PUYALLUP, Wash., May 17, 2009 – Region 5 won three of the eight team titles at the 2009 Women’s U.S. Junior Olympic National Championships at the Puyallup (Wash.) Fair Showplex. The two-day event featured nearly 450 of the USA’s best Level 10 gymnasts, who compete on the highest level in the Junior Olympic program that is just under the elite level. Both Region 1 and Region 3 won two titles each, with Region 7 also winning a team crown.

The Junior Olympic National Championships is the culmination event for the competitive season. The competition features eight age divisions (Junior A, Junior B, Junior C, Junior D, Senior A, Senior B, Senior C and Senior D), which are determined by age and birth date. USA Gymnastics has eight regions.

The champions by division are as follows.

  • Junior A – Lizzy Le Duc of WGA Texans in Spring, Texas, won the all-around title with 37.750 points, as well as had the highest score on the balance beam at 9.475. Brenna Dowell of GAGE in Blue Springs, Mo., was second in the all-around at 37.700 points, which included the division’s top vault score at 9.625. Baely Rowe of the Auburn Gymnastic Club in Puyallup, Wash., finished third in the all-around at 37.650. Katelyn Ohashi of GAGE finished in first on the floor exercise (9.600), as well as fourth in the all-around. Maggie Nichols of Twin City Twisters in Champlin, Minn., took top honors on the uneven bars (9.535). Alex McMurtry of Richmond (Va.) Olympiad rounded out the top five in the all-around at 37.525.

    Region 3 won the team title at 150.350, followed by Region 4 and Region 7.

  • Junior B – Keeley Kmieciak of Phenom Gymnastics in Aurora, Ill., swept the top honors in this division. She won the all-around (38.450) and uneven bars (9.525) outright, with ties for first on the vault (9.675), balance beam (9.600) and floor exercise (9.650). Kyra Trowbridge of Paragon Gymnastics in Fredericksburg, Va., was second in the all-around at 37.900, with Lindsay Offutt of Oakland Gymnastics in Commerce Township., Mich., in third at 37.775. Offutt tied Kmieciak on floor. Rounding out the top five in the all-around were Rachel Spicer of Texas Dreams in Coppell, Texas, in fourth (37.750) and Hollie Blanske of Twin City Twisters in fifth (37.725). Maggie Dunn of Brestyan’s in Burlington, Mass., tied for first on beam, with Megan DeLallo of Byers Sacramento (Calif.) tying for top vault honors.

    Region 5 won the team competition with 151.650 points, followed by Region 7 and Region 3.

  • Junior C – Jaclyn McCarlin of CO Gliders in Covina, Calif., won the all-around title with a total score of 38.400. She also topped the rankings on the uneven bars (9.650) and balance beam (9.750). Shelby Edwards of Carter’s Gymnastics Academy in Mesa, Ariz., was second at 38.125, with Kailah Delaney of KIPS School of Gymnastics in Anaheim, Calif., third with 38.100. Rounding out the top five in the all-around were Brianna Guy of Docksiders Gymnastics in Millersville, Md., and Breanna Hughes of Twin City Twisters in Champlin, Minn., placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Delaney tied for first in vault with Jackie Bruce of Rising Star Gymnastics in Bloomington, Ind., at 9.750. Top honors on floor went to Nina McGee of Gym-Nation in Mason, Ohio, with 9.700.

    Region 1 finished atop the team rankings with a total score of 152.900, followed by Region 5 and Region 4.

  • Junior D – Kayla Williams of Bozhi’s Gymnastics in Huntington, W.Va., won the all-around title with a 38.525 total, as well as earned the highest scores on vault (9.850) and floor (9.800). Lindsey Cheek of Georgia Elite Gymnastics in Athens was second in the all-around, followed by Dayah Haley of Hill’s Gymnastics in Gaithersburg, Md., in third; Jordan Williams of Precision Gymnastics in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., fourth; and Lloimincia Hall of Texas Dreams in Coppell, Texas, fifth. Sammy Kolbas of Arena Gymnastics in Joliet, Ill., posted the top score on the uneven bars at 9.600, and Kailie Ponto of Leading Edge Gymnastics Academy in Everett, Wash., earned the best score on balance beam at 9.650.

    Region 7 won the team title at 152.775, with Region 5 and Region 3 finishing in second and third place, respectively.

