Turners, LaFleur's fare well in championships

Gymnasts showcased their skills last month in the Level 5 and 6 state championships.

The Tampa Bay Turners finished second in Level 6, with eight event champions and three all-around winners.

LaFleur's Gymnastics of Largo won its third consecutive Level 5 team title and boasted 12 event winners and three all-around champions. Tampa Bay was sixth in Level 5 team competition and produced four top-10 all-around finishers and two event champions.

"We're really pleased and proud of these girls," said Mary Linnemeyer, one of the owners and coaches at Tampa Bay Turners. "In Level 6, we were right behind the winner American Twisters and won three of the six age groups.

"Now the girls are preparing for Level 7 optional that begins in January," Linnemeyer said. "These girls will be competitive right away."

Tampa Bay's all-around champions were Ashley Sullivan, Dayna Adams and Lindsey Apperson. Event winners were Sullivan (floor exercise), Katy Wheeler (vault), Adams (floor and balance beam), Barbara Simkanich (vault, uneven and floor) and Apperson (beam).

Sullivan, 9, a first-year Level 6 competitor, surprised herself by winning and overcame any nervousness by concentrating on her routines. Adams, 10, said she was better prepared.

"I hadn't done so well before state, so I practiced really hard to be better," Adams said. "Because of that, I wasn't quite so confident before state. After the practices, though, I felt much better."

This is Adams' second state all-around championship, having won Level 4 a couple of years ago.

"I sort of like the floor best because I know you can't get hurt doing that," she said, "but I do pretty well on the bars.

"Someday, it would be fun to be a college gymnast and maybe go to the Olympics," Adams said.

Apperson mostly has second and third-place finishes, the 12-year-old said, and the title was her first top performance.

"I was really surprised, although I had worked really hard all season," Apperson said. "I had no idea I would win. I thought maybe I would be second or third again."

Tampa Bay's Level 5 top-10 all-around gymnasts were Kirsten Jamieson (fifth), Deni Morgan (seventh), Chelsea Kuhlman (seventh) and Jennifer Stosh (eighth). Lindsey Brown won the beam competition, and Annie Berdusco was first in the floor exercise.

LaFleur's top finish in Level 5 was led by all-around champions Danielle Kozakos, Serena Bumbarger and Crystal Sauls and event champs Kelly Blake (vault), Ashley Card (vault), Stacy Gollinger (floor), Brynn Fullmer (vault and floor), Diedre Nieves (vault and floor), Sauls (beam), Bumbarger (bars) and Kozakos (beam and floor).

SYFC: Suncoast Youth Football Conference junior varsity champions will be crowned at Seminole High School today when Clearwater No. 1 plays Countryside No. 1 in the Flyweights division at 1:30 p.m., Countryside No. 3 faces Clearwater No. 1 in Mighty Mites at 3:30, and Countryside No. 1 matches up with Azalea in Pee Wees at 5:30. PYFC: Joining Pinellas Youth Football Conference varsity champions Gibbs (Flyweights), St. Petersburg (Mighty Mites and Midgets) and Largo (Pee Wees) were Junior Varsity champs St. Petersburg No. 2 (Flyweights), Manatee (Mighty Mites) and St. Petersburg (Pee Wees).

Varsity cheerleading champions were St. Petersburg (Flyweights and Mighty Mites), Greenwood (Pee Wees) and Lakewood (Midgets).

JV cheerleading winners were St. Petersburg No. 1 (Flyweights), St. Petersburg No. 1 (Mighty Mites) and St. Petersburg (Pee Wees).

SOCCER: The host Clearwater Chargers captured five titles in last month's 17th annual Coca Cola Clearwater Classic.

The Chargers won the girls under-11 and under-19 divisions and the boys under-14, under-16 and under-19 classes.

The Countryside Lightning defeated Largo United to win girls under-10, and Dunedin's under-15 boys defeated a Georgia team for its championship.

Clearwater was a finalist in the under-16 and under-19 girls divisions. In boys under-19, the Chargers' under-17 squad beat the under-18 team 1-0 on penalty kicks.

SWIMMING: The Clearwater Aquatic Team's Megan Rossi earned 88 points to capture the high-point honor for the 8-and-under swimmers in West Florida Lightning Aquatics' Halloween Open.

Other high-pointers included St. Pete Aquatics 10-and-under competitors Megan Romano and Cameron Chambers, WFLA's Clay Bullock (13-14), and CAT's Patrick Davis (senior). In the USA Swimming rankings released last month, Bullock is first in the 11-12 division for the 200-yard butterfly with a national time of 2:02.68.

Bullock's sister, Lauren, a Dunedin High School senior, recently signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Kentucky at Louisville on a full swimming scholarship.

TWIRLING: Twenty-five individual and 10 team first-place awards were earned by members of the Florida Twirling Institute in last month's Drum Majorettes of America Majorette Queen of Florida Contest in Gulfport.

Individual firsts were attained by Tiffany Jockers (four), Allison DeCresle (four), Catherine Gaylor (five), Angela Moore (three), Jessica Amato (two), Melissa Foote (two) and Cassandra Gaylor (one).

STARS OF THE MONTH: The John Lynch Foundation and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission announced October's selections for the John Lynch Star of the Month.

From Pinellas County are Amy Nolsheim of Seminole Middle School, Christopher DeGraeve of Azalea Middle, Katie Reed of Boca Ciega High School and Christopher Waechter of St. Petersburg Catholic.

Individuals are selected on the basis of academics, athletics and community involvement.

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