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The students were under the direction of Jane Darin, physical education teacher at both schools. "We don't have updated numbers," Darin said. "At Lynch all the kids came down. I also invited students from Hadley-Murphy (had 40 students from there). The kids learned patterning, hand-eye coordination, and reaction time. It helps with focus and concentration. Some of the kids are so tuned in."

Students stacked up and down various pyramids of Speed Stacks cups in prescribed patterns for at least 30 minutes. For the second year in a row, Guinness World Records is billing it as the world's largest stacking event. Sights are set on having more than 200,000 stackers participate in the future.

"We made it into the Guinness Book of World Records (for people consecutively stacking) around the world," said Barb DePree, Lynch building manager. "Everybody (455 students at Lynch) participated and they had to have a verifier. It's good for hand-eye coordination. There's different sequences and patterns. It's phenomenal to watch. We have a couple of kids who can do it fast."

Two Lynch students raved about sport stacking.

"It was fun," said Jared Goralski, 8, a third-grader. "We went down in the gym and had to speed stack cups. I practiced at home. One of my (stacks) was 29.52 seconds. It's exercising and gets you focused."

Celeste Lareau, 10, a fifth-grader, said it was fun challenging her friends to the sport.

"I'm not the fastest girl, but we practiced," Lareau said. "There were three different patterns and I practiced two or three. I practiced at home. It can help you with any sport because it's exercise."

Sport stacking has been termed a "track meet for your hands at warp speed." A new sport, students up stack and down 12 specially designed cups called Speed Stacks in predetermined sequences as fast as they can. Stackers race against the clock and compete in relays.

Sport Stacking is in more than 21,000 schools and youth organizations worldwide. Benefits include improved reaction time, hand eye coordination, concentration and focus.

Jennifer Decker can be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8125 or jennifer.decker@lapeergroup.com