Breanna Lewis at Qualcomm Stadium after her third place finish in the girls’ 11/12 division. Photo courtesy of Kathy Lewis
Breanna Lewis is a both a successful artist and an athlete. The 13-year-old Idyllwild School student has already been to Irish Dancing World Championships in Belfast and the NFL’s Punt, Pass and Kick team championship earlier this month in San Diego.

This young lady is very proud of her accomplishments, but as a world-class competitor, she is not satisfied with simply participating; she desires victory.

In between this year’s school activities, she is preparing to resume Irish dancing competition and planning for next year’s Punt, Pass and Kick competition.

Idyllwild School’s physical education teacher Darren McKay organized the PPK competition. Although this is his first year at the school, he has been organized and been involved in the competition since his tenure at Ramona School in the 1990s.

During the first practice he heard the sound of a student kicking the ball, it sounded strong, he turned and saw it was Breanna. “She’s a dancer and an athlete. It gives her strong legs,” he said.

Breanna is the third or fourth of McKay’s students to get to the Team Championships in San Diego. Breanna, who finished third at this level this year, intends to compete next year. McKay thinks she has potential to advance, especially if she improves on the accuracy. “The distance is good, but they’re looking for a straight kick or pass and deduct from the distance,” he said.

Athletics is not the only activity where she excels and invests her free time. Dancing requires two three-hour classes each week. Fortunately for the girls’ parents, Breanna and two other accomplished Idyllwild girls — Riley and Brooke Arnson — go to the same class; that helps the parents share the drive back and forth to Murrieta.

Breanna also was a member of the Idyllwild School’s girls’ volleyball team this fall and is a current member of the school’s girls’ basketball team.

With all of her practices and classes, she often does homework in the car driving to dance class.

But her wide smile and shining eyes project a person quite happy with her success and intent on moving to the next stage in the future. She is already making plans for her high school career and how to accommodate the nonschool extra-curricular activities into her school schedule.