Student Artists Honored With Medals at Art-in-Sports Awards Program
Student Artists Honored With Medals at Art-in-Sports Awards Program
Lake Placid, NY (May 16, 2026) – Student artists Caitlyn St. Louis of Lake Placid High School, was selected as Best in Show at the May 16 Art of the Olympians (AOTO) Northern New York art-in-sports student awards festivities.
Caitlyn was one of more than a hundred North Country student artists who competed for honors with their artwork highlighting the Olympism genre of art in sport. Caitlyn’s winning art was a depiction of two javelin throwers – one a male from the ancient Olympiad and the modern version of a woman javelin thrower.
Besides Caitlyn St.Louis, who also won the gold medal in high school art division, fourth grader Eleanor Wehnau of Moriah Central School, and sixth grade(middle school) artist Elianna Soriano of Boquet Valley Central School received gold medals in their division competition at the spring “Olympism-An Evolution of Art in Sports” student art contest.
The spring art contest was one of two art competitions highlighted at the Lake Placid Convention Center awards event. Medals were also handed out for those students who competed in AOTO’s Winter Olympic Celebration Art Challenge. In that contest, Kelsey Smith of Lake Placid High School received top honors the events’ Poster Division while Naudys Rojas and Chase Meeks, both of Lake Placid High School, were awarded gold medals in the Sport Art Division.
Large Crowd Attends Student Awards Festivities
A large crowd of participating student artists, parents, and family members filled the Lake Placid Conference Center hall to celebrate the artistic efforts by hundreds of North Country students who participated in the four-week art-in-sports education program titled “Olympism – An Evolution of Art in Sports,” hosted by the Al Oerter Foundation/Art of the Olympians (AOF/AOTO) in collaboration with the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Lake Placid Center for the Arts and with the assistance and guidance from the leadership of the New York State Region 5 Art Teachers Association.
All entered student artwork was placed on display in gallery format during the afternoon festivities. A seven-member AOTO panel of international Olympian artists, who also served as program instructors, judged the student artwork.
In the high school spring art division, 2025 student art-in-sports gold medalist Santino DeBella of Beekmantown was selected as silver medalist and Boquet Valley Central School ninth grader Raelyn Bolding won the bronze medal.
Middle School silver medalist was Amina Heller of Boquet Valley Central School. Her classmate Robyn Villavicencio was awarded the bronze medal. Grade school division silver medalist was Flynn Harlow of Moriah Central School while classmate Marrie Allen was awarded the bronze medal.
Honorable Mentions To All Division Level Student Artists
Skill levels in each division were highly contested prompting judges to add honorable mention recognition to each class/division in each art-in-sport program. In the Winter Olympic Celebration Art Challenge, Molly Ryan, Nolan Clark, Harper Strack, Stella Hoffman, and Eva Arreaza of Lake Placid all received honorable mention medals.
In the spring high school division, honorable mentions were given to Hunter French, Alyssa Denton, and Alena Cradell-Otis of Boquet Valley Central School and Samir Dimuccio, Eli Cash, and Chase Flyte of Lake Placid High School. Also receiving honorable mention medals were Peyton Stone, Maxwell Underwood, and John Farley of Beekmantown High School. Selected for honorable mentions in the middle school division were Boquet Valley Central School classmates Zoey Agnew, Bella Celotti, Arianna Crandal-Otis, Brynee LaMotte, Journey Heald, and Levi Worrell.
Instructional student class sessions were designed to provide a lasting impression about the spirit of Olympism by focusing on sport with art and the rich history of winter sports in the Adirondacks. Leading the AOTO member Olympian/Paralympian artists contingent is AOF’s Roald Bradstock, a two-time Olympian whose affinity for impressionist art has given him the international moniker as the Olympian Picasso.
100 Olympic Students Helped With Giant Olympism Mural
Besides the student awards presentation, more than 100 art students from the schools in Beekmantown, Moriah, Lake Placid, and Boquet Valley were recognized for their assistance in creating a large 24-panel mural depicting four indoor short-track speed skaters in pursuit of a gold medal finish.
The environmental mural is the joint effort of AOTO Art-in-Sports program students from Northern New York and by students from the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. Created by AOTO’s Executive Director and art education program director Roald Bradstock, features 6,720 individual squares.
Al Oerter Award for Excellence in Art and Education
The most prestigious adult award of the festivities – the Al Oerter Award of Excellence in Art and Education – was presented to two Northern New Yorkers, Lake Placid Center for Arts Executive Director James Lemons and to Saratoga Springs businessman Jeff Vukelic who both have been instrumental in the successful program development of Art of the Olympians.
ABOUT THE OLYMPIC AUTHORITY
Established in 1982, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (Olympic Authority) was created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid. The Olympic Authority operates Whiteface, Belleayre, and Gore Mountains, Mt Van Hoevenberg, the James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval, the Olympic Jumping Complex, and the Olympic Center. As host to international, national, regional, and local events, the Olympic Authority’s venues are destinations and economic catalysts of the regions it serves.
ABOUT THE AL OERTER FOUNDATION/ART OF THE OLYMPIANS
The Al Oerter Foundation (AOF) and its program organization – Art of the Olympians (AOTO) – is a chartered Fort Myers, Florida not-for-profit foundation created in 2006 by four-time gold medalist Al Oerter. Through Olympian and Paralympian artists, AOF/AOTO uniquely couples art exhibitions with education by providing programs of art, education, sport, and cultural outreach – both nationally and internationally – to inspire individuals and communities to uphold the virtues of the Olympic ideals.
