More than 16,000 athletes competing in 18 different sports traveled to Houston, Texas for the Junior Olympic Games July 23-29, and the Studios Unlimited Tumblers were among those who attended.
Many of the athletes and their families rode together on a bus, and the kids made so many lifelong memories.
Many of the famous Olympians got their start at the Junior Olympic Games. Junior Olympics alumni through the decades include Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, Mary Decker Slaney, Kerri Strug, Bart Conner, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal.
The athletes must compete in preliminary competition and place in the top 10 to advance to final competition. Overall, the Studios Unlimited team took 19 of the 27-member team to Houston and competed 55 times in final competition, including tumbling, double-mini trampoline and trampoline.
The athletes won 15 gold, 11 silver and five bronze medals. The team also won nine of the high point awards, for highest scores per division that are used for the overall Team Kentucky awards. Team Kentucky earned third place in double-mini trampoline and third place in trampoline out of the 14 states represented in the tumbling and trampoline sport.
While in Houston, the athletes got to visit the Houston Downtown Aquarium and Restaurant, Kemah Boardwalk for dinner, carnival rides and shopping, and also the Galveston Beach. They also got to shop at the third largest mall in the United States, called the Galleria Mall. Most of the time was spent practicing and competing in the George R. Brown Convention Center, which is the third largest convention center in the U.S.
During the Parade of Champions, Grace Epperson got to perform with the Stars of Tomorrow National Team, and Haley Robinson performed with the AAU National Team.
The students are coached by Vernetta Duncan-Cole, Christina Cole, April Miller, Angela Duncan-Baker and Amber Donaldson. The students and coaches will be traveling to Indiana for AAU National Team trials and Stars of Tomorrow National Team trials in February. They are looking forward to USTA Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in June, and the AAU Junior Olympics in Detroit in July 2013.
Listed below are the results of each athlete:
Grace Epperson: gold in tumbling, double-mini and trampoline
Madison Campbell: 9th in tumbling, gold in double-mini, and gold trampoline
Sarah Jo Campbell: bronze in tumbling, 7th in double-mini, and gold in trampoline
Libby Cornett: gold in tumbling, 5th in double-mini, and 6th in trampoline
Jaden Noble: 4th in tumbling, silver in double-mini, and 4th in trampoline
Myra Davis: 6th in double-mini and silver in trampoline
McCall Davis: silver in tumbling, 8th in double-mini, and gold in trampoline
Brittany Gilliam: 8th in double-mini and 5th in trampoline
Amanda Back: gold in tumbling, double-mini and trampoline
Olivia Holbrook: 5th in tumbling, 9th in double-mini, and 4th in trampoline
Madison Gibson: gold in tumbling, bronze in double-mini, and silver in trampoline
Nataley Fugate: bronze in tumbling, 7th in double-mini, and 5th in trampoline
Sky Slone: gold in tumbling and bronze in trampoline
Katie Arnett: gold in tumbling, silver in double-mini, and gold in trampoline
Haley Robinson: 4th in tumbling, 4th in double-mini, and 6th in trampoline
Grace Conley: 11th in tumbling, silver in double-mini, and bronze in trampoline
Jordyn Blair: bronze in tumbling, silver in double-mini, and bronze in trampoline
Molly Barker: silver in tumbling, silver in double-mini, and silver in trampoline
Trampoline High Point awards were presented to Elivia Gibson, Sky Slone, Grace Epperson and Katie Arnett.
Double-Mini High Point awards were presented to Grace Epperson, Jordyn Blair, Katie Arnett, Jaden Nobile and Haley Robinson.













