Shoreham-Wading River High School junior Debi-Michelle Jantzen has her eye on the gold. The varsity field hockey center midfielder will be traveling to Holland in April to compete with the U.S. Olympic Under 17 (U-17) Team in a tournament, which she hopes will take her one step closer to reaching her ultimate goal.
    
 Last year, Debi-Michelle placed third in the Pan American Qualifier competition. “I am hoping to get to play in the Youth Olympics in Singapore, but there are still some hurdles,” she stated.
   
Debi-Michelle has been a member of the Futures Organization, a U.S. development program. She attended a regional competition from which she was selected to play in the national competition. From there, Debi-Michelle was selected to attend the Junior Olympics and the Junior National Competition, and was later selected for the U.S. Olympic U-17 team. She recently traveled to California for squad training.
    
“The benefit to the U-17 team is that there are Olympic coaches working with us,” Debi-Michelle explained. “This will, hopefully, give me a chance to try for the Olympic team.
    
Debi also finds time to focus on her studies. She has made the Principal’s List every quarter and was recently selected as a recipient of the Student of the Month Award in both English and Chemistry. During the year, Debi-Michelle also plays with the New Jersey travel team, The Edge. When she is not competing and studying, friends can find her training at the local gym.
      
The District would like to wish Debi-Michelle best of luck in pursuing her athletic goals.