North Central Ohio Soap Box Derby winners head to Derby Downs
Seven-year-old Juliana Van Harlingen of Ontario will compete for her first time Saturday at the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship in Akron.
The Stingel Elementary School first grader won the stock division at the North Central Ohio Soap Box Derby stock division on June 25 on her first try in downtown Mansfield.
"She's excited, hoping to win," her mother Mandy Van Harlingen said Wednesday.
Her sisters Layla, 11, and Briella, 10, also competed in the soap box derby race on June 25 downtown Mansfield. Layla placed second for the third year in a row, her mother said.
Juliana is racer No. 360 in Akron and enjoys being outside, arts and crafts, soccer and camping, her mother said.
Her car has butterflies on it and Juliana wears butterfly hair clips in her hair.
The big event on Saturday means an early start for Juliana, who races at 8:30 a.m. at Derby Downs.
"She's been practicing stretching," her mother said. "Her sisters are her biggest cheerleaders."
Juliana is the daughter of Dan and Mandy Van Harlingen and the entire family will be in the stands watching the race on Saturday.
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Super stock division winner
Autumn Stechschulte, 12, of Columbus Grove, attends St. Anthony's School. She won the super stock division in June in Mansfield. Last year, Autumn won the North Central Ohio Soap Box Derby stock race in Mansfield.
The daughter of Aaron and Cindy Stechschulte, Autumn has been racing for about five years.
She is racer No. 161 in Akron.
"She enjoys it," her mother said. Outside of the soap box derby, Autumn is a tap dancer, and enjoys cheerleading and gymnastics.
Her sister Ariel, 10, competed in the soap box derby in Mansfield and placed fifth, her mom said.
The family will be cheering her on Saturday, saying everyone is pulling for her to "drive straight" among the many racers who head down the hill together.
"It's a lot of fun and she's grateful she gets to do it again," her mother said.
She said her daughter has enjoyed meeting a lot of new people at the soap box derby event in Akron.
The event is streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.
Mansfielders Russ and Ruth Kinsey, local soap box derby organizers, said they wish the local winners the best of luck in Akron on Saturday.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Juliana Van Harlingen, 7, of Ontario, competes for first time in Akron
