The 2006 World Class Invitational was held Sunday, December 17, 2006 at the Freeman Sports and Convocation Center on the Christopher Newport University campus in Newport News, Virginia. Over 300 gymnasts from nine gyms in Virginia and Maryland participated.

Danielle Kram, level 10 age 13-14, and Jenny Antosh, level 9 age 14+, from MarVaTeens had an outstanding meet. Both gymnasts took first in bars, beam and all around. In the level 9 age 10-13 group, Alexandra McMurtry from Richmond Olympiad Gymnastics took first in beam, floor and all around. Katherine Locher from World Class won bars, beam and all around in the level 8 age 9-13 group. She scored an impressive 9.525 on her bar routine.

Level 6 age 7-9 gymnast Caroline Cipolla from Richmond Olympiad took first in vault, bars and all around. Melia Steele from Novaks won beam and floor to take the all around at level 5 age 10-11. World Class gymnast Adrianna Cervantes won vault, bars and all around in the level 5 age 9 group. Taking first in vault, beam, floor and all around, Lindsey Gdovic won level 4 age 6 group. Gdovic was the only gymnast to win three individual events at the meet.

Dow nearly perfect at AAU games

BY ED RICHARDS
The Daily Press, 247-4645

August 8, 2006

Hillary Dow was as close to perfection as she's ever been in gymnastics on Friday and Saturday at the AAU Junior Olympic Games at the Hampton Coliseum.

Dow, who'll begin her college gymnastics career at Ohio State next month, performed near-flawless routines as she won seven individual gold medals and a plaque as part of the winning World Class team.

"It was a great way to end my club gymnastics," said Dow Sunday night. "I went 4-for-4 both days with no falls."

Dow, a recent Tabb High graduate, led a parade of five all-around champions from World Class Gymnastics in the open optionals on Friday. She took firsts on everything except beam, where she finished a close second, in winning the all-around with 37.375 points in the 18-year-old class.

On Saturday morning in individual event finals, Dow was even better in the open optionals for ages 16-19. She won bars, beam, floor and placed second on vault with scores ranging from 9.475 to 9.75. Had an all-around title been awarded that day, she would have won with her highest score ever, 38.475.

"I wasn't expecting anything like this," Dow said. "I was really relaxed and it was fun to perform before my friends and a home crowd."

Other all-around champions for World Class included Taylor Harrison in the 10-year-old class, Brooke Morrison in the 14s, Lindsey Nichol in the 15s and Allie Wheeler in the 16s. Wheeler also won the individual title on vault on Saturday.

Local gymnasts to lead state team
World Class Gymnastics' 10 entrants will represent Virginia in the AAU Junior Olympics. Kara Wright and Hillary Dow lead the way.

BY JENNIFER L. WILLIAMS
The Daily Press, 247-4644

August 1, 2006

NEWPORT NEWS -- Although summer is the off season for practicing routines, 10 girls at World Class Gymnastics in Newport News have been busily doing so the past few weeks in preparation for the AAU Junior Olympics this week at the Hampton Coliseum.

When head coach Tami Harrison called to register her gymnasts, she was told they were the only ones from Virginia. So she figures her girls are likely to comprise most, if not all, of Team Virginia in a team competition divided up by states.

But the most attractive component here is location. Many meets are in faraway locales with few fans able to make the trek to watch. So having something this big in Hampton has created huge excitement.

All 10 girls, ages 10 to 18, will compete in each of the four individual events as well as the all-around competition. Competition starts Wednesday, with World Class hitting the stage Thursday and Friday.

York County resident Hillary Dow, who will attend Ohio State on a gymnastics scholarship this coming fall, is looking forward to it.

"I'm able to compete with my team one more time before heading off to college," Dow said. "I'm more looking forward to being able to compete in our hometown because a lot of our meets are travel meets.

"Just (to be) in front of friends and family and have fun with it, but still do my best."

World Class' brightest star is Kara Wright of Virginia Beach. The University of North Carolina signee was all-around champion in Level 10 at the Junior Olympic Nationals in April and all-around champion at the National High School Gymnastics Championships May 27.

She set a Virginia High School League record with four state all-around titles at First Colonial.

Wright returned from a vacation last week to polish her routines for this week's meet, also her last before leaving home for a college campus and the pressure of college gymnastics.

