News
Sports
ENLARGE
Several area gymnasts had strong showings at last weekend’s Gold Country Gymnastics Winter Invite, at all ages and levels.
Leading the way for the GCG’s Level 4 boys was Justus Brown, who took the all-around after wining the vault, taking second in the rings and horizontal bars and finishing third in the floor, pommel and parallel bars. Kennan Swope was second overall, with wins in the rings and horizontal bar and second place in floor and pommel. Drew Strange was sixth overall, with first in pommel, second in vault and third in floor. Miller Smith was seventh overall int he middle age group.
In the older division of Level 4, Josh Hartman took sixth overall, with first in horizontal bar and second in pommel. Lucas Kerley took second in vault and eighth in the all-around, while Drew Heaps was first in the vault and ninth all-around.
Level 4 younger division saw Jacob Pardini take second in floor and third in both bars and pommel for third all-around. Teo Mitchell was fifth all-around with third in floor and rings. Ethan Martinez was sixth with a third in horizontal bar. Colin Gallagher was seventh in the all-around, while Joshua Blake finiehed eighth all-around after taking third in vault.
In the girls Level 4 older division, Sara McCormack took second in bars and beam, and third in floor, to finish third in the all-around. Jena Huber was third in bars and fifth all-around. Calli Huber finished sixth all-around, while Jessie Gunsalus was seventh and Skylar Swope ninth.
Level 4 younger girls included Makayla Whittington’s third place in all-around, along with first in bars and third in vault and beam. Teal Matthews finished third in floor and sixth all-around, while Azure Cravottableau was seventh all-around.
Ben Kaput took first place in floor, vault and horizontal bar to win the Level 5 older boys division, also finishing second in the rings. Jonathan Bates was first in rings and bars, along with third in floor, to take fourth in the all-around. Logan Kerley took second in rings, third in pommel and fifth all-around. Erick Hickcock finished second in horizontal bar and sixth all-around.
The Level 5 younger boys had Jeremy Hunt take first place in pommel, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar for first place all-around. Rhett Miller was second all-around, while winning the floor and finishing second in the pommel, rings, vault and bars.
Brady Tuner was second in the horizontal bar and sixth all-around. Joshua Bates was seventh all-around, while Preston Joyce was 11th — third in the horizontal bar — and Jake Whistman was 12th all-around.
Jesse Unitt represented Gold Country in the Level 6 older boys diviion, taking seventh all-around.
In the Level 6 younger boys division, Nathan Hunt tied for second with Colton Wood. Hunt took first in parallel bars, second in floor and third in rings. Wood was first in floor, second in pommel and horizontal, along with third in parallel bars. Aidan Arthur finished eighth in the all-around.
Isabella Cambra took first place in the Level 6 girls all-around, finishing first in floor, second in bars and beam, along with third in vault.
Mikaela Lujan took first place in vault, bars, beam and floor to win the Level 7 all-around, while Kristina Cena was second all-around with second on beam and third in vault, bars and floor. Lily Pruett finished second on floor and third in beam en route to third in the all-around competition. Abigail Hedenland was eighth in the all-around and Allyson Pritchard was ninth for Gold Country.
The Level 9 division of girls competition, saw Katherin Magill take second in the all-around, with first in the bars and floor and third in the beam. Megan McGuire was first in vault, second in beam and floor and third in bars. Jenna Jeffrey finished fourth in the all-around, with third place in vault and floor. Caitlyn Davenport was fifth overall, finishing first in the balance beam.
Local Gymnasts Compete at Stanford University
Gold Country Gymnastics of Grass Valley took its boys competitive teams to Stanford University Jan. 23-25 where they faced their toughest challenge of the season at The 2009 Stanford Open – one of the largest meets on the West Coast, drawing over 700 competitors from across the nation.
The level 4 team, led by 9-year-old Lucas Kerley, placed fourth out of a field of 14 teams. Kerley placed 3rd All-Around in his age division. Also contributing to the team’s success was 8-year-old Keenan Swope, who placed 3rd on Floor Exercise and sixth all around for his age group. Justus Brown was just behind Swope in 9th All-Around and a major factor in the final team score. Miller Smith, another 8-year-old level 4 from Gold Country placed 5th on Parallel Bars.
In the 9-year-old division, Gold Country also had Josh Hartman (8th All-Around) and Drew Heaps (9th All-Around). Jacob Pardini and Drew Strange competed for the Grass Valley gym in the 7-year-old division while Colin Gallagher, Josh Blake, Ethan Martinez, and Teo Mitchell competed for Gold Country Gymnastics in the 6-year-old level 4 division.
The 2009 Stanford Open saw 156 level 5 competitors across 5 age groups. Representing Gold Country Gymnastics in the level 5 , age 7 division was Rhett Miller who took home the silver medal on both Floor Exercise and Parallel Bars to end up fourth all around. Teammate Brady Turner took the bronze medal on High-Bar and placed 10th All-Around. Josh Bates, also in the 7-year-old division placed fifth on Floor Exercise. Gold Country’s Jeremy Hunt placed fifth on Rings and Vault while fellow 8-year-old level 5’s Jake Whitman and Preston Joyce also contributed.
