Gymnastics

After winning a gold medal as a member of the U.S. Women's Olympic gymnastics team in London on Tuesday, Kyla Ross will soon be training again at a gym in Costa Mesa. Ross, 15, the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, also known as the "Fab Five," trains at the Gym-Max Academy of Gymnastics. Ross, an Aliso Viejo native, and fellow Olympian McKayla Maroney, 16, of Long Beach first met as 8-year-olds at the facility on Century Place. "Seeing both of them go through London together and achieve what they've been working toward is spectacular," said Lenny Liang, 33, who started as an assistant coach at the gym in 2004, about a year before Maroney and Ross began training there.

This year's Summer Olympics may be over, but for almost 50 girls Friday afternoon, gymnastics were just getting started. They cartwheeled and somersaulted, vaulted and showed their best as the crossed the balance beam. "They are so into it," said Dayle Lusk, the owner of Tumble-N-Kids. "They want to do what they see on TV. " A record number of girls spent the week at the Tumble-N-Kids' Cheernastics Camp at the Newport Coast Community Center. Tumble-N-Kids is a recreational gymnastics program that holds camps and year-round classes for students who are 9 months to 13 years old. The increase of families signing up their kids is a likely result of the Olympics, said Lusk, a Huntington Beach resident.

Team OC, a gymnastics center in Costa Mesa, won the inaugural OC Classic Junior Olympic Women’s Invitational for level 6 on Saturday. The OC Team’s level 6 squad consisted of five girls: Ally Pytel, Mina Nakatani, Ali Martino, Cami Macdonald and Krista Zemke. With a total combined score of 176.425 on each of the four events — vault, bars, balance beam and floor exercise — they were able to capture the title. The OC Classic was a compulsory level meet consisting of level 4 through 6 gymnasts, ages 6 to 14. — From staff reports

Story by Lolita Harper; photo by [tk] Every now and then -- when nobody's looking -- 58-year-old Antje Morris busts out with a front handspring. Or sometimes a cartwheel or round off, when she's feeling jumpy. Whatever she's in the mood for, she said. "Gymnastics is in your bones. You never lose that feeling," Morris said. Speaking of bones, Morris said, hers are starting to get a little sore. After 25 years of teaching gymnastic skills to Costa Mesa children, Morris said her back is starting to feel the effects.

It has been nearly five years since Corona del Mar High freshman Amy Matsuoka traded the balance beam for a bucket of golf balls. Both gymnastics and golf can be sports where an inch makes a difference. Matsuoka was not seeing the results she wanted as she practiced for hours a day at the Gym-Max Academy of Gymnastics in Costa Mesa. The gym has been in the news lately. Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, who won a gold medal at the London Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team, trains there.

Don't call her Cinderella, just call her CIF State champion. Allison Stokke, a Newport Harbor High freshman, became the first girls pole vault state champion for the school with a first-attempt clearance of 12 feet, 8 inches to win the title at the CIF State championships at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento Saturday. Corona del Mar sophomore Anne St. Geme medaled with a sixth-place finish in the 1,600 meters (4:57.13) and Southern Section Masters Meet champion Jasmin Day, a Costa Mesa sophomore, finished eighth in the high jump (5-5)

One wouldn't think of it in volleyball-strong and aquatic-minded Newport Beach, but girls gymnastics seems to be taking off. The city of Newport Beach offers gymnastics classes at Lincoln Elementary School for girls ages 5-8. The classes teach gymnastics, while it also is motivational for the girls and boosts their self-esteem. "This class is about enhancing confidence," said gymnastics instructor Marti Gangnes, who coaches about 10 to 12 girls in each of her three classes.

The 29-member St. John the Baptist cheerleading team of fifth- through eighth-grade girls has officially won every competition it has entered for the past three years. This year they entered 10 competitions, including: Cheerleaders of America (COA) West Coast National Championships, ASICS California State Championships, USA Junior National Championships and Battle of the Bay National Championships. They compete in the Junior High and Middle School Advanced bracket.

Corona del Mar High freshman Sam Mikulak, 14, won the all-around Junior Olympics gymnastics national championship for gymnastics on May 12 in Oklahoma City. Mikulak, competing in Level 9, placed first all-around in the two-day competition with a score of 112.325, edging John Orozco of New York by 0.05 points. He also excelled in the individual event finals, placing second in the floor exercise (9.825), third on pommel horse (9.625) and rings (9.550) and fifth on vault (8.775). Since Mikulak finished in the top 14, he is now on the Junior Olympic National Team.

-- Compiled by Danette Goulet; photos by Greg Fry o7 We asked students at TeWinkle Middle School: Which Olympic event do you plan to watch and why?f7 Soccer probably, because there's this one girl -- I forget her first name but her last is Hamm -- and she's really good. She's the second best in the world. AMANDA SLAYBAUGH, 11 I'm going to watch track and field -- mainly the sprints, high jump and triple jump -- because I went to track camp.

