ORLANDO, Fla. – Kristin Maloney (Pen Argyl, Pa.) won gold medals in the balance beam and floor exercise on the way to defending her all-around title at the 1998 American Classic, held at the Radisson Twin Towers Convention Center here Saturday night.

Maloney’s score of 37.325 overcame a star-studded field, which included past Olympians Dominique Dawes (Silver Spring, Md.) and Kim Zmeskal (Houston, Texas), as well as defending national champion Kristy Powell (Cincinnati, Ohio), who took a gold in uneven bars and a silver in balance beam, the only two events she competed Saturday.
 

In her first competition since the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, where she won a bronze in floor exercise and was part of the gold medal women’s team, Dawes placed eighth with a score of 36.437, including a tie for the gold in vault. Zmeskal, the 1991 world champion, returned to the competitive ranks for the first time since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Games. She skipped the uneven bars, which left her well down the overall rankings, but took seventh in vault with a 9.187.

Claiming in the all-around the silver with a 37.237 was Jamie Dantzscher (Palmdale, Calif.), who was second in the floor exercise and tied Dawes in the vault. Sierra Sapunar (Sebastopol, Calif.), competing in her first year at the senior level, was third with a 36.925, powered by a bronze-medal performance in the uneven bars.
Based on the results, 10 athletes qualified to compete at the 1998 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Indianapolis August 19-22: Sapunar, Brittany Smith (Houston, Texas), Elise Ray (Columbia, Md.), Cory Fritzinger (Virginia Beach, Va.), Dawes, Jeana Rice (Longwood, Fla.), Alyssa Beckerman (Middletown, N.J.), Robin Phelps (Cincinnati, Ohio), Alexis Brion (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Marline Stephens (Houston, Texas).
Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. For more information about USA Gymnastics and its programs, access USA Gymnastics Online on the Internet at www.usa-gymnastics.org.
Complete event results follow.

Senior International Elite Competition
1998 American Classic, Radisson Twin Towers Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.
Feb. 21, 1998

*Guest international athletes.

All-Around
1, Kristin Maloney, Pen Argyl, Pa., 37.325. 2, Jamie Dantzscher, Palmdale, Calif., 37.237. 3, Sierra Sapunar, Sebastopol, Calif., 36.925. 4, Brittany Smith, Houston, Texas, 36.775. 5, Elise Ray, Columbia, Md., 36.562. 6 (tie), Jeanette Antolin, Huntington Beach, Calif., and Cory Fritzinger, Virginia Beach, Va., 36.537. 8, Dominique Dawes, Silver Spring, Md., 36.437. 9, Jeana Rice, Longwood, Fla., 36.325. 10, Alyssa Beckerman, Middletown, N.J., 35.987. 11, Robin Phelps, Cincinnati, Ohio, 35.875. 12, Alexis Brion, Virginia Beach, Va., 35.200. 13, Marline Stephens, Houston, Texas, 35.075. 14, Kelly Parkinson, Houston, Texas, 35.050. 15, Marla Ranieri, Kennelon, N.J., 34.875. 16, Erinn Dooley, Gaithersburg, Md., 34.600. 17, Sheehan Lemley, DeSoto, Texas, 34.575. 18, Nicole Kilpatrick, Ringwood, N.J., 34.500. 19, Ola Menin, Israel*, 34.287. 20, Becky Meldrum, Mertztown, Pa., 34.212. 21, Jennifer Carow, Waukesha, Wis., 34.087. 22, Breanne Rutherford, Simsbury, Conn., 33.937. 23, Christy Ray, Germantown, Md., 33.850. 24, Lenna Doolan, Fairfax, Va., 33.625. 25, Talya Vexler, Amherst, Mass., 33.200. 26, Julie Pigg, Edmond, Okla., 33.125. 27, Chelsa Byrd, North Little Rock, Ark., 33.012. 28, Annie Campbell, Everett, Wash., 32.762. 29, Kristin Uransky, Norfolk, Va., 32.712. 30, Katie McFarland, Virginia Beach, Va., 32.212. 31, Rachel Glasmire, Center Valley, Pa., 32.125. 32, Jan Hart, Whitehall, Pa., 31.975. 33, Risa Sugawara, Japan*, 30.850. 34, Jennie Thompson, Wichita Falls, Texas, 28.125. 35, Kim Zmeskal, Houston, Texas, 26.562. 36, Kristy Powell, Cincinnati, Ohio, 19.300

