© John Cheng

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Aug. 31, 2013 – 2012 Olympian Steven Gluckstein of Atlantic Highlands, N.J./ETA, won the men’s trampoline title at the 2013 Stars and Stripes Cup at Daytona Beach’s (Fla.) Ocean Center. The U.S. Teams for the World Championships, scheduled for Nov. 7-10, 2013, and the World Age Group Competition, Nov. 13-17, will be announced Sunday, Sept. 1, following the conclusion of the Stars and Stripes Cup, the final selection event for the U.S. World Championships and Age Group Competition Team. Both the World Championships and World Age Group Competition will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Stars and Stripes Cup wraps up on Sunday with competition in the Olympic Development Program level.

The senior champions are: trampoline – Deana Parris of Burtonsville, Md./Fairland Gymnastics, and Gluckstein; double mini-trampoline – Kristle Lowell of Three Rivers, Mich./Branch Gymnastics, and Austin White of Newport Coast, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics; and tumbling – Cheyenne Kelley of Broken Arrow, Okla./Oklahoma Extreme Tumbling, and Austin Nacey of Braidwood, Ill./TwistStars Tumbling and Trampoline LTD.

For trampoline, Gluckstein posted the highest two-day mark for the men with 215.100. Logan Dooley of Lake Forest, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics, came in second at 210.270. Alexi Shostak of Lafayette, La./Trampoline and Tumbling Express, completed the top three, posting a 208.135. Parris won the title with a total of 187.505, finishing ahead of Charlotte Drury of Laguna Niguel, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics, who was second with 184.485 points, and Shaylee Dunavin of Amarillo, Texas/All-American, who was third at 174.532.

In double-mini, Lowell took top honors with a two-routine total of 138.900. Erin Jauch of Crystal Lake, Ill./Fox Valley Tumbling and Trampoline, was second at 138.300, followed by Tristan Van Natta of Pendleton, Ind./Geist Sports Academy, at 134.000. For the men, White took the title with a total of 78.400. Nacey claimed second place at 77.100, and Ryan Roberts of Ramona, Calif./So Cal TTC, rounded out the top three at 73.500.

For tumbling, Kelley captured the title with 62.000 points, and Danielle Lacoste of St. Martinville, La./High Flyers T and T, was next at 60.400. Nacey easily won the title with 70.300. Alex Renkert of Indianapolis, Ind./Geist Sports Academy, was second with 64.000, and Jackson Tyson of Greensboro, N.C./Flip Force Gymnastics LLC, came in third at 59.800.

The event features competition in men’s and women’s trampoline, tumbling, synchronized trampoline and double mini-trampoline. In addition to the junior and senior elite levels, the Stars and Stripes Cup also includes athletes in Levels 8-10 and the Olympic Development Program. The senior elite level will have preliminary, semifinal and final rounds. The Olympic Development Team will be named after the conclusion of the Stars and Stripes Cup.

The local organizations assisting with the hosting and staging of the Stars and Stripes Cup are the Central Florida Sports Commission, the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Daytona Beach Ocean Center.

Trampoline events involve athletes using trampolines that can propel them up to 30 feet in the air, during which they can perform double and triple twisting somersaults. Tumbling utilizes elevated rod-floor runways that enable athletes to jump at heights more than 10 feet and execute a variety of acrobatic maneuvers. For the double-mini competition, the athlete makes a short run, leaps onto a small two-level trampoline, performs an aerial maneuver and dismounts onto a landing mat. Trampoline was added to the Olympic Games in 2000, and at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the USA had its first athlete in history advance to the finals.