![It was definitely out of my comfort zone to get [the dress] and decide I loved it enough not to wait and risk not having something that memorable.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Precious_20180902_JRS_00008_ed1.jpg)
![Sophomore Sahasra Mandalapu practices bharatanatyam choreography in class. These new dances will be performed in an annual show in February. Mandalapu found that practicing in class helped her overcome stage fright during her performances. “When [I] get on stage, Im nervous Im going to forget, even though Ive done it for so long,” Mandalapu said. “Theres still that little bit of stage fright [when] I second-guess myself that I dont know it enough, but I do because Ive been practicing for a whole year.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Sahasra-6-Large-1200x844.jpeg)
![In their full runway outfits, (from left) Audrey Lee 25, Olivia Lucy Teets, 25, Fashion Design teacher Ms. Judy Chance, and Xueying Lili Yang pose for a photo. All three girls made it to Austin Fashion Week by getting in the top 10 in a previous runway show held by Shop LC.
[I like my students] creativity and how they can look at a fabric and make it their own, Ms. Chance said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_9686-e1714088765730-1129x1200.jpeg)
![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
Fingers clutched up against the crimps, junior Cooper Lieberknecht uses his unique strength and problem solving to continue his away up the wall.
Lieberknecht has been climbing for two years, beginning during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lieberknecht found interest in the sport after seeing his father go out several times a week.
“I began just because I wanted to exercise more,” Lieberknecht said. “My dad also rock climbs, so I began going with him about once a week. I wasn’t very interested in it until I joined the new climbing gym and it just motivated me to start working very hard. ”
Crux Climbing Center, which has two locations in Austin, is the primary training sport for both Lieberknecht and his teammates. Crux is an indoor climbing facility with several different tracks for climbers at different levels.
“I typically train about four times a week,” Lieberknecht said. “I have two team practices a week and I will go on my own another couple times. The team practices have much stricter regimens compared to when I’m just having fun with my friends. It definitely gets tiring but it works for me.”
Crux hosts competitions against other climbing centers. Lieberknecht is a part of one of their several teams, all with different ages and skill levels. Sophomore Ada Louderback has been teammates with Lieberknecht since September.
“I have been competing competitively in rock climbing for two years,” Louderback said. “I really love competing, especially at the higher levels. Last year I was fortunate enough to make it to divisionals which was an amazing opportunity to be able to compete with the strongest girls in the state.”
In order for Lieberknecht and his team to succeed, they had to create some different workouts in order to achieve the best results come competition time. At Crux, there are three seasons per year, consisting of four to five competitions every season.
“With climbing being such a competitive sport we have to get creative in order to do the best we can,” Louderback said. “We incorporate finger exercises, weightlifting and cardio. It’s very important to have a strong mentality as well so we will do mental training sometimes.”
Alongside Louderback is Lucas Barnard. Barnard is a dual enrollment student at ACC Highland and teammate of Lieberknecht. Barnard has been climbing for roughly about four years, since he was around twelve.
“Cooper and I compete and do a lot of workouts together,” Barnard said. “We both work on a lot of drills that help with problem solving, strength and technique that gets us ready for competition. We also do a lot of mobility work which is very important in order to prevent injuries”
Rock climbing has allowed Barnard to travel across the country, going to parks in Illinois, Colorado and areas of west Texas.
“I prefer climbing outside much more than inside,” Barnard said. “Climbing outdoors takes more problem solving which challenges me more and I just enjoy being outside much more.”
Being teammates with Lieberknecht, Barnard has watched the progress that he has made over the last several months. Watching him compete several times as well as practicing with him every single week he has been able to watch him improve.
“We all support each other,” Barnard said. “I have watched him make tons of progress over the last few months which is cool to see. Our team is getting better and I think we are all motivated to become the best we possibly can.”
Lieberknecht had his first competition just under a month ago. The competition consisted of several different teams from across the area, the tournament was hosted at Cooper’s home gym, Crux Central Austin.
“I placed decently at it which was super cool,” Lieberknecht said. “One of my friends’ placed in the top three, which was really important for him to qualify. I was very proud of him since I know how hard he worked for it.”
Lieberknecht plans to continue competing for as long as possible. With the goal of making it into national competitions against climbers from across the country.
“As I get older I know I will get much better,” Lieberknecht said. “The whole concept of rock climbing is very rewarding, I like to work hard knowing that if I don’t someone will outwork me and I will lose my spot.”
This story was originally published on The Dispatch on February 9, 2024.
