March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Gymnast earns All-America

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Sarah Ames-Leong of Hampden added another title to her blossoming gymnastics career Friday, earning All-America honors at the YMCA National Championships.

Ames-Leong, who competes for the Old Town-Orono YMCA, had all-around scores of 34.9 on the first day of competition and 35.7 on the second day. That put her in sixth place out of 120 gymnasts who competed at the championship level, the highest division at the meet. The top 10 finishers were named All-Americans.

Her best score on the floor exercise was a 9.4. She also earned scores of 8.4 on both vault and uneven parallel bars. But a 9.375 on the balance beam was a pleasant surprise after struggling on that event in previous meets.

“All of the sudden I didn’t have any problems,” she said. “It helped that we got to go in early and test out the equipment. Also, I had taken a break from working on my back handsprings and that helped me.”

Gymnasts at the meet competed in three divisions: novice (for Level 7), developmental (Level 8) and championship (Level 9 and above). Ames-Leong qualified for the championship division, while three other Old Town-Orono gymnasts competed in the developmental group.

Michele Thornton’s score of 8.15 on beam was good for 13th overall and she finished with an all-around score of 31.15. Asheley Simpson tallied a 31.7 and Christina Belknap scored a 30.45.

Ames-Leong, a sophomore at Hampden Academy who competes for the Broncos during the high school season, took second place at the high school championships in February and won the YMCA New England regional meet in June.


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