Each Cincinnati gymnast made her mark competing at the USA Championships.  As a newcomer to the senior rankings, Priess won medals in the all around and on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise.  She is a veteran of 4 junior National teams with considerable national and international experience.  A junior at Lakota West High School, Ashley has won gold and silver medals repeatedly for the USA in various international competitions this past year competing in Belgium and France.  Most recently prior to the National Championships, Priess was All Around champion at the US Classic.  This was her third win having won the meet in 2005 and 2004 as a junior.  The US Classic is the final qualifier to the national championships.

Jacquelyn Johnson has come onto the national scene in the last year and this is her second year as a national team member.  Her foray onto the international scene has been successful as she and USA and CGA teammates Hilary Mauro and Bianca Flohr brought home the team gold at a tri meet between USA, Japan and New Zealand this past winter.  At this meet Jacquelyn also won gold on floor exercise and uneven bars and silver in the all around.   In early springtime Johnson was selected to compete at the American Cup where in preliminaries Johnson placed in a tie for third with her own teammate Bianca Flohr.  Johnson also placed third on uneven bars at this meet.  Observing the “two competitors per country rule” for the American Cup Johnson and Flohr watched their USA teammates who had placed 1^st and 2^nd compete in Finals where the USA Women won the meet against top world class gymnasts. 

World’s Team training camp is the first time for both Priess and Johnson to go this far in international competition, so it's a very exciting time for them and for Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy.  Cincinnati Gymnastic Academy is the only area gym to place women on World or Olympic teams having done so numerous times in the past fifteen years.  Owner and elite coach, Mary Lee Tracy, was Co-coach of the magnificent, gold medal winning 1996 Olympic Team.

More senior elite team news from Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy includes results for Hilary Mauro.  During the first day of the VISA USA National Championships, senior elite team member Hilary Mauro had difficulties, but came back with an amazing performance on the second day.  Her performance both days on balance beam secured her a spot on the awards podium for a medal.  Earlier in 2006, Hilary also won medals for efforts at international competition in Belgium while competing for the USA as a ‘05 National Team member.  During this past late July at the 2006 US Classic, Mauro won medals on four events, including all around, vault, bars and beam. 

The junior elite team members at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy both had success at USA VISA Nationals as both Flohr and Whitcomb were named to the USA National Team.  Bianca Flohr came away with silver medals for her second place floor exercise and All Around finish in the junior division.  She also won a bronze medal for balance beam and significantly is the National Uneven Bars Champion for the second year in a row.  At the meet Flohr was also selected as one of the nation’s top four juniors that comprised the USA team selected for the Jr. Pan Am Games in Canada.  The Jr. Pan Am Games were held the last week in August and Flohr ended up with an awesome finish.  She helped the USA win a team gold and won gold on Uneven Bars and two silver medals in the All Around and Balance Beam.  Bianca has been a four-time member of the Junior National team with impressive international success.  Mentioned earlier, she tied for third place with teammate, Johnson, at the American Cup preliminaries and also placed third on balance beam.  Earlier in Fall of 2005, Flohr was successful winning a total of seven gold, silver and bronze medals at two international meets, the Japanese International Juniors and the Pan American Championships in Brazil.  In Brazil she competed for the first time as a senior helping the USA team win gold.  Flohr started this year as a sophomore at Lakota West High School where she joins elite teammates Priess, Johnson and Mauro. 

Cincinnati Gymnastic Academy’s youngest team member, 13 yr. old Cassie Whitcomb, competed at her first national championship and placed well in the all around securing her spot on the USA Junior National Team and won a medal for her successful performance on the Uneven Bars.  Cassie is the national Junior Olympic Level 9 Uneven Bars Champion and whizzed through Level 10, qualifying as an international elite gymnast all in the short span of one year.  Whitcomb has been selected to participate in a Pan American Gymnastic Union Training Camp in Houston.  She will be joined by four gymnasts from each of 10 countries from the PAGU organization.

As seniors in high school, CGA team members Jacquelyn Johnson and Hilary Mauro have been blessed with being the top two collegiate recruits for the top NCAA gymnastics teams.  Jacquelyn has made a verbal commitment for a full scholarship to University of Utah and will sign in November.  Utah is a 10 time NCAA National Championship winner, with a second place finish at 2006 NCAA Championships this past year.  Hilary is visiting several top NCAA colleges in the next several weeks to decide which will be graced with her athleticism.  She has several full scholarship offers pending.