Level 7 Banner: Horse Race

Yes, it's a bit early to be counting any chickens regarding this year's State Championship banner in Level 7. However, since NH-USAG posted the results of the 1st Sectional, local gymnastics fans can do a bit of number crunching and score comparing to get at least a first glimpse at how things are shaping up.

How does it look? In a word: Close. Of the teams competing at the 1st Section, Phantom and OTW were clearly the leaders. Atlantic did not participate in the 1st Sectional, as their Level 7 Team was in Danbury, CT, at the Vitamin Water Invitational. From the Atlantic team's scores, it's clear that they would have been right up there with Phantom and OTW's Level 7 teams. An event-by-event summary follows.

On Vault -- It was pretty close. Rotation scores: Atlantic, 27.80, Phantom, 27.675, OTW, 27.625. Each team has a star vaulter and several solid gymnasts to back her up.

On Bars -- OTW was not at its strongest. Rotations: Atlantic 27.675, Phantom, 27.225, OTW 26.825. Still less than a point separating them, so still so close that every toe point and legs-together matters.

On Beam -- OTW was strongest on Beam. Rotations: OTW 27.55, Atlantic 26.25, Phantom 26.175. The OTW 7s were having a great day on Beam.

On Floor -- Atlantic and Phantom have some exceptional girls on Floor. Rotations: Atlantic 28.325, Phantom 28.10, OTW 27.325. Even with Phantom girls scoring 9.6s and Atlantic girls scoring 9.45s, our OTW 7s are not far behind. They're only a point back from the leader. Still close enough for every step-out to matter.

Bottom line? Atlantic would have had a team score of 110.05. OTW, a 109.375. Phantom, a 109.175. All less than a point apart! If this pace keeps up, gymnastics fans will have one heck of a horse race to watch for that banner.

Go Get 'Em OTW 7s! You can take 'em.

Colorful Sectional for 7s, 8s

It has been an action-packed weekend of gymnastics for the OTW girls. The OTW Level 7 Team and Level 8 girls' 1st Sectional was no exception. They were all bringing home the red-white-and-blue (mostly blue) from the winner's platform. All of the girls were doing great and hitting their routines -- some in fantastic style!

Level 7 Action
The Level 7 girls were proving that they will be a force to reckon with at States this year. Each of them ratcheted up their performances. Each brought home a ribbon from the platform. In the 8-11 age group, Nicole brought home the blue for her outstanding beam routine (a 9.125), as well as two 4ths on Bars and Floor. Jackie did a 4th on Vault, and brought home three white 3rd place ribbons for Beam, Floor (a 9.075) and All Around. In the 12 year old age group, Mikayla took 2nd (red ribbon) in the All Around -- a personal best thus far. In the 13-14 group, Ali was amazing. 9.15 on Vault (2nd), 9.125 on Bars (1st), 9.425 on Beam (1st (duh)) and would, no doubt, have placed on Floor except for a slip on one tumbling pass. Still, she took 1st in the All Around with a 36.15. Jamie and Amanda, similarly dominated the 15+ age group. Amanda's full on Vault was too perfect for words. 9.425 to take the blue ribbon. Jamie's Vault was great too, giving her the red. Amanda and Jamie alternated taking the top of the platform for the rest of the events too. Jamie's Floor routine was hot stuff, scoring a 9.30, taking the blue ribbon (again, duh). The dynamic duo took 1st and 2nd in the All Around too.

As a team, their hypothetical score would be 109.175. Pretty good for this far out from States. Will they keep up this heat? How do the other teams look this year? There are some good looking teams this year, but the OTW 7s are definitely in the race.

Level 8 Action
Melinda has been looking stronger with each meet. Her Floor routine, in particular, has been looking more powerful. She scored her highest of this meet on Floor. Melinda took 4th in the All Around. LaNaya was having a very good day. She did her best Bars routine yet, (9.00) to take the blue ribbon. Her no-falls Beam routine scored a 9.20, (1st). Her Floor was similarly crisp and scored a 9.275. (1st). She took 1st in the All Around as well.

Everyone competing today qualified for States! Fantastic job 7s and 8s. It was great to see each you in action.

The Best of the Best

At the same time our 3 High School athletes were competing Saturday evening the Vitamin Water event finals kicked off. This event featured the top 5 scorers from each event in Levels 9 and 10. Because of their high scores on Friday Allison, Bri, and Becca were invited back to compete in the event finals. Allison for Beam, Bri for Floor, and Becca for Vault and Floor. Each routine was outstanding! Unfortunately, scores were not flashed so we will have to wait for the girls to fill us in on that. The news we do know at this point is that Becca placed 2nd in the Floor final, with a 9.575! Congratulations to all the girls that competed at the Vitamin Water Challenge. This was a tough competion and you all did awesome!!

