momentum of the meet changing from one competitor to the next, from one event to the next. However, the sellout crowds of 6 ,000 that came for each night of competition saw two nights of fine competition. The first night they saw Kelly Garrison and Kim Hillner battle for the NSF all-around championship - they were tied for the lead going into the last event. And as with the men, the team meet saw three of four teams at one time or another become the leaders. In the end, Oklahoma's Kelly Garrison nailed a tough beam set to beat Kim Hillner for the AA championship, and the South team (led by Garrison) outscored all others by 1.30 on beam to win the gold in the team competition. In the all-around, Maryland's Shari Mann was the leader through two events, based on a strong vault - full on/1 1/2 twist off. However, Shari missed her beam mount (RD tuck back onto the beam) to fall to 17th all-around. Kim Hillner saw her gold slip away when she missed onbeam.BothBeckyRashoffand Karli Urban, the silver and bronze AA winners, each steadily improved their standing with each round. As many gymnasts lost momentum, they in turn gained ground with a good draw - bars, beam, floor and they ended on vault. In winning the team gold, Coach Nancy Roach's South team was consistent (ho team member finished lower than 16th of24 in the AA), they had the AA champion in Garrison, but most of all they showed the most "blast," winning the meet on beam . .. their last event. Perhaps the most exciting competitive feature of the National Sports Festival is that both junior and senior gymnasts are there to compete on an equal basis. (Left, above) Matt Arnot from Albuquerque, MN; (below, left) Wendee Wilhelm from St. Petersburg, FL;.and Robby Brown on parallel bars from Addison, IL. (Above) Megan Newmeyer on floor from Rochester, MI; and (below) Dennis Hayden from Tucson, AZ.
A~F USGF GYMNASTICS SEPT./OCT. '82
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