Wednesday, May 15, 2002
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Wednesday, May 15, 2002 |
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Gym South's Level Two team goes undefeated, wins state title By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Gym South's Level Two gymnastic team, made up of local girls ages 7-10, won the state championship after an undefeated season. The team, coached by Heather Dunham and assistant coach Beth McDowell, finished first at the state championships in Cartersville.l Kaitlin Barkroot finished first all around in the 10-year-old group, placing first on the bars and the beam and second on the vault. Jamie Roth placed first all around in the nine-year-old group, placing first on the bars, the beam and the floor, while teammmate Lena Alston placed second all around by finishing second on the vault and bars. Alexis Salvanera placed second all around in the seven-year-old group with first-place finishes on the bars and the beam. Cayla Key placed fourth all around in the seven-year-old group and had second-place finishes on the bars and the beam. Tori Kinnamon placed seventh all around in the seven-year-old group, while Justine Miller placed seventh all around for the eight-year-old group with a first-place finish on the beam. The girls have been practicing at Gym South from between six months to two years. They practice twice a week for two hours and Level Two is the first level of competition. The season starts in January and goes through May, including seven meets in the metro Atlanta area. The season starts with an intrasquad meet at Gym South, which is the girls favorite because they get to sleep over at the gym after the meet. Gym South's team is unusual in that most teams have 20 girls while this one only featured seven girls. The judges take the top three scores on each event and add them together. With only seven girls on the team there is not a lot of leeway. Though the Level Two team's highest score this year was a 9.7, the Level Four team scored a 10.0. The team competes in four events uneven bars, beam, vault and floor. These events are meant to instruct the gymnasts on the basic skills so that at the next level they can add to them as they get stronger and sharper. Though the season ended with the state championships, the girls are looking to compete in the Georgia State Games in Augusta July 13. They will then move up to either Level Three or Four for next season. The girls enjoy the sport. They like competing and like winning even better. Their advice to those who aspire to be gymnasts is to be tough and work hard. Gymnastics is fun but there is a lot of work to be put in. Level Four's team had two second all around finishers as the team finished in third place at the state championships. Nine-year-old Shannon Escarra placed second all around and finished first on the beam, while 10-year-old Hannah Antley finished second all around and finished second on the bars. Antley's teammate finished first on the beam. For the Prep Op team, which placed third at the state championships in Decatur, 10-year-old Amanda Barton finished second on the floor. Casey Hill, in the 11-year-old group, finished second all around, finishing first on the bars, second on the vault and second on the beam. Teammate Erica Smith finished second on the vault and the bars. Morgan Ammons, in the 13-year-old group, finished second on the bars.
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