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Lexi Duda, a fifth-grader at New Market Elementary School, recently returned victorious from the National Baton Twirling Championships at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind.

Lexi, 9, and her mother Juli Duda, a baton coach, could not be more proud that her daughter has qualified to compete at four events in the juvenile age division at the World Baton Championships in Ghent, Belgium next April.

It's no surprise to her mother that Lexi's skill level is so high: Lexi has been practicing baton since she was two years old.

Juli Duda said Lexi preferred to go to baton practice with her mother than to go to a babysitter, and while there she liked to play with the older children. "That's how it came about," Juli said in an interview Thursday afternoon, as she was driving to pick up Lexi, who was practicing with her coach at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Lexi has competed at the national level before, but had not yet been eligible to compete at the world championships the last time qualifiers were held, which happens every three years, because she was too young to participate in the juvenile division, which is for seven- to 11-year-olds. Now that she is nine, she will be able to compete in four different events at the world championships, and Juli Duda confirmed that they would be making the trip to Belgium next spring.

The events Lexi will compete in are solo baton, two baton, rhythmic twirl – which is like a floor exercise in gymnastics – and duet, with which she and her partner, Kayla Steed, 11, a resident of New Market and a sixth-grader at Oakdale Middle, placed first. In order to compete in the duet category at the juvenile level, the combined age of the participants must be less than 18 years old – at the time they began competing this year, Kayla was 10, and Lexi was 8, so they were eligible, her mother said.

In order to qualify for world championships, an individual contestant must place in the top three positions in her age group, except for the duet, in which only the first place winner qualifies. Lexi placed second in the solo event, and first in the two-baton, rhythmic twirl and duet events.

In addition to her individual success, Lexi is also part of the Wheaton Dance and Twirl Teams, which won 12 out of 16 team events.

The junior teams from Wheaton will also compete at the world championships as part of Team USA, according to Juli Duda.

On Campus

Ô Emily Marie Darchuk of Monrovia, a fourth-year student at the University of Urbana-Champlain in Urbana, Ill., was named to the dean's list for the spring semester of 2008. She is a food science and human nutrition major at the university.

Ô Thirteen students from Frederick were named to the spring semester dean's list at McDaniel College in Westminster.

Earning highest honors with a grade-point average of 3.9 or higher were: Cody Crutchley, Katherine Eaton, Juliann Guiffre, Amy Rust, Timothy Snyder, and Rachel Smith.

High honors, for grade-point averages between 3.89 and 3.7, were awarded to Kimberly Bush and Amily Hajjar; honors, for grade point averages of 3.69 to 3.5, were awarded to Matthew Calcagni, Laura Davis, Kristin O'Toole, Jennifer Solomon, and Christina Walker.

Ô Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., named two Frederick residents to the spring semester dean's list. They are Alison Heft, a senior studying psychology, and Michael Spielman, a sophomore studying secondary education and social studies.

Ô Joseph Garrett of Frederick was named to the Dean's Commendation List for outstanding academic achievement at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Garrett, a senior, maintained a minimum grade-point average of 3.33 for the spring semester.

Ô Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., has announced that Casey Breslin of Frederick is a member of the dean's list for the spring semester. Breslin, a sophomore, earned the honor with a grade point average of at least 3.0.

Ô Meghan Jarosik of Frederick is a member of the spring semester dean's list at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Jarosik earned the distinction during her junior year at the College of Health and Human Services with a minimum 3.5 grade-point average.

Do you have an item for News and Notes? Contact reporter Chris Brown at 301-846-2132, e-mail chbrown@gazette.

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