To generate some excitement as we anticipate the approaching State Championship, we decided to issue our gymnasts a
"Pre-Meet Challenge." Our logo this year (shown top right) features a gymnast balancing with one hand. Are you able to do a "one-hand handstand" like Jacob and Aaron on the right? Here's your Pre-Meet challenge: All So Cal Conference athletes are invited to take a photo balancing on only one hand. If you are "up to the challenge," send us the photo and we will post it here on the 2008 State Championship website. Let's see which gym out there has the most capable athletes on this challenge! The gym with the most submissions will be presented with an award during the Awards Ceremony at the State Championship. To give small teams a fair advantage against the large teams, you may submit more than one photo, provided that it is clearly at different location, or if it is performed on a different piece of gymnastics apparatus (i.e. one on pommel, one on parallel bars, etc). And yes, submissions from coaches qualify also!

Please send all photos to challenge@StateChampionship2008.com. All photos must be accompanied with your full name, gym name and gym city, competition level, and age division. Photos submitted should be between 350px and 750px wide (you only need to be concerned about the width; don't worry about the height). If your photo is larger than 750 pixels wide, please resize it to fit within these dimensions.   The deadline for handstand submissions is Wednesday, March 12, 2008.

Have fun taking pictures, and good luck! May the best gym win!

State Meet Director Paul Tickenoff in 1992 atop a Mayan pyramid in Uxmal, Mexico

Parallel Bars Champion Paul Tickenoff at 1970 NCAA Championship, Mankota, MN

(Click thumbnails to enlarge)
Brandon Jacoby Victory Gymnastics Newbury Park Level 7 (10-11)	Max Maynard Victory Gymnastics Newbury Park Level 6 (8-9)	Alex Munoz New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 10 (16-18)
Cameron Bock / Tony Petelo New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (7-8 / 9)	Anthony Sandt Perfect 10 Gymnastics Tehachapi Level 8 (15-18)	Josh Archie Perfect 10 Gymnastics Tehachapi Level 8 (15-18)
Drew Archie Perfect 10 Gymnastics Tehachapi Level 8 (12-14)	Kyle Banks New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 10 (16-18)	Trevor Stevens Perfect 10 Gymnastics Tehachapi Level 6 (12-13)
Kirk Karnes Perfect 10 Gymnastics Tehachapi Level 5 (10-11)	Russell Gleason New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Coach	Russell Littman New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (10-11)
Alex Bruhl Perfect 10 Gymnastics Tehachapi Level 5 (12-13)	Dean Archie Perfect 10 Gymnastics Tehachapi Coach	Travis Langham Gymnastics Olympica Van Nuys Level 10 (16-18)
Team Entry Gymnastics Olympica Van Nuys Levels 5-10	Tomi Nord New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 7 (10-11)	Aaron Talvy New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 8 (15-18)
Stephen O'Blenes New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (9)	Jimmy Solano New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (7-8)	Jake Edberg New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (7-8)
Shoma Yoshida New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (9)	Paul Burney New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 4	Temi Jekayinfa New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 4
Mako Sakamoto SD All-Stars San Diego Coach (60+)	Garrett Moore SD All-Stars San Diego Level 8 (15-18)	Steven Jr. Rodriguez SD All-Stars San Diego Level 6 (12-13)
Eric Kremp SD All-Stars San Diego Level 7 (12-13)	Philip Cowart SD All-Stars San Diego Level 7 (12-13)	Jake Roth SD All-Stars San Diego Level 7 (12-13)
Jonathan Hoeck SD All-Stars San Diego Level 6 (10-11)	Christian Martin SCEGA Temecula Level 6 (10-11)	Weston Crowe SD All-Stars San Diego Level 7 (12-13)
Matthew Mayeda Studio West Torrance Level 10 (16-18)	Taka Giese Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)	Alexander Jones Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)
Taka Giese (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)	Gabriel Thelen Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)	Taka Giese (3) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)
Christopher Razniak Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)	Zachary Fox Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)	Nicholas Day Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)
Kevin Barrett Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)	Justin Jepsen Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)	Michael Couron Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (10-11)