  • Senior A – Kaylan Earls of Arena Gymnastics in Joliet, Ill., finished first in the all-around with a 38.400, which included top honors in the uneven bars at 9.500 and tying for first on the balance beam at 9.550. Diandra Milliner of Folger’s Gymnastics in Andover, Kansas, was second at 38.075 in the all-around and first on vault at 9.800. Erica Brewer of Champion Gymnastics in Louisville, Ky., placed third in the all-around with 37.750, as well as tying for first on beam. Michelle Shealy of Gwinnett Gymnastics in Lilburn, Ga., rounded out the three-way tie for first on beam while Karen Tang of Tim Daggett Gold Medal Gymnastics in Agawam, Mass., claimed the top spot on floor with a 9.700.

    Region 5 took the team title with 151.000 pts, with Region 3 and Region 4 landing in second and third, respectively.

  • Senior B – Abbey Habicht of Orlando (Fla.) Metro won the all-around title with 38.050 points. Amanda Schulberg of Gymcats in Henderson, Nev., was second at 38.025, with Caitlyn Ciokajlo of Twistars USA in Dimondale, Mich., in third at 37.850; Marie Case of Lakettes Gymnastics in Erie, Pa., fourth, 37.750; and Lauren Caldemeyer of DeVeau’s in Indianapolis and Sarah DeMeo of Eagle’s Gym in Kansas City, Mo., tied for fifth at 37.725. Top event scores went to: Alyssa Straub of Parkettes Gymnastics in Allentown, Pa., vault, 9.775; DeMeo, uneven bars, 9.400; Ciokajlo, balance beam, 9.575; and Case, floor exercise, 9.625.

    Region 5 won the team competition at 150.550. Region 1 and Region 8 finished second and third, respectively.

  • Senior C – Noel Couch of North Stars Gymnastics Academy in Boonton, N.J., won both the all-around (38.250) and the floor exercise (9.700) titles. Marissa Gutierrez of WGA Texans in Spring, Texas, took second at 38.225 in the all-around, and Kelsi Blalock of Gymnastics East in Bellevue, Wash., landing in third with 38.150. Fourth and fifth in the all-around went to Hailey Gaspar of American Gymnastics Academy of Long Beach in Signal Hill, Calif., and Petrina Yokay of Technique in Rancho Cordova, Calif., respectively. Amy Borellino of North Stars Gymnastics posted the highest score on vault at 9.850, while her teammate Elizabeth Manzi was first on the balance beam at 9.625. Maddie Merriam of Hill’s Gymnastics finished first on the uneven bars with a 9.450.

    Region 1 captured the team title with 151.775. Region 5 and Region 7 finished second and third, respectively.

  • Senior D – Makayla Stambaugh of Byers Sacramento (Calif.) won the all-around title with a 38.500, as well as tied for top honors on the uneven bars (9.500) and balance beam (9.625). Sharaya Musser of Colorado Aerials Gymnastics Center in Colorado Springs was second in the all-around with 38.400; she was first on floor (9.700) and tied with Stambaugh on beam. Ashley Morgan of Bay Aerials Gymnastics in Fremont, Calif., was third in the all-around (38.150), followed by Brittnee Martinez of Colorado Aerials and Jaclyn Kantecki of Naperville (Ill.) Gymnastics in fourth and fifth, respectively. Martinez tied for first on bars, and Lauren Rodgers of Northeast Gymnastics in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., had the top vault score at 9.800.

    Region 3 claimed team honors at 153.400, with Region 7 and Region 5 landing in second and third place.

The U.S. Junior Olympic National Championships is one of the national championships of USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body in the United States. Many Junior Olympic champions have gone on to make the U.S. National Team and represent the United States in international competition and/or to compete in collegiate gymnastics.

The Junior Olympic National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is held in conjunction with the Women’s National Junior Olympic Championships. The JO-NIT was developed to allow an additional 192 athletes an opportunity to compete at the national level and features gymnasts who ranked eighth, ninth and 10th in the all-Around in each of the eight age divisions at the Level 10 Regional Championships (provided they achieved a minimum all-around score of 34.00), plus any Regional individual event champions who did not qualify to the Junior Olympic Nationals or the JO-NIT in the all-around qualify for that event. Competition is on May 17 at the Puyallup Fair Showplex.