OTW Girls in NH High School States

OTW had three girls competing in this year's High School gymnastics circuit. At the State Meet, they were part of the first and second place teams. Salem High School was once again the state champions in New Hampshire. Pinkerton Academy took 2nd place. Central took 3rd, of 12 teams competing. At this year's High School State Meet, three OTW girls competed on opposing teams. Jess and Jamie were on the Salem team. LaNaya was on the Pinkerton Academy team. The prudent option was to cheer for both.

Salem took a 1.7 point lead over Pinkerton in the first rotation and never let it slip. Pinkerton held their own, but could not close the gap. Pinkerton did manage to maintain their gap over third place Central, and eventually expanded that lead to 2 points. Spaulding took 4th, Londonderry 5th and Keene took 6th. The other six teams competed in the morning session. In the photo (top) is part of the Salem team with their 1st place plaque. Note Jess and Jamie in the back. Below is part of the Pinkerton team with their 2nd place plaque. Note LaNaya without her warmup jacket

Jess, on the road to recovery from her illness, competed on Vault and Beam. She scored an 8.55 on Vault and a 7.9 on Beam. Jamie competed on three events. She scored an 8.25 on Vault, an 8.45 on Bars (taking 6th place) and an 8.675 on Floor. LaNaya also competed on three events. She scored a 7.2 on Bars, an 8.1 on Beam and an 8.875 on Floor, just narrowly being edged out of 6th place. For those unfamiliar with High School gymnastics, all girls are judged by Level 9 rules, so our OTW 8s and 7 did rather well for themselves.

The 1st and 2nd place teams in NH are then eligible to move on to High School Regionals. Trouble is, HS Regionals are the same day as the Flyer's Cup meet. So much gymnastics, so little time.

Totally Awesome Tens in CT

The OTW Level 10s were hot tonight almost scoring 10s at the Vitamin Water Meet! Bri placed 4th AA with a 37.125 and Becca placed 5th AA with a 36.575!! Becca placed 2nd on floor with an incredibly high score of 9.7.! Bri was 4th on floor with another incredibly high score of 9.575! Becca placed 5th on vault with a score of 9.450 and 6th on beam with a 9.325. Bri received a 9.4 (7th) for vault, 9.1 (7th) on beam and 9.05 (13th) on bars. Both Bri and Becca will be competing in the floor event finals. Becca will also compete in the vault finals. That brings OTW's total to 3 gymnasts that will be competing in the event finals! Check back towards the end of the weekend for more exciting news!

News Flash from Connecticut

The results just in from the Vitamin Water Meet underway this very moment in Danbury, CT show that our Level 9 Team are strong competitors in any arena. Allison placed 2nd on beam with a 9.35 and 5th on vault with a 9.175. Vault and beam seemed to be today's strongest event for Kayla and Alyssa as well. Kayla received a 9.0 on vault and an 8.725 on beam. Alyssa received an 8.975 on vault and an 8.9 on beam. Kayla scored the team's highest floor score (8.8) and Allison received the team's highest bars score (8.4). Together the girls earned a team score of 104.225.

We are anxiously awaiting the results of the second Level 9 session for Team Placement and Event finals. Trophies will be awarded to the top three teams. The top 5 scorers for each event will be invited back for Event Finals Saturday evening! Keep your fingers crossed for Allison and stay tuned!!

Five Rising Stars

This past weekend was a Valentine's Meet, held at Phantom. OTW's young pre-team girls took the floor competing as Level 4 gymnasts.
Taylor and Caroiyn were in the "Love Bugs" age group. Taylor tied for 4th on Beam, but her best score was on Vault. Carolyn also scored her best on Vault.
Isabella was in the "Cherubs" age group. She took 6th on Bars, but scored her best, a 9.1, on Vault.
Caitlin and Tess competed in the "Cupids" age group. Caitlin took 1st on Beam with a 9.1, 2nd on Floor with a 9.3 and 3rd on Vault with a 9.5! Team mate Tess was right behind her. Tess took 2nd on Bars with a 9.05 and 4th on Vault with a 9.25. The duo took 3rd and 4th in the All Around.

Welcome to the world of gymnastics meets, girls. You're off to a great start. Taylor, Carolyn, Isabella, Caitlin and Tess -- OTW's five rising stars. These are names we're sure to see more of in future meets.

