Local gymnasts shine at Jamestown meet

Lewiston Porter Sentinel, April 7, 2007

Niagara Level 8 gymnasts from Gleason’s School of Gymnastics in Wheatfield were charmed with high scores at the Lucky Stars Invitational, held in Jamestown on March 17.

Two Gleason’s teammates were competing in their final invitational gymnastics meet. Maddie Quarantillo, senior at Lewiston-Porter High School, scored 8.8, good for 11th place on vault. Kelley Feather, a senior at Kenmore East High School, placed sixth in the all-around competition. She scored 9.15, good for seventh place on balance beam, seventh on bars, ninth place on floor (9.175), and 13th place on vault.

In the same age division, Lara Curtis of Lewiston captured first place all-around. She took first on beam (9.5) and floor (9.4), third on vault, and fourth on bars.

Kara Mangus of Wheatfield earned eighth place on bars. Becky Metz of Pendleton scored 9.1 on bars, good for third place in the 13-14 age division, and earned seventh place all-around. Ashley Lavocat scored 9.075 in taking ninth place on beam. In the 12-year-old division, Niagara swept first and second places. Emilie Fose of North Tonawanda was first on vault with 9.4, third on floor with 9.25, fourth on bars with 9.0, and second all-around. Teammate Shelinka Cunningham of Niagara Falls scored 9.2 on beam, good for fifth place.

The highest individual all-around score was achieved by Lee Anna Vanoni of Youngstown whose score of 36.725 earned second place in the 8-11 age division. Vanoni placed second on beam (9.45) and bars (9.175), third on floor (9.35), and fourth on vault. The Level 8 team was presented with the first place trophy.

Also at the meet:

For the Level 7 team, Cierra Lowery from Ransomville received a high score of 8.95 on bars. Emmily Bowman from Lewiston placed seventh on bars with 9.05, fifth on floor with 8.9, and ninth on beam.

For the Level 4 team, ages 12 and up, Lia Parks (Youngstown) had an outstanding third place finish on beam.

In Level 7, Brittany Wurl had a high scoring meet, placing sixth all-around with 36.425. She placed fifth on beam with 9.4, sixth on bars with 9.3 and 10th on floor with 9.025. Bailey Akin was a first-place champion at this meet with an all-around score of 36.425. She received first on floor (9.45) and beam (9.3), and eighth on vault with 8.825. Nicholl Martin from North Tonawanda placed 11th all-around with 35.675. She also placed seventh on bars and eighth on beam with 9.0.

For the Level 6 team, Kayla Higgins from NT placed fifth all-around with a score of 35.85 in the 10-11 age group. She scored 8.75 on vault, 8.45 on bars, 9.275 on beam, and 9.375 on floor. These scores gave her fifth place on bars, beam, and floor. Jessica Szelgia from Niagara Falls, in the ages 12-and-up group, placed first on beam with 9.475, third on floor with 9.10, and seventh on bars. She finished eighth all-around.

The Niagara Level 5 team was led by Richelle Kloch (North Tonawanda), who captured the all-around title for the 10-year-olds with a score of 36.45. Kloch finished first on floor exercise (9.625) and bars (9.25), and finished second in both the vault and balance beam. Kim Runkle (Niagara Falls) finished fifth all-around and medaled in all events. In the 11-year-old class, Payton Klidonas (Niagara Falls) finished second all-around with a score of 36.45 and won the beam (9.6) and floor (9.35). Melissa Schmidt (Wheatfield) finished sixth in the all-around and medaled on vault and floor.

For the Level 4 team, ages 10-11, Kathleen Wagoner (Wheatfield) medaled on beam and floor, earning herself a trophy in the all-around. Kassidy May (Niagara Falls) took fourth place on both beam and floor, earning herself a ninth place in the all-around. Both girls had high scores on the vault as well. For the 9 year olds, Kelly Bajorek (NT) medaled in all four events, including first place on floor and second on beam. Bajorek placed second all-around with an impressive total of 37.325. Angela Gabriele and Britini D’Angelo (both from Niagara Falls) medaled on floor and beam, respectively. Julia San Giacomo (Lewiston) had a successful meet by medaling on vault, bars, and floor, which gave her 12th place all-around.

The 6-8 year olds were not to be outshone by their peers, as each girl in this age bracket brought home a medal. Madison Klidonas (Niagara Falls) medaled on vault. Kennedy Faison (Lewiston) earned a medal on beam and took 10th in the all-around. Sydney Celeste (Niagara Falls) took home a medal on beam. Vinnie Costanzo (Youngstown) received medals on vault, bars and floor and placed ninth all-around. Ana D’Angelo (Niagara Falls) again earned medals in all four events.