Emily Shull: Rowing

Senior Emily Shull rows and mountain bikes outside of school. She was recruited by the University of Iowa on a mountain biking scholarship but then “talent transferred” to rowing. She travels to the university about once a month, where she participates in clinics and camps. She started rowing last February and fell in love with the sport. Shull was mountain biking Midwest regional champion two years in a row and also finished fourth at nationals three years ago.

According to Shull, the worst part about the sport are the rowing machines used in practice because of the hard work they present. Shull, however, has as much fun as she can with the sport. Shull’s favorite memory from her rowing career came when her rowing team of eight was ready to start a race and a spider jumped onto the boat. Shull was the only one to scream, and her teammates have not forgotten about the incident to this day.

Tad Carlson: Fencing

Senior Tad Carlson has been fencing for 5 years. He currently fences at the Libertyville Tennis Club and also competes for the high school fencing team. The high school team fences from November through early February, competing in different tournaments. Carlson has proven to be one of the best fencers on the team. He placed second in an intrasquad tournament in November and placed third in a different intrasquad tournament in February. “It’s like a game of physical chess,” stated Carlson. “It’s thought and skill in performance.”

According to Carlson, the best part about participating in different tournaments is meeting new people and learning from their experiences. His favorite moment came when the team traveled to the University of Chicago to compete in a tournament earlier this year. There, the whole team was cheering on a teammate that made it far in the tournament and supported him throughout all of his matches.

Erin Kowalski: Horseback Riding

Erin Kowalski started horseback riding four years ago. She horseback rides at Equidream School of Horsemanship in Grayslake and spends eight hours of the week practicing. Her biggest accomplishment was making it to the finals. (She had enough points to win a medals class and was qualified to go to finals, which is basically another word for the championship. She feels as though her horse, Harley, is a spitting image of herself; both are funny, alert, and love food. The day she met him, she went to sit next to him and he laid his head on her lap and instantly she fell in love. In college, Erin wants to be an equine physical therapist, helping horses when they get hurt or sick and need rehabilitation.

So my biggest accomplishment was making it to finals! It’s when you have enough points or win a medals class where you are qualified to go to finals which kind of another word for like a championship in other sports. I was a really big accomplishment because I was kind of just starting off showing and qualifying made not only me happy but my team and my family. It was kind of like an assurance of how much I love this sport and how much support I have from the people around me. They have helped me through everything and I wouldn’t be where I am now in my riding career without them!

Michelle Mueller: Ice Skating

Senior Michelle Mueller has ice skated since she was three years old. Her entire family skates, except her dad. She practices every day for three hours, other than Sunday.  All this hard work has paid off because she competes at the highest level possible, senior, and placed top 7 in the upper great lakes regionals this past season in 2013. She also qualified for the Illinois Grand Prix where she placed 1st at this last summer. Her funniest moment was when she forgot her program (routine) during a competition and she has to make up a routine on the spot.