Grass Valley’s Jon Bates competed in the 9-year-old division. Ben Kaput, in the 11-and-up age group, placed 3rd on Floor Exercise and eighth all around with teammate Eric Hickok taking home fifth place honors on Parallel Bars. Logan Kerley was the final competitor for Gold Country’s level 5’s who placed seventh in the team awards from a total of 23 teams.
The level 6 gymnasts from Grass Valley were led by an outstanding performance from 12-year-old Steven Whittlesey. Bringing home a gold medal on Floor Exercise, Rings, and High Bar, and a bronze medal on Vault and Parallel Bars, Whittlesey landed in third place all around. Colton Wood was another level 6 stand out for Gold Country Gymnastics in the 9-year-old group.
Wood placed second on Floor Exercise and sixth all around. Nathan Hunt and Aidan Arthur competed for Gold Country Gymnastics in the 10-year-old level 6 division while Jesse Unitt competed in the 11-year-old division. The level 6 team placed 10th, even with a few uncharacteristic falls in the Pommel Horse competition, from a field of 19 level 6 teams.
County finalists battle for trophy
Three Nevada county middle schools brought over 50 kids to compete against the best wrestlers.
Two of the county’s grapplers made it to the varsity finals and competed for the first place trophy. As luck would have it, they were in the same weight class. In a very exciting match, Will Sumner from Pleasant Valley defeated Johnny Callas of Lyman Gilmore in the finals of the 103-pound varsity division.
Pleasant Valley also had two champions in the junior varsity division, as Jessie Donohue (76 pounds), and Matt Hourani (89 pounds), brought home the JV championships. Other JV place winners from Pleasant Valley were: Keaton Richards third at 66 pounds, Dominique Stratton fourth place at 83 pounds, Tommy Peterson fourth place at 85 pounds, Benito Lozada fourth place at 103 pounds, and Chris Garrison third place at 112 pounds.
Lyman Gilmore Invitational
Three Seven Hills Wrestlers placed in the junior varsity division at the Lyman Gilmore Invitational held Jan. 24 at Nevada Union.
Kayle Newton and Tim Dudley finished first in the 95-pound and 168-pound weight classes, respectively. Terry Graham placed second in the 116-pound weight class.
Have an item to submit to The Union’s weekly “Youth Sports Report?” Contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
Leading the way for the GCG’s Level 4 boys was Justus Brown, who took the all-around after wining the vault, taking second in the rings and horizontal bars and finishing third in the floor, pommel and parallel bars. Kennan Swope was second overall, with wins in the rings and horizontal bar and second place in floor and pommel. Drew Strange was sixth overall, with first in pommel, second in vault and third in floor. Miller Smith was seventh overall int he middle age group.
In the older division of Level 4, Josh Hartman took sixth overall, with first in horizontal bar and second in pommel. Lucas Kerley took second in vault and eighth in the all-around, while Drew Heaps was first in the vault and ninth all-around.
Level 4 younger division saw Jacob Pardini take second in floor and third in both bars and pommel for third all-around. Teo Mitchell was fifth all-around with third in floor and rings. Ethan Martinez was sixth with a third in horizontal bar. Colin Gallagher was seventh in the all-around, while Joshua Blake finiehed eighth all-around after taking third in vault.
In the girls Level 4 older division, Sara McCormack took second in bars and beam, and third in floor, to finish third in the all-around. Jena Huber was third in bars and fifth all-around. Calli Huber finished sixth all-around, while Jessie Gunsalus was seventh and Skylar Swope ninth.
Level 4 younger girls included Makayla Whittington’s third place in all-around, along with first in bars and third in vault and beam. Teal Matthews finished third in floor and sixth all-around, while Azure Cravottableau was seventh all-around.
Ben Kaput took first place in floor, vault and horizontal bar to win the Level 5 older boys division, also finishing second in the rings. Jonathan Bates was first in rings and bars, along with third in floor, to take fourth in the all-around. Logan Kerley took second in rings, third in pommel and fifth all-around. Erick Hickcock finished second in horizontal bar and sixth all-around.
The Level 5 younger boys had Jeremy Hunt take first place in pommel, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar for first place all-around. Rhett Miller was second all-around, while winning the floor and finishing second in the pommel, rings, vault and bars.
Brady Tuner was second in the horizontal bar and sixth all-around. Joshua Bates was seventh all-around, while Preston Joyce was 11th — third in the horizontal bar — and Jake Whistman was 12th all-around.
Jesse Unitt represented Gold Country in the Level 6 older boys diviion, taking seventh all-around.
