The 2012 Kellogg's Pacific Rim Championships

International field brings talent to Everett

03/07/2012

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INDIANAPOLIS, March 7, 2012 – From World champions and multiple medal winners to the new up-and-comers, U.S. athletes will be alongside talent from 16 other countries next week in Everett, Wash. The 2012 Kellogg's Pacific Rim Championships will feature more than 200 athletes in artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline, March 16-18, at the Comcast Arena and Comcast Community Ice Rink in Everett, Wash.

Headlining the international field for the women is 2008 Olympian Lauren Mitchell of Australia, who won the 2010 World title on floor, along with 2010 World teammate Emily Little, and alternate Georgia Simpson. Mitchell, the first Australian woman gymnast to win gold at Worlds, also claimed the World silver medal on balance beam in 2009.

Canadians Christine Lee and Kristina Vaculik, both competed at 2008 Pacific Rim Championships and the 2011 World Championships, while teammate Victoria Moors recently finished fourth at the AT&T American Cup. From China, 2011 World bronze-medal team member Tan Sixin is also set to contend for a medal.

For the men, Takuya Nakase of Japan, who finished fifth on the horizontal bar at the 2008 Olympic Games, will be a star feature beside his teammates Koji Uematsu and Tatsuki Nakashima, who both competed at the 2010 World Championships. Nakase also competed at the 2006, 2007, and 2009 World Championships.

The international field for the 2012 Pacific Rim Championships is as follows.

Senior women
Australia: Lauren Mitchell, Emily Little, Georgia Simpson
Canada: Christine Lee, Victoria Moors, Kristina Vaculik
China: Tan Sixin, Luo Peiru, Shang Chunsong
Chinese Taipei: Yu-Chun Chen, Chia-Jung Tsai
Colombia: Jessica Gil
Costa Rica: Karina Regidor
Hong Kong: Hiu Ying Angel Wong, Nim Yan Choi, Ka Man Leung
Japan: Risa Konishi, Wakiko Ryu, Yuri Ishii
Mexico: Sandra Paola Garcia Victoriano, Karla Adriana Martinez Lozano
Russia: Maria Stepanova, Anastasiya Marchuk, Diana Elkina
United States: To be determined.

Junior women
Australia: Alexandra Eade, Madelaine Leydin, Jazminne Casis
Canada: Maegan Chant, Jordyn Pedersen, Victoria Kayen Woo
China: Mei Jie, Wang Wei, Lou Nina
Chinese Taipei: Wan-Yin Chen, Yu-Chun Lai
Costa Rica: Angela Arce
Japan: Yuki Uchiyama, Sakura Yumoto
Mexico: Federica Scheiman Hernandez, Andrea Fernanda Mora Ramirez, Shaden Michelle Cortes Herrera
New Zealand: Hanna Malloch, Courtney Mcgregor, Rebecca Morrison, Brittany Robertson, Charlotte Sullivan, Millie Williamson
Panama: Ana Victoria De Leon, Valentina Brostella
Russia: Ekaterina Baturina, Maria Kharenkova, Anastasia Belova
United States: To be determined.

Senior men
Australia: Joshua Jefferis, Thomas Pichler, Samuel Offord
Canada: Anderson Loran, Scott Morgan, Robert Watson
China: Liu Rongbing, Cheng Ran, Wang Peng
Chinese Taipei: Szu-Chieh Chen, Sheng-Meng Huang, I-Hsiang Chen
Colombia: Jorge Giraldo
Hong Kong: Kam Wah Liu, Kiu Chung Ng, Wai Hung Shek
Japan: Takuya Nakase, Koji Uematsu, Tatsuki Nakashima
Mexico: Santos Martinez Reyes, Rodolfo Heron Bonilla Ruiz, Axel German Elias Jimenez
New Zealand: Mikhail Koudinov
Philippines: Jean Nathan Monteclaro
Russia: Mikhail Bodnar, Daniil Kazachkov, Pavel Pavlov
Thailand: Bobby Kriangkum
United States: Chris Brooks, Jake Dalton, Sam Mikulak

