If one searches “freckles” on Wikipedia.org, a list comes up of famous people known for their facial fun spots. While it includes Lindsay Lohan, Julianne Moore, and Bryce Dallas Howard, the list somehow seems incomplete, even vacant and inane. Perhaps this is due to the conspicuous absence of Spencer Ring, an Ames High freshman whose freckled face and seductive smile have earned him unprecedented recognition around the school. Ring first became familiar to AHS students through cross country, attending the boys’ preseason camp. The team’s first impressions of Ring were mixed. “Spencer Ring?” senior runner Brandon Leibold said. “Well, there’s so much to say.” Leibold looked thoughtful, as if wondering exactly how to articulate his feelings. However, while some initially had doubts about whether he’d fit in on the team due to lack of running experience, his teammates soon embraced him through the weekly pasta supper wrestling matches, known infamously as “Fight Club”. “Fight Club was a lot of fun,” Ring said. “One time I fought Clark Ennis and he almost dropped me on my head. I’m really glad I went out for cross country.” Giving and receiving good-natured bodily harm is far from the extent of Ring’s impact on the school, though. He has already found himself a wanted man with Ames High’s female population, and has committed to take ballroom dancing lessons with senior Kayla Ranney. “I can’t wait until he gets his braces off,” Ranney said. While Ring didn’t have a date to homecoming, he said he danced with “too many girls to count.” Most people would have trouble narrowing the field with this sort of attention, but Ring has one simple test. “Kindness; I like people who are kind. But not everyone I danced with was kind. One girl stepped on my feet with her heels,” he said. Ring’s public persona—gallant athlete by day, impossible romantic by night—is quite clear. However, there are many more layers hiding under those flirtatious freckles. Ring claims he would most like to spend a day with George Clooney, specifically in his role as Danny Ocean from Ocean’s 11, citing the role as “mysterious.” One might venture a guess that Spencer also sees a little piece of himself in Clooney’s portrayal, which Rolling Stone described as “effortless star power. . . a thing of beauty.” Six years later, it’s amazing to think that the magazine wasn’t referring to Spencer Ring’s freshman year at AHS. But what does the man himself think about all of this? When asked how high school compares to middle school, and about future plans, Ring blushed—his complexion nearing the hue of his ginger hair. “High school is just work, work, work,” Ring said. “ In middle school I just goofed off.” He went on to describe several incidents in physical education classes that supported his contention. However, despite an increased workload, Ring is looking forward to the opportunities that the future has to offer. He aspires to letter in wrestling before graduating high school, which most would agree is a fitting sport for him to excel at. But regardless of whether he realizes his highest goals, or even graduates high school, Spencer Ring has already left a lasting footprint at Ames High School. It’s a footprint full of self-conscious smiles, body slams, and orange specks of skin on his cheeks. And it’s a footprint we should all treasure.