"AAU Junior Olympics is probably much more relaxed and for fun," Wright said. "There's not as much pressure, and it's more about just doing it for the team."

Wright is ready for the next level.

"I'm so excited about college because it's a lot different," she said. "College gymnastics is more focused on team scores, and you have to work your way into the lineup.

"But I think it'll just be a different atmosphere, and it'll be a good change because I've been doing club gymnastics for 10 years. More than that really."

Summer is usually reserved for working on new skills for the following season, but Harrison retrained her 10 hand-picked charges' routines especially for the Junior Olympics.

"A lot of our Level 10s have a great chance," Harrison said. "It depends on who hits four for four, or their best routines. They're all very talented."

The former gymnast said she likes AAU, which she did as a little girl, because of the Olympic-type atmosphere that includes opening ceremonies, different sports competing simultaneously and the parade of champions.

"That's so nice for the girls," she said. "To get a feeling for AAU can actually give them the feeling of what it would be like to really be in an Olympic Games situation, which I like."

2006 Pilot Awards: Female athlete of the year

By LEE TOLLIVER, The Virginian-Pilot
© June 28, 2006

It was the kind of senior year most athletes only dream of, with a finish that would cap a record-setting high school gymnastics career.

To think that Kara Wright wasn’t even a dreamer.

But now that it’s all over, the numbers — from her final year and the three prior — are sinking in.

Wright finished 46-3 in all-around competitions. She set a Virginia high school record by winning four state all-around titles in a row. She won four state floor titles, two on uneven bars, and one each on balance beam and vault.

She set the state all-around four-event combined score record with a 39.5 — a half-point shy of perfection.

She won four Beach District titles and three Eastern Region crowns.

This year’s Virginian-Pilot Female Athlete of the Year still can’t believe any of it.

“I always just tried to think about one meet at a time,” said Wright, a First Colonial grad who is headed to the University of North Carolina. “It all just kind of happened.”

Three years of unbeaten high school gymnastics set the tone for her finale.

Wright was 36-0 in all-around competitions heading into her senior year. She had set the Virginia High School League record with three consecutive state championships.

The competition her senior year would be tougher than ever. Wright lost a dual meet early in the season because of a fall, then lost again several weeks later.

“Definitely more pressure,” Wright said. “There were a lot of girls who hadn’t competed in high school yet, girls I knew were really good.”

Wright won her fourth consecutive Beach District crown but lost the Eastern Region title to Kellam’s Talia Tossone — leaving some to wonder if she could make it four straight state titles.

But she did, then capped it all by winning the all-around title at the National High School Gymnastics Championships.

“What a way to cap my senior season,” Wright said. “I just went out and had fun.”

Runner-up: Shelley Wong, Norfolk Academy

A first-team All-Tidewater field hockey and soccer player, Wong scored the tying and winning goals to rally the Bulldogs to their first Virginia Independent Schools state girls soccer title. She has signed to play soccer at Rice.

Gymnastics

BY ED RICHARDS, The Daily Press
247-4645
June 27, 2006

World Class Gymnastics' Nicole Wright and Elizabeth Durkac, who recently passed their tests as national elite gymnasts, will see their next action in the U.S. Classic Meet in Kansas City, Mo., July 28-30.

"The U.S. Classic is a huge meet," said World Class head coach Tami Harrison. "It's a stepping stone to qualify as a USA National Team member or for the Olympics, which is our goal for them."

Wright could compete in the higher Junior International Elite class at the U.S. Classic after passing that test for optionals in Allentown, Pa., June 16 but instead will compete with Durkac in the national elite category. Wright, a rising eighth-grader at Tabb Middle School, needed a score of 52.0 to make international elite and finished with 52.20.

Durkac, a rising sophomore at Tabb High, needed a 48.0 to become a national elite and scored 49.3.

Last year, World Class only had one elite gymnast, Kara Wright. She went on to win the all-around title in the Junior Olympic Nationals in Oklahoma City on April 30.

Wright, a University of North Carolina signee, also was the all-around champion at the National High School Coaches Association Invitational on May 27."I was thrilled to win one national title, so it was pretty amazing to win two," Wright said.

