Area boys spring into gymnastics

The competitive season for boys gymnastics began this month with the annual Judges Cup in Tampa.

Competitors from the Gemini School of Gymnastics in Oldsmar and the Apollo School of Gymnastics in Clearwater are the only clubs in the county that offer boys programs.

"We have mostly the younger boys in our program," said Karl Bishop, Apollo's director and the boys coach.

"For most of them," Bishop said, "they're getting their feet wet at these competitions and the Judges Cup kicks off their season."

Apollo's Class 5 team was third overall, Class 6 second and Class 7 eighth.

Leading the way for the program in Class 5 was Grant Brittain, who was fifth all-around after winning the pommel horse event and placing fifth in floor exercise and on the still rings.

Also fifth all-around was Jackson Sterling, who placed in the top five on the horse, high bar, vault and parallel bars.

In the Class 6 competition, Jessee Scott was third and won the parallel bars, Tomily Bourgoing was fourth and tied Scott for third on the rings, Andy Shaffer was fifth all-around and runner-up on the vault and rings.

A seventh-place all-around finish for Bradley Hutson was combined with a first on vault.

Brandon Street started off his Class 7 season with an eighth all-around and a win in floor.

"Obviously, it's early in the season and the Judges Cup helps show us what's ahead and what we especially need to work on," Gemini coach Skip Zimmer said.

"There's the potential for a lot of improvement this season. We have about 25 boys in the program, and they'll all improve their skills."

At the Class 1 -- or Junior Elite 1 -- level is Jason Pierce, who is joined in training by Colin Christ and Wesley Aderhold in Class 2, Junior Elite 2.

"These boys are among some of the best in Florida," Zimmer said. "Our first meet was a little rusty, but that's what it's all about. Our next meet should be different."

In the Judges Cup, Pierce, 16, was third all-around and among the top five in all six events, with floor and horse the best two.

Christ, 15, was second all-around and among the top four in all events, including a first on the horse. Aderhold, 15, was third all-around, finished in the top three in all events and won floor.

Learning gymnastics skills is a physical and mental process, said Zimmer, and requires lots of practice, determination and effort.

"What we try to emphasize is that it's real important to select routines that will get you enough points to make it worth your while to do them in the first place," he said. "The next step is to make those routines clean so you can get the most points.

"There's no real value in trying something really difficult if you can't make it clean, because then you lose points."

The next competition is Jan. 26-27 in Orlando.

GIRLS GYMNASTICS: Two all-around Level 4 state championships were earned by LaFleur's Gymnastics of Largo.

Jessica Bunn recorded victories in each event -- floor exercise, vault, uneven bars and balance beam -- en route to an all-around title. Mary Michael Toups won the bars event and all-around championship. Cayla Collins finished third all-around after winning the vault.

LaFleur's, which placed fourth in team competition, was assisted by Kristen Pandy (third all-around), Rebecca Roberts (second vault and floor) and Megan Rossi (second vault, seventh all-around).

The Tampa Bay Turners captured five event titles -- Aramis Andreatas (beam), Nicole Baisden (floor), Stephanie Mekee (floor), Jillian Root (vault) and Alexia Perry (bars).

Top-five all-arounders were Kaitlin Kuzdak and Root (second); Andreatas, Morgan Chmielewski (third); Baisden (fourth) and Perry (fifth).

In the Amateur Athletic Union State Meet in Saint Leo last weekend, Apollo was third in Level 5 among small teams and sixth in Level 4 among medium squads.

Kendra Miller was first all-around in Level 5, Lauryn Yost placed second in Level 4, and Alexandria Crawford and Sherilyn Mansfield finished third. Chelsea Hawkey won in Level 6. SWIMMING: St. Petersburg Aquatics finished fourth and the Clearwater Aquatic Team eighth among nearly 30 squads in last weekend's Gator Holiday Classic in Gainesville.

The SPA girls were second to Swim Atlanta, and CAT was eighth. The SPA boys were eighth, and CAT was ninth.

SPA's Megan Romano was the high-point swimmer in the girls 10-and-under competition. The team's Stephanie Margalis was tops among senior girls. Romano's teammate, Tracy Rorer, was second in the 10 division.

Other SPA members placing in the top 10 high-point category were Kaitlin Frehling, eighth, 10 class; Stase Michota, fifth, and Russell Snyder, seventh, 11-12; Brenno Varanda, seventh, 15-16; and Haley Skaggs, eighth, and Jordan Raynovich, sixth.

Raynovich, a Northeast High School senior and fifth-year SPA member, has signed a letter of intent with Clemson University.

CAT's top-10 performers were Julie Marchenia, fourth, Paige Schmidt, fourth, and Kelsie Schmidt, ninth, in 10; Levi Curnutte, 10th, 11-12; Jie Deng, seventh, and Tommy Wyher, eighth, 13-14; and Josh Curnutte, ninth, and Grant Johnson, 10th, 15-16.

Palm Harbor's Andy Helvenston, swimming for the Berkeley Barracudas, was 10th in the 15-16 division.

Posting relay wins were the SPA's Romano, Rorer, Frehling and Casey McKeon, 200-yard freestyle and 200 medley. FOOTBALL: Today, the Pinellas Youth Football Conference Flyweights champion Gibbs Jr. Galdiators and Suncoast Youth Football Conference Midgets champion Clearwater Jr. Tornadoes join six teams from Hillsborough County in the Game Day of Champions.

The event, at Raymond James Stadium, is co-sponsored by the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and the Glazer Family Foundation.

Gibbs plays at 9 a.m. and Clearwater at 3 p.m.

CHEERLEADERS: Suncoast Youth Football Conference junior varsity cheerleading champions in the small-division competition included Seminole (Flyweights), Northeast (Mighty Mites), and Dixie (Pee Wees).

Large-division winners were Countryside No. 1 (Flyweights), Dunedin No. 2 (Mighty Mites), and Countryside No. 1 (Pee Wees).

DIVING: Several Clearwater Aquatics Team members placed among the top five in the recent Christmas Invitational in Orlando.

MacKenzie Smith and Kristen Hendry were second on the one-meter board in their division. Cody Dodds, Brad Goodpasture and Maria Carland were third in the event.

Sarah Haggitt, Ashley Dupree, Kaila Johnson and Drew Halpin took fifth on the one-meter.

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