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2011-2102 Alpharetta High School Gymnastics Team
This web site is the official site for all information pertaining to this year's Gymnastics Team.  Please visit this site often for new information.

BREAKING NEWS

  * Practice photos posted on the photo page.   1/27/12

  * 2011-2012 Gymnastics Team

* Practice begins at Gym World of Georgia on Thursday, Jan. 19th.....  1/18/12
 

* 2011-2012 Gymnastics Team Announced.....  1/3/12
Congratulations to the following team members and to our new Faculty Representative - Coach Arnold:

Returning Seniors
Kelsey Kopec & Ashlyn Laratta

*  2012 Meet & Practice Schedule Posted.....  1/3/12
Please check out our Meet Schedule on the SCHEDULE PAGE, and the Practice Schedule on the NEWS page.

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2011 Season Archive

*GHSA State Runner-Up!!! 5/1/11
The team competed at the GHSA State Meet this past Friday night and finished 0.2 behind Tift County.  Though the Raiders were hoping for their first State Championship, this was the team's first trip to the state meet in its four year history.  The other highlights of the meet included Kelsey Kopec winning the All-Around Champion as well as .  winning Vault, Bars, and Beam.  Sarah Parkey was the Runner-Up on Floor behind Meghan Merritt on Colquitt County.  Also competing for the Raiders that night were Allie Cheek, Senior and 4 year team member, Ashlyn Laratta, Junior and 3 year team member, and Madison Guzowski, Freshman.  The team is only allowed to put up 4 routines per event limiting the participation of all very qualified team members, but the rest of the team was there supporting and cheering the Raiders on.  Next year...
 

We especially want to thank Principal Dunn and Kirk Alexander, Athletic Director for coming out and supporting the girls at State.
   

* Lady Raiders Qualified to State Meet taking the Top Spot out of Areas with a New Record High Score of 110.425!! 4/16/11
The team competed at the Area Qualifier for State this weekend against some 40+ teams, and finished at the top of the 6 qualifiers that make it through to State in the Team Competition.  In addition, the Raiders qualified 2 All-Around Qualifiers taking 1st and 3rd Places and 4 Individual Qualifiers in the 4 events.

The team will compete for the first time at the State Meet on Friday, April 29th at Westminster.  More details will be soon about the Raiders awesome performance.

Congratulations to all of the Team Members!!!

* Gymnastic Team Remains Undefeated in 5th Meet of the Season  3/29/11
A smaller, yet talented squad led by 1st Place All Arounder, Courtney Cohen, headed off competition from Kell, Camden and Sequoyah High Schools this past Saturday.  The Raiders took 1st Place by a full 2.15 pts, followed by Kell, then Camden and Sequoyah.  Courtney also placed 1st on Bars.  Madison Guzowski finished with the Raiders highest placement on Vault in 3rd.  Along with Courtney on Bars placing was Madison in 3rd Place and Emily Fernandez in 4th.  Emily took 1st Place on Beam with a 9.1, and two Raiders, Ashlyn Laratta and Courtney Cohen tied for 3rd Place.  The Raiders highest finisher on Floor was Ashlyn at 2nd Place with Madison finishing 4th.  The Raiders also had team contributions from Tasya Cooley and Kylie Knight.

The Team overall placed 1st, and was 1st team on Bars and Beam and 2nd team on Vault and Floor.  Courtney had 4 Personal Bests for the season.  She was followed by Emily who posted 3 Personal Bests for the Season, Tasya and Ashlyn each posted 2 Personal Bests, and Kylie posted a Personal Best on Floor.

Some of the Raiders will be in competition again this Friday qualifying for Areas at a meet hosted by Chattahoochee.  Then the weekend after Spring Break will be the Team's Area Qualifier for the State Meet.  The Raiders have to be one of the top 6 Teams out of some 40+ teams in the State to qualify to compete as a Team at the State Meet.  The Raiders have already faced roughly one-half of the teams in the State already.  Good Luck Raiders Gymnastics Team!!!

