The Next Generation of Olympians

PHOTOS FOR FEATURE TAKEN BY JIMMY HO PHOTOGRAPHY

It takes grit, sacrifice, passion and countless hours of hard work and dedication to become an Olympic athlete. This summer, the United States will be represented in The Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, to be held in 2021, by hundreds of competitors who started their journeys as young athletes, with big dreams and a competitive spirit, very much like our 11 featured Gainesville athletes. These young super stars, many of them champions already, share with us what their sports mean to them and what inspires them to be the best in their field.

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g n i l r i w T Baton

LORELEI AND NIERY TURNER AGE 9 AND AGE 7

How long have you been involved in baton twirling?

Lorelei: I have twirled since I was four.

Niery: I have twirled since I was three.

What do you like best about it?

Lorelei: I like to do x-strut (a type of event) because of the fun dance combinations combined with twirling. I also like that you can see your hard work pay off.

Niery: I like everything about baton, especially solo because of the hard tricks.

What team do you twirl for?

Our team is Allstars Twirling Academy.

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in baton twirling?

Lorelei: I want to catch hard tricks at the end of my solo at nationals in the twirl off. If baton ever becomes a sport in the Olympics, I would want to go there and try to win and represent my country. In the meantime, I would like to be a feature twirler and have the opportunity to show people what I can do.

Niery: I set hard tricks for myself and try to achieve them.

I want to do a solo at nationals with no drops. I want to twirl in college for the Crimsonettes at the University of Alabama.

Who is your athlete inspiration?

Lorelei: Braelynn Neely because she was a feature twirler at Georgia and she is great at demonstrating my new tricks. I also love Liz Stoeber, a current Gatorette and all of the other Gatorettes that were my former teammates.

Niery: Liz Stoeber, who twirls as a Gatorette at the University of Florida, and helps me with my routines.

Although baton twirling will not be in this summer Olympic Games,

the re-scheduled 2020 World Championship will now be held in Turin, Italy between August 1 and 7, 2022.

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Share anything else you would like us to know!

Lorelei: I want people to try the sport and know that you can start at any level and with any skill set. I would like to have a world duet title with my sister.

Niery: I would like to twirl at Worlds one day and represent my country.

Soccer

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CHRIS ZEPPIERI AGE 14

How long have you been involved in soccer?

I have been playing since I was three. I started at I-9 and other community leagues I played recreational soccer, then moved to competitive soccer at Gainesville Soccer Alliance (GSA). I have played in many 3V3 tournaments and other tournaments as a guest with an Orlando league, was part of a Central Florida competitive team and have played soccer for Queen of Peace Catholic Academy for middle school. I play mid-field as my position.

What do you like best about it?

I love all sports, but soccer is my favorite because of the teamwork, ball skills, strategy, and endurance involved.

What team do you play for?

I play for GSA on the 2006 boys premier team.

My jersey is lucky number three, also my birthday.

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in soccer?

The Olympics would be such a huge honor, as that is like the pinnacle for any non-professional athlete. I do want to play in college if I can. My only reservation is that SEC colleges don’t have male soccer, so I would not be a GATOR officially if I did get a soccer scholarship somewhere. I have always been driven to push myself in sports and academics, and I want to compete at the next level...but first, I need to get through high school which I start in the fall.

Who is your athlete inspiration?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic´ Share anything else you would like us to know!

In baseball, I can pitch and play third base. I used to play travel ball before focusing on soccer. I believe that strong academics and athletics should both be possible, and I work hard to stay focused on both. My family and my faith are my greatest allies.

Men's football made its

Olympic debut at the 1900 Games in Paris.

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D E Z I N O R SYNCH G N I M M I W S ANNABELLE DAVALOS AGE 10

How long have you been involved in synchronized swimming?

I have been involved for two years.

What do you like best about it?

Synchronized Swimming was originally referred to as water ballet in the beginning of the 20th century and

Synchro combines swimming with gymnastics, music, makeup, fashion and performing. I love all of these so much! Also, I love my teammates and how much time we get to spend together. We practice together, compete together, hang out together and get to travel together.

has been an event at the Summer Olympics since the 1984 Games.

I swim with Suncoast Waterworks.

They are based out of Largo, FL.

What team do you swim for?

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in synchronized swimming?

I would love to get a college scholarship for synchro and go to the Olympics! I hope by the time I’m in college The University of Florida has a scholarship for artistic swimming.

Share anything else you would like us to know!

My team, Suncoast Waterworks, qualified to go to the Junior Olympics in Colorado this June.

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BASEBALL

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GUNNAR KENDALL AGE 7

How long have you been involved in baseball?

I have been playing baseball since I was three years old.

What do you like best about it?

Hitting dingers!

What team do you play for?

I play with the Williston Youth Athletic Association (WYAA) 8U Marlins.

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in baseball?

Yes! I want to play all the baseball because then it will get more challenging and hard.

Who is your athlete inspiration?

Austin Langworthy

Share anything else you would like us to know!

I’m a lefty who plays first base and catcher. I love baseball. I strive to be coachable and work hard to be the best. Players make plays!

DID KNOW? Major League Baseball players have not historically played in the Olympics, as it would halt the regular season. In 2008, the last year baseball was seen at the Olympics, the US roster was filled by minor league players and one college player.

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Soccer

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LAYLA ALEXANDER AGE 12

How long have you been involved in soccer?

I have been playing for four years.

What do you like best about it?

Team building and working together.

What team do you play for?

I play for Westwood Middle School and Gainesville Soccer Alliance and I play center defense.