It has been nearly five years since Corona del Mar High freshman Amy Matsuoka traded the balance beam for a bucket of golf balls. Both gymnastics and golf can be sports where an inch makes a difference. Matsuoka was not seeing the results she wanted as she practiced for hours a day at the Gym-Max Academy of Gymnastics in Costa Mesa. The gym has been in the news lately. Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, who won a gold medal at the London Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team, trains there.

This year's Summer Olympics may be over, but for almost 50 girls Friday afternoon, gymnastics were just getting started. They cartwheeled and somersaulted, vaulted and showed their best as the crossed the balance beam. "They are so into it," said Dayle Lusk, the owner of Tumble-N-Kids. "They want to do what they see on TV. " A record number of girls spent the week at the Tumble-N-Kids' Cheernastics Camp at the Newport Coast Community Center. Tumble-N-Kids is a recreational gymnastics program that holds camps and year-round classes for students who are 9 months to 13 years old. The increase of families signing up their kids is a likely result of the Olympics, said Lusk, a Huntington Beach resident.

After winning a gold medal as a member of the U.S. Women's Olympic gymnastics team in London on Tuesday, Kyla Ross will soon be training again at a gym in Costa Mesa. Ross, 15, the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, also known as the "Fab Five," trains at the Gym-Max Academy of Gymnastics. Ross, an Aliso Viejo native, and fellow Olympian McKayla Maroney, 16, of Long Beach first met as 8-year-olds at the facility on Century Place. "Seeing both of them go through London together and achieve what they've been working toward is spectacular," said Lenny Liang, 33, who started as an assistant coach at the gym in 2004, about a year before Maroney and Ross began training there.

Sam Mikulak, a Corona del Mar High alum, had a big night Thursday at the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, but it came at a price. He is dealing with some adversity with the return of ankle pain. Mikulak, who broke both his ankles on a floor dismount during the Puerto Rico Cup last August, spent Friday icing down his left ankle, according to the Associated Press. He had a painful finish on vault during the final rotation on Thursday, when he posted the top overall score of the night Thursday with 91.80 points.

Before Sam Mikulak left to compete in the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials he said he wanted to make it difficult on the judges to keep him off the U.S. men's team. On the first day in San Jose, the Corona del Mar High alum showed just that and took a major step toward having his name called during Sunday's announcement of the U.S. Olympic men's gymnastics team. Mikulak completed an impressive performance Thursday, posting an all-around score of 91.80, the best of the day. Many of the other contenders to make the five-man Olympic team faltered, according to the Associated Press.

Corona del Mar High graduate Sam Mikulak finished third in the all-around gymnastics competition at the Visa Men's Senior U.S. Championships, completed Saturday inSt. Louis, Mo. Mikulak, who was the NCAA individual champion as a freshman at Michigan in 2011, has earned a spot on the USA senior national team and a berth in the 2012 Olympic Trials. His 182.85 points included top-five scores on parallel bars (second with 31.20 points), vault (fourth, 32.30), pommel horse (fifth, 29.30)

A Newport Beach family is offering local UCLA supporters a chance to learn more about late legendary basketball coach John Wooden this weekend at an intimate fundraiser with Wooden's daughter and some of his former athletes. Last year, Roger and Lynn Tomalas attended an event in Los Angeles County where Wooden's daughter, Nan, and two of his former athletes shared their memories of one of the most successful college basketball coaches in history. They decided to bring that personal touch to Newport on Sunday.

Local Gymnast signs National Letters of Intent with Maryland  The University of Maryland gymnastics team has signed three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2010 season, associate head coach  announced Friday with the national signing period underway.  Following a successful recruitment period, the Terps have inked three prospective Maryland gymnasts who have performed exceptionally both in the gym and in the classroom. Recruits Kesley Cofsky, Allison Krikorian and Briana Melander each have qualified multiple times for the Junior Olympics National Championships, while also garnering accolades for their performances in the classroom.

College Park Elementary in Costa Mesa has plenty to celebrate in its athletics program, and on Wednesday an Olympian came over to show it some recognition. In addition to showing off his skills on the pommel horse, gold medalist in gymnastics Peter Vidmar also came bearing gifts. Vidmar showed up Wednesday to hand the school a $5,000 check and $1,000 in gift cards, a reward for the school’s coming in first in Orange County in the 2008 Governor’s Challenge Competition.

Team OC, a gymnastics center in Costa Mesa, won the inaugural OC Classic Junior Olympic Women’s Invitational for level 6 on Saturday. The OC Team’s level 6 squad consisted of five girls: Ally Pytel, Mina Nakatani, Ali Martino, Cami Macdonald and Krista Zemke. With a total combined score of 176.425 on each of the four events — vault, bars, balance beam and floor exercise — they were able to capture the title. The OC Classic was a compulsory level meet consisting of level 4 through 6 gymnasts, ages 6 to 14. — From staff reports