Gabriel Senter Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)	Michael Eades Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)	Brandon Parks American Academy Bakersfield Level 8 (12-14)
Weston Peterson American Academy Bakersfield Level 8 (12-14)	Takahiro Kawada SD All-Stars San Diego Level 8 (12-14)	Takahiro Kawada (2) SD All-Stars San Diego Level 8 (12-14)
Thomas Yamashita SD All-Stars San Diego Level 8 (12-14)	Kirill Hunton SD All-Stars San Diego Level 8 (12-14)	David Zepeda SD All-Stars San Diego Level 6 (12-13)
Michael Lober SD All-Stars San Diego Level 7 (10-11)	Cameron Dotta SD All-Stars San Diego Level 8 (15-18)	William Alleyne SD All-Stars San Diego Level 5 (9)
Garrett Seaver SD All-Stars San Diego Level 5 (9)	Evelyn Lopez SD All-Stars San Diego Coach	Terry Lafoya SD All-Stars San Diego Coach
Branden Teguh SD All-Stars San Diego Level 5 (10-11)	Ryan Harvey SD All-Stars San Diego Level 5 (7-8)	Justen Teguh SD All-Stars San Diego Level 5 (12-13)
Andrew Fletcher SD All-Stars San Diego Level 5 (12-13)	Jordan Houri SD All-Stars San Diego Level 5 (10-11)	Kyle Banks (2) New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 10 (16-18)
Adam Arcade YLGA Yorba Linda Level 5 (9)	Adam Arcade (2) YLGA Yorba Linda Level 5 (9)	Ivan Alpizar YLGA Yorba Linda Level 5 (7-8)
Ivan Alpizar (2) YLGA Yorba Linda Level 5 (7-8)	Alexey Dmitriyenko YLGA Yorba Linda Coach	Damani Roberts New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 6 (10-11)
DJ Corpuz New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 7 (10-11)	Koby Hoppe New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 9 (14+)	Maurice Armstrong New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (10-11)
Aaron Bean New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 10 (14-15)	Yoshi Mori New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 10 (16-18)	Noel E. Jensen Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)
Noel E. Jensen (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)	Noel E. Jensen (3) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)	Nour Namo Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Coach
Lalo Haro Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Coach	Austin Perez Action Gymnastics Palm Desert Level 5 (10)	Chris Etebar Action Gymnastics Palm Desert Level 4
CJ Gobles Action Gymnastics Palm Desert Level 5 (7-8)	David Stabile Action Gymnastics Palm Desert Level 4	Michael Solitaria Action Gymnastics Palm Desert Level 5 (12-13)
Ryan Aratin Action Gymnastics Palm Desert Level 4	Terrell Mauldin SCEGA Temecula Level 5 (12+)	Matthew Mazlin SCEGA Temecula Level 5 (10-11)
Jenner Pennock SCEGA Temecula Level 5 (7-9)	Pierce Boucher SCEGA Temecula Level 5 (7-9)	Jeon Gordon SCEGA Temecula Level 4
Garret Lindermuth SCEGA Temecula Level 5 (10-11)	Zachary Scheer SCEGA Temecula Level 6 (8-9)	Tanner Howlwtt SCEGA Temecula Level 6 (10-11)
Andrew Wixom SCEGA Temecula Level 6 (10-11)	Van Langjer SCEGA Temecula Level 6 (10-11)	Quinn Murphay SCEGA Temecula Level 6 (12-13)
Taylor Gratrix SCEGA Temecula Level 6 (10-11)	Grant Murphy SCEGA Temecula Level 6 (10-11)	Kyle Murillo SCEGA Temecula Level 8 (13-15)
Christian Weinberg SCEGA Temecula Level 9 (12-13)	Ryan Covo SCEGA Temecula Coach	Caden Morgan SCEGA Temecula Level 9 (12-13)
Adam Lomax SCEGA Temecula Coach	Andrew Bernabe SCEGA Temecula Level 8 (13-15)	Taka Giese (4) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)
Taka Giese (5) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)	Thomas De La Garza Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (10-11)	Thomas De La Garza (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (10-11)
Kenny Page Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (10-11)	Troy Lingelbach Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 6 (10-11)	Troy Lingelbach (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 6 (10-11)
Ryan Lipinski Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 7 (12-13)	Roman Thuiliere Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)	Roman Thuiliere (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)
Spencer Klaiber-Short Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 7 (12-13)	Connor Olson Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (10-11)	Connor Olson (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (10-11)
Kevin Ward Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 4 (6-7)	Kevin Ward (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 4 (6-7)	Lance Owens Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 7 (12-13)
Ryan Peterson Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 6 (12-13)	Ryan Peterson (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 6 (12-13)	Noel Jensen (4) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)