In the Level 6 younger boys division, Nathan Hunt tied for second with Colton Wood. Hunt took first in parallel bars, second in floor and third in rings. Wood was first in floor, second in pommel and horizontal, along with third in parallel bars. Aidan Arthur finished eighth in the all-around.
Isabella Cambra took first place in the Level 6 girls all-around, finishing first in floor, second in bars and beam, along with third in vault.
Mikaela Lujan took first place in vault, bars, beam and floor to win the Level 7 all-around, while Kristina Cena was second all-around with second on beam and third in vault, bars and floor. Lily Pruett finished second on floor and third in beam en route to third in the all-around competition. Abigail Hedenland was eighth in the all-around and Allyson Pritchard was ninth for Gold Country.
The Level 9 division of girls competition, saw Katherin Magill take second in the all-around, with first in the bars and floor and third in the beam. Megan McGuire was first in vault, second in beam and floor and third in bars. Jenna Jeffrey finished fourth in the all-around, with third place in vault and floor. Caitlyn Davenport was fifth overall, finishing first in the balance beam.
Local Gymnasts Compete at Stanford University
Gold Country Gymnastics of Grass Valley took its boys competitive teams to Stanford University Jan. 23-25 where they faced their toughest challenge of the season at The 2009 Stanford Open – one of the largest meets on the West Coast, drawing over 700 competitors from across the nation.
The level 4 team, led by 9-year-old Lucas Kerley, placed fourth out of a field of 14 teams. Kerley placed 3rd All-Around in his age division. Also contributing to the team’s success was 8-year-old Keenan Swope, who placed 3rd on Floor Exercise and sixth all around for his age group. Justus Brown was just behind Swope in 9th All-Around and a major factor in the final team score. Miller Smith, another 8-year-old level 4 from Gold Country placed 5th on Parallel Bars.
In the 9-year-old division, Gold Country also had Josh Hartman (8th All-Around) and Drew Heaps (9th All-Around). Jacob Pardini and Drew Strange competed for the Grass Valley gym in the 7-year-old division while Colin Gallagher, Josh Blake, Ethan Martinez, and Teo Mitchell competed for Gold Country Gymnastics in the 6-year-old level 4 division.
The 2009 Stanford Open saw 156 level 5 competitors across 5 age groups. Representing Gold Country Gymnastics in the level 5 , age 7 division was Rhett Miller who took home the silver medal on both Floor Exercise and Parallel Bars to end up fourth all around. Teammate Brady Turner took the bronze medal on High-Bar and placed 10th All-Around. Josh Bates, also in the 7-year-old division placed fifth on Floor Exercise. Gold Country’s Jeremy Hunt placed fifth on Rings and Vault while fellow 8-year-old level 5’s Jake Whitman and Preston Joyce also contributed.
Grass Valley’s Jon Bates competed in the 9-year-old division. Ben Kaput, in the 11-and-up age group, placed 3rd on Floor Exercise and eighth all around with teammate Eric Hickok taking home fifth place honors on Parallel Bars. Logan Kerley was the final competitor for Gold Country’s level 5’s who placed seventh in the team awards from a total of 23 teams.
The level 6 gymnasts from Grass Valley were led by an outstanding performance from 12-year-old Steven Whittlesey. Bringing home a gold medal on Floor Exercise, Rings, and High Bar, and a bronze medal on Vault and Parallel Bars, Whittlesey landed in third place all around. Colton Wood was another level 6 stand out for Gold Country Gymnastics in the 9-year-old group.
Wood placed second on Floor Exercise and sixth all around. Nathan Hunt and Aidan Arthur competed for Gold Country Gymnastics in the 10-year-old level 6 division while Jesse Unitt competed in the 11-year-old division. The level 6 team placed 10th, even with a few uncharacteristic falls in the Pommel Horse competition, from a field of 19 level 6 teams.
County finalists battle for trophy
Three Nevada county middle schools brought over 50 kids to compete against the best wrestlers.
Two of the county’s grapplers made it to the varsity finals and competed for the first place trophy. As luck would have it, they were in the same weight class. In a very exciting match, Will Sumner from Pleasant Valley defeated Johnny Callas of Lyman Gilmore in the finals of the 103-pound varsity division.
Pleasant Valley also had two champions in the junior varsity division, as Jessie Donohue (76 pounds), and Matt Hourani (89 pounds), brought home the JV championships. Other JV place winners from Pleasant Valley were: Keaton Richards third at 66 pounds, Dominique Stratton fourth place at 83 pounds, Tommy Peterson fourth place at 85 pounds, Benito Lozada fourth place at 103 pounds, and Chris Garrison third place at 112 pounds.
Lyman Gilmore Invitational
Three Seven Hills Wrestlers placed in the junior varsity division at the Lyman Gilmore Invitational held Jan. 24 at Nevada Union.
Kayle Newton and Tim Dudley finished first in the 95-pound and 168-pound weight classes, respectively. Terry Graham placed second in the 116-pound weight class.
Have an item to submit to The Union’s weekly “Youth Sports Report?” Contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
