![Pitching the ball on Apr. 14, senior Henry Wild and his team play against Belleville East. Wild was named scholar athlete of the year by St. Louis Post-Dispatch after maintaining a high cumulative GPA and staying involved with athletics for all of high school. “It’s an amazing honor. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to represent my school [and] what [it] stands for,” Wild said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/unnamed-6-1200x714.jpg)
![Putting on his helmet, catcher and senior Tommy Eschbach prepares to get in his primary stance. Despite losing 6-1 against Eureka on April 16, Eschbach didn’t let the tough loss affect his playing or mental health. “It's [so] easy to get caught up in the sport and what you're doing that [after] one bad game or a stretch of games it is hard to remind yourself that your worth as a person isn't directly related to your performance on the field,” Eschbach said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0415-1-1-1200x800.jpg)
![“I’ve been playing baseball since I was four. The MLB inspired me to play, [but] my dad is my biggest inspiration. He's very respectful and very hardworking. He taught me to stick close to your friends who will help you achieve your goals and not get in the way of them. Baseball has made me grow with the way I start friendships. It's helped me grow [more with] athletic performances and how I accomplish things throughout life. Friendships play a big part in baseball, [especially] when you’ve been playing on the same team since you were a kid. It was really nice playing with the same people because I really got an understanding of who they are and how they play the game. You also get to see how they grow athletically and mentally over time. I formed friendships with those people I spent most of my time with and it was hard to leave that team, it’s like I left a family. [My goal for this season] is to lead my team and to have a really good record. I’ve already built relationships with my teammates through classes and just hanging outside of school.” - Isaac Sinak, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_0119-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Henry Dittmar celebrates his 18th birthday in recovery from a drive-by shooting that left him seriously injured. During this birthday, Dittmar was still unable to walk from the effects of a bullet that ripped through his calf. "The most challenging part of this experience was being patient with everything," Dittmar said. "Building that patience was definitely the best thing for me, [because] I am definitely not a very patient person. I learned a lot about myself during this experience."](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Untitled-design-9-900x506.png)
![“I was looking forward to my freshman year since this is my favorite sport and I was [just coming back from being] out for two weeks because of a stress fracture on my foot. During practice my arm started to hurt to the point where the coach started to notice so I started to take it easy a bit. A few days later I had a freshman game and during warm up I was throwing the ball and my elbow dropped and broke so I had to get surgery. I’m upset because I have worked hard to get to this point and now I won’t be able to play for all of the West season and probably summer ball. It’s been really helpful having my team support me while I still go and support them. It just really sucks because I feel like I would be playing my position [often], but now I'm not playing at all so it's just all over now.” - Ethan Brookshire, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/DSC_9019-copy-900x600.jpg)
![“I’m passionate about school and baseball and have faced many challenges in both. With school last semester, my science class was very difficult, I felt like I had to learn the [lessons] by myself. And with baseball, when I was in seventh grade, I sprained my elbow pitching. I felt sad that I couldn’t play, but I learned how much having an injury can suck. My dad is the most influential person to me, he has taught me to work hard in order to reach my goals in baseball, school, and life. In my freshman year, I only got one B, it felt very good because I worked hard and it paid off. [I’m motivated] to do well in school, so that I can make good money when I come out of college and retire early. Right now, Rose Hulman sounds like a good college to help me reach those goals. The school has a good engineering [program], and I could play baseball there. In the future I want to be able to relax, provide for my kids and play with my dogs," -Colin Hughes, 10](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IMG-7573-900x694.jpg)
![Performing as Nibs in “Lost Girl,” junior Avery Hermann inspects a drawing of Neverland made by the show’s main character, Wendy Darling. Hermann not only acted in “Lost Girl”, but he also served as assistant director of the show. “I found ‘Lost Girl’ to be a beautiful and touching story, and I’m really glad I got to be a part of it. My favorite part of the show [was] my work as assistant director. I spent a lot of time working with every [cast member] on character, deliveries and emotional development. It was so amazing to see these brilliant actors come to life on stage in such a colorful way,” Hermann said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DSC_1258-Enhanced-NR-1-1200x798.jpg)
![Gazing up from the stage, junior Joseph McCurdy who played Peter Pan in the school play, Lost Girl, sits next to senior Juliana Rogers, who plays Wendy Darling, during a theater rehearsal. McCurdy’s passion for theater began when he observed a West High production in middle school. “I've been in the high school theater program since I was a freshman. I've always loved theater, but [what prompted me to join] was [when] I went to see [a performance here] when I was in middle school, and it was super cool,” McCurdy said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_6535-1200x798.jpeg)
Nov. 7 to Nov. 9, Parkway West’s theater department traveled through the life of Wendy Darling, in their newest production. “Lost Girl,”...
From down the hall, bursts of laughter and applause spill out of a classroom unlike a typical history class. Inside, instead of sitting through...