Lake Villa resident ranks fourth in international baton competition
Submitted by Ginny Coulthard
Troy Kraly, 14, of Lake Villa recently won fourth- and fifth-place medals at the international baton twirling championship near Venice, Italy.
The international competition brought together the world's best baton twirling athletes to compete in an environment of healthy competition, good sportsmanship and international cooperation.
The event was sponsored by the World Federation of National Baton Twirling Associations, with 17 countries participating. Troy was a representative on the Junior Men's division for Team USA. Last summer, he qualified by winning first place at the annual national baton twirling contest at the University of Notre Dame.
In Italy, Troy finished fourth place in the Solo competition against 19 others in the Junior Men division. The following day, he earned fifth place in the Junior Men's Rhythmic Twirl Solo competition. His performance was to the music of "I Don't Dance" from High School Musical 2.
The international competition was held at the Sports Village complex in Lignano Sabbiadoro.
Throughout the week, Kraly participated in the opening ceremonies, Team USA dinners, practices, music checks, and preliminary rounds before he qualified for the final competition with his two routines. The competitions were shown online via live feed, which allowed for his grandparents and friends to follow his live competition. The closing ceremonies on Easter Sunday were also televised.
Other countries represented in the competition included Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.
Troy was accompanied by his parents, his sister, and his choreographer, Sherry Vignoli-Parisi, of Pennsylvania.
During the past year, Troy and his family sponsored several fundraisers for his travel and competition expenses. He appeared on the Steve Harvey Show and WGN TV morning news, and was featured as "Kid of the Week" on WGN radio.
"I am so happy and proud that I competed at the world level," Troy said. "It was very tough competition against other world qualifiers. It was a great experience to meet new friends from all over the world. I am already thinking about the next world competition in 2018 in Norway."
Kraly is the son of Teresa Kraly of Lake Villa and Todd Kraly of Antioch. He is an Honors freshman at Lakes Community High School, where he is involved in Color Guard and Winter Guard. He currently studies and performs with the award-winning Razzle Dazzles Baton Team & Corps in Zion.
• To submit Your news with one photo, go to dailyherald.com/share. To submit Your news with multiple photos, send it to nbrcalender@dailyherald.com.