6s take 2nd in Bow

The OTW Level 6 Team took 2nd place at the qualifying meet this past weekend. Each of the girls had their turn at going up to the podium during awards. Hanna took 1st on Vault, Beam and All Around. Allie K tied for third on Beam. Maddie took 1st on Beam in her age group. Hope took first on Bars. Emma took 2nd on Vault. Altogether, with each girl contributing to the team score of 106.85, the 6s took home the 2nd Place Team plaque (pictured at left).

Nice job, girls.

Great Day At Nittany

Level 7 Team Wins First!
The OTW 7s were in great form at the 2009 Nittany Spring Invitational, held at the C3 sports facility in State College, PA.  The competition was strong, especially the KPAC team, but in the end, our OTW girls had edged them out by 0.4 points to bring home the gold lion trophy. (which Mikayla is proudly holding at left).

Nicole took home a medal for her Beam routine. Jackie won a medal for her Bars. Mikayla scored her highest on Vault and Floor, looking especially good on Floor. Ali was totally "on" at this meet and dominated the 11&12 age group. She took 2nd on Vault with a 9.4 and 1st on Floor with a 9.225. She took 1st the All Around with a 36.525. Jamie and Amanda did much the same to the 13+ age group. Amanda took 1st on Vault with a 8.4. Jamie was right there too, taking 3rd with a 9.1. Amanda took 1st on Beam. The pair took 1st and 2nd on Floor with a 9.45 and a 9.3.  Amanda took 2nd in the All Around, Jamie took 4th.  This is one hot Level 7 Team!

Level 8 Action

With Jess still recovering from her illness, the OTW 8s didn't have enough for a team, but still found plenty of bling. Melinda took home the 2nd place medal for Vault and 3rd for Bars.  LaNaya took the gold on Bars and the silver for Beam. (actually, the medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd were all "gold"-toned. 4th on down, were a bit smaller and silver-toned). LaNaya took 2nd in the 15+ age group for the All Around.

Level 9s: Team Win?

The three Level 9 girls scored well enough to have placed as a team, but for some reason were not figured in as a team. Each of the three went home with their share of jingling, though. Allison took 3rd on Vault and Beam, 4th on Bars, 5th on Floor with a 9.075. She took 2nd in the All Around. Alyssa took 5th on Beam and 6th on Bars.  Kayla took 2nd on Vault in the 15+ age group with a 9.0.  She was visibly surprised at taking 1st on Bars. Kayla took 3rd on Beam and 2nd in the All Around.

Level 10s Dominate

There was some question as to whether Becca would compete this weekend. He flu was really bothering her. She pressed on, however, and never let up. Bri and Becca were, once again, regular occupants of the top awards. Becca started things off by taking 1st on Vault (an amazing Vault, I might add) scoring a 9.45. Bri was similarly amazing, taking 3rd with a 9.325. OTW 10s owned the Vault. Bri took 2nd on Bars. Becca took 1st on Beam. Bri took 5th. On Floor, Becca took 2nd with a 9.225. Bri was next with 3rd.  In the All Around, they traded. Bri took 2nd and Becca took 3rd.  We have a most impressive pair of 10s.

All in all, this was a great meet for the OTW optional teams. Way to go girls!

First Spring Sectional

Level 4 Action
There were only two of the Level 4 girls on hand for this first Sectional, but they were both a couple of hot tickets. Sarah scored an impressive 9.525 on Vault (naturally taking 1st place), but also took 1st on Beam, Floor, and the All Around. Paige was hot stuff too, taking 3rd on Vault with a 9.0, 2nd on Bars and Floor, and 3rd in the All Around. Both easily qualified for States.

Level 5 Action
The OTW Level 5 Team also had it's share of time atop the winner's platform. Ellie took 2nd on Vault and 4th on Bars with a 9.1. Summer tied for 4th on Vault, but her highest score was on Floor. Maddie had some struggles on Vault and Bars, but put all that behind her to take 1st on Beam and Floor (a whopping 9.4!). Jordan took 1st on Floor with a 9.3, 2nd on Vault and Bars. She took 2nd in the All Around. Sydney was also no stranger to the top levels of the podium. She took 1st on Vault and Beam, 2nd on Beam and Floor. She took 1st in her age group's All Around.

Level 6 Action
Hope was back in action, though not quite up to her accustomed speed. She did, nonetheless, take 2nd on Bars. Maddie F. took 3rd on Beam and Floor. Emma took 1st on Vault, 2nd on Beam and Floor, and tied for 3rd on Bars. Emma took 2nd in the All Around for her age group. Hanna had her moments to shine too. She tied for 1st on Vault and took 1st (no sharing) on Bars. She also took 2nd in her age group's All Around.

All in all, a pretty strong showing for the OTW compulsory team. This is just the first Sectional. There's plenty more meets to come. Keep up the good work, girls!