Noel Jensen (5) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (9)	Kevin Klein Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 6 (10-11)	Gabriel Senter (2) Seawind Gymnastics Carlsbad Level 5 (7-8)
Ryan Shearman YLGA Yorba Linda Level 5 (7-8)	Chase Delong SCEGA Temecula Level 5 (7-9)	Jake Peters Victory Gymnastics Newbury Park Level 5 (7-8)
Maurice Armstrong (2) New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (10-11)	Chase Delong (2) SCEGA Temecula Level 5 (7-9)	Leland Glauz Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 5 (10-11)
Esteban Suarez Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 5 (10-11)	Giorgio Michel Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 5 (10-11)	George Cobb Studio West Torrance Head Coach
Dale Scholler Studio West Torrance Level 9 (16-18)	Kyle Zeiller Studio West Torrance Level 9 (16-18)	Kyle Zeiller (2) Studio West Torrance Level 9 (16-18)
Ross Greenwood Studio West Torrance Level 9 (16-18)	Michael Levitsky Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 5 (10-11)	Leonid Khoroshev Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 5 (10-11)
Gareth Weiss Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 6 (10-11)	Barrett Weiss Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 6 (10-11)	Doug Meyer Studio West Torrance Level 6 (12+)
Kenji Nishimura Studio West Torrance Level 6 (12+)	Taylor Gramstrup Studio West Torrance Level 5 (7-8)	Ryan Koh Studio West Torrance Level 6 (12+)
Matthew Lowry Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Coach	Sebastian Park Studio West Torrance Level 6 (8-11)	Stephen Enriquez Studio West Torrance Level 6 (12+)
Cameron Bock New Hope Gymnastics Fountain Valley Level 5 (7-8)	Justin Camba Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 8 (12-13)	Victor Ebken Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 10 (14-15)
Daniel Boman Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 9 (14+)	Brian Contratto Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 10 (16-18)	Jonathan Franco Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 9 (14+)
Haplin Hills Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 9 (14+)	Corey Coolidge Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 10 (16-18)	Austin Higgins Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 9 (14+)
Jack Poochigian Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 9 (14+)	DJ Natwick Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 10 (16-18)	Jose Vasquez Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Coach
Andy Bondesson Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 10 (16-18)	Gordon Yee SD All-Stars San Diego Level 6 (12-13)	Nathan Van Buskirk Studio West Torrance Level 5 (9)
Nathan Van Buskirk (2) Studio West Torrance Level 5 (9)	Walter Cardenas Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 5 (10-11)	Barrett and Gareth Weiss Payke Gymnastics Alhambra Level 6 (10-11)
Steven Gilbert Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 4	Patrick Nakashima Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 6 (12-13)	Jonathan Bryant Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 4
Jack Poochigian (2) Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 9 (14+)	Dmitri Todd Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 5 (7-8)	Daniel Diaz Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 6 (10-11)
Ben Meins Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 4	Shane Martin Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 4	Noel Csomay-Shanklin Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 5 (9)
Jesse Roach Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 8 (15-18)	Gabe Wilson Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 6 (10-11)	Deryk Goerke Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 6 (8-9)
Miro Fok Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Coach	Ben Deutsch Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 8 (15-18)	Scott Wais Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 5 (10-11)
Joseph Boman Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 6 (12-13)	Jameson Coolidge Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 5 (7-8)	Fernando Martin-Gullans Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 5 (9)
David Berry Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 6 (14+)	Brian Charbonnel Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 5 (12-13)	Alex Vornsand Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Level 6 (12-13)
Walter Jaramillo Mission Valley YMCA San Diego Head Coach		193 Handstand Entries!   March 12th deadline past.   Submissions closed!   Thank you for your participation!

Congratulations to our 2007 Pre-Meet Challenge award winner Seawind Gymnastics of Carlsbad, with 40 qualifying submissions.   Now start practicing for next year's Pre-Meet Challenge photos: Flair circles!