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Show . " '--if I Area gymnast prepare for Nationals USA Gymnastics World wins first-ever Region IX title By G.BRETT HART Sports Editor WOODS CROSS March and April have been kind to USA Gymnastics World boys' squads, as the Woods Cross-based school has rambled to both state and regional championships within the last month. The win at Regionals was USA's first-ever, Region IX win. The feat is even more amazing considering the team USA had to beat was 12-time champ Gold Cup Gymnastics out of Albuquerque N.M. ranked as the number one gymnastics school in the United States. "I don't know where that puts us," USA owner and coach Chris Leech said, "in the top two, I imagine." imag-ine." USA won pulling away with a total combined score of 1,032.201. Aurora School of Gymnastics took second se-cond with 963.001, followed by Gold Cup with 945.95. I Albuquerque Gymnastics, High Country Gym- nasties and Wyoming School of Gymnastics rounded I out the top six with scores of 683.551, 643.801 and I 539.551, respectively. I Now with Nationals slated for Cal-State Fullerton I this Saturday, seven local gymnasts have their eyes on national championships. The seven include: (Class II) Jeremy Fenton, Matt Hymas, Casey Bryan, (Class 1) David Ashton, Reid Holdbrook, Rob Kjar and Jeff Harris. Each of these local athletes has spent the last two weeks fine tuning their skills in hopes of claiming national recognition this weekend. Normally, each gymnast logs 25 hours per week; however, preparation for Nationals requires a 30-hour-per-week commitment Woods Cross' Casey Bryan led the United States Gymnastics team to top place honors in international competition in Portugal to claim the Region LX championship cham-pionship all around title in Class II action. The regional win slates Bryan as one of the most talented gymnasts in the country. In regional competition, gymnasts perform both optional and compulsory routines on the pommel horse, steel rings, vault, floor exercise, parallel bars and high bar. Bryan finished the meet with an impressive 113.4, optional and compulsory combined to win the event. "His score is impressive, especially considering that a score of 108 is a 9 average on all six events," Leech explained. In the compulsory event, the Woods Cross sophomore scored a 9.45 on the floor, 9.65 on the pommel horse, 9.7 on rings, 9.3 on vault, 9.65 on the parallel bars and 9.65 on the high bar. In the optional routine competition, Bryan finished with a 9.6 on the floor, 8.7, pommel horse; 9.35, rings; 9.3, vault; 9.1, parallel bars and 9.45, high bar. Trailing Bryan was Gold Cup Gymnast Jamie Ellis who finished with a 1 1 1 .3. For Reid Holbrook, this will be his last Nationals appearance as a USA gymnast. He has received scholarship offers from Arizona State, Cal-State, Santa Barbara, Iowa and Brigham Young University. SEEUSAONB-2 Gymnast Casey Bryan will represent USA Gymnastics World in national competition this weekend at Cal-State Fullerton. After winning both the Region IX All Around title and all around honors in Portugal earlier this month, Bryan's chances for a national title look extremely good. (Clipper photo by G. Brett Hart) a . ) V i y ' r - t ft " f ( '' i'V r j r - r i JEFF HARRIS REID HOLBROOK ROB KJAR USA CONTINUED FROM B-1 In the compulsory division at regional s, Holbrook finished ninth in all around. Class I competition behind teammates Rob Kjar and Dave Ashton, who took fifth and eighth, respectively. In state competition hosted by USA Gymnastics World just two weeks before, Kjar claimed a Class , I state title with an all around performance per-formance of 105.650. In fact, USA gymnasts took all six top spots in Class I action. . Holbrook finished second, followed by Ashton in third. Garold Carlston claimed fourth, and Carl Peterson and Jeff Harris finished fifth and