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in soccer?

Yes, I plan to play soccer long term and plan to go to the University of Florida and possibly the Olympics one day.

Who is your Athlete inspiration?

Serena Williams

The US women's soccer team has won

four Olympic gold medals: 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012.

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L acros se

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DOMINIC MORESCHI AGE 12

How long have you been involved in lacrosse?

I have been playing for about seven years.

I think I played my first youth lacrosse game when I was four or five years old.

What do you like best about it?

Lacrosse is a fast game and I like that no game is ever the same.

My teammates are from different schools around Gainesville like Kanapaha, Queen of Peace Catholic Academy and Oak Hall School. I like meeting new people and making new friends.

What team do you play for?

Locally, I play for The Gainesville Redhawks and Florida Generals. My travel team is North Florida Stars. My positions are midfield and face-off.

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in lacrosse?

I want to play high school lacrosse at Oak Hall School and definitely want to play college lacrosse.

Who is your athlete inspiration?

My older brother Michael. He is a junior at Oak Hall School and plays for the team. My professional idol in lacrosse is Paul Rabil.

He is an awesome player.

Share anything else you would like us to know!

Lacrosse was designated a

medal sport in the 1904 and 1908 Olympics.

My dad and uncle both played lacrosse growing up in Virginia, so lacrosse is in the family. Also, both of my sisters play lacrosse. My dad, brother and I like to watch college lacrosse on television too. Basketball and soccer are other sports that I like to play but lacrosse is my favorite sport.

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S C I T S A N GYM MILA STINSON AGE 7

How long have you been involved in gymnastics?

Just over four years since I was two and a half years old in Ms. Debe’s class at Sun Country.

What do you like best about it?

My coaches.

What team do you compete for?

Team Sun Country. I compete on bars, beam, vault and floor. Floor is my favorite!

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in gymnastics?

Yes, I want to continue on in gymnastics in college and make it to the Olympics because gymnastics is so much fun!

Who is your athlete inspiration?

Simone Biles and my gym buddy, Joy!

Share anything else you would like us to know!

My favorite event is vault and my favorite memory from this past season was at the state meet where I earned 1st place All Around!

In 2012, the “Fierce Five”, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross, and Jordyn Wiebe, took

home the gold for the United States at the 2012 Olympics in the women’s gymnastics competition.

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Track& Field

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CHASE MUNSON AGE 12

How long have you been involved in Track?

I have been involved in track since third grade.

My brother was in fifth and so the coaches let me run with them. I actually started running club at Queen of Peace Catholic Academy (QPA) when I was three. My brother was in Kindergarten and Coach Jim (the coach) let me run with them.

What do you like best about it?

I love the competition of running. I love the excitement when the gun goes off and if I beat my previous time, that is a great feeling.

What team do you run for?

Queen of Peace Catholic Academy track team and cross country team. I do the 100, 200, 400, 4x1 relay.

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in Track?

I would love to run track in high school and college. I’m hoping by practicing now that I improve enough to be a great high school runner. If I was able to make it all the way to the Olympics that would be awesome! Running is my passion and I hope I can do it forever.

Who is your athlete inspiration?

Usain Bolt is one of my inspirations. My dad bought me a book about him once and it was inspiring. I would love to run that fast someday. My coach at QPA, coach Ami, gives me a lot of feedback to help me become a better runner. She is very encouraging.

Share anything else you would like us to know!

I also run cross country. I’m lucky to be able to run long distance and sprint. For middle school I run 3Ks, but I try and run 5Ks on the side to keep my endurance up and improve my times.

Michael Holloway, the track and field and cross country coach at the University of Florida, has been named the USA Track and Field coach for 2020 Olympics!

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GRACE MCDANIEL AGE 10

How long have you been involved in softball?

I have played softball for two and a half years.

Two seasons of rec softball and two seasons of travel ball.

What do you like best about it?

I love spending time with my friends on and off the field.

My favorite part of softball is being on the mound pitching.

I’ve work very hard at it every week and people can see the progress I’ve made.

What team do you play for?

I play for Santa Fe Inferno 10U. I pitch, and play both outfield and infield positions but short stop and center field are my favorite.

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in softball?

Yes, I would like to play in the Olympics and play softball in college. It would be fun to represent the United States in the sport that I love and continue playing in high school and in college if possible, and the Olympics one day.

Who is your athlete inspiration?

My big sister, Olivia. She played softball at Queen of Peace Catholic Academy two years ago and currently plays at a Buchholz High School. She has helped me learn things I wouldn’t have learned until later and she has taught me to always put my team’s needs before mine.

Share anything else you would like us to know!

I also enjoy playing soccer, tennis and I plan to run track next year at Queen of Peace Catholic Academy. I enjoy playing sports because of the competition and the progress that is made by hard work.

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Softball will return this summer to the Tokyo Olympic Games being gone for thirteen years.

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future Olympians

24 volleyball teams and 48 beach volleyball teams will participate in the Olympic Games in 2021.

AALIYAH RAY AGE 10

How long have you been involved in volleyball?

I have been playing for three years.

What do you like best about it?

I like to spend time with my team and block the other teams ball.

Also, I like just getting better at the sport.

What team do you play for?

I play club volleyball at Gainesville Juniors.

My position is middle blocker.

Would you like to go to college or the Olympics and continue on in volleyball?

I would love to play volleyball at The University of Florida. It is a great school and my family can come to my games.

Who is your athlete inspiration?

I just enjoy watching great players at any age play the game.

I am inspired by the great players skills and the love they have for volleyball.

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