C.J. Maestas and Kyla Ross each won three medals
© Champion Images and John Cheng

ARACAJU, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2009 – The U.S. Team won 12 individual event medals at the 2009 Junior Pan American Championships in Aracaju, Brazil. The U.S. women won four gold and three silver medals in the individual events, with the men claiming one gold, three silver and one bronze. Earlier in the competition, the U.S. gymnasts won two gold, three silver and one bronze, bringing the total medal count for the competition to 18 medals (seven gold, nine silver and two bronze).

In the women’s competition, the United States won the gold medal in all four events and went 1-2 in every event except beam. Both 2009 U.S. junior champion Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif., who trains at GymMax, and Alexandra Raisman of Needham, Mass./Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, won two gold medals.

Ross took top honors on the uneven bars (14.150) and balance beam (15.000), as well as earning a silver medal on floor exercise (13.800). Raisman won the titles for vault (14.700) and floor exercise (14.400).

Sabrina Vega of Carmel, N.Y./Dynamic Gymnastics, was the silver medalist on the uneven bars (14.100). Teammate Bridgette Caquatto of Naperville, Ill./Naperville Gymnastics Club was second on vault at 14.238.

The USA’s C.J. Maestas of Corrales, N.M., and Sam Mikulak of Newport Coast, Calif., won a combined five medals. Maestas, who trains at Gold Cup Gymnastics, won the gold medal on still rings (14.875), along with silver medals on pommel horse (14.225) and parallel bars (14.225).

Mikulak, who trains at SCATS, was second on floor exercise (14.625) and third on vault (15.363). He just missed the podium on parallel bars, finishing fourth.

Host Brazil had another strong showing in event finals. Sergio Sasaki took first place on floor exercise (14.800), vault (15.763) and parallel bars (14.400). His teammate Petrix Barbosa finished first on the horizontal bar (15.500). Colombia’s Jhonny Munoz won pommel horse with a score of 14.450.

The Junior Pan American Championships was the continental qualifier for North, South and Central America for the Youth Olympic Games. Six women and five men, with a maximum of one spot per country, will qualify from the event for the Youth Olympics. The Junior Pan Am Championships is held every two years, with the last one held in 2007.

Junior Pan American Championships
Aracaju, Brazil
November 8, 2009
Individual Event Finals

Women’s events

Vault
1. Alexandra Raisman, Needham, Mass./Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, 14.700
2. Bridgette Caquatto, Naperville, Ill./Naperville Gymnastics Club, 14.238
3. Dominique Pegg, Canada, 14.075

Uneven Bars
1. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif./GymMax, 14.150
2. Sabrina Vega, Carmel, N.Y./Dynamic Gymnastics, 14.100
3. Monica Yool, Guatemala, 13.425

Balance Beam
1. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif./GymMax, 15.000
2. Sofia Gomez, Guatemala, 13.875
3. Anysia Unick, Canada, 13.225
Other U.S. finisher
5. Sabrina Vega, Carmel, N.Y./Dynamic Gymnastics, 13.100

Floor Exercise
1. Alexandra Raisman, Needham, Mass./Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, 14.400
2. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif./GymMax, 13.800
3. Karla Salazar, Mexico, 13.550

Men’s events

Floor Exercise
1. Sérgio Sasaki, Brazil, 14.800
2. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif./SCATS,14.625
3. Ernesto Vila Sarvia, Cuba, 14.500
Other U.S. finisher
4. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M./Gold Cup Gymnastics, 14.325

Pommel Horse
1. Jhonny Munoz, Colombia, 14.450
2. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M./Gold Cup Gymnastics, 14.225
3. Didier Lugo, Colombia, 14.100
Other U.S. finisher
5. Jake Martin, Oviedo, Fla./Orlando Metro,13.500

Still Rings
1. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M./Gold Cup Gymnastics, 14.875
2. Petrix Barbosa, Brazil, 14.350
3. Sérgio Sasaki, Brazil, 14.275

Vault
1. Sérgio Sasaki, Brazil, 15.763
2. Petrix Barbosa, Brazil, 15.500
3. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif./SCATS,15.363
Other U.S. finisher
4. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M./Gold Cup Gymnastics, 15.188

Parallel Bars
1. Sérgio Sasaki, Brazil, 14.400
2. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M./Gold Cup Gymnastics, 14.225
3. Jossimar Calvo, Colombia, 14.050
Other U.S. finisher
4. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif./SCATS,14.000

Horizontal Bar
1. Petrix Barbosa, Brazil, 14.275
2. Jossimar Calvo, Colombia, 13.975
3. Rodolfo Bonilla, Mexico, 13.700
U.S. finishers
6. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M./Gold Cup Gymnastics, 13.500
7. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif./SCATS, 13.150