JACKSONVILLE GYMNASTICS TEAM
ADDS MORE AWARDS
TWELVE STATE CHAMPIONS AND FIRST, SECOND, THIRD AND
FOURTH- PLACE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM AWARDS
Jacksonville Gymnastics Team Members and families have had two exciting weekends – and the Team has added more awards to its many accomplishments for the 2006 – 2007 competitive season. Last weekend, the Team attended the Level Four Fun Meet with the result being a great meet and four new state champions. And on Saturday, the gymnasts attended the Level Five State Championship Meet and Jacksonville added four more state champions, Level Five, to the four won the day before; and the Team won the 2007 Level Five State Championship Title.
And this weekend, four more State Individual All-Around Championship Titles were added to the team accomplishments, plus Level Six Team won Fourth Place in the State Championship Meet, Level Seven won the Second Place State Championship Team Award and Level Eight won the Third Place State Championship Banner. All this, plus two of our Level Seven gymnasts were chosen, out of only six, to attend the 2007 Hall of Fame Meet to be held in Norman, Oklahoma, in May, and all four of our Level Eight gymnasts were chosen to attend the 2007 Seven-State Regional Three Championship Meet to be held in Denton, Texas, in April.
This weekend began for the team with the Level Six State Championship meet that was held Friday night at 5:30 at the Arkansas Tech University Coliseum at Russellville and hosted by Tena’s Gymnastics of Russellville. Many thanks and appreciation are extended from our team members, coaches and team parents for the wonderful meet hosted by Tena, who was assisted by her own family, as well as her staff and team and family members. To host a regular meet is an enormous undertaking and to host the State Championship Meet in such an excellent manner is an even larger undertaking. Also, the coliseum is a perfect place for hosting such a meet.
Sixty-six Level Six gymnasts from sixteen Arkansas Teams attended the Level Six Meet. Jacksonville had only five of its seven team members who were able to compete in the meet – Caitlyn Dillon, Cassidy Eberle, Kimberly Edwards, Kelsy Founds, and Tori Spears. Samantha Sobba has been sidelined with a broken foot for several months and Jessica McDonough and her family left Thursday on family emergency and our heartfelt sympathy is extended to them. The other five home-town gymnasts competed admirably and won the Fourth-Place Team Award. Tori Spears won the Second-Place Individual All-Around Championship for age twelve and Caitlyn Dillon won the Second-Place Individual All-Around Championship for age thirteen.
The teams competing in the Level Six Meet were:
Aspire Bentonville
Cabot Gymnastics Cabot
Champions Jonesboro
Champions Paragould
Durham’s Springdale
Flame Gymnastics Fort Smith
Flip-Flop Gymnastics Pine Bluff
Jacksonville Gymnastics Jacksonville
NLR Superstars North Little Rock
Regional Aries Rogers
River City Little Rock
Sonshine Conway
Stars Arkadelphia
Westside Y Little Rock
Williams Fayetteville
X-Treme Fort Smith
Level Six team placements were: Eighth – Champions, Paragould; Seventh – Cabot; Sixth – River City; Fifth – Regional Aries; Fourth – Jacksonville; Third (by .3 of a point over Jacksonville) – Flame; Second – Durham’s; and First – Williams.
Seventy-six Level Seven gymnasts from seventeen teams competed Saturday. The sessions were split into two competing age brackets: ages twelve and up competed at the morning session and the younger Level Seven gymnasts, ages eight to eleven, competed in the noontime session. Jacksonville gymnasts competing in the first session were Alyson Ferren and Tori Hanley, age twelve; April Pitts, age thirteen; Krista Carlisle and Sissy Ghormley, age fourteen; and Missy Whittecar, age fifteen. Competing in the noon session were Haley Edgin, age nine; Mackenzie Powers, age ten; and Samantha Gray, age eleven.
Individual honors were awarded at the end of each of the two sessions but Team awards could not be awarded until after both sessions had finished, and not all gymnasts could be there for the team awards.