sixth, respectively. In state Class II action, Jeremy Fenton and Matt Hymas won first and second place honors, respectively. respec-tively. Bryan did not return from Portugal in time for the state meet. At Region, Holbrook's 49.3 combined scores of 8.25 on floor, 7.25 on the pommel horse, 7.0 on rings, 9.3 on the vault, 8.9 parallel bars and 8.6 in the high bar routine. Kjar logged scores of 8.7, floor; 9.4, horse; 8.5, rings; 9.05, vault; 8.4; parallel bars and 8.75 on the high bar totalling 52.8 overall Ashton finished with a 49.75 in the overall rankings, scoring 8.55 on the floor, 8.05 on the pommel horse, 7.65 on rings, 9.3 on vault, 7.15 on the parallel bars and 9.05 with his high bar routine. USA's Garold Carlston was the only other USA Gymnastics World CASEY BRYAN DAVE ASHTON of 46.95 while USA gymnasts Chris Hart and Jeff Borrowman finished in 15th and 1 9th place with scores of 45.5 and 43.15. Regional Level IV action, ages 7-9, found USA gymnasts finishing third, 19th, 20th, 25th and 45th. Sterling Richards finished third in Level IV action with an all around score of 44.8, less than a point behind Fran Viscianos top 45.7. Richards finished with a 7.4, floor, 6.2, pommel horse; 7.8, rings; 7.7, vault; 7.9, parallel bars and 7.8, high bar. Mike Smith, Nick McCleery, Andy Hanks and Christian Gillespie finished 19th, 20th, 25th and 45th, respectively. Becker, Bailey, Holbrook, Black and Smith finished fifth, sixth, seventh, sev-enth, eighth and 10th, respectively in state championship action. Bybee's scores ranged from a low of 7.1 on the parallel bars to a high of 9.4 on the vault. Bybee was also credited with a 7.25 on the pommel horse, 8.75 on the rings, 9.05 in the floor exercise and an 8.2 on the high bar. USA's Jon White finished 10th in the Level IIC category with an all around score of 47.7. White scored 8.5, floor; 7.2, pommel horse; 8.7, rings; 8.05, vault; 6.65, parallel bars and 8.6 on the high bars. White's teammate Trent Brown followed in 12th with an all around 9.05, floor, 7.15, pommel horse; 8.55, rings; 8.65, vault; 7.8, parallel bars and 7.65, high bar. Hymas' all around, compulsory score was 53.2 which included a high score of 9.25 on the high bar. Hymas was credited with a 9.2 on the floor, 8.3 on the pommel horse, 8.95 on the rings, 8.5 on vault and 9.0 on the parallel bars. In optional action, Hymas finished fin-ished with an all around total of 100.00 after logging an 8.6, floor, 7.1, pommel horse; 8.05, rings; 8.55, vault; 7.5, parallel bars and 7.0 high bar. In the Region IX, Level III, ages 10-12 class, USA's Travis Linton finished fifth in the overall standings with a score of 48.00, just behind Brian gymnast to place in the Region IX meet; he finished 1 6th with an overall score of 42.45. Gold Cup's Brandy Wood won top all-around honors at the Class I level with an all around compulsory of 54.85. Wood's scores ranged from an 8.35 in the rings to a 9.55 on vault. Other USA gymnasts to place on the Class II level include Fenton and Hymas who finished fifth and seventh, respectively. Fenton finished fifth with a compulsory all around score of 52.5 including scores of 8.45, floor; 8.35, pommel horse; 9.0, rings; 9.35, vault; 8.6, parallel bars and 8.8 on the high bar. Fenton's optional scores included Loughridge's meet wining 49.7. Loughridge trains with the Aurora School of Gymnastics. Linton finished with scores of 8.1, floor; 7.7, pommel horse; 8.2, rings; 8.1, vault; 7.7, parallel bars and 8.2 on the high bar. Linton won the state championship champion-ship all around honors with a score of 47.2. USA gymnasts Will Becker, Beau Bailey, Tait Holbrook, Michael Black and Mathew Smith finished 12th, 20th, 30th, 31st and 41st, respectively. In Level IIC, ages 10-14, USA's Lance Bybee finished fourth in the all around standings with a score of 49.75 behind Ryan Roberts of Aurora who logged a 51.65. |