THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604130115 SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 44 EDITION: FINAL SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
EACH TIME she has been tested, Alexis Brion has passed with flying colors.
Gymstrada Gymnastics School's 13-year-old Olympic hopeful was, as usual, up to the task several weeks ago when she traveled to Hungary to compete in the Hungarian International Invitational meet.
As if the competition wasn't difficult enough, Brion had to go into the meet with only three days of training because of a pinched nerve in her back - proving she is as resilient as she is talented.
``She didn't train for three weeks,'' coach Dena Walker said. ``But we got three days in before we had to leave.''
The meet featured 15 international level gymnasts - 13 of whom compete at the senior level. Brion and another American were the only junior internationals in the field.
Brion finished fifth in the meet and Kristen Stuckey of Wisconsin was sixth. The winner was a European ranked fourth in the world.
``It was a good experience for her, especially with being hurt the weeks before,'' Walker said. ``It was her best international-level competition, for sure. That is her highest placement among such high-level competitors.''
Brion, a Salem Middle School seventh-grader, is ranked third in the nation among junior international gymnasts. She will next compete in the U.S. Classic and then the U.S. Championships in June.
``That will be the biggest meet of her life,'' Walker said of the U.S. Championships. ``The top six finishers will go to the 1997 world championships. Alexis and all the juniors will be moving up to senior level and the top 16 make the national team.
``She has a great shot at making that team, which will instantly start getting primed for the next four years for the 2000 Olympics in Australia.''
Brion was recently mentioned in an International Gymnast Magazine article entitled ``The Road to Sydney.''
Along with a picture of Brion, the article mentioned three U.S. gyms and called Gymstrada a new force on the national junior scene. Gymstrada currently has two junior international gymnasts in addition to Brion.
Brion is starting to get more and more used to the level of competition she's at. And while she loves the travel, some aspects that go with it have been difficult.
``The buildings in Budapest were nice, but everything was kind of dirty,'' she said. ``The food wasn't very good and there were some times when I didn't eat anything but bread. There was lots of bread.''
So the first thing Brion did upon her arrival home was attack a steak.
``I had a real meal for a change,'' she said, smiling despite a bad cold.
During her travels, Brion also has to overcome strange equipment, jet lag and unfamiliar surroundings.
Still, she manages to excel, all the while enjoying herself.
``I don't think the competitors knew how old I was even though I was the smallest girl there,'' Brion said. ``All these girls were from 16 to 20 and they were surprised when they found out I was only 13.
``But I had a good time and it was a good experience for me.''
Oh boy!
Gymstrada girls aren't the only ones meeting with great success.
The boys Level 6 team recently won the state meet for that level and will go onto the Region 7 level April 27 along with the Level 5 team that finished second in the state.
The Level 1 team finished second in the state and will compete in the region meet for the opportunity to advance as individuals for the national meet. Level 5 and 6 gymnasts go no farther than the region level.
The Level 6 squad was led by Chesapeake's Kyle Cornett who finished first all-around. Virginia Beach's Mark McWilliams was second with a 32.2. David Welge of Virginia Beach was second at the 7-9 age level with a 33.25.
Virginia Beach's Josh Ladrillono won the Level 5 all-around title for gymnasts 10-11 with a 38.8. Rami Islam of Virginia Beach won for 12-over with a 37.9. Nic Tolley of the Beach was second with a 37.1. Brandon Jordan of Chesapeake was second for the 8-9 group with a 35.8.
Jonathan Uransky was the highest finisher at Level 1 for those 16-over with a second-place finish at 53.35.
Complete Gymstrada boys results appear in today's scoreboard.
Another state champ.
Former Bayside standout Wendy Davis recently won the Virginia State Collegiate all-around title with a Radford University school record of 38.5. She won the uneven bars individual competition with a 9.825. She was fourth on both the vault and floor with a 9.625 and 9.5, respectively. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by TAMARA VONINSKI
Alexis Brion, ranked third nationally in junior gymnastics,
practices on the balance beam at Gymstrada.
by CNB