The Jacksonville Level Seven Gymnastics team won the Second Place State Championship and missed First Place State Championship by only .5 of a point to Williams Gym, a long-time established team out of Fayetteville. Gymnasts, you have competed so well this year and we are all proud of you. The Jacksonville Level Seven Gymnasts competed to their season-high score of the season, and the team has three individual all-around State Champions and one Second-Place State Champion. The Jacksonville Level Seven State Champions are Haley Edgin, age nine; Sissy Ghormley, age fourteen tied for First; and Missy Whittecar, age fifteen. Tori Hanley won the Second-Place State Champion award with a score of 37.975, losing to a 38.125 – only .150 of a point. Mackenzie Powers won also won the State Championship for Vault, for her age bracket. Congratulations to all of our Level Seven Team members.
Competing Level Seven teams were:
Aspire Bentonville
Champions – Jonesboro Jonesboro
Champions – Paragould Paragould
Dorsey’s Sheridan
Durham’s Springdale
Flame Fort Smith
Flip Flop Pine Bluff
Gym Classics Blytheville
Gymnastics Plus Arkadelphia
Hot Springs Gymnastics Hot Springs
Jacksonville Gymnastics Jacksonville
Mega Gymnastics North Little Rock
River City Gymnastics Little Rock
Sonshine Academy Conway
Stars & Stripes Batesville
Tena’s Gymnastics Russellville
Williams Gymnastics Fayetteville
Team Placements were as follows: Tenth - Sonshine Academy; Ninth - Mega; Eighth – Dorsey’s; Seventh – Aspire; Sixth – Durham’s; Fifth – Flame; Fourth – Stars and Stripes; Third – River City; Second Jacksonville; and First – Williams;
Another Level Seven top honor was earned by two of our gymnasts. The Level Seven Hall of Fame Meet will be held in Norman, Oklahoma, in May. Top Level Seven gymnasts from across the nation are invited to this meet. Only the top six scores of the entire Arkansas State Championship Level Seven Meet were invited to attend. By coincidence, it turned out that the six top scores were split evenly between the top three teams, with two coming from each of the three teams. The six gymnasts with the top Level Seven scores were two from River City, which placed third, two from Jacksonville, which placed second, and two from Williams, that won the State Championship. The two Jacksonville gymnasts were Tori Hanley, age twelve with the 37.975, and Haley Edgin, age nine, with a 37.75. This is the first time for Jacksonville to have anyone attend the Hall of Fame Meet and we are so proud of these two gymnasts. They are among the top six Level Seven gymnasts in the State of Arkansas. They have worked very hard this year and should be so proud and their parents, as well should be proud.
Level Eight, Nine and Ten gymnasts competed in the evening session. Twenty-nine gymnasts representing eleven Level Eight teams, along with thirteen gymnasts representing five Level Nine teams, and one Level Ten gymnast from Williams, competed in the last session. The Jacksonville Level Eight gymnasts are Courtney Ellis, age eleven, Kayla Edgin and Taylor Rai Johnson, age thirteen, and Kelsey Lerner, age fifteen. The team won the Third-Place State Championship Banner.
Courtney Ellis won the Level Eight Individual All-Around Championship for age eleven. Courtney has been a State Champion for her age for Levels Five, Six, Seven and now Eight. Kayla won Second Place Individual All-Around State Championship with a 36.55 and Taylor Rai won Third Place Individual All-Around State Championships with a 36.5 – just .05 of a point behind Kayla. All four Jacksonville Level Eight gymnasts were selected to go to the Seven-State Regional Competition that will be held in Texas in April.
This is also a first for Jacksonville Gymnastics to have four gymnasts attend Regionals. Last year, Kelsey was the first and only gymnast from Jacksonville Gymnastics to be selected to attend the Regional Meet. Top Level Eight gymnasts from the States of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Arkansas will compete for regional honors.
The Arkansas teams competing for the Level Eight State Championship were:
Aspire Bentonville
Champions – Jonesboro Jonesboro
Durham’s Springdale
Flame Gymnastics Fort Smith
Jacksonville Gymnastics Jacksonville
Mega Gymnastics North Little Rock
River City Gymnastics Little Rock
Stars and Stripes Batesville
Tena’s Russellville
Westside Y Little Rock
Williams Fayetteville
Jacksonville Gymnastics continues to be one of the largest teams in the state and the team is a strong competitor. Gymnasts will begin working on the skills of the next level while the Level Seven and Eight gymnasts work at perfecting their skills for Regionals and Hall of Fame competitions.
