INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The field of 25 acrobatic gymnasts competing in the Acrobatic Gymnastics National Team Trials, held in conjunction with the 2006 Visa Championships, Aug. 16-19, at the Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, Minn., includes several newly crowned U.S. champions: mixed pair Clare Brunson of Riverside, Calif./Mission Hills Gymnastics, and Michael Rodrigues of Livermore, Calif./Mission Hills Gymnastics; men’s pair Julian Amaro of Pleasanton, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, and Tyler Spray of Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics; and women’s group Mariah Henninger of Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, Allysha Kidd of Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, and Tisa Penny of Livermore.

The 2006 Acrobatic Gymnastics National Championships, held last month, was the first of two selection events for the junior and senior acrobatic gymnastics national teams. The Acrobatic Gymnastics National Team Trials is the second. Based on performances at these two events, a USA Gymnastics selection committee will determine the make-up of the 2007 national teams. The team will be announced on Saturday evening just prior to the final day of competition for women’s gymnastics.
The competition schedule for acrobatic gymnastics is: Friday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.; and Saturday, Aug. 19, 10 a.m.
The Visa Championships is USA Gymnastics’ annual national championships and determines the U.S. national champions for men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. Artistic gymnastics will be held at the Xcel Energy Center. Rhythmic gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics are set for the Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium. The USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show will be held in the adjacent Saint Paul RiverCentre complex.
The fields for men’s, women’s and rhythmic gymnastics already have been announced.
Tickets for men’s and women’s artistic and rhythmic/acrobatic gymnastics sessions for the premier national gymnastics championships are on sale at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone at (651) 989-5151 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For group ticket information, call (651) 312-3486. Visa is the only card accepted for the Visa Championships.
The Visa Championships traces its history back to 1897 for the men and 1931 for the women. 2006 is only the second time since 1963 that the championships have been held in the Twin Cities area and in the state. Minneapolis was the site of the 1989 competition.

About Visa USA
Visa is the only card accepted for the Visa Championships and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. For USA Gymnastics’ other events, Visa is the preferred method of payment. Visa USA is the nation’s leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumers and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives tailored to meet their evolving needs. Visa USA is committed to increasing the choice, convenience, acceptance, and security of Visa payments for all stakeholders in the payment system – Members, cardholders and merchants. Through its 13,420 Member financial institutions, more than 488 million Visa-branded cards have been issued to cardholders in the United States. Last year, U.S.-based financial institutions relied on Visa’s processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $1.3 trillion in transactions with unparalleled reliability. Worldwide, cardholders in over 150 countries carry more than 1 billion Visa-branded cards, accounting for more than $3 trillion in annual transaction volume. Visa offers a trusted, reliable and convenient way to access and mobilize financial resources – anytime, anywhere, anyway.

About Xcel Energy Center
The five-year-old Xcel Energy Center and the Saint Paul RiverCentre Convention and Visitor’s Authority have been very successful in a short period of time at bringing high-profile events, such as the Visa Championships, to the Twin Cities community. Since opening in September 2000 with the first-ever Minnesota Wild NHL hockey game, the Xcel Energy Center has hosted the 2002 NCAA Frozen Four, 2001-06 WCHA Final Five Hockey Tournaments, 2003 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, 2003-04 TJ Maxx Tour of Gymnastics Champions, 2004-05 Campbell’s International Figure Skating Classic and 2004 NHL All-Star Weekend.

Participant List

By state, information shows name, hometown/club, division

California
  • Linda Meier, San Jose, Calif./Aerial Tumbling & Acrobatics, Women’s Group (Loraelin Oberst, Jenna Provazek)
  • Loraelin Oberst, San Jose, Calif./Aerial Tumbling & Acrobatics, Women’s Group (Jenna Provazek, Linda Meier)
  • Jenna Provazek, San Jose, Calif./Aerial Tumbling & Acrobatics, Women’s Group (Linda Meier, Loraelin Oberst)
     
  • Jenna Geer, Ceres, Calif./Ceres AcroGymnastics, Women’s Group (Stephanie Osoria, Emily Silva)
  • Stephanie Osoria, Ceres, Calif./Ceres AcroGymnastics, Women’s Group (Emily Silva, Jenna Geer)
  • Emily Silva, Ceres, Calif./Ceres AcroGymnastics, Women’s Group (Jenna Geer, Stephanie Osoria)
     
  • Clare Brunson, Riverside, Calif./Mission Hills Gymnastics, Mixed Pair (Michael Rodrigues)
  • Michael Rodrigues, Riverside, Calif./Mission Hills Gymnastics, Mixed Pair (Clare Brunson)
     
  • Kelianne Stankus, Riverside, Calif./Mission Hills Gymnastics, Mixed Pair (Ryan Ward)
  • Ryan Ward, Riverside, Calif./Mission Hills Gymnastics, Mixed Pair (Kelianne Stankus)
     
  • Andre Solodar, Sunnyvale, Calif./Paramount Tumbling & Acro Gymnastics, Mixed Pair (Xiau-Ling Wee)
  • Xiau-Ling Wee, Sunnyvale, Calif./Paramount Tumbling & Acro Gymnastics, Mixed Pair (Andre Solodar)
     
  • Kristin Allen, Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, Mixed Pair (Brian Kincher)
  • Brian Kincher, Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, Mixed Pair (Kristin Allen)
     
  • Julian Amaro, Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, Men’s Pair (Tyler Spray)
  • Tyler Spray, Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, Men’s Pair (Julian Amaro)
     
  • Mariah Henninger, Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, Women’s Group (Allysha Kidd, Tisa Penny)
  • Allysha Kidd, Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, Women’s Group (Tisa Penny, Mariah Henninger)
  • Tisa Penny, Livermore, Calif./West Coast Acrobatics, Women’s Group (Mariah Henninger, Allysha Kidd)
Louisiana
  • Jennifer Landry, Belle Chasse, La./Fliptastics, Mixed Pair (Erik Sorrell)
  • Erik Sorrell, Belle Chasse, La./Fliptastics, Mixed Pair (Jennifer Landry)
Maryland
  • Laura Ames, Mount Airy, Md./Skyview Gymnastics, Women’s Pair (Kayla Hall)
  • Kayla Hall, Mount Airy, Md./Skyview Gymnastics, Women’s Pair (Laura Ames)
Missouri
  • Mia Medina, Blue Springs, Mo./Acro Explosion, Women’s Pair/Women’s Group (Allison Mock, Megan Muehlberger)
  • Allison Mock, Blue Springs, Mo./Acro Explosion, Women’s Pair/Women’s Group (Megan Muehlberger, Mia Medina)
  • Megan Muehlberger, Blue Springs, Mo./Acro Explosion, Women’s Group (Mia Medina, Allison Mock)
     
  • Mallory Henthorn, Blue Springs, Mo./Acro Explosion, Women’s Pair (Savannah Shields)
  • Savannah Shields, Blue Springs, Mo./Acro Explosion, Women’s Pair (Mallory Henthorn)