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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1995)
Dedication, intense practices keep Hill’s baton twirling By Chad Lorenz Staff Reporter When baton twirler Courtney Hill stood in the Notre Dame field house before an audience of 20,000, preparing to compete for the solo world championship, she went numb. “It’s eerie sometimes when all you can hear is your breath and the baton,” the freshman pre-medicine major said. After 12 years of twirling experience, Hill took the world championship trophy home to San Antonio last summer. The championships, held every July at Notre Dame, consisted of five days of various twirl ing competitions. Hill said. She won sixth place in x-strut twirling, a dance form with no baton throws or gymnas tics. In two-baton twirling, she placed eighth. Hill always has preferred solo twirling over the other forms because it’s her strongest event, she said. Big-toss tricks and fast flips are her favorite moves. She would work on original moves with combinations of kicks, spins and illu sions, she said. An illusion is where the twirler plants one leg on the ground and rotates the other around her body. Hill said she had perfected her moves through constant, intense practice. Until mid way through high school, she said, she prac ticed at least two hours a day on weekdays and six to eight hours on weekends. Her drive came from her love for twirling. “I liked the movement between dance and gymnastics, the arm movements and spins.” she said. Her determination has kept her twirling since second grade. Even when she first began twirling for YMCA, her dedication singled her out. “About 200 girls started out, but after a while there were only four of us left,” Hill siHd. Hill was competing by age eight and had her first major win at age nine, when she won the state solo competition. But Hill has had her failures. At a solo competition in Texas, she said she dropped her first two throws and fell on the third. “I was so mad when I walked off the floor, Jeff Hal ler/DN UNL student Courtney Hill competed and won at the world solo baton twirling competition at Notre Dame last summer. but I ended up winning the solo competition,” Hill said. Hill endured the frustrations of practicing and competing, unable to quit for any extended period of time. “I’d sometimes get to the point where I’d just scream ‘I quit’ and throw my baton in the closet. Then two or three days later I’d be back in the gym,” Hill said. Her work in grade school and high school paid off when she was accepted by five univer sities to be the feature twirler: Arizona State, Arkansas, Texas, Nebraska and South Califor nia. She said she chose to come to UNL be cause the people were friendly and she liked the city. “I fell in love with it when I came here for tryouts,” Hill said. She said she enjoyed performing at Comhusker football games, but open air and turf made twirling hard. She said the Orange Bowl was one of her most memorable twirling experiences. This spring, Hill’s destinations include California, Texas, Kansas City, Lincoln and Omaha. In June, she’ll twirl at competitions in Texas and return to the world championship in July. At championships, she said she hoped to qualify for the world team, which will compete in Switzerland. Her other goal is to twirl as an ambassador throughout Peru with seven others this fall. * Police use posted flier .to bust off-campus party By Chad Lorenz Staff Reporter Three roommates are set to appear in Lancaster County Court March 15 after their weekend off-campus party was busted by undercover police. Lincoln police learned about the party from a flier posted in Bun Residence Hall on East Campus, in vestigated and later broke it up. The roommates, three University of Ne braska-Lincoln students, made the joke flier to advertise the party at 1635 N. 14th St. Joel McClurkin, Dale Kadavy and Aaron Hall were cited for sale of alcohol without a license and main taining a disorderly house. Police also confiscated $88 in cash. The flier stated that beer and margaritas would be consumed at that address Saturday night. The bot tom of the flier stated “please distrib ute freely.” McClurkin said the flier was a joke and given only to a few friends. “We don’t even know anyone on East campus,” McClurkin said. Police reports estimated about 150 people were present at the house. Police didn’t issue a warning when they arrived. “Within 30 seconds of seeingthem, I was handcuffed and in the back of the police car,” McClurkin said. Officers emptied cans of alcohol, but left the three kegs at the house, McClurkin said. McClurkin said none of their par ties were meant to make a profit. Usually, he said, they barely came out ahead. The parties were for their friends, he said, though others were welcome. Their most recent party, McClurkin said, attracted more people than they expected. Signed Continued from Page 1 jobs, or invest $100 million and cre ate 250 new jobs. The bill passed on a 31-12 vote. LB829 originally had an emergency clause attached, but it needed 33 votes to pass with the emergency clause and fell short, 30 13. Sen. Doug Kristensen of Minden said he was pleased to see senators put aside partisan and geographic differences to pass the bills. Kristensen said he didn’t believe the Legislature had an urban-rural split, but if it existed, the Micron bills would have been a classic case for it to arise. “I think a lot of senators looked at the bigger picture,” he said. “That’s encouraging.” In addition to Micron, Nelson said other companies had begun to ex press interest in Nebraska. He said Nebraska was getting a reputation for becoming a good place to build a business. Pfizer Inc. reportedly is consider ing locating a plant in Lincoln. Maxine Moul, director of the Ne braska Department of Economic De velopment, said a final proposal went to Pfizer last week and the company should make a decision by May 1. Moul said LB828, LB829 and LB830 gave Nebraska the tools it needed to be competitive with other states in luring companies like Mi cron and Pfizer that provide high paying jobs. Fight Continued from Page 1 sidewalk. A Sigma Nu member struck Williams with what he thought was an arm cast. Other Sigma Nu members knocked down Winfrey and repeatedly kicked him, at least once in the face. Winfrey suffered bruised ribs and a possible stress fracture to his arm. Police arrived on the scene after the two injured Delts returned to the house. Manning said the parties involved were questioned, but no arrests were made. Gossard said he planned to con tact Sigma Nu’s national office and possibly take legal action against the house. r RRIWIUI VMMjrml llfv p Jet service from Omaha/Eppley Airfield begins 03/01/95. Seats may be limited. Other available fares from $119 each way. Some restrictions apply. Passenger Facility Charge of $3 each way and Florida Terminal Surcharge of $2 not included.
