The Vandalia Leader

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Athlete of the Week

Posted on Friday, May 10, 2024 at 4:41 pm

Clara Wallace, Senior

By Brandie Gay

Clara Wallace is the daughter of Annie and Chad Wallace. Clara is active in FFA where she earned her State Degree, she was also the past secretary, and vice president, and Area V Beef Proficiency Winner.

Other school activities include NHS, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and four years on the Golf Team.

Melissa Orr, a former golf coach, stated that “We were fortunate to be Clara’s golf coaches during her freshmen and sophomore years. It was a time of many firsts, as Clara had just taken up the sport and was new to school golf.

Orr added, “Clara continually worked hard to learn the basics of golf and the mechanics of her golf swing. She was a joy to coach, and always provided us with many opportunities to laugh. Jay and I couldn’t be more proud of her dedication the last four years to V-F golf. We know she will find much success wherever she goes.”

Outside of school, most of Clara’s time is spent in the barn working with her show calves. This year, she showed her calves, a Maine Anjou heifer and a steer, at shows locally, across the state, and some national shows.

This past winter, she showed Highland calves at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo., and was selected supreme showmanship for the Highland show.

Clara also was the past president and treasurer of the Brice Happy Hustlers 4-H Club, a member of the  Santa Fe Christian Church Youth Group, Missouri Junior Cattlemen’s Member, and MO Beef Kids Leadership Team, which she was selected as a team member to advocate for the beef industry across the state and to work to get more beef in lunches at Missouri schools.

With this Wallace said, “It was a great experience to learn about advocating and also connect with a lot of industry professionals.”

Clara plans to attend Kansas State University and major in animal science with minor in agribusiness.