New Hope Level 8 team member, Chanelle Sekas (Age 12A) finished her nearly perfect season with another 1st Place All-Around Championship at the Region 1 (Level 8-9-10) Championships held on April 17-19, 2009 in Sacramento. After a disappointing State Meet performance which ended her 1st Place All-Around streak for this season, Chanelle "stuck it" for first place finishes in Vault and Bars...and captured the All-Around Championship title.
Chanelle's victory was the perfect finish for a fabulous weekend for the New Hope Level 8-9-10 Girls. New Hope athletes captured top honors against qualifying girls from five states representing Region 1--Northern California, Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
We congratulate Level 10, Lisa Wiktorski (Jr-C) for an amazing performance on both Floor and Bars, and for placing 2nd and 3rd respectively in those events. Her season high 36.775 and 5th place All-Around score earned her a spot at the Junior Olympic National Championships to be held next month in Puyallup, Washington. The JO Championships will see 400 Level 10 athletes compete for top honors. Level 10 is the skill-level just below Olympic-caliber competition; approximately 2,500 of the 69,000 total registered female gymnasts in the country ever reach this rank.
Just weeks after being released from a freakish injury that kept her from competing this entire season, Sara Carlson (Sr-B) pulled off an incredible (9.5 score) 2nd place on Bars and an 8th place All-Around finish which earned her a spot as first alternate to JO Nationals and/or a spot at the NIT meet held in conjunction with JOs. Sara hopes to be back at near-full strength before the meet next month. The youngest Level 10 teammate, Molly McFarland (Jr-C) barely missed earning her spot at JOs due to an uncharacteristic fall during her amazingly difficult and usually rock-solid triple tumbling series on beam.
Not to be outdone...Level 9, Michaela Schaefer (Jr-6), scored a spectacular 9.625 to become the Regional Bars Champion and a 9.15 to earn the Regional Vault Champion title. Just .075 under the top spot, Michaela captured the 2nd Place All-Around title and the chance to compete at the Level 9 Western National Championships in Bartlesville, OK on May 7th.
Last but definitely not least, Level 8, Kinsey Aherne (Age 15B) capped off her spectacular season with a 9.35 to win the Regional Bars Championship. In this final Level 8 meet of the season, Kinsey's 9.625 Vault captured 2nd place and helped put her on the podium to receive her 2nd Place All-Around medal. Congratulations are also due to Rae Adams (Age 15A) for her incredible 9.3 on Bars and a dynamic Floor routine which earned 2nd Place...and to newest team member, Carly Norczyk (Age 13A), who turned in another strong performance on Bars and Floor for a terrific 11th Place All-Around finish.
FYI for our novice gymnastics friends, Levels 9 and 10 are the only levels in women's gymnastics that progress to National competitions. Therefore, Regional Championships are the final competition for Level 8. There are approximately 300 girls who qualify at various State meets to compete at Region 1 Championships--one of the srongest of the 8 regions in the US. And, there are only 7,000 athletes in the US who ever acquire the skills to compete at this level. These girls will now train for level 9...the most difficult level transition in the progession to Level 10.
If you see any of these girls -- or their fabulous coaches, Bee Thoma and Krassi Varbanova -- at the gym, give them each a high five for their extraordinary efforts.
OUR GIRLS ROCK!
See all the scores for this meet on the "Region 1 Championships 2009 " page of this site.
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