* Gymnastic Team Wins at Westminster and Remains Undefeated 3/23/11


The ladies gymnastics team had another strong showing heading towards the Area Qualifier in mid-April.  They had some stiff competition from Westminster, Central Forsyth, West Forsyth and Northview, with the Raiders finishing on top.  The team was led by All-Arounder, Allie Cheek who took 2nd place.  As a team, the Raiders were 2nd Place on Vault with Madison Guzowski taking 2nd Place, individually.  The Raiders then went on to place 1st as a team on the remaining events, Bars, Beam and Floor.  On Bars, Kelsey Kopec placed 1st with a 9.6 and she also took the top spot on Beam with a 9.1.  On Floor, it was a 1,2,3 Raider sweep with Kelsey, Alex and Allie (Autumn Keller from Central Forsyth tied with Allie).

The Raiders posted their third highest score of the season with a 107.10, 3.6 points ahead of Westminster.  Senior, Allie Cheek had 4 Personal Best Scores for the season yielding her Personal Best All Around.  The Single Highest Score of the meet was posted by Kelsey Kopec and she had 2 of them....a 9.6 on both Bars and Floor.  Alex Stephens had a Personal Best with a 9.5 on Floor.  Also contributing to the team were Tasya Cooley, Ashlyn Laratta, Kylie Knight, Courtney Cohen, Emily Fernandez and Sarah Parkey.  The team was happy to welcome Courtney out on the floor for the first time this season after a knee surgery in the fall, and Courtney had a strong showing on Bars.  Freshmen Kylie Knight stepped up on Vault for fellow Freshman Sarah Parkey suffering from a mild injury taking her out of the competition for the evening.    

Overall, the team had a solid meet and is showing its depth with leadership from its experienced upper classmen as well as putting up strong performances from its sophomore and freshmen classes.  Coach Drehoff is positioning all of the gymnasts to be prepared for a strong showing at the remaining meets and heading in to the Area Qualifier at Lovett School on April 15th & 16th.  The team will be out competing again this weekend at a meet hosted by Sequoyah being held at Georgia All Stars this Saturday at 2:30p.  This weekend the team will be led by the lower classmen who will get a chance to show their Raider talents.  Some video will be added from the Westminster meet soon, so check back to see your favorite Raider gymnast!
 

*  Alpharetta News & Revue  3/18/11
Raiders Gymnastic Team gets more press for outstanding performances.  Click the APPEN logo to read the article.

*    High school sports notebook  3/18/11

Gymnastics Alpharetta High wasted little time in establishing itself as a top contender for the state championship. Alpharetta, which failed to quality for last year's finals, opened the season by scoring a school-record 110.87 points in a meet with four other teams, including defending team champion Lassiter. Alpharetta also won the Kell Invitational, with Walton and Milton rounding out the top three.

Alpharetta teammates Kelsey Kopec and Sarah Parkey placed 1-2 in all-around at both meets. Kopec, a junior, is the defending state champion in the all-around.   Click on the AJC Logo to read the article.

Click on photo to enlarge

*   Undefeated Raiders Win Again Last Friday Night.....
     See Our Latest Video Highlights Below 3/13/11
The Raiders competed in Thomaston, GA Friday night against Pike County, Carrolton and Forsyth Central, and came away again with the top spot!

The team started out on Vault, with Allie taking 1st, Alex 2nd, and Maggie 4th.  Next was Bars, with Sarah taking 2nd, Alex 3rd, followed by Allie and Emily.   Tasya took top honors for the Raiders on Beam with 2nd Place and Sarah 3rd.  The Raiders finished the meet up on Floor with Sarah winning 1st place, and Allie and Alex in a tie for 2nd Place followed by Kylie.  The top All-Around spot was again taken by a Raider, with Sarah placing 1st, and Allie 4th.  The Raiders placed 1st Place as a team, followed by Central Forsyth, Thomaston and Pike County.  Carrolton also brought their JV team for competition.  Enjoy some highlights of the meet below.

