The following press release is from the South Orange-Maplewood School District:
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. – Columbia High School Junior Laurel Sackett won two medals in the recent U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Las Vegas.
Sackett, 16, who has been skating for 10 years, won the third-place Bronze Medal in the competition’s intermediate division and the fourth-place Pewter Medal in the novice division. Her team, called “Team Image” had qualified for the national competition when they came in second place in the eastern regional competition in New Hampshire last January. This was Sackett’s third national competition.
Laurel Sackett shows off the hardware she won.
Synchronized skating is a type of figure skating consisting of usually 16 skaters on ice performing intricate patterns, shapes, spins, and jumps at the same time.
“Laurel makes skating look effortless, but she works very hard, and I’m tremendously proud of her commitment,” said Shayna Sackett-Gable, Laurel’s mother. “Synchronized skating has helped her grow on and off the ice!”
“I want to congratulate Laurel on her outstanding achievements in synchronized skating,” said Dr. Kevin F. Gilbert, Acting Superintendent of the South Orange and Maplewood School District. “It takes a tremendous amount of dedication to excel in ice skating, not to mention an exceptional sense of teamwork to skate in unison with so many other skaters. I want to thank Laurel for representing our District community so well in this sport and everywhere she has competed around the country. And I also want to congratulate Laurel’s family on her success.”
Laurel Sackett on the ice at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Las Vegas.