Vault
1 (tie), Jamie Dantzscher, Palmdale, Calif., and Dominique Dawes, Silver Spring, Md., 9.512. 3, Alexis Brion, Virginia Beach, Va., 9.400. 4, Cory Fritzinger, Virginia Beach, Va., 9.362. 5, Marline Stephens, Houston, Texas, 9.250. 6, Elise Ray, Columbia, Md., 9.212. 7, Kim Zmeskal, Houston, Texas, 9.187. 8, Kristin Maloney, Pen Argyl, Pa., 9.175. 9, Robin Phelps, Cincinnati, Ohio, 9.150. 10, Jeanette Antolin, Huntington Beach, Calif., 9.137. 11, Chelsa Byrd, North Little Rock, Ark., 9.137. 12, Jeana Rice, Longwood, Fla., 9.075. 13, Jennie Thompson, Wichita Falls, Texas, 9.075. 14, Sierra Sapunar, Sebastopol, Calif., 9.025. 15, Talya Vexler, Amherst, Mass., 9.000. 16, Annie Campbell, Everett, Wash., 8.987. 17 (tie), Kelly Parkinson, Houston, Texas, and Erinn Dooley, Gaithersburg, Md., 8.975. 19, Kristin Uransky, Norfolk, Va., 8.962. 20, Brittany Smith, Houston, Texas, 8.950. 21 (tie), Nicole Kilpatrick, Ringwood, N.J., and Christy Ray, Germantown, Md., 8.925. 23, Alyssa Beckerman, Middletown, N.J., 8.912. 24 (tie), Ola Menin, Israel*, and Becky Meldrum, Mertztown, Pa., 8.887. 26, Sheehan Lemley, DeSoto, Texas, 8.850. 27, Julie Pigg, Edmond, Okla., 8.825. 28, Risa Sugawara, Japan*, 8.775. 29, Katie McFarland, Virginia Beach, Va., 8.712. 30, Jan Hart, Whitehall, Pa., 8.700. 31 (tie), Jennifer Carow, Waukesha, Wis., and Breanne Rutherford, Simsbury, Conn., 8.662. 33, Marla Ranieri, Kennelon, N.J., 8.575. 34 (tie), Lenna Doolan, Fairfax, Va., and Rachel Glasmire, Center Valley, Pa., 8.425

Uneven Bars
1, Kristy Powell, Cincinnati, Ohio, 9.800. 2, Jeanette Antolin, Huntington Beach, Calif., 9.500. 3 (tie), Elise Ray, Columbia, Md., and Sierra Sapunar, Sebastopol, Calif., 9.475. 5, Dominique Dawes, Silver Spring, Md., 9.325. 6, Jamie Dantzscher, Palmdale, Calif., 9.300. 7, Kelly Parkinson, Houston, Texas, 9.275. 8, Jennie Thompson, Wichita Falls, Texas, 9.250. 9, Brittany Smith, Houston, Texas, 9.200. 10, Alyssa Beckerman, Middletown, N.J., 9.125. 11, Cory Fritzinger, Virginia Beach, Va., 9.100. 12, Breanne Rutherford, Simsbury, Conn., 8.950. 13, Jeana Rice, Longwood, Fla., 8.900. 14 (tie), Robin Phelps, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Christy Ray, Germantown, Md., 8.875. 16 (tie), Kristin Maloney, Pen Argyl, Pa., and Lenna Doolan, Fairfax, Va., 8.850. 18, Ola Menin, Israel*, 8.825. 19, Sheehan Lemley, DeSoto, Texas, 8.550. 20 (tie), Kristin Uransky, Norfolk, Va., and Marla Ranieri, Kennelon, N.J., 8.525. 22, Marline Stephens, Houston, Texas, 8.475. 23, Alexis Brion, Virginia Beach, Va., 8.375. 24 (tie), Erinn Dooley, Gaithersburg, Md., and Katie McFarland, Virginia Beach, Va., 8.300. 26, Jennifer Carow, Waukesha, Wis., 8.275. 27, Nicole Kilpatrick, Ringwood, N.J., 8.150. 28, Becky Meldrum, Mertztown, Pa., 8.150. 29 (tie), Talya Vexler, Amherst, Mass., Julie Pigg, Edmond, Okla., and Rachel Glasmire, Center Valley, Pa., 8.000. 32, Annie Campbell, Everett, Wash., 7.950. 33, Chelsa Byrd, North Little Rock, Ark., 7.850. 34, Jan Hart, Whitehall, Pa., 7.100. 35, Risa Sugawara, Japan*, 5.15

Balance Beam
1, Kristin Maloney, Pen Argyl, Pa., 9.525. 2, Kristy Powell, Cincinnati, Ohio, 9.500. 3, Jeanette Antolin, Huntington Beach, Calif., 9.325. 4, Brittany Smith, Houston, Texas, 9.300. 5, Alyssa Beckerman, Middletown, N.J., 9.300. 6, Sierra Sapunar, Sebastopol, Calif., 9.250. 7, Marla Ranieri, Kennelon, N.J., 9.075. 8, Erinn Dooley, Gaithersburg, Md., 9.050. 9, Cory Fritzinger, Virginia Beach, Va., 9.000. 10, Risa Sugawara, Japan*, 9.000. 11, Dominique Dawes, Silver Spring, Md., 8.950. 12, Jeana Rice, Longwood, Fla., 8.950. 13, Elise Ray, Columbia, Md., 8.900. 14, Jamie Dantzs