G-FORCE BOYS & GIRLS HAVE GREAT REGIONAL MEETS! LINDSEY, TAYLOR, SHELBY, SCOTT PAIGE, CARLIE, CHELSEY, JOHN (not shown NICHOLAS) GYMNASTS SEE SUCCESS AT REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Nine gymnasts from the West Virginia Gymnastics Training Center in Morgantown recently qualified to represent the state of West Virginia at the Junior Olympic Regional Championships. Level 5 gymnasts Scott Warner, 15; Nicholas Anderson, 10; and John Lovio, 9; traveled to Temple University in Philadelphia, April 26-27, for the Region 7 Men’s Championships. Region 7 is comprised of gymnasts from West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Warner finished eighth of 13 gymnasts in his age category and captured third place on the floor exercise, fifth on vault, sixth on pommel horse, and seventh on both the parallel bars and high bar. In his age category, Lovio placed second on vault with a score of 9.9 and seventh on high bar giving him a 19th place finish of 58 gymnasts in the all-round competition. Anderson finished 35th of 45 gymnasts in his age category. Level 8 gymnasts Lindsey Wehseler, 17; Taylor Herto, 14; Paige Stubna, 13; Carlie Cline, 12; Shelby Hoy, 12; and Chelsey Hoy, 9; brought back unprecedented success for a West Virginia team at the Region 7 Women’s Championships which were held at the Charleston Civic Center on May 3 and 4. For the women, Region 7 is comprised of gymnasts from West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The top 280 gymnasts from these states were divided into six age categories with each division containing 48 athletes. Herto captured the gold medal and was named Region 7’s Level 8 Junior Olympic Uneven Bars Champion in the Senior B division. She also took sixth on the balance beam, seventh on the floor exercise, and finished fourth in the all-around competition. Wehseler and both Hoys also saw top-ten successes. In the Senior C division, Wehseler took fifth place on bars and ninth in the all-round. Shelby Hoy captured sixth place on the balance beam, seventh place on the floor exercise and a 10th place finish in the Junior B division. In the Junior A division, Chelsey Hoy tied for the first-place spot on the floor exercise, but was awarded the second-place silver medal. She finished the meet 21st in her division. Stubna finished 20th in the Junior C division, while Cline took 35th in the Junior B division. The nine gymnasts from the West Virginia Gymnastics Training Center earned the privilege to attend their respective regional championships after achieving qualifying scores at the state competition in March 2008. WVGTC is owned by Gene Diaz, who also serves as the head coach of the boys’ and girls’ competitive teams. The boys were also coached by Stephen Diaz and Kylee Turbish, while the girls were coached by Ryan Schulz and Rebekah Horn this season.