*   Raiders Land on Top Again at the Kell Invitational.....See Video Highlights Below 3/6/11

The Raiders were out again this Friday up against 9 other area high school teams with some 75 gymnasts, and again placed at the top.  The team gave a strong performance finishing well ahead of 2nd Place Walton, 3rd Place Milton and 4th Place Roswell.  The teams following were Kell, West Forsyth, Northview, Sequoyah & Johns Creek.  As a team, the Raiders Team took 1st place on all events!

In the All-Around, the team's 3 All-Around gymnasts all placed...Kelsey Kopec 1st, Sarah Parkey 2nd & Alex Stephens 4th.  The team was highlighted with Specialists, Maggie McNealy, Allie Cheek & Ashlyn Laratta.  Depth is the key factor in the Raiders team this year with teammates Tasya Cooley, Kylie Knight, Emily Fernandez & Courtney Cohen all on deck and ready to score this coming weekend.  The Raiders had the 1st place gymnast on 3 of the 4 events.  This is our biggest meet of the season prior to the 'Area Qualifier'.  Following are the individual event results:
Vault - 1st Sarah, 3rd Kelsey, 4th Alex & 7th Maggie
Bars - 1st Kelsey, 3rd Alex, & 6th Sarah
Beam - 2nd Sarah, 6th Kelsey, 7th Ashlyn
Floor - 1st Kelsey, 4th Sarah, 5th Alex, 7th Allie

 

*  Vault 101..... 3/1/11
In efforts to share what crazy things our gymnasts do for the Raiders, we will be featuring some training skills the ladies do at practice and will occasionally feature some routines from meets.  Check back often to see our progress.  These were vaults from practice last night.  Click on the links to see your favorite AHS Gymnasts!
 
              

*   Raiders Sweep First Meet of the Season Setting New Record of 110.875 3/1/11

Check out our meet photos on the Photos Page.

Saturday's meet held at Cartersville Gymnastic Center was the Raiders first meet of the season and they started out strong and with a lot of depth on the team posting a new school record of 110.875 a full 4.775 points ahead of 2nd place Lassiter (last year's state champs), 3rd place Kell, 4th place Cartersville and 5th Place Pope.  For complete team results, click here for the Schedule/Results Page.

In a regular season meet, the Raiders are only allowed to put up four routines on each of the four events even though they have many more capable gymnasts.  The season opener competitors for the Raiders included:  Seniors, Allie Cheek and Maggie McNealy; Juniors, Kelsey Kopec and Ashlyn Laratta, and Freshmen Emily Fernandez, Madison Guzowski, Kylie Knight and Sarah Parkey.   Also attending was Sophomore, Courtney Cohen on the injured list and Senior, Brittany Parkey, Team Manager.

The Raiders were led by 2 All-Arounders, Kelsey Kopec and Sarah Parkey with them taking 1st and 2nd, respectively.  The Raiders started out on Uneven Bars and had a 1,2,3 sweep with Sarah, Kelsey and Madison.  Next was Vault, and the Raiders took 1st and 2nd with Kelsey and Sarah.  Also competing on vault was Kylie her first venture out as a Raider and Maggie!   Floor Exercise was the third event of the day with the Raiders dominating the points placing 1st, 3rd, 5th & 7th by Sarah, Kelsey, Allie and Madison.  The final event was Balance Beam, taking 1st, 3rd and 5th places by Kelsey, Ashlyn & Sarah, and Emily also had her first performance out as a Raider gymnast.

With such great and experienced upper classmen and the addition of four really strong Freshmen, the Raiders are prepared to have the Raider's Best Season ever this year!  Their next outing with be this coming Friday, March, 4, 2011, 5:30pm at Kell High School against Walton, Kell, Lassiter, Sequoyah, Milton, West Forsyth, Camden County, Northview, Centennial & Johns Creek.


Back Row:  Kylie Knight, Ashlyn Laratta, Courtney Cohen, Brittany Parkey, Maggie McNealy, Kelsey Kopec, Madison Guzowski, Coach Drehoff
Front Row:  Emily Fernandez, Alex Stephens, Allie Cheek, Sarah Parkey, Tasya Cooley

*   We need Drivers & Snacks .....  1/30/11
Please see the schedule below along with the meet schedule.  We need all parents to participate in both driving and snacks.  We currently have several gaps that need to be filled!

