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Shaker Students, Teams Rack Up the Accomplishments
March 9, 2017 — The Shaker Heights High School students and staff had a great weekend. In fact, they’ve been accomplishing a staggering number of great things over the past couple of weeks. Here is a quick rundown of some of those accomplishments:

By now, most people in our community are aware of our Chamber Orchestra’s tremendous performance in New York City. Under the direction of Donna Jelen, the orchestra won second runner-up (third in the nation) Saturday in the National Orchestra Cup competition at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.

The Shaker Bands turned in another great performance in the Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA) competition. All five bands received excellent or superior ratings, with the Wind Ensemble receiving a top rating of “1” from all the judges.

The Shaker Heights High School String Orchestra received an "Excellent" (II) rating at the OMEA contest in Strongsville. The group received these kudos while playing Class A music, which is the most difficult classification available. Congratulations to the entire String Orchestra and director Donna Jelen.

Shaker students again were dominant in the National History Day competition. On Saturday, 116 students from the High School, the Middle School and Woodbury competed with nearly 550 other students from other districts. Twenty-seven Shaker projects, representing 48 students, will advance to the State Competition April 29. Shaker swept three categories and won seven first-place spots.

Likewise, Shaker picked up a staggering number of individual and school awards from the Ohio Junior Classical League Convention 2017 in Columbus. Thirty-seven students and three teachers spent the weekend at the convention, the 67th annual. Shaker placed first in Academic Per Capita, Upper Certamen and Lower Certamen, and second in overall points. Senior Sam Katz finished first in overall academic ranks and third in overall points.
Ethan Vodrey
Junior Ethan Vodrey has won an Emerging Artist Award in the 2D3D National Art + Design Competition, a program sponsored by the Cleveland Institute of Art. Ethan received a Craft category award for his jewelry portfolio. Ethan’s award was in the Craft category for his jewelry portfolio work that was judged among art by more than 1,000 contestants nationwide. Emerging Artist honorees receive a $500 scholarship to CIA’s two-week Pre-College program. Artwork was judged by a panel of CIA faculty, from entries by 1,064 students representing over 420 American high schools in 39 states.

Tyson LongThe Shaker Wrestling Team sent six grapplers to the OHSAA Division I District Tournament at North Canton Hoover last weekend: Will Faust (106 pounds), Jaivon Jones (113 pounds), Tyson Long (120 pounds), Jakee Frazier (138 pounds), Farouq Muhammed (145 pounds) and Sam Meinhard (182 pounds). Tyson (pictured) qualified for the State Tournament for the second straight year; Jaivon and Farouq qualified as alternates. 

The Shaker Boys Basketball Team defeated the John Hay Hornets Saturday 64-55 in an OHSAA Division I Sectional Championship contest. The Raiders advance on to the District Semifinals to play the Maple Heights Mustangs tonight at Solon High School at 7 p.m.

Sophomore Lyle Yost won the Division I State Diving Championship February 25 in Canton. The win came just one year after Yost finished second in the event as a freshman. Yost posted a score of 531.10, which was good enough to beat New Albany’s Noah Duperee by 24.95

The Shaker Heights Indoor Track Team had 14 individuals compete this past Saturday in the OATCCC State Indoor Championships at the University of Akron. State qualifiers included Keyonna McGill, Mimi Reimers, Sophie Carrier, Alexa Jankowsky, Oriana Anderson, Illias Burnett, Clarence Jones, Kameron Willis, Jayron Franklin, D'Angelo Moore, Tahj Wilson, Charles Calhoun, Ian Suber and Tyrese Jones.

Our Figure Skating Team took top prize in the 2017 Ohio High School Team Figure Skating Competition earlier this month.The team finished at the top of the final standings for Production Ensembles, Maneuver Team Jumps - Levels B & C, and Maneuver Team Steps - Levels B & C.

This past Saturday, our A Cappella Mixed Choir attended the OMEA District 7 Large Group Adjudicated Event held in Mentor. The ensemble participated in Class AA, meaning their required performance literature was collegiate level and earned a "II" rating, the second highest in the OMEA five-rating adjudication. Shaker was one of only three choral ensembles in District 7 to perform this weekend in Class AA.

Ben CawleyIn mid-February, Shaker junior Ben Cawley (pictured left) was one of only 24 junior golfers from across the nation participating in the Chubb Classic’s 2017 Golf to Paradise – First Tee Champions Challenge at the Twin Eagles Club in Naples, Fla.

Late last month, the Shaker Heights Show Choir "The Chanticleers" competed in the Northcoast Show Choir Invitational in Twinsburg and earned the Judge's Choice Award. This year’s Chanticleers show is themed "The Great Escape" and features songs about travel and adventure. They will compete in their final competition of the school year Saturday in Fairfield.

Senior Gus Mahoney won the Tom Joynes Peer Award given to the student most likely to be in Shakespeare's Company. Gus represented Shaker beautifully at the regional Cleveland Shakespeare Competition.
Irish Dancing Team

Last but not least, Darby Grant and her team won a unanimous first place at the Irish Dancer Championships held in Chicago. She is going to represent the U.S. at the World Championships in Dublin Ireland in mid-April. Way to go, Darby!