February 13, 2006

Shire fulfills dream ending
Standout wins home finale as GAGE dominates its meet

By Bill Althaus
The Examiner

Sarah Shire had to battle her emotions perhaps more than anytime in her storied career at the Great American Gymnastic Express.

"I've competed all over the world," Shire said, after winning the Level X 17-and-up all-around trophy Saturday night at the 23rd annual Orthopedic Sciences Inc. Dragon Invitational 2006 at SportsCity in Blue Springs. "But this meet meant the most to me.

"This would be the last time I would compete in Blue Springs, the last time my friends and family would get to see me compete here in town and the last time I would compete as a member of GAGE. I wanted to give them something to remember me by."

She did just that, winning the beam, vault and floor and taking second on the bars to top GAGE teammate Kayla Rogers 38.000 to 37.275.

"It was like when Michael Jordan hit that (game-winning) basket against Utah to win the NBA Championship," said Shire's coach and GAGE president Al Fong. "She went out in style. She went out a champion."

Shire scored a 9.675 in the vault, 9.500 on the bars, 9.150 on the beam and 9.675 on the floor.

"All along I've felt like GAGE was the right place for me," said the resident of Sweet Springs, Mo., who will graduate with honors from O'Hara High School and then attend the University of Utah on a full gymnastics scholarship. "And this weekend, I really felt like this was home. My friends and family don't really get that much of an opportunity to watch me compete, and they were all out this weekend.

"It was a little nerve wracking because I wanted to do well with all of them watching. I couldn't be happier with the way things went."

Fong feels much the same way, and so, too, should Blue Springs businesses.

"We filled the area hotels and restaurants this weekend," said Fong, whose event attracted more than 600 gymnasts from across the country. "I don't honestly know how many people actually came into Blue Springs for this event because we were always down here (on the floor) working, but the parking lot was overflowing with cars and all the hotels were full."

Fong has made a commitment to keep the Dragon Invitational in Blue Springs and said next year's event could split time between SportsCity and the new GAGE gymnasium which is under construction on the southern Outer Road in Blue Springs.

"SportsCity is the perfect place for an event like this," said Fong, who watched a group of tiny gymnasts perform on the uneven parallel bars to close out the three-day event.

"This place was absolutely packed Saturday night to watch the elite gymnasts. They were standing on the walkway and the bleachers were full. It really gave the kids a feeling that something special was happening."

And something special was certainly happening for GAGE as Fong's teams swept the 13-and-under and 17-and-older competition and placed well in the 14-and-15 competition.

GAGE's Ivana Hong won the 13-and-under all-around with a score of 37.675. She was followed by teammates Rachel Updike (36.900) and Rebecca Clark (36.125).

Shire and Rogers were followed by Natalie Ratcliff (36.525) and Alaina Baker (36.400).

GAGE's Rachelle Pember placed third in the overall in the 14-and-15 division with 35.100 points and Alicia Meyer was fifth (34.925).

"What was really neat about this weekend," Shire said, "was after the competition, a bunch of us went to Denny's and we just talked, and laughed and even cried a little bit. It was the perfect end to one of the most special times of my life."