*   2010-2011 Gymnastics Team .....  1/20/11
Congratulations to the following team members:

Returning Seniors
Allie Cheek, Maggie McNealy & Brittany Parkey

*  Team Practices.....  1/20/11
Please see the practice schedule posted on the NEWS page.

*   NEW Transportation Forms to be Completed .....  1/20/11
Please go to the DOWNLOAD page to print and complete the transportation forms for transporting your daughter to the meets.  Most girls only need to fill out the "Release of Liability for Student to Ride with Parents" 

*   IMPORTANT:  ALL GYMNAST'S Parents .....  12/14/10
Beginning the 2010-2011 school year, all parent volunteers must submit the following form to AHS to be cleared to be a driver for the gymnastics meets.  Please download the attached form, fill it out, and submit it to AHS Front Office for clearance no later than Jan. 30, 2011. If you have any questions, please review the Parent Volunteer Q&A document available before you call.

                                      
 Parent Volunteer Form    Parent Volunteer Q&A

*   CHOA Trainer Available  12/14/10
We are fortunate to have the services of Lindsey Law available to us through Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Sports Medicine Group.  If you need her assistance, please contact her at lindsey.law@choa.com or 404.713.0472.  She will be on campus at Alpharetta HS 25-40 hrs/week.

*   Gymnastics Team Practices  12/14/10
Team will be practicing at All-Around Gymnastics this year at the following dates and times.   A total fee of $240 is due for these practices from girls not currently training elsewhere.  If you have questions, please contact Coach Michelle at mdrehoff@integrity.com.

*   2011 Season Schedule 12/14/10

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2010 Season Archive.......

* Team Finishes Out the Season with a Banquet.....
    and......State Dreams for Next Year!!! 5/5/10


The Raiders concluded their season tonight with best wishes to its first Graduating Senior, Cameron Robertson.  Cameron has been a member of the team all four years at AHS, competing her freshman year alone.  Additional celebrations included recognition of our State Champion, Kelsey Kopec.  Other notable girls were honored with high scores and steady performances throughout the season.  In addition, all eligible athletes received the Scholar Athlete Award as well as their Varsity Letter at the banquet.

The Lady Raiders are already planning their next season where they will be debuting new apparel, leos and spiritwear.  We look forward to building next season on such a successful one this year.  The team had many firsts, and posted a new High Score this season, twice.  Take care, and see you in the fall at Registration!

* Raiders Kelsey Kopec - STATE CHAMPION!!! 5/1/10
Kelsey competed in the 2010 GHSA State Championship last night and finished on top in the All-Around Competition.  She also had qualified on vault, bars and floor, and finished 3rd, 3rd and 2nd respectively on those events.  Kelsey became Alpharetta's first Gymnastic State Champion for the team in its 4th year of existence.

She was supported by many of her teammates in attendance including Courtney Cohen, Tasya Cooley, Ashlyn Laratta, Maggie McNealy, Brittany Parkey and Alex Stephens.

Congratulations Kelsey!  Be sure to watch Kelsey on GHSA Comcast On-Demand on May 4th, and check out the AJC article in today's paper or click on the link here.

* Raiders Gymnastic Team finish 7th at Qualifiers, just 0.075 out of the top 6 which advance to State!  Raider Kelsey Kopec qualifies thru in the event finals of Vault, Bars & Floor and in the All-Around 4/25/10

* GHSA On Demand and GHSA.tv to Broadcast Gymnastic State Championship 4/20/10

For the first time, the GHSA Gymnastic State Championships will be broadcast on GHSA On Demand (Comcast Cable) and GHSA.tv (Web). Coverage in a “condensed meet” format will start airing on Tues., May 4.

To watch GHSA On Demand, select the ON DEMAND button on your Comcast remote or go to Channel, choose "Get Local," select "Top Picks" and then "GHSA On Demand."

*   Raiders Place 1st again against Chattahoochee, W. Forsyth, Kell and Sequoyah 4/20/10
The Saturday meet held at Ga. All Stars found the Raiders on top again.  They posted a solid performance with a team score of 106.8.