Morning glory for Wright
Kara Wright wins the national floor exercise and all-around titles for World Class Gymnastics of Newport News.

BY ED RICHARDS, The Daily Press
247-4645

May 2, 2006

World Class Gymnastics coach Tami Harrison had a good feeling she'd be bringing back her first national champion from the USA Gymnastics Level 10 Junior Olympic Nationals in Oklahoma City.

Kara Wright made that feeling come true Sunday.

Wright, the top performer for the Newport News-based gym the past four years, not only won one national title but two on Sunday. She won the floor exercise with a 9.750 and the more prestigious all-around championship with 38.1 points.

Though she had to wake up at 6 in the morning to get dressed, warm up and get ready for the start of more than four hours of competition at 10:30 a.m., it turned out to be the happiest day of Wright's life.

"Oh yes. It was pretty cool," Wright said Sunday night.

Wright, in the 17-year-old Senior C Division against 55 other competitors, didn't get off to a great start, placing 18th on balance beam (9.3), normally her weakest event. But then she turned it on with an impressive, 90-second winning routine on floor to the upbeat and energetic music from the Broadway show "Chicago."

""Her floor score was the highest of the meet. Her routine was superb, awesome, flawless," Harrison said.

Next came the vault, where she scored 9.575 for a fourth place. More importantly, it gave Wright the overall lead going into her final routine, the uneven parallel bars.

"That's probably when I felt the most pressure because I knew I had to hit a clean routine," Wright said. "It wasn't my best performance (9.475 for fourth place), but I did hit it."

Harrison, knowledgeable about local gymnastics for more than 30 years, said as far as she knows, Wright is the first gymnast from a Peninsula club to win an all-around title at the USA Gymnastics Nationals.

"Kara went out with a great attitude and just performed like a national champion," said Harrison, who opened the World Class gym six years ago.

Wright was making her fourth trip to the nationals. At her first one - she was 14 at the time - she was in awe of the other competitors and didn't place.

At the time, she couldn't visualize herself becoming a national champion someday. But that began to change when she placed second on floor in 2004 and fourth on vault last year.

Three of Wright's teammates -Elizabeth Durkac, Amanda Bressette and Hilliary Dow - also did well on Sunday.

Durkac, competing in Junior C for 15-year-olds, placed sixth on beam (9.45); Bressette finished sixth on beam (9.575) in the Senior D for mainly 18-year-olds; and Dow finished 10th on bars (9.375) and 12th in the all-around (37.775) in Senior D.

Durkac's chances of a better day ended quickly when she turned her left ankle in her opening event, the vault. She placed 34th on vault (9.250) and 22nd on her next routine, the bars (9.2), but then she finished sixth on beam while barely able to walk.

That was it for Durkac.

"Her ankle was three times the size of the other ankle, so I scratched her from the floor," Harrison said.

Harrison is hoping the team's performance at the Level 10's season-ending meet could serve as an inspiration for others at World Class.

"It was an awesome ending to a new beginning," she said. "It's time to move on to bigger and better things now that Kara has set the standard as a national champion."

Gymnasts medal in Nashville
BY ED RICHARDS, The Daily Press
247-4645
April 25, 2006

The intimidation factor was out and confidence in for the four members of the World Class Gymnastics team competing in the Junior Olympics Level 9 Eastern Championships in Nashville, Tenn., Friday through Sunday.

The result: The Newport News-based team came home Sunday night with two individual champions and four all-around medals.

"Our kids really stepped up. They weren't intimidated, and that's the name of the game in gymnastics," said head coach Tami Harrison. "They went out and performed like champions." A year's experience made a major difference for Brooke Morrison, 14, of Newport News. Last year - her first at the same meet - the intimidation factor led to a dismal performance.
	Back Row, Left to Right: Jennifer Glaze, Alison Wheeler, Lindsey Nichol, and Brooke Morrison.

"But this time she was awesome; she had her best meet ever," Harrison said.

Morrison, competing in the Junior C. class, topped her showing by winning the vault with a score of 9.5, tied for fifth on bars (9.425) and placed second in the all-around (37.275). She missed winning the AA gold by .05.

Alison Wheeler, 16, of Williamsburg also brought home a championship, winning the vault in the Senior B class with a career-best 9.575. She also placed fifth on bars (9.325) and was in first place in the all-around going into her last event, beam, but had a fall and finished fifth (36.575).

