Antolin earns trip to World Championships

Huntington Beach’s Jeanette Antolin can pack her bags for China.

Antolin, a senior at Marina High, earned a trip to the World

Championships this week by finishing second all-around at the U.S. World

Team Trials, which were held in Kansas City, Mo.

The prestigious World Championships are scheduled for mid-October

in Tianjin, China.

Antolin finished runner-up to Elise Ray, and finished with an

overall point total of 75.492 in five events.

Ray won the meet, which consisted of 14 athletes, with a score of

76.378.

The top seven gymnasts from the meet earned a spot on the U.S.

World Championships Team.

‘I am extremely pleased with Jeanette’s performance,’ said veteran

gymnastics Coach Don Peters, who instructs Antolin at SCATS Gymnastics in

Huntington Beach. ‘I thought she did very, very well in all phases of the

competition.’

It has been a successful year on the competition circuit for

Antolin, who will turn 18 on Oct. 5.

Some of her national competition highlights from the past year

include a fourth-place finish at the American Classic/Pan Am Trials, and

an all-around finish of sixth at both the John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics

Championships in Indianapolis and the American Classic in Orlando.

At the international level, Antolin achieved her best finish,

first-place all-around, at the Como Cup in Italy.

Her spot on the U.S. World Championships Team is a first for

Antolin, who served as a team alternate during the 1997 competition.