The Raiders were led by 3 All-Arounders, Kelsey Kopec, Ashlyn Laratta and Tasya Cooley.  The team continued with improving and posting 10 Personal Best Scores at this meet.  Personal Bests were led by Tasya Cooley with 4 on Vault, Bars, Floor and the All-Around.  She was followed by Kelsey Kopec with 3 Personal Bests on Vault, Bars and All-around.  Ashlyn Laratta had 2 Personal Bests on Vault and Bars, and Alex Stephens coming off the previous meet with 4 our of 5 Personal Bests continued to improve her personal best on Vault.  Kelsey Kopec posted the highest sinlge score of the day with an 8.7 on bars.

*   Raiders Place 2nd to Milton at the Westminster Meet 4/15/10
Despite the 2nd place finish, the Raiders posted 11 Personal Best performances on Thursday at Westminster.  Leading the team was Alex Stephens with Personal Bests on Bars, Beam, Floor and All-Around.  Alex was followed by Ashlyn Laratta with 2 personal bests on Vault and Beam.  Each of the following gymnasts had a single Personal Best, Maggie McNealy on Vault, Tasya Cooley on Vault, Courtney Cohen on bars, Allie Cheek on Floor, and Kelly Wisner on Floor.  Alex Stephens posted the single highest score received by the Raiders on Floor with a 9.4.  Because of the structure of the team competition, not all gymnasts compete on all events.  The team posted a meet score of 104.75.

*   First Place Again!  The Varsity Gymnastics Team placed first in a tri-meet against Kell and Jones County. 3/28/10
This first place win is the Raiders 3rd for the season out of 4 meets, just placing barely out of 1st with its 2nd place finish at the opening meet of the season at the Kell Invitational. 

Success was the result again for the Lady Raiders Varsity Gymnastics Team on Saturday, March 27th.  The team finished almost 2 full points ahead of Kell and was led by four all-around participants, Alex Stephens, Ashlyn Laratta, Courtney Cohen and Tasya Cooley.  Alex led the team with the highest all-around and placed 1st on bars and 3rd on vault, while Ashlyn placed 1st on floor and 2nd on beam, and Courtney finished 2nd on vault.  Tasya contributed to the team score in 3 of the 4 events.   The team posted a score of 103.00

The team is back in competition next at Westminster on Thursday, April 15th against Westminster, Milton and Providence at 5:30p.

*   Raiders Take First Place Again, and take out last year's state champions, Providence, along with Roswell at Friday night's meet. 3/20/10
The Raiders were missing three team members on Friday night, but still took first place.  This year's team is so deep in talent, and we are able move gymnasts around to best suit the needs of the team.

The meet placed the Raiders with a significant lead at 105.225, with Providence Christian at 103.6 and Roswell at 96.40.  The team placed first on Vault, Bars and Beam and 2nd on Floor, taking 1st place All-Around.  There were also 3 other mini-meets there, with 7 other area high schools competing, and though the Raiders were not allowed to directly compete against them, they outscored all of the other teams as well which included Chattahoochee, Tift Co, Cartersville, Milton, Pope, Pike County and Westminster.  The team posted a score of 105.225.

The Raiders are working and training diligently on their routines heading in to the second half of their regular season prior to the State Qualifiers where only the top 6 teams go through to State.  You can see the Raiders compete against Sequoyah, Kell & Roswell high schools this coming Saturday, March 27th at Ga. All Stars in Woodstock.

*   Raiders Place 1st & Post AGAIN a New Record Team Score @ C.Forsyth Meet 108.10 3/13/10
The Raiders went up against Central Forsyth, Camden and Jones Counties, and finished on top with a new team record of 108.10, a full 7+ pts ahead of the 2nd Place C. Forsyth team!  The Lady Raiders swept 1st through 3rd places on both Uneven Bars and Beam, and took a 1st and 3rd place on both Vault and Floor.