2009 Women’s Junior Olympic National Championships
Puyallup, Wash.
May 15-16, 2009

Divisional champions

Team scores
Junior A – Region 3, 150.350
Junior B – Region 5, 151.650
Junior C – Region 1, 152.900
Junior D – Region 7, 152.775
Senior A – Region 5, 151.000
Senior B – Region 5, 150.550
Senior C – Region 1, 151.775
Senior D – Region 3, 153.400

All-around champions
Junior A – Lizzy Le Duc, WGA Texans, Spring, Texas, 37.750
Junior B – Keeley Kmieciak, Phenom Gymnastics/Aurora, Ill., 38.450
Junior C – Jaclyn McCarlin, CO Gliders/Covina, Calif., 38.400
Junior D – Kayla Williams, Bozhi’s Gymnastics/Huntington, W.Va., 38.525
Senior A – Kaylan Earls, Arena Gymnastics/Joliet, Ill., 38.400
Senior B – Abbey Habicht, Orlando (Fla.) Metro, 38.050
Senior C – Noel Couch, North Stars Gymnastics Academy/Boonton, N.J., 38.250
Senior D – Makayla Stambaugh, Byers Sacramento (Calif.), 38.500

Vault
Junior A – Brenna Dowell, GAGE/Blue Springs, Mo., 9.625
Junior B – Keeley Kmieciak, Phenom Gymnastics/Aurora, Ill., 9.675
Junior C – Kailah Delaney, KIPS School of Gymnastics/Anaheim, Calif., and Jackie Bruce, Rising Star Gymnastics/Bloomington, Ind., 9.750
Junior D – Kayla Williams, Bozhi’s Gymnastics/Huntington, W.Va., 9.850
Senior A – Diandra Milliner, Folger’s Gymnastics/Andover, Kansas, 9.800
Senior B – Alyssa Straub, Parkettes Gymnastics/Allentown, Pa., 9.775
Senior C – Amy Borellino, North Stars Gymnastics/Boonton, N.J., 9.850
Senior D – Lauren Rodgers, Northeast Gymnastics/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 9.800

Uneven bars
Junior A – Maggie Nichols, Twin City Twisters/Champlin, Minn., 9.535
Junior B – Keeley Kmieciak, Phenom Gymnastics/Aurora, Ill., and Megan DeLallo, Byers Sacramento (Calif.), 9.525
Junior C – Jaclyn McCarlin, CO Gliders/Covina, Calif., 9.650
Junior D – Sammy Kolbas, Arena Gymnastics/Joliet, Ill., 9.600
Senior A – Kaylan Earls, Arena Gymnastics/Joliet, Ill., 9.500
Senior B – Sarah DeMeo, Eagle’s Gym/Kansas City, Mo., 9.400
Senior C – Maddie Merriam, Hill’s Gymnastics/Gaithersburg, Md., 9.450
Senior D – Makayla Stambaugh, Byers Sacramento (Calif.), and Brittnee Martinez of Colorado Aerials/Colorado Springs, 9.500

Balance beam
Junior A – Lizzy Le Duc, WGA Texans, Spring, Texas, 9.475
Junior B – Keeley Kmieciak, Phenom Gymnastics/Aurora, Ill., and Maggie Dunn, Brestyan’s/Ashland, Mass., 9.600
Junior C – Jaclyn McCarlin, CO Gliders/Covina, Calif., 9.750
Junior D – Kailie Ponto, Leading Edge Gymnastics Academy/Everett, Wash., 9.650
Senior A – Kaylan Earls, Arena Gymnastics/Joliet, Ill., and Erica Brewer, Champion Gymnastics/Louisville, Ky., 9.550
Senior B – Caitlyn Ciokajlo, Twistars USA/Dimondale, Mich., 9.575
Senior C – Elizabeth Manzi, North Stars Gymnastics/Boonton, N.J., 9.625
Senior D – Makayla Stambaugh, Byers Sacramento (Calif.), and Sharaya Musser, Colorado Aerials Gymnastics Center/Colorado Springs, 9.625

Floor exercise
Junior A – Katelyn Ohashi, GAGE/Blue Springs, Mo., 9.600
Junior B – Keeley Kmieciak, Phenom Gymnastics/Aurora, Ill., and Lindsay Offutt, Oakland Gymnastics/Commerce Township., Mich., 9.650
Junior C – Nina McGee, Gym-Nation/Mason, Ohio, 9.700
Junior D – Kayla Williams, Bozhi’s Gymnastics/Huntington, W.Va., 9.800
Senior A – Karen Tang, Tim Daggett Gold Medal Gymnastics/Agawam, Mass., 9.700
Senior B – Marie Case, Lakettes Gymnastics/Erie, Pa., 9.625
Senior C – Noel Couch, North Stars Gymnastics Academy/Boonton, N.J., 9.700
Senior D – Sharaya Musser, Colorado Aerials Gymnastics Center/Colorado Springs, 9.700