The Level 9 gymnastics team from Gymnastic Training center in Rochester Hills competed at the Level 9 Eastern National Championship the weekend of May 11-14 in Kissimmee, Florida.
Five girls from the GTC competed, including one of which is a junior at Lake Orion High School. Taylor Hutchison, pictured above, had an outstanding meet finishing first on the uneven parallel bars, first on floor, seventh on beam, and second in the all-around.
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Grapplers brought home three All-State finishers after their run at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals last week.
Senior Scott DeVos (289) and junior Chris Calvano (171) finished the highest for the Wolves with a spot at third place. Junior Nick Vandermeer (152) finished in seventh place.
DeVos went 5-1 for the three day meet, beating Fraser’s Mike Fruelhich, Livonia Churchill’s Manny Haddad, Detroit Catholic Central’s Bob Coe, Holland West Ottawa’s Miguel Correa and Harrison Township L’anse Creuse’s Jeff Tautolo.
His only loss was to Cory Arnouts from Grand Ledge after a 6-5 decision, putting his record at 34-4 for his last season.
Calvano finished 35-11 for the season after going 5-1 at the state finals. He opened his first two matches with wins over Oxford’s Liam Logan and Westland-John Glenn’s Danny Croft.
He lost in overtime to Charlie Myers from Utica Eisenhower, 3-1. He faced another overtime period in his next match. But this time he took the upper hand and beat Hartland’s Justin Charneski, 3-1. Calvano beat Connor Moynihan from Grand Ledger, 5-3, to take third place.
Vandermeer went 3-2 for the final, opening with a Alec Mooradian from Detroit Catholic Central. He went on to beat New Baltimore Anchor Bay’s John Yank, 5-1, and Brownstown Woodhaven’s Derek Hillman, 5-0.
He lost to Westland-John Glenn’s Travis Mann, 7-2, but beat Mann’s teammate to take seventh place, 9-2. He finished the season with a 40-12 record.
Senior Ethan Frick ended his trip to place in the top eight spots after a close loss to Rochester’s Schwan Shadai, 5-4, in the 189-pound weight class. He opened the meet with a loss to Kevin Beazley from Detroit Catholic Central, who went on to become state champion.
Frick followed the loss with a win against Romeo’s Larry Rekar after pinning him 3:09 into the match. He finished his final year with a 40-12 record.
Sophomore Cameron Wilkie (119) lost his first two matches during his first visit to the state finals. He lost to Livonia Franklin’s Gabe Martinez, 12-0, and Sterling Heights Stevenson’s Dominic Patrus, 7-6. He finished the season with a 36-16 record.
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By Leah Yanuszeski, Review intern
Two Lake Orion High School seniors, along with one senior from Notre Dame Preparatory School in waterford and another from Clarkston high school, earned the highest honor one can receive from scouting.
No, not the coveted ‘Eagle Scout? honor awarded to Boy Scouts. Instead, these four Girl Scouts recently received the Gold Award’the final chapter in their Girl Scout career.
Nicole Kudla and Laura Hessen of Lake Orion, Julia Vela of Clarkston, and Jenny Vyskocil from Notre Dame Prep added a gold pin to their vests at a May 2 banquet, symbolizing completion of a lengthy service project, ending with the Gold Award.
The project’s subject, decided by the girls themselves, discussed dangers of abusing prescription drugs and the growing recreational usage of normally doctor-prescribed medications. The girls logged over sixty hours throughout the project’s duration.
Job shadowing and over 160 hours of community service was involved as well. ‘It’s kinda like homework,? said Hessen.
A four-year homework assignment, to be correct. Troop 175 started the Gold Award project four years ago, however the four girls were the only ones to continue with the lengthy service project.
The girls got the idea from the increase in deaths due to abuse of prescription drugs.
Hessen described one of the main motivators for this topic’a ‘pharm party.?
‘You take a bunch of meds and dump them together,? she said. ‘You take whatever, and you don’t know what’s what.?
Raising awareness and letting parents know about the dangers, they say, was their goal. The final project, titled ‘Stay Off the Pharm,? included a video, produced by and starring the four scouts.
‘We interviewed someone from Star EMS, a pharmacist, and a school nurse,? Vela explained.
Vela and Vyskocil have been in Girl Scouts for eight years, Hessen for twelve, and Kudla for thirteen. All agreed to be relieved to have the work done, after staying with Girl Scouts for so long.
‘It was definitely worth it,? said Kudla. The four recipients of the Gold Award receive a ‘Membership for Life? to the Girl Scouts.
The girls, along with troop Leader Mary DeWitt, reflected on their years in Girl Scouts. The five took a ‘farewell trip? to Savannah, Georgia and saw where Girl Scouts first began. The troop also held two Lock-Ins for other Girl Scouts, as well as trips to Mackinac Island and Cedar Point.
‘I feel truly fortunate to be a part of such an important and awarding program,? said Vela.
The girls plan to continue being a part of Girl Scouts, even though their Gold Awards signified their completion as a Girl Scouts.
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