The team only puts up one or two athletes all-around, and on Saturday, Kelsey Kopec was the only Raider competing all-around due to the depth of the Raider team.  She performed great, taking 1st place on all four events.  Teammate, Courtney Cohen tied for 1st on Beam with Kelsey, and was 3rd on Vault and Bars.  Ashlyn Laratta took 2nd on Beam, Cameron Robertson took 2nd on Bars, Maggie McNealy took 3rd on Floor and Allie Cheek tied for 3rd on Bars with Courtney.  What outstanding performances the Raiders had building on their strong performance last weekend at the Kell Invitational.

They will continue to prepare for a big meeting this coming Saturday at Providence Christian Academy against last year's state champions and 8 other strong Georgia teams including Milton, Roswell and Chattahoochee.

Congratulations girls!  Don't forget to follow the team at www.ahsgymnastics.org or through the school website.
 

*   Raiders Take 2nd Place in their season opener @ the Kell Invitational and post a Record Team Score of 107.825!  3/8/10

The Lady Raiders went up against some 12 area high schools and ended up in second place last Friday night, only 0.6 behind 1st place Walton High School.  The team has great potential this season and is settling in to competition and setting its sites in qualifying to the State competition.  The Raiders placed ahead of long-time powerhouses Milton HS and Roswell HS.  Alpharetta's Kelsey Kopec and Alex Stephens, Alpharetta's only All Around Competitors, both placed in the top 5 with Kelsey taking top honors!

The Raiders will go up against Central Forsyth, Jones County and Camden County this coming Saturday in Cumming at the Dobbs Recreation Facility at 10am.  

*   Lady Raiders Take a Break to Celebrate the Beginning of Their Season  3/3/10
          Click on photo to enlarge
 

*   Info/Directions for the March 13th Meet
       are available on the schedule tab and on the schedule below. 3/2/10
 

*   Form Downloads for this Week's Meet, March 5th @ Kell HS  3/1/10
All gymnasts must have one of the two forms of Release of Liability fully executed and in their possession before getting in the parents car.  Most gymnasts will use the first form.  Please click on the "Download" link above to get to the download page.

Meet the 2010 Team

Front Row:  Allie Cheek, Alex Stephens, Tasya Cooley, Ashlyn Laratta
Back Row:  Coach, Michelle Drehoff, Courtney Cohen, Brittany Parkey, Kelly Wisner, Maggie McNealy,
SENIOR-Cameron Robertson, Kelsey Kopec

*   Thursday Practices @ All Around Gymnastics, 7:00p-8:30p, Sunday practices @ ARPD, 3:30p-530p.  1/26/10

*   2010 Gymnastics Team Announced  12/15/09
Congratulation to the following team members.  Beside their name is the number of years they have been on the team.
Cameron Robertson (4)
Allie Cheek (3)
Maggie McNealy (3)
Kelly Wisner (3)
Kelsey Kopec (2)
Ashlyn Laratta (2)
Courtney Cohen (1)
Taysa Cooley (1)
Alex Stephens (1)
Brittany Parkey (3) - Team Manager
Coach:  Michelle Drehoff

*   Judges Score Forms   12/15/09
Download the judges score forms for your routines to review prior to the beginning of practice to see what elements you have and what might be missing.

*   2010 Booster Officers & Volunteer Coordinators 12/14/09
President - Kathy McNealy
President Elect - _______________
Treasurer - Laurie Kopec

Team Pictures / Yearbook Coordinator - Donna Stephens
Banquet Coordinator - Tentative Date, Thursday, May 6th - Susan Cheek
Meet Day Coordinator - Denise Cohen
Social Events - Donna Stephens, Cassie Laratta
Recycling Coordinator - Kathy McNealy
Uniform / Spiritwear Coordinator - Rosalie Parkey
Website - Rosalie Parkey
Communications / ENN - Laurie Kopec

*   2010 Season Schedule 12/14/09

*   New Coach, & New Practice Facility Announced  11/1/09
       We are pleased to introduce and announce our new team coach, Michelle Drehoff.  She comes with tons of gymnastics experience both as a competing gymnast as well as a parent of a Level 10 club gymnast.  Michelle competed for her high school in Connecticut, of which she has fond memories, and went on to compete at the Towson University in Maryland with great success.  We are excited to have her on board.

