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ImageLansing third graders Jill Austin and Kaitlyn Smith, plus Mackenzie Todd won All-Around Champion, and Lansing kindergartner Emma Smith took fourth at the International Magic Classic in Orlando, Florida February 11-18, when 13 Finger Lakes Gymnastics athletes and their families traveled to Orlando to compete with teams from around the world.  The group also won two team awards.

"This was one of the hardest competitions we have ever attended," says Finger Lakes Gymnastics owner Dean Altes.  "The gymnasts did a phenomenal job."

Altes says the athletes train rigorously for the competition, spending between 9 and 20 hours per week depending on their age.  Many of them are also straight-A students.  All the athletes won multiple awards.

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All work and some play -- the team takes a
break at Orlando's Gatorland
(Photo courtesy of Dean Altes)

The Magic Classic is an annual competition hosted by Brown's Gymnastics Olympics Training Center.  The competition was held in the Orange County Convention Center.  Altes says teams came from all over the U.S. including Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, NY and California, as well as from Ontario, England, Wales, among others.

Finger Lakes Gymnastics Team Highlights :

  • Level 4 Child Age Group - Emma Smith 3rd Place Floor Exercise, 4th Place All Around
  • Level 5 Child Age Group - Jill Austin 1st Place Bars, Beam and All Around, Jordan Lu 1st Place Floor, 3rd Place All Around
  • Level 5 Senior Age Group - Marissa Hunt 1st Place Bars, 2nd Place All Around
  • Level 7 Child Age Group - Katilyn Smith 1st Place Bars, Floor and All Around, Lexi Castellaneta 3rd Place Vault and Floor, 4th Place All Around, Kirsten Houck 10th Place All Around
  • Level 7 Senior Age Group - Rebekka Brown 6th Place All Around
  • Level 8 Child Age Group - Mackenzie Todd 2nd Place Vault and Beam, 1st Place All Around
  • Level 8 Junior Age Group - Heather Larkin 1st Place Bars, 2nd Place All Around
  • Level Senior Age Group - Helen Giles 4th Place Beam, 9th Place All Around
 
"The best part of the competition was not the awards but the support the gymnasts and parents showed every gymnast on the trip," Altes says.  "Gymnasts and parents were there to watch every gymnast from our gym compete.  We definitely had the loudest cheering section with the best good luck signs!"

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