Friday Night Lights Feature - Gunter High School

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

September is coming to an end, but the field twirlers are still shining bright!

Each season this blog likes to get to know many of our awesome Texas twirlers a little better by learning about their experiences. We will be meeting many High School twirlers throughout the season with the Friday Night Lights Features and discovering more about our Texas Collegians with the Collegiate Twirler Spotlights. We will also be having many of our High School and Collegiate twirlers take over our Social Media Story for their Game Days! Make sure to follow us on Instagram @twirlingiscatchingtx or at facebook.com/twirlingiscatchingtx so you don't miss a thing!

Our next Friday Night Lights Feature is the Gunter High School Feature Twirler!

Gunter Park High School, located in Gunter, Texas, is located about an hour north of Dallas, almost to the Oklahoma border. Gunter is the home of the FIVE TIME State Football Champion Tigers, and today’s Featured Twirler, Analeia Aleman!

One great thing about a small town is that they find a way to feature talent when they see it. “I did not audition to twirl; however, I began twirling for our school community when I was in 6th grade. This transitioned into a high school feature spot.”

Living in a town like Gunter has led to great experiences for Analeia “My favorite thing about our school is that it is small. Everyone knows everyone and all the coaches are flexible with participation in all activities. It’s like one big family!”

Being a close-nit community, they have to have some great traditions! We asked Analeia about her favorite, and she said it was definitely Homecoming week! “We have a community tailgate party and pep rally where everyone in our small town shows up. We also have a Homecoming parade. I love twirling in the parade down our main street.”

Homecoming is also the event she is most looking forward to this fall. “I love getting to twirl three times; the parade, tailgate, and the football game!”

Now that we have heard more about twirling at GHS, let’s learn more about Analeia!

Analeia Aleman, Junior
Analeia has been twirling for 12 years. She is coached by Christina Aleman (her mom), Catherine Lattimore, and Kathy Forsythe. The competition title she is the proudest of winning was the IBTF Nations Cup Junior A 3-Baton Gold Medal. Her favorite competition trick is a full-hand flat double illusion catch on the back, and her favorite field trick is a high toss Illusion front walkover. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by her mother, who was also a baton twirler, as well as many collegiate twirlers. “My favorite is Mackenzie Bronk. I look up to her and hope to twirl like her in college.” After High School, she hopes to go to the University of Oklahoma or Ole Miss to twirl and study pre-med or animal science.

Favorite color: “Light pink and powder blue”
Favorite TV show/movie: “Outer Banks” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”
Favorite book: “Old Yeller”

Must-have Game Day snack/drink: 
“Game days are long, so my go to is a Redbull and a rice cake.”

Favorite Quote or Life Motto: 
“Philippines 4:16 “You can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

When she is not twirling, she loves to… 
“Cheer, workout, and rhinestone everything!’

Something people may not know about her… 
“I am also a varsity cheerleader and run track at my school. I also love to workout. I go to the gym everyday.”

The best life lesson she has learned from twirling is…
“Big dreams take hard work. I’ve learned to get up early, stay up late, and put in the hours.”

The most memorable advice from her coach… 
““Never give up”. You might have hard days but those days should be when you push yourself the most. Those are the days that make champions.”

Advice to future high school twirlers…
“Don’t be nervous to go out and twirl. People are watching in amazement at your skills. Have fun and share your talent.”

Her funniest memory as a twirler…
“While I do not remember this, my mom likes to tell me about the first time I ever modeled in a dress. I was three years old and as I walked up to the judge for my interview, I tripped on the rug under the chair. I fell, got back up, and proceeded to sit down and have my interview. Thankfully, there is no video!”

Her favorite thing about football season… 
“Twirling in front of my friends, family, and community and pushing myself each week to be a stronger performer.”

What will she miss the most when football season ends… 
“Spending countless hours with friends during practice and games.”

We want to thank Analeia for sharing her Game Day with us, and we wish her an amazing Homecoming week and a fantastic remainder of her football season. Go Tigers!

We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.