The Junior Olympic Nationals is the annual National Championships for Level 10 gymnasts. Over 250 gymnasts from the eight regions compete in 8 different age groups to try to become National Champion or catch the eye of college scouts. Two gymnasts from two different gyms who had two different experiences from these Nationals are going to bring you an inside look into what it's like to make it to Nationals: Alix Croop from Parkettes (left) and Cassie Martin from Hills (right). These two gymnasts also have a lot in common; they're both from Region 7, both third year Level 10s, and this was the first Nationals for both of them!

  Alix Croop is definitely a homegrown Parkette gymnast. Born on August 3, 1987, in Allentown, Alix has trained at Parkettes almost her entire life, since the age of five. Now she is training over 30 hours a week under the guidance of coached by Brenda Uzelac, Fernando Guerrero, Sol Kahn, and Bill Strauss. When she's retired from gymnastics she hopes to begin a career coaching and eventually run her very own gym! Because gymnastics takes up most of her time, she is homeschooled by her father and just finished up her sophomore year. When she isn't in the gym or studying, she likes to play with her dogs, chat online, ride roller coasters, swim, play Monopoly with her father, or practice driving.

Alix's 2003 season has been a busy one. At the WOGA Classic, she was 4th all-around, 4th on bars, and 1st on floor. She was seventh all-around at her gym's meet, the Parkette Invitational, where she competed against the nation's top elites. Next was the IGI Chicago Style meet where she was fourth and at the Excalibur Cup where she came in second. Her all-around score was also a personal best! She was second on bars, beam, floor, and in the all-around at the Pennsylvania State Championships, qualifying her to Regionals. She was first at Regionals despite a fall on bars, qualifying her to her very first Nationals in Colorado Springs! Some costly errors knocked her down to 18th in the all-around but a strong performance on floor put her in 7th on that event. Congratulations on a great season Alix and good luck next year!

  Cassie Martin was born on December 13, 1987 in Takoma Park, MD. She began gymnastics at the young age of five at the same gym she's competing for now, Hill's Angels run by Kelli Hill. She too trains over 36 hours a week amongst some of the best elites in the country. Cassie also attends public school and somehow finds the time to do her homework, talk online, and go to the mall. She also has to deal with a huge family: both her parents, two brothers, two sisters, and a cat. She is also a proud aunt! Cassie hasn't had the most stress-free gymnastics career. She's been struggling with injuries for the last three years but was finally healthy this year!

Cassie's 2003 season started off with a bang and never slowed down. She won the Maryland Classic (all-around, beam) and then competed in the annual Parkettes Invitational, placing 19th despite major breaks on bars and beam. She then went on to win Maryland States (all-around, bars, beam) and then nearly won Regionals by a full point (all-around, bars, beam, floor) and qualified to her very first Nationals too! Not only did she compete at her first Nationals but she won the all-around, bars, and floor over more experienced gymnasts. Cassie finished out her season by qualifying to National Elite (with falls!) and competing at the US Challenge in San Antonio. She won optionals there but was second overall. Good luck next season Cassie!