Olympic Regional Development Authority Media Contact: Darcy Norfolk, dnorfolk@orda.org
Al Oerter Foundation/Art of the Olympians Media Contact: Steve Apesos, sapesos@artoftheolympians.org
Lake Placid, NY (May 16, 2026) – Student artists Caitlyn St. Louis of Lake Placid High School, was selected as Best in Show at the May 16 Art of the Olympians (AOTO) Northern New York art-in-sports student awards festivities.
Caitlyn was one of more than a hundred North Country student artists who competed for honors with their artwork highlighting the Olympism genre of art in sport. Caitlyn’s winning art was a depiction of two javelin throwers – one a male from the ancient Olympiad and the modern version of a woman javelin thrower.
Besides Caitlyn St.Louis, who also won the gold medal in high school art division, fourth grader Eleanor Wehnau of Moriah Central School, and sixth grade(middle school) artist Elianna Soriano of Boquet Valley Central School received gold medals in their division competition at the spring “Olympism-An Evolution of Art in Sports” student art contest.
The spring art contest was one of two art competitions highlighted at the Lake Placid Convention Center awards event. Medals were also handed out for those students who competed in AOTO’s Winter Olympic Celebration Art Challenge. In that contest, Kelsey Smith of Lake Placid High School received top honors the events’ Poster Division while Naudys Rojas and Chase Meeks, both of Lake Placid High School, were awarded gold medals in the Sport Art Division.
Large Crowd Attends Student Awards Festivities
A large crowd of participating student artists, parents, and family members filled the Lake Placid Conference Center hall to celebrate the artistic efforts by hundreds of North Country students who participated in the four-week art-in-sports education program titled “Olympism – An Evolution of Art in Sports,” hosted by the Al Oerter Foundation/Art of the Olympians (AOF/AOTO) in collaboration with the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Lake Placid Center for the Arts and with the assistance and guidance from the leadership of the New York State Region 5 Art Teachers Association.
All entered student artwork was placed on display in gallery format during the afternoon festivities. A seven-member AOTO panel of international Olympian artists, who also served as program instructors, judged the student artwork.
In the high school spring art division, 2025 student art-in-sports gold medalist Santino DeBella of Beekmantown was selected as silver medalist and Boquet Valley Central School ninth grader Raelyn Bolding won the bronze medal.
Middle School silver medalist was Amina Heller of Boquet Valley Central School. Her classmate Robyn Villavicencio was awarded the bronze medal. Grade school division silver medalist was Flynn Harlow of Moriah Central School while classmate Marrie Allen was awarded the bronze medal.
Honorable Mentions To All Division Level Student Artists
Skill levels in each division were highly contested prompting judges to add honorable mention recognition to each class/division in each art-in-sport program. In the Winter Olympic Celebration Art Challenge, Molly Ryan, Nolan Clark, Harper Strack, Stella Hoffman, and Eva Arreaza of Lake Placid all received honorable mention medals.
In the spring high school division, honorable mentions were given to Hunter French, Alyssa Denton, and Alena Cradell-Otis of Boquet Valley Central School and Samir Dimuccio, Eli Cash, and Chase Flyte of Lake Placid High School. Also receiving honorable mention medals were Peyton Stone, Maxwell Underwood, and John Farley of Beekmantown High School. Selected for honorable mentions in the middle school division were Boquet Valley Central School classmates Zoey Agnew, Bella Celotti, Arianna Crandal-Otis, Brynee LaMotte, Journey Heald, and Levi Worrell.
Instructional student class sessions were designed to provide a lasting impression about the spirit of Olympism by focusing on sport with art and the rich history of winter sports in the Adirondacks. Leading the AOTO member Olympian/Paralympian artists contingent is AOF’s Roald Bradstock, a two-time Olympian whose affinity for impressionist art has given him the international moniker as the Olympian Picasso.
100 Olympic Students Helped With Giant Olympism Mural
Besides the student awards presentation, more than 100 art students from the schools in Beekmantown, Moriah, Lake Placid, and Boquet Valley were recognized for their assistance in creating a large 24-panel mural depicting four indoor short-track speed skaters in pursuit of a gold medal finish.
The environmental mural is the joint effort of AOTO Art-in-Sports program students from Northern New York and by students from the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. Created by AOTO’s Executive Director and art education program director Roald Bradstock, features 6,720 individual squares.
Al Oerter Award for Excellence in Art and Education
The most prestigious adult award of the festivities – the Al Oerter Award of Excellence in Art and Education – was presented to two Northern New Yorkers, Lake Placid Center for Arts Executive Director James Lemons and to Saratoga Springs businessman Jeff Vukelic who both have been instrumental in the successful program development of Art of the Olympians.
ABOUT THE OLYMPIC AUTHORITY
Established in 1982, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (Olympic Authority) was created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid. The Olympic Authority operates Whiteface, Belleayre, and Gore Mountains, Mt Van Hoevenberg, the James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval, the Olympic Jumping Complex, and the Olympic Center. As host to international, national, regional, and local events, the Olympic Authority’s venues are destinations and economic catalysts of the regions it serves.
ABOUT THE AL OERTER FOUNDATION/ART OF THE OLYMPIANS
The Al Oerter Foundation (AOF) and its program organization – Art of the Olympians (AOTO) – is a chartered Fort Myers, Florida not-for-profit foundation created in 2006 by four-time gold medalist Al Oerter. Through Olympian and Paralympian artists, AOF/AOTO uniquely couples art exhibitions with education by providing programs of art, education, sport, and cultural outreach – both nationally and internationally – to inspire individuals and communities to uphold the virtues of the Olympic ideals.
Olympic Regional Development Authority Media Contact: Darcy Norfolk, dnorfolk@orda.org
Al Oerter Foundation/Art of the Olympians Media Contact: Steve Apesos, sapesos@artoftheolympians.org
