Liberty’s German Department dominated the annual German Day at Washington University to place second overall at the whole competition and first in Missouri.

Liberty competed against 20 schools around the region in various competitions such as reciting poems, skits, trivia, scavenger hunt, posters and a spelling bee.

One of the highlights of the competition was when junior Ian Beardslee recited a poem in front of all the students of the competition which had an audience of roughly 600. He was competing against other high level German students that take this competition very seriously. He added his own personal flair to the poem by singing it. Everyone was surprised by Beardslee’s hidden talent but weren’t surprised when he tied for first.

“Stoll was not exactly nice about the whole ordeal, he made me stand in front of the class and was telling everyone, ‘make him cry’. But it’s a very beautiful poem and I’m very glad we were able to learn it as a song instead of just as the poem itself because the song just felt more real than just saying it outright,” Beardslee said.

Freshman Abi Shields also took the poem and made it her own by dressing up as a witch with eccentric makeup including a unibrow she proudly sported until later in the day. She was given questioning stares by fellow students but received second.

Another feat of the day was an oil painting by sophomores Madelyn Birkhead and Katie Harrison that looked straight from an art museum and they were awarded for their efforts by receiving first.

“The reason that I chose to do the desk setup was because it really reminded me of the really nostalgic way and the feeling of when you open a book and it just starts all over again and it’s the beginning of a story that makes it that much more powerful, it also reflects on the authors and what they see when they are writing,” Birkhead said.

The spelling bee students went in as underdogs but made it far in the competition, winning the first round on a tie-breaker that ended with sophomore Chloe Voyles. They made it all the way to third round but then were defeated by the returning champs that win nearly every year.

“I was really scared because I knew it was going to fall on me and that they would hurt me if I got it wrong,” Chloe Voyles said.

The infamous skit boys Zach Kerns, Michael Peeler and Chuck Schraudenbach with special guest Justin Burski came back hoping for another win but took second. The skit was their own special take on a comedy with a heartwarming ending.  

“We put it together last minute, we didn’t have it memorized till about 10 minutes before, but uh it performed about as well as you’d expect,” Kerns said.

The LHS German Department worked hard for Herr Stoll (Stolliosis) and enjoyed the perfect weather and beautiful Wash. U. campus. 

Many students’ favorite moments were eating and the bus ride, as with all German Field Trips; but they can all say they enjoyed spending time with their fellow German students who have become more than peers but friends – and not being in school of course.

“German Day is the best day of the year,” sophomore Peeler said.

1st Place
Ian Beardslee Level 4 Declamation

Madelyn Birkhead and Katie Harrison Poster competition

2nd Place
Christian Tebeau  Level 3 Declamation
Abi Shields              ​​Level 1 Declamation

3rd Place
Jackson Cox         Poster competition
Elaine Amery       Level 2 Declamation
Suzie Altheimer, Hannah Cole, Chloe Voyles, Chrissy Stewart and Alyssa Weisser      Spelling Bee