Our congratulations are extended to all of our team members and to our hardworking coaches, Head Coach, Laurel Spears; Assistant Head Coach Erin Wunderl; Stacy Howerton, Lois Bryan and Christy Ellis, and to Mr. Bobby who works so hard to prepare younger gymnasts to move up to the competitive levels. Our thanks and gratitude are extended to all the parents and grandparents who work so hard to support us in all endeavors. It’s been a GREAT competitive year and so much was accomplished. We are so proud of each and every level from Level Three through Eight and each and every gymnast within the levels.
Sheryl
2006 - 2007 Jacksonville Gymnstics USAG Level Six Team
State Championship - Fourth Place
Caitlyn, Cassidy, Kelsy
Kimmie, Jessica Tori
Samantha
2006 - 2007 LEVEL SIX TEAM - STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET - FOURTH PLACE
Samantha Sobba - photo later
Kimberly Edwards - Age Eleven - Level Six
Jessica McDonough - picture to be submitted later
Cassidy Eberle, Age Twelve, Level Six
Kelsey Founds, Age Twelve, Level Six
Tori Spears, Age Twelve, Level Six - Second Place Individual All-Around State Champion
Caitlyn Dillon, Age Thirteen, Level Six
2007 Level Six Second Place Individual All-Around State Champion
2007 Level Six Balance Beam State Champion, Age Thirteen Bracket
2006 - 2007 Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Seven Team
Second Place State Championship Team
Samantha Gray, Missy Whittecar, Sissy Ghormley, Krista Carlisle, and Alyson Ferren
Haley Edgin, Mackenzie Powers, April Pitts and Tori Hanley
"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"
Three of the team members had to leave right after their morning session.
Shown here are Mackenzie, Haley, Tori, Alyson, Sissy and Samantha.
Haley Edgin, Age Nine - Level Seven State Champion
Hall of Fame Selectee - one of six selected out of 76 Level Seven Gymnasts
Mackenzie Powers, Age Ten, Level Seven
2007 Level Seven Vault Champion, Age Ten
Samantha Gray, Age Eleven, Level Seven
Alyson Ferren, Age Twelve, Level Seven
Tori Hanley, Age Twelve, Level Seven
2007 Second Place Individual All-Around State Champion
Level Seven Hall of Fame Selectee - one of six out of 76 Level Seven Gymnasts chosen!
April Pitts, Age 13, Level Seven - photo later.
Krista Carlisle, Age Fourteen, Level Seven
Sissy Ghormley, Age Fourteen, Level Seven
2007 Level Seven State Champion
Missy Whittecar, Age Fifteen, Level Seven
2007 Level Seven State Champion
2006 - 2007 Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Eight Team
2007 Level Eight Third Place State Championship Team
2007 - Level Eight Team
Kelsey Lerner, Sarah McAlister
Taylor Rai Johnson, Kayla Edgin, Courtney Ellis
2007 Level Eight Team - Four Selectees - Region Three Competition
Courtney, Kelsey, Kayla and Taylor Rai
Courtney Ellis, Age Eleven, Level Eight
2007 Level Eight State Champion and Regional Selectee
Kayla Edgin, Age Thirteen, Level Eight
2007 Level Eight Second Place State Champion and Regional Selectee
Taylor Rai Johnson, Age Thirteen, Level Eight
2007 Level Eight Third Place State Champion and Regional Selectee
Kelsey Lerner, Age Fifteen, Level Eight
2007 Level Eight Vault Champion, age fifteen bracket
2006 Regional Selectee - Placed Tenth out of 46 gymnasts, age fifteen,
from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Arkansas.
2007 Regional Selectee
Sarah McAlister, Level Eight, is eager to return to the team after her year-long absence.
Welcome back, Sarah - We have all missed you.
2007 Jacksonville Gymnastics Coaches, Stacy Howerton, Lois Bryan, Laurel Spears, and
Erin Wunderl, happily pose with Hot Springs Coaches Ms. Amy and Ms. Karma.
Ms. Christy wasn't available at this time.
Coach Stacy - known as the local hairdresser for the stars - I mean, gymnasts!
Every meet, you can see Stacy fixing the hair for the girls!!! - Thanks, Stacy.
Tough Gymnasts, or Not!!
Yes, I'm a Happy-Go-Lucky Gymnast and I posed for this!!!!
Next Stop, besides the Gym and Dance Competitions - Regional Championship Meet and
Level Seven Hall of Flame Meet in Norman, Oklahoma