Jennifer Glaze of Chesapeake, competing in the Senior C division for 16-year-olds, also placed fifth in the all-around (36.4)

Lindsey Nichol, 14, of Yorktown added to the medal haul by placing third on floor (9.3) and 10th in all-around (36.475).

"This is the best we've ever done at this meet. The competition was tough with 48 to 50 competitors in each of the classes," Harrison said. "We consider it our nationals. It's the top meet our Level 9 kids can advance to. It's for the eastern half of the country."

She said there is also a Western Championship meet but no true national meet for Level 9 because that would involve too many competitors on this level.

Level 10, the highest, does have a national championship. That will take place Thursday through Saturday in Oklahoma City.

World Class is sending Kara Wright, Elizabeth Durkac, Hilliary Dow and Amanda Bressette to that meet.

Golden memory
By John Harvey
The Virginia Gazette
Published April 19, 2006

JAMES CITY -- Move over Nastia Liukin and Chellsie Memmel. The next great U.S. Olympic gymnast could come from Williamsburg. Allie Wheeler, Brittany Stroud, Morgan Dronen and Madison Dronen have each turned in successful spring seasons, earning medals for World Class Gymnastics.

Last month, Wheeler and Stroud participated at the U.S. Gymnastics Association Level 9 state meet in Newport News. Wheeler, a sophomore at Lafayette High, captured gold in the all-around competition in the 16-year-old division. Her performance was highlighted by gold medals in the vault (9.30) and the balance beam (9.30). She was also second on the uneven bars (9.125) and third on the floor exercise (9.10) to repeat as state champion.

“Beam was the highlight of the meet for me,” she said. “All season, I've worked hard to stay on the beam, and for this meet the hard work paid off.”

Stroud also had a solid competition, placing in two events. Not bad for someone who had taken a two-year hiatus. The 15-year-old had trained in gymnastics for six years, before taking a 2-1/2 year break in her early teens. The Lafayette High freshman returned to the sport in October and quickly regained her championship form. She won gold in the vault and placed fourth in the floor exercise (9.10), despite suffering a hernia the week before states.

“I was glad I could help my team on two events,” she said.

World Class Gymnastics Level 9 team placed second in the team competition. Brooke Morrison won the vault (9.275) in the 14-year-old division, while Lindsey Nichol took top honors in the floor exercise (9.40) in the same age group. In the 16-year-old division, Jennie Glaze was first in the uneven bars (9.20) and third in the vault (9.0).

Two weeks ago, Madison and Morgan Dronen turned in medal-winning finishes during the World Class Mother May I meet held in Newport News.

Madison, a third-grader at D.J. Montague, won the all-around championship in the Level 5 team competition. The 9-year-old captured top honors in the vault (9.025) and the balance beam (9.225). She was also second in the floor exercise (9.125) and fifth in the uneven bars (9.05).

Morgan, a seventh-grader at Toano Middle, finished second overall in the Level 6 competition. The 13-year-old won the vault (9.275) and finished second in the floor exercise (8.75). She also placed fourth in the uneven bars (8.35) and was third in the balance beam (8.5).

Aiming for world-class gold
Kara Wright is the best bet to give a Newport News-based gym its first national champion.
BY ED RICHARDS, The Daily Press
247-4645
April 18, 2006

Before the season began, coach/owner Tami Harrison predicted this was going to be a good year for World Class Gymnastics.

It's been better than good. World Class won its first Level 10 state championship, took second place on Level 9 and has qualified eight gymnasts for the nationals.

But the best may be yet to come. The Newport News-based facility, which Harrison opened six years ago, could have its first national champion in the next two weeks.

"We've never had one, but Elizabeth (Durkac) could win on bars or beam and Kara (Wright) could win on floor, vault, or bars," said Harrison while watching those two standouts go through a practice routine on Friday.

Wright and Durkac are among the four World Class Level 10 gymnasts competing in the Junior Olympics Nationals in Oklahoma City, April 27-29. The others are Hilliary Dow and Amanda Bressette.

On Wednesday night, teammates Jennifer Glaze, Brooke Morrison, Lindsey Nichol and Alison Wheeler will leave for the Level 9 nationals, which run Friday through Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

"This is the most we've sent to nationals; we've doubled the number of competitors we sent last year," Harrison said.

