Local gymnasts invited to AAU Nationals
Young gymnasts representing Tropical Twisters Gymnastics of Cape Coral fared well in the AAU State Championships May 1-3 at Disney’s Wild World of Sports in Orlando.
In Level 4 competition, Chelsea Long, Bailey Peale, Maureen Riepe, Kylie Zabriskie, Nicole Trantrina and Lisbeth Carrazana all placed in one discipline or another.
Carrazana claimed the all-around title, her first state championship title. Zabriskie placed third on vault and floor exercise and eighth all-around. Riepe was fourth on floor and ninth all-around while Peale was second on beam, sixth on bars and seventh all-around. Long placed fifth on vault and 10th all-around.
At Level 2, the team placed second overall while Ali Riepe and Kyla Martin earned state vaulting titles in their age division. At 6 years old, they are the youngest to win a state title in Southwest Florida.
Riepe also placed eighth on bars, sixth on beam, fourth on floor and sixth all-around. Ashley Yamamoto placed second on vault, bars, floor, third on beam and fifth all-around.
Emma Shaffer earned a state title on beam and vault while Serena Maerten earned a title on bars.
Lauren Carnduff placed third all-around, second on vault and bars, third on floor and fifth on beam.
Team Florida invited 15 individual performers to compete in the AAU Age Group National Championship meet June 24-28 in Savannah, Ga. The girls will be spending the next several weeks trying to raise funds to cover the expected $5,000 in travel expenses.
Anyone wanting to help financially is asked to call the gym at (239) 540-9800.