Junior men
Australia: Brody-Jai Hennessy, Lachlan Savill, Kent Pieterse
Canada: Cory Paterson, Zachary Clay, Joshua Stuart
China: Wu Guanhua, Xu Kangye, Xiao Ruoteng
Chinese Taipei: Fu-Li Liu, Yu-Chin Chao, Jia-En Lin
Costa Rica: Tarik Soto
Hong Kong: Chun Kit Poon, Tzn Tak Seto
Japan: Kaito Imabayashi, Koji Nonomura, Kenzo Seryu
Mexico: Rodolfo Gomez Grosso, Andres Esteban Resendiz Sanchez, Sergio Elias Borquez
New Zealand: Reegan Edwards, Leo Golder
Russia: Grigorii Zyrianov, Nikolay Kovinov, Sergey Stepanov
United States: Marvin Kimble, Sean Melton, Akash Modi

Senior rhythmic
Australia: Janine Murray, Danielle Prince, Jaelle Cohen
Canada: Jessica Ho, Maria Kitkarska, Nerissa Mo
China: Yang Yuqing, Peng Linyi, Liu Jiahui
Chinese Taipei: Yuan-Yuan Wang, Yun Kung
Hong Kong: Hung Yan Wong
Korea: SuLin Lee
Mexico: Veronica Alejandra Navarro Blizzard, Alejandra Vazquez Lopez, Karla Diaz Arnal
New Zealand: Amelia Coleman
United States: Julie Zetlin, Polina Kozitskiy, Alexis Page

Junior rhythmic
Australia: Michaela Joannides, Amy Quinn, Michaela Whitehouse
Canada: Patricia Bezzoubenko, Kiah Dick, Alexandra Fomina
China: Xu Xiaolan, Xu Kemeng, Ding Ziyi
Chinese Taipei: Chia-Hui Sung, Chia-Yi Lu
Hong Kong: Hiu Wing Heung, Stacey Devina Chan, Lai Chun Cheng
Korea: Song E Chun, NaKyung Lee
Malaysia: Fatin Zakirah Jalany Zain Jalany, Emma Ooi, Qing Tong Tai
Mexico: Marialicia Ortega Elizondo, Cindy Hassel Gallegos Barrera, Edna Maryel Garcia Amor
New Zealand: Mackenzie Figgitt, Annaleise Graham
United States: Laura Zeng, Julia Garbuz, Jennifer Rokhman

Senior men trampoline
Australia: Blake Gaudry, Shaun Swadling
Canada: Jason Burnett, Keegan Soehn
Mexico: Jose Alberto Vargas Garcia, Yael Tellez
Russia: Mikhail Melnik, Aleksey Ilichev
United States: Steven Gluckstein, Neil Gulati

Junior men trampoline
Australia: Luke Seal, Blake Rutherford
Canada: Trevor Stirling
Mexico: Esaul Ceballos Cervera, Cesar Prieto Angel
New Zealand: Dylan Schmidt
Russia: Andrey Yudin, Oleg Selyutin
United States: Cody Gesuelli, Colin Duda

Senior women trampoline
Australia: Alexandra Freeman, Eva Kierath
Canada: Karen Cockburn, Rosannagh Maclennan
Mexico: Alejandra Fernandez Lomeli
New Zealand: Penny Bennett
Russia: Galina Goncharenro, Victoria Voronina
United States: Savannah Vinsant, Alaina Williams

Junior women trampoline
Australia: Nikita Wilson-Beddoe, Leanne Janse Van Rensburg
Canada: Alexandria Giesbrecht, Karine Dufour
Mexico: Dafne Carolina Navarro, Karina Cantu Martinez
Russia: Yana Pavlova, Susana Kochesor
United States: Shaylee Dunavin, Maggie Gallagher

Single-session tickets range from $15 to $65, and all-session tickets range from $110 to $250 (including facility fees). Tickets may be purchased at the Comcast Arena at Everett Box Office; by phone at 866-332-8499; or online through Comcastarenaeverett.com. In recognition of Visa's long-time support of USA Gymnastics, Visa is the preferred method of payment.

Held every two years, the Pacific Rim Championships were held in Honolulu in 2004 and 2006; San Jose in 2008; and Melbourne, Australia, in 2010. In 2010, the USA won both the men's and women's team titles and three of the all-around titles - John Orozco of the Bronx, N.Y./U.S. Olympic Training Center, junior men; Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt, Mich./Gedderts' Twistars USA, women's junior title; and Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas/WOGA, senior women. Past all-around champions include the USA's Paul Hamm, Carly Patterson, and Nastia Liukin.

