Shawn Crowned Junior National Champion
8/25/2006

Last weekend at the VISA Championships held in St Paul, Minnesota, Shawn earned the title of US Junior National Champion! After the first day of competition Shawn held a .65 lead over second place Bianca Flohr. Shawn had a phenomenal competition on finals day, hitting her bar set for a 15.2. Next she went to beam where she scored a whopping 16.2 (a career high). Continuing the momentum on floor, Shawn stuck her first pass of DOUBLE TWISTING DOUBLE BACK and finished the routine with a STUCK DOUBLE PIKE and a big smile. The performance garnered a standing ovation from the appreciative St Paul audience. Shawn finished the meet off with a high, controlled DOUBLE TWISTING YURCHENKO for the win. Shawn's combined all around (124.1) not only topped the junior field, but she also beat Senior National Champion Nastia Liukin's score by four tenths. In event finals, Shawn nearly swept the medals earning gold on vault, beam, and floor while taking silver on bars. Congratulations Shawn!

Following the competition, Shawn and the other top 4 finishers departed for Gatineau, Canada where they will comepte in the Junior Pan American Games to be held this weekend. Good luck Shawn and Team USA!