Many students showcased their talents in the Olympics art, photography, and cooking competitions last week.

Junior Coffey Collier won first place in the appetizer and side dish cooking competitions. She made spinach dip as an appetizer and baked strawberry bread for her side dish.

“I made spinach dip because it’s one of my family’s favorite recipes that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make,” Collier said. “It’s so delicious that it finally got me to realize that green things taste good, too.”

Freshman Sriram Kanagala won the entree cooking contest with his mom’s butter chicken recipe. Kanagala regularly cooks, and the recipe he chose was one of his favorites.

“I’m not a picky eater — I mean some people would consider me a picky eater because I like my own flavors,” Kanagala said. “The things I make are far more to my liking. Sometimes when my parents make something and I don’t really like it, I make it myself.”

Senior Lauren Kusel won the dessert competition with her vanilla bean cheesecake with strawberry sauce. She has been helping her mom in the kitchen since she was young which is where she discovered her love for baking and desserts.

“This recipe is a family favorite, so I thought it would be fun to make for Olympics,” Kusel said. “I keep the recipe the same, but I have found that if I add a vanilla bean to the filling, it makes little specks in the cheesecake, and it has more flavor.”

First place in urban photography:

“The urban photo I submitted was taken in Spain,” Collier said. “My dad was walking ahead of me, and it was too cool a photo to miss with the yellow glow, reflective cobblestone, and empty, peaceful street.”

First place in black and white photography:

“This photo is from the admitted students day at Kansas State University,” senior Sam Stevenson said. “I had already decided I was going to college there and took this picture of the library to show my family and because I thought it looked beautiful. It was a colored photo, but I decided to edit it black and white for this competition. It made the details even more prevalent.”

First place in landscape photography:

“During my summer vacation in Vietnam, we went to a cave and after passing the cave, there was a beautiful lake with koi fish and mountains,” sophomore John Nguyen said. “I couldn’t resist taking photos there. I usually take photos whenever there is a creative moment. It’s all about timing for me.”

First place in still life photography:

“The flower in the picture is a wild hyacinth,” junior Emily Sommer-Wathor said. “I took the photo at Cedar Lake in the Ouachita Forest. I went camping there for my sister’s birthday and while on a three mile hike, I saw the flower and thought it was beautiful.”

First place in animal photography:

“I like to take pictures of birds in my backyard most days, or special events like car shows and air shows,” freshman Connor Kinney said. “I got into photography about two years ago after wanting to upgrade my phone when taking photos of planes flying by. I’m glad I got an update as it sparked my interest in my favorite hobby.”

Kinney also won first place in people and abstract photography competitions.

First place in painting and pastels:

“Both of these pieces are a part of my AP art portfolio which is a play on the phrase there are plenty of fish in the sea and is about how you can feel isolated even when surrounded by people,” junior Cori Seymour said.

The first is a painting of a girl in a pot of soup, which took about a week to create, painting many thin layers of watered down paint to give the illusion of broth and movement. The second piece is a self portrait, which Seymour created using colored pencil, gouache paint, and embroidery thread.

First place in drawing and charcoal:

“I entered the competition because a friend encouraged me to, and I figured ‘why not?’,” junior Blair Billen-Mills said. “I’ve always liked drawing landscapes and other things I can shade, and this seemed to incorporate all those factors.”

First place in ceramics and pottery:

“My entry is one of my favorite pieces,” senior Tabytha Roy said. “ It took a lot of work, and I enjoyed getting help from Mr. McConnell when he was still here. I love the flower, vine and lively aesthetic which is where I got my inspiration.”