I worked with photographer Luca Giordano on a profile story on Battle High School Wrestling Coach Kelsey Mescher. Along with wrestling, Mescher teaches physics at Battle and is a captain of the local Como All Stars roller derby team. Luca met with Mescher to shoot for this assignment five times over the course of three months. I worked closely with him throughout this process, providing advice on what photos were still needed and on his use of a strobe for the roller derby pictures. I created the final edit for this story and edited the photo captions, while Esmé Anger toned the selected images.
Kelsey Mescher looks through archived roller derby posters in her science classroom on April 18 at Battle High School in Columbia. “I’ve been very intentional with my posters,” Mescher said. “I want my students to realize that they belong here, but also that people that look like them can do science and can succeed in science.”
A 2018 CoMo Roller Derby poster hangs in Kelsey Mescher’s science classroom on March 31 at Battle High School in Columbia. In addition to roller derby, Mescher has also played soccer, taekwondo and basketball.
Kelsey Mescher skids to a stop during the CoMo All Stars bout against Roughneck Tulsa Elite on April 11 at the Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. Once serving as the coach of the team, Mescher is now a co-captain of the CoMo All Stars.
Kelsey Mescher explains a lab experiment to Battle freshmen Cameron Uhuru (left) and Jay’vion Minnis (right) on March 31 at Battle High School in Columbia. Mescher has taught physics at Battle since 2016 and became a full-time teacher in 2017.
Kelsey Mescher points to a force graph during a physics lab on March 31 at Battle High School in Columbia. Students were instructed to bump small cars together and measure equal force interactions using the force graph.
The CoMo All Stars line up ahead of their bout against Roughneck Tulsa Elite on April 11 at the Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. CoMo Roller Derby is made up of two teams: the CoMo All Stars and the CoMo B Rolls.
Kelsey Mescher calls out to Battle freshman Natalya Lakes during her bout against Jefferson City junior Jaiden Allen at the CMAC wrestling tournament on Jan. 31 at Hickman High School in Columbia.
Genesis Coppenbarger, also known as Gen Stoner (187), attempts a star pass during the CoMo All Stars’ 229-121 victory over the Roughneck Tulsa Elite on April 11 at the Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. Once serving as the coach, Mescher is a now a co-captain of the All Stars.
Kelsey Mescher, known as Mesch’er Up (17) on the track, leads the defense with Rebecca Harrison, known as Q. T. Kilr, left, (187) and Laura Pruitt, known as L on Wheels, right, (1969) against Roughneck Tulsa Elite on April 11 at the Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. Mescher’s striped helmet designates her as a pivot, the team’s defensive anchor.
