Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Tampa Bay Turners flawless

By EMERY SKOLFIELD
Published December 10, 2006

There's nothing quite like perfection, just ask the members of the St. Petersburg-based Tampa Bay Turners Level 5 and Level 6 gymnastics teams.

The Turners rode a total of four individual all-around titles to two team state championships on Dec. 2-3 in Panama City Beach. With the state victories, both the Level 5 and Level 6 teams completed undefeated compulsory seasons.

The Level 5 Turners' effort included all-around state age group titles from Brianna Barrett, Olivia Cecil and Kayna Mogelnicki. Barrett won the vault, bars and floor and was second on the beam on her way to an all-around title. Cecil won the same three disciplines to capture her title, while Mogelnicki was victorious on the beam and floor en route to a state championship.

Krysta Postlethwaite was a state champion in two individual disciplines bars and beam for the Level 5 Turners.

In Level 6 competition, Madalyn Golightly won the vault, beam and floor on her way to an all-around title. Sarah DeVoe was victorious on the bars to contribute to the Turners' championship effort in Level 6.

LaFleur's Gymnastic Club (Largo) placed second in the large team division of the Level 5 state meet. All-around state champions in their respective age groups were: Zoe Boehme, who won the vault, bars and beam, Laura Meunier (floor), Megan Schell (vault and floor), Christina Tournant (floor) and Rachel Whisennant (beam and floor). Whisennant's score of 9.825 in the floor was the highest score of the meet.

LaFleur's individual event state champions were: Mikayla Bellardini (bars and floor), Brenna Kirk (beam), Jazmine Cramer (vault) and Sarah Spurgeon (vault).

FOOTBALL: Led by head coach Freddie Jones and the MVP performance of quarterback Jemel Douse, the Childs Park Jr. Rattlers Varsity youth team capped a 12-0 season with a victory in the Pinellas Youth Football Conference championship game. The Jr. Rattlers organization also made Thanksgiving dinner possible for 30 households, donating a full meals and trimmings to deserving families.

Despite an undefeated record coming in, the Azalea Eagles Varsity PeeWees fell to the Tarpon Springs Jr. Spongers. The Eagles were coached by Derik Palmer. The Eagles' Varsity Pee Wee cheerleading squad, coached by Amy Smith, Jen Wilson and Chrissy Fairbairn, won its division.

GOLF: Matthew Ruel, an 8-year-old from Oldsmar, carded a 9-hole score of 42 to win by eight strokes in the 8- to 10-year-old division of the Florida Suncoast Junior Golf Tour, played at Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club in Clearwater.

SWIMMING: Ryan Edens, a member of the Palm Harbor YMCA Piranhas, won the 50- and 100-meter freestyles in the 11-12 boys division of the Team Orlando Invitational on Nov. 17-19 in Altamonte Springs.

If you have news that for this column, please contact Times correspondent Emery Skolfield at (727) 481-2027 or sptimesyouth@yahoo.com.

[Last modified December 9, 2006, 21:27:37]