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Show Gymnast Stars Mike Kimball of the University of Utah gymnastics team placed 11th in the all-around competition at the National AAU gymnastics championships in Long Beach, California Cal-ifornia last weekend. That high finish enhances Kimball's -hopes for an Olympic team berth. He was competing against more than 90 outstanding U.S. gymnasts. The National AAU, along with the NCAA championships and another an-other meet to be held later, help determine the top 20 gymnasts who will go to a special Olympic training train-ing camp this summer at the Air Force Academy. Those 20 will be judged, and the top six, plus two alternates will make the Olympic team. Kimball qualified for the NAAU meet by placing 9th in the all-around all-around at the NCAA championships in Tucson, Arizona April 4, 5 and 6. The competition consisted of six events. He also placed 11th in the horizontal bar. Coach Larry Anderson said that, with a little more work on the side horse, Mike has a chance to make the Olympic team. Another feather in Coach Anderson's hat is the fact that freshman Sergio Luna is being considered a top candidate for Ecuador's Ec-uador's Olympic gymnastics team. Both Kimball and Luna will be back to compete for Utah next year. |