     We are also pleased to announce that we will be practicing at the Alpharetta Parks & Recreation Facility near Wills Park.  We are excited to bridge a relationship with the City of Alpharetta, and hope to make them proud by representing the city and our school well at state this year.  Many thanks to our AD, Kirk Alexander for helping us make arrangements with the Parks & Recreation Facility.

2009 Season Archive

*   Team Culminates the Season with a Banquet 5/8/09
        The team closed the season last night with a celebration of the team's growth and successes over the past couple of years.  The team is positioned to make the cut next year at Areas to qualify as one of the top 6 teams at State in just it's third year to have a team.  The banquet was arranged and photos were provided by Susan Cheek.  Our Faculty Sponsor and Coach, Kathy McNealy, handed out Varsity Letters and Academic Scholar Patches.  The gymnastic team has an extremely high academic record of achievement.  In addition, two members, Kelsey and Allie, will be receiving State Qualifier patches for the season.

                                Great season girls.....stay in shape for a fantastic year in 2010!!!

                          
                   
                             
                                                                       Click on photos to enlarge

*   Alpharetta Represented Well at State Meet 4/25/09
        Kelsey Kopec and Allie Cheek competed Friday night at the GHSA State Gymnastics Meet held at Westminster School.  Kelsey finished 5th All-Around, 4th on Floor and 6th on Bars.  100% of the team was in attendance to support Allie and Kelsey represent Alpharetta.  This experience will aid the team in its quest to be one of the top 6 teams at state next year.  The team will finish its season on Thursday night with at a banquet to be help at Chammps.
(Click on photos to enlarge)

    

*  Team takes 2 members on to State Meet and just misses qualifying as a Team by one spot!  4/25/09
Lady Raiders participated in the Area Qualifier Meet today, just missing the top 6 spots, placing 7th, for a birth at the State Championship.  However, two team members qualified through, Kelsey Kopec on Vault, Bars, Floor and the All-Around, and Allie Cheek on Floor.  This is only the second time Alpharetta has had team members participate at State in its two years having a team.  Junior, Cameron Robertson qualified two years ago individually, but has been recovering from a back injury late in the season.  Also, the team was missing three team members today.  Way to go Ladies, great performance!!!

*  1st Place win @ Westminster against Westminster, Walton, Pope and N. Springs. 4/23/09
Lady Raiders brought home their first 1st place win in only their second season this past Tuesday.  The team recorded close to its highest all-around score.  Also, two freshmen, Kelsey Kopec and Ashlyn Laratta rocked the top place finishers with Kelsey winning bars, beam, floor and the all-around and Ashlyn placing 2nd on beam and floor.  The team heads in to this weekend's Area Qualifier Tournament in the hands of Junior, Cameron Robertson, Sophomore, Allie Cheek and Freshman, Kelsey Kopec as the team is short 3 team members (Maggie McNealy, Kelly Wisner and Ashlyn Laratta) due to prior sports commitments.  They will be supported by their Coach/Faculty Representative Kathy McNealy and their three Team Managers, Jordan Garofalo, Brittany Parkey and Chelsea Sullivan.  Good Luck ladies this weekend and congrats on your first win!

*  The team heads in to their final regular season meet, Tues, Apr. 21 before Area Qualifiers at Lovett School this weekend. 4/20/09
Lady Raiders start their quest for a place in the final 6 at state this weekend in the Area Qualifier meet.  The competition is tough with some 65 Georgia high school teams competing for the six team slots.  Gymnasts may also qualify as an individual competitor by scoring as one of the top 12 gymnasts in the individual events or the all-around.  The Lady Raiders have already exceeded typical expectations for such a new team in only its second year, but we are hopeful to finish out our season strong.

*  2nd Place Win for Lady Raiders @ the Sequoyah HS Meet on Sat., Apr. 18th. 4/20/09
Lady Raiders take top three places on floor with Ashlyn placing 1st, Allie placing 2nd and Maggie placing 3rd.    Kelly also had an outstanding floor routine throwing an awesome full but was slighly edged out by her own teammates.  Allie also placed 1st on beam and Ashlyn placed 3rd on bars.  The team placed 2nd overall with two teammates missing, Kelsey who was competing at the USA Level 10 Regional competition and Cameron who was competing at an AAU club meet.   