She's also proud that World Class has qualified the largest number of gymnasts of any club in the state for Level 9 and 10, the two highest competitive levels.

Of those individuals competing, Wright has the best shot of winning. This will be her fourth consecutive trip to the nationals on Level 10, and she's coming off an impressive winning performance at the Region VII meet in Allentown, Pa., April 9-10.

"Her performance was nearly perfect except for the beam, but that was her last routine and she got a little conservative," Harrison said.

Wright, competing against gymnasts from six states, topped her showing by winning the floor exercise with a score of 9.75 and the all-around title with 38.450 points. She placed second on vault (9.825), second on bars (9.65) and third on beam (9.225). Her scores on floor, vault and the all-around were personal bests.

Only two members of World Class have won regional titles in the past. Samantha Perino three years ago on Level 9 and Wright on Level 10 in 2004.

Wright, a senior at First Colonial High School and a University of North Carolina signee, knows what it takes to win at the nationals after finishing second on floor in 2004 and fourth on vault last year.

"I can't hold back on any of my routines," she said. "I'll prepare the same way and may throw in a new skill in one of the routines."

Harrison isn't content to be sending eight gymnasts to the nationals.

Her goal - and that of assistant coach Jon Angle - is to cap the year with that first national champion. It's something she knows is within reach.

Boy's State Meet
March 20, 2006 - The World Class Gymnastics Boy's Team brought home 12 individual and All Around championships at this year's Virginia State Boy's Gymnastics Championships held at Apollo Gymnastics in Woodbridge, Virginia on March 18th and 19th. The Level 4 and Level 9 teams each brought home 3rd place banners. Steven Rochelle was the Level 6, Age 8-9 All Around (55.3) and Vault(9.6) Champion. Sean Sours had a strong meet taking Level 7, Age 12 and over, Individual Championships on Vault (9.3) Floor (9.6) and High Bar (8.9) and coming in second in the All Around competition.

The Level 4 Team had an impressive meet led by Christopher McCord who was the Level 4, Age 6-7 State Champion on Rings (9.5), Vault (9.6) and High Bar (9.4) while coming in second in the All Around competition. Wesley Estrada had an outstanding meet earning top honors in the Age 8-9 division on Floor (9.6) and Vault (9.7) and finished 3rd in the All Around competition. Connor Brown earned top honors on Vault (9.4) and High Bar (9.4) en route to a 3rd place All Around finish in the Age 10-11 division.

All of the Boys in Levels 5 - 9 who participated in the State Meet qualified to compete at this year's Regionals. Optional Regionals will be held at Penev Gymnastics in Rochester, New York, on April 8th and 9th. Compulsory Regionals will be held at Temple University in Philadelphia on April 22nd and 23rd. Best of Luck to our Boy's Team Regional Qualifiers.

Level 10 Team Wins at State Meet
March 14, 2006 - The World Class Gymnastics Level 10 Team brought home top honors at this year's Virginia State Gymnastics Championships with dominating performances in three of the five age divisions. The team was led by Kara Wright who took first place in every individual event while en route to a personal-best 38.3 All Around score in the 17 year-old age group. Nicole Wright was equally dominant winning every individual event on the way to a 37.75 All Around score that placed her first in the 12 - 13 year-old age group. Hillary Dow continued a string of exceptional meet performances by placing second in the 18 and over division with a 37.05 All Around. The 15 year-old division All Around competition was won by Elizabeth Durkac (36.85) who took top honors on vault, bars and beam while placing third on floor.

Outstanding performances were turned in by Amanda Bressette (36.8 All Around) and Whitney Grandy (35.25 All Around) en route to an impressive team victory. World Class scored 113.725 to out distance extremely competitive Capital Gymnastics (112.375) and Ocean Tumblers (110.075) squads in the team standings. The World Class team pulled away on Balance Beam where Elizabeth Durkac, Kara Wright and Nicole Wright scored 9.50, 9.45 and 9.40 respectively. "It was a great win for our team" states Tami Harrison. "We've really focused on beam over the past 30 days because we considered it a weakness going in; clearly the hard work paid off," she added.

