Club gymnastics notebook

By: Dave Utnik | Inside NoVA
Published: March 07, 2008

dutnik@potomacnews.com

Juan Palma captured a gold medal in the Level 6 all-around competition last weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Invitational in College Park, Md.

Palma, competing for Apollo Gymnastics Center, dominated the 13-&-older age division with a six-event score of 54.6. He also won individual championships on floor exercise (9.0), rings (9.65) and parallel bars (9.2).

Teammate Rashad Mahmood won the pommel horse (8.9) and placed second in the all-around with a score of 54.3.

In Level 7, Apollo’s Michael Deitz earned a silver medal in the 13-&-older all-around competition.

Deitz was the individual champion on pommel horse (9.0) and high bar (9.5). He also tied for first on floor exercise (9.4) and his six-event score of 54.1 was the third highest among Level 7 competi-tors in every age group.

The meet, held at the University of Maryland, featured competitors from 28 gyms, representing Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

EMERALD CITY CLASSIC
The Yellow Brick Road was paved with gold, silver and bronze for Stafford Royals gymnasts at the Emerald City Classic.

Laura Thornburg, of Colonial Forge High School, finished among the top four in all four events and took second in the Level 8 all-around competition with a score of 35.775.

In Level 9, Alyssa Bornschein, of Stafford High, won the uneven bars competition and was third in the all-around, while Carissa Potente, of North Stafford, took fourth place overall.

JUDGES CUP
Level 7 gymnast Anna Hilton and Level 5 competitor Amberlyn Cottman combined for eight gold medals at the Judges Cup in Chesapeake.

Hilton, the 7-11 age division all-around champion with a score of 36.0, and Cottman, who cap-tured an all-around title in the 11-year-old division with a score of 35.9, are both from Novaks Gym-nastics Center.

Level 7 teammate Vanessa Vargas was a second-place finisher in the 12-13 age group with an all-around score of 36.55.

In Level 4, Amanda Croxton claimed five second place finishes, including a 35.625 score in the all-around

Other individual event champions included Haley Decater (Level 5) and Faith Banford (Level 5).