*  AHS Lady Raiders again place 3rd at the Westminster Meet  4/8/09
The raider gymnasts were led by all-rounders, sophomore, Allie Cheek and freshmen, Kelsey Kopec and Ashlyn Laratta.  Event specialist that night were Maggie McNealy, Cameron Robertson and Kelly Wisner.  The lady raiders finished ahead of Roswell, Westminster and Pope High Schools and just behind Milton placing first and Chattahoochee placing second.  The lady raiders are headed off to their next meet on Saturday, April 18th, the Sequoyah HS meet at Ga. All Starts gym against Sequoyah, Kell, LaGrange, and Pope high schools.  Come see the lady raiders in action.

Also, check out some meet photos on our photo page.

*  AHS Lady Raiders place 3rd at the Milton Meet 3/20/09

The raider gymnasts were led by our top scorer and all-rounder, freshmen, Kelsey Kopec with a 36.55 AA score.  She also had our high score of the night with a 9.55 on floor.  Other top scores came from Allie on floor, Maggie on floor, Cameron on bars and Kelly on floor.  Olga competed in her first meet as an event specialist on beam.  Congrats Olga.

                   Team Members gather at Z Pizza before the meet
 

*  New Team Photo posted below.  3/12/09

*  AHS Lady Raiders place 3rd at the Kell Invitational Meet on 3/6/09. 3/12/09

Our Lady Raider gymnasts did an outstanding job this past weekend placing 3rd out of some 17 high schools at the Kell High School Invitational.  What an outstanding accomplishment for the team in their second year.  Alpharetta placed behind Lassiter and Milton High Schools, both having well established teams.

Our All-Arounders, Kelsey Kopec, Cameron Robertson and Allie Cheek all placed in the Top 20 with our highest placement coming from Kelsey, placing 2nd behind a gymnast from Oconee High School.  Other Event Gymnasts competing this past Friday night were Maggie McNealy on Vault and Kelly Wisner on Bars and Floor.  Thanks to all team members attending this meet, Olga Vacariuc, and Team Managers, Jordan Garofalo and Chelsea Sullivan.  They are all critical components to the team as we continue our season.

Come join us at Northwind Gymnastics Center next Friday evening, March 20th at 5:30 to see the Raiders compete again against Milton and Walton High Schools.
 

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                           Front Row:  Kelsey Kopec, Jordan Garofalo, Allie Cheek, Olga Vacariuc
      Back Row:  Brittany Parkey, Chelsea Sullivan, Kelly Wisner, Maggie McNealy, Cameron Robertson

*  Congratulations to the 2009 Team Members:
     Gymnasts:  Allie Cheek(SO), Kelsey Kopec (FR), Maggie McNealy(SO),
                                    Cameron Robertson (JR), Olga Vacariuc (FR) Kelly Wisner (SO)
     Managers:  Jordan Garofalo (JR), Brittany Parkey (SO), Chelsea Sullivan (SO)
      Coach:  DeShaun Monroe
      Faculty Sponsor:  Kathy McNealy 

*  Team Announces 2009 Season Schedule 1/6/09     

 *  RECYCLING UPDATE...We have earned over $800 to date with recycling.  Keep up the great work!

*  Gymnastics Team starts Recycle Program....
        Used printer cartridges and cell phones.  Please see one of your AHS members for donations,  or drop your donations in one of our local collection locations.

    AT&T Mobile Phone Store, Windward Pkwy, Alpharetta, GA
      Ocee Library, Alpharetta, GA For directions, click here
      SEGA Gymnastics, Alpharetta, GA For directions, click here
       


Team Members
Back Row:  Coach - Christine Martin, Chelsea Sullivan, Maggie McNealy, Kelly Wisner, Cameron Robertson, Faculty Sponsor - Ms. Oh, Manager - Jordan Garofalo
Front Row:  Ketura Hunte, Brittany Parkey, Demetria Hunte, Allie Cheek, Michele Metzger
Inset:  Tory Puiia