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Hilliards girl wows Gobblers Knob, early spring predicted

Phil is the undisputed star of Ground Hog Day.

---- But a local girl got a little share of the spotlight this year. Nine-year-old Reilly Martin of Hilliards won the second annual “Gobblers Knob Got Talent Contest.”

---- She performed this morning to an estimated crowd of 15,000 gathered to see the ground hog's annual pop out of his burrow.

---- Phil didn't see his shadow, predicting an early spring.

---- But two hours before Phil's performance, Reilly took the stage and sang, “Stupid Cupid.”

---- The crowd, by applause, picked the winner, who received a $300 check and front row seats for the ground hog gig.

---- To be a part of the contest, Reilly submitted a video and was one of about a dozen people to compete in a preliminary elimination round in Punxsutawney Jan. 30. Then, members of the Inner Circle — the folks in top hats and tuxedoes who care for Phil year-round — were among the judges.

---- The field was narrowed to two performances: Reilly's and that of a team of sisters who performed a rap song.

---- “We go every year, this just makes it special,” said Reilly's mother, Desiree Hills. “This is something fun.”

---- This year the whole family went to root on Reilly, including Hills, her husband Joel Hills and 4-year-old Adeline Hills.

---- Reilly, a fourth grader and cheerleader at Dassa McKinney Elementary School, has been taking singing lessons and already has sang the national anthem at some Blue Sox games. She will appear as a lost boy in Moniteau's performance of “Peter Pan” in April.

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