2011 Gold & Bronze Medalist
August 9, 2011
The AAU National Championships were held in New Orleans, LA last week, July 31st – August 5th. Nearly 15,000 athletes gathered for competition in 110 degree weather! Nicola Colucy, 16, a junior at BHS and feature twirler for the Marching Raiders competed in six Baton Twirling events and brought home GOLD and BRONZE medals for Bolingbrook!
Nicola is an Intermediate twirler competing in the 16 – 20 year old category for her sport. She recently won the Midwest Regional Championships in May and placed in the top 5 in the Illinois Championships in July. This is Nicola’s 3rd Jr. Olympic Games, qualifying in the 2007 & 2009 Jr. Olympic National Championships previously. Nicola twirled in both preliminaries and finals to earn 3rd place in the National Championships in both her Solo and x-Strut individual events. She also won 2 team Gold Medals!
It’s been a face-paced summer for Nicci! Off the plane last Friday and the she reported to Raider Marching Band Camp Monday, August 8th to begin working on her pre-game and field show performances under the direction and leadership of Bob Hanerhoff and Assistant Director, Scott Weber. They will delight the Raider fans this fall. Come see the Marching Raiders as she twirls fire and two-batons!
She already is setting her sights on next years competitions, auditioning for a College feature twirler position and on earning an educational scholarship. She practices nearly all year long, starting in October, for a chance at the national title next year.
Baton Twirling has been part of the AAU since 1999 and the inclusion of twirling in the Junior Olympics is a step toward establishing the legitimacy of the sport. As it evolves internationally, twirling may eventually be included in the Olympic Games.