Background information

• Kellogg Company. For more than 100 years, consumers have counted on Kellogg for great-tasting, high-quality and nutritious foods. Kellogg Company, with 2010 sales of more than $12 billion, is the world's leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. Kellogg Company's beloved brands, which are manufactured in 18 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries, include Kellogg's®, Keebler®, Pop-Tarts®, Eggo®, Cheez-It®, All-Bran®, Mini-Wheats®, Nutri-Grain®, Rice Krispies®, Special K®, Chips Deluxe®, Famous Amos®, Sandies®, Austin®, Club®, Murray®, Kashi®, Bear Naked®, Morningstar Farms®, Gardenburger® and Stretch Island®. For more information on the Kellogg Company, including our corporate responsibility initiatives, visitwww.kelloggcompany.com.
• Comcast Arena at Everett. The Comcast Arena at Everett, recipient of the International Association of Venue Manager's (IAVM) prestigious Venue Excellence Award 2010, was developed by the Everett Public Facilities District. The 10,000-seat venue hosts a myriad of events including concerts, ice skating and family shows. The facility is also home to the Everett Silvertips, a Western Hockey League franchise and the 2010 National Lacrosse League Champions, the Washington Stealth. The venue accommodates other sporting events such as basketball, volleyball and international skating competitions. Global Spectrum (global-spectrum.com) manages the Comcast Arena at Everett, as well as more than 100 other public assembly facilities around the world. Based in Philadelphia, Pa., Global Spectrum is part of Comcast-Spectacor, one of the world's largest sports and entertainment companies.
• Comcast Community Ice Rink. The Comcast Community Ice Rink is used for public skating, hockey leagues, figure skating and much more. The two ice sheets can be converted to form a 57,000 square foot space to host trade shows and special events. The three-story Edward D. Hansen Conference Center includes three 900 square foot executive meeting rooms, and an 11,000 square foot ballroom, which can be arranged in a number of different configurations.
• Everett, Wash., and Snohomish County. Everett, the county seat of Snohomish County, is home to innovative companies and industries producing everything from large commercial airplanes to tiny microprocessors. Just minutes north of Seattle, Snohomish County and Everett offer a diverse collection of urban delights and rural masterpieces and an endless menu of outdoor recreation and indoor attractions.
• Everett Community College. Everett Community College educates more than 20,000 students every year at seven learning centers throughout Snohomish County, with most students and faculty at the main campus in north Everett. Students come to EvCC to affordably start their four-year degrees, earn certificates, train for a new job, experience hands-on training in professional and technical programs, learn English, develop basic skills, finish high school, train for a promotion, or to learn just for fun. EvCC is also the home of the University Center of North Puget Sound, which offers more than 25 bachelor's and master's degree programs. For more information, visit www.everettcc.edu.
• Production Sports Management. Based in Snohomish County, Production Sports Management is an LLC offering sport national governing bodies, sports clubs and other community groups the support needed to take an event to the next level. Acting as the liaison between the local community and USA Gymnastics for the 2012 Pacific Rim Championships, Production Sports will be the eyes and ears on the ground to assist with marketing, public relations, sponsorships and event logistics. For more information, log on towww.productionsports.net.
• Tulalip Resort Casino. With exceptionally appointed rooms and suites and a warm, personal brand of hospitality Tulalip Resort Casino makes you feel right at home. In celebration of our Native American heritage our Seattle luxury accommodations feature vibrant Northwest Coast Salish artwork and textures. No modern comfort has been overlooked from complimentary Wi-Fi Internet and 47-inch flat screen HDTVs to stylish furnishings and bathrooms with Italian tile and granite countertops. With 30,000 square feet, our meeting and event spaces are orchestrated to ensure productive, efficient and trouble-free sessions, whether for a committee of 10 or a conference for 1,000. Rooms combine Coast Salish art with complimentary state-of-the-art presentation technology to offer distinctly elegant, highly functional spaces. Our casino boasts a 192,000 square-foot facility featuring nearly every game imaginable. With outstanding catered meals, luxurious rooms, spa and gaming facilities, and nearby shopping, golf and entertainment, it's easy to see why Tulalip Resort is regarded as one of the most outstanding meeting venues in the Pacific Northwest. Come discover the perfect blend of contemporary style and authentic Pacific Northwest culture at the only AAA-Four-Diamond-rated Washington luxury resort casino.
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