clap of what sounded like a thousand cheerleaders, the routine started, grabbing attention of every student, teacher and individual in the gym.

Then came the Student Council game. Students were curious as to what the game could be when Doniff and Kondapaneni came out to explain what the student volunteers would be doing.  

Students were surprised to see doughnuts hanging off of strings and balloons being brought out to the gym floor. The name of the game was to eat the doughnut off of the string and then make it to the end of the court with the balloon between the two partners’ heads. Each grade level was represented by a pair of students.

After an early lead and close end, seniors Garrett Overton and Maria Fernandez pulled out a win over the younger grade levels, showing who was top dog and earning a $5 QuikTrip gift card in the process.

“It was super well done and made me feel that our school has a lot to offer,” freshmen Sarah LePage said of her first Red Night pep rally experience.

The excitement was kept alive as the Liberty Belles came out to perform. With every turn, jump and cheer, the Belles killed the routine and proved why they were sent to perform at Nationals.

After the routine, talent show winner junior Dessa Outman was invited out to the floor to sing her original song. With the first strum of her guitar strings, the whole student section was alive. Within the first chorus, nearly everyone’s flashlights were on and swaying side to side.

Another competition then commenced where iconic teacher pairs were brought out to the floor to play a real life version of hungry hungry hippos. The goal was to have the most balls in your corner before the time ended.

After an intense match, Mr. Cole and Mr. Schumacher came out of the competition on top. Mr. Schaper and Mr. Stoll were defeated, to say the least, thinking they’d won.

“We thought the volleyballs were worth more,” Schaper said of his and Stoll’s loss.

Cole then continued his winning streak when he was crowned most spirited teacher. Junior Cody Holtschlag was voted Spirit King and junior Abby Hinzman won Spirit Queen.

After the crownings, senior Nolan Bone comes out to say a few words about the parting of the red sea at the upcoming red night game, now on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Bone gladly demonstrated what will happen at the game by parting the red sea in the junior\senior student section. Students were very involved in the tradition, as it is a highlight to many students.

Then, the moment everyone was waiting for, the annual StuCo dance. Starting out with classic Love Shack by the B-52’s, all students were involved in the dance wherever it took them.

Original is an understatement for the dance itself, StuCo members breaking it down on the floor. The student section was thriving, from Fortnite dances to a never before seen bringing together of two StuCo members lifted above anything trying to tear them apart.

Needless to say, the Liberty Eagles sure do know how to throw a heck of a pep assembly and can’t wait to continue the party at the first ever Cupid Shuffle dance, Saturday, Feb. 16.