{"id":362964,"date":"2026-10-02T16:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T16:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/362964\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T16:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T16:34:12","slug":"senior-with-down-syndrome-crowned-homecoming-queen-at-green-valley-high-las-vegas-sun-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/362964\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior with Down syndrome crowned homecoming queen at Green Valley High –\nLas Vegas Sun News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 | 2 a.m.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: Este art\u00edculo est\u00e1 traducido al espa\u00f1ol.<\/a><\/p>\n

When Gigi Hutchison-Martinez is on the sidelines with the rest of the Green Valley High School varsity cheerleading squad, her mom, Lori, doesn\u2019t see the senior’s Down syndrome.<\/p>\n

Neither do Gigi\u2019s peers. In fact, they see her as their queen. Their homecoming queen.<\/p>\n

Green Valley is a big Henderson school, more than 2,500 students, but Gigi isn\u2019t lost in the shuffle. She\u2019s well-known and well-liked.<\/p>\n

This has been a supportive environment for her, and cheer especially has helped her thrive and grow over the years.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s confident, not at all shy, and wears her happiness on her face. Asked how she felt after winning the Homecoming queen vote: \u201cGood,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Did she expect to win?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lori Hutchison was beyond proud to see her youngest daughter celebrated Friday by friends and admirers. Her whole family turned out and sat in the front row.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never take anything for granted,\u201d Lori Hutchison said. \u201cWe know her worth, but you just never know\u201d how many peers agree.<\/p>\n

Plenty did.<\/p>\n

It was a long and hard-fought homecoming football game against Clark. Gigi kept up her energy, doing quick changes during halftime to get from her cheer uniform into a flowing floral dress and sparkly kitten heels and back again. As the game passed three hours, she threw her arms up in front of the student section to remind them to keep cheering, too. They roared.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know her. The teachers know her,\u201d sister Maddie Martinez said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know the students feel the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Down syndrome is a common genetic condition also known as Trisomy 21. People with the condition have a copy of their 21st chromosome, which can cause developmental delays, intellectual disability and certain physical and medical conditions and characteristics.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t have to limit their social skills and desire to take advantage of what high school has to offer.<\/p>\n

Ebullient and loyal to the Gators since she was about 8 years old and playing to the crowd at her older sister\u2019s volleyball games, Gigi, 18, is now in her fourth year on the cheer team<\/a>. She\u2019s also taken electives alongside her peers who aren\u2019t in special education: dance; leadership, which allowed her to serve on the student council; and video production, where she worked at the school\u2019s GVTV station. Occasionally, she\u2019s helped the volleyball team as a manager.<\/p>\n

At Green Valley, students vote for a 10-person homecoming court. Then the court campaigns at school for another round of voting to be queen or king. The top two vote-getters regardless of gender are crowned \u2014 that can mean two queens.<\/p>\n

Still, when one of the girls on Gigi\u2019s cheer team was the first name called out, Gigi welled up, thinking the queen title had slipped past her.<\/p>\n

When Gigi\u2019s name came next, she buried her face in her hands. Her teammates joyfully crowded her. Her mom leapt off her feet. She upgraded the small tiara for the court finalists with larger jewels. Gigi would probably sleep in her crown and sash, her sister said.<\/p>\n

As the parade floats rounded the running track, with Gigi bouncing around on the seniors\u2019 float, a couple of girls in the overflowing student section affirmed the selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew Gigi would win,\u201d one said to another. \u201cThat\u2019s my girl.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 | 2 a.m. Editor’s note: Este art\u00edculo est\u00e1 traducido al espa\u00f1ol. When Gigi Hutchison-Martinez…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-362964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}