Regionals L8 - Findlay, OH
4-25-09:  The Region 5 Championships for Level 8 hosted by Halker's Gold, was held at the Cube in Findlay, Ohio.  Five Lady Flames participated with 3 of those competing for team Michigan:  Jessica Leverenz (Jr. A. Team), Megan Schweihofer (Jr. B. Team) and Holly Manter (Jr. E. Team).  Holly Manter captured the Regional Silver Medal All Around award while helping her Team Michigan squad secure a commanding victory over Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.  Schweihofer's squad also proved victorious over the other 4 states.  Despite Leverenz' Gold Medal Bars performance, her Jr. A. Squad fell short behind Illinois and Ohio.
     Holly Manter placed 10th on vault, 7th on beam, 3rd on floor and 2nd in the All Around.  Jessica Leverenz placed 9th on vault and 1st on bars.  Megan Schweihofer placed 13th on beam and 18th in the All Around.  Breanna Goggin placed 11th on beam.  Wendy Schweihofer placed 16th on bars.

Regionals L9-10 - Muncie, IN
4-18-09:  The Region 5 Championships for Levels 9-10 were held this past weekend in Muncie, IN.  This first opportunity for All American Flames ended with plenty of "ups," as both first-year Level 10's Jessica Leadbetter and Amanda Stepp qualified to the National stage to be held in Puyallup, WA, near Seattle, in a couple of weeks.  Leadbetter made it to the J.O. National Competition through a combination of placing 9th in the A.A., Region 5's previous year's success and Region 2's undermanned age-division.  Confusing?  Maybe.  But a lot can be said for preparation that puts you in the right place at the right time.  Leadbetter will be representing Region 2 at the big dance. 
     Amanda Stepp narrowly missed a likely 3rd Place A.A. finish when she over-rotated her double-back salto dismount on her final event of the competition... bars.  That one, costly mistake dropped her into the 10th spot.  Her disappointment was eased when she accepted 1 of 3 available spots offered to her at the National Invitational Tournament, the N.I.T.  Her best opportunity to-date for Collegiate exposure.
     Level 9 Courtney Paeth fresh off last season's disappointing miss of Nationals, turned her attention towards landing a spot at the L9 Eastern Nationals in Tupelo, MS.  Her focus for the weeks leading to the National Qualifier was narrow and determined.  She increased difficulty and prepared to show it.  She seized the Gold Medal on the vault for the second time at Level 9 Regionals with a Handspring Front Pike - the first time ever competing it.  She also captured the bronze medal on the Floor Exercise with a nice performance.  Those two performances coupled with a 5th Place Bars and a 6th Place Beam landed her the Bronze Medal All Around (3rd) and a little redemption.
     Level 9's Delina Phillips, Kristen Patchel and Grace Wypasek failed to make the National cut.  However Phillips placed 5th on vault, 6th on Floor and 9th in the All Around.  Wypasek had an 8th Place Beam performance and 5th Place Floor routine.  We are extremely proud of how our girls did on this large stage, and expect the National Qualifiers to continue their march toward their dreams.

The N.I.T. (http://usa-gymnastics.org/women/events/2009/jo_nit.php)
"In many of the larger populated regions, the 8-10th ranked gymnasts achieve very high AA scores but are not able to qualify to JO Nationals. Sometimes an excellent athlete has made uncharacteristic mistakes at the Regional Championships and doesn’t qualify to Nationals. This new competition will allow these excellent athletes another chance to participate on the National level.  For the athletes who are in High School and aspiring to earn a college scholarship, this competition will also provide them with an opportunity to perform their routines for the NCAA coaches who will already be in attendance for JO Nationals."
   

GymSTOP SQM - Shelby Twp, MI
4-17-09:  The Lady Flames levels 5-6 competed in their final competition prior to the State Championships.  The GymSTOP SQM was hosted by Olympia Gymnastics Academy in Shelby Twp, MI.  The Level 6 team held-on to a slim lead to capture the 1st Place Team Award, lead by Brooke Konik and Samantha Smith.  The Level 5's finished 2nd in their session behind Twistars, lead by Sophie Jackson.
   

Regionals - Lincolnshire, IL
4-4-09:  Congratulations to All American Flames Fire Squad gymnast Robert Blandino on his excellent performance at the Region 5 Mens' Championships hosted by Buffalo Grove Gymnastics.  Blandino is the first Flames Fire Squad gymnast to participate at a regional competition.  Robert finished 13th out of 32 competitors in the Level 6, 12+yr old age division.  His respectable finish was highlighted by a bronze medal P-Bars routine as well as a 5th place finish on the Floor Exercise.
   

WildFire Challenge - Port Huron, MI
4-4-09:  All American Flames Gymnastix played host to their 3rd Annual WildFire Challenge.  Over 450 gymnasts from across Michigan, ranging from levels 3-8 participated in the 2-day event.  The Lady Flames Travel Team posted some very good performances; finishing with Team 1st's at Levels 8, 6 & 4.  They received the 2nd Place Team award at Level 5.  The WildFire Challenge was also the first competition for some of Flames' Home Team athletes as 16 girls sparked their stuff during the Fun Meet.  Congrats to the gymnasts for performing so well; and to the parents, volunteers and participants for making this year's WildFire Challenge so successful!