The Level 10 team will now begin preparations for Regionals and Nationals. Good Luck Ladies!

Level 9's Take Second at State
Level 9 Team takes second place at 2006 State Meet.

March 14, 2006 - The World Class Gymnastics Women’s Level 9 Team took second place in the All Around Competition at this year’s Level 9 Virginia State Meet held Saturday, March 11th. The team was led by Allie Wheeler who took top honors in the 16 year-old age division with an All Around score of 36.825. Ms. Wheeler placed first on Vault (9.30) and Beam (9.30), second on Uneven Bars (9.125) and 3rd on Floor (9.10).

Firm seeks space to spring
The proposed gym would give young Peninsula athletes a larger place to train.
BY CHRIS FLORES, The Daily Press
247-4738
February 8, 2006
NEWPORT NEWS -- World Class Gymnastics hopes to move from its current digs in a hard-to-find warehouse to a huge new state-of-the-art site off Jefferson Avenue in Newport News.

The business has gotten approval from city planners and now must get a nod from the City Council this month. World Class co-owner Tami Harrison said the business hoped to begin building in May and finish in 2007.

World Class wants to build a 24,000-square-foot building with 75 parking spots on Bell King Road. The current site on Middle Ground Boulevard has about 19,000 square feet. By comparison, the average grocery store is about 45,000 square feet, and a Wal-Mart is about 98,000 square feet.

"There are things I want in it that you can get through a new facility, like an in-ground tumble track and an in-ground trampoline," said Harrison, who owns the company with her sister, Tina Boyd.

The firm's current site is in the back of a warehouse building on Middle Ground Boulevard in the Oyster Point area of Newport News. There's a small sign announcing World Class's presence on the building. The structure has large garage doors commonly found on distribution sites.

"This is kind of hidden back here," Harrison said. She frequently hears from parents who are surprised to find the gym tucked into the back of an area full of office parks.

The company trains kids how to do everything from tumbling to cheering. It expects about 400 regular students at any given time, with 92 members competing on teams last year. The new building will include separate areas for recreational and competitive gymnasts.

World Class also operates a sister company, TNT Dynamite Birthday Parties. The new site will have three rooms where kids can have celebrations. And there will be extra room for the business's inflatable slide, obstacle course, moonwalk and boxing ring.

The new site will be in an area behind Office Depot on Jefferson Avenue zoned for industrial use. But city planners don't object to putting the gym there because it requires a large, tall building similar to many industrial sites.

Harrison was an instructor at Atlantic Academy of Gymnastics in Newport News for 10 years before buying the business with her sister in 2000 and changing the name to World Class. Harrison - a former college All-American at California State, Fullerton - has regularly churned out state champs.

Harrison hopes to have a top-notch gym that will inspire Peninsula kids and maybe help someone achieve the Olympic dream that she almost reached before breaking her neck in 1987. Harrison envisions future summer camps and after-school programs.

2006 Sand Dollar/Whitlow Invitational
January 23, 2006 - World Class Gymnastics competed at the Sand Dollar / Whitlow Invitational on January 20-23 at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. World Class gymnasts had an outstanding meet with 36 individual and all around first place performances. Congratulations to the following gymnasts on their accomplishments:

The Sand Dollar / Whitlow Invitational is hosted by Orlando Metro Gymnastics and the EGO Booster Club.

News from Hampton Roads' Premier Gymnastics and Cheer Training Center

World Class Gymnastics in the News - 2006

2006 World Class Invitational

Dow nearly perfect at AAU games

Local gymnasts to lead state team
World Class Gymnastics' 10 entrants will represent Virginia in the AAU Junior Olympics. Kara Wright and Hillary Dow lead the way.

2005 News
2004 News

News from Hampton Roads' Premier Gymnastics and Cheer Training Center

World Class Gymnastics in the News - 2006

2006 World Class Invitational

Dow nearly perfect at AAU games

Local gymnasts to lead state team World Class Gymnastics' 10 entrants will represent Virginia in the AAU Junior Olympics. Kara Wright and Hillary Dow lead the way.

2005 News 2004 News

Local gymnasts to lead state team
World Class Gymnastics' 10 entrants will represent Virginia in the AAU Junior Olympics. Kara Wright and Hillary Dow lead the way.

2005 News
2004 News